359086691 Brandon Queen Phathom Updated 2 PDF

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(2) phathOM. by. BRANDON QUEEN. PUBLISHED BY BRANDON QUEEN EDITED BY BRADLEY BENSON. © All copyright owned in its entirety by Brandon Queen - Feb, 2013 No part of this publication may be stored, reproduced, copied or transmitted without the prior written consent from both the author and publisher. TV performance rights withheld. Conflicting live performance rights reserved.. 2.

(3) CONTENTS He who would search for pearls, must dive below. FORWORD ……………………………………………………………......... 4. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………... 5. TELEGEUSIA ……………………………………………………………... 7. R.A.M. ……………………………………………………………............... 18. LACUNA ……………………………………………………………........... 34. TELEGEUSIA II …………………………………………………………… 43. TEA FOR TWO …………………………………………………………….. 51. PSYCHO DYSPHAGIA …………………………………………………… 58. CREDIT & THANKS ………………………………………………………. 68. 3.

(4) FOREWORD By Colin McLeod. Stylish. Quite simply the best word I could use to describe everything Brandon Queen encapsulates: his look, his persona and most importantly in this case –his material. Having got to know Brandon over the last few years I’ve realized that he’s way more than just a beard-rocking hipster, he also likes good food. Like, SERIOUSLY likes good food. In fact, after reading this you’ll be convinced that food is THE major influence on his choice of material. More than all of that though, he has the ability to absorb all of the information around him, to improve it and to produce an end result that is far superior to how it began. Brandon is constantly striving to make his audience’s experience of mentalism one which is as it should be. That is, a purely mental experience (in the nonderanged sense) and what you are about to read is proof of that. Within these pages are some of Brandon’s most worked routines. These are ideas that I’ve watched him develop, grow and ultimately try out on me (usually via Skype) with great success. What you’re about to read will constantly offer you new approaches and at the very least, techniques that you WILL add to your currently performed routines. I’m very lucky to have been privy to this man’s thinking long before anyone else has. I have no doubt that the more Brandon shares with the community, the more convinced you will all become that he is actually possessed by the demon of Annemann. Brandon has long been my secret weapon for bouncing material off, as I know he’s going to help me to refine it and make it exactly as it should be and play in the real world – stylish. – Colin McLeod March 2013.. 777 4.

(5) INTRODUCTION [fath-uh m] 1. A unit of length equal to six feet. Used chiefly in nautical measurements. 2. To penetrate the truth of; comprehend; understand.. Hello and thank you for purchasing PHATHOM. This is the first collection of my material to be released to the mentalism community. Each of the routines presented in this book are my own personal creations and ones that I use in my current professional performances. It is my pleasure to finally be releasing them to the public. I am really excited to be contributing to my community after so many years of learning and growing as a performer. Without all of the wonderful friends, family and teachers in my life, this material would never have come to fruition. It is their encouragement and support that keeps me pressing forward and striving to be the best version of myself that I can be. What you hold in front of you is a collection of six routines and concepts that have been taken straight from my personal working repertoire of the last decade. Each routine has gone through a series of evolutionary developments; the results of countless trials, errors and discoveries made in real world performance situations. I have done my best to include every nuance and to cover these routines from just about every possible angle. All of the routines in this book focus on either mind control, or revealing some sort of personal thought, information or idea, that exists only in someone’s head. I know that may seem obvious, as reading minds is primarily what we do as mentalists; however, our job as mentalists is not just about reading minds or showing off a super-human ability. To me, our job as mentalists is really about connecting with other human beings on a deep level, within an artistic context. When I read somebody’s mind, my goal is to make that person feel – even if it’s just for one moment – that I understand them in a way that nobody else can. It’s not about regurgitating information that they already know, it’s about making them feel appreciated and understood. Almost everything expressed in this book is prop-less and has an organic, natural feel to it. Most of the routines are designed for the close up performance environment; however, they could all easily be adapted for larger audiences should that be a requirement of yours. There is truly something special about connecting with other people on a personal level, especially strangers. It is my wish that the material in this book may inspire you to find unique ways to connect with others, so that you can leave your audiences and participants better off than when you found them.. 5.

(6) Like our minds, we view oceans’ depths as something so foreign and incomprehensible that we embrace them as a metaphor for the unknown or the unknowable. Most of us feel that no one could possibly fathom what actually goes on in our minds. This often makes us feel comfortable, but sometimes it can make us feel disconnected. We as mentalists are some of the select few who possess the tools and abilities to make people feel as though we can penetrate that mental barrier and provide the comfort of connectedness. I sincerely hope you enjoy the material presented in this book and that you find ways to utilize the ideas and concepts in your own work and performances. If characters have been allocated genders in the descriptions of the following routines (unless otherwise specified) the performer has been described as being male and the participant as female. This has been done solely for the sake of clarity and not with the intent of supporting gender stereotypes.. 777. 6.

(7) TELEGEUSIA A tasteful disquisition of gustatory perceptions. This is the routine I call upon when I need to close deals over the phone. It is one of the strongest and most practical pieces I have in my personal working repertoire. I still perform this regularly and it is often the only thing I perform. I was quite reluctant to share this, but I knew that had I decided to keep such an incredible routine (which is based upon a pre-existing concept) all to myself, then I would have felt quite guilty. I trust that the following routine will provide you with some food for thought and give you a springboard of ideas that you can use to take this routine and its concepts to the next level. The performer addresses the audience at large. “Listening to music is one of the most complex things our minds can process. Several parts of our brain have to work together to comprehend even the simplest tune. In addition to the many mechanical aspects of processing music, our brain also links associations with memories and feelings. Because music elicits certain thoughts, it makes us more likely to use these thoughts when asked to make a decision. “In 1997, three psychologists ran a field experiment that involved playing French accordion music and German “Bierkeller” music in a grocery store. The results were that shoppers purchased more French wine when the French music was playing and more German wine when the German music was playing. The results suggested that music creates unconscious responses in shoppers that could have a huge influence on consumer choice.” The performer asks the participant to close her eyes and to imagine walking into a grocery store where music is playing. He then guides her through an imaginative journey during which she is asked to make several decisions in her mind. Eventually, the participant is asked to picture herself preparing a dish using the ingredients she has collected in this imaginary grocery store. Once she has done that, the performer is able to describe the textures, smells and flavors of what the participant has cooked in a great deal of detail. After revealing the exact name of the participant’s imagined dish, the performer asks her to think of a dessert. Again, the performer is able to describe the dessert – which the participant is merely thinking of – in detail and with complete accuracy.. 7.

