Mental Rubik By Pablo Amira.pdf

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MentalRubik Written by Pablo Amirá Thanks for respecting this art and keeping this document to yourself.

Copyright: © 2018 Pablo Amirá All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher

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You make different colors by combining those colors that already exist. Herbie Hancock

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Table of Content Introduction Which Cube? 1. Rubik Opener: A fantastic routine from my professional repertoire, with audience interaction and a prediction to start your act in a credible and powerful way. 2. Thought-of-Color: Your participant THINKS in one of the colors, then you can solve that thought-of-color using a blindfold!. No billets, no preshow. 3. Rubik Choice: A modern test of clairvoyance. Your participant selects a color from “color cards” in a “double bind” manner, and you are still able to reveal the unknown color using the cube! A hands-off colored miracle that adds visual elements to your act. Preferred Method and Extra Ideas

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4. Triple Rubikction: A fun triple prediction using your Rubik’s cube in a new and simple manner. No gimmicks, no secret writing! 5. Modern Aura: A new and fun reading system using any ungimmicked Rubik’s Cube 6. TOR: Three participants onstage, thinking in a color. You can READ THEIR MIND. No electronics, no peeks.

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Introduction Welcome to “MentalRubik” my dear reader, thanks for your interest in my ideas in approaching the classic “Rubik´s Cube” as tool for our performances. Mentalism doesn’t “need” to be visual, but it is very interesting to play with different options to create more drama, memorable images using common objects and for us as Master of the Mind is congruent to be able to use this classic puzzle for our demonstrations and pieces. In this eBook you will find simple to execute routines that you can use in your act, just using a ungimmicked Rubik’s cube and some extra props and tools. As soon as you show the Rubik´s Cube to your audience, people will remember his own experiences with it, and as a curious item, you will create attention. Are you ready for that? Use your cube and allow people to experience some entertaining, interesting and mystifying moments. I hope that you can learn a little bit of that with this work, Take your cube, and let’s go! Pablo Amirá, 2018

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Which Cube? As you know, each of these routines uses a completely ungimmicked Rubik’s cube, but I prefer the one that I offer at the site for several reasons: 1. Quality and fluid movement 2. Stickerless, so you don’t need to replace stickers or use a damaged one, which can look unprofessional. 3. Normal size, 3x3 look that everyone knows 4. Vibrant colors (much more than the original one even) that are better seen on stage. So, that’s the reason that I prefer to offer the cube that I actually use in performance, but you can use the one that you have without problem

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Rubik Opener History This was one of my first routines that I create with Rubik´s Cube, years ago, before all the madness with instant solving and mainstream use. I wanted to use the colorful object of a Rubik’s cube as opener routine to involve the audience in a fun dynamic, which don’t only let them enjoy a moment of mental demonstration, but apparently also a psychic premonition.

Outer Reality The performer takes a Rubik´s Cube and a paperball, which uses to select a participant to be on-stage to be a “ApplauseMeter”. He will carefully hear the applauses for the audience in a moment. Now the performer invites everyone in the audience to think in one of the colors from the cube, and after several moments of applause, the participant onstage says that the “GREEN” was the chosen color. After this the performer asks for a 20 seconds countdown to the audience to start solving the chosen color. (Hopefully) the performer solves the target color receiving a cold applause, which transforms into a great one, full of mystery, as soon as he points the attention to a bag which was in full view from the beginning, which contains a piece of paper which predicts correctly the chosen color! 12

Inner Reality Rubik Opener is a fantastic routine that you can use to open your set, which includes audience interaction, a lot of applauses, a credible demonstration and a simple mystery to start your evening of psychic miracles. For this routine you need a paperball which contains one of the potential predictions (lets say BLUE) , a 5-Out MultiVelvet Bag(which contains the others possible predictions) and your Rubik’s cube. If you don’t know, the MultiVelvet Bags are part of our line of products at Arkanosophy, and they are versatile tools for performance. http://multivelvet.blogspot.com/ A normal looking velvet bag that can contain up to 5 outs, showing it empty after removing the prediction. If you don’t have “MultiVelvet Bags”, I will offer you other solutions in the “Extra Ideas” section. So, take folded pieces of paper, write your predictions and set-up them in your MultiVelvet Bag in alphabetical order: 1. GREEN 2.ORANGE 3.RED 4.YELLOW 5.WHITE Because BLUE is in the paperball, we are ready!

