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The BSD Health and Healing Special interest group have ‘A Day on Health and Healing’ in Feltham, West London on 27th June. The cost for the day of non members of the group is £20. If you are interested in attending please ring Sue Barnet on 01458831970 for further details.
The recent “after-hours” visit to Stonehenge was again blessed with good weather. The general feeling was that the atmosphere inside the circle was particularly good on this visit and the dowsable energies were strong. Two baby hares made a charming sight as they were snuggled up to the base of one of the stones, but after admiring them we left them alone as they seemed rather bemused by the sudden appearance of a bunch of dowsers inside their circle.
The Avebury evening teaching session also had decent weather in spite of earlier rain and a poor forecast, and ended, as usual, in the pub.
The Wiltshire Crop Circle Study Group Crop Circle conference this year make a return to the Coronation Hall, Alton Barnes and will be held over the weekend 7th – 8th August. More details available from WCCSG, PO Box 2079, Devizes,SN10 1US or pick up a leaflet at one of our meetings. The Wyvern Dowsing Society expects to be there with our stall and we will be creating a labyrinth again. If you are there come and say hello.
The June trip is, in fact, the first weekend in July and is based in the Brecon area of Wales. For full details contact Shaun, who has a list of accommodation addresses in and near Crickhowell where we will be based, also the details of the local campsite. Map reference of the camp site is SO 215184 on landranger map 161. Follow the A40 into Crickhowell. In the centre of the town turn onto the A4077. The turning to the campsite is shortly before the bridge.
The July trip is actually being run by the EEG, a sub-division of the BSD, and they have once again kindly invited us to join them. The weekend is made up of visits to local crop-circles and ancient sacred sites. You can do either or a bit of both. The ancient site visits are going to be led by Shaun Ogbourne.
Obviously the crop circle visits cannot be determined until the last minute as farmers sometimes cut them just when nobody expects them to, so for the briefing meet at the Barge Inn at Honeystreet at 10am on Saturday 17th July, where all subsequent activities will be advised. A small charge of £5 will be made by the EEG to cover admin. and printing costs, as they hand out sheets of up-to-date info. on the sites to be visited.
These sites have been selected with Earth-energies in mind so that is what we will be concentrating on for this weekend.
Mick and I recently visited the City of Lichfield in Staffordshire, which is a lovely place to go if you’re ever in our neck of the woods. The City itself has a fascinating history, and several famous sons, including Dr Johnson and Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles. Erasmus Darwin’s house has been restored in the style of the times and is open to the public. He was a founder member of the Lunar Society, which included Matthew Boulton, whose ‘Manufactory’ helped to found Birmingham’s industrial heritage. The remains of this building were excavated by Time Team several years ago, but Matthew Boulton’s home, Soho House near Birmingham City centre is also open to the public and is well worth a visit. The Lunar society met once a month on the night of a full moon. This was so they could see any brigands lurking in the shadows on their homeward journey, but their peers thought they were all barking mad, and parodied the Society’s unusual name calling them lunatics. These farsighted philanthropists weren’t afraid to buck the trend of the times either, because Erasmus Darwin had two illegitimate daughters he openly proclaimed as his own, and even founded a school for similarly disadvantaged young ladies to help overcome the stigma attached to their birth. Quite a remarkable idea for a man in the 18th Century!
Lichfield is a compact city with a selection of shops that aren’t the usual run of the mill type, with a varied choice of pubs and restaurants. Some of these are located in beautiful half timbered buildings that are so twisted and warped it’s a wonder they’re still standing. There’s also a warren of narrow alleyways crisscrossing the City, so it’s well worth venturing down these, as you’ll never know what you’ll find at the end! There are also several parks, including one where the statue of Captain Smith of the Titanic gazes rather wistfully at the pool beside the nearby Cathedral. The City of Lichfield erected this memorial when the ill-fated Captain’s own hometown rejected it. They have been trying to get his statue back ever since, but the people of his adopted City have no intention of letting him go, and still mark the anniversary of the sinking every April. As well as the stunning Cathedral, there are several churches nearby; including St Chad’s Church. This lovely old building is reflected in another pool and has a holy well within its grounds. Sadly, it was stagnant and full of litter during our visit, but the narrow stream draining away from it was buzzing with energy that seemed to radiate out into the cemetery. The church is quite ancient and has a massive Oak pulpit so large that it has had to be placed in a sunken area to avoid the parishioners getting a crick in the neck during the sermon! Has anyone come across this before? This showy edifice seems out of place in an otherwise ‘plain’ church, so I couldn’t help wondering if it had been gifted by a well meaning benefactor with more money than taste, or someone nobody dared offend by suggesting they chopped a bit off the legs instead of digging up the floor to house it? Conversely, there is a small and very touching memorial to a man who had been in service with a local family until he volunteered to join the army during 1914. He had been promoted to Sergeant before he died, which was no mean feat in those days, and he must have been very highly thought of by his ex-employers for them to mark his untimely demise in this manner.
