talkmagic.co.uk

I am a mentalist. There I have admitted it.

But why am I drawn towards mentalism? Why not become a whiz at card work or coins. Or even cut bits of rope up in amusing and interesting ways.

I work and have worked for many years as a lecturer in a college. Over the years I have become better at my work and my students do better in their exams. The main reason for this is the use of psychology in the classroom.

Using words and techniques that they don't realise are being used to get them to do the work that they need to do in a way that I need them to do it to be successful in the exams etc.
Any other teachers reading this will I think know what I mean.

Does the above paragraph sound familiar.

Get the audience to do or think what you need them to think to make the effect work.

So I think that the psychological tricks and tools that I have picked up over the years are what have led me to an interest in mentalism.

Now I am not suggesting that this is the reason that everyone gets the mental bug. But the use of psychology is important in many jobs.

Marketing, sales, teaching,medicine,police and so on.

We all use some of the techniques used in mentalism all the time but some use it more than others.

What do you think, do you think that your work or life expiriences have influenced the direction that you have taken in your magic.
Just give it a few minutes thought

A//

Psychology, and the use of it is used by nearly everyone every day.

I use it all day when designing marketing driven websites and adverts.

But that doesn't make me a mentalist.

A magician also uses psychology in their act—in the form of misdirection, re-writing history, dual reality convincers etc. etc.

But that doesn't make them a mentalist.

The Samaritans and GPs use psychology to be reassuring to those who need it, but that doesn't make them a mentalist.

I'm not sure what your point was, but the field of mentalism is a whole lot more than you're describing.

I know there is more to mentalism than that!!
I wasn't born yesterday

And I am not saying that that makes a mentalist.

What I am saying is that if you use a lot of psycology in your work could that be a reason for developing an interest in mentalism rather than coin work etc.

A//

I came to mentalism through a study of parapsychology - I wrote a thesis on telepathy for my psychology degree course. I'm now a hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner, but when I perform I still use a parapsychology angle rather than a psychological one.

Barry

I came from tarot reading at school through a deep interest in applied psychology, then into normal cards as a familiar vehicle for demonstrations and here I am, expanding those areas, watching them overlap, and developing more satisfying, method-free ideas. Cripes, I've just realised that I got my tarot deck in 1980, making it a journey of about 27 years so far.

When I am planning lessons I now find that I am actively putting in ideas from my mentalism experience. Like you Tomo I am finding that stuff I did years ago as tricks I am now adapting towards a mentalist angle.

Was your interest in psycology the reason for getting into magic or did you find that once interested in magic you found that your psyc knowledge was useful. I think that people who have an enquiring mind are drawn to magic.

A//

alanclimb wrote:When I am planning lessons I now find that I am actively putting in ideas from my mentalism experience. Like you Tomo I am finding that stuff I did years ago as tricks I am now adapting towards a mentalist angle.

Was your interest in psycology the reason for getting into magic or did you find that once interested in magic you found that your psyc knowledge was useful. I think that people who have an enquiring mind are drawn to magic.

A//

I'd given up tarot as being a little too dishonest for my liking, but I couldn't believe that the psychology graduate I was working with in 1988 while we were computer operators on a big mainframe wasn't using what he'd spent 4 years learning. He simply couldn't see how it could be useful in the real world. I started reading up in the library and got into techniques that allow people to open up to you. People like that freedom and being liked and trusted is a good feeling too, so it developed from there. I started to do hot reading by finding subtle applications for the stuff I learned. When I finally read Corinda, Annamann and the others I was a bit miffed to discover all that apparatus etc. When Derren Brown came along with his theories of invisible compromise it was a revelation and the world went mad. The stuff I do is always informed by psychology as well as performance, and takes on a mental twist.

Every time I read that line TOMO, of giving up Tarot due to the sense of "dishonesty" behind it, I have to chuckle and not because of what you may think...

