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Cee ee real ole nae eae fairly high visitor stats I'm ineredibly thank yout CeCe cr eka NeLo oC EU Re UC ROR improve or at least understand Mentalism in a little DOSE Sau ROC ani ec ea CeCe ena cey Pence tanta ae ces Pree eee Ln ead Pe eeu cea eee Pee CR ell \o)0) NUR CONC CeThe Fitfalls of Impressing Women With Mind Reading & Mentalism I've been performing mind reading and mentalism tricks on people for years and it took me a long time to realize something quite important about performing it on females if you want to actually impress them. There was one occasion where | learned the most from and I'll share with you the story. veened - A couple of years ago | was at a friend's house party. Naturally, like most gatherings | attend, a few of my friends pleaded with me to perform a few tricks for the guests. | say pleaded because they know | only perform when I'm in the mood to perform. Although I'm a performer by nature, to be truthful, sometimes | just cannot be bothered and don't take kindly to people expecting me to perform like a monkey whenever they want me to. Mind Reading and mentalism to me is a bit more special than to just randomly ‘do a trick’ whenever someone asks you to. | believe in the experience of the spectators and if | don't think the mood is right, | won't perform. That being said, this time | felt the time was right, it probably had to do with the 70% of attendees being rather beautiful females and one in particular really caught my eye.. so anyway.I decided | WOULD perform some mind reading. | thought this would be a great way to get this young ladies’ attention.So sat at a large table in the kitchen surrounded by about 10 people, and more importantly, the young lady Thad my eye on and | proceeded to warm up with some ESP testing cards and rightly guessing which ESP symbol each volunteer had chosen. | could feel the spectators getting excited. | then moved onto a bit of playing card mind reading which involved reading the minds of volunteers and correctly guessing which playing card they chose. | also mixed in a bit of pseudo-psychological influence for good measure. I could see it all going really well and the important female spectator was probably showing the most interest, asking me to ‘do her next'.. read her mind that is. So anyway, what happened next confused me for a good few days. | decided | would try out a cold reading technique | had learned earlier that day, what that involved was asking them a very general statement that would either hit - and you'd have a miracle and miss - where you could brush it off as something that could happen in the future. For those ‘of you who don't know, cold reading is what psychics mostly use when they give one-on-one demonstrations of ‘psychic ability' to people they've just met. So I said to her "Where's the broken door?" She looked at me puzzled, "What do you mean?" b xX So | said it again, "Where's the broken door?" Her puzzlement tumed into downright shock and she ran out of the kitchen screaming to tell her best friend who was in another room. | found her in the other room explaining to her friend what | had just said and it was impossible for me to know. | found out that literally the week before, she had been locked in her bathroom because the lock on the door was faulty and she had to call down to her house mate to get help. | had performed a miracle.! was almost shaking with excitement but my excitement was very short lived when for the rest of the night, she wouldn't go near me because ‘I was just too weird’, Great.. she thought | was a freak So the morale of the story and to bring this to an end is be very careful what you perform and who you perform it on. If you're trying to impress most women, don't completely freak them out, unless the gir's a bit weird, they probably won't enjoy it. I've figured out the reason is that if they think you're truly psychic they feel naked and exposed and can't relax around you. This is probably why I don't claim to be psychic and instead perform ‘psychological tests’.Either way, experience will tell you which tricks and suited for which people. I have a trick in the ultimate mind reading manual | wrote called Stigmata 2.0 and it's so powerful | will usually only perform it to the right people. I've scared a few women away with it let me tell you but then again, I've got a few numbers off it too. | hope you can learn something from my story and think about your mind reading tricks to make them really special 3 V00D00pl SorT ee ORL “CREAM OF THE Crop” hee Stee . DIABOLICAL PRODUCT DV ad SNe De ee oR CoN GLE ' \ eM =A e)aRPRCR EDOM bgt =1.\0 1Banachek (Steven Shaw) has written books on mentalism and sanachek has appeared on "aS invented various magic and : : Several television progranss, _-‘mentalism effects, including the Pe including | CNN sortie; Penn & Teter bullet catch and : vith Martin Sargant the original “buried alive” stunt During Night's Beyond Bale! program, reprter i Boll. program,” rexerter He is the Director of the asa “onusader James anol EDUGATIONAL NACHEK 1S OFTE T OUT B In 2008, Banachek tourea FOUNDATION (JREF) One Million 9 part of the stage show Dollar Paranormal Challenge F Hoodwinked with Bob Amo, CONSUL Todd Robbins and Richard aNd =—currently co-producers Tumor. Criss Angel's TV show and Live HIS CLIENTS INCLUDE PENN & TELLE: On .Juy 12, 2009, Banachek touring productions. ee Sonducted'a preliminary test of Connie Sonne’s dowsing oe RAN ISS ANGI axl Tor he REF “One His act is remarkable — g i é Challenge that was. HE'S THE MASTER OF HIS ACT! F witnessed by hundreds in HE SUP! i porson and hundreds moro wie live