Telekinesis - The Secrets of Mentalists.

Is it possible, as in a science-fiction film, to move or deform an object from a distance using only the power of one’s mind? Can cerebral processes physically influence the fall of a die or set an inanimate object in motion?

In the past, in the Greco-Latin tradition, the term “electric fire” was well known and referred to the production of electrical phenomena, or magnetic power, by a person in the atmosphere. “To affirm, at the elementary level, the reversibility of knowledge and organization is to affirm the possible action of mind upon matter,” said the great theorist Olivier Costa de Beauregard (1911–2007), research director at the CNRS.

Telekinesis, or psychokinesis, is the ability to move objects from a distance without any apparent physical intervention. It relates to anything physical and in motion, and may be conscious or unconscious. This phenomenon is described as “paranormal,” since it has been the subject of studies that, scientifically speaking, have attracted little attention because of their lack of reliability. In mentalism, however, it is very popular and highly spectacular, allowing for impressive demonstrations such as bending a spoon, making metal objects move, or shifting them from a distance. In reality, in most cases, the metal is bent by the magician right under the spectator’s eyes without the spectator noticing!

In 1973, in Great Britain, the young Israeli Uri Geller managed to perform a telekinesis experiment during his televised shows before scientists and journalists, who remained captivated by his metapsychic powers. The strangest experiment, the one that made him famous throughout the world, consisted of making watches start working from a distance through the television screen.

Although he is still considered a charlatan by certain magicians who believe only in illusionism or traditional techniques, it was thanks to him that the existence of a “true psychokinetic magic” found its place in the world of entertainment through his interactive technique, characteristic of mentalism. In other words, he directly involved the spectator in his experiments, with the artist present only to accompany the process and to provoke in the spectator a sudden questioning of their own hidden gifts.

Today, Uri Geller no longer performs, but gives lecture-shows on the power of the mind for major companies such as Google, IBM, Sony, and others. Which goes to show that mentalism can lead anywhere...

Telekinesis, like magnetic passes, when associated with a supposed ability to hypnotize people, greatly helps the mentalist in plunging the audience into a paranormal atmosphere. The mentalist’s resources range from simple appearance—making people believe in extrasensory abilities—to physical facts described as impossible, such as intracorporeal or distant mental action, passing through the simple belief of the spectator.

The use of “gimmicks” — see Glossary — or invisible threads, along with a good dose of staging, is generally enough to create the illusion of this phenomenon...