Minimal Mentalism 3

 

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Minimal Mentalism III Written by Pablo Amirá

© 2019, Pablo Amirá No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher

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Table of Content Introduction 1. Tree Theory: A meta-theory in the study of Mystery

Performance  2.Animalistic Opener: ANY animal is decided by your

participant using a very fair procedure. From your bag you take a big photo of that precise animal!  3. Enchanting Connection: A full close up act using nothing

more than a pendulum, some business card and the power of connection  4. Minimal Q&A: A minimal approach to the greatest

Mentalism experience ever. Just some business cards are needed to create wonderful moments of reading, mindreading and precognition, revealing answers to thought of questions.  5. "Present Tarot" Reading System: My approach to offer

a powerful, special an unique Tarot Reading.  6. NamePlace: A simple-to-execute interpretation of one of

the classics from our Master Mindreader. 

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7. Dichotomic Certainty: A wonderful double-prediction,

using a shuffled deck of cards in use. 

8. Goal: A meaningful and powerful moment of mindreading,

which features the UCCD, a new ne w fun DIY gimmick that you can carry to create wonderful telepathic experiences.  9. E5PMancy: A Minimalistic reading approach using your 5

ESP Cards.  10.Solo: Only one playing card as prediction is left on the

table. One card is mentally chosen using a fair procedure. 100% correct prediction. A new way to predict ANY playing card that you WILL USE. 11.Tangible Energies: A stage routine involving powerful

energy and visual demonstrations.  12. The Unique Key: A wonderful mysterious and poetic

version of the "Haunted Key" for couples. Conclusion

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Introduction Simplicity is a value. Thanks for your time and kind appreciation of my work. Minimal Mentalism III is a new adventure, full with simple ideas for your repertoire. I love the minimal approach to performance, not just from an inner perspective, but most important, from the outer one. People must feel that your performance is simple, wellrehearsed, and clear, and this can be achieved with the Minimalist approach to Mentalism. If you follow my work, you know that my first Minimal Mentalism Lecture was offered at Penguin Magic (you can get it at Mentalism Center), and after that, my Minimal Mentalism II, full with interesting ideas and routines that I still perform. In Minimal Mentalism III you will get my latest creations and contributions to the art of Mentalism, that I hope you can enjoy and appreciate.

Pablo Amirá , 2019

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Tree Theory What we do is beautiful. Mystery is one of the greatest aspect of life, and we are blessed as Mystery Performers to being able to channel this experiences and emotions to our audience. I reflect about Mentalism and all related topics every moment in my life. Everything inspire me to move my own art forward, and trying to contribute the state of the art for my colleagues and friends around the world, so for that reason, years ago I wanted to structure a meta-theory of Mystery Performance, in which we could understand a little better what we do. One day I was contemplating a tree and I realize the beautiful complexity and simplicity of it. We can see clear aspects of a tree, and still observe those aspects in a more deep manner to continue our exploration. So the “Tree Theory” is a way to understand what we do as Mystery Performers to achieve excellence our performance. In this analogy, YOU are a tree, and this tree have different parts that we can associate to our life as Mystery Performer. In here I will share with you the basic study of this, but you can reflect about it and came up with your wonderful insights and analogies. !+

 

So, in this basic approach of the “Tree Theory”, we will see four different sections. If you have more interest in this Theory, you can take our Online Mentalism Course at Mentalism Center, in which we use this paradigm to learn Mentalism in an effective manner. 1.  Roots 2.  Trunk 3.  Foliage 4.  Fruits

1.  Roots:

What are your roots as performer? What are those personal aspects that gave you solidity and congruency to your performance? The Roots are all those aspects in yourself (not outside yourself, that could be other part of the analogy of the tree) that ground yourself in solid basis. Your philosophical core aspects as performer, all the aspects that you integrate in yourself from other performers, your subtext, all those essentials dimensions.

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2.  Trunk:

How can you define “technique” in your performance? Which type of techniques are more prominent in your work? How many techniques do you know?

The trunk of this imaginary tree are all the technical capacities that you can develop as Mystery Performer. Be conscious about the fact that we are not only talking about “mechanical techniques” as sleight of hand or specific handlings (of normal or gimmicked props), but also we can consider psychological, verbal, theatrical and communicative techniques. Non-verbal aspects of communication, Language patterns, staging, eye-contact, all those essential techniques than most Mentalism sources don’t talk about, and you need to learn in other places. So, learn as much as you can about everything that you feel coherent with your performance. The more you know, the stronger you trunk will be.

This first two aspects of our Tree are part of our Inner Reality. People don’t need to perceive our Roots or

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our Trunk, they only perceive what is communicated in the Outer Reality, which are the Foliage and the Fruits. 3.  Foliage

Are you a performer? What do you perform? How? Why?

The Foliage in our imaginary tree is basically our performance. Everything that we explicitly show to people, as amateur or professional performer. As you can understand, our foliage depends completely in our roots and our trunk. Our scripts, our approach to Mystery Performance, our selected routines to perform, every aspect of the Foliage depends in our previous observation of Roots and Trunk. If I don’t know how to do a Bottom Deal, I will not use the routine that use a Bottom Deal, but because I am well versed in psychological techniques to force the bottom card from a deck of cards, I can then change the original routine, and perform my own variant (foliage), substituting a mechanical technique for !$

 

 

other a psychological one. So as you can see, your Trunk influence your Foliage. Maybe I could love that routine that I saw on TV from that performer that uses psychological influence, but if it doesn’t fit my persona as performer (Roots), I  just can’t can’t perform it in tha thatt manner (Foliag (Foliage). e). M Maybe aybe I can change some aspects of the Foliage to make it fit according my Roots, or I can change my Roots to make that Foliage fit me.

As you can see, these simple analogies can offer you great insights and new approaches of understanding. 4.  Fruits

What are the unique moments in your performance? Are you expressing you own unique message as performer? What can you do, that anyone else can do? Do you consider Mentalism your art?

As you can understand, a tree without fruits is still a tree. The same happens with the pragmatic practice of Mentalism. Inherently, Mentalism is not an art, but it can be in the hands of an artful performer.

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The fruits are those aspects of authentic beauty that you can add to your foliage, and make your performance more colorful, delicious, and why not, nutritious. A “commercial performer” that doesn’t need explicit artistic expressions and he just work as entertainer, doesn’t really need to create this “fruits”, but if you are inclined to explore Mentalism as a personal path of communication, I invite you to observe your potential fruits. There is so much more to observe in this “Tree Theory”, that my invitation for you is to reflect in this ideas. Be open to receive new insights, and observe different trees around you, and how can you translate the structure of those trees in congruence with this theory. Some trees have visible roots, others fall off because they don’t have roots, other have a small foliage and a big trunk, others a small trunk but no foliage, others have just a few fruits, and others a lot of fruits and foliage. Open your eyes to new ideas, and you will see new results.

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Animalistic Opener

History

I love to explore different themes in performance, which are first interesting to me (so I can communicate them in an authentic manner) and the letting my audience to care, from their own personal experiences. “Animals” are part of our life experience, in different ways, and in this fun opener you will use an imagined animal and a prediction to create a direct and powerful way to establish your performance.

Outer Reality

The mystery performer announce an interesting photograph inside a velvet bag of mystery. After a simple and fair procedure, a participant decides for an animal from the entire set of options in the animal kingdom. The performer reaches inside his bag, and takes a big picture, which correctly predicts that animal!

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Inner Reality 

This is a fantastic light opener, direct, short in procedure and fun to perform. At the core of the method we will explore Equivoque, in an “Imaginary” fashion and use the different outs that we can use inside the MultiVelvet Bag (which you can get at Arkanosophy).

Because we are using a “parlor size bag, we can use a big photo. I recommend a photograph and not a written prediction ,to add a visual element to this routine.

You will see that you can add different variants and ideas to this routine, so you can tailor it to your own style and preferred methods.

The animal kingdom can be divided in 6 groups:

1. Invertebrates 2. Fish 3. Amphibians 4. Reptiles 5. Birds 6. Mammals

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Basically, you will force one of those groups using Equivoque, and then using the outs that you prepared to reveal the particular animal.

