Magicians and Psychics

[marplots]

I'm a little bit upset by this: http://deepersecrets.com/its-here-guerrilla-qa-part-ii/

It's a book (part 2 of a series) about moving from mentalism or stage hypnosis into flat out psychic readings. It's being sold to magicians as a way to drop the tricks and get into the "real deal."

I know we sometimes walk a fine line when we set out to perform "miracles" for entertainment and I know some in the audience will believe outrageous things (Houdini de-materialized to perform his escapes), but this offering seems like a recipe book to become Sylvia Brown.

One of the reviews -

Carlzen posted that you could start a religion with this and was gently chided for using this cliché. In fact you could. At minimum the work in here on contacting the dead using Millard Longman’s variation on “Have Séance Will Travel” could be a foundation.

The energy work reading methods in this book are simply wonderful. I have always thought of energy readings as interesting but lacking in a “because” link or good structure. The specific approach used in this book made me change my thoughts on this. Frankly it is very strong work. The sitter will feel the energy. It definitely is not for everyone.

I'm curious to know if other magicians here find this as distasteful as I do.

 

[AdMan]

I'm a little bit upset by this: http://deepersecrets.com/its-here-guerrilla-qa-part-ii/

It's a book (part 2 of a series) about moving from mentalism or stage hypnosis into flat out psychic readings. It's being sold to magicians as a way to drop the tricks and get into the "real deal."

I know we sometimes walk a fine line when we set out to perform "miracles" for entertainment and I know some in the audience will believe outrageous things (Houdini de-materialized to perform his escapes), but this offering seems like a recipe book to become Sylvia Brown.

One of the reviews -


I'm curious to know if other magicians here find this as distasteful as I do.

I certainly agree with you in finding this distasteful. I've only performed as an amateur, but feel the line some "psychic" performers are walking is a dangerously fine one. Yes, some in the audience may believe we have real powers despite our claims otherwise, but "letting them make up their own minds," as I've heard some performers say, is irresponsible, to say the least. Nobody who supports critical thinking and skepticism should, IMO, not make it clear when performing magic or mentalist that it's all just an illusion. Letting people believe our performances are displays of actual psychic phenomena is absolutely wrong.

 

[Garrette]

Yes, I find it distasteful, extremely so, but less so than perhaps I should. I don't know Homer Arcana, nor do I know anything about his system, but a decade or so ago I began an email relationship with the primary author, Jerome Finley, and I own several of his works, including the first Guerilla Q & A. A truly nice man, generous with his time and talents (which are prodigious) and quite open to skeptical discussion.

First a caveat: My post here is from memory, and while I had several exchanges with Jerome, they were not as in depth as I might have liked, so I do not present my perspective here as gospel or error-free. Nonetheless, I'll give it to you.

Jerome is a paradox. He is (or was at the time of our exchange) a practicing shaman and possessed a sincere belief in the paranormal abilities traditionally associated with that practice. I will have to dig through my emails at some point to point out which specific brand of shamanism he practiced, but he considered himself legit within it and, so based on what he told me and my perhaps unfounded belief in him, he conducted that practice without eye to material gain.

On the other hand, Jerome is a successful and well respected mentalist who fully acknowledges that what he allegedly performs for real in his shamanistic guise he accomplishes with trickery in his mentalist guise. He saw no contradiction in that stance.

The release of this book is sort of the ultimate form of something I have been noticing lately in a growing subset of the mentalist community and is causing me to revisit my views analysis of how many of them view themselves as well as how I view them. My thoughts haven't quite coalesced, but I may try a follow on post later today or tomorrow to explain further. The short (and possibly soon to be revised) version is this: there are many more shut eyes in the mentalist community than I realized, but the idea of what a shut eye is is evolving so that it refers less to supernatural belief than to a belief in psychological efficacy.

 

[marplots]

Garrette, I've read the first Guerrilla Q & A too. I recollect it being quite wooish, although with some cynical bent as well.