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At the beginning of your performance, keep your “MultiVelvet Bag” visible but don’t mention it. In this manner if your participant (as Human Applause-Meter) chooses the BLUE, you just need to use the paperball as prediction and because there was not expectation with the bag, it will be invisible. In other case, you will place attention to the bag. You can use a wineglass to keep it visible and in a vertical plane in your staging.

This routine offers a nice combination of methods as you can read, but the most important is the fun dynamics that you can create. Throwing the paperball, asking the participant to be a “Human Applause-Meter”, letting the audience applaud, 14

solving the named color in 20 seconds or less (sometimes I just can reach the color to 20 seconds, and that’s a new door for entertainment as you can imagine), the small increscendo of impressiveness from the solving feat that finally the great moment of mystery that can be elicited for the prediction. Study each of those moments so you can take as much as you can from them. As you can imagine, the audience is participating and it is part of the entertainment, following the Bob Cassidy-Major Effect Theory, which works perfect in Openers.

After you solve the proper color, direct focus into the proper place to reveal your prediction (either the paper ball or the bag) “I am not the best in solving cubes of course, but I came here to read your minds and predict some decisions…” 15





and you can finish your performance with a nice moment of Mentalism.

Extra Ideas 1. If you have a MultiVelvet Bag, you can also use it without paperball, but using a double card with the first one (BLUE AND GREEN). In this manner you can create expectation about the bag previously the solving. 2. If you don’t have a MultiVelvet Bag, you can use a Kizmet Envelope, Himber Wallets with Double Envelopes, Body Loads, or our Incognito Bag as well http://incognitobagmentalism.blogspot.com/ 3. Be in touch with Arkanosophy, because maybe soon I will release a new style of bag that will allow “Rubik Opener” in a new manner and much more. 16

Inspiration and References The use of a Rubik´s Cube in Mentalism goes back to John Riggs (which personally showed Mr. Rubik the Blindfold Rubik Cube Solving), Richard Osterlind and many others. The paperball as multiple out for prediction is a classic approach again, done by many.

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Take 6 business cards and write each color. Now you have “Rubik´s Cards” that you can use for several routines! Use your creativity and you will realize that you can create new options

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Thought of Color History Years ago I had a dream (literally) in which someone thought of a color and I was able to reveal it using the Rubik´s Cube. Nothing written, just pure apparent mindreading. Well, this is one of the approaches that I came up after that dream, which combines principles in harmony to create this fun moment of mystery. Outer Reality A participant is asked to think in one of the colors from the Rubik´s Cube. Then the performer places himself a blindfold and using his apparent mind abilities, is able to solve the color with 100% certainty. Inner Reality The Outer Reality sounds fantastic, right? And it is for your audience! ALWAYS remember that. It doesn’t matter the method, the most important aspect is what the audience experiences. Yes, we have a small compromise in this approach, which is Dual Reality. The participant onstage will be secretly cue to think in one of the colors, but he still will experience mystery experience. So in terms of props you just need your Rubik´s Cube and a Blindfold (I use the “Universal Blindfold, available in 20

http://universalblindfold.blogspot.com/ , but you can use anyone that suits you. I don’t recommend you to use “Sleeping Masks”, they are not aesthetic. Believe me, I learnt by real experiences. So, the audience will experience what you read in the “Outer Reality”, but because you will secretly communicate to your participant the color, he will experience mystery due the fact you will be able to solve the color using the blindfold. In technical terms, we will use the “shoulder tap” cueing technique (from Tarbell) that will allow you to secretly communicate the color to your participant, and after this the down-the-nose peek using the blindfold to secretly watch at KEY moments, so you can solve the color. So, invite your participant onstage and say: “In here we have a Rubik´s Cube, please mix it a little bit (to the audience) we will try now an experiment in mind-tomind connection which needs collaboration and team effort…” This words will prepare your participant to understand in the near future that he needs to cooperate. After this place the cube in front of your participant with your left hand (you are at his left side), so your right arm will be naturally free and placed in a perfectly blocked space.