Barbara Withers
The meeting for May saw a return visit from David Eastoe. We had a talk from David several years ago, and a number of members who enjoyed that talk asked for a repeat visit. The problem was that we did not have an up to date ‘phone number or address. However, the redoubtable Bea bumped into him at an event last year, got the number, and the problem was solved.
David works with sound. He operates public address systems at events, but more interestingly is also a therapist who uses sound as a means of healing, What caught the imagination of many of our members was his work with Tibetan Bowls, both for pain relief, healing in general and “space-clearing” of buildings.
This work formed the basis of his recent talk for the W.D.S. and he performed a number of demonstrations on volunteers. One of the things that he stressed was that it is necessary to use sound waves with the greatest respect as too much or the wrong sort can cause more problems.
David also discussed other applications for using the power of sound-waves, such as the moving of heavy objects such as stones, and less desirable uses such as weapons.
I suspect that our ancestors would have used sound a lot more constructively that we do – modern sound pollution means that we almost never experience real silence and have probably lost the ability to use the subtle and extreme edges of our hearing range.
A very interesting and instructive talk, and one that I suspect will prompt a number of the members to invest in a Tibetan bowl [or two!]. S.C.
Sources.
After the talk several people asked where they could buy Tibetan Bowls.
Arcania of Bath usually has a selection in their shop and there are several places in Glastonbury who sell them.
Those who fancy a day in the Cotswolds might like to buy from Alain Rouveure Galleries at Todenham near Moreton-in-Marsh. The phone number is 01608-650418, and the Website is www.AlainRouveure.com
The gallery opens Friday/Saturday/Sunday and Bank holidays or by appointment.
Alain sells Tibetan bowls, bells, handmade rugs, pottery, jewellery and other Tibetan artefacts and is a “Fair-trade” supplier who has sponsored a community of Tibetan craftsmen since 1979. All the goods from this gallery are ethically sourced – no child labour, no harmful chemicals used in the natural vegetable dyes of the rugs and no temples have been looted to supply the singing bowls, bells and cymbals or other antiques.
In addition, the staff are extremely knowledgeable about the stock and very helpful without making you feel obliged to buy. They will also demonstrate the bowls and don’t mind you having a go!
Tibetan bowls, or “Singing Bowls”, as they are often called, are surrounded in mystery. The comparatively few people outside monasteries who really know something about the bowls all have different views. The different explanations often share fundamental principles, sometimes corroborated by recent scientific discoveries. Maybe the best way to understand the phenomena of these bowls is through the user’s own experience and intuition. Dowsing can help. David Eastoe frequently uses dowsing when assessing how best to use the sound-frequencies generated by the bowls for the benefit of those who come to him for therapy.
Amongst the Lamas, the bowls are only used in secret rituals by those who are acknowledged masters in sound and they have learnt to use the sound waves correctly. The reason that they are forbidden to talk about the bowls or their use is that a knowledge of sound carries great power. This is why many Tibetans will only say that they are for food preparation and eating.
In 1983, a group of Dutch musicians worked together on a project in which body sounds such as heartbeat and blood circulation were recorded and amplified. The results were presented as a performance, as “an audible journey through the body”. Present at this performance was a man called Erik Briujn, who is an expert on Buddhism and has spent considerable time in Tibet, claimed that what he heard was the exact sound of a typical Temple orchestra. His theory is that since the yogis are able to hear all the subtle sounds of their own bodies, reproducing these sounds exactly could well have not only a ritual use but also could be used to affect the performance of individual organs, giving a therapeutic use.