(8) OBSERVATIONS This routine went through several changes and transformations before becoming what it is today. The description you just read is one of the many presentations I enjoy using when I perform this trick. My preference is to perform this close up, one-on-one, or over the phone. I once performed this for a blind gentleman and afterwards, he told me that it was the first time he had ever experienced any kind of magic first hand. His response was priceless and so was the astonishment of all those in attendance. It was then that I realized I had armed myself with a very powerful tool. What makes this particular routine so powerful and unique is the ability to perform it anytime, anywhere, with absolutely no props or setup necessary. A thought is revealed in real time and there is no evidence left behind for somebody to use if they were to try to reverse engineer the experience later. At the heart of this method lies a concept that is relatively new and has been explored by very few. It was created by an extremely talented and progressive thinker in the field of mentalism – Joshua Quinn.. PLAN OF ATTACK When I first discovered Joshua Quinn’s Thought Chunnel routine, published in his book “Paralies”, I immediately fell in love with it and began using it in my paid performances. What initially attracted me to this method and routine was the ability to have someone think of ANY word and to eventually be able to tell them exactly what word they were thinking of, without the need for them to write anything down. After playing with the ideas in Quinn’s book, I decided to create my own chunneling system that allowed me to bypass the one major issue that most readers were finding to be quite a hurdle – not being able to use this routine outside of the United States. The initial inspiration behind creating my own chunneling system was not the result of living outside of the United States. I had learned through experience that most Americans struggle to remember the names of presidents and even have trouble thinking of American states. Time and time again, the routine would come to a sudden halt due to people lacking certain geographical and political knowledge and the success rate of the routine proved to be too low for me. I also wanted to use a more linear sequence of chunneling, one that didn’t feel so random and disconnected. I am going to explain two different ways of performing my chunneling system: the first description is intended to be used one-on-one or over the phone, the second is a stage routine in which you will seemingly read the thoughts of every single person in the room.. 8.

(9) Okay, let’s get into the chunneling system and the workings of this routine, then I’ll discuss the details and the subtleties that accompany them. Those of you who are familiar with Thought Chunnel will understand how this works right away. For those of you who aren’t, I’ll explain the basic principle in a moment. The system is as follows. First, they think of any musical instrument (there are only three possibilities that won’t work and I’ll get to those later), next you have them think of a fruit and finally you have them think of any vegetable. Unbelievably, by the time they get to think of a vegetable, their options will be limited to one of only three: a turnip, an eggplant or a yam. Allow me to explain exactly what is going on here. Each time I have my participants think of an item in the grocery store, I ask them to think of one that begins with the last letter of their previously thought of item. By directing them to choose from a category that has a limited number of last-letter-results, I can effectively narrow down their future options. The great thing about these items (an instrument, a fruit, and a vegetable) is that they all fit perfectly within the context of the presentation. All three items are part of the journey into the grocery store and are consistent with the premise. So, the items in this chunneling sequence are all related to one another, but they also provide the additional benefit of being relevant to the greater effect. Each item used within the routine will play an important role later on, which is usually not the case in chunneling routines. Once the participant has selected a fruit and vegetable, they are going to use these items to prepare a dish. The participant never asks you to tell them their first word because the original instrument seems integral to the process and not like something you made them change simply because you couldn’t. Every choice is important and is integrated into the final reveal. Here is how it sounds: “I want you to imagine that you’re about to walk into a grocery store. Just outside of the store is a young man playing a musical instrument. Can you picture the instrument in your mind? Great, now as you walk into the store you grab one of those little handheld baskets by the entrance and walk over to the produce section. You’re going to select a fruit, but you notice that they have a sale on one particular fruit. Coincidentally, it happens to begin with the last letter of the instrument the young man was playing outside. I want you to take that fruit once you’ve found it and place it in your basket. Now, you’re going to mosey on over to the vegetables and select one that begins with the last letter of your fruit. Okay, once you’ve selected the vegetable and placed it in your basket, you’re going to purchase your items and go home to cook me a meal.”. 9.

(10) STEP ONE Once you’ve had them think of a musical instrument, they will be left with only TEN possible final letters from which they can select a fruit. Those letters are: N, R, Y, L, S, D, A, O, T and E. There are three possible exceptions to that outcome and they occur if the participant chooses a harp, a drum or one of several Chinese instruments. I’ve never actually encountered anyone who has thought of one of these obscure and ancient Chinese instruments off the top of their heads; however, I once preformed this for someone who had trouble thinking of an instrument over the internet and thanks to the wonders of Google, they managed to expand their musical vocabulary and select a rather rare and ancient Chinese instrument. Having said that, unless you’re trying this effect under those same conditions, I wouldn’t worry about it. The likelihood of you encountering someone who will select one of those Chinese instruments is extremely low. Well, unless of course you live in China. If someone is thinking of a drum, more often than not they won’t pluralize it as ‘drums.’ This poses a potential problem, because now their last letter is “M,” which forces mango, mandarin or melon as their thought of fruit. If they think of “harp” then they are forced to think of peach, pear, pineapple, plum, pomegranate, passion fruit, papaya… this list goes on and on. Of course, this situation is less than ideal as the reason this routine works so beautifully is that the chunneling sequence should leave the participant with as limited a choice as possible. There are several ways in which we can avoid this situation, my preferred being to blatantly tell them NOT to think of those two instruments. “As you go to walk into the store, you notice that there is a gentleman playing a musical instrument out front for money. It’s quite an uncommon instrument, like a harp or a drum, only different. Can you picture that instrument? Again, this can be any instrument you can think of, the more unique the better. Another way to stop them from thinking of a drum is to ask them to think of an instrument that plays a tune; this eliminates most percussion instruments. It would even be perfectly reasonable to revert to classic verbal forcing techniques, such as, “Think of any musical instrument you want, like a harp or a drum, but don’t think of those because I just mentioned them.”. 10.

(11) STEP TWO Okay, let’s return to those ten possible letters. Once they have an instrument in mind (unless they’re thinking of a harp, drum, or Chinese instrument) you’ll have them think of a fruit that begins with one of these ten letters: N, R, Y, L, S, D, A, O, T and E. Although it seems like a lot of possibilities, probability narrows it down to only four letters: O, N, T and R. The most common letter is O and of those four, T is the least common. Although it is possible to think of a fruit beginning with the letter E (endive, elderberry, eggplant, entawak - just to name a few) no one ever seems to think of these. The most common fruits are orange, nectarine, raspberry and tangerine. The only way they’ll think of a raspberry is if they begin by thinking of a guitar. Sometimes, when I have them imagine the instrument I’ll tell them not to think of a guitar, but to think of a less common instrument such as a harp or a drum instead. That knocks all three out at once! If I’m performing this for two or more people simultaneously, then I’ll leave guitar in there as a possibility. Once they have a fruit, there are only THREE possible last letters that they could be thinking of: Y, T and E. The letter “E” is by far the most common letter chunneled, “Y” is the second most common and “T” is very rare.. STEP THREE You are going to be forcing one of four possible vegetables and those possibilities are: turnip, tomato, yam and eggplant. As long as you have chunneled them correctly and bypassed the harp, drum, and Chinese instruments, they should be thinking of one of these four vegetables. There is however a few exceptions and those will be covered in the “Difficult Spectators” section. In practice, eggplant is almost always the vegetable that is thought of and yam is the second most likely outcome. Of course this is completely dependent upon how you manage the participant’s choices at the beginning of the chunneling sequence. Again, turnip and tomato are almost never thought of. I am also quite aware that tomatoes and eggplants are technically both examples of fruit and not vegetables; however, because they are both culturally used as vegetables (i.e. in more savory contexts) it is hardly an issue. Your participants will think of these options, so it only makes sense to categorize them as vegetables for the sake of this routine.. 11.

