Magic Words

Dear Friends:

Our guest columnist this month is team member Daryl Rogers. He is an Instructor at the Magic & Mystery School, acts as Assistant Media Manager for the school’s online classes and broadcasts, and is Producer of the Magic & Mystery School’s ‘Wisdom Wednesday’ programs.

Magic Words
by Daryl Rogers

“Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” – Albus Dumbledore

Words Create Reality

As magicians, we use words to create a reality for our audience. We carefully craft and edit our scripts to say exactly what we want to say, in the manner we wish to say it, with no extraneous verbiage. The words we use may tell something about ourselves, relate a story, describe our actions, or may be used in other ways to entertain, as we present a magic routine. These words, if organized and presented correctly, weave a spell for our audience, and create an entertaining and engaging memory of experiencing magic.

The words we use to communicate with others, not only relay our perception of our reality to them, but also recreate a reality for ourselves. For example, vocalizing a state of emotion tends to bring that emotion into being. If someone asks you how you are feeling, and you say “great!” that can influence the way that you actually feel. Words have the power to create realities, not only in magic shows, but in our lives as well.

THE Magic Word

When speaking of magic words, the first one that comes to mind for most people is “abracadabra.” The exact origin of the word is unknown. It makes its first appearance in print in the second century in the work Liber Medicinalis by Serenus Sammonicus. Sammonicus describes the word as meaning “let the thing be destroyed.” Those suffering medical afflictions would use it as a charm, and the ever-decreasing text would likewise cause the condition to disappear as well. 

Several popular folklore explanations are associated with the word – phrases in Hebrew that mean “I will create as I speak,” or in Aramaic, “I create like the word.” These meanings, though perhaps less historically accurate, are more in keeping with the meaning of the word as used by modern conjurors, if, in fact, the modern conjurer uses any “magic word” at all. We see an ever-declining use of traditional magic presentations in favor of modern, post-modern, and “organic” performances that deliberately avoid most, if not all, pretensions to classic magic style.

Magic needs a causality, and that is the essence of what the magic word invokes. What is your causality? The waving of a Sharpie? The muttering of a double entendre? A witty bon mot? You need to ask yourself if those choices are any more effective to your audience than the traditional, known, and acknowledged “true” magic word of abracadabra. If you take some time to explain the meaning of the word to your audience, perhaps that will help create a memory of your magic, long after the show is over.

Create YOUR Reality

For the past several years, I have been following Dean Larry Hass’s suggestion to complete a New Year’s assignment. It is similar to a list of New Year’s resolutions, but it is more than that. Let me share my version of it with you, so you can benefit from its potential.

You begin with a review of how well you did last year, and list all the significant accomplishments you have achieved. Next, set three personal and three business goals for the new year. Keep in mind that choosing specific words while mapping out your goals is of utmost importance. Print the list and put it where you can see it. Study your list daily, and if you like, read it out loud. Focus your attention on the words you have chosen, and take action steps to help bring your goals into reality.

As you begin the year, it is a good time to bring awareness to your vocabulary, and to the words that you use. If words can create reality, then what words will you use for your audience to create the reality you want them to see? What words will you use to create the kind of year you want to have? Words truly are magical. Revel in their power. Choose them and use them wisely. Let them help you create the future you wish for yourself and your audience.

Abracadabra!

Keep Your Magic Alive

KEEP YOUR MAGIC ALIVE!
 
So many magicians learn new effects, play with them for a few days, then put them in a drawer to collect dust and die!
 
There is another way! Bring your magic to life! I can teach you my â€œReal Magic Formula” that is tried, true, and tested among professionals in close up venues, and on stages all around the world.
 
This could be your most important class of the year! 

THE 7 STAGES OF SHOW FLOW
7 Secrets to creating a successful show
7 Essential Building Blocks 
+ 7 Great Routines

IMAGINE: YOU COULD take the magic that you already own and perform, and learn the techniques on how to transform your individual effects into a Full Magic Experience.