There are a number of modern bowls coming onto the market, but many feel that the older ones produce the purest and most complex tones. Most of these bowls are made of an alloy of at least 7 metals, one for each of the planets. Gold=Sun, Silver=Moon, Mercury=Mercury, Copper=Venus, Iron=Mars, Tin=Jupiter, Lead=Saturn. All of these metals produce an individual sounds, including harmonics, and together they produce the singing sound of the bowl. The proportions of the metals sometimes vary, the true Tibetan bowl containing more silver and tin. The more golden ones are usually made in Nepal, although travelling metalsmiths probably used the ores that were obtainable locally.
An interesting point is the theory that the bowls were also sometimes used for eating bowls to make use of a possible homoeopathic effect of the alloys in the bowls – minute traces could provide essential minerals that might otherwise be missing from the diet.
Another reason for the secrecy surrounding the bowls might be that they are from the shamanistic practices of “old” Buddhist rituals, and thus frowned upon in the same way that pre-Christian rituals had to be hidden for centuries in Christian countries. S.C.
Much of the info. for this article came from “Singing Bowls” by Eva Rudy Jansen. Pub. Binkey Kok, Holland. ISBN90-74597-01-7
As we put the newsletter together the weather is scorching so here is a timely recipe from Barbara Crocker for you to try.
Ingredients:
2-3 large heads of elderflowers gathered on a dry day just as they've come into bloom
1 gallon cold water
1 1/4 lbs sugar
1 lemon - rind thinly pared and juice
2 tablespoonful white wine vinegar
Method:
Strip off the elderflowers into a deep bowl or bucket with sugar, vinegar, lemon rind and juice. Pour the water over and stir until sugar has dissolved. Cover and stand in a cool place for 24hours.
Strain and bottle into fizzy drink bottles.
It will be ready to drink in 2 weeks. Best not kept longer than a few months..
(If a bottle looks in danger of exploding, ease the lid and let out some of the gas!)
The May field trip was to Winchester – A look around the outside of the cathedral found a couple of very strong underground streams and a number of lesser ones, and we picked up the Belinus [earth-energy] line which runs through the city and is very strong near the back of the cathedral.
The city has a number of attractive old buildings and is well worth a visit apart from dowsing.
On the outskirts of the city is St. Catherine’s Hill, the site of an iron-age hill-fort which has a large turf labyrinth at the top. The labyrinth course is cut into the turf so that you have to walk in the depression between the turf baulks – not easy as it is very narrow and uneven in places – but well worth the effort. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to walk it at a sedate pace. Don’t try it too fast as you will be in danger of turning an ankle in the narrow paths.
Behind the labyrinth is a wide level platform a little higher that the surrounding ground Many believe this to be the site of the long gone St. Catherine’s chapel, although some people think that this may have been situated slightly further back, behind the platform in the spot that is now covered with trees.
The view from the top of the hill is absolutely amazing and worth the steep climb for this alone. Once again the weather was kind to us. S.C.
Just before I went away to university my millionaire father died in a freak accident on the Wall of Death he had installed behind the house, and I inherited his fortune, his debts and his wobbly bee-hives.
It was an uncertain time. I attended my Economics classes and won many dribbling and drooling competitions at the back of the lecture hall among kindred spirits, but my principal study was inebriation.
University is naturally home to many alternative philosophies and life-styles but I never found one I could belong to without choking. Perhaps I am not a belonger. Probably I'm in a class of my own.
There were goths on campus in 1979, and a nicer bunch of people you couldn't hope to meet. Everything about them was black, from the fringes of their hair to the nail varnish on their pale pink toes, but they had no darkness in the heart.
Like present-day Hell's Angels they were mature and responsible members of society; wryly humorous in their outlook: slightly guarded in their manner.
At least they were with me. I may have been difficult to reach.
I had been feeling for some time that an overweight Time Lord was overdue, and I was so busy day-dreaming and planning how to put myself forward for the role without any previous acting experience, that it may have made me inattentive in the every day. Matters like my appearance, and my manners.
