Forgive the dropped letters and the enigmatic "g" at the bottom of my post. Typing on my new IPad is a new learning experience. Not a very good showing for a former Grammar Host.

Apparently I can't scroll back on a Long post to edit.

[quote]On 2011-09-30 23:05, David Thiel wrote:
I am not sure if this qualifies or not. What happened to you has only happened to me once. It was in a hospitality suite and my volunteer was both drunk AND stoned -- but he carried it so well that I didn't notice until he got close to me. Back and forth...the only response he could get from the pendulum.


David,
This could have been what happened !
It was at a Wine Tasting event. A Chef had prepared different dishes and fruits to be sampled with the different wines.
The tasting was to show the types of foods to be complimented with the types of wines. Or, vice/versa .
The different foods would change the taste of the same wine.
Because the tasting was based on senses (smell,taste,feel),I did a ESP routine card reveal with the pendulum.
Thought it would be a good example of how senses could be awakened ! Plus,wanted to keep with simple effects...knowing there could be wine spillage in the situation!
The tasting had about 40-50 persons.
All worked out well ! The post was to show anything can happen in real world situations !

-G

The pendulum never fails; it is always perfectly representing what is occurring in the participant's subconscious mind. Regarding pendulums, the best place I've ever read this discussed is in Kenton's Pendulum Programming and he kindly let me share and expand upon this idea in Trybil.

Accepting this can really change the vibe of any ideomotor or suggestion work. I have reframed aloud in this regard but I think the powerful aspect is what you communicate subliminally once you've taken this stance. But if a participant felt they failed, I wouldn't hesitate to let them know that things are working out just as they are supposed to.

Andre, thank you so much for sharing your use of the pendulum with WA. The first thing I reacted to was your suggestion not to use pendulums for yes/no answers but, rather, as affirmations. The emphasis on not creating shuteyes or dependency resonated very strongly with me. I will be pondering just how this might change my own work.

Using the pendulum as you do to select the Tarot cards is a beautiful idea. Maybe Sheree will have to create a WA pendulum!

David, your experience with pendulums and Luna is priceless. What a reward for your inspiration at the spur of the moment.

I see there is a show starting on BBC America tonight called "Bedlam." It is about an apartment complex built on the former location of Bedlam Asylum. Does that sound the least bit familiar to anyone! Apparently they retain the name "Bedlam" as the name for the complex! Imagine "Move right into the delightful Colney Hatch Condos for as little as 5000 down"

When I was in England last May one of my "I'd REALLY like to do this" things was to see Colney Hatch.

As it turned out, the friend we were staying with actually lived very close to it when it was an active asylum when he was a child. He rode his bike through the grounds on his way to school every day. Sheree knew I really wanted to see it -- and she talked our friend into taking us there.

You're right, Bill. It's a luxury condo now. And, while I really REALLY wanted to see the graveyard...it's long gone. No one knew where it was and we scourged the grounds.

I'm working on an PowerPoint introduction for Luna...including a voice over by by friend. Colney Hatch looks like this now:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41659872@N0......tostream

(Well..with a little help from Photoshop.)

But I'd love to spend a whole day kicking around there. There are still some tumble down buildings that whisper bits of what may have happened there...or maybe it's just my admittedly overactive imagination.

I really think Luna is the best book test in the world...especially in an intimate candle-lit setting. Adding the pendulum to the routine makes it an unbelievably powerful presentation. I'm going to build on it again tonight...with a little more scripting.

The thing I REALLY like about it is that it's still essentially the same Luna presentation. Adding the pendulum only strengthens it. The addition is seamless.

David

David,

Your Luna presentation is outstanding!

It will take great willpower on my part not to borrow from it for my Ipswich routine.

Then again, come to think of it, everyone knows I have no willpower.

Rats! I hope you have a forgiving nature.

Andre

Forgiving? Me?

Hmmmm. I guess that depends on whether I've been keeping up with my meds or not.

David

David,

That was incredible! I loved the way you handled this idea.
Thanks for sharing and congratulations, man.

Ale

Bill,

Thanks for your kind words!

Paul,

As you know, I have purchased both books. The Ripper book is great even I you never intend to do a Ripper seance.

David,

Take your meds. I promise not to perform Witches or Luna in Canada.

Andre

Thank you, Ale.

I hardly ever do something like that in a show. When I was learning magic, my mentor was a skinny old guy with a close cropped white goatee -- always perfectly dressed. He ran a magic shop. Anyway -- he told me that if I was EVER going to CONSIDER performing an effect for a AUDIENCE, he expected me to do it 100 times perfectly. And, if I made a mistake ANYWHERE along that 100 times, I had to go back and start over at "1."

I still work that way today. It's great advice because by the time you perform it, you know that prop in nearly every possible way. So it was WAY out of performing character to do what I did on the spur of the moment. It just felt completely right -- and I've been working on adding pendulums to many of my routines. Of course Willard, the aforementioned mentor, would have gotten very annoyed with me.

Andre. I'm fine. And so am I. Me too. So don't worry.

David

Some of you guys work trade shows. If you do, then you know what happens late in the day. Most of the deals have been made. The contracts are written...and everyone has sore feet. It's always felt like THIS is the time where I really earn my money.

Yesterday I was doing a food service show. It was about 3:30 and the show still had another hour and a half to go. The perverse thing is, of course, that pretty much everyone knows it's over -- but they can't start packing things up.

I was in a sleepy little concourse. Customers were poking at food without much interest. What I'm saying is that no one was doing any business...no one seemed interested in doing any business. (Or I wouldn't have done what I did.)

