Leviathan%0d%0aby Francis Girola.pdf

 

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Leviathan By Francis Girola

Copyright 2018 © Francis Girola, All Rights Reserved Published by Arcane Arts Limited All legal owners in possession of an original copy of this manuscript have the right to perform the following effects, presentations and methods in all performance settings. This publication may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without the specific permission of the author.

 

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Table Of Contents

Introduction .....................................4 Chapter 1: Semi-Propless .................5 Chapter 2: Propless .........................21 Chapter 3: Managing Failure ..........24 Credits ...........................................26 Final Words ...................................27

 

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Introduction “By Consequence, or train of thoughts, I understand that succession of one thought to another which is called, to distinguish it from discourse in words, mental discourse. When a man thinketh on anything whatsoever, his next thought after is not altogether so casual as it seems to be. Not every thought to every thought succeeds indifferently.” —  Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan

Bonjour ! First of all, thank you very much for purchasing this manuscript. More than an effect, Leviathan is a concept that you can easily incorporate within the routines that you already have in your repertoire. The idea is to give you a tool that you can use at a moment’s notice and which gives you the ability to elevate the revelation of a secret piece of information. The core methodology behind Leviathan is a system that has been widely developed over the past few years by people such as Joshua Quinn and Atlas Brookings. However, the goal here is to give you a technique that you can use to force a particular outcome instead of fishing for information. We start with the assumption that you already know what a spectator is thinking about. With that secret knowledge in mind, you have a lot of possibilities in front of you, which we will outline in the following chapters. In essence, Leviathan enables you to always be one step ahead throughout the entire process. Furthermore, it can be done totally impromptu (even in propless situations) and gives you the potential to jazz around as much as you wish. Therefore, the routines detailed in this manuscript are non-exhaustive inasmuch as you might come up with your own ideas and presentations. I would like to thank my friend Phedon Bilek for his suggestions in the writing of this eBook. He also happens to be the first person who actually reconciled me with the overall notion of ‘propless mentalism’. Consequently, his work has been a big source of inspiration for a lot of the techniques and effects described in the upcoming pages. Let us now begin the journey with the very first chapter...

 

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Chapter 1: Semi-Propless Effect #1: A spectator is instructed to think of a word and imagine it clearly written in their mind as if it were spelt in a blackboard. The Perceptionist:

“That word that you are currently thinking about was the result of a conscious decision. We will now proceed with a series of random selections to try and formulate an unconscious thought pattern. Please focus on the second letter of your word. Now, I would like you to make up a completely different word starting with that one letter. When I snap my fingers, think of a fruit or a colour, the first one that comes to mind. (Snap) Have you got something?”

Spectator:

“Yes.”

The Perceptionist:

“Good! Again, take the second letter to form a brand-new word. Could you think of ... (Snap) another colour starting with that letter?”

Spectator:

“Yes, I can.”

The Perceptionist:

“Great! Finally, take the second letter one last time. Could you please think ... (Snap) an animal that starts with that letter?”

Spectator:

“Yes.”

The Perceptionist:

“Okay, let’s stop right there. This final word will represent an unconscious choice inasmuch as it has been obtained through a series of arbitrary decisions. Ten seconds ago, you had no idea you would ultimately land on this word. Yet, because that selection was mainly instinctive – albeit confusing and haphazard looking at first – this last word actually reveals much more about you in terms of your personality and your thought process. At this stage, you could be visualising almost any animal in the world, but I think that you’re the type of person who likes to view himself as an independent thinker, an analytical person who does not take things for granted and likes to explore new ideas and is open to new experiences. That’s why I don’t think you would settle for the kind of animal that you would normally find on this continent, which also suggests to me that you like travelling and encountering other cultures and people. Therefore, I would guess that this animal would

 

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probably be found in a more tropical environment. I don’t think you would ever go for a shark, a crocodile or even a lion because I don’t see you as a predatory type. As a matter of fact, there is a strong sense of benevolence coming from you, which does not mean that you never get angry, especially whenever you are rubbed the wrong way. Indeed, there are certain values that you hold really dear to your heart; one of them is the notion of family. This is something that is extremely important to you and I even feel that you were recently hurt by something that happened to either a loved one or someone very close to you in your circle of friends. And when some troubles occur, I believe that you are the person that people would probably come to for guidance or mediation to resolve a conflict. If everything that I have just said so far is correct, I would say that you must be thinking of a herd animal like a zebra, a giraffe or an elephant. But that smirk you just gave me confirmed that it is indeed an elephant, right?” Spectator:

“That is absolutely correct!”