The fun aspect in using this groups, is that there are several which are not memorable, or are not just familiar to people. So I normally use either Birds or Mammals as group, and then prepare bird or mammals which are easily name. In a way, calling this Equivoque is unfair, and similar to what my friend Art Vanderlay calls the “Familiarity Principle”.

So, let’s say that you will prepare three mammals (Monkey, Lion and Cow for example)

“So in the animal kingdom we have a lot groups… we have Invertebrates (start to pointing to an invisible space in the air), Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds… Name one of those groups…”

As you can see, I place mammals as penultimate. The last one is too obvious, so people will tend to say “mammals”. If that doesn’t happen, just add:

“fantastic… take that group in an imaginary manner with your right hand, and with your left hand, take other one…” !*

 

 

Again, you have other option to place “mammals “mammals”” into focus. If your participant takes other group and not “mammals”, you can frame this as elimination, and then continue with other Equivoque procedure.

Most of the time, “mammals” will be already in the conversation, so you can and the end ask the participant to  “hand one one of those groups groups to me”, a and nd aga again, in, fra framing ming the participant reply in a coherent way so “mammals” becomes focus of the performance. In the case that “mammals” is not named you can ask the participant to hand you two of those groups, and then play again with the “hand one of those groups to me”. As you can imagine, no matter what, “mammals” will be center of focus (if you want extra ideas about Equivoque, you can take our online course at Mentalism Center). Now, after “mammals” is the group, you can say:

“So, we reduce the possibilities. Name one of the mammals that comes to mind …”

Again, if your participant names one of the outs that you prepared, you are ready to show it. Remember, EVERYTHING #+

 

that happens was the desire outcome. There is no a “better out”.

If your participant doesn’t name a “mammal” that you predict, you can ask for other ones, in the same fashion (potentially) as before, in the first Equivoque situation. You can offer free decisions EVEN if the participant names a predicted “mammal” as first option. Having this possibility only opens the sense of freedom which is essential in this routine. So, after this procedure (that reads long because it has complexity but in the outer reality is very direct and simple), you will take the photo, show the bag empty (in a subtle manner) and reveal your prediction. Normally I print a “funny picture” of the animal, so it has that extra emotional element.

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Extra Ideas

1.  You can use Art Vanderlay-5u1n6u3d structure, and use the bag for multiple options. If you have this routine, you will understand. 2.  An idea from my friend Aaron Vlack is to ask your participant to select an animal, and use the dichotomic choice of wild animal and domestic one. Then you can force “domestic” and have just a few options that you can then reveal using the different outs. 3.  If you want more options, you can use double-face photos, envelopes, etc. Use your creativity to expand the options if you want.

Inspiration and Reference

Inspiration to my friend Art Vanderlay and his wonderful  “5u1n6u3d“ routine. routine. The use of animals as theme of the performance was used by various authors, including Christopher Caldwell in the Brainstorm DVD series

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Enchanting Connection

History

This is one of my special pieces whenever I do wedding performances, or I want to share a symbolic piece with a couple. A full piece which combines a personal thought, a participant-centered experience and most important, a powerful metaphor using our loved Pendulum.

Outer Reality

A couple is invited to experience a memorable moment. Alice takes one of your business cards and writes a positive, constructive word that is part of the wonderful love adventure with Peter, his couple. That written card is inserted in a small stack of blank cards and mixed. Peter, after learning how to use a pendulum, is invited to trust his intuition and find the appropriated written card. After finding it, the performer is able to reveal that thought word. #%

 

Inner Reality

For this beautiful piece of close up Mentalism you need a stack of your business cards, a pen and a pendulum. Just with that, you have not just 10-15 minutes of powerful and practical entertainment, but also a memorable experience for sure. I normally ask the female participant to write the word with emotional content and then the male participant to search and find the written card using the pendulum, you can switch if you want but I found that in this was the routine is more effective. A woman has a more cultural and natural tendency to be conscious about her emotions, so the written word will be better in this case. Our male participant, after seeing that you are a caring person, will trust in you and flow with the dynamic. So, you can ask for any type of congruent word, I normally ask for a “word that describes in a  positive , constructive   and beautiful  way  way your relationship”   Be emphatic about those words. You don’t want to reveal

some negative words in this routine. So, now you will take 4 extra cards, and ask the participant to place her card inside. You will apparently just mix the card #&

 

 

casually, but in reality, you will control it to the bottom. Use your preferred method for this. Personally I just treat the business cards and playing cards, but always remembering that for the Outer Reality I am just a person that handles cards in a casual manner. Never show your sleight of hand. So now, you will have the written card on bottom. DON’T PEEK IT YET. Now hand the male participant a pendulum, so he can experience the power of his mind. Take one of your business card (from your stack, not from the 5 ones) and draw a basic basic pendulum d diagram iagram (A circle w with ith a pl plus us sign). Guide your participant into a pendulum experience, in which he will be able to understand how to move the pendulum with his mind. During this mesmerizing experience, you have all the time of the world to take the stack of 5 cards and do what I call a  “Casual Peek”, Peek”, w which hich is ba basica sically lly just m move ove your ha hands nds in natural ways, while holding the stack, and secretly read the written word from the bottom (you can learn other similar techniques at my eBook B´Cards). You need a proper motivation to take the stack of cards of course. For example you can say:

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 “Excellent,  “Excelle nt, and w while hile you m move ove the pe pendulum ndulum iin n a circ circular ular manner, in a moment you will use this new superpower to do something interesting with Alice´s thought…” While you say this, there is a natural motivation to take the stack and point to it. During this, you will peek. Now just keep the stack in your hand and after your participant understand how to use the pendulum, you will place the 5 business cards face down, on the table in a row. As you know , the written card will be on bottom. Place the card 4th from your left. We will now use Equivoque to force the card, but using the pendulum as object of focus (I call this Penduvoque). The pendulum in here is just a dramatic add-on. “ We will just trust in your intuition and in the power that you now understand how it works. Don’t think, just flow…We will eliminate some cards, keeping just one… Pass the pendulum slowly on top of each card, in a moment you will feel something not in a particular card, but in a space between them…” After the participant does this, he will select a space between two cards. In here, you will interpret the action as you need

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with non-verbal confidence, to compensate the ambiguous wording that you use.

As you can understand, we have four spaces, four possibilities. 1.  If the participant places the pendulum on the first or 2nd space, you will eliminate the cards around. In this case you will eliminate two cards, keeping three on the table. 2.  If the participant places the pendulum on the 3rd or 4th  space, you will keep the cards around. In this case you will eliminate three cards, keeping two on the table.

Now, depending of the situation, you will ask again the participant, to use the pendulum to arrive to the final decision. These are recommended actions to take, remember that the key element of Equivoque is naturalness in the procedure, so become a congruent outer process. You can use the ones that you find natural to your own words and actions: 1.  If you have three cards on the table (one of them is the written card of course) touch two cards cards with his #)

 

hand, while in the other, holding the pendulum. If the participant touch the two indifferent cards, you interpret his action as elimination. If he moves one of the blanks and the written one, you will take both cards in your hands and do one more step of elimination, asking him to imagine that one of those start to float. If the written card starts to float, is the selected one (in a magical state), if the other is the floating card, that imaginary dynamic means elimination. 2.  Go to the “Floating” dynamic previously explained. So, using the Pendulum as element of focus in the Equivoque procedure, you will arrive to the written card. Now, reveal the blank cards in a dramatic manner and then reveal the written word in the most realistc and holistic manner. Involve not just the rational (different letters, quantity of letters, etc), but also the emotions aspects (memories, other people associated with this word, colors, sounds, etc) My recommendation in this routine is that you DON’T reveal the exact word, for two reasons. First, having a one-degree separation indirectly communicates that you #*

 

 

didn’t peek (if you peek the word, you know it 100% right) and also, you keep the experience in the ethereal and subjective world of emotions, which is what you want it here. If the word is “Light”, you can reveal maybe G-H (Banachek-Brain Game) as “rational revelation” but then go directly to different associated potential emotional aspects of that word. I know that you are creative enough to apply your own style in performance. As you can see, a wonderful practical piece that requires only a few simple props, which are used in a solid structure which cancels any method possible. In itself, the emotional approach to performance allows you to let people just enjoy the experience, without even caring about methods. Try it with an open mind and heart, and you will be part of new stories for your audiences.