(12) PSYCHOLOGICAL FORCE This is the part of the method that takes this whole chunneling system to the next level and really convinces your participants that they could have thought of anything, even if they suspect that you have been narrowing down their options. Once you have successfully chunneled a vegetable (most ideally an eggplant), you’re going to implement a psychological force to have them think of a dish. The brilliant thing about this segment is that almost everyone has a bit of a struggle trying to think of a dish and most of the time they have to think about it for at least a few seconds. The good thing about this is that it really gives them the feeling (even if just for a few seconds) that their vegetable is SO far from the obvious that they must have done something wrong, or perhaps that they just have too abstract a mind to think of something. This is exactly where you want them to be. Once you have taken them this far along on the journey, there is no backing out. They may tell you that they can’t think of anything, but I assure you that they will if you guide them. In moments like this I make use of modern technology and let them use Google on their cell phone. “I want you to take your vegetable and use it as the MAIN ingredient for a dish. Nothing too abstract like Mac & Cheese with pieces of cut up hot dog and Ritz crackers, just something practical that you’re familiar with.”. “Now for something sweet. I want you to take your fruit and use it as the main ingredient for a dessert. For example, if you had peaches you could make peach cobbler or something like that.” If they seem to struggle to think of something, add: “… and it doesn’t have to use the actual fruit. It can just be flavored like the fruit if that makes sense to you.” At this point, they should be thinking of eggplant Parmesan (or a variant of that) or sweet potatoes/candied yams. We will continue with this assumption in mind. Now remember the most probable fruits thought of are orange, raspberry, nectarine, and tangerine. The desserts they will be thinking of are orange sherbet, nectarine sorbet, tangerine Jell-O, raspberry sorbet or some sort of pie. Once they are thinking of both a main dish and a dessert, it’s just a matter of describing the dishes detail by detail, until you have revealed exactly what they have thought of.. 12.

(13) EGGPLANT PARMESAN “Now don’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because I don’t want you to think I’m fishing for information; just listen. Right away I’m sensing that this is a warm dish. I mean, it’s not just a salad or something; you actually went out of your way to cook this. I also taste what seems to be a sauce and it’s a bit sweet at first, but kind of has a bit of spice to it too. The texture is really soft. I can taste tomatoes. You definitely put tomatoes in this. I believe this is an Italian dish. It’s like spaghetti, but it’s not spaghetti. This is something you baked. Like a lasagna, but it’s not lasagna, it’s similar. Ahh… You made eggplant Parmesan!”. SWEET POTATOES “Now don’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because I don’t want you to think I’m fishing for information; just listen. The first thing I’m noticing is the consistency and texture of this dish. It’s very soft, almost creamy. I don’t think it’s soup because I don’t feel like I’m slurping it; it’s similar to baby food. It’s sweet, very sweet. I’m also getting a sense of comfort, like that feeling you get on Thanksgiving. Wait... Is this dish sweet potatoes??”. ORANGE SHERBET “Now this is quite a unique dessert. It would be quite easy to just assume that you’ve thought of something simple like apple pie, but you seem more creative than that. In fact, I think you decided to go with a cold dessert. It’s not ice cream though, that would be too easy. I taste some sort of citrus fruit flavor. Ah! You’re thinking of orange sherbet!”. BINARY PROCESS Although statistics are in our favor, the outcome won’t always be eggplant Parmesan and orange sherbet. It follows then, that we need to utilize a method for subtly fishing for what they are thinking of, whilst maintaining the illusion that we aren’t fishing at all. Because we are working under the (hopefully accurate) pretense that they are thinking of either eggplants or yams, the first thing we need to do is to figure out which one.. 13.

(14) SIDE DISH / MAIN DISH “Okay, I want you to just think of your main dish… (pause) this is a main dish, right? Or is it more of a side dish?” Their response to this simple question will tell you whether they are thinking of eggplant or yams right away. Once you have figured out which one, you can continue with the relevant script. If you have decided to guide them away from thinking of a guitar, but they still say “yes it’s a side dish” or “I’m not quite sure” then there is a possibility that they are thinking of edamame.. COLD DISH / WARM DISH As you start to reveal your impressions, just before you tell them not to give you any hints as to whether you’re right or wrong, you’re going to subtly ask whether it’s a cold or warm dish. You only need to do this if the person confirms that their dish is a SIDE DISH, or is unsure. In either of these cases, say the following: “First off, I’m sensing that this is a cold dish, but I’m not quite sure. Is it a cold dish?” (YES) “Ah, I thought so.” (NO) “I didn’t think so, must have been sitting out for a bit.” If they confirm that it IS a cold dish, then they are thinking of edamame. If they say that it is NOT a cold dish, they are thinking of yams/ sweet potatoes.. EDAMAME “Now, right away, I feel like this would make a better appetizer than a main. I have a feeling we both might be hungry after this, although I’m not quite sure what it is. Can you think of something that would compliment this dish? Perhaps a main course that would typically follow this appetizer?” At this point, they should obviously be thinking of sushi. Instead of just revealing edamame, it’s best to go straight into describing the sushi. Describe the colors, the temperature, the flavors, the associated culinary region etc. Only after sushi has been confirmed should you reveal that they have thought of edamame. This way, it appears as though you determined edamame by deduction and not the other way around. This makes your sushi revelation much stronger. If they have thought of edamame, try sticking to the theme when revealing their dessert, by saying something like: “Now, although the best dessert right now would be green tea ice cream, I think you picked something a little less traditional with this meal. Still, I think it might compliment the entire ensemble.”. 14.

