When I was in college two of my friends and I traveled to Memphis over Spring break. This was three years before Elvis died, so Graceland was not open to the public. That did not deter us. We jumped the security wall and stood for a few brief but glorious moments in The King’s backyard – until a security guard began walking our way, at which point we vaulted back over the wall and ran with our lives and a good memory intact.
We were told that Elvis was doing a concert in Memphis that night and so we figured if we couldn’t meet him at Graceland, attending his concert would have to do.
I don’t recall why, but we arrived at the venue late. As we purchased our tickets – which were surprisingly inexpensive – we could hear the roar of the crowd from inside the arena. It appeared we had arrived just as Elvis was taking the stage. We rushed into the rollicking arena with amped up anticipation of seeing The King, only to be stunned by what the crowd was actually screaming for…a basketball game.
We were at the wrong arena. No wonder the tickets were so inexpensive.
We sheepishly explained to the ticket guy that we would please like to have our money back because we thought we were at an Elvis concert. He looked at us like we were dumb as rocks…or high. (We weren’t high.) But we walked away with our money, leaving our dignities at the ticket counter.
My friends and I had made an assumption that, at the time, seemed perfectly logical. But, once we were made privy to new information – once we had a more objective view – our eyes were opened to a new reality.
Magicians and mentalists use assumptions often to help influence the thoughts of their audiences. I use it numerous times in my shows. I want the audience to assume certain things about what I’m doing on stage. Things that may not be entirely accurate but are essential to creating the illusion of mindreading. Things that influence the audience members to suspend their disbelief for a while.
Years ago I was in the audience of a very famous magician who was performing in my hometown of Tucson, Arizona. A couple of rows in front of me was a young lady who looked overdressed for the more casual Tucson crowd. She looked like she’d be much more at home at a New York Broadway show. I turned to a woman sitting next to me and said, “I guarantee you that young lady up there will be called on stage tonight.” And, at one point in the show, she was, indeed, called up to participate in the illusion. Of course, I can’t tell you why she was essential to the illusion. But I will say that that particular lady – assumed by the audience to be just a person randomly asked to join the magician on stage – was a key component.
Most illusions require that the audience be surreptitiously made to make certain assumptions when something entirely different may be happening. In this case, the magician used a “plant” which is a person assumed by the audience to be randomly chosen and not “in on” the illusion but, in fact, is part of it. This practice is frowned upon by most magicians and not commonly used. I’ve had audience members ask me after a show if a person whose mind I apparently read during the show was a plant. That’s the only rational explanation they can come up with. But I don’t need plants to do what I do on stage. Having said that, there is, in fact, a rational explanation. But I leverage certain other assumptions I know the audience members are making to accomplish the “impossible.”
In my seminar and show The Magic of Cultivating Positive Emotions that I perform regularly at America’s premier health and wellness resort and for corporate and organizational events, I share four techniques mentalists and magicians leverage to influence people’s thoughts. I then point out how we can leverage those same techniques to cultivate positivity and improve our emotional health. One of those techniques is assumptions. How do I apply it to our everyday lives? Simply this. We too often make incorrect assumptions about ourselves – essentially lying to ourselves about our self-worth. When we do, those incorrect assumptions create “illusions”, if you will, about who we really are. We can break through those assumptions and the illusions they create in our minds by consistently telling ourselves the truth about who we really are – marvelous creations meant to live positively.
So, what incorrect assumptions might you be making about yourself…or even others? Reexamine those assumptions and realign them to what is true.
Adapted from Rod Robison’s book The Magic of Cultivating Positive Emotions: Four Powerful Secrets Mentalists Use to Influence Thoughts and How You Can Use Them to Improve Your Emotional Health.
“So many self-help books have a few strong ideas and then pad the ‘run-time.’ This book gets to the point with a new and interesting perspective on solid life principles. The personal stories add color to the ideas and are completely relatable. Quick read, good ideas, a new perspective and easy to digest. I enjoyed it thoroughly.” Connie Lamb
Available at www.TucsonMagician.com/books
Rod Robison is a mentalist, magician, author and speaker who helps companies and organizations throughout Arizona and beyond create unforgettable events for their employees and clients. Visit www.TucsonMentalist.com