webcast Uri Geller was famous for mentalist feats, particularly Wi. his performance Berthold E. Scharz, MD, a Shaw was bom in England and Pending tableware, which he career is incredible, his fenowned psychiatrist, raised in South Afica and payehic powers. - Banachek background story is all the tested | Banachek and austria, He was abandoned at believed 'Golor had real more remarkable. Coming feported that" *...it is 2 from a troubled childhood © evident that he has’a full the age of nine in South Arica powers unil he read Rand's Banachek was forced to rely spectrum of interrelated with his two brothors, aged ono book that debunked Geller anc! on his unique abilities from psychic abilities.” and three, and raised them BY trickery. This realization an early age. At just 18, he himself untihe was sileen. His changedBanac hek’s life. He became a test subject ata And so launched his sn name "Stove Shaw’ wasn't heavy “funded 'payehie Phenomenal career as the dvonnamo Steve Sha developed methods Yor doing research facity dubbed the man who fooled the Memorable eneugh fora slage the samo ticks fo hima hal “Alpha Project. For two Scientists perlomer He adopted he S0° hat Geller was doing.” He years, scientists closely name Banacek from tho TV developed his act, and while at Studied and tested Having performed to sold series Banacek. The spelling school "kids would stoal tho Banachek’s a abilities—and Out houses across the was changed to “Banachek" to silverware from the cafeteria for ting’ only Fis sills asa globe, Banachekismow one 20 changed to ‘Benachek’ to sivorwarof self-taught mentalist. — of the most. in-demand ppronunciat Banachek astounded the Performers today. Once ‘He began practicing magic tricks scientists and made them Peo ns Prise ne ie when he was 16 years old, after believe. reading James Rand's, boo mind —what is real and what ‘i is imagined, will never be scence the'same again! VOODOO « " Ho wrote a lottor to Randi volunteering to ty to fool scientisis who were studying ‘The Truth About Uri Geller. parapsychology as if it were realBANACHEIK y a During the early 1980s, Banachek became well known for participating in the Project Alpha oxperiment. Banachek, then 18 years old, and Michael Edwards, 17 years old, worked with magician/conjuror, skeptic, ‘and debunker James “The Amazing" Randi in an ‘experiment to test the reliability of parapsychological_ studies. Randi insisted that the ‘oxporimenial mothods wore so lax and poorly controlled that magicians could accomplish tricks that appeared identical to parapsyehological effects, as Randi had done to reproduce the feats of Uri Geller. Randi warned. the scientists about ways to design experiments to provent the tricks, Whon a ‘$500,000 grant was awarded to Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, for the ‘establishment of the McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Rosearch, Randi took the ‘opportunity to test whether parapsychologists would be deceived by stage magician's tricks and accept thom as true psychic abilities. Banachek and Edwards volunteered for the project and were selected by the rosearchors. Thoy ropeatedly over the course of years and several different experiments fooled. scientists, into believing that their supposed psychic abilitios, were genuine. The experiments included bending tableware and remote viewing ‘of images that were sealed in envelopes. Banachek and Edwards “had agreed should they ever be asked ‘Are you faking it”. that they would im- mediately admit the truth Thoy were nover once asked", a D. J. Grothe explains. According to Banachek, For yoars parapsychologjsts had lamonted tna the only reason there was no scienticaly documented fevilence under proper scientific controls wae because ofthe lack of proper funding to perform such contiols. We had countered and beeved that thie wae not the ease ‘andthe lack of such decumentation lay inthe _parapsychologists' ppto-biased belief’ when thoy ‘eniorod such experimentsThe basis of mind reading and mentalism gives the impression the mind reader or mentalist has special powers of some sort. Whether it be psychic abilities, amazing psychological influence or any host of weird and wondertul things. With the psychological persona, many tricks include the illusion that the mentalist is influencing the volunteer's choice. Note | said Illusion. But I've always tried to push the boundaries of what's actually possible and there's one method I've come across that is probably as close the boundary as one can get. | found that you can use subliminal suggestion to influence a spectators decision when you give them a range of options. ConruseD? Don't worry, The easiest way to explain it would be to, get someone to pick a number between one and five that you want them to choose. What you do is when, you call out their number options you say, choose a number “one, two, three, four or five’. Using a special litle tirck, you can then get them more often than not to actually pick the number you want... but how? VOODOO’ It's quite simple, you actually ever so slightly nod your head on the number you want them to choose. If you are to try this it will take you quite some practice to do it without being obvious. It's a very slight nod that the spectator should only subconsciously pick up on your suggestion.To give you an example if you want to influ- ence the volunteer to choose the number 4 you say to the volunteer "Choose a number between one, two, three, four (nod your head as you say it) or five, choose the one that felt right and don't change your mind’. I've tested out 2 different ways, one is repeating the process again, with the same nod but also