I asked one of the vendors if he'd help me with something. He agreed...and so I asked him (a little louder) if he was familiar with pendulums. He said he wasn't...and so I produced five P***labs ESP cards and my favorite pendulum. As I explained what the cards were, a crowd started to gather. (We're not talking HUGE numbers. Maybe ten people in all.)

I told him that the pendulum was used as an ancient conduit used for centuries. He snorted.

I had him mentally select one of the ESP symbols. I asked him to jot it down inside a wallet (In this case, I was using a T**ug*t Tran**i**er) so that we could verify what symbol he'd chosen later.

He did and then laid the cards down on a table.

Then I showed him how the pendulum worked...how it moved when it was saying "yes" and "no" etc.

I had him shuffle the cards and lay them all face down and I passed the pendulum over each of them and (surprise surprise!) it reacted over the back of his chosen card. He turned it over and looked at it and then back at me. Then he examined the pendulum.

The crowd had doubled at this point. People were drawn by the strength of his reaction...which was both genuine and quite loud.

When we opened the T*****t T*********r and he confirmed that was the symbol he'd drawn -- the whole crowd applauded. I was astounded. The whole energy had been transformed from sleepy to keenly interested...all because of a simple pendulum. I think that's seriously cool.

My volunteer never seen a pendulum before...but he was blown away by what it did. People in the audience hadn't seen one either...but that one effect is what they left talking about. I share this story because it really impacted me.

As I started thinking about Bob's recent book on the Logical Disconnect, I started seeing this effect from the view of the audience. Their reaction was WAY off the charts -- especially when you consider the relative ease of the routine's design.

Here's my question: to those of you who USE pendulums in your routines -- how OFTEN do you find people know what it is...or how to use it?

David

David,
Sort of the same effect I posted doing at the Wine tasting on this thread.
Gets great reactions !

And, for your question...I have had a few women who mothers use and have some knowledge of ,knowing if a baby will be male or female! Not much on the way we use!

-G

Not many are familiar with a pendulum in the sense that we use it, though they may have had some inkling of it as a curiosity , as I did at a very young age.

But note how quickly you got their interest and collected an interested crowd by introducing a pendulum into what was essentially a card trick. If you just pulled out the cards you might have emptied the room.

Pendulums aren't just for grandfather clocks anymore.

Andre

@ David,

I have found that a great majority have an idea on what it is. When I bring the Pendulum out of my pocket for the first time to show them, I let it dangle back and forth for a few seconds. I find doing this (letting it dangle) sometimes creates a visual connection in their mind and that they are able to become somewhat familiar with it before I start "explaining" what the pendulum is/does.

Darren

How long does it take you to get the participant to have an understanding of how the pendulum works? I've found that, since I work so many hospitality suites and corporate events that the amount of time required is in direct proportion to the amount of alcohol they've consumed. But I've ALSO found that once the concept in introduced, people really want to hold the pendulum and give it a try.

I can't think offhand of another prop that seems to affect adults that way.

But usually it takes me about three to five minutes to show them the way it's supposed to perform...and as long as I am absolutely confident, it goes very smoothly. How long for you guys...and do you have a pet way of introducing it?

David

David, I received Alchemy Blue last week and it is stunning. Highly recommend and I think you state that there is only one left! Thanks for throwing in Pablo Amira's Pendulum guide. Its really helpful a newbie like myself!

Having just started down the path of pendulums as well, I have to say David was a great help. He was very quick to reply to my questions and provided a great amount of guidance as well. I recently received one of his/Sheree's Aurora pendulums, and it looks great. With Pablo's guide, those of us who are new to the tool have a starting point. Have not had a chance to get it into a performance yet, but I can already tell it will be a great addition.

Guys: thank you for these kind words. I appreciate them. Feel free to contact me any time. Sometimes I feel like a pendulum evangelist...but I utterly adore these things. I was thinking this morning about the whole new dimension they've opened up for my walkabout and parlor shows.

How can you NOT talk about pendulums? They rock! (Pun intended).

We've JUST posted three new designs -- all build around a "Hand of Zoltar" theme. Both Sheree and I attended MindVention. (That's where the new-and-improved Alchemy Moon was selling a wonderful Zoltar-theme prop. Why is THAT serendipity? Read on...)

After the convention was over, we wound up on Freemont Street in downtown Vegas. We both turned and looked for a long moment a this old Zoltar machine. You know the one? He's an automated fortune teller.

When we looked at each other...we were smiling. Sheree started shooting pictures and I started thinking. (I generally try to avoid thinking because it constipates me.)

So there are six new pendulums...three designs...all created around a Zoltar theme. Two of them feature talismans with special words etched on the bob...and the third...well...it's just plain cool. We're going to add a photo of the Zoltar machine to the new six owners of these pendulums. And there will only ever be six of these things.

ALSO: we will be posting news on our second ebook over the next few weeks. We're hoping to release it near the end of November.

The last book featured new routines from Richard Osterlind, Vic Nadata and many more working pros. For the second book we've gone after the biggest names in mentalism and you are going to be amazed at who's given us unique routines. This book is a wee bit darker...

Thank you to everyone who has been coming by the site. And thank you for your emails. As explained: everything there is hand-made. That's why it takes time to re-stock. We're not in it for the money...and don't expect to make much more than eight or nine million. It's taken a while to get fresh material because I have a full performing schedule and Sheree is crazy-busy...but the pendulum site is never far from our minds. Honest.

Pop by once in a while. The updates are posted on the Home page all the time. And our subscribers at http://www.magicpendulums.com will be the first to get concrete details on the new ebook as well as special discount offers.

It really is a service to the performing community (we ONLY sell to mystery performers) as well as an in-your-face invitation to get more performers using pendulums...so thank you for your patience.

Maybe I'll see you there, huh?

David