This book is dedicated to Shel, Alexander, and Olivia. Proof that real magic exists.
The Complete Edition
By Ran Pink Illustrated by Tom Jorgenson Edited by Newell Unfried
Central Intelligence A Manual For Center Tearorists Foreword by Newell Unfried Copyright© 2006 Ran Pink No Portion of this book can be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner. Television rights for using Think Pink are withheld and may obtained only through written permission from Ran Pink
www.secretcenter.info
[email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD BY NEWELL UNFRIED
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INTRODUCTION……………………….……… 5 MECHANICS............................................................. 9 ORIGINAL THINK PINK…………………….....
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ADVANCED TECHNIQUES………………..……. 17 BONUS TECHNIQUES…………………..….…… 23 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE……………………. 26 WHY WRITE IT DOWN OR TEAR IT UP?........................................................
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TAKING BACK THE PAPER
………………... 29 WHEN TO PEEK……………………..….…....... 31 PACING…………………………………........... 32 HONING YOUR ABILITIES…………………........ 33 THE POSSIBILITIES ……………….……............. 35 11 PREMISES…………….…………………….. 36 THINK OF SOMEONE…………………………... 38 SCORECARD SETUP…………………………….. 39 EMPATH …………………………………......... 40 ALTER EGO………………………………... … 43 WHITE NOISE…………………………...…….. 45 THE FORTUNE IS ALWAYS RIGHT………..……. 47 SYMBOLIC TRANSFER………………………….. 50 SYNAPTICAL DELUSIONS (TOM JORGENSON)…... 53 MOVIE-SEEN (GREG ARCE)……………..…….. 57 THE TICKET (LINCOLN)……………………….. 59 P.I.N. (ANDREW GERARD)……………………. 60 MENTAL CHARADES (NEWELL UNFRIED)…….. 61 FINAL THOUGHTS…..……………………….. 63 2
FOREWORD Some of you might know me. My name is Newell Unfried and since my retirement from corporate life, I have devoted my life to the teaching of magic and mentalism as well as a demonstrator at Hollywood Magic. I have been blessed from learning from some of the very best teachers in the mentalist area including Eugene Burger, Max Maven and Bruce Bernstein. I can remember my early encounters with Ran as a young and enthusiastic customer at Hollywood Magic. Over the years, Ran would come in and show me different variations on his center tear technique, rationale and presentation. As usual, I made some suggestions and areas for future study. Like a warrior, he would always come back and show me his next version. This continued for some time. Finally, he performed a version that just looked flawless. It fooled me. Ran took my advice and showed it to others. Additional subtleties were incorporated. Eventually, the first Think Pink manuscript was issued to rave revues from some of the best in the business. Unlike many of us who are like mentalist jack-of-all trades, I believe Ran is somewhat unique. He is a specialist. He has elected to take one or two techniques and totally immerse himself for as long as it takes to get it right. Think Pink has been in development for at least five years and we are the beneficiaries of this thinking. He is also a superb musician and entertainer. The blending of these two talents has allowed Ran to perform these effects to audiences in an entertaining way yet bewildering those who were present as to how they were accomplished. While Ran will continue to refine his ideas, this manuscript will help you in your initial forays into the use of the center tear to achieve mind-boggling miracles. Fortunate for you that so much of the critical thinking on this technique is here for you to study. I am sure that Ran would agree that in order that we advance our art that you take this material and make additional refinements. We all stand on the achievements of those before us. As I have said to many of my students, this is not a destination but a journey. Enjoy the trip!!! -Newell Unfried 3
“In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.” J. Krishnamurti
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INTRODUCTION
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THE CENTER TEAR
The
center tear is a technique that is used to create the illusion of real
mindreading. A folded paper is torn twice in each direction creating the impression that it has been destroyed yet the area where most of the writing is located is still accessible. Psychics and mediums of long ago probably originated the method and kept it secret, passing it on from generation to generation. This technique has unconfirmed origins but was first used by magicians in the beginning of the 20th century. Tony Corinda describes the technique in detail in 13 Steps To Mentalism. The center was stolen and read later on at a convenient moment. Al Baker and later Al Mann, Richard Osterlind and Bruce Bernstein made significant improvements by creating methods to peek the information while you were tearing. There was no evidence to burn anymore and no turning your back to the audience. This meant the mentalist could now remain in the moment with the participant, even gaze into their eyes during the destruction of the paper. A major source of inspiration for Think Pink was Richard Osterlind’s Perfected Center Tear. His thoughts about every aspect of his tear are pure genius. He was one of the early pioneers who moved away from using a circle as a guide for the spectator. In case anyone was in the know about the “magic circle”. Tricks using the center tear with a circle have appeared in children’s magic books. In this information age, those who don’t read those books can easily learn classic “tricks” on the Internet. The other day I stumbled onto a website for free bar tricks. They teach the 6
center tear for free and they still teach it with a circle. Richard Osterlind is way ahead of his time. Annemann, T.A. Waters, Docc Hilford, Richard Busch, Banachek, Barrie Richardson and Ted Lesley have also contributed brilliant and exciting thoughts, techniques and premises with the center tear, which opened up new possibilities in the art of mentalism. If you’d like to further your study on this subject I suggest adding these mens’ works to your library. It’s a must. There are many methods of HOW you get the information. And, Think Pink will allow you to get the information under test conditions. But the mark of a true mentalist performer is not in the method of how you get the information but HOW you reveal it. If you simply blurt it out then it's just a weak puzzle. Performing mentalism requires real showmanship and the ability to act out in character. If it appears easy, then they know you somehow read it, or observed pencil reading. It should appear difficult. WHY THINK PINK? Mentalists from around the world have told me that Think Pink is the cleanest and most natural handling of the center tear, especially with business cards. Although, it works just as well with square shaped paper as well as Post-It notes. Think Pink allows you to show the papers from all sides during the tear and still access the information in a direct but very subtle manner. You never look at your hands while the tear is taking place. The papers appear to have been torn to 1/16th their original size before you ever need to peek. You don’t need to steal the info unless you want to. Think Pink is a very versatile tear and the best part is you can
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easily do it with your eyes closed for most of the time and without fingernails because of the guides that are created during the tearing process. The information is correctly oriented and easy to read when you do the peek. In the traditional tears sometimes you have to turn the center around to be able to read it. There are no strange or unnatural hand motions. Think Pink works well with any size paper but I designed it to work with business cards or index cards. I make my own pads from 67lb paper stock. This weight is opaque and fairly easy to tear. If you already use a favorite tear or peek method, then you will gain an excellent new technique for your arsenal and some thoughts and premises that should get your right brain flowing. Lets begin by learning the technique and then we’ll get creative.
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MECHANICS
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ORIGINAL BASIC
This
Think Pink
is the technique that was explained in my original release of Think
Pink. Since then improvements and twists have been made which will be described later. The explanation has been streamlined and improved by the beautiful illustrations by my good friend Tom Jorgenson. For those who aren’t familiar with Think Pink, I suggest you understand this version first. Personally, I use a combination of the Basic and the Advanced. These options will be discussed later on as well. • Grab an index card or business card and lay it blank side up. The long edges of the paper should be on top and bottom. Fold the paper from left to right but slightly down jogged.