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Extra Ideas

1.  You can also use my “Suggestion Force” technique, from my book “Ideas about Pendulums” 2.  What if you get a negative word? Because you will peek the word, you can, after the participant decides for the card, pocket it and reveal the word only to the female participant. 3.  If you want, you can also secretly mark the written card at the back, so the participant itself can mix them. I don’t find it needed, but you can do it if you want. 4.  For this routine I use my “Locket Pendulum”, which is available at Arkanosophy.

Inspiration and References

This routine is a variant of my “Dream Suggestion” routine from “Ideas about Pendulums”, which is inspired by Annemann-Living & Death Test. Docc Hilford and Richard Webster have interesting work along this lines

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Minimal Q&A

History

I love Q&A, I love Minimalism in Mentalism, so I have several version to achieve this fantastic piece using this approach. I love the boldness of the classic Dunninger approach to Q&A, which I saw live in the hands of Kreskin. A truly masterful demonstration of mindreading and an implicit teaching in the exploration of effectiveness. With this routine, you will be able to read minds in powerful manners just using business cards, some writing implements, and very simple classic techniques.

Outer Reality

The performer invites three participants are invited to write questions about their future in business cards. He kept a small stack of business cards to keep notes. The questions are buried inside the rest of the cards, which other member of the audience places inside the performer´s pocket. $$

 

 

From this moment, the performer is able to reveal with precision each one of the questions, creating wonderful moments of reading, mindreading and precognition.

Inner Reality

This approach to Q&A using business cards is inspired by the wonderful Dunninger/Kreskin, which is basically, stealing billets and then opening them secretly using a cover. It is simple, it is bold, and it works in the hands of the competent perfomer. How to be competent? First of all, embrace this method as valid, and then work not just in the mechanical techniques, but most important, the psychological and staging aspects. I saw Kreskin doing his Q&A and he is not really a master of sleight of hand, basically because he doesn’t need to be! He stole the billets from inside and envelope just in the action of moving and passing thru the audience. At one moment he act as if he also felt to the ground, and in that action, he just put his hand inside the envelope and took some of the papers (they were not really  “billets” as as we imagine, , but jjust ust smal smalll pieces of paper folded once).



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So, in “Minimal Q&A”, we are extrapolating the basic concept to business cards (or blank cards). The aesthetic of the object in itself solves an important aspect of this Q&A approach. In the classic one, after you stole some billets and you place them in your pocket, you need to use other type of object to cover the secret peek. Dunninger used a writing board, the same as Kreskin. In this approach, we will use the business card itself as natural cover object. You can use as much participants as you want in this routine, all depends in your context. Let’s say that we will ask 3 members of the audience to write questions about their own unknown future. If you are well versed in Q&A, you know how to deliver your initial script. As you know, in this approach we only use a stack of business cards and writing implements (I use Sharpies so people can write easily), but you need a small preparation to identify each question using secret markings (although not necessary, makes everything flowing during the reveals). In this situation we will use my “Bump Marking System” to secretly identify each question.

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In this marking system, we are actually using the writing that you prepare for each participant as method of identification. They look alike right? But if you see carefully the line below  “Question”  “Questi on” and y you ou div divide ide it in th three ree pa parts, rts, y you ou will rea realize lize that the first question has a “bump” on the first section, the 2nd question a casual “bump” on the 2 nd section, and the third one, the same idea. You can apply this casual system of identification with anything that you have written on the business card.

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So, let’s go no with the core mechanics of “Minimal Q&A”. The mechanic handling in this is as important as the staging and choreography, so you need to rehearse everything in a clear manner so everything is constructed properly. Keep your business cards in a case (I use the Arkanosophy Business Card case) but you can use any one that you have, or at least, a rubberband. At the beginning of your routine, you will place your case (or the rubberband) in your right pocket. Again, this is important to motivate everything at the moment of the steal of the cards. Now, hand those three business card and markers to three members of the audience, to write questions about the potential future. While they do this, you will leave a portion of business cards in a visible place in your performing space (at right-stage, if you are right handed). Mention this so people can understand that you did it. You can place it on top of a wine glass for example. This is a crucial moment, keep the rhythm of our performance and don’t allow “dead time”. While they are writing, keep engaging your audience in conversation, so they can keep the interest in the performance. After all this, collect the cards back, shuffle them and place them inside the stack. $(

 

 

“Let’s place the question somewhere inside the others…” In the action of placing them on the middle, you will control them (together) to the top of the stack. “It doesn’t matter where these questions are, the important aspect is that each one of you can focus…” While you say this, you will spread a little bit the cards and get a break below the cards on top. You can do it in a secret manner by using a Pinky Count, but it is not needed. Now, you will direct the attention to your right pocket, and you will ask a member of the audience to remove the business card case (or rubberband) from inside your pocket. In this moment, you will have a natural moment to palm all three cards from the top of the stack with your right hand. Now you will hand the stack of cards to the member of the audience so he can place the rubberband around (or place the cards inside the case). While he does this, you will deposit the stolen cards in your right pocket or on top of the stack that you left previously. If you take the 2nd route, you need to structure a motivated action to take the stack. For example you can walk towards the stack and say:

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“In a moment, I will write something in one of this other cards… an initial test of calibration…”

With that line, you are motivating the action that you need to do to deposit the stolen written cards. So now, you have access to all the questions. After this, you can structure you reveals as you want. Take your time, you have all the secure information in your hands (literally). Sometimes I pass four cards (in this example) from the top to the bottom, so I can have all three questions facing myself and a blank business card as cover, so I can take notes. Whenever I want to have access to one of the question, I can move the blank cover card and peek. If I want to peek the 2nd question, I can lift the blank cover business card and the 1st question, and so on. Remember that thanks to the “Bump Marking System”, you can know the author of each question. So, this is the basic handling for Minimal Q&A. Of course, that Q&A is all about the interaction, conversation, reading and the answer, which is the most important aspect. You have now a wonderful and flexible method in your toolkit that you can use.

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Extra Ideas 1.  For “Sneak Thief” type routines, you can use the

 “Bump Markin Marking g Sys System” tem” on a square in whic which h the participants can draw for example. 2.  If you want, you can also ask each participant to write his name on the card. In this manner, you can have an extra element of revelation, especially if you script your instruction in a way that your audience understands that you just asked for the question.

Inspiration and References

Minimal Q&A is completely inspired by the work of Dunninger and Kreskin. Richard Osterlind-Thought Scan is a great method, which is also inspired by the classic. In my “Minimal Mentalism II Lecture” I have other approach called “Close Up Q&A” that uses a different methodology, but in the same criteria that this one, that you might find interesting. If you don’t know how to answer questions (which is the most important aspect) I invite you to study the work from Kenton Knepper, Richard Webster, Paul Voodini, John Riggs and Bob Cassidy (his Q&A Masterclass is wonderful)

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Present Tarot System

There are many approaches which you can use to read Tarot. You can keep only one, being strict to that, or you can mix different school of thoughts. My recommendation for you is to NOT learn from any source from the Internet. Internet is a beautiful virtual space, but also it is full of crap, and the Tarot is not crap and it is not “just made up whatever you want”. Tarot has a tradition, and after learning the rules you can be bold enough to break them, with a purpose.