When I was working in Nashville some years ago a young friend of mine was a Psych major and exceptionally frustrated as any student can be. What frustrated him most was watching me use a simple deck of cards and accomplish in minutes what would require, if you go by the book, many sessions to do under the "legitimate" banners of society. More so, it got to him (by watching me work with clients) as to the kind of rapport we shared, my sense of blunt honesty which was tendered by expressed concern and words of encouragement that helped the sitter claim their own power in life vs. co-dependence on a shrink or the latest in designer psychotropic drugs. But hey, I'm just a charlatan, what do I know about having degrees and legally and justifiably making folks more co-dependent and give them far too many excuses for being victims so I can demand my $200.00 + an hour fee...

Sorry, but you'll find hustlers and persons of question in EVERY WALK OF LIFE and I've met far more dishonest folks with pedigrees and degrees than I know "psychics" that bilk the masses.

As to my moving into Mentalism... I blame it on fate.

From 1969ish well into the early 1990s my main stay had been big illusions but, within the folds of all that I was a closeted psychic. That is to say that I have always been spiritually oriented and was even being groomed for the ministry at one point in my youth but, as TOMO says about the Tarot so I say about the ministry... I just haven't that much larceny in my veins. Yet, I was doing Readings and studying everything I could get my hands on that dealt with Metaphysical thought, Religious history and prophecy. I likewise became very involved in what most would call the Pagan Revival era of the early 1980s during which time I was working with New Age author/publisher Louise L. Hay and of course through her others like Marianne Williamson, LAZARUS, some guy named Tony Robbins and a handful of other west coast gurus of the day.

It was Leo Kotsky and Max Maven of all people that kept telling me to get rid of the big boxes and move into Mentalism. Even my mentor pushed me more in that direction because in his mind, it was more of who I was as a personality.

Reluctantly I pulled together my first mentalism show (BRAIN SCOPE) when I was about 23. I was booked in a place outside Palm Springs for the weekend and the kind of reactions I got from the patrons scared the hell out of me. Which is why I so loathe the current trend of so many young people claiming the title or embracing the idea that they are "Mentalists". The truth of the matter is, most of you don't have the life experience required for being much more than a magician doing tricks that mimic psychics or paranormal phenomena.

OUCH!

Sorry guys, but there's a big truth to what I'm saying and if you were to get honest about things, you'd understand why for so very long Mentalism was seen as the pentacle of a magician's career; what the "old guys" did after decades of doing close-up, parlor and big stage type shows. The maturity, sense of stage command and general savvy garnered by the older performer arms him/her with certain skills you just don't gain otherwise. Especially if you are working from the more traditional position of the Mentalist and doing "Readings" (Answering Questions, as Nelson would put it) from the stage... you must be able to size up and connect with your audience and invoke belief... something the majority of those claiming the title today don't do in that they want to do tricks vs. create mystery.

Though I dabbled in it, I did not go back to doing Mentalism styled programs for nearly a decade after those initial experiences. I'd have a routine or two in the shows and of course when I did the Halloween program (still my favorite of all shows) I had a good bit of psychic feel to the program and of course ghosties running amuck.

In the 90s however, Mentalism was becoming more and more "my thing" in that it was easier to deal with, travel with and book. I was in my early-mid thirties and had a hint of grey in the hair so people took me a bit more serious and too, I'd cultivated (unwittingly) an international reputation as a learned and gifted "psychic" and spiritually oriented person. In other words, the adventures of my private life and the fact that I was a theology hobbyist who did a lot of articles and lectures on related topics... well, it all paved the path towards the creation of Craig the Psychic as he is today both, in the public eye as well as within the industry itself.

By 1993 I was working the B&B market with my mystery shows and in 1996, when I broke my neck (car accident) I simply took a deep breath and realized that I couldn't do the big illusion shows any longer. That is when I started getting more and more serious (and agressive) as a Mentalist; starting, believe it or not, with a Consumer Awareness Program that featured a routine known as THE PSYCHIC HOTLINE... a deliberate "slam" if you would, on the then popular Ms. Cleo and similar psychic phone services. The routine deliberately revealed to folks just how real a fake psychic could seem and more importantly, how easy they can make one willing to give them cold hard earned cash without hesitation.