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• Now fold up the paper from bottom to top but 1/8th of an inch short of the top of the uppermost edge. (Illustration 3) For practice sake put your initials on the piece that’s facing you. In performance you may want to put the participant’s initials here. This is optional.
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• Unfold the paper from top down, right to left.
• Draw a line along the center crease. Draw an X on the top of the line. The X guides the participant where to write. People are used to signing near the X. This brilliant subtlety is foolproof and it began with Richard Osterlind.
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• For practice sake, write “Hello” on the line next to the X. Fold up the paper and hold it in your right hand with the blank side toward yourself and the initials (shorter side) facing the mirror or away from you. The loose edges of the paper are on the top left and the center or folded edges are on the bottom right.
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• Tear the paper in half, the right side pulling toward your body. Place the right hand portion under your left thumb on top of the left hand pieces.
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• Rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise.
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• With your left thumb find the first layer of the left corner of the pile. This layer should be easy to find with your thumb because of the initial folding. Fold this layer up and over. This will look like a little triangle.
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• Now tear in half. If needed, bevel the pieces. At performance speed, the fold up and the tear should be executed in one motion. Right hand pieces go under thumb on top of the left hand pieces.
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• Now you have the center (hot piece) with a small handle facing you and the insignificant bits facing your audience. (Illustration 12) By slightly releasing pressure of the right thumb the springiness of the card stock will create an opening for the left thumb to enter the first fold. In one motion your right thumb will open this flap and tear it in half just slightly left of center (Illustration 13). Place right hand pieces on top of left again.
Folded hot piece
Open hot 13
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piece • Turn the whole thing 90 degrees counterclockwise. (Illustration 14) 14
There is still nothing to see on either side of the paper pile you are holding. If you look closely at the upper right you will notice a substantial break in the pile of papers. You can easily find this break with your right thumb.
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• Insert your right thumb into the break and hold the spine of the pile with your left thumb on top and your other fingers underneath. Pull on the pile with the right hand and the info-flap will open. You should see the X, the line and the word “Hello” properly oriented for easy reading.
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This half center will be referred to as the info-flap. You can experiment with different ways to open the flap. The pieces are small and your fingers provide plenty of cover. While the flap is open you can use your thumb to cover the writing. This is
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good if you work surrounded. You can peek anytime but I usually peek as I gesture for them to hold their hand open. I turn my head as I tear the evidence and drop the papers into their hands. I clearly let them see my hands are empty without making a big deal about it. This works great with words, numbers, and dates.
There are situations when you’ll want to access more information so you tear off less of the hot piece during the third tear. Just shift the center slightly to the right and tear only a small portion at the far left. Then rotate only the right hand pieces 90 degrees counterclockwise before laying the info-flap on top of the other pieces. Continue to get the peek as usual.
Once you understand the basic idea behind Think Pink, you can adjust it to suit different situations. You can customize this technique to fit your premises or your overall style.
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ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
My
good friend Tom Jorgenson has taken Think Pink and added some
great moves that we originally included in a limited edition Mindvention Think Pink supplement. I’ve adapted my handling using some of his twists and I love them. He agreed to share them once again in this book. These are ideas that streamline the technique and are very deceptive. Thank you Tom. THE SPEED FLAP This changes the flap shape and location. It moves the folding closer to the beginning of the process and gives an additional use to the flap. Begin as in the original Think Pink, but make your first fold slant upward instead of downward. The only reason for this is to offer a bit extra angle coverage shortly. You will increase this coverage by keeping the top edge of the right hand piece slanted slightly toward you as you the finish the first tear. Get the folded piece into position for the first tear. Tear, and immediately lighten your grip on the right hand piece. Then, come right back in for the kill. Do the fold now. Do it to the left edge of the right hand piece. Bring your two hands straight together in order to put the right hand pile on top (toward you) of the left hand pile. Since you’ve lightened your right hand grip that piece has opened up a bit, and you will find that the edge of the left thumb first contacts the topmost, correct piece of paper in order to fold it back. The two hands ‘share’ the movements as they come together, making the folding move invisible. Make the fold large, from top to bottom. (Illustration 17)
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Immediately pivot the packet counterclockwise and begin the second tear. THE CIGAR-SHAPED BILLET •If, on the 2nd and 3rd tears, you tear down and to the right, the info-flap will end up taking on a cigar band shape...bulges in the middle. This bulge is very handy in making the piece even easier to open without discernable movement.
It also
maximizes the hot area to read and minimizes the outside edges, offering you a slightly better edge on angles. The larger the piece you work with, the more valuable this shape will be to you.
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TWIXT •I have short fingernails, so sometimes I have a difficulty in opening the folded hot piece after the 2nd tear. Here’s my “Git-around”. I use the left-hand pieces as I would a thumbnail. After the 2nd tear: If the paper is springy, you can lighten the right hand grip and, as the hands come together, slip all the left hand pieces in between the folded hot piece. This means that the left thumb is now inside the folded hot piece. Keep going and the right hand info-flap will open like a book from the pressure of the left thumb. Immediately begin the 3rd tear. TURNING THE INFO-FLAP ONLY •At the end, after the 3rd tear, the info-flap is in your right hand. Turn only this right hand piece a quarter turn counterclockwise and place it on top of the left hand pieces, sliding it to the left underneath the thumb. Two things to notice here: 1- The info-flap is now horizontal and the left hand scraps are vertical. The front pieces help hide the top and bottom of the info-flap. This orientation helps a bit to make the opening motion even more angle-free than usual. 2- As you place the right hand info-flap on top of the left hand pieces and slide them to the left, you will notice the “handle” actually stops the info-flap from sliding any more... so the info-flap sticks out (is jogged) to the right. The audience will not notice the handle (wouldn’t know its significance even if they did) but the projecting top layer can now be found surely, dead on, by simply hitting the top right corner with the back of the right thumbnail and sliding inside the fold or flicking the top
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right corner with the right thumb and coming straight back up to slide inside. It’s the part that is sticking out the furthest! Can’t miss it. Pinch the packet with the right fingers, with the right thumb inside the fold. Opening the info-flap is now even easier using the directions in the original Think Pink instructions. •Alternately, if the paper is right, simply place the left thumb ON TOP of the folded info-flap and slide the top layer to the left, sort of peeling the billet open. If you use this move for opening the paper, make SURE your four left fingers don’t move when the thumb reaches or slides. It’s a dead giveaway that your thumb is moving behind the hand, so watch your moves in the mirror and adjust things accordingly. One advantage of this style of opening is that the thumb doesn’t seem to have moved at all, needn’t get out of the way, etc. This is not so much a problem with Biz card paper, but the larger flaps from 3x5 or 4x6 paper mean larger pieces, and more movements to minimize. This helps.