The Perceptionist:

“Excellent! Now, let’s return to you initial thought of word, your conscious decision. (Grabs a notepad and a pen) Now that I know much more about your personality, I have everything I need in order to guess the type of word you would freely choose. I think that you would definitely go for a positive terminology that would convey a sense of hope and determination. A word that would be oriented more towards the future than the past. (Jots something down on the pad, sight unseen) For the first time, what was the word you were originally thinking of?

Spectator:

“Possibilities.”

The pad is turned to reveal the word: “Possibilities”.

Effect #2: The performer tells the audience that a certain number of people will be selected to participate in a word association game. One first spectator is instructed to think of a word. In this example, the selection was made from a book. The Persuader:

 

(To Spectator A) “Sir, I would like you to please focus on the third letter of that word and whisper it to the lady next to you.”

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(To Spectator B) “Madam, I would like you to make up a completely different word. Could you maybe think of a colour or a month that starts with that letter? Spectator B:

“Yes.”

The Persuader:

(To Spectator B) “Good. So, bring that word to the forefront of your mind and focus on the last letter. Now, whisper it to your neighbour.” (To Spectator C) “Sir, with that letter I want you to think of ... a colour. Is it possible?”

Spectator C:

“Yes, it is.”

The Persuader:

(To Spectator C) “Great. Now, whisper the second letter of that word to the person next to you.” (To Spectator D) “Sir, you will be the last person in this round. With the letter you currently have in mind, I want you to think of an animal, have you got one?”

Spectator D:

“Yes, I do.”

The Persuader:

“Very good! (Grabs a pad and a marker) Now, here is the idea: as soon as I know your word, I should be able to immediately backtrack the entire process, which would subsequently give me more than enough information to guess Spectator A’s original selection. I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. (To Spectator D) So in a moment, I will snap my fingers. When I do, I want you to say your word out loud. Get ready and ... (Snap) what is your word? Say it now!

Spectator D:

“Elephant.”

The Persuader:

(Immediately writes something down on a pad) “Alright, I have committed to something. (To Spectator A) What was the word you originally thought of?

Spectator A:

“Possibilities.”

The pad is turned over to reveal the word: “Possibilities”. Round of applause.

 

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The Persuader:

“Thank you very much! Okay, now I feel I should probably stop lying to you. The truth is that none of that was a demonstration of mind reading at all. As a matter of fact, this entire show has been nothing more than a subliminal game of influence. You see, even though all of the previous demonstrations seemed perfectly random and fair, I was constantly in control of all the elements in order to get the exact results that I wanted. Even when you thought there was no way I could potentially manipulate your choices, I was covertly puppeteering each and every one of you to carry out tasks that would gradually lead to the outcome I had prepared beforehand.”

The performer brings all the attention to an envelope that has been left in full view of the audience since the very start of the show. Spectator A is invited on stage in order to witness the content. The Persuader:

“Sir, you can testify that there is only one letter inside this envelope. (He takes it out) Now, would you please make sure that I read this correctly? I am presently writing this letter thirty minutes before the show. By the time you read this letter, if I have played my cards right, several things should have happened throughout the show: (...) Finally, I will have played a word association game with several members of the audience. At the outset, I will have asked one spectator to think of a random word from a book which, through a haphazard looking process of letter association, will have ultimately resulted in one word: ELEPHANT!”

Round of applause.

Effect #3: A spectator challenges the performer. Spectator:

“So, if you’re really a mind reader, what am I thinking about right now?”

The Telepath:

“Well, I appreciate a challenge every now and then. It sort of ups my game! First of all, to answer your question, I must say that it is a bit difficult to tell you precisely what you are thinking of at this moment because I feel that a lot of things are currently going through your mind, namely a strong sense

 

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of scepticism towards my skills. This is absolutely fine with me but in order to accurately read your mind, I would like you to focus solely on that one thought in order to have something concrete. In fact, because we are starting completely cold, it would help if you could reduce everything down to one single word. For instance, if you were thinking of riding a bicycle with your aunt in Spain when you were eight years old, just think of the word bicycle. Can you do that for me, please?” Spectator:

“Yes.”

The Telepath:

“Good. Before we go any further, you’re not thinking of something dirty or anything like that, right?”

Spectator:

“No, I’m not.”

