The Schumann

Notes
No. 2

A Beautiful Mind
By Molim El Barch
 Foreword
Dear Reader,

Every now and then there arrives a mindreading effect that looks as real as it can get. What you are
about to learn in this second release of my Schumann Notes series is one such effect.
I perform this a lot and it really gives the spectator the experience of real mindreading.

Imagine being able to let your spectator think of a story, a story in which she imagines herself
sitting in a place of her choice, seeing what she wants to see and doing what she wants to do, and
without asking any questions or having anything written down, you are able to tell her
exactly what she is thinking.

Welcome to A Beautiful Mind.

Effect
To make this example easier to explain, let's assume the spectator is a woman. First I will describe
the effect and my presentation, then I will explain the method.

Let´s say you are sitting with your spectator in a quiet room or a bar in which is not too noisy.
Explain that you would love it if she would like to participate in a mind reading demonstration.
Tell her that this will be the most difficult demonstration of mind reading you've ever done.
However, it will be also the most wonderful, because you want to go with her on a beautiful
journey. As a test, ask her to think of a number between one and ten. Statistically, most people will
think of seven. Ask her if she thought of the number seven.
If you're right, you have a hit. If not, tell her that this was a demonstration of how difficult it is to
just guess what a person is thinking. Explain that in order to read someone's mind, it is very
important that this person is not only thinking of
something, but imagining it in great detail. Say that every mind reader can be wrong occasionally
due to the nature of mental transmission, and that it is almost impossible to know someone's
specific thoughts.
Ask her to again think of a number, but this time make that image as memorable as possible.
Emphasize this part! You may also want her to say the number in her head. When she says she is
ready, ask her to type in and then multiply several numbers into the calculator on your phone but to
not let you see any of the numbers or the result of any of the operations.
She is to type in three random digits times another three digits times another three digits. The end
result, you explain, should then be a number with anywhere from six to eight digits. Explain there is
no way for you (the performer) to know that number and wait till she confirms your statement.

That's where the mindreading begins: now share the first two digits of her randomly generated
number. Look into her eyes and make that revelation look real, as if you could read her thoughts
through her facial expressions. Or as if you could hear her thoughts ect. ect.
But instead of revealing the third and fourth numbers, or any of the remaining ones, you now take
this a step further and tell her she should imagine a beautiful story involving the rest of those
numbers. You explain it is now much easier to read her mind since she is imagining everything
vividly.
Explain that she should use the third number to determine a letter of the alphabet. For example, if
the digit is 1, the letter will be A, and if the digit is two the letter is B, and so on. Of course she is
doing this only in her mind.
Once she tells you she knows her letter, ask her if she can think of something to lie on that starts
with that letter, such as a bed, a mattress, or a sofa. Even something implausible like a mirror or a
plane will do if she can´t come up with something more appropriate.

Once she comes up with an item, have her imagine sitting or lying on this item.
Again have her imagine it in as much detail as possible.
Ask her to also imagine surroundings, such as the room she is in, any colors or decorations, and any
people with her if she is not alone.
Once that is done, proceed with the fourth number in the same way as the third number.
If the fourth number is a 7, for example, the letter she imagines would be a G.
Ask her if she knows something to drink that starts with that letter. Any drink will do, soda, coffee,
tea, or anything else that begins with her letter, even alcohol is possible.
Once she has determined a drink, proceed with the fifth number in the same way. With that number
she should imagine holding a book that starts with that letter. One example would be if her letter is
D, a book that starts with that letter would be Dracula.

Once she has a book in mind, ask her how many digits are left in her number. Due to a trick we used
at the beginning which I will explain to you in a minute, she will say there is only one digit left.
Proceed as before, but this time she should imagine an animal that starts with that letter.
Explain that this animal should either be beside her or, if it is a large or dangerous animal, sit in
front of her.
Once she imagines this animal, remind her she is now thinking of several different things: A place
to sit or lie on, something to drink, a book, and an animal in front of or beside her.
She confirms this. Remind her you didn't see any numbers she entered, or the final result. She will
confimr this again.
Explain it is impossible for you to know any of the items she is imagining. She should confirm this
too.

Now ask her to close her eyes. Explain that this should enhance her imagination, hence your ability
to see what's in her mind will be stronger.
Don´t skip this part of the routine. Having your spectator close her eyes is one of the most important
psychological subtleties in this whole effect!
Once again have her imagine where she is sitting. She should really notice all the details. Have her
go though the other items as well, perhaps petting the animal, reading a bit from the book, and
sipping the drink. Say that now you start to see, start to smell, start to taste and even feel everything
she has in her imagination.
Take one of her hands in yours, if appropriate. You close your eyes too and start to see that she's in a
cozy room such as a living room.
Say that you see her lying on something like a bed but not a bed. After a bit of mental searching on
your part, say that it is a couch. She will be surprised and say yes. This is your first hit. (At this
point I try to guess the exact room she is in. Unfortunately, going over this part in detail would take
way to long for this PDF. Take a couple of guesses, but if you miss two times in a row, stop
guessing the place/room and it's surroundings).