just doing it the once and pushing for them to answer. I found that doing it once and forcing them to choose a number quickly worked a little better, | think this is because the subconscious mind is more likely to kick in when you don't give them too much time to think and the chance to change their mind.This like all real suggestion and influence doesn't always work and it's wise to have an ‘out’. If you don't know what an out is then | suggest reading a little deeper into mind reading and mentalism techniques. Either way, try this out when you can do it and it won't matter if you get it wrong, do it as a prelimi- nary effect before you go on to do a proper mentalism trick which is certain to work.BIOGRAPHY OF AN AMERICAN MENTALIST TTNeath tee cava is first be founded upon a sim method and then be erformed wi Calcot Theodore Annemann was Born as Theodore John Squires on the 22nd of February, 1907, in East Waverly, New York, Theodore (Theo) Annemann was a professional magic performer from America. He specialized in the field of mentalism and is best known for inventing and refining many of the standard mentalism routines that are still used by magicians 75 years after his death Fred Squires, the natural father of Theodore, left him and his family when Theodore was only two years old Flavilla, Theo's mother, soon remarried to Stanley Anneman Theodore’s interest in magic first sparked when he was only ten years old after one of his friends showed him the common ball and vase trick. From then on, he took a great interest in all things magical. At some point, his new found love for magic started affecting his school work. His mother, concerned by her son's obsession with magic and lack of interest in getting a formal edu- cation, decided to bum all his magic supplies. This did not stop young Theodore from pursuing his passion. As a result, after approximately 15 years, he sent his mother a bound copy with the first 50 issues of his own magazine, ‘The Jinx’. He attached a note to that, telling his mother that after she had thrown his books in the furnace, he decided to try and ‘write one’ for himself. aTO CATCHA FLYING BULLET On top of everything he has done for the field of mentalism, Theo Annemann was also known for his version of the ‘Bullet Catching Trick’, amagic trick that he performed outdoors. The notoriously dangerous trick has taken the life of many magicians throughout history (Do not try this at homel), including the renowned Chung Ling Soo. Coming back to Annemann’s version of the trick, the handgun or rifle was usually provided by a police officer. From a box of ammunition, Annemann would select a bullet and mark it in some way. While the marksman would load the weapon, Theo would stand holding only a plate. When the marksman would fire at the performer, the apparent shock of being shot would push Annemann backward, causing him to fall. Atter the fall, the performer would spit the bullet out of his blood - drenched mouth and onto the plate. Besides the blood, Annemann would have suffered no harm. The show's best moment was undoubtedly the moment that the marked bullet was recognized and affirmed, VO0D00 » Theo Annemann's Evolution Asa teenager, Theo Annemann began performing magic tricks around his. hometown, Waverly. One of the tricks he performed was the Substitution Trunk. This act, though, required another person, so he asked his younger brother, Leland, for help. However, Leland did not share the same enthusiasm for magic as his older brother, so Theo had to pay him handsomely for his assistance. Around 1923, Annemann became aware of the various magic — magazines. available. As IBM's ‘Linking Ring Journal’ and ‘The Sphinx’ were considered to be the most informative materials. for magicians at that time, he decided to subscribe to them. By the age of 17, Theodore Annemann began to make a name for himself with the art of magic. His performances were mainly based on cleverness and intuitive abilities, rather than dexterity and physical techniques. Also,he was already contributing to the two journals mentioned before. He began publishing some of his effects and sometimes he even stole others’ tricks, claiming them as his own. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that he possessed a remarkable skill in turning even the most basic card trick into a ‘mental miracle’. Still, as a young man, he worked as a railroad clerk. It was just after that he broke into show business. First, he did it as a singer and magicians assistant, and later as a successful performer in his own right.. Switch towards Mentalism > Ed Maro, a renowned presicigiator who speiakzed in car mage, ha a great iivence on Anomanrs leas and approach to mentalon. Athoug he magic feds that Theo created oon used od pinches, he managed ject hs own persoralty and motredsiogy. His methods were orginal and ‘emphasized bol and suite approaches oversight of hand or more conplex ones. Amomann channeled ll Of his impresshe creatve and intuitve sls n the rocton of mentaism as Soon as he fist caught a (mpse ofthe at His efor lead io his emerging as ne ofthe lading menialsts of his ora. He became ooo as “Annerann the Erigna. In October 1834, Thendore Annamann's Te Jr’ was published the fret bm. Each issue coraned 48 pages and was crignaly a month pubeaton. The joumas crowing popularity made the autor change hs ind about is in 1988 when stared pushing ane every weok. Tho rao 151 sss, ul Oder 1941, Wri most of is malta was focused on mentaism and sits, "The Jno featured round — breaking eflets rom her felis of magic “Amemareis. suecessuljoumel is sil constered essential rating for any asin mental, whe Ns edtorals are considered