I know that may shock a few of my critics, but I've ALWAYS been a consumer advocate and still use the sub-caption of "See just how real a fake psychic can seem" in all of my press. My personal feelings being that I play the role as real and legit as possible but educate folks on either side of the issue as well, allowing them to use their own mind to make decisions vs. forcing an opinion down their throats or calling them idiots for believing in anything outside of man, science and arrogance.

Craig Browning wrote::lol: Every time I read that line TOMO, of giving up Tarot due to the sense of "dishonesty" behind it, I have to chuckle and not because of what you may think...

When I was working in Nashville some years ago a young friend of mine was a Psych major and exceptionally frustrated as any student can be. What frustrated him most was watching me use a simple deck of cards and accomplish in minutes what would require, if you go by the book, many sessions to do under the "legitimate" banners of society. More so, it got to him (by watching me work with clients) as to the kind of rapport we shared, my sense of blunt honesty which was tendered by expressed concern and words of encouragement that helped the sitter claim their own power in life vs. co-dependence on a shrink or the latest in designer psychotropic drugs. But hey, I'm just a charlatan, what do I know about having degrees and legally and justifiably making folks more co-dependent and give them far too many excuses for being victims so I can demand my $200.00 + an hour fee...

Sorry, but you'll find hustlers and persons of question in EVERY WALK OF LIFE and I've met far more dishonest folks with pedigrees and degrees than I know "psychics" that bilk the masses.

I don't get it. How does any of this relate to me? And Why do you keep spelling my name in capitals?

EDIT:

Craig Browning wrote:From 1969ish well into the early 1990s my main stay had been big illusions but, within the folds of all that I was a closeted psychic.

I though you were born in 1959. You're 47 now, right? 1969 puts you at ten years old, doesn't it? Your online biography says you only left High School in 1977, so don't you mean 1979?

I'm not a mentalist. I don't know if I will ever dub myself a mentalist. However, I am very interested in the genre.

Although I'm only eighteen, and as Craig said, I do not have the life experience necessary to command stage presence, I do feel that I have my own ability, and might as well start somewhere and improve. I've been performing magic at close-up level for at least seven years, and I've acted on stage in amateur productions for four, so I do have a bit of background to draw on.

My magic has always been subtle. I've never like really flashy things, and always preferred a subtle effect that sinks into someone's mind and just isn't right. I prefer that sense of uncomfortability rather than the obviously impossible things such as a flame turning into a dove.

I'm also a big fan of Derren Brown, and his work has interested me for a long time. It's only recently that I've decided that I shall attempt something of the sort, because mental effects to me have a similar 'follow this and see what happens' style of effect.

I've rethought a lot of my magic tricks, and reworked them to have more of a mental slant, and I've also begun investing in some works on mentalism: I'm currently waiting for a copy of 13 Steps to arrive in the post.

I understand that I will not be considered a mentalist now, and that much of what I do is technically mental magic, but it's something that interests me, so is something I shall pursue. I draw upon my tendency to favour simple, bold methods, my knowledge of magic (specifically card) and my own instinct to develop my routines.

Yesterday, I devised a way of replicating the spectator selects any one card out of a packet and it's the only blue card in a red pack effect (hmm, that was a bit long winded) without the need for gimmicks, and with a wonderfully bold setup that by its nature needs not be examined beforehand. And at the end of the effect, the spectator (who has been handling the cards all the time) is left with the cards as he dealt them. All are normal cards.

[/shameless plug for my video, of which there is a link in the File Sharing forum]

Am I a mentalist? No.

Will I become a mentalist? Perhaps.

At the moment I'm doing what I want. This interests me, so this is what I'm studying.

Morita, you are a mentalist, if you are doing mentalist effects, It is important to remember that everyone starts at the beginning and they should be encouraged so that they progress. Keep reading and keep learning to become not a mentalist, but a better mentalist

A//

The major reason I do not consider myself 'a mentalist' is because I don't really want to call myself that, rather than a lack of belief in myself, although thanks for the vote of confidence.