If you study for example the work of Paul Voodini, you can see an Tarot Reader that has understanding of the performance aspect to it, which is essential for beginners that comes from a Mystery Performance background. If you want to go deeper, you can study the work of my mentor Kenton Knepper. We have a system called “Tarot without Memory” which offers interesting conversations and views during readings. He has a lot of extra work that you need to check if you are interested. If you want to go away the Mystery Performance dimension, you can study the work of

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my master Alejandro Jodorowsky, Enrique Enriquez, Yoav Ben-Dov and many others that you find that can add value to your perspectives. Again, don’t believe in everything that you read (don’t believe even in this precise words), but open your mind and be a healthy skeptic. This system is based in the Humanistic Psychology theory, especially from the work of Carl Rogers (Client-Centered Therapy) and Frits Perlz (Here and Now). For more information about that, you can check my essay about Humanistic Performance at Mentalism Center. This is not revolutionary at all, just a systematic reminder that in my work is always present (pun intended) In the Present Tarot System, we will not create a new set of meaning of the cards, or the process in which you will read them (classic divination, narrative/poetic ways, open readings, psychomagic approach, etc.) but it is a paradigm in which you will understand every conversation and dynamic. In the Present Tarot System, we will NOT predict the future and we will NOT focus on the past. The past doesn’t exist anymore, just memories of it. The future doesn’t exist yet, and we have wonderful opportunities in there as reader. We will focus completely into the PRESENT as the only state in which we can truly experience reality. We can IMPLANT an observation of a constructive future %$

 

 

based in the cards which are dealt in your spread. We can only experience in this moment the present-past and the present-future. We are always in the present.

Notice the word constructive, and not positive perse. Life is a balance, life is not always full of flowers and smiles. And that’s fine. If we fall into the trap of “happiness”, we will not offer our participant/client a realistic view, but if we understand the concept of “wellness” (Positive Psychology) we can realize that even in sad situations we can keep our balance, our wellness, do whatever we can, and receive the best that we can receive at that precise moment. Personally, I found much more fulfilling, honest and genuine that just saying “everything will be happy, always”. That’s just a lie, don’t become a charlatan. It is very different to state with our approach that  “everything  “every thing wi will ll be the b best est poss possible ible if yo you u do ev everything erything in your hands to influence in positive ways”

All futures are possible, and thanks to the Present Tarot System, we will open the perspective of a potential future in which our participant/client takes responsibility of his own life, decisions and paths.

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Again, we will NOT predict the future (because we really can, and if you don’t have proper competences and skills, you can destroy someone), but we will peek from one of the windows, in which the participant can do everything that he has in his hands to CREATE a better future.

In the Present Tarot System we will always have a clear question, as detailed as possible. This is a symbolic act in itself. If we have a general question without specifications, we are not being conscious about what we really want to observe as focus. In the “Present Tarot” approach we NEVER give advice. My mentor Kenton Knepper says: add-vice. How are you to offer advice? You are a human being, as the person that you have in front. You don’t know more about life or his/her own life that his/her. You are only the Tarot Expert that is offering new perspectives. Let the client understand your constructive implantation, focused into the present, how he/she desires. One of the first things that I learn during my Psychology studies from my teachers was this simple fact: Yes, some people wants to avoid responsibility and wants to hear from others advice. Don’t do it. Let them figure his own path. You are there to offer some light, not the way. %&

 

 

So, let’s see an example of a “Present Tarot” reading: Female, 40 years old aprox, asking for her relationships in life. She was married, now she is divorce and she feels that there is no other person for her as partner. Her question is: “Will I get a partner?”

“The Moon, the Hanged man and Strength, wow, wonderful cards that can offer fantastic insight and wisdom for you now. I can see that in the past of your relationships we can find some good moments for sure, but a lot of learnings, some sadness and pain that can also teach you a lot for future moments, not just for other partner, but for your own respect as person. Presently, you are in a situation of new questions,

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new understandings, new perspectives. This is a reminder to always see your events in life from different perspectives, allowing your mind and heart to receive as much learning as  possible. Maybe Maybe iin n the pas pastt you had tende tendencies ncies of bei being ng fixated in your own words and views, but the Hanged Man invites you to go out of your comfort zone, be brave and enjoy life even when some things are apparently “just bad”…maybe are not “just bad”, but it depends in the angle in which you see them. I obviously cant tell you if you will get a new  partner soon, bu butt I sens sense e that there a are re peop people le around you that offers you a lot of love, and you can count on them. Remember that even when you are “alone”, you are not alone, but you are with yourself. Maybe this is a time to be with yourself, to love yourself, to love someone because you need him, not in reverse. You don’t need anyone to be valid or to be loved. The Strength reminds you to be the one that takes responsibility of your own self-love. Everything else will occur at the appropriate time…this makes sense to you?”

We can talk about this 3 card spread for hours as you might know. Remember always to be centered in the present, in the participant/client responsibility, to her own actions in life and to observe with her this potential future of empowerment.

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NamePlace

History

One of the masterpieces from Bob Cassidy is without a doubt, his billet routine “Name and Place”. The psychological structure of the routining, the flowing dynamic of the mindreading moments and the beautiful combination of classic principles and techniques is indeed a pure gem. In this approach, we will use a stack of business cards and a very simple structure that will give us the same result, for those situations in which you have your stack of cards at hand.

Outer Reality

A couple is invited to focus in different pieces of information. One of them thinks in the name of a famous person in history, other in a location in the world. Both words are written in business cards. After this, one of them is eliminated, which is placed back inside the stack of cards, being the one visible the target thought.

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Not only the mindreader is able to reveal this thought, but as a bonus moment of mindreading, he also reveal the other thought.

Inner Reality

If you know the original approach from Bruce Bernstein (Telepathy & Clairvoyance), and the popular “Name and Place” by Bob, you will know that billets, peeks and the wonderful “one-ahead” principle is in play in here. In this approach, we will just use two business cards, which are not folded, but business card techniques to peek the content of one, and thanks to the routining, get the 2 nd peek in an open manner. Hand each pre-written card to your participants (one says  “Name:”  “Name :” and o other ther “P “Place:”) lace:”) and ask them to w write rite ttheir heir thoughts. After this, ask one of them to collect the cards, mix them and hand you one as elimination. Ask him to place it on the middle of the stack. Now, you will secretly control that  “eliminated”  “eliminat ed” card to the b bottom ottom of the stack. In a m moment, oment, you will do peek based in the wonderful Larry Becker-Sneak Thief routine. In the action of showing the first business card as blank, as focus point to clear everything from their mind,

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you will have the perfect motivation lift the entire stack and peek the written business card that you have on bottom. Let’s say that you peek : “France” Obviously, it is the “place” that you have in the stack, so you need to convey the idea that you are getting the thought  “France” from the card tha thatt your pa participa rticipant nt kept in her hand.

Now, reveal slowly “France” in the most realistic manner that you can. Take your blackboard (or any bigger surface that you use) a write “France”, but don’t ask your participant to name the thought outloud (this is the beautiful thinking that comes from Bob and also Annemann), but ask the participant to open her hand and miscall “France”. In reality, you will &!

 

 

read for yourself the “Name” in the open. Now direct attention to your blackboard and reveal “France”.

As you can understand, we are in a wonderful position. Apparently the demonstration is over, but you are one ahead indeed, and you can reveal the 2 nd thought, the one that was  “eliminated  “eliminat ed in the first pla place”. ce”. A completely impromptu, ungimmicked, practical and powerful routine now in your hands. In any way I am trying to dismiss the wonderful power of the classic, but just adding a new extra option, which is always nice to have.

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Extra Ideas

1.  Of course, that you can use any theme and pair of target thoughts for this routine. Bob sometimes used  “East and West Des Destinatio tination”, n”, you ca can n also use ““Soft Soft and Hard Drink”, “Living and Dead” (I use this approach for one of my shows and in it really creates a powerful moment, especially with a deeper conversation about “death” and “memories”). At the end, you can use anything that you want, depending of the context. 2.  If you know Emran Riaz-Godspeed, you can think in way in which you can do this approach with only two business cards. 3.  You can peek the business card in other ways. You can learn more techniques in my eBook B´Cards and in my book “Telepathic Artifacts”.

Inspiration and References

NamePlace is completely inspired by the classic Bob CassidyName and Place, taking concepts from Larry Becker-Sneak Thief .

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Dichotomic Certainty

History

You just need to think a little bit extra, to create something new. What you create doesn’t need to be revolutionary, but functional and with a clear purpose. While searching for methods to force a playing card using a fair procedure, I found a method that could work, but it has a small issue, which then transform into an opportunity, as in life. After playing with some potential methods, I came up with a combination that doesn’t only allow you to predict a playing card, but also the “almost” decided one!

Outer Reality

A participant mixes deck of cards. Then after some moments of concentration, the performer takes a piece of paper and writes something. After two simple procedures of elimination, the participant keeps two of the playing cards, finally keeping one of them.