“AS you can see, we have 6 different colors, and in a moment you will feel (tap the participant´s back) what is the correct one to place in your mind, ok? 21

The colors are Green, Yellow, Red, Blue (tap the participant), White and Orange… Do you get a feeling about one of the them?” If you read that script without the parenthesis, that’s what the audience is hearing of course, and sounds congruent for both realities. The audience understand the “feel” just as an internal sensation, but clearly the participant will understand that he needs to focus in BLUE (or whatever color you want) Once your participant agrees with your last question, you will say: “Excellent, keep that color in mind, because I will try to solve that color in the Rubik´s Cube, but adding a mysterious factor, I will be completely blind. I didn’t bring my eyeremoval kit, so let’s use a blindfold”. That last comical line defuses the focus from the procedure. As you can read also, the “mysterious factor” line works for both realities. The participant will understand that even if the color is secretly communicated, he will not know how you will solve the cube. In here you can add a small moment of subtext, in which you will just stare the cube from all sides for a few seconds. This can offer the participant the idea that you are “memorizing” the cube, so you will not use “psychic powers” to solve it, rather just memory. This is a silent “double bind” that allows the participant to choose between 22

“memorization” and “psychic sensing of colors while blindfolded”, but never about “peeking” Remember this is “subtext”, YOU DON’T NEED TO SAY IT. Ask the participant to blindfold you and to be at your back, so he doesn’t see which side you will start to solve. Pass your hand on top of the cube and say: “Focus in the color that you have in mind” …while you will start to solve the blue side. “I sense some calm… I think that I need to do this…” Calm is normally associated with blue, so you can give small hints and dramatic images. This is a moment in which you can have tension that then you can release at the revelation. Remember that you don’t need to peek at all times, just move your head to your right and peek at some moments using just your left eye, to check which algorithm you need to use. As soon as you know which movement to do, close your eyes. After you solve the thought of color say: “Ok, I feel that I am done. I solve one color I believe; I am not sure…Please tell everyone which is the color that your are thinking” The line “tell everyone”, again, works for both realities. The participant understands that for real this is the first time that everyone will know the color. 23

Your participant will say “BLUE” and then you can take your blindfold to check your correct result. Congratulate the participant and say: “You are amazing and you have a lot of focus. If people asks you about this you will say “It is all about feelings”, right?” This is fun line that ensures that the participant will keep the mystery for others.

Extra Ideas 1. If you are in a table, you can cue the participant touching his shoe (in a soft manner). 2. Also you can hold secretly a small piece of paper in your palm that says “THINK IN BLUE”, placing it in “finger palm” position. At the moment in which you show the participant the cube, you will ask him to look carefully and to just let one color be part of his mind. 3. You can also use the “Rubik Cards” forcing one of them to your participant and have a different way to do this routine

Inspiration and References Inspiration goes to my mentor Kenton Knepper and his concept of Dual Reality. Several other performers have used the “Secret Tap” at the back for his routines, such as Luke Jermay. 24

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Rubik Choice History In my beginnings in Mentalism I loved the “Corinda-Third Choice”, and I played a lot with the basic method and dynamics that the methods offer. One of the best routines that I came up in terms of structure and dramatic moments is “Rubik Choice”, in which the clairvoyant nature of the choice offers interesting options. Outer Reality A participant is invited to experience something strange and fun using a Rubik´s Cube. Six different cards, each one with the Rubik´s Colors are placed in envelopes. The six envelopes are mixed and one by one the participant eliminates one. In each elimination, the performer feels a solving-movement to do with the cube. After five moments of elimination, only one envelope remains, and only one color was solved by the performer. The card is taken from the envelope, and indeed was the correct color! Inner Reality If you know “Corinda-Third Choice”, you know the core method for “Rubik´s Choice”, which is basically a force using double-face cards and envelopes. It is a beautiful and simple technique that you can use now, using a Rubik´s Cube and adding this extra element of slow-solving that looks dramatic and fun. 26

So you need 6 envelops and 6 prepared card (my cards are in Spanish, but yours needs to be in your native language of course) You need one of your business cards (BLUE or AZUL in this case) which goes on the top. The other five cards are double blank (which can be naturally double blank or just your own business cards glued so looks like double blank) with the other colorsl This is one of the sides:

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And this is the other:

So the handling is simple. You take the six envelopes, and the six cards in the configuration of the first picture. While you show them one by one, you place them into envelopes, which you hand to your participant to mix. Then you can mix them a little more (to create double bind situation) and even your participant after this can mix them a little more. Play with your options.