to of a feat ent to a ‘magicians. The witon maior win Tho J i til ‘considered te foundation sones of ments. Whan ‘homentast was nl performing ho kop busy croaing ‘magic and mentalsm efocs ad withg about tem, He ivetd the Window Envelope’ by 1831 and Flat Fabbit in 1837. Tre numerous card ticks that ‘Arwomarn tested ard described in The Jinx oer an enormous variety for portormersto pick rom. ne of Annemarns gresest routines was the one called Pseude-Psychometry. The act fest requited a spedtalr lo calec a numberof personal lems trom ‘auxience members. The toms weu then be placed ino eter envelopes orgs ard mid up. Afr that ‘Arnemarn woud take each bag or envelope and, without ooking inside, he woul not oy desc but ‘so ident ts ohne. To top ial of, ne woud then (Grea characte reatng aout the personThe a Name ithout Beery! wy i) i ¢ pw powusit® MAX HOLDED New Your “Trno, Aveeno ‘Theodore Annemann was mantied twice, his first wife being Margaret (Greta) 1 Abrams. They got married in 1927 and 8 years later they had a daughter, whom they named Mona Lee. Two years after Mona Lee was bom, Greta and Theo divorced. One year later, the mentalist married Jeanette Parr. Annemann was i =e PRACTICAL! scheduled to perform the impressive |» MENTAL bullet catch trick for the first time indoors |_Errects / | on January 12, 1942. He never got to do it, as he committed suicide two weeks before that. While the exact reason why he chose to do that will always be a mys- tery, itis well documented that Theodore ‘Annemann had battled with his own demons for many years, including severe stage fright, aloohol, and his two failed marriages. Although the final curtain fell for the genius known as Theodore Annemann when he was only 34 years old, his work in the field of mentalism stil remains unparalleled.icroexpression eZ Microexpressions reveal your deepest emotions, even when you are trying to hide them. Now a machine vision algorithm has learned to spot them, with wide ranging applications from law enforcement to _ psychological analysis Most people are good at recognizing the ordinary emotions on other people's faces. But there are another set of facial expression that most people are almost entirely unaware of. In the late 1960s, psychologists discovered that when humans try to hide their emotions, they often display their real feelings in “microexpressions” that appear ind disappear in the blink of an eye. 4 plea, bl 7 OriginalTCC Ma eRe a Rene eM Sse hme eR about a topic and Candidate B is listening atten- CARE ener ur a Pre RRC CMa eR eR este tem CeReeRu eee Cee Nee RMU asd fee eee Coa ie ee ree Mur Mee acer cS you have leamed that Candidate B does not ero UmeC ure ea Wee MMe eRe NERC CR eR ON Fee MUR seme Red lose voters’ sway just like that aly See = a Meech tes einai Ce RNa CMS hls Tel Pees he me ea eMC acer tue cece eo ecg o mos lcssou Pre eee ecto Joe Navarro, former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and supervisor as well as author, has confirmed this: Se ee SU ene mae ie) Isaags, in 1966, while they watched films of people in couples therapy. Both Dereon en en Suet ces eae aR or to better see these expressions. From there micro expressions have been Cieetee est tanec ue ages eas Necoketas sey Me Rel MeO Cet aco =o a * .Ahere is no single behavior indicative Sad a ee en eae Ta of decepti There are indicators of stress, Stress psychological discomfort, anxiety, c tee issues, of tension, but not deception” oy Comfort Level ees Paut Exman’s Deccan OMme I Rat a ‘MicRo EXPRESSIONS ARE VERY BRIEF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, Someone is lying LASTING ONLY A FRACTION OF A SECOND. THEY OCCUR WHEN A Renee Tg PERSON EITHER DELIBERATELY OR UNCONSCIOUSLY CONCEALS A Ree eel FéeLiNG, SEVEN EMOTIONS HAVE UNIVERSAL SIGNALS: ANGER, FEAR, SADNESS, DISGUST, CONTEMPT, SURPRISE AND HAPPINESS.icro expressions in the real world ndectandg micwoptaiins Jobs that require has canny interacting wih in eatin ‘catare othors and (lds ond has bec a undersianing that can be studs in shoal ot poople's theaigh enlne peyrams emotional siate {ond to oquire some knowledge of ‘micro expressions These careers include police, goverment mitary, detectives, psychologists, thorapsts, and oven somatimes actors, All of those positons recuie seme understanding of social behaviors and emotional sates so that in specif siuations they can better understand the individuals in the moment.These careers have seen a boomin popula since more and mae crime elaied TV shows use “emotionalinicroexprossion" agents to determine if someone is hing or ‘ot and res heavily on thei findings to sole the crime However, tke most things on TY, this parcoption of what these ‘agents dois | very of soo Navarro, former Fedora Bureau of vestigation agent ‘and supenisor as wel as author, has confirmed tis: “hore is n singe behavior Indicate of deception. ‘Thate are incioaors of stess, psychological discomfort ancety, isle, issues, or tension, ‘but nat decoptinIn fact Navarro ‘argues thal relying on micro expressions Is pot enough and that nonverbals (vody quoves) need tobe taken into consideration as well Fer example, he has put togothor ait of 215 nonverbal behaviors, ‘associated only wih uncomfotaily, {and they do not ake place in the face. In tho real word of erime fighting Navarro sil akos micro expressions into consideration, he jus pairs that Information wth other body and ‘emotional incicaors ta get a beter idea ‘ofa person's behavior and personaly. veoned « When we communicate verbally or through our body mations we can io, be ‘misread, or miscommunicate how we feel. By understanding micro ‘expressions we can start to leam more