(15) GAUGING RESPONSES When going through the chunneling process, it is important to observe the participants (especially one on one) and pay particular attention to how quickly (or slowly) they are able to think of their items in each sequence. If they seem to struggle or take longer than usual, there is a high chance that they are going to end up somewhere completely off track and far from where you want them. Those people think in a more abstract way than others and often over-think things. They are the people who are likely to think of edamame. When revealing your impressions and describing the details of the dish, you must watch to see how they react to what you’re saying. Their facial responses will tell you everything you need to know in order to correctly describe their dish. If you have properly built rapport they will want you to succeed and as a result they will want to interrupt you and tell you if you are wrong, before you stray too far into nonsense land. Don’t give them a chance to verbally tell you you’re wrong, just read their expressions –read their minds for real! As a perfect example, let’s say that for some reason our participant has thought of a tomato as her vegetable (this has only happened a handful of times for me and always with the same outcome). In this situation, you may notice a positive reaction as you begin to describe an Italian dish. They may look equally as impressed when you say that it seems like pasta, but when you mention that it isn’t quiet pasta they may look a bit confused. Their confusion would suggest that they are thinking of pasta, with a tomato-based sauce. If you pay attention to these reactions, you can still bring the routine to a successful conclusion a large percentage of the time.. DIFFICULT SPECTATORS I almost always refer to the person or people directly participating in a routine as the “participant/s” but sometimes those people will prefer to become spectators and difficult ones at that. Even though we have a very structurally sound system for forcing eggplant Parmesan, there are still those people who will intentionally try to make you fail or even quite innocently veer off the intended path. This often has a lot to do with their not having any investment or interest in what you’re doing, or with their viewing the whole process as a challenge. There are also those people who just don’t know how to follow directions, which again results in them not having any emotional investment. It is quite natural that you will eventually encounter each of these people when you perform and I’m sure that many of you already have. I usually just refrain from working with these people as it saves me a lot of time and frustration; however, once in a while you will encounter a person of this disposition, who adamantly wants to participate.. 15.

(16) When you DO encounter a difficult spectator (and it will happen eventually) there are certain trends that they follow and I have come up with a few solutions to overcome them. As we discussed earlier, some people will choose edamame over eggplant. People who do this usually fall into one of two very different categories. Either they are abstract thinkers who naturally and unintentionally overlook the obvious, or they are the type of person who will very intentionally try to be difficult in order to provide a challenge. Though it’s less common, another ‘unusual’ behavior worth mentioning is that sometimes people will take the process way too seriously. These people will be happy to tell you the difference between a fruit and a vegetable and will sometimes choose eggplant as their fruit because technically, it is a fruit. If they do that, it’s completely okay. When it comes time to reveal the “Italian Dish” and you mention that there are tomatoes in it, you just have to gauge their reaction. (see the “Gauging Responses” section for more detail) Another thing worth mentioning is that in extremely rare cases, you might find that someone has thought of an avocado as their fruit. When you recognize that you are working with one of these difficult spectators and feel compelled to work with them anyway, just make sure that every instruction you give them is as clear as day. If you suspect that you’re working with a person who might think of an avocado for instance, then mention that although avocados and tomatoes are considered types of fruit, you require them to pick sweet fruits because they are going to be using them to make a dessert. Saying something along those lines usually puts them right back on track.. STAGE PERFORMANCE One of the many environments in which I perform this routine, is on stage. I have everyone in the room stand up and I take them all on the imaginative journey at the same time. As I go through each item, if there are people who can’t think of something or have trouble, I tell them to sit down. This not only allows the process to move quicker and smoother than it would do otherwise, but it also filters out any of those abstract thinkers I mentioned earlier. I also reveal a few of their thoughts between each item and have them sit down as I do so. This added bit of procedure not only allows me to transparently filter out problem items such as the harp, drum, and guitar, but it has the added benefit of contributing to the effect as well. “Okay, I’m not sure who this is, but there is someone over here (point to right side of audience) thinking of a drum and someone over here (point to left side of audience) thinking of a harp. Could you all please sit down for me?”. 16.

(17) When moving on to the fruit, I do the same thing. This part also eliminates the guitar people. “Ok there are a couple of you at the back thinking of a raspberry and someone over here (pointing in middle of audience) thinking of a strawberry. Could you also sit down for me please? Thank you.” Finally, when I get to the vegetables I eliminate the last of the problem participants in the following manner: “I’m not exactly sure what direction this is coming from, but there is someone thinking of a Japanese soy bean... Edamame. Who is that?” At this point, I just ask this person to sit down. If no one raises their hand, I will point to the back of the room and say, “there you are, please take a seat” and then continue with the rest of the routine. At this point there should be a few people left standing, though the number will vary depending on how large your audience is. Usually I’ll have somewhere between two and six people left standing and will invite one of them to join me on stage (preferably a female). I finish the routine by escorting her to a candle lit table set for two (piano music playing in the background, of course) and continue the routine as usual, but with us both sat at the table. Should everything go to plan, I will also reveal that the words “Eggplant Parmesan” have been printed and sealed in an envelope (or something to that effect), which has been kept underneath her plate the whole time.. 777. 17.

(18) R. A. M. Memories light the corners of my mind. The performer asks a spectator if she carries photos with her, and explains: “People like to carry pictures with them wherever they go, as a sort of tangible recollection of moments. Pictures can capture the essence of a single moment in time and give us the ability to access details about that moment forever; however, we don’t really need pictures to remind us of our special moments. Often all it takes is something simple -such as a certain smell - to trigger off a specific memory and suddenly a picture pops into our head and the details are allowed to reassemble. In a moment, we are going to access one of your memories. We’ll start by activating your senses with various mental images, generating random associations connected with a moment in time. We’ll do that until all of the details of a specific memory have fallen back into place.” The performer then begins to guide the participant into a mental construction of vague associations, allowing her to naturally retrieve various images, sounds and smells without revealing any of them aloud. Once the participant has mentally constructed enough associations, she begins to piece together the randomly generated thoughts and images into a specific and detailed memory. Once the participant has a specific memory in – and only in – her mind, the performer begins to reveal his first impressions. He describes everything he sees, hears, and smells, as if he‘s stepped directly into the memory. The participant starts grinning in amazement as she wonders how the performer could possibly know the details of her mentally thought of scene. To take it a step further, the performer asks the participant to mentally create an image that is related to her memory. He then begins to sketch something with a sharpie on the back of his business card and places it face down on the participant’s face up palm. With that done, the performer immediately rests his middle fingers on the participant’s temples, takes a deep breath in and begins to describe specific elements of her memory in a great deal of detail. Astonished, the participant begins to confirm many of the details revealed by the performer. Finally, the performer asks the participant to describe out loud, the picture that she saw in her mind. She turns over the business card to find that the picture matches exactly.. 18.