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“Now let’s use our intuition. You will use it to eliminate one of the envelopes, I will try to sense which moves I need to do…” Now allow the participant to hand you one, to throw one into the air, to crumple the envelope, as you want. After the participant does his elimination, you will start to solve the cube to show the “blue” side, or whichever you force of course. In this moment, staging is important preparing the final revelation. Be sure that the participant is in downstageleft and yourself in center-stage.

After his final elimination, you need to solve the “blue side”. “It is interesting, and I didn’t do it consciously, but that is how intuition work. As you can see, I solve one of the sides…the blue color, and this only makes sense if…”

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Now take the final envelope from the participant hands, while you hand him the cube showing the blue side, and remove the card from inside. In this moment you have two situations: 1. If you really have the “Blue” card with the “business card back”, you can show it for real without worries about angles. 2. If you get one of the double-face cards, take it in a way that you show just the “blue” side to your audience and participant. After showing the “blue” side, you can place it on top of the envelope so you cover the other side. As you can see, a great variation of a classic which now gets colorful moments Extra Ideas 1. If you don’t want to use the envelopes, you can simply hand the cards to your participant at his back, asking him to mix them and to hand you one at his back. As you can understand, the routining changes, so if you want to get rid of the envelopes, you can work this handling. 2. You can also use the “Rubik Cards” and Equivoque to create the “sight-unseen” decision. 3. You can play not just with playing cards (as in the original) but ESP Cards, Emotion Cards and other types.

Inspiration and References Inspiration obviously from Corinda-Third Choice. Other performers that have work in this routine are Steve Fearson and Jay Sankey. 30

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Keep your “red side” solved. Ask a member of the audience to name a color. If he names “Red”, you have a direct revelation. If not, just ask him to join you on stage, and use that color as target to solve it using a blindfold, or other routine of your preference. If you know Max Maven-Disposable Color, you can use “BLUE” as well.

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Preferred Method and Extra Ideas I don’t want to be the next “Cube Expert” so I don’t study much the Rubiks Cube really. I learnt years ago the classic method, and that’s what I use. It is not the fastest one, but for my own use, I don’t need more than that. In here you can learn that method for free: Video: https://www.rubiks.com/solve-it/3x3/ Written: http://lghttp.38568.nexcesscdn.net/8013252/pdf/uploads/ge neral_content/Rubiks_cube_3x3_solution-en.pdf And in this video you can see me solving a cube, showing you the steps: https://youtu.be/qbrvAo9Wn-E

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Triple Rubikction History The power of “three” is everywhere and in Mentalism is not exception. There are several routines that involves three moments of mindreading or triple predictions, and in this routine we will use the Rubik´s Cube as visual aid to force one of the colors to get part of the method that we need. Outer Reality The performer shows a Rubik’s Cube and three business cards, which will be used to create an interesting “shared visualization” experiment with three different persons from the audience. The performer takes a business card, looks someone for a moment, writes something and drops it on top of the Rubik’s Cube. The performer asks the participant to imagine that he is on a “Transparent Room”, and suddenly he sees someone that he loves in that white room. The participant says “ANDREA”, which was is his friend. The performer now takes a 2nd business cards and while he watches for a few seconds to a 2nd participant, he writes something and leaves it on top of the Rubik’s Cube. The 2nd participant imagines this same “Transparent Room”, but names an object that he sees floating in there. The participant names “BALL”. Finally, the performer writes one more time a 3rd prediction, now taking the Rubik’s Cube and asking a participant to imagine that this “Transparent Room” will be filled by one color. After some free decisions, the participant chooses “GREEN”. Slowly the performer takes the cards showing that 35

the color predicted was indeed “GREEN”, the object predicted was “PAPERBALL” (similar) and the name was “ANDREA”, showing that indeed the mind is powerful Inner Reality This is a classic of Mentalism (Triple Prediction) which features an interesting “shared visualization” dynamic and a nice force of any color using a normal Rubik´s Cube. For this you just need 3 business cards, a marker and your cube. The core methods for this routine are one-ahead and a force using Equivoque, so as you can imagine, when we apparently are writing the name prediction, we are actually writing the color prediction. In the 2nd phase while we are apparently writing the objet prediction we are writing the name prediction and finally in the moment in which we write apparently the color prediction we write the object prediction. Sometimes “Triple Prediction/Mental Epic” routines fail in the decrescendo mistake, revealing at the end the force (in this case the color but normally a playing card), the “too impossible” revelations (ANYTHING FROM THE WORLD, ANYTHING FROM THE UNIVERSE, and a playing card?) and also the lack of narrative structure. In this case we solve everything in this cool “Transparent Room” imagery, which I love. You meta-communicate that actually people are connected enough that they can “collectively imagine” (I explore a similar narrative in my E5P eBook)