about how othors may feel and how wo feel ‘The next ime you are in front of a miror ‘say an emotion and make a face that you think means that emotion. As you do this, watch to see what addtional small facial ‘movements you may make as well. This exercise will help gain contol of your ‘emotional responses as you ate linking your emotions with an experience and Creating emotional tiggors. ‘After you have recognized your own ‘emotions wih tis activity you may start {o s2e similar micro expressions within ‘thers. When you slat to pick up on this, with frends, family, andor strangers, you vill be able 'to better Uundorstand_whal someone is going ‘through. This will increase "your awareness and empathy for others and ‘most likely it will improve your relationships with others, READING MICRO EXPRESSIONS Technology is advancing, quickly, to read beyond the 6 core emotions by picking up fon certain facial muscle movements. By Continuously studying thoso movemonis ‘emotional analysis wil increase nis accuracy. At Kairos, micro expressions help us pinpoint back to one of the 6 core femations. If someone says they are sad their micro expressions may read that they ‘are angry or surprised and also, the frequency of those micro expressions paired with larger facial movements, allows Us fo soe that emotion fo a certain degree. This allows us to betier understand our users and holps us show our users how they can better understand themsolves More" importantly, by having more information on others emotions we can Create better products for everyone to use. Finat THOUGHTS Now that you know what a micro expression is you may iat \, aking for tem on trent faces | You wl tr to pick upon patterns. that specie people nave, you wi recogeize when someone an TV may feel uncomfortable, and imately you wil tart to bul clear picture on why you fel | what youteot and how you ae communicating ito others through your facial expressions. So, i poop are displaying cain micro expressions and emotions tether what does this mean? Itoould mean they lke your product, they feel excited by your projector it could ‘mean they have no interest whatsoever. The data thats collected rom miceo expression ‘and emotions ean be used in both strategie and tactical ways within your business Learn more about how to integrate face analysis ini your ow products and services with our developer tools. Nota developer? Nota problom, drop usa line and we'll help you bring the power of human analytic to your ‘company,MENTALIST DUO Curis Kwone ano JEAN-CHRISTOPHE CELESTIN act ‘wy » Vy a = ¥, ING ART COMBINES AND PSYCHOLOGY Aa| JEAN-CHRISTOPHE CELESTIN AND CHRIS KWONG ARE PRACTITIONERS OF MENTALISM, PERFORMING ART WHICH COMBINES MAGIC WITH PSYCHOLOGY In the midst of this interview, mentalism duo Jean-Christophe Celestin and Chris Kwong correctly guessed a number on a die (it was two) chosen by this reporter. Sure, one could chalk it up to a lucky guess ora question of probability. "Women usually choose even numbers and men odd numbers," Celestin, 34, says. But they also correctly guessed the name of this reporters loved one, which was written on a card and then put away. The pair - together, they form We Are Confidence - are practitioners of mentalism, a type of performing art which combines magic with psychology, giving the illusion of mind-reading or psychic abilities. VOOD00:« Their name is a reference to confidence trickster - with an emphasis on the "con", they say.After all, Kwong, a Singaporean, and Celestin, an Australian, unabashedly admit they are conmen. They will be pulling the wool over audience's eyes in their show -The Dirty Room Project (Extended) - at Canvas,a nightclub and creative space in Upper Circular Road, on Sept 24. Despite somewhat blowing this reporter's mind just minutes before, the duo maintain that they want people to develop a sense of healthy scepticism and not readily accept what they see. Kwong, 27, says: "We tell you that we're going to lie to you and then we lie to you. We hope it makes us honest people."The show, which runs for about an hour, involves a lot of audience participa- tion as well.An earlier iteration of The Dirty Room was performed at the Esplanade's offbeat Flipside festival in June. All six slots for that show, which was not ticketed, were fully subscribed. Celestin, who is from Sydney, got into magic after receiving a magic kit when he was 12. He became interested in mentalism five years ago and moved here after marrying a Singaporean. Kwong performed his first magic show at age 13, having grown up with cousins who were magicians. The bachelor studied psychology in university and tried to fuse what he leamt with magic.He and Celestin formed We Are Confidence about 11/2 years ago, after the latter's brother-inlaw saw Kwong's show and suggested they meet up. Initially, their acts as a duo were confined to YouTube and they gained popularity with a series of videos titled Celebrity Mind Games, which featured Singapore celebrities having their minds read or choices guessed. One video, featuring social media personalities Munah and Hirzi, attracted more than 83,000 views. Earlier this year, the duo, who also do corporate gigs separately, appeared on the English-language variety show, Not The 5 Show.As their shows ‘expand in scope and scale, the pair hope to help elevate the status of magic, which is usually seen as a fringe or novelty act."Magic isn't consid- ered an artform," says Celestin. "The We Are Confidence shows are what we consider art - we take our audience on a journey." They say that during ‘one performance, a member of the audience refused to believe that they had used trickery to perform an