• Learn how to grab the attention of the room.
• Learn to tell your personal story in a powerful way.
• Learn the real secrets of audience interaction and getting FULL participation.
• Learn how to transition in between effects. This is where most performers fail.
• Learn professional secrets on how to get the audience on their feet.
• Learn new magic effects and routines to add to your repertoire.
• Experience two wonderful classes filled with wisdom, fellowship, and good cheer.

This class is for all those who love magic and want to make a REAL show out of what they already know!
 
Register now:
https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/the-seven-stages-of-show-flow-online-on-zoom

MEETING THE MASTER …and the master is YOU!
 
This great clip shows EXACTLY how I work with new students.
 
It is a joy to share my techniques and experience with them, and to see them become their own master… WATCH!

Mystery School Student of the Month: BRADEN DANIELS
 
I love what I do!  Each day, I work on Zoom with my students. This month I’d like you to meet one of the progressive magicians I have had the pleasure of training. His name is Braden Daniels and I hope his words will inspire you.

Braden says, “Back in March, Jeff and the amazing faculty at the Magic & Mystery School opened up their doors to welcome in magicians from all over the world, as they began to offer an array of new classes for us online. I seized the opportunity to grow and develop.
 
The seed for change was planted in April with Tobias Beckwith’s Spring Training: Shifting Gears for Your Career, which started me thinking deeply about where I really wanted to take my magic career. I highly encourage all students to take Tobias’s classes and engage with the materials provided. 
 
That seed for change was watered and transformed again in August ,when the Magic & Mystery School held another unprecedented class: Creating Magic in Business with Tobias Beckwith and David Morey, which included both magicians and business leaders from around the world. David and Tobias instilled in us, among many other valuable lessons, the importance of frameworks and clarity of message. I walked away with actionable strategies to begin re-shaping my brand and its offerings to be more aligned with who I am, and what I love to do. 
 
Now, I am combining my 20 years of business experience in developing teams with my passion for magic, by ‘edu-tain-ing’ and mentoring organizational leaders and entrepreneurs. I help leaders harness the power of their inner magician through my one-to-one mentorship programs, and my online training workshop Lead Like a Magician, for any new to mid-career level leaders, who want to stay competitive in the ever-changing landscape of business. 2020 has been an amazing year for me and the leaders I serve, because of the Magic & Mystery School!
 
Get more info on Braden here:
http://www.leadlikeamagician.com

Like Braden, we all need people to help and encourage us as we grow in the art of magic. Now, you have a rare opportunity to work with me as your Mentor and coach. I will help you meet your goals, break out of your comfort zone, and deepen your understanding and appreciation of our magical art. My Mentorship and coaching services will inspire and empower your magic. 
 
Remember that you already possess all you need! Now it is time to train, learn, reflect, and organize what you already have.
 
Just email Abigail@mcbridemagic.com and she can set us up with a time to meet on Zoom!
 
Or go here for more info:
https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/p/stage-magic-manipulation/skype-mentoring-package
 
MAGIC QUEST NEWS
Our new virtual magic experience is now taking reservations.

To get updates, please email Abigail to get on the waiting list: Abigail@mcbridemagic.com
 
FINAL THOUGHT-

This is a new year for major new changes. All of us here at the Magic & Mystery School are ready to help you along your path to mastery.
 
Yours in the great Mystery.
Jeff McBride
jeff@mcbridemagic.com

Good Things Come in Green Plastic Bags

Dear Friends:
 
Welcome to the holiday season! We have a special treat for you this month—an article from our own physician magician, Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz.

Good Things Come in Green Plastic Bags
by Ricardo Rosenkranz, MD

They all came in a green plastic bag. Eugene’s gifts all came in a green plastic bag. I really don’t know where he got them, but every time I left that apartment on 1260 N. Dearborn with a gift, it was in a green plastic bag. Eugene loved gifts. Mostly, he loved passing gifts down to others. I can’t tell you how many times I entered Eugene’s apartment and observed that laid out on his desk were a couple of items–perhaps a book he had just read, a coin routine someone gave him, or a prop that was no longer needed. Eugene believed that gifts should be passed on, and in his case, they all were wrapped at the end of the session in a tidy green plastic bag, with a note.

