Exploring Sacred Space and Sacred Sound

Susan Elizabeth Hale

Saturday, February 19, 2011 at Unity Center, Mills River NC at 1 pm
Members Free  *  Non-members $10

11:00 am - 1:00 pm: Registration (books and dowsing instruments for sale) 11:15 am - 12:45 pm: Basic dowsing class - Lee Barnes (pendulums and L-rods provided) 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm: Program - Susan Hale (1/2 hr break 2:30 - 3:00 pm) 4:30 pm - 4:50 pm: Short business meeting; sales table open

There are places on the earth, often where underground water streams converge, that emanate powerful vibrations. These vibrations alter our ordinary sense of reality and put us in contact with the numinous -- with mythic reality and the greater mysteries that cannot be named. Early people all over the world revered such places, be they mountains, caves, rocks or forests. Later, sacred structures were built on these spots, aligned with stars and constellations to protect, contain and amplify earth energies.

Sharing songs, stories and photos from her travels, Susan will show how we can attune to the earth and its many sacred sites.

Included in the presentation will be:

• The Michael and Mary lines in southern England
• The musical mystery of Rosslyn Chapel
• Ancient trees
• The Harmonic Hum

Susan Elizabeth Hale MA is an internationally renowned music therapist, sound healer and author. Her latest book is Sacred Space, Sacred Sound: The Acoustic Mysteries of Holy Places which has recently been translated into Italian. She is a seminar leader, teacher and coach, helping people to explore their sacred paths and find and free the natural voice. Susan is also creator of Earth Day-Sing for the Trees, a global event with participation from 39 countries. Susan's website is www.songkeeper.net

President's Corner

By Roy Dudgeon

A new year has just arrived and with it, a few changes in the Board. Since this is my first President’s Corner, let me introduce myself. My name is Roy Dudgeon but my friends and family call me “Dudge”.

I was elected President at the November meeting along with Chiwa Clark as Vice President and Rusty Ault as Treasurer. Richard Crutchfield was elected to another term as Trustee at Large. Bonnie Duncan will continue as Secretary and Lee Barnes as Trustee at Large. We are all looking forward to working together with the membership and continuing the growth not only of the number of members but of the positive educational and social experiences of the group.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I am retired after over 40 years as a purchasing agent and buyer. I lived the majority of my life in southwestern PA near Pittsburgh. The little coal patch town I grew up in was very similar to a lot of the Appalachian rural mining communities of that period. No paved roads, indoor bathrooms, or television. We did have “granny ladies and water witches”.

My first experience with dowsing occurred when I was 5 years old. My uncle’s mother-in-law was from Italy and was well known in the community for her ability to determine the sex of an unborn child. She took my aunt’s wedding ring, suspended it over my aunt’s abdomen and as it swung pronounced the baby was a boy. It was. (I duplicated this feat with the prediction of my grandchild as a girl.)

My introduction to the forked stick occurred about 5 years later. A neighbor was preparing to build a house on some farmland and we kids tagged along one day to play in the fields. A well drilling rig pulled into the lot and a very old gentleman got out of the truck, cut a branch from a nearby tree and proceeded to walk the property with his forked stick in front of him. After a few minutes, the stick nose-dived, and the old fella jammed it in the ground then summoned his sons to bring the rig over and start drilling. Within the hour, the vein was hit and water was flowing. When I got home I told my grandpap about what I’d seen and he informed me that the old gentleman was a “doodlebug” and finding water was only one of the things he could locate. Several years later, my father called on the same man to dowse the location for a sewer line to avoid the dense rock that covered our area.

When I was in my early twenties, a group of us went to the Laurel Mountains to spend the day. One of the places we visited was rumored to have a power spot near a prominent landmark. My friend produced a flexible wooden rod about two feet long with a large quartz crystal attached to one end. She called it a “wand” but I would now call it a bobber. After about fifteen minutes of following her wand’s movements, she located the power spot. The energy generated there was powerful and could be felt by all present.

By the way, my first pendulum was a bricklayer’s plumb bob that must have weighed a pound.

Nowadays, pendulums and other dowsing tools have become commonplace not only with dowsers and diviners but with healers of all modalities, practitioners of sacred geometry and various forms of subtle energy manipulation.