(19) OBSERVATIONS This is another routine that was loosely inspired by Joshua Quinn’s Thought Chunnel. The genesis of this idea was the result of an effort to create a thought chunnel process that would allow me to force a specific emotion on a participant. I then wanted to have her think of a moment in time when she had felt that emotion and be able to reveal the minor details of her memory, before finally revealing the original emotion. As I went through the process of creating a chunneling system for my original idea, my goal was to give each category some sort of relevance to the one that had come before. In the process of doing this, I found myself playing an actual game of word/thought association with myself, which led to the conception of this specific chunneling system. I ended up with something quite different to what I had originally intended, but I feel it might actually have turned out better than my original idea. This effect has been designed so that it can be performed at any time, in any place, without requiring objects that you wouldn’t ordinarily carry with you or couldn’t easily borrow in any situation. Although this effect can be performed completely prop-less, I have alternate versions that I will discuss toward the end.. PLAN OF ATTACK There are two underlying methods that make this effect possible, thought chunneling and a visual branching system much like a progressive anagram (or as Alain Nu calls it, ‘iconographic fishing’). Whereas thought chunneling works by directing participants to think of words from categories that offer an increasingly limited number of word endings (i.e. final letters) and therefore a limited number of options, iconographic fishing chunnels categories by using a psychological forcing technique, which leaves room for only one option in each category. The category that you will ultimately be forcing from in this routine would best be described as ‘festive holidays.’ All holiday festivities share some similarities in respect to how they are celebrated (food, alcohol, lots of people etc). We are going to exploit these festive similarities by revealing them early on in the routine as we simultaneously work to determine exactly which holiday the participant is thinking of. I am very much a fan of methods that are integrated and hidden within the presentation and most of my original work utilizes this concept. The method presented here relies upon the presentation and the presentation relies upon the method. In a way, we are going to be working backwards. We won’t have enough information to describe details of our participant’s memory until we learn which holiday she is thinking of and we won’t know which holiday she is thinking of until we know what picture she has imagined. Once we have determine the picture. 19.

(20) she is thinking of, we can describe specific details about her memory, adding a liberal amount of cold reading to the mix as well. The picture we are going to draw is a symbol that represents the specific holiday that the participant is thinking of. This is where the iconographic fishing techniques come into play. Once we learn which picture the participant is thinking of, we will know which holiday she is thinking of as well. There are 53 holidays listed on a U.S. calendar, so how do we narrow them down? Well, there are only four major holidays and the instructions that we give our participant are designed to lead her to think of one of those four. Sometimes though, we will encounter difficult spectators who have trouble paying attention to instructions and could potentially think of one of the four minor holidays. These are also covered in our branching system. If I were to ask you to think of any day of the week and to then take the last letter of that day and think of a color using that letter, I would have forced you to think of the color yellow. This is the basic idea behind this particular psychological forcing technique. Unlike a typical psychological force, which attempts to force something based off of statistics and probability, this situation gives the participant no other option yet feels completely fair. To start the chunneling process, we are going to ask the participant to think of a memorable year. Once she has a year in mind, you will ask her to think of any month out of that year. When she has a month in mind, you are going to ask her to think of the season the month falls within and then to think of a holiday that falls within the season. Finally, you will ask her to think of the icon that represents their holiday. While there are major and minor holidays, there are also major and minor icons for each holiday. Below is a chart that visually displays the categories.. Primary Categories SEASONS. HOLIDAYS. SUMMER SPRING. Independence Day Easter. AUTUMN/FALL WINTER. MAJOR SYMBOLS American Flag Bunny. MINOR SYMBOLS Fire Works/ Eagle Easter Egg. Thanksgiving. Turkey. Pilgrim. Christmas. Tree. Santa Clause. 20.

(21) Minor Categories SEASONS. HOLIDAYS. SYMBOLS. SUMMER. XXX. XXX. SPRING. St. Patrick’s Day. Shamrock. AUTUMN/FALL. Halloween. Jack O’ Lantern. WINTER. New Year. Ball / Fireworks. WINTER. Valentine’s Day. Heart. Although you must chunnel your participant through various categories in order for this routine to work, it is important that by the end of the routine she feels as though she has naturally pieced together a random memory. In order to achieve this, you will allow her moments of freedom as she thinks about each category, but then you must guide her away from those random thoughts by telling her not to focus on her specific memory just yet and introducing her to the next category. It should go something like this: “In order to access one of your memories, we are going to think of a specific time in your life. We are going to start vague though and end specific. So first, just think of a memorable year. Now right away you might see some of the highlights from that year flashing through your mind. I don’t want you to focus on any of those just yet. For now, all I want you to do is to randomly focus on any month within that year. “Perfect. Now as you think of this month I’m sure that there are a lot of things you associate with it that are floating around in your mind. For example, maybe you’re thinking of some kind of anniversary, or a friend’s birthday. Never mind those, just skip them and think of the season it would have been during this month. Now you can see how this is working, you’re automatically imagining the weather, maybe you can see the color of the leaves, maybe they’re green or brown, maybe it’s scorching hot or there is a cool breeze. These minor details seem to become more and more specific to you now. “Finally, I want you to think of a major holiday that most people would associate with this season. Great. Now here comes the specific memory that I want you to just close your eyes and step inside of. Allow all of your senses to work so that you can hear, smell, see and feel what it’s like to be back at this event, on this specific date, for this specific holiday.”. 21.

(22) Often people aren’t entirely sure of the exact dates the seasons change. Thankfully, the season your participant associate’s with the month is irrelevant. All you’re really concerned with is which holiday she ends up choosing within the season. Even if someone accidentally thinks of the wrong season for the month (or if they come from a country where the seasons are different e.g.; in Australia, Christmas is a summer holiday) it won’t affect the outcome of the routine. Here is the wording used to psychologically force the holiday that corresponds to their thought of season: “Think of a MAJOR Holiday that MOST people would ASSOCIATE with this season.” Here you are using an ‘unspecified referential index’ (which you may recognize from Kenton Knepper’s wonder words). The fact that you have asked them to name what MOST people would think of and not what they personally would think of forces them to answer the question objectively, based on a consensus. I have performed this for several people who typically don’t observe Christian holidays. All of them were naturally able to think of Easter and Christmas. I must briefly mention that whilst most countries share most major holidays, they obviously don’t share every holiday. Furthermore, for the holidays that are shared, cultural differences might still dictate various traditions that will vary from place to place. In addition to certain holidays varying from country to country, certain religious cultures in the States and around the world also have specific celebrations of their own, such as Passover, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Yom Kipper, Kwanzaa, etc. We are basically going to focus only on holidays that contain universally known images. I can tell you from experience that the likelihood of performing this routine for someone who has no idea what symbols or holidays most people would associate with any given season is extremely low. Even if you were to come across such a person (and I never have) I imagine that it wouldn’t take much to recognize them as having been sheltered from cultural references necessary for this effect to work and to simply avoid performing this routine for them. During these specific holidays (the four major holidays) nearly every bank, shopping mall and grocery store is themed with recognizable decorations. Whether somebody is a Jehovah’s Witness, Jewish, or Muslim, they can still recognize these public holiday traditions. Although most of these people will be able to think of a symbol that represents these holidays, they may not be able to think of a personal memory attached to them.. 22.