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So, as you see, it is all about the four “C”: Be Credible Be Commanding Be Charming and Be Charismatic. As soon as you write your final prediction, you will place it on top of the pile (which is in 3-1-2), which is on top of the Rubik´s Cube, and while you take the cube to hand it to your last participant (which will use the cube to create the random selection) you will just take boldly the card from bottom and place it on top. That simple move will allow you to to reveal all three predictions in order. Now the Equivoque sequence that we will do with the cube is very easy and use a move that I also use with a die called “Pinch Equivoque” Let’s say that your force the color “GREEN”: “Please take a cube, as you can see is not mixed, and we will keep it like that. Throw it into the air one time and catch it so it lands in a random way. We will take some decisions to eliminate five colors until we reach only one, to paint this transparent room… Put it in your open left palm…excellent, now you have the option to grab the cube in a pinch from any side…now...”

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The action of “pinch” is ambiguous enough to allow you to eliminate the colors that your participant is hiding with his fingers, or selecting them because he is touching them. So if your participant pinches the yellow and white (anyone which is not your forced color) for, you will use the “pinch” action as elimination, but if the participant pinches the green and blue, you will frame that action as selection. Let’s see the first case: “Excellent, so visible we have the red, the blue, the orange and the green… Imagine that two of those start to float into the air. Which ones do you see?” a. If the participant doesn’t name, the force color: “Excellent, so only two remain in the cube. Imagine now that I take one of those colors. It can be the green or the X (the one that remains). Tell me…which one I take?” This line is ambiguous enough, so you can place focus in GREEN, doesn’t matter which one the participant names. b. If the participant names the force color, add: “and I grab one of those… which one I grab?” This line is ambiguous enough, so you can place focus in GREEN, doesn’t matter which one the participant names. 38

Let’s see the 2nd case, in which the participant pinches the green and blue. “Excellent, so you are touch the…. blue and green... like jazz… (joke for jazz lovers) But now imagine that I take one of them, which one it is?” This line is ambiguous enough, so you can place focus in GREEN, doesn’t matter which one the participant names.

So as you can see, we can arrive in a direct and simple manner to any color using Equivoque and a Rubik Cube. If you want to learn more about the wonderful uses of Equivoque, we can schedule “Skype Sessions” and work in that http://mentalismcenterskypesessions.blogspot.com/

Now you just need to reveal the predictions one by one, going into an in crescendo in rational and emotional terms.

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Extra Ideas 1. You can also use the Rubik’s Cube as a stand to keep the business cards in a vertical manner.

2. I prefer to use the cube itself, but you can also use the “Rubik Cards” for this force, using Equivoque, PATEO or the Suggestion Force from “Ideas about Pendulums” book.

Inspiration and References There are several different versions of the “Triple Prediction” and “Mental Epic” that you can study. Paul Romhany-Mental Epic Compendium is a great source for inspiration. 40

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Modern Aura This is a fun, light, conversational and colorful reading system that you can use, using your Rubik´s Cube. By any means being “light” is synonym as “weak” at all. You can explore a lot if intuitive insights and powerful conversations with your participant/client, but for the nature of the prop, I prefer to not give a serious attitude to it. With “Modern Aura” you can find new insights to questions about the future and/or observe the participant´s present (and predict the future). Again, I will explain you just the basic system, you can expand it as you desire. Synchronicity can be observed using cards, runes and this case, a random action such as mixing a cube to get a random assortment of colors. For this you can use a mixed cube or a solved one. The most important aspect of it is to let the participant mix the cube and choose one of the sides while he/she thinks in a question, or just meditate to focus into the present. The basic aspect of Modern Aura is based in Color and Aura Readings. If I feel that my participant is interested in the esoteric, I can explain that all colors in the Aura are in the Cube and this selected pattern actually matches his present energy, so it is a physical manifestation of the energetic here-and-now. 42

