It has also been theorized by psychologists that as we age our minds develop a pattern that is difficult to alter. This is due to a set pattern in the neural pathways in the human brain.

It has also been established in the scientific community that upon an individuals death, there is an immediate loss of weight.

The weight loss is miniscule, and almost unnoticeable. Currently, however there is no satisfactory scientific explanation for this loss. However,

I submit that this weight loss is due to a loss of bioelectricity. As electricity hass mass, a loss of this electrical energy from the body could cause this weight loss.

I believe that this could be due to bioelectrical energy leaving the body. It then can maintain cohesion by electro magnetic forces. This bioelectrical field, after years of conditioned patterning, maintains some, if not all, of the memories and personality of the individual to which it belonged.

This could be a possible explanation of orbs being photographed as wellas other variations of apparitions. It would also provide an explanation for the apparent intelligent actions of some apparitions. It would also be the reason that E.M.F. detectors would pick up such anomalies. As for photography of such entities, it should be noted that electrical forces can be photographed even when the human eye cannot detect them. Case in point,

I was watching a documentary on lighting that was showing on the Discovery channel. They had a lightning photographer pointing out various points of lightning. His equipment was sensitive to light and had set up several to get photos of the storm. He was also video taping the set up process. The video revealed nothing unusual, however, when he processed his film, it was a shock to him that a small bolt of lightning had almost hit him. The bolt of lightning was only a few feet away from him and he never noticed it, until, he had developed his film.

So this could explain reasons for paranormal phenomena appearing in photos when it is not visible by the naked eye. Some people are able to pick up paranormal activities easier than others. This could be due to a higher degree of sensitivity to electro magnetic frequences, in particular, the frequency involved in paranormal phenomena. I also believe that it is possible that there are several lines of frequency, such as audio, visual and mental. This would obviously account for an individual hearing voices and, or, seeing apparitions or orbs. An apparition may also communicate by matching a particular individuals bioelectrical wavelength. By "tuning" itself, it would be possible that one individual would be able to hear or see an entity when others present, cannot. It may also be possible for an entity to manipulate its environment by using similar means. By tuning itself to a particular energy signature of an object or objects, it would then be able to move, throw, or change items in the physical world. This would require an enormous amount of electro magnetic energy. To gain the energy needed to accomplish this feat, an entity would need to "borrow" energy from another source. "Borrowing" could be accomplished by taking energy from another enitity, or, from a living person. People are (in my opinion) the most likely candidates for borrowing. A living person is still producing bioelectricity, we are likely a good energy source. This is multiplied by an individual's emotional state of mind. When an individual is in a heightened state, they produce a greater amount of bioelectrical energy. Fear would be the most likely source to borrow from. Once fear has set in, an individuals fight or flight response is activated creating adrenaline. This causes the body to produce a great amount of bioelectricity. An entity takes this energy, it can cause fatigue, and, in some rare cases, illness and nausea. By borrowing and then tuning to a particular individuals wavelength, an entity could also cause physical injury. However these cases seem to be very rare.

One of my lead investigators put this Hypothesis together in 2001 for what was then The Upper Midwest Ghost Society.

What The Bible Says About Spirits & Ghosts

Briefly I write this to show the christian religion that yes, the bible does contain ghosts, or "spirits." Ghosts are possible because the spirit realm and physical realm co-exist; yet are on different planes.

Thirdly, some ghosts may not be people on the other side; they could be residual energy or thoughts left over from traumatic or emotional past events. The christian bible is full of "paranormal" activity...why not ghosts?

Ghosts and spirits are one in the same - they are people on the other side of the grave...in the afterlife, if you will. They are common in scripture, if you look for them mentioned within the christian bible.

One of the first verses that most are aware of is in I Samuel 28:15, where Saul has a medium, "call up" the prophet Samuel from the other side of the grave: "And Samuel saith to Saul, Why hast thou troubled me, to bring me up?"

Most christians will bury their heads and come up with an excuse for this scripture that God allowed this for one occasion. Or fundamentalists (traditional christians) may say this wasn't a ghost but Samuel was resurrected back to life. Or they may even say that this wasn't Samuel at all, but a deception from the woman - a trick.

