“The most intriguing part of the mentalist magic illusions is the opportunity your audience has to be right there in front of you.” – Tony Hodgison
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When it comes to being entertained, there are few acts or performers that create wonder, joy, and curiosity as much as magicians. The tricks and illusions that they are able to perform are impressive and usually gain great appreciation from the crowds of individuals that gather around to watch.
Of all of the types of illusionists and magic performers that I have seen perform, those individuals that appear to be reading minds, predicting the future, or revealing the information that has been kept from them, are the most amazing people of all. This type of magic is known as mentalism magic tricks.
Mentalism magic tricks can usually be done at various locations since they rely more on mental deception or manipulation than on staging effects. In fact, that is one of the reasons that mentalism magic tricks are so incredible. They can be done anywhere, which gives the appearance and perception that they are authentic. There are many famous magicians that have become quite famous using this raw and unstaged mentalism in their routines.
Mentalism magicians have been around for a number of centuries. The recorded references to mentalism date back as far as the 16th century. Eventually, there were individuals that stepped forward and became very famous for their amazing presentation and technique. The idea of mentalism magic is usually all in the set up so that the actual deception in the trick is done right at the outset of the performance.
For instance, when a spectator is asked to choose a card out of a deck without the mentalist seeing it, the whole key to the trick probably unfolded at the card selection. If the magician can determine the card that was pulled out, he can then use his presentation and the great trouble he will go to in order to conceal the card as the gimmick that makes the trick so amazing.
The most intriguing part of the mentalist magic illusions is the opportunity your audience has to be right there in front of you. This often makes mentalism more impressive than David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear. Somehow Copperfield’s feat isn’t nearly as impressive as the mentalist who just asked you to pick a card out of a deck in front of you, and then when he can’t find the card you picked, throws the entire deck at a nearby window right behind him, and then has his chosen card sticking on the window for all to see – on the inside of the window.
David Blaine and Chris Angel have taken the art of mentalism illusion magic to an entirely higher level than it has ever been before. Through their presentations, dramatic mannerisms, and flair for the sensational, David and Chris have both elevated our society’s emphasis on street magic.
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Are you interested in mentalism tricks? For more information on mentalism and to find out how it is done, be sure to visit my site.
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“Most popular would be the tricks that involve the illusion of mind reading or telepathy.” – Christopher Lam
“How did I make them so sure it could not have been the simple act of three predictions? Well – the amazing thing about humans and mentalism is this – we all tend toward the most unlikely solution IF it is explained and sold in a convincing way!” – Graham Edwards
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You know when I first started messing around with Mentalism I thought it was going to be really difficult… if only Mentalism Revealed had been around then!
Lucky for you, I’m going to show you how to get started straight away.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they first start to play with this fascinating branch of magic is that they believe its going to be hard work, somehow requiring years of study, amazing mental faculties and incredible observation.
The fact, exciting when you think about it, is actually the opposite. In fact mentalism is one of the easiest branches of magic to get into and to be convincing at. Let me show you something.
The effect I am about to share with you works well at the start of a performance. On the board at the front of the room, you have three shapes – perhaps a red triangle, a blue square and a green circle.
As people arrive everyone notices the shapes, which you don’t mention.
You explain that you are going to talk through how minds can affect other people and you ask for a volunteer.
You confirm nothing has been agreed with them, and after talking a little about embedding commands, mental mind waves or whatever else you want, you ask them to tell you their shape. Lets say they pick the Triangle.
Instantly, with no pause, you flip the board over, where everyone can see you have written the words (You will pick the triangle)
Person sits down and you continue – believe me, I have done this many times, and audiences are always amazed and keen to know how it works….
You want to know too? Ok… so lets say they pick the circle – straight away you point to the persons chair (the person you picked) and tell them to look under it, where stapled to the underside of the seat they will find an envelope predicting they will pick the circle.
And if they say the square, show them the envelope inside your pocket – being clear there are no other envelopes there…
Now this may not sound amazing to you, but mentalism effects are often very simple – the real “secret” comes in the performance – and that is something I will reveal in greater depth in another article.
Now, I don’t know about you, but when I first came across this magic trick I was very skeptical that anyone would believe it was anything special. So I started using it – the first time I can tell you I was shaking, literally, in front of a VERY senior client. I mean, I was using this effect to “prove” that I have great perception skills, and the client I was showing this to has spent a lot of money with us over time. The room was maybe 45 people, all very well educated, intelligent and switched on… I certainly was setting my standards high!
Anyway, I needn’t have worried, at the end of the session I was mobbed by various people asking how I had done it, and I overheard literally loads of possible solutions – all of them RIDICULOUS!!!
But that is what is so good about mentalism, even when I revealed the solution to one of my colleagues he almost refused to believe it was that simple.
The second time I used this effect was at a trainer session – I was teaching trainers how to use effects like this to improve their status with their clients. As the mentalism revealed itself to be little more than three predictions, I had to spend another 15 minutes explaining and re-explaining that I simply had NO idea what the volunteer would say, and that I had no idea how to guide them what to say. Even when I took the audience step by step through what I had really done, some of them still could not understand that it was performed in this way.