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ROTATE ‘N READ After you have opened the info-flap and before you are ready to read the writing, and holding all with both hands, rotate the whole pile counterclockwise like you’ve done earlier in the process. You will see that the open info-flap pivots downward, from being hidden by the thumb, to being wide open to read. (Illustration 19) The folded edge of the flap now looks like the top of edges of the pieces you are holding. All looks small and compact, and from the audience’s viewpoint, it looks like you are holding the pieces by the bare edge of the lower left corner. In actual fact, everything is wide open to be read at your leisure. A nice thing about this rotated down position, is that closing it up is easier for larger billets, as less movement is needed for the thumb to get out of the way. Move the left thumb back out of the way, push the packet downward with the right hand and the pressure on the left 2nd finger automatically pivots the piece closed. Like in the original instructions, it’s almost motionless.
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FLASH OPEN
Working with 3x5 or onstage with 4x6’s? If you want to minimize thumb movement in opening the piece, kick your thumb back out of the way downward, out of the line of sight. and open the piece by closing the 3rd and 4th fingers into a fist, (which psychologically isolates the pieces). In placing the pieces into the left hand, just put the info-flap low enough for the bulge to rest on the 3rd finger. The bulge will make opening it a breeze just by closing the 3rd and 4th fingers. It happens smoothly when your hands come together.
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BONUS TECHNIQUES
These bonus techniques are included in this manuscript because later on I will describe a few premises that utilize these principles. You may discover these ideas to be useful when creating your own premises.
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STICKY PALM PRINCIPLE There are situations where you may want to steal the center for later. Here is a novel way. Lick your left palm before the whole process. Do the tear but do not open the info-flap. Lay the pile onto your left palm with the info-flap touching directly against your moist palm. Ask the participant to hold out her hand or an ashtray and dump the pieces. A used ashtray is perfect here because nobody will go through the dirty bits to figure out that the info-flap is actually stuck to your palm and you can access it very easily. Basil Horowitz was the pioneer of using a sticky method to steal away a spectator's written thoughts.
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STICKY PALM STEAL FROM PARTICIPANT’S HAND You can also cleanly lay the pieces on the participant’s hand this time with the infoflap on top. While directing them to place their other hand on top of the pieces, you show them with your sticky hand what you mean and briefly place this hand over their pile, stealing the goods. Why would you want to steal the center when you clearly have time to look? Read on.
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TATTOO PEEK AND TRANSFER Oh the wonder of body fluids! Using an old principle you can actually tattoo the participant’s drawing onto your body or onto their body. This effect was originally done with sugar cubes and can still be found in children’s magic books. The secret is a soft lead pencil. Go to an art supply store and look for pencils with soft, thick lead. I use a 1.3mm retractable pencil by Pentel with 2B lead. But any pencil with 2B, 3B or 4B should work fine, and are easy to find in art supply stores. Then you’ll need some moisture.
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TATTOO TRANSFER Get that soft pencil or for now use any pencil and draw a small bold image onto a small pad of paper. Lick your thumb and press it onto the drawing. Now press your thumb onto another fingertip. Try the back of your hand. See where you can get it to stamp. This principle works very well with Think Pink. When the info-flap is open and you are peeking the information as in the usual Think Pink, you can tattoo the secret thought with your moist thumb. You could use both thumbs and get more info to stamp. This works well for numbers, symbols and initials. Like the old sugar cube trick you can now transfer that design over to the spectator’s body, their forehead, arms, fingertips, your forehead. The possibilities are abundant. In order to get a good impression you will need the proper pencil and a premise that makes it all smooth. The rougher the paper the better, as more lead will come off the pencil. Grainy linen paper works great. Another idea for wetting your fingers is to safety pin a wet wipe under your lapel or put it into a thumbtip for easy access. TATTOO PEEK SANS TEAR Tattoo it on your palm. Find a small pad of paper; Post-It notes even. Make a bold drawing. Moisten your palm and lay the pad writing side down onto your palm. Cover with your other hand and press the pad flat into your hand with some gentle pressure. Wait a few seconds, lift the pad off your hand and see a mirror image of your drawing. I recommend moisturizing your hands before trying this. The thickness of the writing is important here. Go buy a soft pencil.
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Central Intelligence
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WHY WRITE IT DOWN? WHY TEAR IT UP ?
This is a question that haunts mentalists and magicians more than it does the public. “If you could really read minds why must something be written and then destroyed?” So some prefer other peek methods that don’t involve tearing. So why write it down? Because that’s how it works. For me this hurdle is worth tackling. I love using a center tear because I like what happens to the participants, psychologically, when I make the third tear. To them their writing is gone and useless. Sometimes we like to come up with logical and interesting reasons for why to write and why we tear. Even though what we do in the end is considered completely illogical anyway. I’ve performed Think Pink without stating any reasons for the procedure and it still blows people away. If performed well, nobody will question your procedure. If the curious check the pieces in their hand and they find everything is there, it eliminates the idea that the center has been stolen as in traditional tear methods. Docc Hilford offers some excellent justifications for the procedure of the classic center tear in his combination book and audiotape titled Keeping the Center. It contains 50 examples of premises where every step has a reason. He’s a very clever man. The most common reason to write something down is to help focus the thought. It truly helps to write things down. I often make a grocery list, which I then forget at home. While I’m meandering around the supermarket, I realize that I’m finding the specific things I needed because I can still visualize the writing on the page. There 27
are many ways to express this “excuse” for writing it down. Find the words that fit you. Another reason to write something down is to be able to show someone else what word was written. When that’s done the paper is destroyed because it is no longer needed. I am very fortunate that my friend Kenton Knepper, who we all know as a major contributor to our art form, had some ideas he wanted to share in this manuscript. Thank you very much Master Knepper. When it comes to writing something down I now often say: “I want you to think of that thing, see every detail, in context, and... Oh... you look a tad confused by all that. Let's just write the name or main idea to be sure you do not forget later.” Or “Think of that date now and ... You have a look on your face as if you may forget much later on. Everyone has those little forgetful moments on occasion, so just to be safe, please write it down... here... just in case.” Everyone forgets from time to time. I might also mention that they are on stage or under the scrutiny of others, and therefore the stress “often causes perfectly reasonable people to forget” and so on.
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My friend Yaniv Deautch does not use a center tear but when I met with him he suggested the idea of interrupting the spectator when they are almost finished writing. As if you’ve changed your mind, grab the paper. Fold it. Tear it and say “No! Don’t write it down. Just think it”. You take the risk of only getting a partial thought but as far as they are concerned they never wrote it down. There are situations where you may want to build a story around these issues. Create your own procedures. TAKING BACK THE PAPER
There
are times where it may seem awkward to ask for the paper to be
returned to you. I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Gerard at Mindvention 2005. He offered this little ruse. The billet is in their right hand and pen in the left hand. You gesture with your right hand slightly aimed at their billet hand, “Can I have that”. The moment they hand you the paper, you straighten out your hand as if you were going for the pen and say, “I meant the pen, you don’t know how many of these I’ve lost”. From their side, they see that your right hand matches their left hand, naturally appearing that the pen was requested. This breaks up a usually awkward moment and also gets the audience on your side.