The Telepath:

“Great, then we can start! To begin with, let me tell you that as a mind reader, I essentially have two main abilities: telepathy and precognition. In other words, not only do I know what you are thinking, I also know what you are not thinking about... yet! Let me show you what I mean. First of all, focus on your word. Try and send it to me mentally. I know you do not believe in this sort of thing but just imagine that you can really do this. (Brings out his wallet, takes out a business card, jots something down and finally places the card back inside the wallet) I have committed to something and we will come back to that in a moment. But for now, let’s jump to the second part of my demonstration. I will attempt to divine a thought that you are about to have. (Grabs another business card and hands it to the spectator) Before we get to that, I would like you to write down your word, just so that there is no confusion later.

The spectator writes down a word and the card is placed in the wallet for safety. The performer then takes a third business card to write a prediction and leaves it facedown on the table. The Telepath:

“Let’s try a random thought association game. Take your original word and focus on the second letter. Now, I would like you to make up a totally different word. Could you think of a fruit, a colour or a month that starts with that letter?

Spectator:

“Yes.”

The Telepath:

“Perfect! Now, take the second letter of that word and imagine a zoo animal starting with that letter. Then, take the third letter and think of a month of the year. Finally, focus on the second to last letter and picture another animal. Have you got something now?

 

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Spectator:

“Yes, I do.”

The Telepath:

“And would I be correct in saying that this process was absolutely fair and that, right now, you could be thinking of any animal, which itself was the result of all the choices you have freely decided to make? There is no way I could have known that you would have made all those decisions, right?”

Spectator:

“Yes, that is correct.”

The Telepath:

“Alright, for the first time, what are you thinking about right now?”

Spectator:

“An elephant.”

The Telepath:

“Excellent! (Opens the wallet and takes out three business cards) At the very start, you challenged me to read your mind. You sealed your thought on a business card so that there is no way you could potentially change it afterwards. (The first business card is turned over, it is the spectator’s and it reads: “Car”) When you came up to me, out of the millions of things you could have thought of, you decided to think of your car. And this is exactly what I perceived! (The second business card is turned over, it says: “you are thinking of a CAR”) But what is more interesting is the fact that I told you from the outset that in addition to reading your mind I can also predict the choices you will make. We played a random game of word association, through which you made different selections and eventually landed on one word. Before all of that even started, I wrote something on this business card. Could you remind me what that second word was?”

Spectator:

“I thought of an elephant.”

The third business card is turned over, it reads: “You will think of an ELEPHANT!”

Method: A spectator is instructed to think of a word at the start of the routine. You will obtain this piece of information in your favourite manner. For instance, this word could be peeked, forced or even selected from a book. The idea is that you will use that knowledge to secretly force another word. Personally, I prefer the word ‘Elephant’ because it is one of the easiest but it can be replaced by another one. In fact, the effect could even be repeated with a different outcome.

 

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Basically, you are going to create a chain of words with different meanings and linked by letters. Since you already know the starting word, you will use that initial information to sneakily lead the spectator(s) through a specific train of thought that will ultimately lead to your forcing word. How? Every letter of the alphabet is associated with one category (or more, which gives you some choice about the direction you wish to follow). Those specific categories only give a restrictive number of possible options. Alphabet List: A: Apple - Apricot / April (August) B: Black - Blue (Brown) C: Cat D: Denmark / December E: Elephant / Earth F: February G: Green - Grey H: House / Helicopter I: Iguana / Indigo / Italy J: Japan / January - July / Jupiter K: Kangaroo L: Lion M: March - May / Mercury - Mars N: November / Neptune O: Orange / October P: Penguin - Panda - Panther / Pumpkin / Pluto / Purple Q: Queen R: Red S: Saturn / September T: Tiger U: Uranus V: Venus W: Watermelon X: Xylophone Y: Yellow Z: Zebra Colour Coding By Categories: A: Apple - Apricot / April (August) B: Black - Blue (Brown) / Banana C: Cat D: Denmark / December E: Elephant / Earth F: February G: Green - Grey H: House / Helicopter I: Iguana / Indigo / Italy  

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J: Japan / January - July / Jupiter K: Kangaroo L: Lion M: March - May / Mercury - Mars N: November / Neptune O: Orange / October P: Penguin - Panda - Panther / Pumpkin / Pluto / Purple Q: Queen R: Red S: Saturn / September T: Tiger U: Uranus V: Venus W: Watermelon X: Xylophone Y: Yellow Z: Zebra There are essentially 6 main categories: • • • • • •

Fruits (& Vegetables) Months Colours (Zoo) Animals Countries Planets

The three letters highlighted in pink are the only exceptions.

