Mentalism and mental magic - the high art of delusion

Throughout the history of human history, mysticism and mysticism were criticized, demonized, admired and praised. This depended on faith, religious belonging or the skepticism of people towards magic, life after death and extraordinary perception or ESP (= extra sensory perception).

In our modern western world, it can also be found in the performing arts, especially in the context of magic shows as well as events and stage performances surrounding mental magic, illusions and mentalism .

It is high time that we dedicate our own article performing arts With this reading, learn more about mentalism, magic, magic and illusions. We also examine the differences and limits terms (e.g. mentalism vs. magic). Finally, we would like to give you a few tips on how you can perform one or the other trick with your friends. Maybe you even want to become a mentalist yourself.

What is mentalism (or mental magic)?

Most people believe that mentalism and magic are not the same. Although the two areas are perceived differently, mentalism is generally a kind of magic.

Mentalism is a performing art in which practitioners who are known as mentalists use their mental and intuitive skills to interpret body language, behavior and energy intelligently. Mental magic is - simply put - the execution of magic tricks that concentrate on the mind.

In contrast to traditional stage magic it is a form of mental magic , in which a practitioner specifies, to have skills such as telepathy, premonition and clairvoyance.

The typical tricks of mentalism include telekinesis, reading thoughts, predictions, memory performance, quick mathematics, metal bending, psychological seeing and ESP. Mentalism magic tricks must be psychologically convincing in order to have their astonishing effects among the audience.

While the skills of professional mentalists can be impressive, their supposed supernatural forces were regularly exposed as deception and misleading. Several professions use mentalism, including magicians, clairvoyants, tarot card readers and performing mentalists. Here, however, we would only like to go into the performing artists and show the other fields of work and activity.

The famous mentalists include Uri Geller, who used his mental skills to bend spoons, and Theresa Caputo (also known as Long Island Medium). The illusionist Derren Brown and the thoughtser Max Maven are also among the famous mentalists.

Mentalism vs. magic

Perception is everything. In our world of skepticism, people want to believe. Everyone loves a good magic trick. Magic and magic are often seen as entertainment for children. This consideration is usually neglected. Mentalists consider what they do, especially as the "adult version" of magic .

As already mentioned, mentalism is a branch of magic. The only difference between the two disciplines is the type of tricks. Magic is for the eyes; Mentalism for the mind. While it is believed that magic tricks are done by a kind of pocket trick, it seems in mentalism as if the actor could be able to really do it.

When people think of magic tricks, they may imagine pulling a rabbit out of a hat, letting a silk change their color or a mathematical card trick.

If people think of mentalism, they rather have a mysterious actor in mind who reads the thoughts of someone and predicts the future. When you hear "mentalist", automatically imagine a man in black with amazing powers who accomplish inexplicable tricks.

Many also think of the incredible stage shows of the Ehrlich Brothers .

A short history of mentalism

Mentalism goes back to the Middle Ages, as kings and tribal leader seer and shamans to get advice in order to get advice and to communicate with deceased leaders.

The beginnings: The earliest documented mentalism performance took place in 1572 when the magician Girolamo Scotto entertained the audience with pocket tricks.

Beginning of the mainstream: In the 1800s, mentalism became more and more a mainstream, with the famous mentalist John Randall Brown being one of the first mentalists who performed an act of thought in front of an audience. While the spectators believed that Brown would naturally read the thoughts of voluntary subjects, watches that he was doing a mental technology called Muskellese.

This technique was to read small, involuntary movements of the body of a subject to different stimuli in response.

The Amazing Kreskin: In the 1970s, George Joseph Kresge , also known as The Amazing Kreskin, made a name for himself as a mentalist who took advantage of the power of suggestion.

He appeared on television shows and his most popular magic trick was a number in which he noticed the audience to hide an envelope with a check in an unknown place. He would withdraw behind the stage while the audience hid the check and then returned to the auditorium to find it. Although he was successful many times, he couldn't find the check twelve times.

Today: Oliver Henke from Essen . The mentalist phenomenon continues to grow with actors who show their skills in Las Vegas and on television shows such as "America's Got Talent". The famous Uri Geller revived the scene around the turn of the millennium.

The Swiss Mentalist Vincent Raven became known for the victory at the casting show "The Next Uri Geller" and also marked one of the recent highlights of media attention to the mentalist craft.

Today it is above all the elaborate and spectacular stage shows of the Ehrlich Brothers who regularly inspire international million audience with their illusions.

3 different types of mentalists

The scene of the mentalists can be roughly subdivided into 3 different categories. Here is a breakdown of the main types of mentalists:

1. Wizard / magician

Magicians use mental techniques and entertainer qualities when they demonstrate magical tricks and illusions to convince the viewers that they can read their thoughts.

