On Jul 11, 2015, IAIN wrote:
I didn't want to cloud the threads of people arguing over mentalism and magic...and what I want to say is a bit further away from that discussion anyway...

but first...

i think that we argue about it from the wrong viewpoint - it ultimately is in the eye of the beholder (or beer-holder)...for some people, no matter what you do or how strong it is - they will internalise it as a trick...might be a mighty fine mystifying one...but a trick regardles...

(insert people who will say the opposite here, but with extreme examples, rather than realistic ones)

there are multiple truths out there - always and forever...that will never change...so people will attribute meaning and labels based from their own viewpoint... and that branches from "its all tricks" to "oh my goodness, he/she is gifted with some kind of psychic ability!" and all things inbetween...

the argument is really one of consistency - if you go to an italian place for food, you would not expect to be served a microwaved chinese ready meal would you? and yet, maybe there's an unusual angle of someone doing an italian-asian influenced/hybrid dish...that might spoil the atmosphere, or it might get people talking...

here's the trouble - its usually exceptionally gifted and talented people who can make it work...and they are few and far between...that doesn't mean you can't try or aim for something different...it just means you have to be very self-critical/honest with yourself...and that is something not very many people are capable of doing...

to support that argument - go watch the early weeks of the x-factor auditions...plenty of people utterly convinced that they are different, already stars, that their way works - when it honestly doesn't...and no amount of telling them will change that...ever...its always someone or something else's fault...they do not see or hear what the world sees...

and that cuts both ways - we may have read all the best italian cookery books, had lessons maybe, tried it out ourselves - and because of that, you think you're on the right path...you might be, but you need to let others taste what you've cooked...YOU might like it, I mean, most people can enjoy the smell of their own farts if they have to (some are proud), but it doesn't mean others wanna try it...

none of this means you have to stop - it just means until you are prepared to stop, share, and take the feedback on the chin, it won't ever change... I mean, you charge ahead and build a restaurant, get the flyers printed, even pay small sites to give you good reviews or even psuedo made up awards for your place (when really you've just be judged against no one else, or people in different categories)...

there's a smart way of doing it though - you can listen, share, try it out... I would say if you got the chance to study under a master of pasta making, you'd wanna grab that chance...because you get to absorb their thoughts - that doesn't mean you copycat...you use them as the backbone, the safety net, safe in the knowledge that something works a certain way... THEN you can experiment, rinse and repeat...take it back to the master pasta maker, and if you feel its going nowhere, you can still thank them for their time and go your separate ways, with respect and honesty throughout...

isn't that wild?

i don't think mentalism will ever die out - because there will always be those out there who want to make a living from it, and will learn the hard way (sooner or later) that the holes in their recipe become too apparent to others,...and again, the ones who become trailblazers, who add something new - we need to acknowledge that we are all not that...sometimes our skills are elsewhere, and what we want to be may not be our best version of "we"...again, never stop trying, yet also if you do discover something in what you do that others can't/won't do - then be glad and work even harder on it....play to your strengths...

i am highly disorganised at times, I do not think I could "work it" full time, and generally I have worked very hard on what I want to achieve, and what my failings are (too many to list)...however, at all times, I have felt it my duty to self-educate as best I can...and part of that is studying and listening to those who HAVE done things that I never could...

if I were a butcher, I would never tell a surgeon how to make a cut - even though both our jobs require dexterity, thought, a subtle touch and deep concentration...even though I understand certain things carry over...and no matter how close they are in some weird ways - they are still different enough for me to try my hand at butchery without consulting a butcher...

there is so much joy to be had in magic and mentalism, why not take pride in the differences? ever looked into the word magician and abracadabra? definitely not cheesy and spangly waistcoated...what is missing is pride and respect more than anything else..

you can learn it all, you can strive to understand all the views out there and find the path that you feel most comfortable walking...reading up on all the greats - don't you see how different they all are? and how some contradict the other? but the thing is, it works for the individual - because they are consistent...

character development is the hardest thing to clarify - especially in this modern age...and yet we worry about the labels we call ourselves, without digging deep into the history of all the allied arts...

here's the funny thing, with this thread - if anyone replies, they will take everything I have said and it will run through their own personal world-view filter... and we will get counter upon counter arguments...

which is perfectly natural - and is the exact same thing people do who watch you entertain others...

my other thought is that sometimes, frameworks and structures can sometimes be so rigid that they become either brittle or too suffocating...and no matter what else is added, it will never be good enough...

do you want what you do to be seen as real? why? what is the positive and negative of that?
do you want what you do to be seen as a possibility? why? pros and cons

what do you want?
why do you want it?
what are its pros and cons?
can you make it interesting, unique and workable?
can you make some kind of living from it? do you want to?
if you do, who would be best to listen to and why?
what if you don't like what you hear? why don't you like it?

we spend too much time asking the small mundane questions on forums, and often steer away from the bigger ones...

On Jul 13, 2015, JarJarJared wrote:
I have also not been paying attention to that thread, mostly because everyone continues to feel like it is necessary to argue again and again over semantics. It fascinates me. Everyone seems to have this constant obsession with having everyone else agree with them on words and terms that have only sprouted in to this world very recently. We should stop trying to define these words through more words within a forum, and start trying to define them through our own performances and experiences as mentalists, magicians, and whatever else in between.