Yet, the scripture is very clear that this was Samuel; and as Samuel had died and crossed over to the other side...that would make him a spirit or ghost.

This passage should also plainly show that mediums can have contact with people on the other side. This medium, whom Saul used, saw many people on the other side, when she was calling up Samuel.

One should also note in this verse, that Samuel had maintained his form of an old man wearing a mantel, just like many documented ghost sightings of apparitions, report the ghost to be dressed in "period dress" from their own time era, here on earth. Moving into the christian new testament, we see Jesus having "appeared" to many after his resurrection.

To "appear" indicates the idea of manifesting from the invisible to the visible, just as a spirit or ghost might manifest, from the spirit to the physical realm.

It is interesting to note that he "appeared" to Simon (Luke 24:34); and he "appeared" to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9). Jesus "appeared" to two of his followers in a different form that was not recognizable to them.

What? I mean they had a conversation with him and still didn't recognize Jesus physically! Yes, the scripture says: Mark 16:12, "...to two of them, as they are going into a field, walking, he was manifested in another form."

He also "appeared" to the eleven disciples and stood in the midst of them during their conversation (Luke 24:36). Can you imagine that?

He manifested right before their eyes from the realm of spirit. But what is interesting to note is Jesus' statement concerning their fear of him "appearing" right before their eyes: Luke 24:39 "...handle me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me having." Well, at first blush, one might argue, hey, Jesus wasn't a spirit or ghost because he had flesh and bone.

I would have to agree, but I might add that Jesus still was "appearing" like a ghost or spirit might do. Does flesh and bone "appear" out of thin air? However, the biggest point might be missed if one does not consider Jesus' statement further, about not being a spirit or ghost...he was in effect stating that spirits (ghosts) do exist, but that he was not like them!

This common belief in ghosts is found in another new testament passage, as well. You may remember Jesus walking on the water towards his disciples who were in a boat on the sea. The verse in Matthew 14:26 states: "and the disciples having seen him walking upon the sea, were troubled saying, 'It is an apparition,' and from the fear they cried out."

Apparitions were obviously believed to exist and even by the followers of Jesus who were learning rapidly about the spirit realm from him.

Other people obviously believed in ghosts during Jesus' time on earth, because they "appeared" in the city of Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection: Matthew 27:52-53, "and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who have fallen asleep, arose; and having come forth out of the tombs after Jesus' rising, they went into the holy city and appeared to many."

The writer of Hebrews, (probably the apostle Paul) mentions the fact of spirits being all around us, in Hebrews 12:1, "Therefore, we also having so great a cloud of witnesses set around us." This to me, is confirmation of the spirit and physical realms co-existing with one another, but on different planes. It is a spiritual truth, that what exists here on earth, must first exist in the spirit realm; for spirit is the life-giving force behind all. And that spirit is God. God is life.

The bible proclaims in the Lord's prayer, "On earth (physical realm), as it is (first) in heaven (the realm of spirit)." But there is one last bible passage I wish to share that many overlook that proves the manifestation of spirits from the spirit realm into this physical world. That verse can be found in Mark 9:4, in the famous Mount of Transfiguration passage: "and there appeared to them, Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus." Wow!

This passage not only proves that spirits can manifest here, but it shows a very important spiritual truth, as well. Jesus spoke with people on the other side of the grave. Therefore, those on the other side of the grave can speak to us! The religious will try and explain this passage away; but the fact remains, it is not only possible for ghosts to exist, but Jesus, who is to be our example, shows us some spirits communicate with us!

Why did Jesus choose only to reveal this truth to James, John and Peter? To us, this truth has been spoken against by traditional christian doctrine for years. Yet, Jesus felt it important enough to reveal to these three disciples what was really going on "behind the scenes." Jesus seemed to understand quite a lot about what was going on "behind the veil" of this physical world.

Perhaps, we should follow his example and not fear ghosts; but seek to understand the truth of the spirit realm. Angels & Ghost

The Safety Of Communicating With The Other Side by Tom and Lisa Butler From Our Viewpoint Spring 2003 AA-EVP NewsJournal Attitude is everything. Attitude is an expression of our worldview, and it is our worldview that we use as a mold to build our personal reality.