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Here Mr. Knepper kindly offers a very unique reason for taking back and destroying the evidence: “Water is the symbol of the subconscious and it has been said that the subconscious is the doorway through which we find unity. The subconscious is thought to be the way to what we now call telepathy. As a symbolic act, we will shred the paper and soak it in this bowl/glass of water. Let is sink deeply into the subconscious - your thought being absorbed into the universal mind. I admit, I am not getting much yet. I need to squeeze the essence from the paper.” Grasping the pieces still in the water, the pieces are squeezed together tightly, then removed and set aside. The performer tastes the water slowly, sipping it, and then begins to describe the essence of the written down item, ending with a more complete description after many sips from the glass. The performer could instead stir his or her hands in a bowl of water, rather than sip from a glass. This is very good theatre, accurate symbolism and the squeezed pieces of soaking wet paper make them difficult to open and read! It’s usually not a problem for spectators to hand you the paper. Their writing feels safe and secure inside the folded slip. There have been times where I just take the paper as they’ve finished writing. With my head turned away I just take it and refold it. Look into their eyes as if I know something and tear it up.
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WHEN TO PEEK
You have a lot of time to get your peek. The easiest time to peek the infoflap is when you destroy it on a fourth tear. You can ask if your participant is right or left handed and you peek as you gesture towards her hands. I like to ask her to hold her hands a certain way as I demonstrate with my own hands and peek. The participant is figuring out what you want her to do with her hands, so she won’t catch you peeking! Andrew Gerard offered this idea of how to erase the moment you peek under test conditions. He gestures towards his watch; naturally he looks down at the time but actually looks at the open info-flap. This makes the peek moment completely invisible. He usually says something like, “I want you to go back in time”, pointing at the watch, “It’s 8:37. Now have you seen this person in the last 24 hours?” Tom Jorgenson pretends he can’t tear it anymore, and does the peek right then, during the difficulty. He immediately closes the info-flap and hands the spectator half of the pieces and they both finish tearing them up. This ruse is excellent when you have thicker index stock. Greg Arce mimics the curtains being drawn at the movie and peeks as he’s gesturing with his hands. After doing this for many years. I’ve never been caught peeking.
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PACING
You can execute Think Pink fast and be done with the papers or you can take your time because the angles are so good. Ted Lesley’s book Paramiracles contains a section titled Dissertation on the Center Tear. This is a very important read for center tearorists everywhere. He believes the paper should not take up too much attention. I agree and generally tend to get rid of the papers pretty fast. But I’ve also performed Think Pink where I’m telling them about the person on the paper while I’m looking directly into their eyes and tearing at a medium pace. Neither of us have looked at the papers and while you haven’t peeked the information yet, you can introduce an important idea: that is to do some cold reading. Then do your peek during this brief reading. Thus, when you reveal the written information it will seem that all the information was revealed prior to you looking at the slip. The point is you should pace yourself. Let Think Pink help you relax. Another idea here is NOT to get rid of the papers. Instead of throwing them away, knead them in your hand like you can read them with your fingertips. You can talk about Kirlean photography or perhaps Kirlean Graphology or some such thing where when someone writes something it leaves an invisible impression, which can be read when you are properly trained. It sounds feasible? Oh well. The angles on Think Pink are so clean throughout the tearing process, that you can actually slow waaaay down in the presentation....try it that way in rehearsal to see what you come up with. If you are using a psychometric approach you have a good reason for handling the paper for extra time.
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Most people will have a change in pace at the moment they are doing the reading of the slip. It is hard to read new stuff and talk at the same time. Put attention to this point so you are well practiced and you are verbally smooth. HONING YOUR ABILITIES
Have you ever asked someone to think of something and you told them what they were thinking? No writing, no gimmicks. I love the feelings that are created by this miracle. I feel amazing. I feel amazed and so does the participant. There is no explanation. It’s real magic. No I will not discuss any new thoughts regarding suggestive forces or psychological choices. However, I do believe that this is the future of mind reading. I’ll often use a center tear to obtain a piece of information and then ease them into telepathy by trying something “easier” first. This is the perfect time to test out different psychological forces like those that are found in Banachek’s Psychological Subtleties. You may discover your own theories and test them out at this moment. If you hit, it’s so pure. If you miss, try a different suggestive force. If you hit, it’s real mind reading. If not you will eventually be able to reveal their initial secret thought. A miracle is still achieved and you are learning how to use your suggestive language and your observation skills. You will also practice cold reading this way. With Think Pink you’ll always have a finale. People will remember the hits much more than the misses. When you begin using some of the psychological subtleties you should premise that reading minds is difficult and depending on the person sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. I use a line that “some people with a very positive mind set, 33
and great intuitive abilities - like you mam, would be very good at this”. I usually use a woman for these types of things because first they tend to be more reactive and second I can make a case that everyone has heard about women's intuition. “Well they are not only very good receivers but also transmitters of information and I am going to use this fact in my next demonstration.” THE POSSIBILITIES
There are many ways of gaining secret information. The real secret is what are you going to do with that information. I get away with doing Think Pink over and over again because I adjust the premise to suit the people I’m entertaining. So what is the setup? What are you asking them to write down? There are limitless possibilities. I’ve already named a few. How about childhood pets, ex-lovers, places to visit, favorite movies, happy occasions, regrets, their last meal, best friends, phobias, time, favorite cereal, lucky numbers, what they want to order for dinner (so you can order for the both of you). Then, you get to reveal the information in a creative, mysterious and entertaining way. Once again there are endless possibilities. If you study different forms of psychic phenomena you will discover areas that you can adapt for your style. For example a psychometric approach gives a built-in reason for handling the paper. You might be revealing information as you are tearing. Thank you Dunninger. However if you prefer a telepathic approach, the papers should be out of the picture before you “read their minds”. Whatever you do, allow some time to pass before your final revelation. You don’t always need to reveal exactly what they wrote. In fact most performers have found that its much more believable if you get really close but not exact. 34
One of the best examples of this theory is when secretly getting their birthday. Knowing someone’s birthday allows you to deliver an excellent cold reading based on numerology and astrology. In other words you can add the digits of their birthday and tell them they are a 6 with interest in home and family. This is done after describing what the various numbers mean. An astrology idea is interesting as you reveal characteristics of her sign and then reveal her sign.
Search Docc
Hilford’s material and you’ll find an amazing idea for giving cold readings based on social security numbers. This idea is an example of a major point I wish to make. Revealing something exactly as written whether billet work or center tear OR as in a book test where you tell them what word was at the top of the page can really smell. With book tests in particular it says you just forced the page or peeked where they looked. Look at how Max Maven solved this with the Natural Force Book. He doesn't reveal a word but a concept. I think we should try to distance what was written by not revealing the exact word but a concept. Yes there are exceptions and there are some excellent examples in this manuscript. If you are going to reveal an exact word there had better be a reason.
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PREMISES
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THINK OF SOMEONE The basic “Think of Someone” premise is a classic. It’s pure and it’s strong because it can get really personal.
We are all human beings and share similar human
qualities. It is important that you are aware that you are performing for a living, breathing person. When you step away from the trickery and really observe someone you can learn a lot. Think! “Does this person remind me of someone I know?” Having something to draw from makes me more confident to say the things I say. If you can describe qualities of the person you are reminded of then you have something to start with. If you know someone’s name, start describing qualities of someone you know with the same name. You’ll hit more often than not. This premise helps to strengthen your cold reading abilities because you are dealing with people not words or numbers.