In Practice: Let us imagine that a spectator is thinking of the word: “Car”. Obviously, as far as the audience is concerned, that information is totally unknown to you. Yet, since we will always be one step ahead, you will use this secret knowledge to play with the letters of that word and lead the volunteer down a path that you can follow along with them. In this case, you would probably focus their attention to the second letter of their word and now ask them to think of a completely different word that would start with that letter. But you could even let the spectator choose a letter first, then go on to give instructions on how to select the next word. This overall process might make it seem like that person could potentially think of anything, however the categories that I assign are somewhat restrictive. Furthermore, since I am constantly one step ahead, I know exactly what the spectator does every step of the way. The reason is because the letters themselves rarely offer them more than two options to choose from.

 

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A: •

“Think of a FRUIT”: Most people would go for ‘Apple’ in this situation. Yet, in some rare cases, you might have people going for ‘Apricot’ instead. Nevertheless, in both instances, you are covered by the fact that those two words share the same second letter: ‘P’. Therefore, this is the one I would then focus on to force the next word in the chain. This ensures a higher success rate during the word association game.

•

“Think of a MONTH”: Technically, there are only two out of twelve months that start with the letter A: ‘April’ and ‘August’. The tiny issue is that (unlike ‘Apple’ and ‘Apricot’ above) those words do not share any common letters. To counter that, I personally choose to ask the participant to “Think of a month, for instance: August, September, etc. Obviously don’t think of those. Make up your own mind!” This eliminates that option.

N.b. When a letter induces several choices of categories to force, you must usually opt for one only. However, to make the overall selection process by the spectator seem even more random and free, you can always throw away some categories that will never work with that letter anyway. For example, if your volunteer is thinking of the letter ‘A’, you can give them the choice between a colour and a fruit since they are much more likely to think of ‘Apple’ than ‘Amaranth’. Finally, in the case of ‘A’, you could also throw both options at once: “Think of a colour or a month” since ‘Apple’, ‘Apricot’ and ‘April’ all have the letter ‘P’ as a second letter (making sure to eliminate August, as discussed previously).

B: •

“Think of a COLOUR”: The idea is to force the letter ‘L’ in the next round, since both ‘Blue’ and ‘Black’ share that second letter. The only exception is ‘Brown’, which you can take care of in a similar manner is described above with ‘August’: “Think of a colour, like brown, purple, etc.” Technically, you could also thrown in ‘Beige’ although this colour is extremely rare.

•

“Think of a Fruit”: ‘Banana’.

C: “Think of an ANIMAL”: The most common animal with the letter ‘C’ is a ‘Cat’. I would personally choose the letter ‘A’ for the next round, as it would also cover ‘Camel’ or ‘Caiman’. If you are ever worried that your spectator might go for ‘Chimpanzee’, ‘Cheetah’ or even ‘Chicken’, you could be much less subtle in your choice of category by saying: “Think of an animal, like maybe a pet... or a wild animal, anything at all”.

 

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D: •

“Think of an COU NTRY”: ‘Denmark’ is by far the most common one.

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“Think of a MONTH”: ‘December’ (only choice!).

E: •

“Think of an ANIMAL”: ‘Elephant’.

•

“Think of a PLANET”: ‘Earth’.

F: “Think of an MONTH”: ‘February’ is the only choice.

G: “Think of an COLOUR”: The most obvious choice is ‘Green’, however some people might think of ‘Grey’. For that reason, the next letter to force will be the ‘R’ on the second letter.

H: •

“Think of SOMETHING YOU COULD DRAW”: Most people would think of drawing a ‘House’ in this case. Yet, out of all the other letters, this option seems the least sure-fire, as the spectator could potentially think of a variety of other things like a ‘Horse’, a ‘Hand’ or even a ‘Hat’. The advantage here is that since this option is much less restrictive it will look even more impressive if it hits.

•

“Think of a MEANS OF TRANSPORT”: This is much more specific but it will ensure your spectator is highly likely to go for ‘Helicopter’.

I:

 

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“Think of an ANIMAL”: ‘Iguana’.

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“Think of a COLOUR”: ‘Indigo’.

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•

“Think of a (EUROPEAN) COUNTRY”: Italy.

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“Think of a COUNTRY”: ‘Japan’.

•

“Think of MONTH”: ‘January’ and ‘July’ are the only options and they share the same last letter, which will be used subsequently.

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“Think of a PLANET”: ‘Jupiter’.

J:

K: “Think of an ANIMAL”: ‘Kangaroo’.

L: “Think of an ANIMAL”: ‘Lion’.

