pendulums | David M Masters

Just like anyone, I’ve faced those proverbial forks in the road where the choice isn’t obvious. Should I go this way or that? What I’ve learned over time is that decision-making and time management don’t have to be complicated—they just need systems that work for you. Let me walk you through my favorite methods that help me navigate confusion and stay productive, along with a few more techniques you might find helpful.

When I’m confronted with a choice, the first thing I turn to is a T-chart. It’s a simple yet powerful tool. I divide the options into two columns—positives and negatives for each choice. Writing it out gives clarity and structure to what might otherwise feel overwhelming. Once I’ve listed everything, if one side clearly outweighs the other, I base my decision on that outcome.

But sometimes, it’s not that simple. What if it’s a tie?

Adding Weight to Your Options

When the T-chart alone doesn’t deliver a clear winner, I add weight to each item. You can use anything uniform—washers, coins, or even pre-1982 pennies, which are excellent conductors of energy, if you have a collection like mine. I assign a number of pennies to each item based on the energy or importance I feel it carries, then weigh the options. The heavier pile wins my vote.

Still tied? No problem. That’s when I turn to a pendulum. It can be as simple as a string and a nut or any weighted object that swings freely. A pendulum gives three potential answers: yes, no, or the frustrating round-and-round (like waiting for a slow internet connection).

The Game-Changer: Muscle Testing

Eventually, I discovered muscle testing (also called applied kinesiology). It’s a technique that helps me connect to my subconscious and bypass analysis paralysis. Using simple tests to gauge my body’s responses, I get clear yes-or-no answers. For me, this method demystifies decision-making entirely.

Decision Journaling

Another technique I use is decision journaling. When facing a big choice, I write down:

- - The situation
  - My options
  - How I feel about each choice
  - The reasons behind my decision

Not only does this help me process my thoughts, but it also creates a record I can look back on. Over time, I’ve been able to identify patterns in my decision-making and improve how I approach challenges.

The 10/10/10 Rule

If I’m stuck on a decision, I use the 10/10/10 Rule:

- - How will I feel about this choice in 10 minutes?
  - How will I feel in 10 months?
  - How will I feel in 10 years?

This method shifts my focus from immediate emotions to long-term outcomes, helping me make choices that align with my deeper values and goals.

The “Regret Test”

Sometimes I ask myself: If I don’t do this, will I regret it later? If the answer is yes, it’s a clear sign to move forward. This approach is particularly helpful for decisions about opportunities that might not come again.

Managing Time to Boost Productivity and Balance

Time management is just as crucial as decision-making. If you don’t manage your time, your time will manage you! Here are some of the strategies I use to keep my schedule balanced and productive.

The Skittles Time Management Method

I love the Skittles Time Management method which involves creating a weekly calendar and using brightly colored Skittles candies to map out how I use each hour.

Here’s how it works:

1. Assign each color of Skittles to a specific activity or category. For example:
  - Red: Work
  - Green: Exercise
  - Yellow: Family time
  - Orange: Relaxation
  - Purple: Personal growth
2. Go through your weekly schedule and mark out each hour with the corresponding Skittle.
3. Step back and look at the distribution of colors.

This visual method helps me spot areas that need adjustment or find hours where I’m wasting time on less productive activities.

The Pomodoro Technique

When tackling a task, I often use the Pomodoro Technique (developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s) to stay focused:

1. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on one task without distractions.
2. When the timer goes off, take a 5-minute break.
3. Repeat this cycle four times, then take a longer 15-30 minute break.

Breaking work into short, focused intervals helps me stay productive without burning out.

Batching Similar Tasks

To save mental energy, I group similar tasks together. For example, I’ll respond to all emails at once, make all phone calls back-to-back, or do all creative brainstorming in a single session. This minimizes the time and energy wasted on task-switching.

The 2-Minute Rule

If a task takes less than two minutes, I do it immediately. This rule keeps small tasks from piling up and becoming overwhelming.