Finally, I would like to thank our entire membership for their continuing support. We will have a brief 20 minute business meeting for members after the February program; please stay for it.

Please fill free to contact me with your comments and suggestions at dudge@att.net .

Announcements

Are You Current?

Please check your membership status to see if you are current, and send in your dues if you are not (Appalachian Chapter, PO Box 932, Asheville NC 28802). You can request it on wncdowsers.org on the Membership Status page. In the near future, the Wellspring will only be sent to current members.

Join the national ASD

The Chapter encourages all local chapter members to join our parent organization. Dues are $50 annually. You get a subscription to The American Dowser, a discount on the cost of the national convention, and a bookstore discount. Visit www.dowsers.org.

Host a Social

Hold a Dowser Social at your home in March, April, June, or July. Find out all the cool energies that are around your yard, make new friends, learn new techniques from experienced dowsers. Contact Marilyn Gasque (Hendersonville).

ASD Annual Convention 2011

ASD’s 51st annual convention will again be at Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, VT. The main session runs from June 10 to 12, with the pre-convention June 8 & 9, and post-convention June 13 & 14. The national convention is always a great opportunity to fill up with new knowledge and network with dowsers from around the country and abroad. The presenters are always very accessible for discussion and questions outside of the regular classes. At www.dowsers.org, click on CONFERENCES. We had five from App Chapter last summer; let’s try for ten this year. How can you not go, after seeing this great title and very artsy logo?

Member activities

Here are a few pictures from Lee Barnes' dowsing visit to Ireland last summer...

Workshop Report: Phil Jones' Didgeridoo Workshop By Dee Disparti

Took a workshop last evening on the didgeridoo. It was incredible. The didgeridoo is like dowsing in that it uses the energy available to us all. It was the best workshop I have ever attended and hope some of you get to take advantage of Phil Jones' workshop next time he is in the area. It was such fun and everyone got to try to play the didgeridoo. It can be used in meditation and to help with healing as well. Can't wait to pick mine up on Friday..... You all will be able to find me by following the sound! Namaste.

To Your Health

By Marge Bastian

Elecampane

Common names are elf dock, scabwort, velvet dock, aunee. Native of Europe and north Asia, and now is over much of eastern North America.

It is of the sunflower family, grows best in moist, sandy soil in mountainous areas. The stems can be 3-4 feet high, downy and branched. The leaves are large, ovate and toothed. The plant has bright yellow flowers and appears during July and August. The root is slightly grey, hard, horny and cylindrical. It is best dug in the autumn of the second year. The root is usually split into longitudinal, oblique pieces having one or more roots. It is similar in appearance to the horseradish.

The medicinal part is the root. It is traditionally used as a stimulant, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, emmenagogue, and tonic. Used for clearing your respiratory system in the winter season of colds and flu. The lung meridian is energized.

The plant was used in ancient times medicinally to purify the blood and parts of the skin and hair. The American Indian used elecampane to feel more connected to the earth. Good for chronic pulmonary affections that have a cough, shortness of breath, wheezing in the lungs. This root strengthens, cleanses and tones up the pulmonary and gastric membranes, encouraging a more harmonious metabolism that assists the pancreas with the inulin contained in the root.

In using it in the spiritual sense, it promotes a sense of inner confidence. It creates in the self an appreciation. It assists in ego development, so you know that the ego is no longer the dominating factor. When elecampane is taken, the inner beauty is enhanced. There is no outside way to view the ego, so in enhancing it, we know that internally that the voice of the ego means nothing. This is how you develop and spiritualize the ego. To persist and continue in self-development is enhanced by elecampane. You also learn to appreciate elegance, strength, and beauty in other people, and to see their worth and goodness of spirit. This is useful psychically when you are dealing with another person, so they know they are appreciated.

Its taste is bitter and acrid, so you might want to mix with other herbs for a better taste. Dose: For a decoction, use 1 ounce of powder to 1 pint of boiling water taken in a container the size of a wine glass.

Marge Bastian is a member of Appalachian Chapter, and is an herbalist and nutritionist.
Health programs should always include the advice of a licensed health practitioner.