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Master Mentalism: An Intriguing Program for the Modern Mystic
Boring Part: The Introduction (My feelings won't be hurt if you skip it.)
A bit of biography: I was one of those crazy student government kids, one of the ones that took things really seriously and wanted to honestly represent their student body. I did an okay job of it. But one of the things I learned is that to get ahead in politics, you have to make yourself a personality: you have to make yourself unique.
It might sound a little silly, but basic parlor tricks are a great way to get the attention of pretty much everyone. Those that want to believe adore you. Those that know it's just a trick are impressed by your prowess.
Now, I stuck with mostly card tricks, to make the acts longer, but what really fleshed out the repertoire was mentalism. Mentalism, for the uninitiated, is simply playing tricks of the mind with memory techniques. This doesn't sound impressive on the surface, but in practice, it's pretty darn amazing. Ever seen an act by Criss Angel or David Blaine? Mentalism in action, good enough for national TV audiences.
I'm no longer in the racket for politics, but I do perform for tips on weekends, usually out at the movies. I have a nice dedicated fanbase and pick up a new devotee or three from the regular moviegoers each week, and make a minimum of $200--I usually walk with an entourage to keep from getting mugged. Magic is a profitable skill if you put the effort into it.
The Review: Master Mentalism
Now, a lot of people are willing to put the effort into magic, but the 'trick'--horrible pun intended--is knowing what to put the effort into. There's a lot of freeware material floating around on the internet, but most of it's intended for kids. I started out learning from a professional in my family, but most don't have the good fortune of a mentor.
Eventually, we both moved in opposite directions, and I had to find a new source of fresh material. I turned to the web for a fresh niche, and after doing my research, I found Master Mentalism. Master Mentalism is a program that teaches the foundation of mentalism techniques.
An online Google search will bring up dozens of mentalism tricks. Anyone into magic as a profession or a serious hobby will tell you that indivdiual tricks are not what a magician needs. A truly magical magician relies on the ability to stun their audience with spontaneity and showing them things they have not seen before. A trick is good once, maybe twice for a few individuals. In the same act, if you don't variate, it's worthless.
Master Mentalism does not only teach tricks: it teaches techniques. I knew a fair repertoire of the mnemonic devices needed for decent mentalism acts going in, but it managed to haul me right off my feet and flip me over. I was making too many things too hard. Master Mentalism shows you what you need to do using well-written, basic instructions. It does not spoon-feed you, but it holds up to its boast that "you will astonish people starting tonight". It starts with basic examples, one-off tricks that really are nothing more than a few minutes of easy memorization, and then it plunges you into some of the finest content I've ever seen written, especially for a modern magic text.
I actually ordered it the night of a street performance and was able to incorporate two of the tricks and one of the major techniques same-day. It doesn't bog you down with mystical analogies or make you work to get the concepts: it leads you to work with the concepts. Magic books rarely balance between spoon-feeding boring tricks or making you innovate concepts they could simply teach you, but Master Mentalism struck the balance just right for this magician--and it would do as well for a newbie.
In Conclusion
I'm going to give Master Mentalism two ratings: for a new practitioner of mentalism going in with little to no knowledge, it gets a solid 5 out of 5. For experienced mentalists, it gets a 4 out of 5, as it will cover a few things you have already mastered. I should state, as well, for those looking to make a few extra dollars: it paid for itself on the first night. Highly recommended!
About the Author