(23) The routine as it is described here is designed to work best in the United States; however, it can be changed and adapted to work in other countries and for different religious celebrations. The basic goal is to force a holiday that MOST people within your performing region will attribute to each season. If you live outside of the United States or are going to be performing mostly for people who celebrate alternative holidays, you should be able to work with the principle presented here to create a specific, customized system that you can use for yourself. Back to the explanation! This routine is structured in three presentational phases: Phase One- First Impressions Phase Two- Mind Reading Phase Three- Reveal Drawing. *I’m not counting any part of the process as a phase. Only the reveals* The chunneling process is divided into two parts, or rather; it is paused as you execute one of the presentational phases. Once you have forced the holiday, you are going to stop the chunneling process and jump straight into the first phase. PHASE ONE This is where you are going to deliver your ‘first impressions. ’In order for you to do so, I have put together a list of ‘impressions’ that you are going to communicate to the participant. You will notice that some of these impressions relate more specifically to certain holidays than to others, but in the second phase you will be adding context to your impressions, strengthening those that might not have made much sense at first. This first phase serves a much greater purpose than it should appear, as it is actually half of the method. It is important that you gauge and remember how your participant reacts to each impression as the iconographic fishing in phase two will only narrow down the categories by another 50%. It is the information you gain in the first phase that will absolutely clarify which holiday your participant is thinking of. This is very much a backwards way of working, which helps conceal the method. You are going to remember which impressions they specifically react to and how they react to them. This information will serve not only to direct you toward the holiday they are thinking of, but it will also be useful in guiding you as you deliver a healthy amount of cold reading in the second phase.. 23.

(24) IMPRESSIONS Surrounded by lots of people Hear laughter Hear music Hear a banging and ringing noise See a flickering light See bright colors See people drinking alcohol Smell lots of food Smell Cinnamon & spices Taste sweets Sulfur smell You’ll notice that “banging and ringing” and “flickering light” are both rather vague descriptors. The banging and ringing noises could be attributed to a few of the holidays. When revealing this information in the first phase, you will deliver it as if you’re not entirely sure of why you are hearing and seeing those sights and sounds, or what they could mean. It should come across as if you’re confused by them. The first phase should sound something like this: “Now that you’ve pieced together a memory, I want you to immerse yourself in the scene. Just allow all of your senses to be consumed by the environment. I want you to imagine the sights, sounds, tastes, smells and feelings you’re experiencing in this very moment. I want you to add as many additional details as you can that would clarify this moment for you now. You can even add elements that you would typically find on this special occasion that may or may not have been present in your specific memory. “You’re doing wonderfully. Let me share with you my initial impressions. Some of these may make more sense than others, but what I’m getting right now is this... Immediately I see you surrounded by lots of people. Most are familiar, but I even see a few strangers amongst you. In fact, there is one particular person that stands out to me now. Do you know who I’m referring to? I also hear laughter. I see a particular person with a small group surrounding them and I’m not sure if this is you or the person that stood out to me earlier, but they appear to be the life of the party and to be making everyone happy. Does that make sense? “I’m also hearing some music in the background and I’m not sure what this is, but I can hear a sort of banging, and ringing noise.” (Watch for a reaction) “There is also this flickering light that stands out to me and I’m also seeing lots of bright colors.” (Watch for a reaction) “I see a few people drinking alcohol and I smell lots of delicious food. I taste something quite sweet. I believe there are lots of sweets here as well, like candy, or deserts. Okay, you can relax for a moment and stop sending your thoughts.”. 24.

(25) After this first phase, you are going to change gears by continuing with the final sequence of the chunneling system. To complete the chunneling system, you need to psychologically force the symbol that matches their thought of holiday. The wording is as follows: “This doesn’t involve a living thing, does it? Like an animal or something? I thought so.” (or) “I didn’t think so.” At this point you should know what symbol/holiday they are thinking of. You then finish drawing the image and place it face-down on their palm. Here is the wording I use to psychologically force the image that corresponds with their thought of holiday: “Think of THE UNIVERSAL SYMBOL that MOST people would IDENTIFY with this holiday.” Again, you can see how the language forces your participant to respond objectively based on a consensus. After she confirms that she has an image in mind, you will pull out your notebook or business card and sharpie, and begin your drawing. Do your best to involve your spectator in this process, encouraging her to mentally add as many details as she can to the picture. Here is where the iconographic fishing comes in. You are going to pretend to start the drawing, but as you pretend to draw you will ask vague questions that seem to exist for no purpose other than to help you clarify your impressions of the image. In reality, you are subtly pumping for information. It would sound something like this: (As you pretend to draw) “This isn’t a living thing is it?” [No] “No, I didn’t think so,” or [Yes] “Yes, I thought so.” Once you have discovered whether or not your participant’s icon or symbol is a living thing, you can use this knowledge in conjunction with the reactions that you noted in the first phase, to be able to determine which symbol she is thinking of. Here is a visual map to clarify the iconographic fishing sequence:. 25.

(26) HOLIDAY SYMBOL MAP. OR. 26.

(27) Essentially, you’re going to be determining your participant’s thought-of memory/holiday by watching and observing how she reacts to your impressions. For example, if she reacts more to bright colors, sweets or flickering lights, she could be thinking of Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Easter or Christmas. If she reacts more to lots of food, banging sounds and lots of alcohol, she could be thinking of Thanksgiving, Independence Day or Saint Patrick’s Day. In order to identify which holiday she is thinking of, you must pay close attention to her reactions every time you make a statement. It’s a bit like watching a film with subtitles, if you aren’t paying close attention, you won’t know what’s going on. The subconscious responses you pick up on will help you in determining which holiday she is thinking of. If you paid close attention to her reactions whilst giving your initial impressions, you should now be able to narrow down the thought of holiday to one of just a few now. Allow me to briefly clarify something here. If you follow the scripting word for word, you’re psychologically forcing your participant to think of one of the FOUR MAJOR holidays. When you say, “Think of THE major holiday that MOST people would associate with this month,” you are forcing them to do just that. If you say, “think of A major holiday” then the chances of your participant thinking of Halloween, Saint Patrick’s Day or even Valentine’s Day becomes much higher. Also, experience has taught me that the two most thought of holidays are Christmas and Independence Day. I’ve had those two holidays thought of more than any others; so when you narrow the options down to four, you’re essentially trying to narrow them down to one of those two. After delivering your impressions and using your observational skills, you should be fairly certain that your participant is thinking of a holiday from one of the following pairs: Easter & Independence Day or Christmas &Thanksgiving. When you execute the iconic graphic fishing phase, you will be drawing upon this information and cross-referencing it with the nature of her image (animate or inanimate) in order to make sense of everything. Once you find out whether her image is of a living thing or not, you should know exactly which icon she is thinking of. PHASE TWO Once you have placed the drawing face down upon her open palm, you will continue to the second phase. Here, you will eliminate the ambiguities that lingered in your initial impression by forming strong connections between those statements (banging and ringing sounds, flickering lights etc) and the thought-of holiday. You will also go into more detail by employing a liberal dose of cold reading. The banging and ringing sounds and the flickering lights could mean the following:. 27.

