Dowsing & The Cosmic Prankster

[pixelprince]

In the eighties I lived in a flat with my girlfriend. We'd have friends round and have all sorts of discussions ('those were the days my friends'). One particular day the topic was dowsing and we decided to experiment. Using a swiftly manufactured pendulum we embarked on an afternoon of horse-racing prediction. We had spectacular success clearly predicting the outcomes of three consecutive races; so we decided to place a bet on the next one. Freaky thing is - one of the runners in the next race was called DOWSING. The cosmic prankster had his laugh when he made the pendulum indicate another horse, on which we placed our bets (despite the synchronicity screaming at us to back Dowsing). Of course our dowsed horse lost and DOWSING won :?

 

[J_Frank_Parnell]

sounds about right!

money and psychic matters are odd bedfellows i reckon. perhaps u weren't meant to financially profit from your gift. did it put u off dowsing, horse racing and both combined?

perhaps if u'd promised to give your winnings to a noble charity (such as my current acount), you'd have picked the winner.

 

[michelleeb1970]

I once had a day full of coincidences. For example, I briefly caught a glimpse of a magazine which had its story on the front cover 'I lost 2 and a half stone while working in a fish and a chip shop!'. An hour later I was flicking through a paper to see an article 'Girl who lost 2 and a half stone while working in a chip shop dies of eating disorder'. ( I don't know if it as the same girl). In fact, the day was so packed with odd coincidences that I decided to buy a lottery tickt. I chose Lucky Dip so it randomly chose my numbers.

When I saw them, I knew I was on a sure thing..each number was the sum of the two previous numbers AND they had the number 6 in common somehow. I felt sure that with such a coincidence full day AND a coincidence full lottery ticket, that it would all add up to something significant. For the first time in years I sat down to watch the lottery.

And the numbers were significant - cos not one of the damn numbers came up!

That's the cosmic joker for you...it'll make your life wierd and interesting, but it'll never let win you money if you try to.

 

[Yithian]

perhaps u weren't meant to financially profit from your gift. did it put u off dowsing, horse racing and both combined?

I like this idea.

If he had donated the anticipated winnings to charity in advance, his chosen horse might have won.

 

[escargot]

Here is an article from a website about Yorkshire artists, concerning the drowning of the painter Arthur Reginald Smith.

It mentions both the Strid, that famously deep, narrow, fast-flowing and dangerous Yorkshire river which posters on'ere have visited and left in awe, and the finding of the artist's body by a water diviner.

(Link SFW etc)

Drowned – in the river he loved to paint

Smith painted beautiful landscapes. He seems to have fallen into the Strid while working nearby.
His body was recovered nearly a fortnight later in the spot indicated by a water diviner, a Mr R. Brotton, who had located lost bodies before.

(This bit amused me -

It was reported at the time that Smith had been known to to jump the river at this point, so there was a suggestion that he had slipped in the attempt. However, the artist was 63 at the time of his death and it seems extraordinary that a man of his age would do this.

63 is no age if you're fit, and Smith knew the river well. Perhaps he should have known better.

However, while I am 62, fat and not at all familiar with the Strid I bet I'd try jumping it.
Techy would have to restrain me. He's used to trying to talk me out of daft stunts.)

 

[PeteS]

Here is an article from a website about Yorkshire artists, concerning the drowning of the painter Arthur Reginald Smith.

It mentions both the Strid, that famously deep, narrow, fast-flowing and dangerous Yorkshire river which posters on'ere have visited and left in awe, and the finding of the artist's body by a water diviner.

(Link SFW etc)

Drowned – in the river he loved to paint

Smith painted beautiful landscapes. He seems to have fallen into the Strid while working nearby.
His body was recovered nearly a fortnight later in the spot indicated by a water diviner, a Mr R. Brotton, who had located lost bodies before.

(This bit amused me -



63 is no age if you're fit, and Smith knew the river well. Perhaps he should have known better.

However, while I am 62, fat and not at all familiar with the Strid I bet I'd try jumping it.
Techy would have to restrain me. He's used to trying to talk me out of daft stunts.)

I know what you mean - there's something strangely tempting and alluring about this type of challenge. Almost as if the river or whatever is saying "go on I dare you, it's easy". As a child I remember playing in a disused quarry and thinking about jumping across a large fissure in the rock. Even then I knew it was a stupid thing to do, but tried it and very nearly came a cropper, but fortunately a mate grabbed me as I began to fall backwards. Twas very high up as well (or so it seemed to me as a kiddiwink)

 

[escargot]

I know what you mean - there's something strangely tempting and alluring about this type of challenge. Almost as if the river or whatever is saying "go on I dare you, it's easy". As a child I remember playing in a disused quarry and thinking about jumping across a large fissure in the rock. Even then I knew it was a stupid thing to do, but tried it and very nearly came a cropper, but fortunately a mate grabbed me as I began to fall backwards. Twas very high up as well (or so it seemed to me as a kiddiwink)

*nods* Yup, it's like our old friend l'appel du vide, the call of the void, where people have a sudden urge to do dangerous things.

See:
Call Of The Void ( L’Appel Du Vide; High Place Phenomenon)
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/call-of-the-void-l’appel-du-vide-high-place-phenomenon.68973/

 

[Carl Grove]

I like this idea.

If he had donated the anticipated winnings to charity in advance, his chosen horse might have won.

My mother was very sensitive and had precognitive dreams almost regularly. Back in the late 1950s she dreamed the winner of the Grand National, a 100-1 outsider. In those days there were no betting shops and you had to have a "friend" at the local pub who would put bets on for you, and she placed a £5 bet on that horse.

The race took place and my mother hurried to get her winnings (a huge amount for the period and our own financial situation). But the man she trusted apologised, he knew that horse had no chance, and placed the bet on another horse. He gave her back the £5.

Only decades later have I realised that he probably had placed the bet and just pocketed the winnings instead of giving them to her.

It is a basic rule of such things that you mustn't try to take any personal advantage from knowledge gained "paranormally," for want of a better term.

 

[escargot]

Only decades later have I realised that he probably had placed the bet and just pocketed the winnings instead of giving them to her.

That's the problem with unregulated betting, you get corruption. What a twat though!

There's a story about someone who dreamed a horse with a number '20/20' which they decided would be a winner. They searched for any way this number could be linked to a horse but failed.
On the day in question an outsider called Twenty Twenty won a race!
(I read this in my favourite weird book, Jess Stearn's The Door to the Future.)