act, insisting instead that a higher power was involved.Celestin says: "There are some people who, even if you tell them otherwise, they'll still believe in some sort of... ability.” rte ere a enact erin Se eee nea ea et Sean cot entrant eet coe ca pease ea rer vo eee ren) 7 erent Srey Pao ard KWwoNe My nauc is JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PCO oa DEO mC eT RAS en RUSE et CMa TO eae ee Prono Reread CLOSE UP MAGIC. UKE: Dee Meare Mere nae at> o* PARANORMAL TWORK IN Se EVERYTHING! BACK IN NOVEMBER 2001, I PERFORMED/LECTURED FOR A GROUP AT THE INSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES IN PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA. MY LECTURE WAS ENTITLED “MAGIC, MENTALISM AND MEDIA: PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING!” BELOW IS THE WRITE-UP FOR IT THAT APPEARED IN THEIR PROGRAM BOOKS FOR THE RE TREAT. I REALIZE THAT SOME OF WHAT'S HERE MAY BE CONTROVERSIAL AMONGST MAGICIANS, BUT HEY, THAT SIMPLY MAKES LIFE INTERESTING, Perception depends to some extent on leaming. Once we leam to see the world in a particular way, a way that may actually be pat of our cultural and/or religious background, it is difficuit, though not impossible, to see it any other way. Our beliefs, i ‘changing, may affect our perceptions — as they affect the ways we expect things to behave, including our own perceptions. The perception of things in one environment may not translate well when faced with the same things in a new environment. We may unconsciously ignore or re-interpret happenings that make no sense according to our expectations. Perceptual expectations can be superimposed on the way objects and events “objectively” exist, resulting in a distorted perception (one that may be seen differently by others), Past experience, current and past motives, the context of the event, or simple suggestion ‘can precondition perception in surprising ways, which may or may not actually reflec realty. We see what we want and expect 10 S00, especially when the event is of short duration and happens in an out-of-the-ordinary way. Magicians have long taken advantage of perceptual processes and expectations, as well as optical and other sense-relaled principles that may cause something physical in to be mistaken for something else. Effects and illusions are designed and performed in such a way as to theoretically take maximum advantage of what is known about the psychology of perception (and misperception). Most magic is visual for a very good reason: humans tend to rely most heavily on the sense of sight, and assess Visual input in certain known ways, Magicians make use of the attention focusing of their audiences. For the most part, they do that with visually perceived movements, props, and distractions (such as a brief flash or a scantily clad assistant). They may also use sound and language to distract and play with perceptions. ‘e VOODGOSome THOUGHTS PARANORMAL agicians also take advantage of the memory processes and how they impact not only what an audience member expects to happen next, but also how that same audience member late ries to reconstruct what happened. Perceptual expectancy effects can finger inthe aftermath of many an illusion. OF course, magicians also use mechanical/ischnological means to perform their miracles, using principles that generally have no or itis application in other walks of life (30 don't wrack your brain tying to figure them out—justsitback andbe entertained). Today, magicians at thelr best are entertainers who create and sustain a sense of wonderin their audiences. But the vast majority ofthe audience Is aware that ‘Magic" isnot real, that what they've experienced are tricks and illusions that “fool” the senses.On the other hand, Mental- Im (also known as Peychic Entertainment) is a branch of the entor- tainment arts — usually seen as a branch of the conjuring arts — wherein the performer simulates psychic, paranormal, supernormal, cult or supernatural “powers.” The mentalist in his performance may also go the direction of demonstrating bizarre psychological (‘ather than psychio) effects as euch, or may even put things in the ‘context of taking advantage of synchronicity, Fate, or other underly- ing Universal trends and forces. For decades, there has been somewhat of a split betwoon many magicians and many mentalists. This is likely partly caused by tho reactions of their audionoos. VOODGG 2 “Magicians de eMagio Mhatis not cecenttd as even potentially real. Mentilists de things Thatn ‘might t be wal. The audience members may typically ask a Magician “how did you do that?” but ask the Mentalist “was that real?” These are very different reactions. Mentalists could be doing real stuff, and there are varying de- grees of comfort that psychic entertainers feel in rela- tion to such audience reactions. This is why there has been much discussion and dissent with regard to psychic entertainers offering disclaimers (or not) Of course, for the magicians who are truly entertain- ing, the acceptance of their art as reality is less impor- tant. If their audiences are entertained, they are almost never going to feel “tricked” or “fooled,” which is what typically generates the “I need to know how you did that” attitudes and reactions. Same goes for mentalists. How many of us view the world around us is shaped by a very few things: 1) what our education brought to us, 2) what our Social circle has impressed upon us and 3) what the Media tells us. In relation to the recent terrorist attacks, if one compares the reactions of people in the Middle Eastem countries whore thore is little Media or access to international information to those of people who