We have had a number of people ask us about the dangers in seeking to communicate with our friends on the other side. Some have expressed great concern that they might leave themselves open for attack from angry entities or that they might inadvertently invite a disruptive force into their home. The words, “demon” and “low levels” have come up more than once. We think a better term might simply be “less spiritually evolved entities,” as this is what they are. However, “low level” seems to be the term that is most used and understood.

Harold Sherman, in an article written for Psychic Observer & Chimes, recounted a friend’s distressing experience in trying to reach his wife and running into what he called “low grade discarnates.” When the man lost his temper and told them to go away, it only seemed to increase their interference. Sherman listened to some of the recordings and called it pure drivel.

Sherman came to the conclusion that the mental attitude of the experimenter played an important part in what was recorded. He wrote, “It is as though low grade intelligences come in on the emotionally disturbed ‘wave length’ of the operator. Unless the mind is prepared through prayer or a spiritually motivated meditative period, one is apt to invite the wrong kind of communicants.”

Some researchers, who have occasion to address the public about these phenomena, will include a strong warning that there are potential dangers and that the prospective EVP and ITC experimenter should use caution. Others seem to wonder what all of the fuss is about because they have never had a problem.

In the Summer 1988 AA-EVP NewsJournal, Sarah Estep ran a brief review of the CETL newsletter written by Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach in Luxembourg. The couple believed that experimenters could attract positive as well as negative contacts. They quoted a comment made by pioneer researcher Dr. Konstantin Raudive. Raudive said, “Transcommunication is not a hobby for people who can’t cope with the realities of life.”

We believe that working with EVP and ITC is fundamentally safe. It is difficult to find a single example in which an individual has been harmed because of their communication across the veil. Yes, people have occasionally been “bothered.” It is known that the time we spend carefully listening too hard to hear EVP examples seems to enhance our clairvoyant and clairaudient senses. To many people, this is exciting and something they want. To others, it can be disturbing. This enhanced sensing has been reported to fade if one takes a break from EVP or other development work.

In the heyday of Spiritualism, people sat in groups trying to communicate with the other side. One of the important benefits of these groups was that they provided a safe place for mediums to develop. When people were working on, say for instance trance development, they could feel open and safe, in that they had an experienced medium to assist them if they should run into some sort of trouble. By the way, many Spiritualist churches still have development groups and classes and we would recommend these or any other good development groups or classes to EVP/ITC experimenters.

Many EVP experimenters work alone and do not have the benefit of a group of more experienced EVP researchers. We wish that everyone who experimented with EVP had a strong metaphysical or spiritual background, because it is important to have some basic knowledge about the other side and its workings.

Since the experimenter is part of the bridge between those on the other side and the EVP or ITC equipment, it is important for the experimenter to have a strong sense of self, accompanied by a positive attitude and spiritual outlook on life.

In the Fall 1989 newsletter, Sarah Estep wrote, “Obviously, no one starts taping, automatic writing or playing with the Ouija board, thinking they will become possessed or obsessed. But it can happen.

As I wrote on page 196 of Voices of Eternity, The difficulty is in ascertaining who is susceptible…

I am not trying to frighten people who are thinking about beginning to tape… Working in the field can bring some of the most rewarding, enriching experiences of your life. It would be amiss of me, however, not to caution you about the darker side of psi.

Experienced tapers will tell you not to believe everything that comes through. You have your liars on the other side, as you have here.

The more they realize they are getting you upset, the more they will continue. Human nature being what it is, we may imagine certain messages are there, when in fact there is nothing. yELLOW

The important thing though is, if a person believes a message is on tape, that person will respond to it for better or worse.

“If you, at anytime, think you are in contact with low level entities, leave your tape recorder. Remain in control at all times. Anyone can sit down to tape. It takes much more inner strength to pull the plug and walk away.” Negative thoughts, such as fear or hate, are powerful forms of energy, and this energy can accumulate and do harm. It is as if this negative energy is an anti-particle that neutralizes positive energy and dissipates it from our use. We also believe that negative energy is not as sustainable as is positive energy because it is not consistent with the fundamentally positive nature of reality. Thus, as entities gain in spiritual maturity, they become less able to sustain fear or hate.