M: •

“Think of a MONTH”: ‘March’ and ‘May’ are the only options. You will then force the ‘A’ on the second position.

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“Think of a PLANET”: Both ‘Mercury’ and ‘Mars’ have an ‘R’ on the third position.

N: •

“Think of a MONTH”: ‘November’.

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“Think of a PLANET”: ‘Neptune’.

O:

 

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“Think of a COLOUR”: ‘Orange’.

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“Think of a FRUIT”: ‘Orange’.

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“Think of a MONTH”: ‘October’.

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N.b. Since both the fruit and the colour are the same word, you could give the spectator an apparent choice between those two categories and the result will be the exact same.

P: •

“Think of an ANIMAL”: You could even emphasize a “zoo animal” to ensure they will land on one of these three words: ‘Penguin’, ‘Panda’ and ‘Panther’. Then, you will use the third letter: ‘N’.

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“Think of a FRUIT or VEGETABLE”: ‘Pumpkin’.

•

“Think of a PLANET”: Technically, ‘Pluto’ is not regarded as a planet anymore; it is a dwarf planet. But, unless you are performing for Stephen Hawking, this should work 100% of the time.

•

“Think of a COLOUR”: ‘Purple’.

Q: My least favourite letter. This is the only option that I could find. “Think of a PLAYING VALUE”: “For instance, a J for a Jack, an A for an Ace, an S for a Six or a Seven...” : ‘Queen’.

R: “Think of a COLOUR”: ‘Red’.

S: •

“Think of a PLANET”: ‘Saturn’.

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“Think of a MONTH”: ‘September’.

T: “Think of an ANIMAL”: ‘Tiger’.

 

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U: “Think of a PLANET”: ‘Uranus’.

V: “Think of a PLANET”: ‘Venus’.

W: “Think of a FRUIT”: ‘Watermelon’.

X: “Think of a MUSICAL INSTRUMENT”: ‘Xylophone’.

Y: “Think of a COLOUR”: ‘Yellow’.

Z: “Think of an ANIMAL”: ‘Zebra’.

Example: If we know that a spectator is thinking of the word “Car”, we could ask him to focus on the second letter and think of a fruit that would start with this letter. In this case, he would take the ‘A’ and would either think of an ‘Apple’ or an ‘Apricot’. Then, we would take the second latter of that new word (‘P’) and ask him to think of a planet that starts with that letter (‘Pluto’). Technically, we could stop at any time to reveal the last piece of information. But I like to use this technique to force a particular outcome. If you go back to the AZ list, you will find that a lot of options are pretty much sure-fire. I personally prefer the ‘E’ for ‘Elephant’ since that letter is the most commonly used in the English language. Thus, I am sure to find it at some point during the cycle. Equally, you are free to choose your favourite letters to force during the linking process. In other words, you do not necessarily have to memorise the entire list. You could just decide to work with the most foolproof and frequent letters such as ‘D’ for ‘December’, ‘N’ for ‘November’, ‘O’ for ‘Orange’, ‘R’ for ‘Red’, etc. Therefore, you are free to jazz with the letters as much as you want.  

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If we go back to the example above, since the spectator is thinking of ‘Pluto’, we could bring their attention to the very last letter and ask them to imagine a fruit or a colour starting with that one letter (‘Orange’). Finally, they would focus one last time on the last letter and visualise an animal (‘Elephant’). You are free to reveal that last piece of information as you wish. This could be direct mind reading or (since you know the outcome in advance) you could have predicted it. Should this entire process somehow fail, you can just land on your feet by revealing the very first word anyway.

Effect #1: In this presentation, the idea is that the mentalist uses the word association game as a psychological technique to gauge the spectator’s personality. The starting word could have been written down or selected from a book with an emphasis on the fact that this was a conscious and deliberate decision as opposed to the seemingly random selection process that is about to occur. Effect #2: Pretty much the same methodology as the previous effect. Yet, in this presentation, the outcome has been predicted in advance. This gives a double revelation that ends with a surprise. Effect #3: This is the one I actually prefer. I searched for a long time for potential effects that I could do when somebody challenges me to guess what they are thinking about. In this type of situation, my original reflex would have been to either find direct ways of obtaining that piece of information (e.g. a peek) or to gradually (and sneakily) steer the conversation towards the demonstration of a different routine in which I am in full control of all the elements. To me, the former solution lacks justification (“why should I write it down?”) whilst the latter does not answer their initial question, which is not satisfying. And then, it eventually dawned on me that, even if I could somehow tell that person what they are thinking of, the result – albeit slightly impressive – would not be surprising at all: You think of something, I reveal it. Tada! In this demonstration, however, not only can you meet the challenge, you also hit the spectator with a second revelation that they were not expecting in the first place. Suddenly, you are back in charge of the performance. So, if somebody asks you to prove that you can read their mind, this is what you could do: you claim that you can demonstrate feats of telepathy and precognition (this can obviously be adapted for a more psychological approach, depending on your personal style of performance). This uses a peek wallet (any one). In performance, you ask your spectator to reduce their thought to one specific word. You take a business card and write the following sentence: “You will think of an ELEPHANT!” and place it back inside your wallet. As far as your spectator is concerned, you have attempted to guess the  