have free access to the such information, its clear that lack oF presence of the Media is a key factor in what shapes (or doesn't shape) people's ideas. For the most part, we accept what the Media tells us. Journalistic truth! Imparial reporting! These are the baitle cries of reporters everywhere. But if one takes the time to really understand the Media, one leams that there are often agendas — hidden or overt — and points of view being promulgated. The Media builds on cur per- ceptions and understanding of how the world works. — people perceive what they see and hear as “real” without asking “how did you do that?" or even “why did you do that?” If it seems real, because it fits in with our perceptual (and intellec- tual and emotional) expectations, it must be reala VEN An enthusiastic speech isn’t enough to make teamwork POR A SUCCESSFUL MEETING Sonne te eR oe ae aM San cs a) ee See IRS Re em cg SMM nance) Ce ao US Se mcm Oe Re Mau Cel mod what it is and what it promises. eRe Ue Ce Cnr Pte eae a) ee mC eS Ee ease ee est of the participants, as said before: the Pu em Ce Sens een if the topic of the performance is related to the Cee Rae TN terested and curious about what will happen Se Se gee a ra Mr Se helpful SO eR eC eg Teme eM a eR Rr UCC ecg mene Ut re read Cm mea Um Ce RCD ger ca CCM enc us Ne i ea CUT ae gs etc CMe naan Deg nS ea or Cg ogc geo co 2. In the dark: one spotlight is pointed on a mys- te ele me Cee LN nun enor Se ec ie Rue So Sn aoe ee am CT os eee POM ee ae ee A ser TR a See ene eee ate eR ue Ae aM aR oe oC eR CC IR CC CRM RCM eC LCI a mere CSCC. your hand on the top of one another's hand, take a deep breath and shout to encourage your NC re ean UM Bs a SC Pe Mee mame mo} rome cm Ro) Era ee ae TSR ec ee ey the box you find a ticket for a holiday, a reward for every one of you! There was only one possibility out of ten thousand that the experiment could DEV em eu mtecss The 4 of us together will guess the combination of the lock The mentalist uses the 5 senses to create the illusion of a 6th sense Erne Cee Meet Rout Cri eae Crees a aod Bru aes) Ao voon00lb ry Nea 5. What can a Mentalist do? ‘A Mentalist is @ person who use the tool of mentalism to reproduce phenomena that in the collective imagination associated to paranormal or unexplainable experiences. For example: mentalist Mind reading: knowing an information that is in the mind of one or more spectators; Thought transmission: for example transmitting an information in the mind of one or more people, influencing a choice: Extra sensorial perception: for example seeing through walls, reading a book at a long distance, guessing in which hand is the coin. Identification: for example identifying the owner of a certain object and describing its past; Prediction: knowing in advance some future events; Control: bending spoons and keys, breaking glasses, changing the weight of common objects; Invulnerability: walking on hot coal, lying on a bed full of nails; Ability: extraordinary memory and fast resolution of complex calculations or the two things together. Magic? No, mentalism is a pure technique associated to personality, charisma and way of Speaking. The mentalist “uses 5 senses to create the illusion of the existence of a 6th sense”. But the contribute that the Mentalist gives conceming the success of the even consists in using his abilities at the service of the leading concept of the meeting, vooD00 = wi 4. How does the audience reacts to the two scenarios? In the first case the involvement is generalized, each participant absorbs the information passively (as it happens at the cinema or when you watch tv) without living 2 direct experience. He's a real spectator In the second case, instead, the Performance is interactive, | the involvement is direct, and what the performer delivers to the audience isnt_a simple story, but a real experience, lived heer and now, that makes stronger the motivation and the purpose of the meeting. Which performer can create a context that arise interest and the curiosity towards what will happen during the meeting? A performer able to build the meeting's success not only by pure entertainment, but ‘also by the participation of the people concerning the contents of the message? THIS PERFORMER IS THE MENTALIST. 6. Some other examples If the meeting's topic is the importance to have a sharing corporate vision, the Mentalist can lead every petson to think a word, which will reveal to be the same thought by all the participants: that word thought by everyone will be the key concept of the meeting, Moreover: if the meeting's purpose is to explain the importance of the comprehension of the body's language to close a deal successfully, using mentalism the Mentalist will make an experiment with some people randomly chosen. He will ask them some questions and he'll understand who is telling the truth and who is not. He will then illustrate everything he observed in ‘their facial expressions and movement and he'll explain how to use this information in the business negotiation. So the show becomes a real training 7. The Mentalist's goal The mentalist is able, with his _mentalism performance that allude to the paranormal, magical and unexplainable phenomena, to ignite the imagination and satisfy the desire to be amazed, to concentrate the interest not only on the show, but also (and in particular) on its meaning. He deals with the topic on two fronts, on the fantastic one and rational one or, if you prefer, he talks about right and left hemisphere of our brain. For this reason the “mentalism” message is so powerful and intended to last more by time. Thus he actively contributes to the success of the