As I reflect on Eugene’s legacy, I envision some of the majestic gifts I received from Eugene. These are the ones that cannot fit inside a green plastic bag. In this season of giving, and in this year of needed vision, here are three of those gifts.

The gift of perspective. Undoubtedly, the main reason why I am still deeply involved with magic comes from the perspective that I gained from two decades of working with Eugene. When I entered his apartment for the first time, I was intrigued by magic, but I didn’t really know what it meant. or where it could lead me. From that first day, Eugene made me realize that magic wasn’t a trivial hobby to be pursued on rare occasion, but rather, it was a powerful artistic expression that could unlock meaning for performer and audience member alike. It was Eugene, who over time made me realize that even as I am a healer in Medicine, so too could I become a healer in Magic.

Eugene gave me the gift to see magic in perspective, from the smallest angle in a Ramsay Subtlety, to the largest vista of the role magic can play in the narrative of human illness. This gift arrived incessantly from day one. Today, as I see my life in magic, and my life in medicine, there are days when I feel boxed in. I conjure up Eugene’s words in my mind, and the very first thing to arrive is much needed perspective.

The gift of discernment. Eugene and I played a game for many years. It was called “The good, the bad, and the ugly”. It was a type of show and tell that either one of us brought. Usually, I brought the bad and the ugly. In this activity, we would look at magic that fell into any of these three categories. Eugene believed that in order to learn to appreciate good magic, it was important to study bad magic as well. Whenever I came across something that was poorly designed or poorly implemented, we would explore it. Sometimes, we would rehabilitate the illusion, like nursing a bird with a broken wing, back to health. Here and there I would get lucky and bring something to Eugene so special that he would insert it into his repertoire. I take pride, for example, that Eugene’s performance of “Greed” was based on one of our “Good, Bad, Ugly” sessions.

In spending time discussing the merits and failings of multiple magical illusions, Eugene gifted me a skill to discern, a skill to filter or discard when necessary, and a skill to value the essence of a magical concept, and amplify it toward success. Being a successful magician requires the ability to discern what works for us and what doesn’t. Eugene was brutally economical in this endeavor, and it is a gift that has helped me navigate choices inside and outside of magic.

The gift of acceptance. In spite of all the rigor that he applied to performance choices, Eugene had an uncanny ability to be open and accepting. Eugene displayed a mystical mindset when faced with adversity or with the unexpected. In the two decades that he was in my life, I never saw Eugene allow himself more than a moment’s worth of brooding when something was amiss. Hearing Eugene say, “….and that’s OK with me,” with that raspy voice and the upward tonal inflection on the “OK,” became a soothing balm for me. I marvel at Eugene’s ability to adapt and to learn incessantly from life and its obstacles. More importantly, I learned so much from his ability to move on–always looking forward. In acceptance, Eugene taught me perhaps the most important lesson of a lifetime.

So, in Eugene’s tradition, I would like to keep these gifts alive by passing them along, albeit transformed. I would like to gift you with an image. Hopefully it’s a powerful image that transports you to a place and time when you might have been open to Eugene’s lessons, as I was.

Imagine I have gifted you a green plastic bag. It belonged to Eugene. Excitedly, you open the bag, knowing that inside you will find something lovingly handed down by Eugene. You remove the handwritten note on a 3×5 card. Black ink with impeccable handwriting, which must be Eugene’s handwriting. The note reads, “A magical mirror, for you. Love, EB”. You lift the mirror and see within it your reflection. And yet, it’s a different you. It is the best version of you. What do you see?

Eugene gave me that metaphorical mirror. And every day, I gaze into that mirror with perspective, discernment, and acceptance. I have come to understand how the Ricardo holding the mirror can continue to evolve into the Ricardo who dwells inside.

Happy Holidays!