The spectators are generally aware that the magician appears as an illusion and entertainer, instead of using real mental skills to draw the right cards and make predictions. For example, magicians can place instructed people in the audience and in certain cases select them as "random volunteers".

Then carry out tricks such as reading or cards and impress the rest of the audience by guessing the correct answers and drawing the right playing cards. In fact, the wizards planned the tricks extensively before the performance and studied them intensively.

Close-up-Magic and table magic also fall into this category. Close-up magicians like Oliver Henke mingle with the guests of events, private celebrations, company events or weddings. If you book them for an event, you can experience entertaining moments with the guests that you like to remember. In addition to his extraordinary tricks, Oliver Henke as a magician Munich with a stylish appearance and charming entertainment value.

2. Clairvoyant and Tarot card reader

For those who believe in clairvoyant skills, clairvoyants and tarot card readers serve as an intermediary between the physical world and the hereafter.

Skeptics consider clairvoyants and tarot card readers as experienced mentalists who study human behavior and use the power of suggestion to provide apparently precise statements. In many cases, psychological entertainers use a practice called "cold reading"

During a so -called cold reading, a clairvoyant reads a person's body language while he makes suggestions for their hopes and dreams. If the person reacts during these suggestions, clairvoyants can take up these movements and make their statements tailor -made.

3. Performance artist / entertainer

Also known as modern mentalists, this profession includes performing mental masterpieces in front of a large audience. Mentalists use their techniques and mental skills to carry out tricks that range from reading to the exact guessing of numbers, names and sentences that write the audience on pieces of paper.

Some people assign modern mentalists and magicians of the same category; However, mentalists focus more on the psychology of the audience than on impressive illusionary tricks such as card tricks.

3 widespread mentalism tricks briefly explained

Mentalists demonstrate tricks and illusions that include dexterity, cold reading (Cold Reading), reading thoughts and the power of suggestion. The special features of each trick are the following:

1. Pasher -player trick: A pocket trick is an illusion that uses fast, skillful hand movements to achieve a credible result. During a pocket trick, the audience cannot see what happens due to the speed of the magician's hand movements and their concentration on another aspect of the trick. This results in the astonishing effect among the audience.

2. Cold Reading/Thought: A cold reading gives the impression of reading thoughts when the mentalist actually makes suggestions and is looking for subtle evidence of body language. If a mentalist suggests a name, place or number that recognizes the subject, he will continue with additional suggestions to create a credible scenario.

3. Suggestive: This common trick is to suggest mental images and to force them into the subconscious of the subject. Mentalists use their psychological skills and knowledge to convince the subject that the idea was its own, which makes the subject believe that the mentalist has thoughts or thoughts control.

10 mentalism tricks for beginners

As a prospective mentalist, you are still at the beginning of your trip and would you like to learn a few effective tricks quickly? For this we have put together a small list with 10 easy -to -learn but yet astonishing tricks . These tricks serve to convince their viewers that they have seemingly supernatural skills.

These tricks are for beginners, but are also used by professionals. Mentalism is not based on complicated and difficult -to -learn techniques whose control takes years. These tricks only require minimal exercise, but they have to be skillfully combined with a pinch of entertainment and the right presentation in order to make their mentalism convincing.

1. Bend metal fork
2. Reading thoughts with dice
3. The iPhone forecast
4. Telekinetic pen
5. Guess number
6. Age appreciate
7. Card trick
8. Open prediction
9. The bay test (1 book)
10. The bay test (2 books)

A step-by-step instruction for 3 simple tricks can be found below Timon Krause :

The mental artist provides information about his current Messiah tour on Instagram:

3 tips to become a mentalist yourself

No finished mentalist has been born yet. If you are thinking about striving for a career as a mentalist yourself, I have good news: You can acquire the skills and tricks with practice and some empathy very well.

Here are a few tips that you should take into account if you are interested in becoming a mentalist:

1. Strengthening the observation. A mentalist must have strong observation skills in order to successfully sell his performance. In order to strengthen your observation, you can initially just start watching people in busy places such as the lake or beach in summer, the shopping center, promenade or an amusement park.

Write down body language information and other behaviors that stand out. You will quickly catch certain patterns and relationships.

2. Learning materials. While mentalists do not have to graduate from university, participation in psychology courses or courses on human behavior can also be of great advantage. Reading books about mentalism, the reputation of online tutorials and the perfection of the suggestive power are helpful and essential steps to become a successful mentalist.

master class also catapult their skills to a new level.

3. Practice the Cold Reading. It is also important to practice as much as possible to read people. Performing Cold Readings with living subjects will help you improve your skills and mentalism techniques. At the same time, you will determine whether certain aspects of your readings and observation skills have to be improved.

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

www. kunstplaza .de/