Yes / No Questions.
If you have successfully tried the previous three lessons, then by now you will be able to get a response, and understand that response, from your dowsing pendulum.

Some dowsers have the ability to ask “yes / no” questions and, in order to see how far your skills can be developed, try this step.

• Sit or stand comfortably and hold the pendulum as normally.
• Ask a question to which you know the answer will be “no”. For example “Is it raining outside this house?”
• Repeat until you get a response from your dowsing pendulum. Note the response.
• Now ask another question, again to which you know the answer, but for which the response will be “yes”
• Again repeat until you get a response, and note that response.
• Do not be discouraged if you get no discernible reply, many dowsers cannot do the yes/no dowsing. Or if they can, they do not phrase their questions in a manner in which they get an unambiguous reply.

Now you have tried the basics of dowsing and will be able to expand your skills, develop your responses and have fun.

Good luck and remember to keep practising!

Second step – looking for a hidden object.
Now that you can get a reaction from your pendulum from an object that you can see it is time to try to locate a hidden object.

• As before, place a coin on a table. Now cover the table with a piece of paper, newspaper or a cloth. It does not matter at this stage if you know where the ‘hidden’ coin is. What matters is that the object is out of sight.
• Start away from where the coin is and ask yourself “where is the coin?” or “is there a coin here” or whatever question works best for you. (Remember the exercise in step one).
• Watch your pendulum and try to navigate to where the coin is located by means of how it swings or circles on the chain.
• The movements you discovered in step one will guide you.
• After you can locate the coin, then try closing your eyes, sliding the coin onto the table top and covering with a cloth without looking. Now see if you can locate it.
• Repeat and practice and your ability and confidence will grow.
• When you are ready, move on to the next step.

In the picture below I am approaching the coin under the paper. See how the pendulum is swinging to show me in which direction the coin lays.

Looking for a hidden coin under a sheet of paper

The First Step – Your Pendulum
The first step is to buy a pendulum. I prefer a crystal pendulum as I find them more responsive, but that is my own personal preference. Pendulums can come in wood, metal, stone or or a mixture of these materials.
What ever pendulum you buy, make sure it has a flexible chain or cord. Some ‘fashion jewelry’ pendulums have too stiff a cord and dampen down the pendulum swing.
The chain or cord should be about 12″ (30 cms) or so long. Longer is better as you can keep the excess chain in the palm of your hand.
Here is a picture of the pendulum I use:

Robin's dowsing pendulum

Holding the pendulum above a coin on a table

• Now, just start to quietly ask yourself (no need to speak out loud) “is there a coin here”?  If after a number of attempts nothing happens, do not get disillusioned. Rest, and try again with a different question. “is there metal here” or “is there a coin near here” and similar variations.
• Watch your pendulum. If it’s movement changes then you are starting to get a response.
• If you still get no response, and you are not getting tired, try shortening or lengthening the chain. For me the length is not too critical, but the length you see in the picture gives me the greatest response.
• Sometimes you might need to start a little distance (a foot or so) away from the object. The pendulum might start moving or swinging. Note how it swings in relation to the direction the object is away from you. For example, if you need to go to the right to be over the coin and the pendulum is swinging anti-clockwise, then for you, anti-clockwise means “go right”.
• Keep trying and noting the way your pendulum behaves. Do not expect consistent results at this stage.  This is a learning process, but once you start to get a feel for how you and your pendulum behave when looking for an object that can be seen, then you can progress to the next step. Looking for hidden objects.
• By now you should have an idea of how your dowsing pendulum says “go left”, “go right” and “here it is”.
• If you are happy, it is time to move on to the next step.

Practice, practice and practice.
Very few people can pick up a dowsing pendulum for the first time in their life (with no other dowsing experience) and get results. You have to practice, see what works for you, tune your pendulum to yourself and, finally, find your limits.
And that can only be done with lots of practice.  But that practice can be easy and fun and need only be a few minutes each day – or an hour or so a week. It is entirely up to you and what you feel happy with.

Some key requisites before you start to practice:
1. You must want to do it
2. You must have confidence in your ability to learn
3. There must be no strong negative influences around you (for example a sceptical partner laughing at you).
4. You must try to put personal worries, everyday concerns etc to the back of your mind
5. Before you start you must get everything you need prepared so you do not have to stop and break your concentration
6. Turn off your mobile phone or put it out of earshot. If it rings it will distract you.
7. Do not practice if you are tired or sleepy.

In the links to the posts below, I have put a series of exercises that you could follow in sequence. They will give you an insight into what / where / how you dowse as an individual.

• First step, your pendulum
• Second step, looking for a hidden object
• Third step, looking for water using a map
• Fourth step, yes / no questions