Intuition - The Secrets of Mentalists.

Intuition is a feeling that arises from thought or personal judgment following an event, and that gives rise to a particular emotion. Etymologically, the word “intuition” comes from the Latin words intuitio—an image reflected in a mirror—and intueri, with in meaning “in” or “inside,” and tueri meaning “to look attentively, to contemplate.” Intueri therefore refers to the act of looking carefully within oneself. Intuition represents a form of direct and spontaneous knowledge, one that relies neither on experience nor on sensory clues outside ourselves: it is a matter of accessing knowledge that comes from within. The Latin roots of the word take on their full meaning here: a faculty of discernment of the mind.

In our view, Plato best illustrates this definition. At the age of twenty-seven, he was already known for many performances, lectures, comedies, and tragedies. He was one of the most fascinating figures of his time, recognized for his philosophical writing. For him, the world was divided into two categories: one linked to the five senses, which puts us in contact with the outside world; and the other linked to sensations, the invisible, and the world of ideas.

The Swiss thinker Paracelsus (1493–1541), for whom making a prophecy was nothing extraordinary, tried to explain in his work entitled La Prognostication that intuition is what comes into play in this phenomenon; there is neither logic nor magic involved. This deeply spiritual being communicated as readily with the future as with illness; he perceived the physical and spiritual world through an intuitive sense that science has not yet explained.

Intuition is one of the ultimate faculties of the mentalist. Whoever masters it already possesses a certain level of experience. During a performance, for example, it allows the mentalist to sense inwardly and accurately everything around him, so that he can adopt the right attitude and make the right choice at the right moment.

Intuition Experiment

Effect
The mentalist presents five envelopes and explains that a 50-euro note is inside one of them. He offers to put this sum at stake by asking a spectator to call upon their intuition in an attempt to discover which envelope contains the banknote. After several failures, the mentalist opens the final remaining envelope and, of course, retrieves his 50 euros!

Presentation Video

Materials
Five standard envelopes
Six small envelopes
A black marker
A 50-euro banknote

Secret and Presentation
The secret simply consists of hiding one of the envelopes. Here is exactly how to proceed:

Before going on stage, number the five large envelopes with the marker, from 1 to 5, on the side opposite the flap.

Take the five empty small envelopes and place them inside the five large envelopes.

Take the sixth small envelope and slip your 50-euro note inside it. This sixth small envelope is actually hidden behind the large ones, out of sight of the spectators. It is therefore not placed inside a large envelope, and this is where the trick of the experiment lies: every numbered large envelope chosen by the audience will necessarily be empty!

Present the five large envelopes to your audience, explaining that only one contains a 50-euro note. Ask four spectators to choose a numbered large envelope, relying on their intuition to find the one containing the reward.

Each time a spectator chooses an envelope, you discreetly slide and switch the small envelope containing the banknote behind the large envelope that remains in your hand, which, by elimination, will become the mentalist’s envelope.

Ask your four spectators to open their large envelopes. They will discover a small envelope inside.

At the same time, open your own envelope and pretend to take out the small envelope. In reality, you are producing the envelope hidden behind the large envelope—the one containing the 50 euros. With a little practice in front of a mirror, the movement used to switch the small envelope containing the banknote behind the unchosen large envelopes will become very natural, and you will slide it behind the flap of the large envelope to create the illusion that it is coming out from inside.

Hand your small envelope to a fifth spectator so they can make sure you are not going to cheat when opening it.

Ask your four spectators to open their small envelopes. They will discover, to their disappointment, that they are empty!

Ask someone to open your envelope: it contains the 50 euros! You were lucky—this time none of the four spectators had good intuition!

A small piece of advice: do not look too much at the back of your large envelopes while your two thumbs slide the sixth small envelope behind the large envelope that has not been chosen by the spectator. Of course, you can offer this experiment to a single person who makes all four choices rather than to four people. But we recommend using four spectators, because you will see that when you ask everyone to open the small envelopes, it prolongs the suspense and allows you to conceal your manipulation more easily.

Other Experiments Linked to Intuition

Diabolical Intuition

Effect
After placing a red card and a black card on the table, face up, and explaining that they will serve as “witness cards,” the mentalist asks a spectator to indicate, at random and according to their intuition, what color the next card will be: red or black? Depending on the chosen color, he places the card face down on one of the witness cards. He does the same with the rest of the deck. At the end, the cards are turned over for verification: all the red cards are in the “red column,” and all the black cards are in the “black column”!

Materials
A thirty-two-card deck

Secret and Presentation
In this experiment, the roles are reversed, and it is the spectator who becomes the medium.

Secretly prepare the deck by separating the red cards and the black cards, stacking them into two piles.

