A walk in the woods with John McMullin
This was a dowsing event with a difference - a delightful day of dowsing and contemplation at the homestead of TD member John McMullin and his wife, Jane. The McMullins have lived near Liskeard for about 12 years and they have been both the owners and the custodians of a substantial copse adjoining their domestic garden throughout that time.
A dozen TDs joined John and local Wise Man, Paul, for a day spent investigating and getting to know both the site and some of the individual trees - of which there are around 1,700 with representatives of about 27 species.
John started the session with a morning walk around the wood which, in addition to the trees themselves, also hosts chicken runs and ceremonial spaces. Although effectively a 20-year-old plantation, the copse has been managed in a sympathetically naturalistic manner and it is now well on the way to becoming a cameo of the Wildwood amongst the farmland of East Cornwall.
The McMullins were introduced to a more symbiotic relationship with nature by Dutch neighbours during a 17-year 'first' retirement in the Massif Centrale in France. This led him to appreciate that plants - and trees in particular - have a spiritual, non-physical being, much as ourselves and that we can communicate with them, given a degree of mutual understanding.
We were brought into contact with some of the individual trees with whom John has worked over the years. They were clearly old friends with personalities, qualities and concerns of their own. He is evidently a panpsychist, with an appreciation that all entities have a consciousness and a spirituality which in some way resmbles that of the human condition.
We also saw how a deliberate plantation pattern differed from an ancient woodland. Although most of the individuals were in good health, there were a few that had been planted on, or close to, detrimental energy flows. These tended to lean away from the harmful line and in a few cases had even fallen over in their desire to move out of the way.
We had a look at the auras of various trees and had a discussion about how these changed with the seasons and in response to cosmic activity.
T he afternoon was turned over to answering some helpful questions set out by John. But in the main, we were invited to select a tree to whom we were drawn. Participants were invited to sit or lean against their chosen partner for a period, to see if any form of communication could be established. In the summary session afterwards, the responses varied from those who had just had a pleasant period sat with a companion to those who'd had a detailed discussion with their new friend. The main topics of interaction centred around expressions of comfort and hope, but also some worries about overcrowding and the decline of natural light as the canopy developed.
My own experience was of an optimistic sweet chestnut at the western edge of the wood. Even with the weekend roar of the A38 just a few hundred yards away, it felt peaceful and content.
Others had more specific 'conversations' concerning the hopes and fears of the respective trees, with the prospects of the next generation much to the fore. It was apparent that at least some dowsers had a meaningful exchange with the arboreal being who had beckoned them in.
It was interesting how different people had used different senses to enable communication - visual, aural, tangible. One person spent her private time with a dragon-shaped tree stump, whilst dangling her feet in the stream.
Some of the group had become aware of nature spirits, who had been keeping a watchful eye on our activities. It sounded as if we were considered to be 'mostly harmless'.
At the top of the copse, John has a massive compost heap, in which a similarly outsized Gunnera (think oversized, spiky rhubarb) has made its home. As with many successful such mounds, an energy line that would be detrimental to humans runs through this spot, helping to decompose anything dumped upon it. The line dowsed as 3/10 (pretty unpleasant) for us, but 7/10 (quite beneficial) for Gunnera. It takes all sorts!
A couple of clearings have been established amongst the vegetation, where group or individual ceremonies and other activities can take place. Consideration is being given to the establishment of a labyrinth in one of them. The dowsing of some of our group implied that a labyrinthine shape already exists in the ground - perhaps due to the intent of those who use the space - and that the construction of a physical structure may be unnecessary.
At John's request we had a dowse around a detrimental line, which might be affected by 'black water'. It was suggested that this might be due to geopathic stress, and that the water itself was merely the carrier.
Although this wood is a genuinely delightful and peaceful place on a sunny summer Sunday, you can see how much dedication is required to manage it throughout the year. John's secret is to work with nature herself - removing and assisting what needs to be cleared or healed but, as far as possible, allowing the landscape to look after itself. It is a relationship that actually takes a lot of input, time and compassion but, from what we have seen, John seems to have learnt a great deal during his time at Roseland and he is putting it into good effect - with more than a little assistance from his woodland companions.
Many thanks to John for inviting us to his home - and to Jane for the cream tea and other welcome refreshments.
Nigel Twinn
Tamar Dowsers
July 2024
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