During a magician’s stage performance and often with large illusions, your eyes will be purposefully misdirected, if only for a second, so the magician can do, as we call it in the trade, “the dirty work,” aka something we don’t want you to notice.
In my mentalism shows, I use a lot of verbal misdirection. With subtle language I suggest one thing is happening when, actually, something entirely different is occurring. I may ask a volunteer a question to draw her eye contact toward me at a specific moment when I need her to look away from something I don’t want her to see. In a particular mentalism trick I do with cards, there is a moment when I want her and the audience’s eyes to look away from the cards, so I ask her a question. At that moment, she will inevitably look at me to respond. Virtually everyone else will look at her as she answers. That’s all the misdirection I need to do “the dirty work.”
Mentalist The Amazing Kreskin is a master of verbal misdirection. If you’ve seen him perform, you’ll recall the rapid-fire patter (the script a magician or mentalist employs) he is known for. While the audience’s minds are processing and keeping up with what he’s saying, they miss what he is doing. It is during this time, when the audiences’ attention is misdirected by his quick banter, that Kreskin is creating a very effective illusion of extrasensory perception.
William James, known as the father of American psychology, wrote in his 1890 book, The Principles of Psychology, “Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration of consciousness are of its essence. It implied withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.”
In short, there’s just so much the brain can process at any given moment. That which demands the most attention is where the brain will focus.
In life, we tend to allow the negatives to misdirect us away from the positives. It’s our natural default to drift that way because our brains are hardwired with a negativity bias. When you have a negative experience or take in otherwise negative information, there is a surge of activity in the critical data processing area of your brain. In experiments during which people were shown negative, positive, and neutral images, the negative images elicited a much greater degree of brain activity than did the other images.
When you experience negatives—fear, rejection, criticism, angry responses from others—your body produces higher levels of cortisol, the hormone that causes the flight or fight response and lowers your ability to reason. Conversely, positive inputs—compliments, love, joyous experiences, happy memories, even petting a dog—stimulate the production of oxytocin, a hormone associated with trust, bonding with others, collaboration, and communication.
Yet oxytocin metabolizes more quickly and is less powerful and longer lasting than cortisol. Therefore, it’s been said that it takes several positives to overcome one negative input. A single word of criticism from someone, especially a person whose opinion matters to you, can have a greater negative impact on you than a compliment from that same person. There’s science behind it. But you don’t have to wait for others to feed you with positives. You have the choice and ability to do that for yourself.
Today and every day make a point to misdirect your thoughts from the negative to the positive. Like mastering a magic trick, it takes consistent practice, but the end result is…well…magical.
Adapted from Rod Robison’s book The Magic of Cultivating Positive Emotions: Four Powerful Secrets Mentalists Use to Influence Thoughts & How You Can Use Them to Improve Your Emotional Health.
“I was hooked after reading the first few pages. The book gives an insider’s look at the tools magicians, illusionists, and mentalists use to fool us. Rod Robison tells great stories that translate into practical takeaways and offers a few tools of our own to stay positive and lead a fulfilling life.” – Radio Personality Bill Ronning
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. More about Rod’s magic and mentalism shows, inspirational seminars, and sales training at www.TucsonMentalist.com
