ASK YOUR BODY FOR ADVICE.
MUSCLE TESTING, DOWSING AND BEYOND…
Our body provides us with a myriad of information at any given time. Most commonly we rely on our five senses – sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. Smell is our oldest sense, the most powerful; and the most difficult to deceive. Yet, we often rely on our eyes more than our smell – but trust it, if something smells off, it is off. This is valid for food, plants, animals and soil alike. In my book ‘Radical Soil Care’ I introduce how we can incorporate our senses – including the common one – to gauge if products or services are beneficial for our soil.
Have you ever found that an animal smells off, smells rancid? Body odour is the first thing to change in case of illness or stress.
If fresh animal dung does not smell wholesome but putrid, there is something wrong with that animal. If food smells unappetising to you, don’t eat it. If someone else, however, likes that smell, with some cheeses for example, it might be good for them but not for you. Trust this. It will not lead you astray.
This is valid for soil too – everyone knows the smell of healthy soil – if your compost smells off, it is off; opposite to when it smells healthy and wholesome.
Smell your soil often until you become familiar with its ‘signature scent’. You will then detect slight changes simply by the scent.
Our bodies constantly respond to our environment. We react with physiological changes whenever we move into a different location, into a car, supermarket or even from one room to another. It can be a change in heart rate or blood pressure, a change in skin resistance, muscle strength and many more. This is called biofeedback. You can observe an increase in your heart rate when you – carefully – sniff on a bottle of herbicide. If you ever want to ‘geek out’ – measure your heart rate at the beginning of the herbicide aisle in a hardware store and the end after you walked past the bottles full of toxic substances – you will be surprised.
I KNOW OF MANY PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE HEART PALPITATIONS IN SUPERMARKETS IN THE COSMETIC AND DETERGENT AISLES – FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
We can use these biological changes as indicators for testing if substances are beneficial for us – or not. It is less complicated than it sounds. The easiest change to measure is that of muscle tone.
THIS IS HOW IT WORKS: Whenever your body detects harmful substances the muscle tone weakens. Stretch out your arm horizontally to the side. Now let someone else try to push this arm down while you resist. You can block that easily. Try this again while you hold something toxic in a container, like toilet cleaner, with the other arm against your naval. This time you will not be able to resist the downward pressure.
YOU CAN ALSO DO MUSCLE TESTING BY YOURSELF. The most common method is creating a loop with your index finger und thumb of your non-dominating hand. Try to – gently – break that loop with the index finger of the other hand (see picture on the left), while you keep the substance you want to test close to your body. There is no need to apply force, you feel if your muscles are strong or weak, if they lock or break – that is all you need.
To use only one hand you can try the finger-over-finger-technique. For this method you place your middle finger over your index finger. The finger on top will do the pushing, the finger on the bottom will be resisting the push (see picture below).
Like with any skill it takes practice and it will soon become easier and quicker to read your muscle tone. Play around with it and try other muscle groups as well.
Also remember that it is not about forcing a particular response. Stay objective and accept whatever information you get. Please do not intent to overpower the resistance, this defeats the purpose. The longer you practise the more you realise how subtle the muscle responses are.
Also useful in detecting harmful substances or toxicity is the ancient practice of dowsing. Dowsing rods or even pendulums pick up on your biofeedback and enhance the signal – much like an antenna. Nothing sinister or weird about it. Traditionally dowsing sticks have been used to detect water and were usually in the shape of a fork. I use two separate rods, one for each hand. Others only use one in one hand – each to their own. Some of my dowsing rods I made myself from strong wire, ideally with a high copper content. I hold them in front of me like holding a gun in each hand, steady my breath and centre myself. I PICTURE WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR IN MY MIND, SOMETIMES I EVEN ASK OUT LOUD. THEN I START WALKING THE AREA I SEARCH IN A GRID LIKE FASHION AND ENJOY THE PROCESS.
When I get close to the object I am looking for, right before the rods start moving I can feel a tug, and then they start responding, usually crossing in front of my chest.
I have used dowsing rods to find lost items in a paddock, a forgotten power pit, underground structures, telephone lines, an injured goat in distress or lost chickens after a thunderstorm. I can also determine and map toxicity in soil or water. THE TRICK WITH ALL THOSE PRACTICES IS THAT WE NEED TO STAY DETACHED FROM THE OUTCOME TO GET CLEAR READINGS. THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST DIFFICULT PART.
A pendulum can get used in similar ways. The idea is that it swings one way for a ‘yes’ and another way for a ‘no’. The way it swings for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ can be different for everyone. To find your individual ‘language’ ask some very clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions like ‘Is my name Donald Duck?’ Your pendulum answers ‘no’ and then ask your real name and then the answer is ‘yes’. KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS ALONG THOSE LINES UNTIL YOU CONSISTENTLY GET ONE PARTICULAR WAY FOR A ‘YES’ AND ONE PARTICULAR WAY FOR A ‘NO’. Hold your pendulum at the string, so it can swing freely. It might take a while to start moving. Initially you can make it swing a certain direction just to introduce movement, not to create an answer. Once you get the hang of it you can make your pendulum swing out of entire stillness. Once ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers come easier you can check out dosing charts, too.
Even though I have my favourite dowsing rods and pendulum I am not hung up about what I use. Coat hangers from the dry cleaners work great as substitutes for dowsing rods. Teabags as well as car keys make fabulous pendulums when nothing else is available.
With muscle testing and dowsing you might get inconsistent results when you are dehydrated, tired, under the influence, upset or unable to be present and focused in the moment. Drink some water and see if things improve. Accuracy is very much dependent on ‘getting yourself out of the way’, meaning to stay detached from the outcome and desiring only the truth. Asking the right question is also of importance. With supplements for example I ask ‘Is this beneficial for me at this time?’. There are remedies that are beneficial only in the morning – not at night etc.
I HAVE CLIENTS MONITORING THEIR SOIL CONDITIONS ENTIRELY WITH BIOFEEDBACK, USING MUSCLE TESTING TO DETERMINE THE pH AND CHECKING IN WITH THEIR PENDULUMS ON WHAT TO APPLY TO THEY SOILS.
I find when I teach dowsing rods and pendulum that the dowsing rods come easier to people who have never used either. I don’t remember how I started in my early childhood and today I am using all three modalities often and interchangeably.