Weekly Planning Sessions

At the start of each week, I set aside 30 minutes to:

1. Review my goals.
2. Schedule my priorities.
3. Block out time for rest and self-care.

Having a plan in place gives me a clear roadmap for the week and helps me stay on track.

Learn to Say No

One of the most effective time management tools is the word “no.” I evaluate every request or opportunity against my goals and values. If it doesn’t align, I politely decline. Saying no to less important things gives me more time for what truly matters.

Review

1. Simplify Decision-Making: Use T-charts, weighted options, pendulums, muscle testing, decision journaling, and long-term thinking tools like the 10/10/10 Rule or the Regret Test.
2. Visualize Your Time: The Skittles calendar offers a colorful and fun way to assess how you’re spending your hours.
3. Maximize Productivity: Techniques like the Pomodoro Method, task batching, and the 2-Minute Rule help you get more done with less stress.
4. Plan Ahead: Weekly planning sessions ensure you prioritize your goals while leaving room for rest.
5. Protect Your Time: Learn to say no to distractions and commitments that don’t align with your values.

By combining these strategies, you can make decisions faster, manage your time better, and create a life that feels balanced and purposeful. Which of these methods resonates with you the most? Let me know if you’d like help getting started!

Back when I was a young autistic man in service of God, I wanted to hear God’s voice, like my peers did. I was told that because of my autism it was pretty certain that I would never have access to that kind of sensitivity, but I was able to create a mechanism through which God could communicate with me.

I wasn’t much, just a simple pendulum that would give me one of three responses to help me on my path of servitude. If it swayed this way, it was a “Yes.” If it swung that way, it was a “No.” And if it wizzed around in a circle, it was, “Run, David, run!”

As simple as it was, that pendulum saved my bacon plenty of times, and opened my eyes to looking into other ways of expanding my ability to live my life in an intuitive manner by studying other contemporary modalities, such as applied kinesiology, hypnosis, and neuro linguistic programming.

Whether I was in ministerial or therapeutic environments, the skills I gained from these methodologies were vastly helpful in my maintaining high energy performance and results.

The gift I’d like to share with you, today, is that which is referred to in applied kinesiology as a dowsing pendulum.

There are many types of dowsing pendulums, and they are used in a variety of methods from psychic readings to alternative healing practices, and they can be extremely fancy.

Now you can go get yourself a fancy one, if you like, but I am going to show you how to use a rudimentary pendulum which is every bit as effective as a fancy one in giving your that little intuitive edge, if you’re lacking in that area, like I was.

Now, we all know that we are surrounded by energy, and the energy which is all around us an runs through every cell of our bodies, as well as everything that is both seen and unseen all around us is infinite intelligence.

When I was young, I used this simple method to allow God to communicate with me, even in its most rudimentary form.

All you need is a weighted string to make a working version of a dowsing pendulum which can give you access to this vast energetic part of our universe which is all around us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It never closes, of goes on vacation, and if you have a tool, like this, you don’t need anything else, if you’re lacking the basic psychic energy or intuition that other people have, like I was.

My first dowsing pendulum was a nut tied to a piece of thread. So, I looked around the house to see what I could find to make a pendulum out of quickly, and I found this; an inexpensive party favor from a child’s party, a Yo-yo.

Now, a real Yo-yo might be better because it has more weight to it, but both are weights suspended from a string, so for this little experiment, you will be able to see that just about anything will work.

Okay, so you see I’ve got the Yo-yo, and I am going to let it dangle about 12-inches from where I am pinching the string between my thumb and forefinger.

For simplicity, I’ve marked out on this piece of paper, this way means “yes” and that way, means “no.” And, as I stated before, round and round means, “Run, David, run!”

First, still your pendulum in the center point, then ask it a question, like, “Is my name David.”

See, it’s saying “yes.”

Next, I will ask, “Am I a girl?”

And it says, “no.” (I’ll bet some of you were wondering about that, You never can be sure these days.)

Now, that is the end of my little demonstration, now it’s up to you to put this magic to the test.

And, here’s where you have to be careful.