We advise people who are fearful of the unknown or who might have trouble keeping the voices in perspective, to pass on EVP. Our concern is that a person's fear might tend to be amplified by a close encounter with an entity. The entity could be perfectly friendly, but because of fear and because the encounter is so fleeting, a fearful person might see the encounter as a reason to be more fearful.

Experimenters are responsible for creating a positive contact field for the other side. This includes expectations. You are responsible for your own life, and who and what you let into your environment and consciousness. Protect your personal environment and maintain a field of positive energy around your home and all that you do.

We want to make sure that people do not feel that something is wrong with them if they do encounter one of these less spiritually educated entities. Many researchers have had this happen. If you are one of them, you are not alone. Discarnate entities are attracted to people in the flesh who seem to be supportive of them in some way; someone who might be sympathetic about their plight. So, if you have attracted an angry entity, you are not necessarily an angry person. For example, if the angry entity is afraid to go on because of some dastardly deed committed in a past lifetime, and you are knowledgeable about why the entity should not be afraid, then it may very well be attracted to you as a potential source of guidance.

It has been made clear, via just about all of the forms of spirit communication, that Spirit entities are always with us. They may be in our home at any time, whether we sense them or not. A group we have communicated with, the Imperator Group, has told us that they do not watch us, and that they only come to us when we call on them or when we need help. We are certain that this group is not earthbound. It may be that earthbound entities do watch us. With that said, we believe that EVP researchers can request privacy and can tell earthbound entities to go away if they are being bothersome. An entity certainly does not have to be in your home to initiate EVP.

It is common for an EVP experimenter to ask for help from the other side to improve communications. To our friends on the other side, this is probably equivalent to asking them into our house for a visit. If you are seeking phenomena—and you are if you work with EVP—then we would think that you would greet these visitations as a new form of communication. What a wonderful proof!

These entities are people. In time, they could be you. How would you like to be treated? They deserve to be treated with respect. If you are not living in a haunted house and if you find that you have entities in your home, odds are this is because you have called them in some way, or they have a need to communicate with you. After all, many of us have come to EVP out of a need to communicate with one of them. Can you imagine how frustrating it might be if entities in your house believe you can help them communicate with a loved one (perhaps with you) and all you do is request that they leave? You have the right to tell them to go, but you have the opportunity to greet them and find a way to communicate.

Tom and Lisa Butler

Olympus voice Recorder We use

On a normal investigation there are about 10 people using 10 different cameras, 35mm and digital, and many speeds and brands of film. They all get their film developed at separate places.

Let's say only half of these investigators get some orb photos. Are these water spots or dirt on the lens? That would mean that 5 people all had similar dirt on their lens and all 5 did not clean their lens either. Are these orbs film processing errors?

The digital cameras can't have film-processing errors. I am aware that some people feel that the orbs on a digital camera are an error in the digital processing of the image.

I will not even address the precipitation theory, no legitimate researchers takes photos in any form of precipitation. at about dust and dirt being stirred up? the orbs?if the were the case there would not be normal photos in a sequence of photos from the same camera and location.

These are just a few things for the skeptics to think of when they are condemning an orb photo as a fake or fraud and some things for investigators to consider when checking their photos for positives.

ELECTRONIC VOICE PHENOMANON (EVP) is the appearance of intelligible voices on recording medium that has no known physical explanation. Many of the voices are thought to originate from deceased people. This is the primary reason that people first began experimenting with EVP. Others study EVP to better understand how and why it works, and to improve EVP experimental techniques.

The recording equipment need not be expensive or elaborate to work with EVP. As in any field of interest, some people are better at recording EVP than others. With patience, perseverance and good listening techniques, you should be able to record and hear EVP messages.

