JEFF MCBRIDES Kundalini Rising ‘The deck is mew, the sal sebroken, He bids me open the pack canal single the cords. Now cat f biep half and surnender the wrmnainder fo tee. Eroneany care’ ID sclert wee (the fire of cheir), jacknows to bine. “Presi te card tm yater forshend. Laeprins it da your mained,” ine tells one, Ele thew collects all the cards, nine included, and replaces chem in the pack. He gives mee the dock, then sings back, ont af reach, Dhl the pork ine any riaghrt bveneed ee orrn’s length. He sists me: prrelax, and drew deop ircaties wiiie picturing my card. elased nome, td Iris tegivest | Bold the isveathes briefly, thee Mow the adv sit Piroaygi nie deck in my dana. Ouce. Trice. Thre steers. Wind ele tered Ereestth, a wernt rises mersteréoeenly —— reapestivedly fino the deck, as if pulled by temern bands, [e's the five of eleete, EDs vonsyaric, Ron Marg - The Daily (reeman Jeff McBride's unique fusion of mast, illusion, Kabuki, quick-change, mime, dance and other production elements has won him well-deserved Inmenmnalional acclim. McBride was the youngest recipient ever of the International Brotherhood of Magiclans’ covewd “Siar of Magle.” Prince Rainier presenced him with the prestigious “Grand Prix Magique de Monte Carlo,” and he was named “Wartety Performer of the Year” by both Adaniic Cley Magazine and the Manhattan Association of Cabarets. Glenn Collins of The New York Times summed up McBride's artistry by saying, “McBride elves his audiences a mesmerizing performance drawn from the images of mythology, a magic show that is at once @ celebration of mystery and a struggle 10 undertand powerful forces.” McBride is widely known in the magic community for taking an effectand Cheating a handing that ss simple and clean chat tt appears wo the audience to be real maghe. His thinking and performance are a major force Influencing the direction Of our art, Now he is releasing several selected routines chat provide you with his props, his thinking and his personal handling In fully- routined presentations so you cen jain him in his magic circle. BieTe prepare for the performance of Kundalini Rising, you must have a loop of the enclosed elastic thread (see “Care and feeding...” below) around ‘one of your wrists. (FIG 1) The thread is thin enough so that the audience will not notice its presence. Before beginning the presentation, have « member of the audience secure a deck Sui of cards. (If no one has a deck, y hand your deck to someone in the audience.) Choose 0 volunteer from your A audience and explain: In many of the world mythologies, the serpent has held its place as a potent magical Fig. 1 symbol. The word “serpent” is derived from the Sanskrit sorpa, the coiling and writhing movement of snakes. The snake is a powerful archetype, symbolizing the forces of nature that are hidden in the Earth Mother, and inside our own human forms. % In india, the sacred myths speak of Kundalini, the serpent Goddess. She is said to dwell in everyone, but she lies sleeping, coiled three times around the base of the spine. She is the Goddess of Iilusion, or Maya, as it is called in India, She is the goddess of occult power. The Indian mystics say that if the sleeping Kundalini is aroused, she will shed her serpentine form and toke the form of a Goddess. Hers is the power to rise up through the spine, energizing the subtle energy centers, or chakras, af the body. Reaching the top of the head, or crown chakra, she connects the heavens to the earth, illuminating the body of the mystic seeker who invokes her. Kundalini is a normally latent psychosexval power that, when awakened, ascends through the central channel of the subtle body. The root word, kunda, means “pool,” a reservoir of energy. Kundalini is likened to a coiled snake, ready to strike at any moment. When the kundalini energy is correctly directed, it can manifest cosmic consciousness and liberation. For thousands of years, yogis and mystics have been using the kundalini power fo accomplish miracles, or what the Hindus call siddihs. These are occult powers that are unleashed within the practitioner of kundalini yoga. JThere are many known ways to unlock the kundalini force. One of these methods is pranayama, which is mastery of the breath. Western science is just now exploring the apparent miracles that the yagis have found in healing, relaxation, and in other states of expanded consciousness that are induced by pronayamo. But for thousands of years, the western esoteric tradition has known of these phenomena, and has concealed them in one of the greatest collections of occult wisdom known fo man, the cards of the Tarot. It is said by meditating on the symbols of the Tarot, we can awaken the occult powers sleeping within us. These are the descendents of the Torot cards — madern playing cards. Although the symbols on the cards differ from the original Tarot cards, the correspondences between the two are astounding, and the powers they contain are very real. What | would like you to do as a volunteer is to take this deck of cards and cut it opproximately in half. Hand me either half, the choice is up fo you. Spread the cards into a wide fan in your hand so you can see the face ‘of each and every card. Now, I'd like you to just meditate