For more info on cold reading I would
recommend Ian Rowland’s The Full Facts of Cold Reading, Angelo Stagnaro’s Something From Nothing, and anything Richard Webster has to say on the subject. A woman is asked to write down the name of someone to whom they are close and is not present. You turn around and you remind them to keep the writing secret. Tell them to look at the name one last time and to think a happy thought. When she’s done she folds up the paper. You look her straight in the eyes as you take the paper back and tear it to bits while telling her to keep her eyes locked with yours. “Ahh, I sense that you are thinking about someone kind and with a big heart. You totally trust this person and they tend to offer good advice.” I continue revealing vague details about the person whose name is written inside the paper. The paper bits are placed in her hand as you continue. “The person you are thinking of is
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someone who cares deeply about you, someone to whom you have a special connection. I sense this person is quite a bit older than you, am I right?” “Yes!” “I’m also definitely sensing a feminine energy. This is someone who always welcomes you into her home. I really want you to focus, see her, and call out for her in your mind. Imagine you are standing at her doorway to her home. You knock on the door. She wonders who it could be and opens the door because she can sense you. You say…Hello….Golda?. Does this make sense?” “Yes, her name is Goldie and she’s my Grandma…I miss her. I should really give her a call” She’s convinced you know things.
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THE SCORECARD SETUP There will be times when you’ll want to collect different kinds of information, such as a list of words, or two peoples thoughts. I’ve devised an easy way to accomplish this with Think Pink. The idea of getting a list via tear is an Al Mann idea and has been improved upon by Docc Hilford. You will draw a horizontal line near the top of the paper and write “List” on top of the line. Anything written underneath that line will be in the hot space. It works the same if you to cut the header in two and titled one Karen and the other Colin with a line down the middle. (Illustration 23) It looks like a scorecard and you can have them draw or write in the appropriate area with little guidance. You might want to peek more information so remember just shift the center slightly to the right and tear only a small portion at the far left. Then rotate only the right hand pieces 90 degrees counterclockwise before laying them on top of the other pieces. This next premise uses his setup.
Scorecard
Setup
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EMPATH I use the Scorecard Setup and two willing participants for this effect. Let’s say their names are Karen and Colin. You ask Karen to think of a bold strong word that evokes an emotion. “Words like sex and money are good ones but they are too broad. Perhaps you’ll think of a word that is more personal and relevant to you now at this moment.” You write their names down at the top of the card. “Colin I just want you to keep your mind clear of any thoughts for the moment. Karen, will you please write that word down under your name please. When you are finished hand the paper over to Colin. Colin, please don’t look at her word just yet. What I want you to do is relax. In a moment you will look at Karen’s word and then I want you to write down the first word that comes to your mind.” When he’s finished he folds up the paper and you take it back. You don’t have to say “we don’t need this anymore”, but your attitude needs to convey this. So say it to yourself. You tear up the bits of paper and peek while you place the bits into Karen’s hand or put them in a glass or waste bin or your pocket. It doesn’t matter anymore. Karen wrote “Laughter” and Colin wrote “Monkey”. “I am an empathetic person who is able to put myself in other peoples’ shoes and share the same feelings as someone and make the same decisions they make. I think I could get Colin’s word much easier if I knew what Karen was feeling right now. Karen, do you mind if I hold your wrist? I want you to stop thinking for a moment and just feel the emotion. Try not to let it show.” I close my eyes and begin to take a few strong breaths of air. I begin to giggle, and then laugh. I feel elated. They start to get it and begin to laugh. “I’m feeling so happy, I just want to laugh at everything.
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Are you laughing inside? She’s amazed and tells you that she wrote the word “Laughter”. “Ok Colin. Now that I know Karen’s word I would like to try something a little different with you. Will you please stand in a comfortable position? I will begin by mimicking your stance and getting my breathing in sync with yours. In a moment I will close my eyes. As soon as I open my eyes I would like for Karen to say the word “Laughter”. Let me blank my mind. Colin, are you ready. Just keep repeating your word in your mind.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open my eyes and Karen says “Laughter” “I am getting an impression of an animal. But don't give me any idea of what animal. It is an animal isn't it?” Explain that you want to get more specific but you need to hold onto their wrist to get impressions from muscle reading. Name several animals. Repeat the naming and state is it “Monkey”. Do this slowly pretending to get muscle response from the wrist. You can also twitch their wrist when you say “Monkey” creating the impression to all who observed that something happened there. You look at them with a puzzled look. This throws off the idea that you got information from the peek and obtained it via another method. They will give you great kudos for knowing it was an animal via your intuition and being able to do what can be a challenging technique of muscle reading.
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ALTER EGO
This is an effect that can be entertaining for a group of friends. It’s light and it’s fun and should be played that way. I fold up a piece of paper a la Think Pink and show it around. I ask the participant if he knows what this is. He says it’s a piece of paper. I explain that if this is going to work he’ll have to exercise his imagination. “No this is not a piece of paper, it is a doorway to another you… your alter ego.” I open and shut the paper like a little door. I draw a little doorknob on the outside. “Its not important what’s on the outside of the door. Its where it leads you that counts.” I explain that everyone has an alter ego and that his alter ego has a name. Everyone subconsciously knows what the name is, some may even be aware of their alterego’s name. You may have already named your alter ego, that’s OK too. Just close your eyes and let a name come to you. As soon as you know what it is don't say it. Just write it inside the doorway.” I open the paper like a door and show them where to write. “Don’t think. Just do it. I don't want to know what your alter-ego's name is.” I take back the paper. “As a matter of fact as soon as I tear up this doorway there is no
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turning back. For the next few moments you will become your alter ego. I will ask you some questions and you must answer them as your alter ego. Are we clear?” “We will play a game of 5 questions. It’s sort of like 20 questions but will require more than just yes or no answers”. I predict that I will name his alter ego after 5 questions. The questions begin. I take a pad of paper to write down some notes. 1. Is your name a made up name or is it a reference to a fictional known character or historical figure? Or, is more like a nickname? He answers fictional. 2. Is the world you live in a modern one or from a past century? He answers the past. 3. Are you a rebel? He says yes. 4. Are you Billy the Kid or James Dean? He say’s no. 5. Do you believe in Telepathy? He says maybe? Because that’s the only way I’ll be able get this, I thought I was so close. I pretend like that wasn’t a real question and continue. “OK now for the last question...” It won’t be long till someone calls you out and says you’ve already asked 5 questions. You turn the pad around and underneath a bunch of scribbled notes their alter ego’s name is written in large bold letters. It reads “Maverick”.
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After the first question it can go anywhere. If they say that it’s a made up name then ask if it has any strange letters like q,z,g,k or y. If they say it’s a nickname ask how many syllables are in the word or how many vowels. You can really improvise with this and have some fun. You might also want to make up really funny or weird questions to help get this person into character. Why not have them sing a tune as their alter ego. Ask the participant to actively change his mannerisms and adopt a new personality in order to help you. You could become overly serious and ask strange riddles and jot down their answers. Make someone else in the room the judge who is counting how many questions you’ve asked. You can perform this at the same time with more than just one participant. This presentation is meant to be fun and a good exercise for your improv skills.