From Ricardo

Can You Keep a Secret?

“Want to know my secret? I can tell you, but then I’ll have to kill you!”

                                                         – Lance Burton, Master Magician

Imagine that you can travel through time & space to the enchanting McBride House of Mystery.

Imagine the most luxurious tour of our home and magic museum…personally guided by me.

Imagine yourself experiencing a wonderful interactive magic show where you are the star!

If you can imagine it…it can become real.

WILL YOU BE ONE OF “THE LUCKY 13?”

Only 13 VIP screens are available for each virtual show in December.

Only 13 lucky people will have the opportunity to have this experience.

This unique event is called Jeff McBride‘s MAGIC QUEST

More than a show!

More than a tour!

More than a party!

MAGIC QUEST is our new virtual show and is now taking reservations–but it is available ONLY to our Museletter readers!

If you want to attend, send us an email and we will make sure that you will get complete information on the upcoming event. Just email Abigail: abbimcb@gmail.com  or call 702-450-0021.

TELLING YOUR PERSONAL STORY

I had the honor to study with one of the greatest storytellers of our time, Eugene Burger. 

Master story tellers like Eugene have tips and tricks to help us tell our stories. Sean Buvala has been teaching storytelling since 1986. He gives us some great tips.

1.     You need to tell stories that you like.

Choose a story you like when telling for kids at the library, for a sacred setting, or to leaders of business or nonprofit groups. There will be many stories for any situation you are in. Choose a story that you can understand and enjoy.

2.  Do not hesitate to remove the slow parts of your story.

It’s not unusual for first-time storytellers to try to tell every piece of a story. Storytelling occurs in the moment, so not every detail has to be included each time. Ask yourself, “Do I need to tell this piece of the story this time? Is it critical?”

3. Use eye-contact with your listeners.

Your eye contact is a gift to the listener. It always amazes me how a fleeting moment of eye contact can make an audience member come to me and say, “I felt like you were talking to me personally.”

Want MORE? Go read Sean’s full article here: http://storyteller.net/storytelling-tips-9-tips-for-better-storytelling-today/

If you had a chance, would you sit by the fire with me and listen to some great stories?

Now you can join me for â€œThe Story Master Series.”

Now you can experience the world’s greatest magicians, sharing their most meaningful stories!

Let me guide you through my video archives, personal stories, and exciting performance routines. You will learn to illustrate and enhance your personal storytelling with magic.  

In this course, we will focus on three major aspects of the creative process.

1. TELLING YOUR STORY: The Heart of the Art of Magic 

Learn how to unlock your inner storyteller. We will focus on improvisation skills, scripting, memorization techniques, and how to make a memorable story. Not all stories have words–however,  every magic routine tells a story, and you will learn the secret key to help you unlock presentations for many of the magic effects you already own or perform. 

2. MAGIC AS A VISUAL METAPHOR: New Ways of Seeing

Since the dawn of time, magicians have used the power of symbol to evoke deep responses and stir the imagination. I will unlock a treasure trove of rich magical stories, symbols, metaphors and more to enhance your magical performances. Drawing on my vast experience of multicultural studies, you will learn how to apply my time-tested techniques to enrich your understanding and performances. We will also explore “The Twenty Essential Effects” of magic.

3.     MAKING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS WITH YOUR MAGIC: Touching & Moving Your Audience

Magic is an international language. In this class, we will focus on adding “your personal touch” to your performances. You will learn a few new tricks, and you will also learn the closely guarded trade secrets for engaging and connecting with your audiences, one on one, or in crowds. Whether you are a full time professional, or a magic enthusiast who performs only for a few friends or the grandkids, we are all called on to perform magic in social situations.  

For the next three weeks I will be telling stories near our virtual fireplace, and if you’d like to learn the art of storytelling please join me right here: 

https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/the-story-master-series

Now Tobias has a few things to share with you about upcoming events here in Las Vegas.

Stay warm and cozy by the fire! I’ll see you in our virtual showroom or classroom!

Jeff