Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Odd Finger Ring Find. |
This is an odd looking ring. It is gold plated. The plating doesn't cover those bumps. Ever seen anything like that?
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Yesterday I mentioned the important thing your detector won't tell you - where to put the coil. Bill Popp, a long-time contributor to this blog, who, among other things provided detailed instructions for cleaning silver coins and artifacts with Muriatic acid, sent me the following message.
I've been beach and water detecting since 1985 and at some point realized that intuition may also play a role in detecting. I prefer the beach after most people are gone and I get quite relaxed just swinging and listening. On numerous, and fairly regular occasions, I get the "feeling" I need to go "over here" or "over there" and quite often find a target. It might be a pull tab; it might be a ring. I found my second largest gold chain in just that way. I've learned to pay attention to that "pull". I'm sure I'm not the only one that happens too.
Thanks Bill.
Bill is not alone. Many treasure hunters get hunches or feelings. Some people pay more attention to them than others.
Years ago I conducted a poll years on a similar but different kind of thing - dowsing.
I reported the following poll results.
Of those that did have an opinion about it's effectiveness, about the same number believed that it was very or a little bit effective as the number of respondents who believed it was not effective.
Dowsing appears to be an area where the public has no clear consensus. Close to half claim they don't know, and of the remaining group, there is a nearly equal split between those that believe that it has some value and those who believe it does not work.
I would say that the division is in part due to the fact that a lot of people have little or no direct experience with it.
Nearly one out of five believe that dowsing is highly accurate and effective under some circumstances. That is a pretty good number.
Intuition, ESP and other things like that are hard to prove. There are good serious academic studies that conclude that some individuals do have special abilities. In my opinion, it is not something you can really test well in the lab.
I'm finding it very difficult to avoid getting into the philosophical and religious perspectives, which have a lot more to say on the subject than science, but if I start on either of those paths I will never get it finished.
All of that aside, many people have the experience, like Bill, of having "feelings" that prove out. I've told about an incident that happened to me years ago. Here it is again.
One time I was at work and only had a about an hour before another appointment, but I kept feeling that I should go detecting at a particular location. But I didn't have hardly any time.
I finally decided I would run down to the beach. By the time I got to the beach and in the water, I had about fifteen minutes to hunt. Well, I went in and in just a couple minutes had a diamond ring with over nine carats of diamonds - seven diamonds, each over one carat. I took my find and quickly left.
Normally I wouldn't have gone when I had so little time. If traffic had been bad, I would have had no time. But I felt like I should go. It kept nagging me, and it paid off with an unusually good quick find.
I don't know if it was just coincidence, intuition, or something else. You undoubtedly have your own ideas about that.
Feelings or hunches are part of the game. Your feeling or hunch can be based upon a lot of accumulated knowledge and experience. Intuitions can be based upon large amounts of accumulated knowledge and experience even when you are not totally conscious or aware of how it is coming together in your mind at the time.
Sometimes I'll walk right to a target or get a feeling right before I get a good hit. I remember one time when I walked down to the beach, turned on my detector, and found a reale on the second swing or my coil. Did I walk out and automatically assess the beach and turn my detector on at the right location? I don't know, but it would not surprise me because as soon as I see a beach, I scan and assess it.
On the other hand, there have been many times when I hunted long and didn't find a thing. You can't find it if it isn't there, but why did I pick a poor location on those occasions? The answer might be that I wasn't open to my intuitions or feelings. Sometimes I just go to the most convenient location. That doesn't leave much opportunity for hunches. Maybe sometimes I don't give my feelings a chance.
In football, when playing defense I seemed to have a natural knack for being around the ball. I could get a good quick read of what was going on and what was likely to unfold and get to the right spot. I was just able to see what was developing. We are always processing information subconsciously like that. Some people access it and rely on it more than others. You might say they are more intuitive.
Among those few scientists that accept and study things like ESP, the common conclusions are that some people are able to consistently perform better than what you would expect by chance, and second, certain conditions are required.
I think most people who have been treasure hunting very long have had periods when they were hot and other periods when they were not. It seems like you can get on the treasure trail. It has happened to me and it has probably happened to you. And then there are times when there are long dry spells.
If you believe in following your instincts or intuitions at all, you might ask yourself if there are times when you are more open to those feelings? What can you do to be more open to your intuitions? But I also recommend attempting to be objective, thoughtful and testing your feelings.
Some people are simply more intuitive than others. It is a basic psychological personality trait. For the intuitive person, it is natural to follow feelings and hunches. For the person that only believes in what they can see and explain, it might all seem very foolish.
For those of you who have an intuitive nature, there are some things you can do to foster the intuitive sense. The most important is a peaceful spirit. Emotion, especially negative emotions, will prevent an intuitive mindset. Another requirement is a sense of openness and expectation.