even, both on the appreciation side of the participants (the entertainment) and on the efficiency side searched by the Company.This trick is one of my favourite ones. PR ua Reg Cece ecae PeMnese concn MUcnrsm ele Mel eR OMe} Ciera aT) Poros Ton Mone sau Son Canon aaa Toner Sere toons he gives you his prediction to compare your with, The most common shape is a triangle inside a Corte Pte Trick EXPLAINED Rae eae ee) that the chances of you drawing a triangle inside a circle are high, so he'll make a prediction of that. Ree ee a) possible means to get you to do that. Most of the ua Oe eM eesceS Sree RTM oe om a PUSS onhoKecs He'll draw the triangle in the circle in the air and you'll pick it up subconsciously and draw it.Now let me walk you through all the details. First of all, this kind of mentalism tricks | would recommend to perform in the comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. In other words, you have to have attention and focus of your spectator on you. The spectator and you have to stand not too far away and not too close, approx. 50-70 centimetres (~20-25 inches) apart face-to-face to each other. You have to be relaxed, Take a deep breath and intentionally make yourself chilled and relaxed. Then make a small pause, look into the eyes of the spectator, and with a little bit lower and calmer than usually voice ask the spectator the following: “Are you ready?", — wait for the positive answer of the spectator. Then ask: “Feeling awake, mentally alert?” After the nod, “yes” or another form of positive answer of the spectator, say some sort of approval, like “Perfect!” or “Excellent!” and move on to the next step. Although this part with all these questions is not mandatory for the trick itself, it does let's say help to tune in the spectator and make him or her focus on what's going on and follow your lead. So | do recommend you to include it into your performance. Later on, with a bit of practice, you will find your own words As for now, just keep it simple. Moving on to the “screen”. You continue in the same calm and relaxed way: “want you to imagine the screen between you and I", and pause While you are saying the phrase and making a pause, you are drawing with your point fingers an imaginary rectangular screen in the air between the spectator and you, approximately equally away from both of you. The screen shouldn't be too big. Roughly it should not be higher than the head of the spectator, not wider than his/her shoulders, and not lower than his/her chest. 1 WILL READ YOUR MIND Ow ¢t & +e ? § @ As | mentioned, the screen is supposed to be rectangular with the long side placed horizontally. This gesture looks quite natural to the audience yet it's crucial for our performance. With this gesture we are sort of setting the limits of the imagination of the spectator and making him or her focus on what is going on right inside of this mental screen. This way it will be easier for us. to plant the mental seeds that we need ~ triangle and circle. So, as soon as you can see that the spectator has projected the screen in his/her mind, it's time to move forward. You say: “On that screen | want you to. project a basic shape. Like a square, but not a square. "While saying that, you have to be making a certain gesture. Lift your hands into the air in front of you approximately at the level of your neck and put your thumbs, point and middle fingers as if you were holding a triangle @ a bit narrower than fers. You do not want to so make sureAfter your words *...but not a square”, while continuing “holding” the triangle, ask sincerely:"Got it?” And after his/her positive answer, you say:“Lock it inl”, and move to the next step. SMa MES UR OE eo re UU eae We RRL SE RU BCO EL have.”While saying “..another shape..” move your hands so, as if you were drawing a circle around the bel Rue RTS ae ana ROM CER Reco Mae Me SU MLM} PR ut elo Cm eae Melo A TL Lae Mo OL Moc Oe AC A Uc To Cie Mel OM AMAT sO) CM UNM COM. eat SSA aT UNCC MMA) UA UL Te Wehrle Wk Wea AUR We meee CCU ee ee Ln nL) Pe eNom Rela ee OR RC a aoe) a RU) Re RU UC Be Re ke Re a RemRelns slowly. Carry on in a mysterious way:“Ok. Now | started to feel it.”With a cheering intonation: See ue Ue MUP ee US SMW en ROW Ne Meee UC RU) LR UES toe RO DUEL Raa eR Ue Rec) COC EUT Rel Seg uu Co emu a Reels ani kU mete} EUs MSI Rol uu Roe on NURS Loc D position where he or she doesn’t know what to think and how to Coc UR MMe Leta UsauL 191-1 ro) recommend you to practice it with yourself first and RRC CCN lg M EN KS Reece dee uc iel a ith tH), BC Most probably you will get asked “How did you do that?! "In this case you can say something basic like: "Oh, it's pretty simple.tt's one of the forms of mind reading. Maybe I'll explain some other time”. ‘And change the subject as if nothing has happened. You can also go for something more interesting,that would keep up the interest of the spectator and build up your reputation of a mentalist, like the guy in the video did: “Oh, that's nothing! That's just a calibration key to real mind reading. Now | have access to all your innermost thoughts.” But the best way is to think of something that would suits you personally. VOODOO =~ PICKS — HERE Is THE VERY varesr & GREATEST IN THE WORLD OF MAGic! SOME NEW AND SOME GREAT CLASSICS THAT HAVE JUST COME BACK INTO STOCK! IF YOU CANNOT FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR - THEN WHY NOT DROP US A LINE AND WE WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP YoU! Psycuoxineric Siivenware - Gerry & Banacuex (DVD) Limirep Eoition BY Get ENORMOUS REACTIONS BY BENDING METAL WITH YOUR MIND... 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