on the cards that are in your hand, While the volunteer concentrates on the cards, turn your back and get the loop across your fingers. Place the loop the long way, like a rubber band, around the deck of cards (FIG. 2). Turn back to the volunteer and say: You are thinking af one of those cards. One of those cards is attracting you more then all the other cards. What ! would like you to do is to take that one card out, setting the rest of the cards down, and place the fate of thot card te your forehead. Shut your eyes and take a deep inward breath. Hold that breath, and make @ mental imprint of that card ‘on your third eye. Retain the image of thot card in your mind. Now breathe out slowly, Let the slowing of your breath make the imprint of that card indelible upon your mind. Take the card from the asvolunteer and ploce it in the pack of cards that you now have, pressing down the elastic, causing a plunger-like effect (FIG. 3). Immediately place the cords inside the card box with the back of the cords towards the flap side of the box. Make sure the ‘ears’ of the card box are out of the way of the card that is about to rise. Now have the volunteer hold cout his (or her) hand. Put the card box in his hand so thot the bottom of the box rests in his palm; fingers in the front ‘of the card box and thumb at ‘the back about an inch and o half below the flap (FIG. 4). As you place the card box into his hand, press his hand very firmly against the card box so that he is gripping the box very firmly ‘and so the card will not rise up prematurely. Now for the dramatic presentation. Take a few steps back from your volunteer. Have him roise above his head (FIG. 5). This prevents him from seeing ic thread, our little riend, at the top of the cards. Now reiterate once ‘again what has happened: You are thinking of a card. Let the only thought in your mind right now be this card. Take a deep breath inward. Hold that breath and visualize the serpent at the base of your spine pushing up inside your spinal column; up throughout your entire body as you breathe Fig. 4out. Visualize that serpent grosping your thought, grasping that card, ond lifing it right through the top of your head. Now take another breath in. Picture that serpent rising up through your entire body, and grasping that thought in its teeth and rising right through the top of your head. Now breathe out; totally relax. About the third or fourth time you create this visualization, your volunteer has exhaled and completely reloxed; as he relaxes, his grip on the box should loosen and the card will slowly begin to rise out of the box. When the card has risen just a little bit, almost shout at him, “Very good!” This affirmation will tense him up again and make hand squeeze araund the box ence again. You don’t want the effect to happen all at once; it should happen in litle stages. With the power of your voice, tell the volunteer: Again, relax and picture that serpent rising up through your spinal column, grasping that thought right from your third eye and moving it up through the top of your head. Now, blow that thought right at the card box. As he blows, that card should rise up a little bit further, then a litle bit further, and again up a bit further. Repeat the visualization over and over: to relax, to keep his mind cleor, to visualize that serpent rising up inside of 2$-him and grasping that thought ond rising out of the top. Through multiple repetitions of this visualization, you will couse that phenomenon inside the spectator. The power of his breath and the power of his relaxation will cause this magic te happen. When the card finglly does rise to the top of the card box, take a beat ‘and reiterate once again what has happened. You are thinking of card. You are thinking of a cord. You have thought of one card. For the first time, will you speak the name of that card. As the volunteer speaks the name of the card, slowly remove it from the box and show it to him. This will register a reaction which the audience will be able to see. Turn around, show ‘ond name the card for the audience, and take your applause, which will happen right at this point. Hand the volunteer his card into his empty hand. Toke the card box from the spectator. Empty the cards into your hands and hand him the card box, offering it for him to look inside. As both of his hands are full, bend the deck slightly downward by placing it between your thumb ond fingers and squeezing. (FIG. 6) Place three fingers from your other hand inside the elastic band and just pull the deck of cards awoy, leaving the band on your three left-hand fingers, giving the volunteer the rest of the pack into his hand. Now you are free ta shake his hand or take the other objects, the cards and the card box, back from the volunteer, and you have a miracle. Now caution your volunteer: | suggest for the next few moments, you shut your eyes. Relax and ground this powerful energy. Take a few deep breaths and visualize the serpent power descending back down your spine, coiling itself around the base of your spine, where it will remain sleeping until you call on it again. This power is always in you. One of the important things to remember is that you are actually giving the volunteer o reo! metaphysical