1. Name exists 2. past… 3. yes 4. no
5. ?
Maverick 24
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WHITE NOISE This doesn't fall into the category of mind reading. This presentation actually draws attention to the paper, which is usually a no-no when doing a center tear. This premise highlights how natural the papers look in your hand while you're secretly accessing their info. Tell your participant that your ears have become very sensitive. You tell them that you have the ability to identify certain words by the sound they make when they are torn up. Ask them to think of any word and write it down. Do the first two tears and draw attention to how they sounded. Explain that due to subtle frequencies you heard when you tore the paper, that you are sensing a four or five letter word. Don't let them confirm, but keep aware of any visual cues from the participant and adjust your language. At this point you still don’t know what they wrote. Hold the paper up closer to your ear and tear it one more time. Say that it sounds like the second letter of the word is roundish perhaps “e” or “a”. Again don't let them confirm. Act like this is very difficult. Ask for quiet if need be. While you are doing this casually open the “infoflap” and prepare for the peek. Ask the spectator to hold his hand out as you peek, turn your head to the side as if to listen closely and tear one last time to destroy the evidence. Drop the pieces in their hand. Now that you know the word you can improvise a bit. For example
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mention when you tore the paper the first time, you felt there was a ‘K’ because you heard a subtle pause between the ink on the page. Get creative with it and finally reveal. Inspired by the Punx-Mier variation of the center tear from 13 Steps to Mentalism, I realized this is a perfect opportunity to claim that you don't quite know the word and you need them to write it again bigger and bolder. Hand them another slip to write on and fold up themselves. Move as far away as possible. Return, and with your back turned to them have them tear the paper themselves while you listen intently. As they make each tear reveal a letter or two in their word. Make sure they tear the paper to bits and reveal the whole word. In this premise you are constantly reinforcing the fact that their word is being torn up at every step. Of course we know otherwise. I perform this when I want to exhibit a pseudo skill rather than psychic powers.
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THE FORTUNE IS ALWAYS RIGHT This effect is something I’ve done impromptu when I’m sitting at a table with new friends. It is my twist on Co-Incidentally, an Al Baker effect where the center piece is used as a prediction. I was inspired by the fact that in Think Pink, the narrow info-flap sort of resembles a fortune from a fortune cookie. At least an impromptu one! It uses an extra blank info-flap, which you tear from a folded paper in the same manner you would in Think Pink to access the info. You’ll have to get good at making duplicate folds/tears, and you will. You can prepare this extra piece right on the spot or have one ready. Leave it folded shut. “My favorite part about eating Chinese food is when they bring us our fortune cookies. I just find it fascinating that my fortune is always relevant to what’s going on in my life. Is this coincidence? Or is it really because I’m taking what I want from it and I’m interpreting the message to fit my circumstance? I still think it’s interesting how my mind makes a connection and shapes what it sees. I am going to scribble something on this little fortune, just a bunch of lines and shapes that might be open to interpretation. Lets put this aside for a moment.” I place the slip in front of me and cover it with an overturned water glass. I now turn my attention to someone sitting across from me. “Samantha will you please think about your life right now and think of a word that is relevant to your situation. For example. If your birthday were coming up this week, then you would think of the word Birthday. For this experiment to work, you will need to create a vivid picture of that word in your mind. Here! Please write your word on this paper. It will help you to focus on that thought.” I receive the paper and tear it up. I dump the pieces into a nearby glass as I say,
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“Now, there is no one here who could possibly know what word you chose to think of at this moment.” She agrees. My attention goes back to the mysterious fortune slip that has been in full view. I turn to the person on my left. His name is Leo. “Remember I told you that I wrote something on this little fortune. In a moment I will show you the mysterious writing. Some people see numbers, some people see shapes, and some will swear they see letters that form a word. It usually happens very fast. Here’s a pen and paper.” I lift off the water glass and take the slip into my hand. “I don’t want to influence your thoughts anymore. I will show you the fortune and you will have a few seconds to write down what you see. Please don’t show anyone what you write.” I only let Leo see what’s on the slip and then its discarded into that nearby glass. I ask Samantha if she is still thinking about the her word.” Can you spell it backwards in your mind? In a moment I will have you spell out your word in reverse, one letter at a time. Leo is going to write each letter underneath his image. My hope is that there will be some relationship between the two thoughts. Leo let us know if you can see a connection.” She begins “E….M…” Leo begins to react. He looks at me funny. “O… H….that’s it.” I take Leo’s paper from him and look at it myself. I laugh and show the rest of the group. His paper reads H O M E with E M O H right underneath. “Wow, I don’t think that’s ever happened before…” Use the Sticky Palm steal method to keep her info-flap safe from destruction. Dump the rest of the pieces into a nearby glass. Your fingers can stay relaxed and open. While talking about the mysterious fortune, remove the fortune slip from underneath the glass and execute a table switch. You simply slide the dummy slip
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towards yourself, off the table and onto your lap as you turn your hand to reveal her secret info-flap. (Illustration 26) For other, perhaps sneakier methods to switch a piece of paper, study the methods of Bob Cassidy. Leo actually sees her word in her writing. There is some dual reality going on here as well. Everyone else is under the impression that Leo somehow came up with HOME by himself. You could have asked Leo to interpret what he saw into a drawing if he could. Then the connection would be slightly more abstract. Instead of Leo being “the secretary” at the end you may want to hand off the pad to another spectator and get more people in on the fun..
26
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SYMBOLIC TRANSFER This premise uses the Tattoo Transfer idea from earlier in this book. You’ll need to direct the participant’s writing to a certain area of the paper but that’s covered in the premise. “Wendy, I’d like you to think of a symbol. Let me show you what I mean.” I introduce a folded piece of paper and mark it with her initials and unfold the paper. Usually when I ask my friends to draw a symbol they draw this…” I draw a small bold oval with a stand in one of the squares created by the folds. “It’s a cymbal, a drum cymbal. Smart-ass musicians! What I mean is like a universal or religious symbol like this…” I draw a small but bold dollar sign underneath the cymbal. “Sometimes people draw their own symbol… I just made this one up.” I draw RP with a circle around it. Again I make it small and bold. (See illustration 27.) I ask her to draw her symbol above mine. “Please make it bold like the others so the image will burn in your mind. Try not to let the other symbols influence your choice.” When she’s finished the paper is folded and destroyed and discarded. “You are the only one who knows what your symbol looks like.” “Please hold out your right hand. Please choose a finger. All right your index finger? Oh, before we begin I need like to get a sense of your heart rate.” I hold onto her wrist to feel for a pulse. “Ok, I’ve got it. Please hold it like this so that your index finger is pointing at me. Please take a deep breath. That’s very good. Let’s begin by visualizing that symbol in your mind. Imagine it’s floating around inside your head. See it in three dimensions as it easily floats down your neck, down your shoulder past your elbow through your wrist and to your finger. Now touch my finger.”