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word they are currently thinking about when, in fact, you are one step ahead à la Mental Epic. Now, you ask the volunteer to write their thought of word on another business card (which could even be their own). The justification is double: this prevents them to change their mind afterwards, plus it ensures they will not forget it later on since you are about to ask them to think of many different things at once. That business card is now placed inside the wallet as well, supposedly for safety. As a matter of fact, it is located in the perfect position to get your peek. Now, you explain that you will predict the outcome of a series of random decisions. You take out a third business card (the peek could actually be done at this moment) and you write down the word that you caught a glimpse of. Let us say the spectator thought of the word “Car”, in which case you would write: “You are thinking of a CAR”. And you place this card facedown on the table. You now direct your spectator through a specific train of thought, using the original letters of the starting word and working your way through to the word ‘Elephant’, as described on the previous page. When the spectator lands on a letter ‘E’, they are to name out loud the first animal they can think of: “Elephant!” You now go back to the wallet and take the first two business cards: the one your first wrote on (which is supposed to be your guess on the initial word) and the spectator’s. As you turn over the latter to reveal what the person was thinking of (stressing the fact that it could have been absolutely anything in the world, thus highlighting the seeming impossibility of the overall demonstration) you casually put the second business card on the table to switch it with the one that was already there. Because of the slight time misdirection or logical disconnect (Cf. Bob Cassidy), there will be a slight confusion as to which is which anyway. Alternately, this switch could also be done in the hands through a simple top change. Now, turn over the business card to show that you correctly guessed the word ‘Car’. As a second kicker, remind the spectator of the random choices that were subsequently made and the fact that you wrote something down before it even started. Ask the volunteer to repeat the last word: “Elephant.” And now turn over the last business card to display your prediction: “You will think of an ELEPHANT!” A.A.A. Book Test Variation: The methodology is exactly the same as Effect #3, except that the spectator is asked to think of a word taken from a random ungimmicked book. When they are done, you take a business card and – under the guise of writing your impression – you actually inscribe your prediction for the second round (e.g. ‘Elephant), thus being already one step ahead. You now have the spectator record their word on a business card, which you will peek and duplicate – under the pretence of writing a prediction this time. You now all the elements in hand to verbally lead your spectator down your own train of thought, concluding on the word you had predicted at the very start. In the end, you will reveal both a thought of word selected from a book and an image apparently chosen at random. All of that with a simple peek, the Leviathan system and some one ahead.

 

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Some of you may not really like the idea of asking the spectator to write something down. In this case, bear in mind that the present system is extremely versatile. Consequently, you can combine it with other methods of acquiring the information in the first place. So far, we have essentially been relying on the oneahead principle. But what if you could be two steps ahead instead? To do so, you can use your favourite way of either forcing a page (and therefore a word) or peeking at the information during selection process. For instance, think about the potential of this system if you used it in association with David Hoy’s Bold Book Test (The Bold And Subtle Miracles Of Dr Faust) or even Marc Paul’s A.A.A Book Test (Mind 2 Mind). Phedon Bilek’s Name Reveal: When I first showed this manuscript to Phedon, he suggested that I add a presentation that he used for several years with the same technique. The idea is to link each and every word of the chain through guided imagery. For instance, you could ask a spectator to think of someone’s name (which you would secretly obtain). In this example, let us say that person is thinking of the name ‘Paul’. Now, ask him to focus on the second letter that name and imagine that his friend is eating a fruit that would start with that particular letter (‘Apple’ or ‘Apricot’). Then, he could take the second letter once again and imagine that his friend in eating a fruit on a planet the name of which starts with the letter he has currently got in mind. You could potentially continue this process of word association for as long as you want, perhaps even ending on your predicted word such as ‘Elephant’. But in addition to that, you can have a beautiful moment of revelation where you are able not only to describe a thought of word and also a complete mental picture: “I am seeing a man, about medium height. I see him bouncing about like an astronaut. The environment around him looks extremely cold; he is standing on a completely frozen surface. Therefore, it is very distant from the sun but don’t think that it’s Uranus or Neptune because the ground is really solid. So I would guess this is Pluto. In his hand, he has something red and round, is that an apple? Now, imagine that you are standing right here in the picture and that you are calling him over. Imagine that you are shouting his name as you motion him to come to you... P... Peter...? Paul!”