Characteristics of the Voices The recorded voices may be very quiet and are often difficult to hear and understand at first. Most EVP experimenters say that they have developed an “ear” for the sounds, after learning to distinguish them from background noise. The voices can often be recognized as male or female, young or old. Messages usually last two seconds or less and are most often two to four words. The words may be spoken very quickly, and there is often a distinctive cadence to EVP voices.,

Basic Equipment Needed Audio Recorder—EVP has been recorded on all types of equipment. The built-in microphone on a portable tape recorder tends to pick up motor noise. Therefore, it is best to use an external microphone. It is also best to use a cassette tape deck with mechanical controls that allow easy, repeated review of the voices. Be sure the recorder has a counter. People report recording EVP on telephone answer machines and many other devices that do not have external microphones. Digital Voice Recorders (also known as an IC recorder or digital note recorder) are fast becoming the recorder of choice, but they are best used with a computer to analyze and store the recordings.

Microphone—A microphone will help you make a record of your comments during the recording session, and introduce external sound sources. EVP messages will have more meaning if you have a record of the questions asked and the recording circumstances.

Headphones—Since the EVP voices frequently are not loud, many voices will be missed unless headphones are used. The earmuff type, which completely covers the ear, is usually used.

Speaker—A separate speaker is not necessary but is good to have. With the speaker, everyone in the room can hear. Recording Procedure—General Always tape when your energy level is highest! Scheduling—Entities will speak on tape at any time of day or night. In the beginning, however, it is advisable to record at a regular time and place. By doing this, the entities learn when you will be recording. After making a connection with the entities, you will be able to collect EVP at any time and in any location. Try to find a place that will be quiet and free of interruptions. Background sounds are okay, but it is important that you are aware of these so that you will recognize what sounds are natural and what sounds are EVP. Keep your recordings short. You will want to listen to each part of the recording very carefully and this can take time.

Background Sound Source—We have found that the entities use sounds in the environment to help form EVP messages. Most recording situations have some background sounds, but you may wish to add sound to your recording environment. A fan, a radio tuned off-station or running water will work. Some people use foreign language radio or audio tapes. The entity will sometimes remodulate your voice or other sounds in the environment. The lower quality IC recorders have a relatively noisy sound circuit and do not generally require added noise. As a rule of thumb, the higher the quality recorder, the more added sound is needed.

Recording—Vocalize your comments during an EVP session. Many experimenters begin with a short prayer and an invitation to friends on the other side to participate in the experiment. It can be helpful to begin an experiment by speaking your name and the date. We have found that the entities will often come through as soon as the recorder is turned on. These beginning messages are often the loudest, so it is a good idea to turn on the recorder and wait a few seconds before announcing yourself and then ask questions. Your questions should be recorded, and you should leave a period of time between each comment for the entities to respond.

Some experimenters make an “appointment” with the intended entity the day before during prayer or meditation. Some also provide feedback before the session so that the entities will know how the last experiment went. It is not necessary to record in the dark. You will find that experimenters try all sorts of devices and energy sources to help the entities communicate. You may also want to put written questions in the EVP experiment area the day before. We are told the entities can read these and may respond accordingly.

Playback—The paranormal voice is usually not heard until playback of the tape. Experimenters report that the voices tend to become stronger and clearer as the entities gain in experience, but at first the voices may speak in whispers. Voices may not be recorded in every session and it may take several sessions for you to discover the first voice. Hearing the voices is a learned ability. The entities seem to learn through practice how to come through more frequently and more loudly.

Classes of Voices—A Class A voice can be heard and understood over a speaker by most people. A Class B voice can be heard over a speaker, but not everyone will agree as to what is said. A Class C voice can only be heard with headphones and is difficult to understand. Class B or C voices may have one or two clearly understood words. Loud does not equal Class A.

Keeping a Log—Maintaining a record of recording results is very helpful. Include the date, time, place on the counter where the message is received, the message itself, and the question asked. Be sure to label the tapes. Experimenters report that they feel weather may affect results. The aaevp.com site has geomagnetic and solar reports. There is also a link for moon phase information.

Computer Recording You can substitute a computer for the tape recorder if you wish. Your computer should have an audio input jack, speakers, headphone jack and sound player application of some form. Windows comes with a Sound Recorder application that will work. A sound editor like Audition or Audacity is most popular because these applications allow for easy amplification, filtering and reversing of the sound files.