(28) Banging of exploding fireworks • Ringing of Piccolo Pete fire works • Banging/knocking at the door for trick-or-treaters on Halloween • Doorbells ringing on Halloween • Ringing of bells during Christmas (jingle bells) • Any holiday that could involve guests arriving at someone’s home (ringing the doorbell) • Ringing of the telephone from people wishing happy holidays. •. The flickering lights could be interpreted in much the same way. Here is a list of a few things they could represent:. The lights on a house during Christmas. • The lights on a Christmas tree. • Flickering lights of fireworks or sparklers. • Flickering candle lights from the menorah (Hanukkah) • Flickering candle light inside of a jack O’ lantern. Flickering light from a candle lit dinner during Thanksgiving or Valentine’s Day. •. •. You will then give them a more detailed cold read, during which you can sort of back-peddle all of your misses and re affirm and clarify the hits of your previous ‘impressions.’ Your readings should sound something like this: “I want you to go back to your memory and recall some of the details you were picturing earlier and maybe some of the details you have created within your image. Okay it’s coming in much clearer now than before…” Christmas “I feel like the weather here is cold. I get a cold feeling so this must be either a fall or winter holiday. The colors I’m seeing now are green and a bit of gold I also see a bit of red coming through – actually, lots of red. I see everyone sort of standing around mingling, but also I see people smiling and I’m sensing the feeling of surprise very strongly here, like the feeling a child would get on their birthday. I can hear that ringing noise again and it sounds like a bell, like some sort of bell jingling. Ah, now I’m seeing it. Those flickering lights... They are on a tree! And I see some on houses; so many bright colors. I believe you are thinking of Christmas.”. 28.

(29) Easter “Right away I’m sensing sort of warmish weather, but there is a cool breeze coming through. The air has a fresh crisp smell to it. I’m sensing that this day involves going somewhere. It’s like you’re leaving your home to go somewhere, but it seems like you’re not too excited to go to wherever this is. I’m not sure if it’s a relative’s house or some sort of public event or function, but I get the feeling that you’re being dragged to this event. There is a girl here. I’m not sure if this is you as a child or someone else but she’s wearing a pastel pinkish dress and is running around looking for something. She seems very excited about it, almost as if she’s playing hide and seek or something of that nature. I see lots of candy... Chocolate! Oh wait, now I’m seeing eggs! Colored eggs. Lots of bright colors everywhere. You must be thinking of Easter.” Thanksgiving “There is something very comforting about this day. I’m seeing a lot of natural woodsy colors and I get the feeling that I’m surrounded by people who care for me. There are so many smells in the air; mostly warm, comforting smells – lots of food. I’m seeing a few people huddled around a television, mostly gentleman. Is that an uncle? They are drinking and shouting as if they’re excited about something, as if they were watching an important sporting event. That flickering light, I’m seeing the flame of candles lit on a table. There is a little boy/girl wandering around the room, and they have black olives on their fingers. Is this you, or someone else? There is an elderly lady here and she seems a bit frazzled. Is this your grandmother? Now I’m seeing everyone gathering around a table. The table is cluttered with SO much food. Is this Thanksgiving?” Independence Day “I sense a feeling of excitement. I’m not sure if it’s because of what’s being celebrated or if it’s just the weather, but I definitely can sense that the atmosphere is warm and sunny which tells me that you’re outside in this memory. I can smell lots of delicious food. It smells like someone is barbecuing hamburgers or hot dogs. I also see people drinking beer, lots of beer. I’m hearing a bit of laughter and conversation. There’s that flickering light again. I keep seeing it every time I hear that banging sound, as if there is an explosion going off, like sparklers and fireworks. So many bright colors and lights keep jumping at me. I believe you are thinking about the fourth of July.. 29.

(30) PHASE THREE At this point, you have revealed their thought-of memory in detail and they are still standing there with a face down business card (containing the drawing you made) resting upon their face up palm. It’s now a simple matter to have them explain what their image is out loud and once they have explained it, to have them turn over the card revealing that you have drawn most of what they mentioned, if not all of it.. MINOR HOLIDAYS As I mentioned before, if you follow the exact scripting of the psychological forces and pick your participants wisely, they will think of one of the four major holidays. There may be times that you encounter someone who doesn’t follow directions or decides to be difficult by deciding not to think of one of the major holidays. You will be able to determine this when you give your first impressions, by paying attention to how they react. In extreme cases, they may even bluntly say “No. You’re wrong.” while you’re giving your impressions. Gather as much information as you need to, in order to determine which holiday they are thinking of. You may even want them to think of one of the minor holidays. If that’s the case, all you have to do is to change your wording when delivering the psychological force. If you decide to go that route, you will also have to create your own scripts/readings for the second phase. When doing this, be creative and remember to readdress as many of your initial impressions in the second phase as possible, giving context to those things that may not have seemed immediately relevant at first and shedding more light upon those that did. It is also worth stating explicitly that a routine of this nature cannot work 100% of the time. There is a chance that the participant will disagree with a lot of the things you say as you start to get into more detail during the second phase. If this happens, you will quickly realize that you’re thinking of the wrong holiday. The good news is, most of the time you will have collected enough information during the other phases to now know which holiday she IS thinking of. In these situations, it is not too late to change your drawing. Just take it from the participant’s hands and draw a new one, if you don’t make a big deal about it she won’t. It’s that simple.. 30.

(31) ALTERNATE METHODS & PRESENTATIONS There are several different ways to perform this routine, which can offer you a more a secure outcome than what has been described and therefore a higher rate of success. Whilst these alternate presentations still rely heavily on psychological forcing, their methods and presentations allow for easier and more secure ways of retrieving the participant’s memory.. Drawing Duplication This particular take on R.A.M. relies on the original method, but contains a presentational variation that can also contribute to the method. The presentational variation is that in this version of the effect, both you AND the participant will draw a picture. You will need to carry extra props for this, but all of the other requirements are exactly the same. In regard to how this presentation benefits the method, the answer is simple. In addition to the slew of other reliable methods you‘re currently using, you now have the opportunity to use pencil and sound reading to determine the participant’s image. You could rely on this method alone if you desired. I often prefer to perform the routine in this manner because there is quite an astonishing theatrical moment created when the pictures are turned over and shown to match.. Prediction / Influence This routine has quite a different method and presentation to the original. The presentation becomes less about reading the participant’s mind and more about influencing her thoughts, or even predicting the future. The method relies upon multiple outs, which can either be managed via a pocket index of some kind, a binder index, double envelopes etc. or which can simply be hidden on stage in unique ways. The choice is yours entirely and you are limited only by your own creativity. If you choose to take this route you will be correct 100% of the time, so long as the participant thinks of a major holiday. The fact that the odds have been improved for this approach, make it an ideal one to use in stage situations, whereas the other methods play strongest in impromptu, close-up situations.. 31.