I quite like Derren Brown's self title of 'psychological illusionist,' although I prefer to call myself merely a performer.

Cool. You are what you want to be

A//

Tomo wrote:

Craig Browning wrote::lol: Every time I read that line TOMO, of giving up Tarot due to the sense of "dishonesty" behind it, I have to chuckle and not because of what you may think...

When I was working in Nashville some years ago a young friend of mine was a Psych major and exceptionally frustrated as any student can be. What frustrated him most was watching me use a simple deck of cards and accomplish in minutes what would require, if you go by the book, many sessions to do under the "legitimate" banners of society. More so, it got to him (by watching me work with clients) as to the kind of rapport we shared, my sense of blunt honesty which was tendered by expressed concern and words of encouragement that helped the sitter claim their own power in life vs. co-dependence on a shrink or the latest in designer psychotropic drugs. But hey, I'm just a charlatan, what do I know about having degrees and legally and justifiably making folks more co-dependent and give them far too many excuses for being victims so I can demand my $200.00 + an hour fee...

Sorry, but you'll find hustlers and persons of question in EVERY WALK OF LIFE and I've met far more dishonest folks with pedigrees and degrees than I know "psychics" that bilk the masses.

I don't get it. How does any of this relate to me? And Why do you keep spelling my name in capitals?

EDIT:

Craig Browning wrote:From 1969ish well into the early 1990s my main stay had been big illusions but, within the folds of all that I was a closeted psychic.

I though you were born in 1959. You're 47 now, right? 1969 puts you at ten years old, doesn't it? Your online biography says you only left High School in 1977, so don't you mean 1979?

No Tomo... I've been on stage since I was 9 years old doing big illusions working for a major corporation for about five years... I am a child prodigy, as they say. Been on stage over 35 years or working on the backside creating effects for shows.

As to your other question, it's the fact that the psych student was amazed at how I was so effective without all the hassles of school and being "certified" to legally bilk the public... the per hour money is about the same but ironically, I find more folks trust the Readers or Bartenders as their counselors than they do professional shrinks or, as they are better known in these parts, pharmaceutical sales reps.

I come at mentalism from the other side of metaphysics. I have been studying the philosophy of science and normative theory for years as an academic, as well as calculus, statistics, and econometrics. My epistemology is much more grounded in the natural sciences and I have written several books on world politics that are based in this perspective. I have also taught the philosophy of science for years.

For me, magic and mentalism are fascinating since they use everyday forms of science to challenge the very scientific 'certainties' of the world. Moreover, many key philosphers that led to great breakthroughs in Enlightenment thinking were also exploring the esoteric side of metaphysics of the kind that Craig has studied.

Again, mentalism is a wonderful set of practices and performances that addresses many of the tensions between the scientific and esoteric strands of metaphysics (a theme that arises in my effect Cogito Ergo Sum).

I like Tomo's e-book Poker-faced, precisely because it uses the principles of math to produce a 'body langauge' effect. I like Outlaw's Reflections because it is based on simple principles to produce an amazing effect grounded in pseudo science of emotional projection. I like the Panagram sofware since it organises words in ways that allows me to appear like I am reading minds. Etc, etc etc.

Now, the linguistic and psychological aspects of mentalism bring an infinite set of possibilities to the mentalist, expecially when combined with statistics and other insights from the social sciences. Heresthetics, for example, is the practice of eliminating certain discourses from a debate and narrow down the range of discussion. William Riker (not the Star Trek guy but a political scientist) uses this idea to explain the closing down of of policy space in public debate. This idea has complete application to what mentalists do to narrow down people's choices in some sort of verbal force.

Finally, teaching and performing for all these years has developed my sense of how to relate to a crowd and I have used the Socratic methods to get students to think and learn rather than copy, memorise by rote, and then regurgitate. These skills are very useful for performing magic and mentalism. Working an audience, letting them take part, using comments and casual asides to my advantage and hopefully, delivering a memorable evening. (oh yeah, and jazz improvisation has helped alot as well...)