Next explain that the drink she is thinking of has a very distinctive smell.
It seems to be alcohol. You ask if the drink she is thinking of is an alcoholic one?
She will confirm this.

Ask her to imagine she is taking a sip from that drink. Wait until she gives you a sign that she did
so. Then ask her to really focus on the taste of that drink. “Hmmm... it tastes like... like... Beer?”,
you ask. She will again confirm and be very surprised!

You then move on to the animal. Confidently state, “It´s not a wild or dangerous one right?. She
will confirm. You did really pet it, am I right? Wait to hear how she reacts. If she says no, you say
something like, “But you would like to?” Then say, “I see a relationship between you and a pet... It
´s... a dog!” She will confirm this also!

Now have her imagine taking the book in her hands and reading a bit of it. Ask if she is able to read
it. If she says no because she doesn't know what is written inside this book, say, “But I can feel that
you know the book somehow, or it is a very well-known book.” She should say it is a very popular
book.
Tell her the cover of the book looks really familiar, but you can´t read it properly. The picture is too
blurry.
Ask her to imagine lying on the couch with the book in her hand and saying the name of it out loud.
Tell her you are in that room with her right now and you could hear her say the title. “Did you say
Harry Potter?”.

She will confirm and freak out!

 Explaination
Revealing an imagined story with many details is much stronger than revealing numbers.
The beauty of this routine lies in the details. Think about what you just did.
You let a spectator generate a seemingly random long number, then you revealed the first two digits
of that number which is amazing in it itself. But then you made the whole thing even more
impossible by letting her freely decide all the elements of her story.
You've sent your spectator on a journey of secret fantasies, then you slowly started to reveal those
fantasies.
Her whole story carries a psychological trick with it, which fools spectators because of the way our
memory works. By letting her imagine all these different things, you're allowing her mind to believe
that her imagination is helping you “see” her thoughts.
Eventually, even though the whole story was only in her mind, you reveal all of the little details she
imagines. She was guided from a simple number divination into an impossible mind reading
demonstration in which you knew many specific details.

If you take your time with the story and also have her really imagine everything in detail, there is
little chance for her to backtrack the method since you not only revealed her specific words, but also
what she saw, smelled, tasted, felt, touched and thought. And this is what she will remember!

Now to the methods used in here:

Two methods are in play. Some of you might be familiar with them. The first one is the
famous Toxic force, a method which enables you to force a specific number with a regular
calculator. As I am not the inventor of this force, I am not comfortable sharing it. For those of you
who don´t know this technique, just do a search for “Toxic force magic”. I am sure you will find a
way to learn it for free since it is widely spread through the whole internet and even taught in some
newer magic releases.
There is also an application for your mobile phone called Toxic+. This magic App enables you to do
more than just a simple number force. You may be interested in looking it up.
Of course, you are free to use your own favorite technique to force a number.

The origins of this force are hard to find, but here are a few names that came up in my research:
John Cornelius, who Richard Osterlind credited regarding this method in one of his DVD´s, David
Altman, who has a routine in Bascom Jones's Magick No. 447 (1990) on page 2234, and finally
Bob King who said that a friend (a accountant) showed this trick to him.

The second method used was influenced by Atlas Brookings's book, Train Tracking and an old well-
known and funny mathematical trick.
If you are interested in propless mind reading methods like my effect (almost propless), then you
should definitely check out Atlas Brookings's book!
The main idea is this: you force a number and this number leads to a specific letter of the alphabet
as described above. From there you have many possibilities to use the letter they endet up at.
This idea is also related to the famous “Gray Elephant in Denmark” trick.
In the “Elephant in Denmark” trick you force two digits through a very simple mathematical
principle. The spectator will end up at the number 5 and then at 4, which are the letters E and D.
He's then instructed to think of an african animal beginning with the first letter and a country in
Europe beginning with the second letter. A fast majority of people will think of Elephants and
Denmark.
That trick was one of the first mentalism tricks I had ever seen, and even after almost 15 years I can
remember how amazed and shocked I was when a friend revealed my thoughts.
I forgot about this trick until I read Atlas Brookings's book in which he shared the idea of letting
people take the first letter of their thought of word and think of anything else that starts with that
letter. I can't go over the method here, but what I can say is, that with his technique you will be able
to reveal any word someone is thinking of.

But now back to A Beautiful Mind.

So now you understand the basic principles used to achieve this effect.
First you force a number, then you reveal the first two digits in a classic mind reading performance
style, then you let the spectator chose different things in her mind that begin with the letters related
to the numbers, and finally you reveal her thoughts.
The scripting I've shared is almost exactly what I use, so I won´t go over every detail again.
However, I will explain what´s important to get the maximum out of this magical moment.

First you explain that what is about to follow is a very, very difficult thing for you to do.
By saying this, you tell your audience that they have to expect something special. Your subtext is
that this can go wrong and they should help you instead of feeling challenged by you.
You also explain that you would love if they participate in this beautiful journey into their minds.
This causes strong positive expectations about what will happen and should help ensure cooperation
as well.