In front of the spectators, remove one red card and one black card from the deck and announce that these are the “witness cards.” Place them on the table, face up, side by side, to mark out two future vertical columns.

Take the deck of cards in your hand, face down, and lift the first card. Ask a volunteer the following question: “Is this card red or black?” Whatever their answer, place this card on the witness card corresponding to the chosen color, face down.

Take a second card and ask the same question: “And for this card, do you have the intuition that it is red or black?” Place this second card on the appropriate witness card, still face down.

Do the same with the following cards up to the fourteenth card. If the spectator wants to put all the cards on the same color, explain that it is better to keep the piles roughly balanced. At this point in the experiment, each witness card is covered by a certain number of cards. But on both sides, the cards are red—or black, depending on how you arranged your deck; in any case, only one color has been dealt.

Pretend that, to avoid any cheating and to balance the piles further, you are going to place a new witness card on each pile.

Look at the remaining cards in the deck you are holding, without allowing the spectators to see them, and remove one red card and one black card. Place the red card on the pile that is “supposed to be” black, and the black card on the pile that is “supposed to be” red, face up.

Clearly explain to the spectator that the rule of the experiment has not changed and that only the witness cards have switched sides.

Continue placing the cards while asking the spectator about their intuitions. After a few moments, you may even hand them the remaining cards and invite them to continue alone: when they “feel” a red card, they place it face down on the red witness card, and when they feel it is a black card, they place it face down on the black witness card.

Once all the cards have been dealt, two piles of cards are on the table. One pile has a red witness card covered with red cards, then a black witness card covered with black cards. The other pile has a black witness card that is actually covered with red cards, then a red witness card that is actually covered with black cards. One of the piles is therefore perfectly correct, but in the second pile the cards are reversed in relation to the witness cards.

Begin by showing that the intuition experiment has succeeded by turning over the cards from the first pile.

The spectator cannot believe their eyes, and during this brief moment of confusion, remove the witness cards from the remaining pile without touching the other cards.

Gather the cards from the “imperfect” pile and turn them all over to show that all the red cards are together and all the black cards are together too!

Seeing Through Matter

Effect
The mentalist gives a deck of cards to be examined, shuffles it, and asks a spectator to make four piles of cards, face down. After a few moments of reflection, he is able to announce the first cards of each pile!

Materials
A deck of cards

Secret and Presentation
It would be very easy to perform this experiment with a marked deck, but of course, you will be able to shine by borrowing a spectator’s deck of cards. This experiment is based on the “one step ahead” principle.

Give the deck to a spectator to examine and have them shuffle it.

To prove that the deck has been thoroughly mixed, spread the cards and take the opportunity to discreetly look at the last card. Let us suppose it is the jack of diamonds.

Close the deck and place this pile of cards on the table, face down. Do not forget that you know the top card: the jack of diamonds.

Invite a spectator to make four piles. You do not know the top cards of the first three piles; however, you do know the top card of the fourth: the jack of diamonds.

Before lifting the first card of the first pile, announce that it is the jack of diamonds. This is, of course, completely false: you know that the jack of diamonds is on the fourth pile. Do not show this card immediately; keep it in your hand.

Let us imagine that the card you have just lifted—the one you announced as the jack of diamonds—is an eight of hearts. Pretend that the first card of the second pile is an eight of hearts. Lift the card and keep it in your hand, confirming that it is indeed an eight of hearts.

You understand the process. Suppose this second card—the one you announced as the eight of hearts—is a queen of clubs. You will say that the card on the third pile is a queen of clubs.

Do the same for the last card. You now have in your hand the four cards you announced.

Mix your four cards so that the spectators do not realize they are not arranged in the order in which you announced them.

Show that your four divinations are correct!

Beneath the Blindfold

Effect
The mentalist places five oranges on a table, takes one at random, and has it signed by a spectator. The spectator then blindfolds him and slips all the oranges into a bag. After a few seconds of concentration, the mentalist plunges his hand into the bag and pulls out the signed orange!

Materials
Five oranges
A pen
A piece of cloth, the blindfold
A bag

Secret and Presentation
To strengthen the power of this experiment and avoid being accused of cheating, choose oranges that are almost identical.

Before beginning, you must “prepare” one orange: roll it on a table to make it soft. Externally, it remains strictly identical to the others, but by touch, it is immediately recognizable.

Once on stage, show the oranges to the audience.

Pretend to choose one “at random.”

Have it signed by a spectator and ask them to place it in a bag with the four other oranges.

Ask to be blindfolded.

Plunge your hands into the bag: you immediately identify the orange that is softer than the others.