I abhor the notion that we are the "in" crowd and our audiences are "rubes."

I also react badly to what sometimes passes for mentalism these days, no matter that it's labeled NLP, emotional connection, empathy or talking with the spirits. I suppose part of my ill will comes from the dictum, "Don't BS a BSer."

I do get the feeling that with these books, the performer is asked to believe their own BS.

But what I have never done, and what might be very interesting and informative, is to attend one of Finley's (or an acolyte's) shows. Have you? I've never even seen a YouTube of a similar show. If you know of a video I can look at (and we might discuss) that would be very much appreciated.

On the "silver lining" side, reading at the Cafe tells me there are many mentalists who don't appreciate their craft being pushed to the dark side. Hypnotists too. That's nice to see.

 

[Garrette]

Garrette, I've read the first Guerrilla Q & A too. I recollect it being quite wooish, although with some cynical bent as well.

I don't read it that way, at least not mostly, but my perspective is tinged with my interactions with Jerome. Rather, I read it as someone who is saying "If you act in X way, you will get reaction Y," and my observations (not of Jerome directly) bear this out.

I abhor the notion that we are the "in" crowd and our audiences are "rubes."

Agreed, but in my own cynical moments I can see it in exactly that light, not because I want to target the audience as such but because so much of the audience seems to choose to be that way. Note Robin1 in the John Edward threads; her like are not uncommon in the audiences of mentalists.

I also react badly to what sometimes passes for mentalism these days, no matter that it's labeled NLP, emotional connection, empathy or talking with the spirits. I suppose part of my ill will comes from the dictum, "Don't BS a BSer."

I take issue with a lot of performance on grounds of personal taste. I take issue with a lot of explanations and performance when it crosses my own dictum which is similar to but not identical to yours: Don't BS outside the show, and make it clear when you're in show mode.. I think you know that I don't perform, but I have of course performed for friends and colleagues. My disclaimer has frequently been as blunt as this:

I will not lie to you outside the show, though I may not answer your questions, and I may answer your questions very literally so that you may misunderstand my answer. I will, however, lie my ass off within the show, but I will be very convincing about it, including swearing up and down that I'm not lying. Finally, I will tell you when the show starts and when it ends. It hasn't started yet. Even then I haven't gotten the "you must be psychic" response (though never from family or close friends; they know my schtick).

I do get the feeling that with these books, the performer is asked to believe their own BS.

For the latest one, I get that felling, too, but only from the reviews. From the previous ones, I get it partly, but I have spoken with Jerome, and I am convinced that somehow he compartmentalizes his mentalist performance from his shamanistic performances, and that his mentalist books are meant primarily as performance advice.

But what I have never done, and what might be very interesting and informative, is to attend one of Finley's (or an acolyte's) shows. Have you? I've never even seen a YouTube of a similar show. If you know of a video I can look at (and we might discuss) that would be very much appreciated.

Unfortunately, no, I have not seen Jerome in performance or any of his students.

On the "silver lining" side, reading at the Cafe tells me there are many mentalists who don't appreciate their craft being pushed to the dark side. Hypnotists too. That's nice to see.

Yes, I've seen the same thing, and it is heartening. It wasn't that long ago when I seemed to be one of only three or four skeptical voices. Now it is common to have many people chime in when obvious BS is pushed.

That said, the obvious BS has a large grey area that seems to be growing.

 

[marplots]

Garrette,

Do you feel a duty to "police" the craft? I do, but I can't justify it other than a sense of ownership. We put a lot of time, money and effort into magic - makes me care about this stuff. Even though I have no authority or right to do so, I still get the strong urge to keep it "clean." Same with flagrant exposure for exposure's sake.

A curmudgeon is born I guess.

 

[Garrette]

Yes, I do, but lately I don't act on it as much I used to. Even when I did act on it my actions and influence were limited by the fact that I have never been a performer.

 

[Garrette]

Edit two posts ago: I should have said "have gotten" instead of "haven't gotten".