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At the end of this, the performer can show his prediction, which precisely explains everything!

Inner Reality 

Dichotomic Certainty uses a wonderful procedure that comes from Al Leech, in which you will force two playing cards, the ones that are on top of the deck. My first exploration was about single prediction procedures with a deck of cards, so this “two card” position was an issue. But then, I allow myself to change the question of my exploration: “what exploration:  “what if I use this position to force TWO  playing cards cards ins instead? tead? O One ne decided and one ALM ALMOST OST decided”? This shift, allowed this routine. So you can ask your participant to shuffle the deck. Then, after some moments of concentration, looking the deck for a moment and the participant, you will basically notice the top two cards and wrote them in this manner (let’s say that the cards are the 3 of Hearts and 6 of Diamonds) “Your will choose the 3 of Hearts  Hearts  &'

 

 ALMOST the 6 of D Diam iamonds onds !” I took the idea of a double prediction with an “almost” factor from the wonderful Magazine Test form Richard Osterlind, a masterpiece indeed. So, if you don’t know the Al Leech procedure, you will basically ask the participant to deal playing cards until he desires. Because your forced cards are on top, now they will be on bottom of your new small pack. Then, you will ask the participant two take that new pack and deal them in two piles, to continue the process of elimination. So now, as you can understand, from those two piles, you will have your forced playing cards, each one on top. Now comes the wonderful moment of this routine. You will add a simple “Equivoque” procedure to frame each playing card as you desire, to let the prediction be correct. So, your participant will take both playing cards, each one in each hand, now say: “In a moment, you will feel something. Don’t rationalize it,  just feel it. And as soon a as s I snap my finger fingers, s, you wi will ll hand one of those playing cards to me, to finish this…(SNAP)”

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That script is golden. As you can see, we are not defining the action that your participant will do. We will label the  “selected playi playing ng cards cards”” and the “alm “almost ost selec selected ted one” as we need. So for example, if your participant hands you the 3 of Hearts, you will say: “Excellent, so you choose the 3 of Hearts, but ALMOST you decided for (point to the participant playing card)…”6 of Diamond…” Again, in Equivoque, your script and non-verbals are fundamental. Be confident, you know that precisely THAT would happen. I know what you are thinking… how can I know which one the participant hands to me? Simple, I just see it using peripheral vision while I gesture with it. Also, I can use the secret markings. Now, what happens if the participant hands you “Turkey”? “Excellent, so you choose as destination (point to the  participant  participa nt postca postcard)…” rd)…” “L “Las as Vega Vegas” s” but AL ALMO MOST ST you decided for Turkey…”

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As you can read, the WORDS ARE THE SAME. You just change the order of your actions. With confidence, you can construct the reality that you want. So now, you can reveal your prediction, and be a double prophet with a weird sense of humour.

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Extra Ideas

1.  If you have my “Mental Post Cards”, you can use this exact routine to predict two destinations! 2.  You could also explore the possibility in using three piles and three cards. One for you, one for the participant, and other one that stays on the table. You can use “MultiVelvet” bag as tool for multiple outs. 3.  If you have my “USD” (Universal Switch Device) you can predict with precision only one card, using two outs.

Inspiration and References

Inspiration from Al Leech for the wonderful and simple elimination procedure. Max Maven-Predixion is also a very nice use of this technique.

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Goal

History

As a psychologist, I constantly learn new concepts, school of thoughts and ideas, and one beautiful quote from Milton Erickson, inspired me to let my coachees (people that take the path of coaching as life development process) that a dream is different that a goal, and this concept alludes to personal responsibility and habits. For this reason, I wanted to apply this powerful simple idea in Mentalism performance.

Outer Reality

Your participant is invited to write a personal “Goal” in his life, one that he wants to achieve with a clear set of actions and purpose. This written goal is then placed safely between two of your own credit cards, and in your elegant card holder, while you ask him to focus not just in the rational aspect of this “word” but also in the emotional aspects of this goal. Indeed, the mystery performer is able to reveal this '#

 

goal, offering back then the written card to the participant, as a powerful reminder of his commitment.

Inner Reality

In this routine you will learn my UCCD (Universal Credit Card Device), which was one of my first explorations that let me create the UPD (Universal Peek Device) with my colleague Alan Wong at Mystikos. The UCCD is very easy to construct, and will allow you to create fantastic Mentalism, with very casual actions and objects.

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For this, you will use one credit card (or in this case ,a Metro card) that you actually use, and a simple gimmick (the card below) 

Which as you can see, it is not a normal card, but a “window card” (if you know my UPD, you understand now the similarity). Cutting the window in this plastic card is very simple. Just melt a little hole inside the plastic card (using some type of heated wire, be careful) and then use a scissor to cut the rest. Don’t worry if the hole is ugly, obviously people will not see it. You can also cut just a little portion and not a big hole, it is your choice. You need to be sure that then y you ou place tthe he written card in the correct manner. '%

 

So, you introduce the theme of “Goals”, ask your participant to write it down in one word (or a few, if the space allows it), take your plastic cards in a way in which the gimmicked one doesn’t show of course, and then say: “Excellent, lets place it in here for a moment…” Don’t even ask for the card, just take it from his hands. The action of keeping it hidden is completely natural without words. Don’t try to “justify it”. As soon as you try to create a  “rationale”,  “rationa le”, you w will ill add ttoo oo much resis resistance, tance, thus letting the participant involve his own logic, which can ruin the mystery. Just do it and flow. '&

 

 

As you can understand, as soon as you place the written card in the middle of your cards, you will have secret access to the information through the window. Don’t rush it. Take now the cards and place them in your pocket or back to the Minimal leather card holder. In that action, you have again a natural action to peek the card. 

You can use the classic Docc Hilford-Miss the Pocket ploy set of actions. Now you can reveal the goal in a dramatic way. Remember, DON’T focus into the rational aspects of the word, but on the emotional ones. ''

 

As a matter of fact, especially for this telepathic experience, I invite you to NOT reveal the word fully, but describe it in a subjective and abstract manner. After some revelations ask:  “Your Goal Goal is some kind of p physica hysicall effort, s something omething tthat hat you care about…but you have some troubles in the past….other people…a new friend that will come..tell me, what was the word…” ASK the participant the specific word. You already did a lot of realistic telepathic moments. This approach to mindreading will allude that this experience was completely real, and not  just a theatrical theatrical e elaborat laboration. ion. The psy psychology chology here is s simple imple and powerful: If he knew the word, why not reveal it? So, because he couldn’t reveal it but getting some abstract and emotional aspects, he didn’t peek the word, thus, it is a real experience. Now, just take back the written card from the plastic ones and focus the attention on that. People will not care about the plastic cards. Again, just do it and flow. Take the written card in your hands and say: “Oh… climbing a new mountain! Beautiful goal, and I hope that you can bring all your powerful energy to it (while you do a small ritual of energization to the card). '(

 

 

 As soon soon as you rreach each your goa goal, l, you can c contact ontact me a and nd let me know”

As you can see, a simple and powerful routine, using a DIY gimmick that you can use for any mindreading piece. Next time that you do mindreading, study also what is your  “theme” of conver conversatio sation. n. Maybe you ca can n improv improve e your Mentalism if you are conscious about what you are communicating besides the mystery phenomena.

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Extra Ideas

1.  You can use the UCCD also as Pocket Writing Device, Nail Writing Device, and other uses that I invite you to explore. 2.  You can even use your leather minimal card holder as a peek device alone. You can play with different choreographies, writing placement and blocking techniques to do this, if you don’t want to use the UCCD. 3.  If you have credit cards with holograms, you can use them as shiners

Inspiration and Reference

Obviously the UCCD is inspired by the Annemann-Window Envelope. The use of “dreams” in performance is a classic  “emotional”  “emotio nal” app approach roach tto o Mentalism, Mentalism, b but ut the use of “goals” with an explicit differentiation, makes this routine powerful and clear.