Intuitive or not, you can use metal detecting as a way to destress. Go out alone. Leave the crowds. Be relaxed. Take some deep breaths, listen to the wind and waves, feel the air and sand, and tune into the hum of the detector.
Listen.
---
It took a lot of time for me to finish this post. There are many related discussions that I had to avoid for the time being.
Beach conditions remain unchanged on the Treasure Coast. We still have a one-foot surf. There is, however, a new tropical disturbance coming off of Africa to watch.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
Years ago I conducted a poll years on a similar but different kind of thing - dowsing.
I reported the following poll results.
Of those that did have an opinion about it's effectiveness, about the same number believed that it was very or a little bit effective as the number of respondents who believed it was not effective.
Dowsing appears to be an area where the public has no clear consensus. Close to half claim they don't know, and of the remaining group, there is a nearly equal split between those that believe that it has some value and those who believe it does not work.
I would say that the division is in part due to the fact that a lot of people have little or no direct experience with it.
Nearly one out of five believe that dowsing is highly accurate and effective under some circumstances. That is a pretty good number.
Intuition, ESP and other things like that are hard to prove. There are good serious academic studies that conclude that some individuals do have special abilities. In my opinion, it is not something you can really test well in the lab.
I'm finding it very difficult to avoid getting into the philosophical and religious perspectives, which have a lot more to say on the subject than science, but if I start on either of those paths I will never get it finished.
All of that aside, many people have the experience, like Bill, of having "feelings" that prove out. I've told about an incident that happened to me years ago. Here it is again.
One time I was at work and only had a about an hour before another appointment, but I kept feeling that I should go detecting at a particular location. But I didn't have hardly any time.
I finally decided I would run down to the beach. By the time I got to the beach and in the water, I had about fifteen minutes to hunt. Well, I went in and in just a couple minutes had a diamond ring with over nine carats of diamonds - seven diamonds, each over one carat. I took my find and quickly left.
Normally I wouldn't have gone when I had so little time. If traffic had been bad, I would have had no time. But I felt like I should go. It kept nagging me, and it paid off with an unusually good quick find.
I don't know if it was just coincidence, intuition, or something else. You undoubtedly have your own ideas about that.
Feelings or hunches are part of the game. Your feeling or hunch can be based upon a lot of accumulated knowledge and experience. Intuitions can be based upon large amounts of accumulated knowledge and experience even when you are not totally conscious or aware of how it is coming together in your mind at the time.
Sometimes I'll walk right to a target or get a feeling right before I get a good hit. I remember one time when I walked down to the beach, turned on my detector, and found a reale on the second swing or my coil. Did I walk out and automatically assess the beach and turn my detector on at the right location? I don't know, but it would not surprise me because as soon as I see a beach, I scan and assess it.
On the other hand, there have been many times when I hunted long and didn't find a thing. You can't find it if it isn't there, but why did I pick a poor location on those occasions? The answer might be that I wasn't open to my intuitions or feelings. Sometimes I just go to the most convenient location. That doesn't leave much opportunity for hunches. Maybe sometimes I don't give my feelings a chance.
In football, when playing defense I seemed to have a natural knack for being around the ball. I could get a good quick read of what was going on and what was likely to unfold and get to the right spot. I was just able to see what was developing. We are always processing information subconsciously like that. Some people access it and rely on it more than others. You might say they are more intuitive.
Among those few scientists that accept and study things like ESP, the common conclusions are that some people are able to consistently perform better than what you would expect by chance, and second, certain conditions are required.
I think most people who have been treasure hunting very long have had periods when they were hot and other periods when they were not. It seems like you can get on the treasure trail. It has happened to me and it has probably happened to you. And then there are times when there are long dry spells.
If you believe in following your instincts or intuitions at all, you might ask yourself if there are times when you are more open to those feelings? What can you do to be more open to your intuitions? But I also recommend attempting to be objective, thoughtful and testing your feelings.
Some people are simply more intuitive than others. It is a basic psychological personality trait. For the intuitive person, it is natural to follow feelings and hunches. For the person that only believes in what they can see and explain, it might all seem very foolish.
For those of you who have an intuitive nature, there are some things you can do to foster the intuitive sense. The most important is a peaceful spirit. Emotion, especially negative emotions, will prevent an intuitive mindset. Another requirement is a sense of openness and expectation.
Intuitive or not, you can use metal detecting as a way to destress. Go out alone. Leave the crowds. Be relaxed. Take some deep breaths, listen to the wind and waves, feel the air and sand, and tune into the hum of the detector.
Listen.
---
It took a lot of time for me to finish this post. There are many related discussions that I had to avoid for the time being.
Beach conditions remain unchanged on the Treasure Coast. We still have a one-foot surf. There is, however, a new tropical disturbance coming off of Africa to watch.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