Since the end of the Hartnell era in 1966 the Doctor had become more cuddly, more heroic and humorous, and far too concerned to save the world. It was time for a return to the selfishness and irascibility of the First Doctor.
Hartnell's Doctor had his own agenda in the vast interstellar spaces. Nobody really knew who he was. He could be short-tempered with his assistants. Peevish. Downright nasty at times.
Physically he was feeble and incapable of heroics. Emotionally he was prepared to manipulate people for his own advantage. Morally, he was as ambiguous as anything in Shakespeare.
Humans coming into contact with the First Doctor did not have their certainties affirmed and their world-view restored. He had his own cricket ball to catch.
Even in his friendlier moments, he wasn't all that friendly. This was surely right for an alien.
I seem to recall colossal hang-overs in the halls of residence and lying about thinking I was a very articulate fellow, then not being able to string five words together when confronted by actual human beings in the communal kitchen in the cold and greasy light of day.
In my defence I can only say that I spent at least one year rooming with Chemistry students, and there was no chemistry between us!
I never really mastered the victualling process. Frequently my food had gone off just when I should have been sitting down to eat it.
I had an unfortunate habit of thinking I had done my shopping the day before, or sent someone out to do it for me, then finding I hadn't. This became especially poignant at breakfast-time.
To the moderately heavy drinker breakfast is an important meal, a chance for redemption, and I seem to remember that, in my despair, on several regrettable occasions I may have accused the Chemistry students of misappropriating my supplies.
As I say, my relations with them were tenuous at best, so I didn't feel anything precious was being lost when they let off a stink-bomb in my room.
They were all girls, by the way, and I think this shows the way modern womanhood was going even then.
No doubt feeling that, left to my own devices, I would try to survive on cheroots, raw eggs and Watney's Red Barrel, my great and gallant Aunt Judy, the bane of my life, used to send me food hampers from Wiltshire with small lectures attached. It was one of the mysteries of the victualling process that only the lectures seemed to reach me, and never the pies.
I seem to recall shouting at everyone a lot, usually over nothing, and usually through a haze of smoke. Cigarettes? Burning toast? Incense?
In many places on campus you had to shout just to make yourself heard, of course, especially after nightfall when lectures had ended and the drums had started up.
So there I was with an image of myself as a quiet country boy, a gentle treeloving soul, anonymously drifting through the days, but somehow colossally irritated and shouting all the time.
Yes, I should have done it all differently. Looking back, I should have got my yin in balance with my yang. It's only in retrospect that your education begins.
Cyril came up one weekend to help me in a three-legged race (I had been betting heavily against us for at least a week) and the Chemistry students all fell in love with him and took pity on him because he worked long hours in the garage at Chiseldon and had me for a friend.
He was just skin and bone in those days so the three nicest lab rats fed him up and took him out for a run in some rackety little car they had - a Renault Dolphin? - on the Saturday afternoon.
I was allowed to follow on behind in the family Snipe. They wanted to collect some calcium samples for an experiment they were conducting, so they headed for a chalk quarry ten miles away.
I got there ahead of them and sank down on a rock. I was staring at the ground, wondering what the names of the little blue wild-flowers might be, when a breeze blew up and some dust got in my eye.
There was a man walking at the foot of the quarry cliffs, not doing much, looking for fossils or something. When he turned and saw me, he waved once, the tiniest gesture, and went back to his business.
A bumble bee came wandering along, investigating everything. Why are they always alone?
By the time I had realised that the man was my father, he'd gone.
Then Cyril arrived with the Chemistry students and we were all attacked by some tall alien life-forms. These were half alga and half strawberry jam, and they fired thunder-flashes at us from the ends of their fins.
By dint of some energetic running in unsuitable shoes, we escaped unhurt and dived into the centre of a pyramid where I became locked in a titanic struggle of wits with a rogue Time Lord who had escaped from his box and was threatening the Universe.
He beat me easily in the dribbling and drooling department because he had green slime in his mouth but we fed a lab rat to him and, while he was thus distracted, Cyril grabbed the sonic screwdriver from my hand and did irreparable damage to his temporal co-ordinates.
After that, the Time Lord was easily banished to a nearby black hole and I told the Chemistry students harshly to stop crying about their lost friend as Fate cannot be altered, or it wouldn't be Fate.