Take the orange out of the bag to prove your gifts!

Subterfuge

Effect
The mentalist hands three pencils to a spectator and asks them to examine them. These pencils are strictly identical—same size, same appearance—except for their color. While his back is turned, he invites the spectator to place the three pencils in his hand, then he turns back around. He is now facing the spectators, and the three pencils are behind his back. He then repeatedly asks which pencil the spectators want to see appear, and, as though he had eyes in the back of his head, he systematically produces the pencil of the correct color!

Materials
Six identical pencils in different colors: for example, two blue pencils, two red pencils, and two green pencils

Secret and Presentation
The secret of this experiment lies in having two identical sets of pencils.

Slip one set of pencils—a blue, a red, and a green—behind your back, either tucked into the waistband of your trousers or wedged between your shirt and trousers, all concealed by a jacket or sweater.

Memorize the order in which these pencils are arranged behind you.

Facing the spectators, propose an experiment and invite one person to examine three pencils: your second set of pencils.

Turn around and ask the spectator to place the three pencils in your hands.

Face the spectators again. Your hands, behind your back, are holding the three pencils. Three other pencils are still hidden under your clothing.

Ask the spectator to name a color. Suppose they say blue.

Take the pencil corresponding to the named color from the set you had previously hidden under your clothing, whose exact position you know.

Show this pencil—the blue one—to the spectator and repeat the experiment several times!

Testimony of a Professional

Alexis Champion, Remote Viewer

Tell us a little about who you are...
I am the founder and director of a small company unlike any other, and I have the immense good fortune to practice a profession unlike any other. I am a professional intuitive, serving companies and various institutions such as the police, the justice system, museums, and so on.

In addition, with my colleagues at Iris Intuition, I train managers, therapists, artists, engineers, and anyone who wishes to develop and use intuition.

A curious activity! Because with intuition, it is preferable to work blind—that is, to know as little as possible, ideally nothing, about the subject on which we wish to use it. To “intuit” is to perceive, and therefore to know, but without clues, without any logical grip on that knowledge. Thus, to show intuition is to know without knowing why one knows! That does not prevent us, however, from knowing how the intuitive phenomenon occurs and how to use it at will.

What is intuition, for you?
That is the question to ask before anything else. I asked it myself about ten years ago, when I left computer research—I earned a doctorate in artificial intelligence in the field of virtual reality—to take an interest in scientific research on the capacities of human consciousness.

Everyone has their own little idea of intuition, their own definition, in short. For some, intuition may be a small inner voice or a sixth sense. Others consider it a certainty, a conviction, an obvious truth, which may take the form of a sensation or a feeling—that “gut feeling,” as the English speakers say. For others, it is a kind of inner wisdom. Creative people speak of inspiration. For scientists, it is revelation, the flash of genius: “Eureka!” It can also mean “having a nose for something,” calling on one’s instinct, listening to one’s heart...

These definitions are all attempts to define the intuitive phenomenon. All these expressions, all these feelings, are accurate when speaking of intuition; they do indeed refer to this notion, which remains, in a certain way, rather mysterious. Intuition has something magical about it. But this magic is allowed to us; it is accessible to us. It comes from what makes up the nature of the universe and of our consciousness. With intuition, the extraordinary can become ordinary, provided we take an interest in this mysterious and intimate ability.

Difficult to pin down, intuition is often defined by what it is not: “It is a form of immediate knowledge that does not use reasoning,” Le Petit Larousse tells us. As a mode of knowledge independent of reason, intuition immediately provides relevant information, without “racking one’s brains,” without calculation, without resorting to analysis, deduction, or logical thought. No starting information is needed; it offers itself spontaneously.

In this respect, intuition is not the result of unconscious reasoning, but the fruit of a particular mode of access to information. All of this tells us astonishing things about intuition. By definition, it is non-reasoning. And reasoning is the ability to make logical links—links between what is perceptible in our immediate environment or accessible to our memory, that is, our past environment.

Thus, in this respect, intuition is faster than reasoning, hence the sensation of immediacy. Since it does not rely on what is already known in order to bring new information, it is not slowed down or limited by space and time, and it can therefore answer all kinds of questions. Intuition is free!

What does science say about intuition?
Thousands of studies have been, and are still being, conducted on intuition. Several dozen laboratories and researchers study it. And the results are astonishing, perfectly reflecting the definition given by the dictionary and what that definition implies.

Thus, we know that intuition exists in each of us and that it is present at every moment. However, we are only aware of what it tells us from time to time. Quite simply, this is because we generally do not pay attention to these messages, nor even to their existence within us.