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E5PMancy Using Zener Cards as oracle is not a new idea at all. Creators such as Doug Dyment, my dear mentor Kenton Knepper and Alain Nu, among others, have interesting work that you deserve to study.  “E5PMancy”  “E5PMan cy” fol follows lows the gu guides ides of E5P, using an interes interesting ting and simple spread called the “E5P Arrow Spread”. We will create an “Arrow” using your 5 ESP cards, in which each one of the placements has a specific meaning, which you can interpret to create an insightful conversation and exploration about a question about the future. As you can understand, the symbol of an “arrow” has interesting meaning just by itself, alluding to progression, looking forward, going ahead, be brave, etc. First of all, let’s see some of the potential meanings that you can take for each symbol: Circle: Emptiness, New beginning, End of a cycle, The Mind, Universal, Sacred, Unity, Potential, Basics, Center Point, Individuality, Proactivity, Fire.

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Cross: Polarity, Duality, Negation, Life, Balance, Navigation, Productivity, Couple, Decisions, Contrasts between logic and emotion, Spirit. Wavy Lines: Flow, Abundance, Movement, Vibration, Rhythm, Mold, Triangulation, Options, Water. Square: Grounded, Rational, Stable, Strength, Cause and Effect, Security, Conformity, Structure, Home Earth. Star: Success, Power, Ego, Gender, Light, Distance, Luck, Hopes, Dreams, Optimism, Air. You can also use the wonderful Richard WebsterPsychometry from A to Z. You can contact him to get your copy or learn it at my book “Cartomantic Artifacts”.

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In the “E5P Arrow Spread” we will modify the classic “PastPresent-Future” structure, adding an extra element of

 “focused actio action” n” (arrow (arrowhead), head), w which hich is pres presented ented with with the two last cards. (from left to right) First Card: The Past state of this question Second Card: The Present state of this question Third Card: Potential Future of this question Fourth & Fifth: Responsible Action for the participant/sitter to create a constructive future regarding his/her question. Remembering this and the meanings that you will study (you can take the ones that I suggest you and also study other sources) will allow you to create a very effective reading that you can use on your Mentalism performances or even if you offer Readings, as an extra service and symbolic aesthetic.

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ALWAYS, use this model of Readings: Optimistic Positive Engaging Natural You can remember the mnemonic “OPEN”.

Regarding categorization, I found sad and frustrating to see the “THE SCAM” mnemonic. It is so unnecessary, that I wanted to modify for better understandings. Health Emotions Aspirations Relationships Talents Spirituality The mnemonic in here his “HEARTS”

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If you want to learn more about Reading approach, you can study my “Cartomantic Artifacts” and also the work from Richard Webster and Kenton Knepper. ALWAYS, use this model of Readings: Optimistic , Positive , Engaging , Natural You can remember the mnemonic “OPEN”.

Regarding categorization, I found sad and frustrating to see the “THE SCAM” mnemonic. It is so unnecessary, that I wanted to modify for better understandings. Health Emotions Aspirations Relationships Talents Spirituality The mnemonic in here his “HEARTS”

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Let’s see some examples and potential readings and I can create for you as explanation. A Reading is a cooperative effort, 50/50, so in this examples the lack of conversation will be an important factor. The most important aspect of any Reading is your client, always remember this. A 30 years old woman, weak body posture, insecure tone of voice. Her question is: “Will I Ever Get Married?”

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“With these 5 symbols we will observe your question, the  past, present, present, future a and nd resp responsible onsible a actions ctions that you ca can n take. I can sense that you have this question for a good time now, and this is a constant topic that emerges in some situations that make you feel a little bit uncomfortable and trying to find balance. Some stressful moments in the past, family pressure? You are in this moment very open to observe new  perspectives,  perspec tives, new possib possibilities, ilities, to really e empty mpty y your our vesse vessel. l. and observe reality in new ways, even when you know that sometimes change can be frightening, right? I sense that you need to take serious action regarding this, and in an explicit manner I can tell you exactly if you actually will get married, because we just can’t be seated and waiting our “blue prince”, right? I sense that you are searching too much about this, and sometimes when we are not searching, we find. You know what I mean right? You need to change some aspects, move and vibrate in new energies to attract a person that loves you, but most important, first, marry yourself, love yourself. ((

 

 

You are in a very good position in other aspects in your life.  Job, Friends, Friends, M Money? oney?

You have a powerful future only if you take the responsible actions of really don’t focus that much in being “married”. First, be aware of your self-care and really observe yourself with love and compassion. The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change, and you can change as you want to attract the future that you desire, and maybe you will get married and be happy with other person at your side, or maybe not, but you know, that is not as important as to really be empowered and just let life flow. What do you feel about this?

Reflect and observe what a fantastic symbolic conversation we can create! If you have Reading Skills, you can expand as you desire, adding also pendulums or other elements.

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40-50 years old men, with real curiosity and openness about the experience of a reading. His question is: “Where can I find the true meaning of life?”  “Wow, that’s that’s a question! question! Let’s observe our 5 symbols and lets read. Please shuffle the cards and place one card here (point the spaces so you can create the “E5P Arrow Spread” What is interesting is that I sense that in some way you have a clearer response to this question in your past, and you lost part of that certainty, for some particular situation that happens recently… How does this make sense to you? (*

 

 

Some kind of discussion, even with yourself, that created in you some doubt. And I can read that the cards are a reminder now of something very simple. You already have the knowledge and understanding in your subconscious, but you need to be proactive in just let things happen, which is difficult. Sometimes we feel that “we need to do something”, when in reality not doing is also doing. Be open to new ideas, open your eyes, especially the third one, to understand new concepts and experiences. Meaning is not found, but created. If you “lost it”, you can create new meaning and purpose in your life, but always in yourself, not in something external. Yes, we can feel family, friends, spiritual searching, job or any other aspect in life to be external factors of meaning, but the true meaning is in yourself and this is the moment to just flow and be open. How do you feel about this?” So now my friend, you have the basics of the “E5PMancy” approach. Take your 5 ESP Cards and offer readings in your next performance gig or casual interaction with others. Be bold and most important, be your best self.

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Solo

History

Predicting a playing card is a classic in Mentalism, and there are various interesting ways in which we can achieve it that does not look just like a mental magic trick. This is one of my approaches, which uses natural flowing techniques to arrive to (apparently) any card.

Outer Reality

An “imaginary card game” is created with several participants, while you take from your elegant slim card holder a single playing card. Using fair procedures, the participants decide for a number and a playing card suite, and as improbable as this might sound, the playing card is shown, as a correct prediction.

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Inner Reality

 “Solo” uses uses tw two o core tech techniques niques that work beaut beautifully ifully together. The first one is a “timing force” using the participant´s hands and the 2nd one is Equivoque for the playing card suits. I love to use the hands as visual aids during Mentalism, and if you know my routine “Mind Map”, you will find the similarities in here. In this piece, you can force any “number” card, so the choice is yours. Let’s say that we want to force the 9 of Hearts. So, at the beginning of your performance, take the playing card and place it face down on a table, or in your participant´s pocket. The first technique that we will use is very versatile, and I call the “Ambidextrous Force”.

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If you ask your participant to place his hands like this

, you are in a perfect position to force any of the fingers, and thanks to our occidental tendency of reading from left to right, force any number from 1 to 10. So, in this case we will force 9, so you will need to force the index finger from his right hand. “As I pass my finger, just tell me THERE”…

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Now, you will just stop at the 9th finger, whenever your participant says THERE. I use the word “THERE” and not  “STOP” because because I d don’t on’t like the negat negative ive conn connotation otation of this word. Now comes a beautiful subtlety, which will allow you to cancel the method used. “Which is the number then?” Your participant will count from left to right, so HE will declare that this is 9 and not 2 (if he counts from the other side), so it is HIS decision, even when you move your finger on top of his hands.

Now, we will use Equivoque to force the suits. We will use this sequence of wording: “Ok Tom, so now separate lets imagine four symbols, four suits, they are floating in the air. Spades, Diamonds, HEARTS  and  and Clubs. Choose any hand you want. The right?