We all lose friends as we go.
Their silly car wouldn't start so we all got in mine and went home for tea. I didn't have anything in the pantry, so I had to lob round to a nearby black hole (Tesco's).
I didn't see Cyril again, the lab rats adopted him and made him their plaything for the weekend.
Behind the curtain in my room, when I went in to study and smoke in the late evening, half-way in the window and half-way out, was a mound of small tawny gauzy flowers, grown there in my absence.
The breeze moving through the open door caused them to murmur and shift their position. It was a swarm of bees.
Grey Wolf
Find your date of birth and read about your attributes. No guarantees of accuracy.
June 04 to June 13 - Hornbeam Tree (the Good Taste) - of cool beauty, cares for its looks and condition, good taste, is not egoistic, makes life as comfortable as possible, leads a reasonable and disciplined life, looks for kindness and acknowledgment in an emotional partner, dreams of unusual lovers, is seldom happy with its feelings, mistrusts most people, is never sure of its decisions, very conscientious.
June 14 to June 23 - Fig Tree (the Sensibility) - very strong minded, a bit self-willed, honest, loyal, independent, hates contradiction or arguments, loves life and friends, enjoys children and animals, a social butterfly, great sense of humour, likes idleness and laziness after long demanding hours at work, has artistic talent and great intelligence.
June 24 (only) - Birch Tree (the inspiration) - vivacious, attractive, elegant, friendly, unpretentious, modest, does not like anything in excess, abhors the vulgar, loves life in nature and in calm, not very passionate, full of imagination, little ambition, creates a calm and content atmosphere.
June 25 to July 04 - Apple Tree (the Love) - quiet and shy at times, lots of charm, appeal, and attraction, pleasant attitude, flirtatious smile, adventurous, sensitive, loyal in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender partner, very generous, many talents, loves children, needs affectionate partner.
Nora passed this poem on to us which you may find interesting as it has a dowsing connection.
The gentry in speech some words have said,
That this waterworks shall not lay dead,
The plans have been written at their goodwill,
To bring good water from Reddown hill;
So the men worked all under the ground,
Till they could say good water was found.
We know water was needed in this town
That’s why the men did dig deep down;
Being nicely arranged so I heard the men say,
They dug rubble, stone and also black clay;
Its a very good thing, make no mistake,
To have water fresh and good to our taste.
The pipe joints this I might have said,
Is jointed together with very hot lead,
Preparing it ready without the using of pegs,
“Tis melted with the fire that stands on three legs
The coke that burns keeps it well heating,
Pouring lead into joints stops them from leaking.
We had rough work you know of course,
Before we laid pipes up the Puzzle Court,
And being well done and looking so neat,
We laid more pipes all up Swindon Street,
The frost than came but did us no harm
They sent us away down beyond Green’s Farm.
Men and man each one took his length,
Work's along at the best of his strength,
And this suits us very much one and all,
So we thank our gang, - Mr James Ball;
To hasten it on this we may well say,
For making good arrangements day after day.
Its nooks and crooks where we did turn.
We very soon many things did learn,
Am pleased of this to you we will tell,
For we managed so well up Eastrop hill,
In telling you this we think it no harm,
Have since laid pipes by Parsonage Farm.
While working each day just the very same
Have made our way round Vicarage lane,
Working at our best " this is our aim,
To connect these pipes all into the main
You wishing us well and no ill-will,
We'll complete this work over Hampton hill.
Friends, I don’t like to let, this one thing fall,
We'll thank the young lady at Hannington Hall;
For there's not one thing I like leaving behind,
Her kindness for us this good water to find;
I cannot help thinking of using the twig,
To find out water in the way which she did.
The kindness of this I myself think it's grand,
I ought to have stated on cards in your hands;
I cannot now on them relate the expression,
Because they are now in your own possession;
Therefore to her let us give lasting praise
May she have the blessing in life always.
So friends I think- I have said enough,
Hope this will bring us all good luck;
When this work is done and put in tune,
“Twill be drawing on to the middle of June;
Might be completed by that time or before,
In the year of our Lord 1904.
Composed in memory of Highworth Water Works by John Witchell.