You can either make the recording on a tape recorder and then play the tape into the computer for review, editing and storage, or attach a microphone directly to the computer and use the sound editor as a tape recorder.

When transferring into a computer, make sure the computer is set for “Line In” recording in “Sound and Multimedia” in the “Control Panel” of your Personal Computer. If you must take sound from the “Earphone” jack of your recorder, consider purchasing an “attenuating cord” to match the difference in resistance between the two jacks. Radio Shack can help.

A Note About Digital Voice Recorders If you are using a digital voice recorder, we recommend that you listen to the playback in a quality tape recorder or in your computer. You will be surprised at the quality of the sound track when it is not listened to with the little built-in speaker. You need not use an external microphone, as the devices do not make internal noise.

Should you decide to purchase a digital voice recorder for EVP, keep in mind that cheap is good. The less expensive recorders usually use a lower sample rate, which produces more noise and it is that noise we believe the entities use to form the voices. There is one model of the Panasonic line that is now being sold on eBay for far more than it originally cost and very much more than it is worth. The recorder was well liked by EVP experimenters because it was one of the first; however, other models and other brands have since been made available and they work just as well.

If You Have Questions These instructions are for the most common technique for recording EVP. We have found that EVP may occur in any technology that will record voice. With this in mind, it should be clear that there are no hard and fast rules in EVP. Should you need help, please feel free to contact us. There is a growing body of supporting information on EVP at the aaevp.com web site, including membership information. We also recommend that, if you do have access to the Internet, you consider taking advantage of the AA-EVP Idea Exchange in which you can ask questions and receive help in analyzing your EVP samples.

AA-EVP is an association of people who are EVP and ITC experimenters and people who have an interest in this phenomenon. Your support as a member is vital to funding our effort to bring information about EVP and its possible implication concerning survival of consciousness to the public. AA-EVP