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We both feel some electric energy. “I felt completely balanced for a moment. Is it a circle with an S inside like a Yin Yang?” She’s thrilled that it worked, but I give her all the credit for having strong focus and visualization skills. “Sometimes I get the chills when this happens. Hey! Look at your finger.” She looks and sees a faint remnant of her symbol tattooed on her finger and proof that it had passed through there. The tattoo transfer doesn’t always work. A lot depends on the participants skin, or a bad initial imprint on your thumb caused by a light drawing. That is why I peek the information just before I stick my thumb to it. I lick my right thumb just before I begin to tear the folded paper Think Pink style. I open up the info-flap, look at it and place my moist thumb on their design. I ask her a question to give the transfer a few seconds before I finish tearing up the rest of the bits. When she chooses a finger, I grab that finger with my thumb for a moment while I explain about her heart rate and reach over with my other hand and take her pulse. It only takes a few seconds to transfer the message. The reason we feel electric energy when she touches my finger is because I use Electric Touch by Yigal Mesika. This amazing device enhances so many effects and it’s only the beginning. It is a static generator, which allows you to generate a static electric shock and do some interesting psychokinetic effects. In this effect the shock
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is optional but killer. You can also make the design appear on other parts of the body.
27
28
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SYNAPTICAL DELUSION By Tom Jorgenson This is a premise and revelation I have recently used, and it played well. The premise lends purpose for the drawn line and ‘X’ on the card AND shows the why of writing something down in the first place. You can do this close-up, or even standing onstage with a single 4x6 index card. The premise is just an “interesting experiment”. You can’t tell them what’s to happen, as ‘that would void the thing from happening naturally’. You begin as normal with the writing, the tear, etc. After the peek, you wish to have the pieces torn very small, but fairly uniformly, as you are going to need one person to stack the pieces, like a little skyscraper, onto the palm of the writer. You begin the tearing to illustrate. Mention that you need 30- 50 pieces ideally, and these pieces are...oh...about an inch or 3/4 of an inch big (do your read now, as you casually judge the size of the pieces you have in front of you.)
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Tell someone to take some and tear them smaller. Hand half of the pieces to
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somebody, and the rest to another person. You are basically unconcerned up to that point. This is preliminary stuff and is only the prep. As they are tearing, you state that when the pieces are stacked on the palm and ready, the writer is to gaze at least 30 seconds at that stack, and then close their hand. Now, when the pieces are ready and stacked, you start to get interested and intense. The experiment begins. Monitor the above until the hand closes. Now tell them you are going to guide them thru a mental animation that will happen automatically, not in their heads but in the air in front of them. Have them keep their eyes open and imagine the stack of papers about a good foot tall. Illustrate with your hands. Have your hands about 18” in front of their face. Lean back at a distance, “Let me know when you can see it well, projected out here.” They concur and tell you when they have it.
Now, jump right in, really excited. It is from this point that the whole experiment starts, as far as you are concerned. All else was preparation. “You can see the stack of confetti. Notice the animation beginning...by itself..the pieces are beginnninng to move. Reshuffle. Change. Join together. Edges are healing, pieces moving, making bigger folded pieces. Tell me when it is fully whole, but still folded up, like at the start.”
Sit back and be silent. Wait for it. Say nothing until they respond. They will tell you. 54
“Now. For the first time, unfold the piece, in the air, so it faces you. Make it large, about like this: (indicate about 2 inches wide with your arms). Only you know what’s on this, right?” “OK.” (Muttering asides, talk to yourself, stare into the space between spectator and yourself) “I need to find the line. That’s my contact point, something I can recognize. It’s like GPS. I can tune in from there, from that. OK, Got it, I think. Put your first letter here.” Indicate the position in the air. Remember, you will be reading this backwards in the air, so their first letter will be to your right. With your hand, indicate 5-6 more letter positions across the air in front of the person, going from your right to your left. From this point, of course, all that’s left is to do da Booga Booga. Sit back and pull the letters out of the air one by one in any interesting and dramatic manner you wish. I like to describe various energy forms, emotions, symbols that I see, and get the letters that they usually correspond to. You can lead them along a bit by claiming to sort of catch the letters... There’s a letter there...and something there....(pointing to the 1st and second positions of the letters)...and that’s an ‘M’...Nail your 3rd letter in the name. At this point they’ll squeal. When they react, the letters in the air vanish, so when they are over the reaction, they have to relax and build the letters again. Then you can finish. This stop-and-start stretches the effect out nicely and builds the drama automatically. The response is nice. They are seeing you read, in mid-air, something that someone
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else is only thinking/seeing/mentally placing there. During the effect, they are led there not knowing where they are going, and it is all new territory. Plus, your premise almost seems possible, almost plausible. The concept is that they wouldn’t be able to do this experiment if they were told ahead of time what was to happen. The purpose of drawing the line and the X is so you can “locate it in the ethers”. You can recognize the line and/or X and ‘fine tune’ it from there to locate the frequencies she’s creating on, and thus see her mental construction in the air. Or “you’ve heard that X marks the spot. Well it really works in reading etherized thoughts as well.” It’s just an interesting experiment as far as you are concerned. Something anyone can learn to do with the proper time, practice and instruction. Which, purely coincidentally, is certainly true.
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MOVIE-SEEN By Greg Arce You bring up three people and you tell one person to write the name of a famous actor that is known for comedies, another person writes a female actor known for romance stories and one more known for horrors... as they write you talk about how Hollywood just seems to throw ideas into a big pot and just create a plot around that and you are going to show them what it's like. You tear the first person’s paper and have them hold out the pieces in their open hands. Then, you tear the other two papers and drop those into the respective hands. Now you show them what Hollywood does as you say, “I'll take a pinch of horror, a sprinkling of action and a heap of comedy...” As you say that you are grabbing random pieces from the hands of all those involved. Now you take the pieces and shake them up in your closed hands as you say, “So now we mix up all the ideas and try to come up with a new movie concept... Hmmm... I see a weird doctor that seems to clown around with his patients except one day he is treating this beautiful young woman who was in some sort of crazy bus accident and it was caused by this guy all wrapped up in gauze who attacks the bus..” Some of the spectators should be reacting to these comments, but you continue, “It sort of Patch Adams meets Speed vs The Mummy... I guess it will star Robin Williams, Sandra Bullock and Boris Karloff... now what were you guys thinking?” Of course those are the three names... this requires a lot of improv skills... and that's the kind of stuff I like. Here are some things to keep in mind when performing Movie-Seen:
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First, you don't have to use the sequence in the description. You could ask them to think of famous movie characters and then make up the movies and, of course, there are other genres like science fiction, action, animation, etc. Second, and most important, by saying the pieces of the films you are making up, you can see if you are hitting on any of the film’s their actor is in. So it becomes a second effect plus, even if you don't hit on any of the films, the rest of the group believes you are also getting the thought of films. So, it's a bonus effect.