key. By meditating on the power of the ahbreath, by slowing the breath, by concentrating and creating visualization, the volunteer is actually creating the magic in his own hands. By relax deep breathing and by concentrating, he is actually becoming the magician. This is very important because he knows he is creating the magic by the amount he is relaxing and the amount of contral he has over this breath. These are therefore very important features of this performance. Don't be alarmed or worried if ittakes ¢ long time for the person to relax. The longer it tokes, the more the sensationel buildup and tension is created in the room. Eventually his hand will relax if he keeps breathing deeply and creating the visualization. Either he will poss out from hyperventilation or he will relax. Hopefully the latter will be the case. * Core and feeding of the loop: We have provided an omple supply of the invisible elastic. To make a card loop, simply wrap a length of thread loosely around the back of your hand and tie it with an overhand knot (FIG. 7). Break the excess elastic, and make a second knot around the first one. Place the loop on your wrist and you are ready to perform. 48. Tips and refinements: * Any dack of cards may be used. The deck may be borrowed, ar may be a brand new deck in its wropper. However the deck must come in o case. *You can have the entire audience join in the breathing and ‘sending’ if you wish, *if you have trouble tying the knot in the loop, a lacp can be made using super-glue. Let the ends overlap by about 1/4 “ and apply the glue. “This elastic loop, while not as fine as the populor “invisible thread” ond not, therefore truly “invisible,” is nevertheless much sironger than that thread, and fine enough to be quite invisible when viewed against a light surface {such as pink skin} from more thon a few feet oway. Play with it and see atehow many other amazing animations you can come up with. * Jeff likes to perform this in totally impromptu situations, such as for a small graup ot « party or gathering. Get used to wearing the loop all the time...it is quite strong, and will take o lot of beating. It is waterproof, so you can even wear it when swimming or bathing. That way you are ready to perform anywhere and anytime a deck of cards is present. “It is important that, when presenting this effect, it is NOT presented as a “card trick.” The power and elegance of McBride's handling comes from the way he sets up the whole experience, involves the audience in the experience, and thus creates o whole new universe for the audience...a universe in which miracles occur! ‘Magic connot be great until it has transcended the motive of entertainment. Great Magic functions on the plane of aspiration and inspiration, stimulating the slumbering super-material senses, and extending the range of consciousness beyond the natural world into the super or occult region, therefore magic can only be great when planned by 9 man of vision and sincerity, acting under the urge of necessity rother than the stress of commercial enterprise. The great artist relinquishes all attachments to the thoughts of gain or praise in the single-minded purpose of conveying his vision through the medium of his chosen material ar artform. To do this it is necessary for his ort to be symbolic; having a hidden secret meaning behind its apparent form and ritwal. ‘S. IH. SHARPE Notice: “Kundalini Rising” was originally published by Jeff McBride in the December 1987 “Rudy Coby’ issue of Genii mogazine (Vol. 51 #6). Although manufacturing and distribution rights were specifically reserved, 9 number of versions of the effect hove been released by others. This is the first (and only) authorized release of McBride's effect, with new tips and handling created expressly for this release. eeAdditional Tips and Presentations | often prepare my card box by tearing off the tiny side flaps, or "ears." These can create friction and interfere with the rising of the card. Also, prepare your box by bending the top flap all the way back, so that it's easy to move into position. Here's a simplified handling for table-hopping or other situations where the full version might be too long: Start with the Kundalini elastic loop already around half the deck, Take a single card, and place it on the face of the deck. This will hide the string, even close-up. The remaining half of the deck is placed, face down, on top of the banded deck. Fan the top half of the deck, and have your participant select a card from the loose, unbanded cards. After they select their card, cut the loose cards to the table, and retain the banded deck. Hold the banded deck in mechanic's grip, and push the Selection into the center, flush with the deck. Keeping a bit of tension on the deck, replace it in the box, and place the box in your own hand. Make sure that the flap of the box is pointing towards you. You can even place your thumb on the flap to keep it down. Now you can slowly release pressure, as you gesture over the box, and allow the card to mysteriously rise from the pack. Remove the card, place it on top of the deck, and return the loose cards to the box, behind the banded cards. Close the box and you are re-set! Magically yours, 4 € ff MEBride, 2004