If not, I just go directly to the reading without mention it. Color Meanings: White: Purity, Newness, Innocence, Spirit, Truth Red: Grounded, Passion, Centered, Powerful, Emotional Orange: Healthy, Vitality, Creativity, Adventure Blue: Calm, Intuitive, Healing, Teacher Green: Enthusiastic, Optimistic, Growth, Balance Yellow: Positivity, Joy, Learning, Openness, Harmonies You will observe the side that your participant chooses, the predominance of one particular color, the patterns and others small details that only experience can teach you. Also we can see the “middle” color as the predominant aspect to focus in the reading. You can observe symmetry focusing in one color, balance between two colors, symbols that you can see, and also mix other systems such as Dan Dent-Cubacle and also the wonderful principle of Richard Webster-Psychometry from A to Z. You can also split the selected face in three parts as well. The first column will be the past, the middle one the present and the third column will be the future. Again, this will be just an introductory approach to the world of Color Readings using the options that a Rubik’s Cube offers. If you know about Readings in the entertainment context, you know that there is not just the system that you use, but also the Cold Reading that you can offer to your participant, 43

validating both the psychological aspects and also the psychic/intuitive ones that you can feel, all focused in the entertaining and constructive experience of conversation and collaboration. Let’s see some real world examples (from my own experience): How Long Will I Live?

As you can see, we have an interesting balance of color. Two reds, two blue, two green and two white, only one yellow. The patterns that you can observe are highly diagonal, with more tendency of upper left to bottom right (only the red diagonal goes to the upper position), so you can open the 44

focus to those aspects as part of the important inner responsibility to create a great and “long life”. Obviously in here don’t go to quantity of years, rather focus in the quality of life as a constant reminder that each day is our gift, to experience as fully as we can. In readings we can use “pacing” in conscious manners to understand that we are the ones who know how to read the indicators, always keeping a positive language and constructive attitude. “So, as you can see we have a balance of colors. Two reds, two blues, two whites and two greens. You are a very balanced person that obviously takes risks and enjoys different things but at the same time you always comeback to your center, to your natural core. You are a grounded person, full of potential, that can take also some personal moments to be calm, intuitive and your own teacher. That makes sense? As you can see, the greens are at opposite sides. This leads me to believe that sometimes you feel that your personal processes of growth and expansion are limited not just for the external factors, but you even feel sometimes that water just slips through your fingers and you are aware of this after the fact, right?...but again, your centered nature (point to the red at the middle) allows you to continue your path and learn from experiences. In terms of your question, it doesn’t matter really how long in terms of numbers, but in terms of quality. As you can see, at this moment in life you are balanced but this colors also tell us that if you focus a little more in your own spiritual 45



side, in your truth (point to the white), you can achieve a better life that don’t depends in quantity, but in quality. That makes sense? Thanks for your time, and I hope that you remember these moments as a colorful experience…”

This is just a small example of a reading. You can expand much more if you feel that the context is appropriated. We could make reference to the main center color (red) and how it is the only diagonal that goes up, the polarity between white and blue, the interconnection between blue and red, the expansion between white and green and much more. Again, just open your eyes, contemplate that color diagram and you will start to see patterns, symbols and other characteristics that you can interpret, pacing the observations with the readings that you are offering. Again, remember to be OPEN Optimistic Positive Engaging Natural The last line is one that I always say at the end of a “Modern Aura” reading, to close the moment with an interesting metaphor.

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Let’s see other example: What's in my Child's Future?

As you can see in here we have an interesting predominance of green, which is also the center color. Also a couple of white in line, and mirror image yellow-blue. “The question alone tells me that you are a very caring mother, which also is not just worried about the future, but understand that the future is constructed in the present. Your child is a male? Ok… Your center color (point to the green) is the most predominant, and green is about hopes, dreams, positive 47



attitudes and the inner power. The question that I feel that synchronicity offers you is “What am I doing today to create a better future for my child?” I feel that you are already doing everything that love is telling you, and I am thankful for mothers like you. How is the play-time with your child? As you can see yellow and blue are mirror opposite images, and that maybe relates to keep the optimism and also take care of the quality time that you can have with him. Listen to him, let him know that you love him in verbal and non verbal manners. In the moment that he commits a mistakes or does something incorrect, connect with your inner compassion and let him know that besides anything, your love to him ins unconditional. The future is unknown, but as you can see in the white, if you keep a child-like innocence of astonishment and you actually learn from him, that also can allow you to be a better mother for him. Let him know that the future is constructed daily with our actions, and you can offer him company in his own path in life. So the future comes bright, full of new surprises and some complex learnings of course, but always remember that growth in life (point to the green colors) are better received with a smile and a grateful attitude. That makes sense? Thanks for your time, and I hope that you remember these moments as a colorful experience…”

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Again, this is just a brief example, taking just some of the aspects of the color diagram. I hope that you can use “Modern Aura” in your next event or just as a fun mysterious exploration of synchronicity, symbols and colors for anyone, anytime, using any Rubik´s Cube.