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THE TICKET By Lincoln You draw a ticket, leave a space (where you will need it for the center tear) in the drawing and ask them to imagine that they won a trip for one week to anywhere in the world. Have them complete their ticket by writing their destination in the appropriate space. Take back the (now folded up “ticket”) and say, “Ticket please. We are now about to board dream air ways”. Tear up the “ticket” and throw it away. Continue to elaborate about the flight. Provide verbal pictures of the flight and the landing consistent with your style. Then ask them to think about what they are seeing on their trip. Assuming their destination is somewhere you know a little bit about, start describing what they are seeing. Example: If they wrote Paris, you can describe the smell of really great food, a large metal structure, etc. Don't get too specific. It will seem more real that way, and lessen the chances of the spectator stopping you to say you are wrong. Again, do this as elaborately as you feel fits your style and the situation you are in. Then finally name the place they wrote on the “ticket”. And most importantly, if your spectator is someone you are attracted to, make sure to “join” the mile high club during your performance. (That last part was just a joke of course, just get her phone number. You don't want to be to pushy right away ;) The ticket concept can be used for any situation where a tickets are used. Movies, sporting events, trains etc…
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P.I.N. ( P.EEK I.NSIDE AT THE N.UMBERS) By Andrew Gerard
I will offer my pet routine; I tell the participant that I will reveal their BIGGEST secret! Something NOBODY in the world can possibly know…Their P.I.N. #! I ask them to write it down and fix it in the forefront of their mind. (If they seem uneasy about it, have them make one up for the purpose of this demonstration.) I destroy it so that nobody can see it after (logical) then I ask them to imagine they are standing at a ATM machine, and mentally type in the pin # one digit at a time, I call out the first 3 digits e.g. 5....6...2... the last one I whisper in their ear, and they FREAK! Alternately I use Electric touch to receive the last # as they imagine my finger as the last # button, they jump and I whisper it into their ear. This effect is featured in my TV show I just filmed titled: “Gerard The Hypnotist”
Please be advised that the performer is solely responsible for any misuse of this technique. Use for entertainment purposes only.
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MENTAL CHARADES BY NEWELL UNFRIED
a.k.a the doctor!!! Using Think Pink, I wanted to contribute one effect that has some real entertainment value and does not portray me as the all-powerful, mystic, mind reader. This is one I have used for years. I have used it to play a mental game of charades. This is really fun for everyone, because everyone can try and guess what the sender- the one who writes down the information- is sending. Of course you already know. You can have them send three or more different impressions one of which is the one, which was written. I find three works best. Based on their body language you can tell which was the initial impression - the one they wrote down. The animal approach is one of many I have developed. Make sure you select someone who is good-natured as it can be a little embarrassing. I usually ask a spectator to write down any animal. Now they don't know that they're going to “act out” this animal in a moment. You then say, “It is interesting that each person has a unique animal with which they can identify. If you ask someone to write it down, you usually can guess based on that person.” You can at this time take the paper and look at them and say, “I think I know but let's try this. (You don't peek it yet. Proceed to tear it up to the point when you could do the peek) Let's have some fun. We're going to make this a little easier. We're going to use body language.”
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Now you tell the spectator that they in addition to the animal they are thinking of, they are to think of two additional animals. Next you ask them to act out - charade them - each one and to not charade them in any particular order or give any clue as to the original one of which they were thinking. You then ask the audience to shout out which animal the spectator is trying to portray after the end of each charade. This allows for some fun audience participation. Be prepared for some interesting comments. I've got some real winners. You have so much time to do the peek as everyone is laughing about someone trying to act out an animal. Usually poorly! They will actually forget that the spectator even wrote something down. Usually someone from the audience will yell out something that doesn't make sense, which will also get a response. This is a very funny bit. Lastly, I ask “By a raise of hands how many thought the original though of animal was number 1 - the XXXX? How many thought it was animal number 2 the YYYY? And how many thought it was animal number 3 - the ZZZZ?” If time permits, I might go into the audience and ask someone who raised their hand for a question why they thought it was number 1 , 2 or 3. This can also be very funny. I usually have a big pad and write the animal name. I bring the participant center stage and have them reveal the original thought of animal, turn the pad around in applause cue fashion and thank him/her for being such a good sport. I have done this for small house parties and on stage. It always gets a strong reaction. Have fun with this!!!
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FINAL THOUGHTS I know that there is a lot of techniques and ideas here and don’t want that to overwhelm you. Once you understand the mechanics and practice the moves it will eventually become second nature. You will be able to focus on your presentation because that’s what ultimately counts. There are infinite possibilities as to what you can achieve using Think Pink. You can truly improvise and customize your presentation on the fly and have a lot of fun doing it. It’s perfect for impromptu situations or theater shows. I enjoyed sharing my ideas and putting my thoughts into words on a page. You know… it helps my mind focus on those thoughts ! I would like to thank Tom Jorgenson for hosting our laidback brainstorming sessions and for putting his thoughts and illustrations into this book. He is a gifted artist and a true wizard. Thanks to Yigal Mesika for opening the doors with his amazing magic and inventive abilities. He turns thoughts into reality. Thanks to Lincoln for our extended phone conversations and for sharing his vast knowledge on so many things. He helped me find the perfect pencils for Symbolic Transfer. Thanks to Kenton Knepper, Greg Arce, Andrew Gerard and Yaniv Deautch for being such good mentalists and for their contributions to this book. Thanks to Sir James. I’d also like to thank Newell Unfried for editing this manuscript. He has taught me so much on mentalism and magick and contributed many many of the ideas manuscript, too numerous to mention. I’d especially like to thank my entire family, especially my wife Shel and our children Alexander and Olivia for their relentless love and support. I love them all so much.
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Contributors And Friends Of This Book This book would not have been complete without the contributions from the following people. I suggest you seek out and learn what these amazing minds have to offer. Tom Jorgenson
[email protected]
Newell Unfried
[email protected]
Greg Arce
www.freestylebooktest.com/cashout
Andrew Gerard
www.gerardthehypnotist.com
Lincoln
www.lincolnworld.com/products
Yigal Mesika
www.yigalmesika.com
Kenton Knepper
www.wonderwizards.com
Yaniv Deautch
www.yanivd.co.il
“ We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” -Herman Melville
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Imagine being able to divine something a person is merely thinking and doing it under test conditions using just a piece of paper or business card and a writing utensil; miracles which can be performed anywhere, anytime with no funny moves. Then get Think Pink. The Complete Think Pink contains more than beautiful techniques, it is a dissertation on the psychology and process of using it, which can be applied to so many mentalism routines. The illustrations and text make learning it fun and easy. Not only does Ran include some of his pet effects but also he has included routines and ideas from some of today’s top innovators in mentalism. If you are looking for a way to achieve mental miracles, just Think Pink!!!
What some professionals are saying about
Think Pink….
“Great Stuff! I LOVE the Scorecard and Empath approach. Brilliant and potentially quite moving and romantic!” – Kenton Knepper “For years of I’ve been searching for the ultimate mind reading technique. When I finally came across Think Pink and saw it in action, I knew I was about to have some serious fun.” -- Yigal Mesika “Think Pink is one of the most powerful tools you will have at your disposal, these touches that are offered here are priceless. If you really want someone to think you can reach inside their mind and reveal their innermost though ts, this is the one thing you MUST know”. - Andrew Gerard “The ideas and concepts in this book have brought new life to an under utilized mind reading method and have inspired some of my latest presentations.” - Lincoln (Creator of Lincoln’s Best Boons)
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