Ok… Let’s begin this mysterious elimination game. Name any of the suits now (snap your fingers)”  

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As you can see, we add a little bit of non-verbal emphasis while we name “hearts “hearts”, ”, due the fact the Equivoque in here is structured in such a way that the participant can choose directly “hearts “hearts”” as option. At this point I need to mention that this scenario ISNT, and read again my dear reader, ISNT  “the most most direct a and nd power powerful ful optio option”. n”. EVER EVERY Y optio option n is the one that you want. EVERY option is THE way in which the process was planned, so it doesn’t matter if “Tom “Tom”” says  “hearts  “hearts”” directly or if he names it second, or third of fourth. Every decision is the correct path and you MUST believe this first in your own mind, communicating this completely in your subtext, and everything will be accepted. Remember that you are the “reality crafter” in here. If you say that this is the manner, it will be. Remember the meaning of  “ABRACADABR  “ABRAC ADABRA”. A”. You can realize the power of the word “elimination “elimination”, ”, due the fact is ambiguous enough to communicate the idea that the decision made will eliminate the REST of the suits and the decide one will be the chosen, or that this first action is just the beginning of a bigger process (David Berglas-Equivoque work) Remember, you are the “reality crafter in here.

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You can check as well as the other small finesses, the use of the word “now  “now ” at the end of the sentence, at the same time that you snap your fingers. This is done so the participant feels social pressure to reply as quick as he cans. So now will have two options: 1.  Your participant names “hearts”. 2.  Your participant doesn’t names “hearts” and names other suit. If the first case happens, add a powerful question: “Are you sure?  (Wait  (Wait reply)”   Why this question is so powerful? Because implies meaning of the decision (when nothing has been declared yet) and allows the participant to feel other process of free decisions. If Tom, your participant keeps his decision, now move to the second phase of our Equivoque, which we will look in a moment. Honestly this happens 70% of the time in my experience, so be prepared to be awesome in a short period of time. This is not better than the other options, remember,  just a little little bit s shorter. horter. Remember also that every step, every procedure MUST be not just entertaining but also interesting. Work hard in that. )(

 

 

IF the 2nd case applies (your participant names other suit), add to your statement:

“…and obviously  grab  grab other suit with your other hand and name it out loud now” In this line we will presuppose the idea of continuing the process with the adverb “obviously  “obviously ” (Kenton KnepperWonder Words). This is highly effective. After this, you can arrive to two possible situations: 2.1.  2.2. 

Tom takes “hearts” in his other hand. Tom took other suit, leaving “hearts” floating with other one.

Now comes the fun in the group in which you are performing. Normally Equivoque is being done for one participant, but if you are in a group, in a table performing in a wedding, in a party, why not use the rest of the audience?. This openness in the process is inspired by Kenton Knepper-Cold Equivoque, which allows us to understand the flow that Equivoque can have, although Kenton pushes this further with interesting linguistic techniques. Be sure to check this in his “Completely Cold” release.

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If 2.1 happens, grab the “floating remaining suits”, give them to other member of the audience (let´s name her Kathy) as a gift (implying that they are not part of the process anymore) and focus in the ones that your participant has. I have used this “giving invisible gifts” as ploy in Equivoque for years and it´s very effective and fun. In this want to mention the simple and important fact to ask the name of that member of the audience which will receive the “invisible gift”. Gave her importance asking for his name and care about it.  “What`s  “What`s your name? Kathy . Kathy, you will receive the black Nines an invisible gift. You can now play an invisible game of cards with those cards whenever you want” Now you need to add one more moment of decision to arrive to “hearts “hearts”. ”. “Ok Tom, one more choice. Hand one of those suits to the gentleman next to you now”

In here you can see that I add the line “one “one more choice”, choice”, which ambiguously implies the idea of “last choice” or just )*

 

 

 “one more choice fr from om the o others thers tthat hat you will will do”. T These hese are what I called “invisible seeds” that you can let grow during your script if you need them. Also in here don’t ask the name of your new participant yet. You will use this in your favor in a moment… Now the situations: 2.1.1. Tom gives “hearts” to your new participant 2.1.2. Tom gives the other suit to your new participant.

If 2.1.1. happens: “As you can understand Tom, seeing an invisible object is rather difficult. Which one did you hand to him?” Hearts. Great, what`s your name (to the new participant) George. Tom, as we said, you had your last choice (invisible seed growing) ,  , so the the other suit is for you as a gift, tthe he same as as Kathy, you can play and invisible game with that one playing card the Nine of Diamonds, whenever you want. An applause for Tom!”

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If 2.1.2 happens, add: “As you can understand Tom, seeing an invisible object is Spades   rather difficult. Which one did you hand to him?” Spades George   Great, what is your name (to the new participant) George George, the same as Kathy, you can play and invisible game with your new Nine of Spades whenever you want Tom, you arrived to the Hearts, so the card is indeed the Nine of Hearts, right?…” This “invisible gifts” ploy becomes now a running line during the performance. Take this in your favor, it`s very fun. As you can understand now, we are focused on “hearts”. Our Equivoque is done.

If 2.2 happens, add: “Excellent Tom, those are your gifts. You can take them home and play an imaginary card game in which only 2 suits are used”

*!

 

 

This line again implies that the first process was done as elimination, and shifts the attention to the funny idea presented. Comedy, well used, is an awesome tool in Mentalism, that can elicit a brief emotional response that allows us to implant ideas in a better and more direct manner, in this case, let the audience understand the process as “elimination”, without saying it directly. Our mind is wonderful and at the same time very limited. Our cognitive attention can be only focused in a single thought, so if YOU as the “reality crafter”, places the conversation and attention to your desire thoughts (and not in the apparently uninterestingly aspect of the process), everything will be accepted easily. This occurs especially when you elicit attention to imaginative processes. When you ask the participant about imaginative thoughts, about emotions, about memories, the mind becomes completely open and the critical factor that, as mystery performers, isn’t our direct friend becomes relaxed. So, back to Equivoque, now the scenario is that you have one indifferent suit and “hearts” that are “floating in the air”. Regarding the situation, move the attention to other participant (let’s keep the example with our 2nd participant  “Kathy”)  “Kathy ”) and sa say: y:

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“Kathy, this will be now your choice. We will do something different, ok? Ok

You will remove the last one from the air and hand it to me. It is your choice. Take a deep breath….and do it now…” In Equivoque it´s very important to label each inner step in a different manner. If you ask the participant to “remove” something at the beginning, now use other action word to the next. Not only change the word, but also the dynamic of the action. Saying that she will “do “do something different ”, ”, gives you the opportunity to interpret her action in the manner that you want in an effective manner, plus your own subtle commanding and charming attitude and psychological ploys that allows this technique to be such a wonderful tool. Again, two situations can happen. No matter what, you will always keep “hearts” as the final decision: 2.2.1. Kathy takes “hearts” from the air and give it to you 2.2.2. Kathy takes the indifferent suit from the air, leaving  “hearts” floating. floating.

*$

 

 

If 2.2.1. happens, say: “Ok Kathy, you could take X (name the other one) but you decide to take in your own hands the “hearts”. Tell me, how do you feel it in your hand?” Before this line, you can obviously add the question “are you sure?”  one  one more time. Also notice the cognitive shift that the question “how “how do you feel it in your hand?” allows us. Now it is not matter of critique the action as decision or elimination, rather you invite your participant to a new thought, a new flowing movement of ideas. If you study that question, you can also realize the attention is on his apparent/possible feeling, so the decision becomes a presupposition. If your participant doesn’t feel anything (normally this happens, and this reinforce the playful nature of the process/game), just add to this line a relaxed manner so your participant can spontaneously say different things, playing as if she is really feeling a “heart” (Ormond Mc GillTelepathy in Action)

*%

 

Now, let’s see the 2.2.2. happens, say: “Excellent, so the same as before , this is a gif giftt for you Kathy. You can play in your house a game of card with only one suit…  After all the the dec decisions, isions, we arrive to just one (point to the a air ir when “hearts” is) , the hearts…”

As you can see, with the line “the “the same as before” before” we are giving the process an important factor of congruency. So now as you can understand, no matter what the decisions are, the  “hearts” is chose chosen n by a si simple, mple, e entertain ntertaining ing and myster mysteriously iously interesting process of elimination. Also you can see the power of implication when saying “we arrive to just one”, while you gesture towards the “hearts”. If you say it directly, the will confront that directly. Never state the obvious (Docc Hilford). Use your words wisely always, saying whatever you want to place in the attention of your audience. We have wonderful opportunities of communication via non-verbal ways. Use them as your tools. This reads like a lot, but this is in reality our inner study of the technique. This whole Equivoque step happens in 10-15 seconds. *&

 

 

So now, you are ready to recapitulate everything, the number and the suit selection, and reveal your prediction.