 

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Chapter 2: Propless In the previous chapter, we have discussed ways of using Leviathan as a system that allows you to track and lead your spectators down a specific train of thought. Although the method is completely impromptu, it does require you to obtain one piece of information at the very start. So far, we have only discussed the traditional ways of accessing this secret knowledge. But what if there was a way to perform this technique that does not require the need to write anything down or to use a prop in order to force a word from the outset? The biggest propless enthusiasts among you have undoubtedly got countless means of acquiring or forcing information. It is in fact totally possible to adapt this manuscript to the techniques and routines that you already have. For now, we will outline a few of them.

1) Star Sign Revelation: For Leviathan to work, you basically need your spectator to think of a word. If you want to be totally propless, you can simply ask them to focus on a piece of information that you already know in advance. For instance, you might have already learnt their star sign (hot reading, progressive anagram, etc.). In this situation, you could definitely use that as the starting word of the overall chain. For example: “Think of your star sign, imagine it written on a blackboard. Now, focus on the fourth letter and think of a completely different word. Could you imagine a colour that starts with this letter? And now, take the second letter and visualise an animal.” You would now have the three elements: “Taurus, Red and Elephant”, which could definitely use for a reading.

2) Peter Turner’s Phantom Dictionary: In his manuscripts titled Real Time and Propless Mentalism, Peter Turner published a technique that allows you to force a particular set of letters. Obviously, this is not mine to teach so I would strongly suggest you check out those publications if you are not yet familiar with them. Additionally, my friend Phedon Bilek is about to release his own take on that methodology, which he has refined in order to get a much better chance of hitting. Furthermore, he has found a way to provide a lot more outs than the original routine, which makes it a lot more deceptive and reliable. At the time of writing the present manuscript, Phedon has not yet released this work but it is definitely in the pipeline. Having witnessed in person how strong this method is over an entire weekend at the Session Convention, I really recommend you check this out when it eventually gets published.

 

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In a nutshell, Peter Turner’s Phantom Dictionary technique ensures the spectator is highly likely to think of a vowel. Thus, the choice is restricted to those five letters: AEIOU. Those will be used to create a list of forcing words. Forcing Words: Apple Elephant Iguana Orange Uranus The idea is that you will now ask your spectator to think of a particular word starting with the letter they have in mind. You will now secretly obtain the information through a bit of pumping, like in a baby version of Atlas Brookings’ “Train Tracking”. Basically, you will assign a category of words to choose. Depending on the letter that they have selected, only one category will work. As a result, determining the correct group will secretly cue the letter and word that the spectator has in mind. This hidden code will then tell you how to get back on the right track in order to complete the chain of words described in the previous chapter. Branching Anagram:

Can  you  t  hink  of  a  fruit   that  starts  with  that   letter?    

NO   ...  a  planet?  

NO   ...  an  animal?  

 

YES  

E   OrangE   Appl

Use  the  last  letter  to  force   the  word  ‘Elephant’.  

   

YES  

Uranus  

 

Either  reveal  the  planet  or   use  the  letters  to  play  the   word  association  game.  

 

YES  

Iguana   Elephant  

“Is  it  bigger  than  you?”     YES:  ‘Elephant’.   NO:  ‘Iguana’.  

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In Practice: Thanks to the Phantom Diary technique, your spectator is now thinking of a vowel. But how can you know which one? Just ask a maximum of three questions. Only the ‘A’ and ‘O’ would lead to a fruit. Notice that ‘Apple’ and ‘Orange’ end with the same letter, which you can use to subsequently force ‘Elephant’. If that initial question does not hit, move on to the following category. If the planet hits, the spectator must be thinking of the ‘U’ and ‘Uranus’, as it is the only letter that works. At that point, you could technically decide to reveal that piece of information instantly. Alternately, you could jazz with the letters of that word in order to gradually lead the volunteer down your specific train of thought – and perhaps even stop on your force word, such as ‘Elephant’. In the case of the animal, two letters would potentially hit: ‘I’ (‘Iguana’) and ‘E’ (‘Elephant’). You could deduce the correct one by casually asking (or telling) how big it is: “It is not bigger than you, is it?”

