Probability of the impossible

Internationally known as an intuitive investigator, the Rev. Iris K. Barratt of Bellevue has found missing persons, keys and misplaced dreams.

She is a certified clinical hypnotherapist, massage therapist, professional clairvoyant and palmistry expert. She is also a loving mother, involved member of the community and peace activist.

On Thursday, Barratt will appear among us at Iconoclast Books in Ketchum at 6:30 p.m., as author. Her latest publication, Divination Workbook: An Expert’s Guide to Awakening the Power and Wisdom of Your Soul is a how-to tome on the ancient art of pendulum divination.

"It is a powerful tool that can guide you to discover and effectively use the three primary energies of positive, negative and neutral, to literally search and find anything," said Barratt, whose most common client is a parent in search of a runaway teen.

"One of our greatest challenges is to trust our instincts. The book teaches you to use your own power to find the divine within you and to work with it consciously," she said.

The process transcends time, space and the rational mind. After fashioning a pendulum (Barratt’s favorite is plain string with a wooden amulet affixed to the end) the questioner must enter a neutral zone.

"It’s learning to be beyond judgment," she explained. "It’s an attunement with a divine intelligence that permeates all things. Neutrality is the middle way of peace."

Whether you are inquiring into buying a home, selecting honorable employees, deciding whether to take someone to court or to go into the practice of law, the process is the same. Yes or no questions are asked and depending on the direction the pendulum swings and how wide its arc, the answers are forthcoming. There is a possible 20 point scale.

"A lot of it is a process of elimination," Barratt said. "I have been very successful in identifying employee thievery. In this case I am given a list of branches and branch employees. I work with the list to find the answers."

Barratt is often asked to analyze the compatibility of relationships.

"Divination lets you define the problem areas so you can focus on those and enhance the positive ones," she said.

The types of questions she might ask are: Are these people compatible for deep intimacy? Do these people have similar parenting styles? Are these people domestically compatible?

"There are a lot of aspects that go into a good relationship," Barratt said. "People often come to me in the very beginning before they have their heart broken or become too carried away."

Divination also works in determining if something is medically wrong with a pet.

"It allows us a clue to the incredible potential we all have as evolving human beings by allowing us a glimpse into the future and into realities beyond our physical senses that are inaccessible by any other means," explained Barratt. "In truth, we are all mystics and healers. It is a natural heritage."

Barratt wrote the book because it became impossible to keep up with the number of requests she received to find people and dreams. Her therapeutic practice, using hypnotherapy, is burgeoning. She is currently involved with pre and post surgical preparation in which a client can learn to control bodily functions – like blood pressure, bleeding, breathing or heartbeat – and accelerate healing.

"I want to be able to give people a tool to learn how to ask the right questions and determine the most beneficial solutions in every aspect of their lives," she said. "The collection of practical divination exercises teaches how to use a pendulum to literally search for anything from general information to actual physical things such as lost persons or property. Divination is gaining popularity with investigators because of the accuracy attained, especially in the face of very little evidence or information."

Barratt is now teaching entire teams of private investigators how to use the tool, as well as scripting self-hypnosis tapes on subjects as diverse as forgiveness of self and others, insomnia, weight loss and exercise motivation and attracting one’s soul mate.

She said that over 20 years her accuracy in predicting a baby’s sex is 100 percent and finding lost teens is 98 percent.

"I don’t believe in the guru thing," Barratt said.

She said her primary goals in life are to be a channel of blessings, a healing presence and the most grateful person she knows.

"We need to tune into our own innate wisdom and innate power. We help create reality through our intentions. I really believe it works from the heart."