Extra Ideas

1.  You can learn other Equivoque sequence in the  “Ungimmicked  “Ungim micked B´Wav B´Wave” e” rout routine, ine, available available as individual project at Mentalism Center, or part of my 52 eBook. 2.  If you don’t want to carry a playing card in your leather card holder, you can just write any playing card as written prediction.

Inspiration and Reference

The “Ambidextrous Force” is part of several techniques that I found, in which our hands can be used in natural ways. You can learn fantastic Equivoque ideas from various other authors such as David Berglas, Annemann, Docc Hilford, Max Maven, Kenton Knepper and Mark Eldson.

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Tangible Energies

History

Being able to create Psychokinetic Metal Bending on stage has an inherent visual challenge. For that reason, I wanted to create a routine that offers the audience a visible experience, so in combining a classic hypnotic/energy practice with a spoon bending for a couple, you can achieve this and also a powerful message about trust.

Outer Reality

A couple is invited to stage to participate in an intriguing energetic experience. The performer hands a black bag and a spoon, while the lady is placed in center-stage and his couple stands at her back, in a “holding” position. The spoon is placed inside the bag and the lady holds it. After some moments of concentration, the performer is able to move her slightly using the “energetic push”, finishing with *)

 

dramatic movement that shows the power of intention and energy.

Finally, the spoon from the bag is shown to be completely bent. The spoon is offer as souvenir of the experience of trust and tangible energies.

Inner Reality

This is truly one of the pieces that people remember. Being able to PUSH someone with your energy alone is a memorable experience for your audience. What is the gimmick that you will use? Electronics? Magnets? A very strong thread? No Real energy. Well..that is the subtext of your Outer Reality, and I invite you to also believe it in your Inner Reality as the method. From a psychological, more pragmatic view, you will suggest the movement of your female participant, alluding this not only with your hand gestures and drama, but also taking advantage of the participant ideomotor response that she can **

 

 

exhibit (this is a normal demonstration in esoteric groups called “Energetic Push” and also as the proof of the “Holy Spirit” in the context of a Tele-Evangelist, check Benny Hinn for this) and also the indirect suggestion of “trust” that you will implant by placing the male participant at the back of the lady. All of these, will create this experience. If you believe it and you act like a competent performer with authority in this matters, it WILL happen. If the movement doesn’t happen, don’t worry, using your script you will still create the reality that the energy made miracles. You need a normal spoon and a black velvet bag, which can contain the spoon. You will achieve the bend using an interesting variation of a dynamic that I saw Banachek using, which adds a new visual aspect to PKMB. In my method, you will bend the spoon through the fabric of the bag, for this reason I recommend you to use velvet, so it doesn’t sounds (if you use a paper bag it will not work properly)

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“Let’s experiment with some energies. We will use this spoon and this bag. Take this spoon, looks normal right? It is actually a spoon from the local soup restaurant, just joking of course, and this bag, that you can see, it is empty, but for a moment. Please place the spoon inside the bag. Excellent…” As you can read, I prefer to be subtle with my suggestion about the fact that the spoon is normal. If you want, you can be more direct and let them check it, but it is not necessary at all. Now, after the spoon is inside the bag, just take back the bag and place your participants in the correct spot. While you do this, you have all the time in the world to bend the spoon through the bag. You can do it with two hands or just one with the classic thumb technique. “You trust him, right? If something happens, if you feel some movement back and forth, don’t worry, he will support you…” This is a line that I love, and works in a symbolic manner. So now, everything is ready so you can start your “energetic push”. Ask her to place the bag in front of her chest, and obviously never touch her to keep the premise of the experience, and for basic respect. Take this demonstration as if your participant is a “human pendulum”. Start slow, let her feel first some warmth

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sensations, move her in soft manners and end with several more dramatic moments in which you cannot just push her, but also pull her back. It is truly amazing to be able to do this. YOU CAN DO IT (years ago, doing this piece in a parlor performance)

After all the different energetic situations that you can create, ask her to take the spoon from the bag and to show to the audience. It will be indeed bent, tangible proof that the energy was powerful. If you want, you can do other phase of PKMB with the spoon, or leave it as is. Remember that this is just a cherry on top of the memorable experience of “energetic push”. Be subtle. Now offer the spoon as souvenir while saying: “This is a piece of energy that both of us can keep as reminder of the power of trust and intention” !+#

 

Extra Ideas

1.  What if she doesn’t move at all? This rarely happens, but if you feel that she is not responding, you can add: “I sense that you are a little bit nervous, and that’s fine but not just inhale, exhale and as you hold the bag, you can feel that the spoon will start to move in a subtle manner inside the bag while I direct my energy…That’s right… and now! Open the bag…” You will have your visible climax, so don’t worry if the energetic push is not dramatic enough. Just a little bit, a small subtle sensation is enough to allude the energetic experience. 2.  For close up situations, you can use a coin and not a spoon. Just ask for a coin and switch it while you place it inside the participant´s pocket or hands. 3.  You can also combine this with PK Touches.

Inspiration and References

The use of the “Energetic Push” in combination of a PKMB piece is a far as I know, an original idea. Anthony Jacquin and Anthem Flint has work with this demonstration. The bending method, using the bag, is inspired by Banachek-Bag Method. !+$

 

 

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The Unique Key

History

My favorite TK routine without a doubt is the “Haunted Key”. I love it for the simple reason that the core method is as close as I can get (for now) to move an object with my thoughts. I have several different scripts and narratives with it, one of them is this one, especially crafted for couples.

Outer Reality

A couple is invited into an experience using an old skeleton key. They join hands while placing the other hand on top of the key, which is on top of the performer´s palm. Each one focus in one moment in which they felt the love of the other person in his life. Suddenly, the key starts to move in a mysterious manner, turning almost like by the power of the emotional memory.

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Inner Reality

This is the key that I use, you can get yours at Arkanosophy, or use the one that you have.

If you don’t know this classic, I will give you the instructional video that I offer if you get the “Arkanosophy Haunted Key” https://youtu.be/nXKfLPSZldw https://youtu.be/nXKfLPSZldw   The Outer Reality is a simple as you read it. Just add your own pieces of fundamental script, and don’t say unnecessary words. This piece is ALL about their own experiences. Be the channel of the mystery, and don’t block that with your ego. !+'

 

Let them join hands, place the free hand on top of the key, while you place it in your palm, and activate it with your mind (ideomotor response, as I explain in the video) After the key turns completely, add: “That’s the key”. Nothing more. Let the symbolic dynamic be absorbed by the unconscious mind, and thank them for their time and effort. Less is more, and a lot more in this routine. 

Extra Ideas

1.  You can offer a written prediction to the male participant, to open the next day which says:  “(female  “(fema le parti participan cipant) t) will as ask k which wa was s your memory”, alluding to the curious nature of a woman to know her couple´s emotions. 2.  If you want, you can give away the Key as a powerful symbolic piece to keep. Give it with a black velvet bag, and if you do it, contact me and I can sell you five keys for a discount price.

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Inspiration and References

My main inspiration in this wonderful work is my friend Jorge Garcia aka The Jack (RIP my brother). You can study more ideas with the “Haunted Key” with Docc Hilford and Paul Voodini (he has a good eBook at Mentalism Center)

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Conclusion Thanks for your interest in my infinite exploration of Minimal Mentalism. I hope that you find value in these pages and ideas. Remember always that all these ideas are beautiful indeed, but they are nothing in itself. It is YOU, and only YOU that can take all these and transform into something beautiful for your audiences. I know that you are competent, I trust in you. Study your role carefully, the Outer Reality that you want to create for them, be subtle, rehearse and have fun!

Anything that you need, just contact me and we can talk at [email protected]. [email protected]. Good Energies! Pablo Amira,2019

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