(32) I-phone / Android If you have an iPhone, Android, or any other smart phone for that matter, you could use a simple doodling app to create your drawing. For a no-fail method, you can download and use Greg Rostami’s, iForce. iForce allows you to store up to eight outs in your phone, which can either be utilized within the context of a prediction effect, or within the structure of the original routine. If you decide to use iForce to support the original routine, you must pretend to draw the participant’s picture during the mindreading stage, and then use the multiple out function of the app to show that your impression was correct once you get to the reveal phase. This is a great way to perform this routine safely, without having to carry any extra props.. Prop-less The original routine can be performed prop-less, without the need to draw a physical picture. In order to accomplish this you will have to describe the impressions that you receive –out loud – as you supposedly pick up on the participant’s picture in your mind. I don’t feel that this version is as powerful as the one that utilizes props, but for those of you purists who wish to perform completely organic and prop-less mind reading, this might be an ideal approach. This version does not differ as far as the method is concerned, only in relation to the presentation; specifically, in the fact that you must imagine and describe yourself drawing the picture rather than physically drawing it on a piece of paper. Hallmark This routine can be performed on stage or close-up. It uses Hallmark greeting cards and multiple outs. The requirements for this routine are pretty simple, but you will need to think about it them advance. In order to perform this routine you will need to gather a selection of greeting cards, one that corresponds to each of the major holidays. Once you have collected the greeting cards, there are several ways that you could choose to advance. One example would be to simply use the relevant card to show that you knew which holiday the participant was thinking of or going to nd think of. Another example might see you writing your entire reading (the 2 phase) inside of the card and then giving it to your participant as a gift at the end of the routine. In this way, you would leave your participant with something that is meaningful and which she can take home and place somewhere around the house.. 32.

(33) Another approach would be to perform a confabulation-type routine using the card. You could have the participant secretly write the name of a family member on a billet and at some point get a peek. Then, you could sign the card as that family member. If you were to fill the entire card in with a scripted reading but to leave a few spots blank, you could covertly fill in those spots with details that they tell you and then – as in the previous example – you could hand them the card to keep at the conclusion of the routine.. 777. 33.

(34) LACUNA Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders. “Without memory, we would have no idea who we are, where we’re from, who we know, or the difference between a safe and a dangerous situation. Our memories are mostly based on genuine experiences, but our minds can create false memories to embellish our version of reality - just as we can suppress memories of events we find displeasing. “Throughout life, we encounter and interact with so many different types of people that it can become difficult to remember all of them. Once in a while though, we’ll meet someone who leaves such an impression on us that we find them very difficult to forget. It’s that sort of person who we choose to engage in more meaningful relationships with. “As we move through different relationships (whether they be platonic or romantic) we often establish associations between the things around us at the time and the people with whom we are involved. For instance, the smell of vanilla might make you think of that one ex-girlfriend you had, or a particular song might make you think of the day you met your best friend. Sometimes, the people we hold dearest end up betraying us and we experience things in those relationships that we would rather just forget. Our memories are often attached to those people though and the things around us can serve as constant reminders of them.” Having set the tone, the performer asks everyone in the audience to think of a person whom they would either like to forget, or whom they would like to feel better about. He invites one person to join him on stage and requests that she continue thinking of the person she has in mind. With the participant concentrating on this individual, the performer is able to reveal several details about them – details that he couldn’t possibly know. After describing a few things about the thought-of individual, the performer picks up a pad and a marker and writes something on it. He shows it to the audience, declaring that he believes it to be the name that the participant on stage has been thinking of. He then shows the name to the participant, who confirms that it is correct. The participant is then placed into a hypnotic trance, where in her memory of the person she has been thinking of is erased and replaced with a new memory.. 34.

(35) The participant will genuinely appear to have no recollection of the person she was originally thinking of and instead, only be able to think of the memory that was implanted in her mind. When people ask her about the experience afterwards, she will genuinely support the new reality, confirming that she no longer has any memory of the person from her past.. OBSERVATIONS This routine was inspired by one of my absolute favorite movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In the film, the two main characters go through a procedure that completely erases their memories of each other and leaves them with absolutely no recollection of the pain and hurt that they experienced during their dysfunctional, dead end relationship. I, like many others, often find myself wishing that this were a real procedure. This movie had a big impact on me and got me thinking about how I could demonstrate this concept within a performance context. This routine is the result. It has been designed for use in a stage environment, but it can be performed in a close up setting as well (which I have actually done on several occasions).Having said that, it is still my preference to perform this routine on a stage. The routine is very simple and very strong.. PLAN OF ACTION This routine relies mostly on the dual reality principle. It makes use of both a switch pad and the Dunninger ploy. The pad that I use is the same as the one Banachek uses for his Q&A routine and which he teaches you to construct in his PSI series DVDs. You could easy use another kind of switch pad, so long as the audience is able to read what has been written on the pad from a distance. After the participant has joined me on stage, I ask her to focus on the person she is thinking of in her mind. The first thing I do is to reveal things about that person that I couldn’t possibly know. The things I reveal are: the person’s gender, how she knows the person, how long she has known the person for, what the person looks like and the person’s star sign. I only need to ask one simple question to do this fairly accurately. The inspiration for this cold reading technique came from a brief suggestion in Oz Pearlman’s DVD, Into the Abyss. In this DVD, he suggests asking one simple question to learn a lot about the person being thought of by a participant. The question is: “Do you know this person’s birthday?”. 35.

(36) That’s it! The fact that you’ve asked this question is not viewed as unusual when you follow it by asking if they know the person’s star sign, but the way your participant responds to this question will tell you a lot. After performing this style of effect for many years, I have accumulated a sort of ‘mental-database’ of responses to this question and have attempted to share my findings with you here.. YES RESPONSE When they respond with a ‘yes’ to this question, it usually means that the person they are thinking of is a close friend, or an immediate family member (such as a sibling or a parent). It is very rare for somebody to remember the birthday of a family member outside of his or her immediate family. The first piece of information I will offer is the person’s gender. I will usually take an educated guess for this, but I could also quite easily ask by employing the use of a negative question e.g. “This person isn’t a female is it?” Once I know the gender, I can deduce a little bit more about the person they’re thinking of. If the person is of the SAME gender as the participant, then generally I will assume that they are thinking of a sibling or best friend (though it could still be one of their parents or even an aunt or uncle). The next thing I will try to discover is whether the person they are thinking of is older or younger. Depending on how quickly they answered the original question, or how long they took to remember the date, I will have a bit of an idea as to whether they are older or younger than the participant. To elaborate on that point, if they responded quickly it usually means that they are around the same age as the person they are thinking of. If they had a long delay on the other hand, it usually means that the person they are thinking of is much older. I can get this information in one of two ways. The first option is to boldly guess, based on the speed of their response to the initial question and the second option is to say something like, “I feel that there is an age gap here, which one of you is older?” Regardless of their response I will continue as though I already knew the answer and was merely seeking confirmation. I then inquire into how much older one is than the other, if the answer is “a lot” then I’ll say something along the lines of, “Ah yes, I knew you/they were older because I was seeing them/you looking up to you/them like a big brother.” If they say that they’re around the same age, then I will say, “Ah that makes sense, because I’ve got this feeling that this person is very close to you, as if you are siblings.”. 36.

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