Dowsing Rods

One of the biggest frustrations in genealogy, is being unable to locate the burial site of an ancestor. Although we may have an idea of where this ancestor is buried, we have no proof. Grave dowsing cannot give us the name of the person buried in any un-marked grave, but it can identify the locations of unmarked graves within a cemetery or lot and also provide some clues to their gender and age. You may find that the dowsing rods respond differently for you than as outlined in this article which is why it is extremely important that you practice and develop your own technique. Dowsing is an age-old art that has been used for centuries to locate water, graves and etc. I first learned about grave dowsing from a fellow volunteer at the Cass County Historical Society while working on "The Cemetery Project". Since that time, I have conducted several of my own experiments and researched different theories. I still don't know that answer as to just exactly why this technique works, but I can assure you that this technique does work and has been proven. I will attempt to teach you how to dowse for graves in this article. MAKING DOWSING RODS There are several ways to make dowsing rods, but I since I have only used one of these methods, that is the method that I will recommend. Start with 2 metal coat hangers. Cut them at the neck just before the point where they join to form the hook of the hanger. Straighten each hanger, trying to get out all bends. Once the hangers are straight, make a 90 degree bend for the handles. I recommend that the handles be 3 to 4 inches long. You may need to vary the handle length depending on the size of your hand. Just be sure that the handle does not extend below beneath the hand. This allows for a light grip and keeps the handle from obstructing movement. BASIC DOWSING TECHNIQUE Hold the rods lightly in your hands, with elbows at your waist and forearms parallel to the ground. The rods should be held straight out, also parallel to the ground and parallel with each other. Do not place your thumbs over the bend of the handle, this will restrict movement. Do not grip too tightly, only enough to keep the rods parallel. Approach the suspected gravesite, walking very slowly. If a body is present, the rods will cross in front of you when you are over the grave. Once you step off of the grave, they will uncross. PRACTICE Let me stress that in order for this method to work properly, you must go to a cemetery with marked graves and PRACTICE. Everyone develops a slight variance in their technique and just because something works for me does not mean that it will work exactly the same way for everyone. For some, this method will not work at all, but I have found that it works for at least 90% of the people that I have taught this method to. Some people have associated dowsing with witchcraft, however, I do not believe that 90% of the population are practicing witches, I'm certainly not which means that there has to be a scientific explanation and requires no "Special Powers" by the person who is performing the dowsing. CEMETERY LAYOUTS Most cemeteries in the United States bury their dead in a Christian manner. This means that all bodies are laid with the head pointing west and the feet pointing east. It is very important to remember this, as the layout of the body will later help you determine the gender of the person buried there and also help determine if the burial ground contains human remains. I have not yet experimented with Indian burial grounds. It is my understanding that many of them are buried in a sitting position so some alterations to this technique may be necessary while dowsing in Indian burial grounds or cemeteries with different religious backgrounds. The techniques I describe in this segment will be based on Christian burials. LOCATING AN UNMARKED CEMETERY As mentioned earlier, Christian graves are laid out in a west/east direction. When trying to locate a lost cemetery, it is best to walk in north/south direction in order to pick up a pattern. Usually you will find the graves to be separated by 2-3 feet. As you cross each grave, the rods will cross and then uncross as you step off of them. I find that I take 2-3 steps between each grave (this may vary depending on the size of your step, which is why practice is, important). If you find that a pattern develops (cross, 3 steps, cross, 3 steps, etc.) you have most likely found a cemetery. You will then need to determine the perimeter of the cemetery. By walking north and south, you can come pretty close to determining where the burials begin and end. When you reach the edge of the burial ground and are not longer picking up bodies, go back to the last grave and begin walking east and west. You will now be picking up on the length of the body, you will get some variances depending on rather infants, children or adults occupy the end graves. Keep walking east and west until you are no longer picking up bodies. By the time you have completed a square, you will have a good idea of the perimeters of the cemetery. Be sure to always check past the last body for at least 20 feet. Remember that you are looking for a pattern. You will find that Christian burial grounds are very well laid out. Side by side and head to toe in perfectly straight lines. This is important to note because animals can also be picked up with dowsing rods, however, it would be unusual for an animal burial ground to be laid out so symmetrically. So, the symmetrical layout of the burials is your first clue that the remains are most likely human. DETERMINING APPROXIMATE AGE To determine the approximate age of the person buried in an unmarked grave, begin at the foot/head of the grave and walk the length. The rods will cross at the feet/head and remained crossed until you reach the other end (feet/head) at which time they will uncross when you step off of the body. I count my steps as I walk the length of the body. For me, 1-2 steps indicates an infant, 2-3 a toddler, 3-4 a child, 5 an adolescent or short adult, 6 an adult and 7 a tall adult. Once again, this is where practicing with marked graves helps perfect your technique. DETERMINING GENDER There are two methods to determine gender of the person buried. The first one can give a false reading depending on rather the undertaker buried the person correctly, the second method has proven to be foolproof, so far. It is VERY important to use both methods when determining rather a burial site contains human remains. Method 1: (Overhead) Standing over the center of a grave, hold one rod over your head. The rod will swing around and point to the feet of a male or the head of a female. I don't know the scientific reason for this, but I can only guess that each gender is polarized to the earth by different portion of the body. You may get a false reading. It is uncommon, but does happen, that a person can accidentally be buried backwards. I have found this several times which is why method # 2 is used as confirmation. Method 2: (One-finger) Standing over the center of the grave, balance the handle of one rod on your index finger, holding the rod straight down. The rod will begin making a circular motion. It will rotate clockwise for a male and counterclockwise for a female. No matter how the body is laid in the grave, this method will give the correct gender. This method can also be used when more than two people are buried in one coffin or one grave. In this case you will need to go over the entire grave using the one-finger method. If there is a break between the bodies or a difference in gender, the rods will swing in a pendulum motion and then resume a circular motion. This is good to use when an infant is buried with their mother, etc. Combining the two methods will help determine human or animal remains. Animals will also register gender but it is unlikely that they will all be buried in a Christian manner. So if you find several burials, use the gender methods to determine the layout of the bodies. If all heads point west and the one-finger method agrees with the overhead method, then most likely you have found human remains. CREMATIONS Cremations are more difficult to pick up, however, they are detectable if the ashes were buried in a container. When crossing over the buried (contained) ashes, the rods will react differently, swinging together from left to right in a horizontal pendulum motion. You CANNOT determine gender. Using the one-finger method, the rod will circle either clockwise or counterclockwise and then reverse direction, repeating the reversals over and over. If ashes were spread over an area, then of course, they have gone with the four winds and cannot be detected. DETERMINING HUMAN REMAINS As mentioned above, animals can be picked up using the rods for grave dowsing and the one-finger method WILL also determine their gender. This is where looking for the layout of the burial becomes important and combining all of the above techniques to make an accurate determination. While checking a field that contained unmarked slave burials, I came across a horse that had been buried. One oddity in checking the grave was that if seemed to be extremely large. I had stepped off 9 paces for the length and about 4-5 for the width. This was an indication that something was not quite right. Doing the gender checks, the overhead method indicated female and the one-finger method agreed. Even though this appeared to be a Christian burial, the size remained questionable. I then had to use the one-finger method to get an exact layout of the body and discovered that it had legs protruding to one side. The size was a good indication that the remains were not human but by determining the body layout, I was able to confirm this. Most humans (hopefully) are buried on their backs, animals on their sides. Checking for these slight differences will confirm rather you have human or animal remains. Although a horse is quite larger than a human, dogs, cats and other smaller animals can easily be confused. DEAD VS LIVING Since I starting using this technique, I have often wondered what causes the rods to cross. I have done some research and have found that several scientists claim that the rods pick up a disturbance in the earth's magnetic field, other's claim that they are picking up the gases from decaying bodies. I have proven that these theories are incorrect. I give a presentation on dowsing and use a video tape to demonstrate the different techniques; however, this could easily be faked. In order to convince my audience that this method truly works, I asked for volunteers to test the method on living subjects. Much to their amazement, the rods will cross over the body of a living human while they are lying on the floor. They will also give a gender reading. So, the above theories by scientist cannot be true if this method works on living individuals. It has to have something to do with the magnetic field given off by our bodies that remains with the body even after death. WATER DOWSING Water dowsing is done much the same way as your basic grave dowsing, however I have found a slight difference in the reaction of the rods when finding a large body of underground water. For me, when I walk over an area that contains a well or larger body of water, my rods begin to take me in a circular motion, both of them pulling me to one direction and around. On water pipes, however, I still get the rod crossing. This segment is important as you must learn to recognize rather you are picking up on a burial or on a water source. You can usually solve this rather quickly by following the length. Most of the time, your water source is a water pipe and once you find the direction that the pipe is laid, the rods will stay crossed as long as you remain over it. One step to the left or right though, will cause your rods to uncross, further establishing the fact that you are over a pipe. This is great for finding the water pipes in your yard and will save money if you ever have to have them dug up. PRACTICE Once again, I'm including another segment on practice. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. You cannot be sure that the readings you are getting are accurate unless you have perfected the technique while practicing on marked graves. Do not look at the stone before you attempt dowsing. Do all the methods mentioned above, make your determination and then verify it with the information on the stone. Doing this over and over again, varying gender and ages, and soon you will become comfortable enough to be confident of your dowsing. The more comfortable you become, the more sensitive you will become with the rods. If you are having trouble getting this method to work for you, then you are probably holding the rods too tightly, placing your thumbs over the bends of the rods or walking too fast. If you can rule out these three most common problems, then you probably fall within the 10% who cannot perform this technique. PROVEN RESULTS There are many skeptics who will say that this technique does not work. In the summer of 2000, I was given the opportunity to prove that grave dowsing does work when I was called to a local cemetery to check a lot for unmarked graves. Upon dowsing, I found 3 unmarked graves located in the lot. The family, doubting this method, instructed the funeral home to dig anyway. Two wooden coffins were found in the exact locations that the dowsing rods had indicated, the 3rd location was not checked. Was this just luck? You be the judge. THEORY UPDATE After further experimenting in different geographical locations and receiving reports from other dowsers who have tried this method thoughtout the United States, we are finding that that the reactions of the rods when determining gender, vary. In some instances, they react the opposite of what I have reported here. This is why practicing in a marked cemetery in the same geographical location is important. I now feel that the longitude and latitudes of the earth affect the polarity reaction of the rod reading.