How did I make them so sure it couldn’t have been the simple act of three predictions? Well – the amazing thing about humans and mentalism is this – we all tend toward the most unlikely solution IF it is explained and sold in a convincing way! So, when I was first doing this effect, Derren Brown was often on television, and people loved his explanation of embedding commands into the audiences mind. SO I simply said things to my volunteer like
“Lets not go round in circles”
“As we talk, please don’t think I will try and, you know, try angle your thoughts in one direction…”
“Its really neither here, nor square….”
Yes – ridiculous, but afterwards he confided in me that he heard some of the commands (as he called them) and then was concerned that he was making the right choice!
The great thing is, I could do EXACTLY the same method (ie, HOW i ACTUALLY did the magic trick) but with a different explanation – to suit the times, my audience, me and so on…you want examples…?
So I could link with the spirits, and get some clues from the spirit helper, who would tell me in advance what was going to be said
OR
I could claim to be expert at seeding ideas, say at a sales conference, and so long as my opening script mentioned the shapes, people would believe that
OR
I could claim to have hypnotised the volunteer to say what I want them to say….
You see the thing I really like about mentalism is it is SO versatile. The real magic secret that you need to understand is that it is all in the performance. Certainly some magical ability helps, and will allow for greater effects, but I would never have believed the reactions I have had to the effect above, if I hadn’t seem them myself.
I would love to know how this effect works for you, and anything you would like to add to it is well received.
Do You Want to Discover the Fast and Easy Way to Amaze Friends & Family, Be Star of Any Party and Impress Lover?
Click Here to Get Easy Mentalism Now:
==> www.mind-reading-tricks.com
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Graham has been interested in Mentalism and Magic for many years, but it was a series of meetings with some of magics professionals just three years ago that taught him some of the real secrets to being a top performer. Graham uses Mentalism to entertain and instruct in his training sessions, often claiming the effects are a result of “embedding commands” and subtle reading of “micro-signals”. His ongoing interest is in practical solutions to performing Mentalism to amaze, astound and entertain others. You can catch up here: mentalismrevealed.net/
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“Mind reading is the most popular part of mentalism. ” – Bradlee Carter
“Modern and contemporary performers mostly state openly that their abilities come from being able to accurately read body language, among other techniques used by mentalists.” – Rachel Rodriguez
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Mentalists have been performing an art called mentalism for many years. Mentalism is considered a form of a performing art that involves the performer to use their mental acuity and the principles that are basic to stage magic to give the illusion of psychic abilities including psychokinesis, precognition, and mind control. Most mentalists also use hypnosis in their mentalism routines. Modern mentalism can be traced back to test given to people who claimed to have supernatural powers in the 19th Century.
The use of hypnosis in mentalism effects are varied. Some mentalists use hypnosis as a cover for their effects while others use them as a part of the effect.
Mentalism effects include many different forms of magic. Mind reading and mind control are perhaps the most common. However, utilization of effects to give the appearance of psycho-kinetic is also very common. During a mentalists routine, they will use two very standard tests based on the tests used in the 19th century. The most common is called the book test. During the book test, a spectator will be asked to choose a page at random. They will then be asked to choose a word, or words, at random and concentrate on the page number and the word, or words, chosen. The book will then be closed and the mentalist will attempt to read the mind of the spectator and find the chosen page as well as the chosen text. This test has been modified to become a more compact effect that can be performed anywhere. It is now performed using a deck of playing cards.
Another popular version of mentalism is psycho-kinetic. There are many popular ways to handle this. One of them is to make objects, as well as the mentalist, and even other people, to levitate. During psycho-kinetic effects, the mentalist will “make” objects move with his or her mind. Mentalists also use chalk slates for predictions and give the appearance of mind control. During mind control effects, hypnosis is commonly used. The most common form of hypnosis used during such effects is called covert hypnosis, or conversational hypnosis.
To use conversational hypnosis, they have to be able to achieve several simple tasks. First, the mentalist needs to get the attention of the person being hypnotized, and maintain it. Once the mentalist has the spectators full attention, they will then need to develop a rapport with the subject. Once the rapport is built, the mentalist can then induce a trance like state by using specific language. Once the subject is hypnotized, the mentalist can then present the subject with the suggestions. This can be done in a conversational manner that leaves the subject completely unaware that they are being subjected to a form of hypnosis.
Many magicians now use mentalist techniques coupled with hypnosis techniques. In the past, mentalists used their abilities for their own profit, more then actual entertainment. They claimed that they actually had supernatural abilities. Modern and contemporary performers mostly state openly that their abilities come from being able to accurately read body language, among other techniques used by mentalists. The abilities are shown by these performers as nothing more then a performance. However, some contemporary mentalists still maintain that they have these powers, yet fail the tests that are presented before them. Mentalists such as Geller still maintain that they have psychic abilities and psycho-kinetic abilities, however, can not prove it unless under their controlled circumstances.
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Rachel Rae is an online product reviewer. to learn more about Hypnosis & Mentalist then you must visit the world’s best resource. Go to this site mentalist2hypnosis.com.
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“Persuasion is key to having a great performance.” – Bradlee Carter