While this looks like a harmless child’s toy, this is a powerful tool to accessing knowledge which is not limited to the 3D environment, where we – well most of us, anyway – primarily reside.

You will probably learn, as I did, that there are some answers that you’re better off not knowing, so don’t ask. And other questions, you might get the answer to, and a wise person knows when to keep some of these answers to yourself.

I also believe that everyone has a right to privacy.

You never have anything to prove to anyone, and in some cases, no one would believe the truth, if you told them, so just let it go. But if you’re like me, I don’t even ask those questions anymore.

When I use the pendulum, I only use it for myself, as my little communication tool between me and God, about things which pertain to me only. I don’t have all that time to get into anyone else’s business, my own busy-ness is already enough to keep me busy.

Questions I get about the pendulum?

What about this way and that way? Does the first way depict North and South?

The answer is, none of that matters. You create the parameters that you want the energy to communicate with you through. So, you could have those directions totally switched, where sideways means “yes” and forward and backward means “no.”

Round and round means “I don’t want to answer right now.” You could have it represent anything you want. For me, its, “Run, David, run!”

The infinite is vastly concerned with you, and me, every one of us, and it wants to communicate with us.

Infinite intelligence has a standard communication method with most people who “get a feeling.” They get a feeling that they should call someone, and if they respect this knowingness, they do. If they do not, they simply push that thought aside and find out later, that they should have made the call.

Can you use a pendulum for more than just a yes or no device?

Yes, you can use it for anything, if you know how. And if you study applied kinesiology, you will discover that you can use it to find out anything but the secret in establishing accuracy is two-part, number one is being a clean vessel (free from judgment or prejudice) and secondly (if not more importantly) asking the right question or being certain not to stop asking questions when more pertinent information remains unqueried.

This is stuff you will have to figure out on your own, if you want to. There’s plenty of information out there.

San this simple pendulum be used as a chakra pendulum.

The answer is yes. Eastern practitioners have used pendulums for years in therapeutic, spiritual, and metaphysical practices, and these practices, including the recognition and manipulation of chakras is melding with many Western practices.

Granted, chakra practitioners have advanced the use of the pendulum so far and have perfected the sciences surrounding geology, gems, and semi-precious stones, all serving different purposes in diagnosing, treating, infusing, and tuning all the chakras.

But this simple pendulum, as any pendulum, can be completely effective in determining the direction any chakra is moving In, which is part if the process.

Speaking of pendulum science

It has risen to astronomical proportions. Different substances are used in different ways, in different practices, and methodologies. You can spend anywhere from $20 to $200, or more, for a professional pendulum.

And I have seen all of them serve so many different purposes. Just be forewarned that the tools of any trade can be quite expensive, but sometimes, the tried and true basic handmade tools are the best (and sometimes not) depending on the application.

Do I use a dowsing pendulum in therapeutic practice?

I do not. But I know many people who use it religiously, and Shirsha, a friend of mine, uses hers all the time, for everything!

So, basically, it’s up to you.

Use it an any way that it suits you best.

And if you start to get freaked out about getting into other people’s business… Well, don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

You can always back up and just start using it for yourself, only.

Isn’t this just make believe? Really?

Okay. If you think it’s ridiculous, then do not do this. Kinesiologists have been using this practice for optimizing the performance of the human body for years. When metaphysicians got hold of the technology, well… it just went off the charts, and all the woo-woo folks took to it, like fish to water.

The metaphysical version, which I’ve demonstrated to you today, is called applied kinesiology )which goes far beyond the use of a dowsing pendulum), while the original, strictly human body science form is known simply as kinesiology. Many people do not believe in applied kinesiology, and reject it. No problem.

In fact, the government would rather you didn’t believe in it, but they do. They continue to spend millions of dollars every year using applied kinesiology and have many specialists on the payroll for all kinds of purposes.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to go to the dark side. I am not defending applied kinesiology in any way. If you can use it as a tool and it gives you a benefit, as it did me, then great.

If you think its just silliness, that’s fine, too. You’re absolutely right, and I will defend your right to feel that way, 100%.