Next you ask for a number between one and ten and guess seven. If you're right, you accept that as
a hit, then force the bigger number. If you're wrong, use this as an example of how difficult it is to
know what people are thinking. This miss plays into our hands and we explain that just guessing a
number is extremely difficult and because of that we need her to really imagine the following things
in great detail.

Next you force a number. But which number?

The number 273284. The first two digits can be anything. They are just the appetizer.
But the last four digits are carefully selected, and are used to force specific letters that we are going
to use to guide the spectator to specific words and thoughts.
After you have completely understand the method, you can use your own numbers/letters/words.
For me, though, these letters are the best to force words and to build a beautiful story in the
imagination of the participants.

Why did I choose these specific last four digits? Easy: statistics are playing into our hands.
The letter code for the digits 3284 are CBHD.
These are the letters the spectators will use to choose their words. The first question you ask when
they think of the third digit of their total (3) is if they can think of something to lie on that starts
with this letter.
Phrase this question like this: “Hmm, can you think of something to... maybe something to lie on
that starts with this letter?”.
Don´t give the impression that we already know what we want them to think. Let it seem totally
random, as if you decided to proceed that way at this very moment!

What objects can you, the reader of this manuscript, think of that start with the letter C to lie on?
Right, we all do think of a couch immediately.
And the spectator doesn't know that we know her letter! So your participant will feel safe in
thinking anything, even if it's something really simple like a couch. Don´t forget that spectators are
often nervous, so they are likely to take the path of least resistance.
In the vast majority of times I perform this, people go for my forcing words. In this case the forcing
word is “couch”.
The rare times I am wrong, the spectators still feel like the effect was successful.
Revealing all of the other pieces of information is so strong that they often forget about the single
miss. Keep in mind, you may have not gotten their word, but at least you still knew their letter!
This will still impress them. And I have never missed two words in one performance.

After asking her to think about something to lie on, you have them think of their fourth digit and to
again determine a letter with it. The letter will be B. As previously described, you ask for a drink
that starts with this letter.
Explain that they can think of anything, even something alcoholic, leading the way to our force
word, “Beer”!
Other drinks that came up in my performances are Baileys or Brandy. That´s it. Again, if you don´t
hit one time, don't worry. The whole mindreading routine is what counts and what will be
remembered!
Misses will happen very rarely and the effect will still feel like an amazing mind reading experience
for your spectators.

The next thing you force is the book title Harry Potter.
Even though there are thousands of books beginning with the letter H, I've never had someone think
of anything besides Harry Potter.
First off, it´s one of the most popular books ever. Second, you are doing some magical stuff. You are
a magician! That alone may lead your spectator the right way.

The final force word is “dog”. While the other force words have a very high hit rate, I must confess
that this example had gone wrong more often than others, especially in my early days of performing
this routine. There are several “d” animals that came up in the past: dolphin, deer, dove, dragon,
duck.
People sometimes thought of a duck or a deer until I built one specific sentence into my script.
I ask the spectator to think about petting and cuddling this animal, if possible.
This should put the thought of a cute and familiar, animal into their mind. If you want to be even
safer, throw the word “cat” in. For example: “It could be a cat or something.” A cat connects to
animals that are family pets and relates to a dog more than to other animals.

Where are we now?

You have revealed the two digits she was just thinking of at the beginning of the effect. Then you let
her imagine herself in a place of her choice, with something to drink of her choice, an animal near
her, a random book in her hands and herself lying on something. And you know all of these things!
And all of this in round about five minutes. Five minutes of pure mindreading.
To your participants it will feel as if you were in their minds for a fair amount of time.

Now comes some acting.

You need to perform this as real as possible. Take my wording and apply it to your character. I will
leave the rest of the routine up to you (revealing thoughts, performance style, timing, phrasing,
scripting, atmosphere, more subtleties and cold reading etc.). I am certain by now you have a pretty
clear idea how this effect works and how it should be presented.
I am also sure that all of you understand how important visualization and acting are to this routine.
Please remember to tell your spectator how difficult this performance is, and yet how beautiful this
journey into their minds can be.

If you have problems performing this, please contact me on Facebook. My name there is Jassin
Kelevra.

Also. please try this effect at least once. You won´t regret it. The intimacy this experience gives to
both the magician and the spectator is immense and the mind reading experience for the spectator is
as real as it can get!
These are two reasons why I can´t think of anything else when performing this effect. Since the
whole story is about her cozy place, the dog she petted, the tasty beer, and the book that came
strictly from her thoughts, I named this “A Beautiful Mind.” And this is how I end the effect, telling
her she has a beautiful mind.

Note:
This method can also be used as a prediction. Imagine first reading the spectator's mind exactly as
in the previous routine.
Then suddenly pulling out an old and decorative envelope with a note that has the whole story she
just imagined written down in complete detail!
Alternatively you can have multiple envelopes in your pockets, containg multiple outs for the effect.
With such a letter and decorative envelope, you can give out a very beautiful souvenir that they will
keep for a long time.

I hope you found something of value from my thoughts!

Sincerely

Molim El Barch