Science also tells us that intuitive ability allows us to perceive things—whether situations, events, places, people, or objects—without spatial or temporal constraints. Intuition gives us access to here and elsewhere, to the present, the past, and the future.

Thanks to research, we also know that intuition can be summoned, called upon, and used at will. It is enough to have the intention, to open oneself to it, and to know how to recognize its messages among the stream of thoughts and feelings that interfere with it. The intuitive process is now sufficiently well identified for everyone to experience it consciously, provided they undertake some learning. Because yes, using your intuition can be learned—for concrete and effective applications!

How can we use our intuition?
The intuitive mode is a full-fledged physiological process, meaning bodily, and cognitive process, meaning linked to thought. This means that we all possess this ability, and that we can develop it as a real skill, just as we have the ability to learn to swim or play the piano.

In this respect, intuition is not a gift, and intuitive moments are not gifts that fall from the sky. Anyone who practices is sure to become more intuitive. To perceive and know intuitively in an effective way—that is, while remaining centered on one’s intuition and avoiding risky interpretations or projections—it is necessary to follow a few basic rules:

The less you know, the better! Make sure you call upon your intuition before reasoning about the question or problem you wish to resolve.

Clearly define the question on which you wish to use your intuition. Keep it in mind throughout your intuitive exploration.

Ask yourself questions—a whole lot of questions! The more you question yourself, the more your intuition is called upon. Being a good intuitive means, above all, being a good explorer.

Ask yourself sensory questions first, and only afterward conceptual questions. For example, first ask questions to find out concretely what something is like, then ask what it is used for, what happens there, and so on. Always move from the most concrete to the most complex.

Ask yourself open questions, ideally beginning with “how,” in order to describe, perceive, and bring out as much information as possible. If you use “what,” you will tend to create labels and analyze, and this will often be done incorrectly.

Express everything, everything, everything! Speak and write; make sketches. Record everything you perceive, everything you feel, all your ideas.

Sort! It generally happens that our emotions, judgments, and interpretations come into play and mingle with our intuitive perceptions. What we then take for intuitions are in fact expressions of our fears, desires, preconceptions, or projections. Sorting things out and setting aside what is not intuition, what is not being sought, is one of the major keys to learning and using intuition.

Could you give us an exercise in intuitive exploration of a place—a remote viewing experiment?
Let us imagine that we want to explore a mystery place. To explore it intuitively. To find something or someone that might be there, to know where it would be nice to go on vacation, or rewarding and profitable to work, and so on. These places already exist... in your future!

Let us imagine that you are told that the place to be explored intuitively is the one whose photos we will show you in a few minutes—say, fifteen. You can perceive the elements and characteristics of this place; you can perceive its components. In fact, you can know what it is like.

So let us set the intention together that we are going to explore this mystery place that you will discover shortly. Let us be clear: the idea is not for each of you to imagine the place you want, but to describe and experience the place you will learn about at the end of the exercise we are now going to perform.

To do this, I will guide you. I will simply ask you questions, mainly sensory questions: what are the colors of the mystery place, what are the smells like, the textures, and so on. And on your side, each of you will perceive, feel, and have impressions and ideas about this mystery place.

Before beginning, I will ask you to take something to write with: a pencil and a blank sheet of paper. And I will ask you the following question: “What do you think the place is?” The idea here is to become aware of your preconceptions about this place, because preconceptions are generally false.

Next, focus your attention on the fact that from now on, and for the next few minutes, we are exploring and describing the mystery place—the one whose photos you will only see at the end of the exercise.

Here we go!

You are now in this mystery place, in this very specific place. You are human-sized, at ground level.

Observe! What shape comes to mind? What shape do you perceive in this place?

Look! What colors do you perceive?

Touch the place. It does not matter where, but touch it! What does it feel like? What are the textures like? Perceive! Write it down!

What is the hardness of what you are touching? Press on this part of the place; what does it feel like? You can tap on the place. Become aware of the hardness. What is it like?

Now listen! What is the sound atmosphere like? What are the sounds like? Describe the sounds! Write them down!

When you breathe, what does it feel like? Smell! Note what you perceive.

Now it is up to you to continue your exploration alone. Simply remember to explore the following fields:

Basic sensory fields: shapes, colors, textures, surface touch, hardness, weight or masses, density, temperature, tastes, smells, sounds, atmosphere, brightness, forms, size.

In space: from the front, human-sized, at ground level, movements, from above, outside, inside.

Activity: in front of you, around you... Anything else? Something forgotten, a new perception...

Once the exercise is finished, go to the following web page to discover the mystery place:
www.iris-ic.com/lieumystere

And remember this quotation from The Little Prince by Saint-Exupéry:

“What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Alexis Champion