3) Phedon Bilek’s Proteus: Definitely one of my favourite pieces of propless mentalism. Since Proteus allows you to accurately deduce a thought of drawing, it could be possible to combine it with the present system in order to obtain a double revelation. For instance, once you have managed to ascertain that your volunteer is thinking of a house, you could ask them to play about with the letters of their word.

 

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Chapter 3: Managing Failure As we have seen previously, some letters in the initial system of Leviathan are more sure-fire than others. For instance, if I asked you to think of a month that starts with the letter ‘N’, you are bound to land on ‘November’. However, other letters are essentially based on the most common or obvious choices that people make on the spot. Naturally, this does not mean that it can hit all the time. For example, someone might be tempted to think of an ‘Eagle’ instead of an ‘Elephant’, or an ‘Olive’ instead of ‘Orange’. So, what if it fails? For the situations detailed in the first chapter, a miss is extremely easy to cover. Since you still know the original thought of word, you can always land on your feet with a powerful revelation anyway. When it comes to strictly propless demonstrations, things are more likely to go wrong since you do not start with a clear selection. In the case of the Phantom Dictionary, your spectator may well be thinking of a consonant instead of a vowel from the outset. Additionally, they might go down a different train of thought from the one you originally suggested. Personally, I like to restrict purely propless demonstrations to casual and conversational performances in impromptu situations. This enables me to set the scene for potential failure. The idea is to calibrate your participant: “Let me try something with you. I am not sure if it will work. Sometimes, I connect better with certain people than others.” Bear in mind that the system is reliable but we are just downplaying the effect in order to have a potentially bigger impact at the end. And if it fails, you can just reiterate what you were saying at the start and go on with another effect instead. To sum up, if you are using the system with a thought that you have already obtained secretly, a miss at the very end can be easily covered by the revelation of the original word. Let us imagine that your spectator thought of ‘Eagle’ instead of ‘Elephant’. If it happens, you will realise it instantly. Instead of trying to keep on guessing what animal this person has in mind, I would just admit that I am not getting anything and ask them to simply tell me what it is. If you are the sort of performer who likes readings, this would actually be a good occasion insofar as an eagle does provide you with more than enough material to talk about its symbolism and how this could reflect their personality. Then, quickly go back to the original word to reveal it. In the case of a propless demonstration like PD or Proteus, the spectator might have gone in a completely different direction than the one you thought. If this occurs, you will also recognise the situation quite quickly: either you will not get the word that they are thinking of, or they will have some trouble finding a selection for  

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the category that you assigned. So, what is basically happening now is the following: your spectator is currently thinking of a letter and you have absolutely no clue what it is. I would then have two solutions for you: First of all, if you are familiar with Atlas Brooking’s “Train Tracking”, you might be able to get back on track fairly rapidly. Yet, personally, I am not in favour of following one propless method by another one. In the present situation, I would prefer to ask the spectator to write something down on a piece of paper. My justification would be something like this: “So, you are currently thinking of a letter of the alphabet. This could be any one and I have no way of knowing which one it could be. In a moment, you are going to construct a thought almost subconsciously. To achieve this, we will do it one step at a time. First, I want you to write down the letter that you have in mind, make sure to place it on the left-hand side in order to leave some space. Now, I want you to think of another letter, make it one that is usually associated with the first one and write it on the card next to the original letter. Now, think of a new letter that could go with the first two. And keep on repeating this process until you have a complete word. The idea is to create a completely random word through haphazard and unconscious decisions.” This game of letter association is in line with the process that took place at the beginning of the routine. Moreover, it essentially gives an apparent reason for writing the word down, when in fact you are just preparing yourself for a peek.

 

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Credits Joshua Quinn, ParaLies Atlas Brookings, Train Tracking Sylvain Vip and Maxime Schucht, System Alpha Bazz, BrainPlay Fernando Figueras, Linking Thoughts Peter Turner, Real Time and Propless Mentalism Phedon Bilek, Proteus David Hoy, The Bold And Subtle Miracles Of Dr Faust Marc Paul, Mind 2 Mind

 

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Final Words We have finally reached the end of the manuscript. Thank you once again for your interest in this material. If you happen to have any queries, please do not hesitate to email me at: [email protected] To be updated about the latest mentalism products offered by Arcane Arts, feel free to visit our website: http://arcanearts-ltd.com/ À bientôt, Francis Girola, Glasgow 2018

 

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