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TOR History I love the dynamic of the classic David Hoy-Tossed Out Deck, and as soon as I learnt the fantastic Patrik Kuffs-TOC, I wanted to created a version using just a Rubik’s Cube. In here you will learn a version that allows you to reveal colors instead of playing cards, in a different and very direct manner. Outer Reality Three participants are invited to stage, to think in a color using a Rubik’s Cube, meanwhile the performer looks away completely. Then, without questions or fishing, the performer can reveal all three colors with 100% certainty Inner Reality TOR (Tossed Out Rubik) is a fantastic example of a underused method that combined with other subtle characteristic of a Rubik´s Cube can create a wonderful routine that it is only imagined with expensive electronics. This routine uses nothing more than your ungimmicked Rubik´s Cube and a good friend from the audience which will work with you as a confederate. Please, don’t turn this page yet…The works is very simple.

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Methods are that, valid tools. I will offer you after a “oneman version”, but open your mind if you feel that using a confederate is not for you. So, you need to teach your friend (normally a fellow performer in the audience) two simple ideas: 1. The opposite colors of the Rubik: Because the centers in the cube never moves, we can find three pair of colors that are always opposite each other a. White and Yellow b. Blue and Green c. Red and Orange This is VERY easy to memorize. So if you instruct a participant to mix the cube and to quickly place the cube in front of his face to see the colors, and to focus just in the center one, is very easy to know which one he is looking. Just look the opposite one and you are done! So if your confederate watches the opposite face and sees green, he knows that the participant is watching blue as his color. 2. Cueing the colors: Because we have 6 colors to cue, the confederate on the audience will use his hand as a way to communicate you the color that your participants onstage are thinking and we are literally use “sign language”

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Obviously you just need the first letter: White: Three fingers in W Form Yellow: Pinky and Thumb Blue: Open palm with thumb crossing Green: Fist with thumb, wrists move slightly Red: Fingers crossed Orange: Just a “O” with the fingers

So, invite your participants onstage (lets say that his names are Paul, Peter and Bob), let him know that they will think in a color from the Rubik’s Cube, turn your body away while you give the instructions and stage your participants in “downstage center” so your confederate can do his work easily. To each participant ask him to mix the cube for a few moments and then to place the cube in front of his eyes. From that moment then you will guide him to think in the center one. At that moment your confederate will see the 53

opposite color, and remember each color for each participant. After all the procedure, ask the last participant to mix the cube one more time and to leave it outside your reach of vision (this indirectly suggest that the colors change every time). Ask the participants now to take a step back and to each one to close his eyes, visualizing his color. At this moment you will take the “downstage center” space and while you say: “Paul, focus in your color now…” At this moment, just look to your confederate and interpret his “Sign Language”, so you can know the thought of color form the first participant. Repeat this with all three. Once you have the colors, you can improvise and play with your revelations. As you can see, a fantastic, low-tech method that you can perform anytime, anywhere, using your couple or a friend that knows the simple two steps.

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Extra Ideas 1. If you have a thumper, you can use that as well instead of the “Sign Language” Cue 2. If you don’t want to use a confederate on the audience, you can just do an Annemann-Mystery of the Blackboard style peek and know the thought of colors instantly.

Inspiration and References Inspiration from Patrik Kuffs-T.O.C. , which you can find in his DVD “Mind Stunts Vol 1” and obviously David Hoy-Tossed Out Deck.

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Conclusion Thanks for your interest and the time that you invest in “MentalRubik”. As you can see, performance is not just about the “effect”, but it is about the complete experience that you can bring to your audience and participants. Stagecraft is important to create the methods and to cocreate the needed context. Script your routines, take advantage of the moments that a simple Rubik´s Cube can offer you and be open to let new ideas arrive to your mind. Anything that you need, just contact me at [email protected]

All the best Pablo Amira, 2018

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