JUST THINK

Digital Copyright © 2016 by Devin Knight Magic

All rights reserved. This is an edited and abridged version of a manuscript
originally released as The Miracle Mind Act By W.G Magnuson. The copyright
holder hereby lays claim to new typesetting and layout; grammatical and
typographical corrections; graphic illustrations; and other content revisions to the
original text.

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In Memory Of

Walter G. Magnuson
(Del-Ardo)
1904-1988

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 FOREWORD
Walter G. Magnuson was born September 27, 1904. He was quite a
character and eventually performed under the stage name of Del-Ardo. Starting in
the early 1920s, he released poorly-typed manuscripts of his mental, psychic and
pseudo-hypnotic secrets. Over his lifetime, he released more than 125 of these
manuscripts. His business flourished during from the 1920s to 1970s. The original
manuscripts were mimeographed and are extremely rare nowadays. If you can find
one, the writing is usually faded and hard to read. His most famous work was
called: The Twentieth Century Mindreading Act and was released in 1935.

Later in life, Walter G. Magnuson became Reverend Walter G. Magnuson,

and started giving spirit readings. He was the co-organizer of Rockford Illinois'
Largest Spiritualistic Church, giving readings in the Rockford area. Many
manuscripts he released were on cold-reading and how to fleece the suckers, as he
termed them.

As a "human pincushion", he worked at Ripley's Believe It Or Not

Odditorium Show, doing up to 22 performances a day. He received an extra dollar
for each spectator who fainted at the sight—his arms, legs, neck, and face being
punctured by needles, pins, and police badges.

He edited the house organs of the International Mentalist Association, The

Seer (2 issues) and Mystic (1 issue), both published in 1929.

He died, May 4, 1988, at the age of 83.

I first acquired a copy of The Miracle Mind Act when I was a teenager.
Magnuson was still selling his manuscripts. I amassed quite a collection of these
manuscripts. The aforementioned manuscript was first released in 1943.
Nowadays, this manuscript is very rare and almost unheard of.

I decided for historical and educational purposes to make this rare

manuscript available again to the fraternity. The method is too good to be lost
in the annuals of magic, and because it is something I currently use in my own
shows. Yes, I think it is that good. You get an inner thrill each time you pull this

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off. It takes nerves; but, the effect is outstanding on the viewers. The method is
simply revolutionary. I reset the type, corrected the typos and grammar, and made
it easier to read.

The act taught in this e-book is fascinating. It is a very clever idea. Astute
performers will see the value of this information immediately. Be warned though,
this is NOT for the novice mentalist.

You should have an extensive background doing Q & A acts before you
attempt this one.

The way I often use this is at the end of my stand up mentalism act. I tell the
audience that after my show, I will go through the audience and answer
questions NOT WRITTEN, but just thought of! I take my final applause and go
out into the audience. If you are working a banquet show, this makes an ideal after-
show bit that will create much talk.

Odds are; you have never seen a method like this. Magnuson said, “If you
have the slightest doubt as to your ability to put this across, then leave it alone.”

Even if you never do this, you will find the method to be fascinating and
something that has been long forgotten.

I recommend this routine only to those experienced performers with a

commanding personality. Had Blackstone Jr, been a mentalist, he would have
had the right persona to pull this off.

If you are the right type of performer and you master this technique, then
you will have a reputation bit that will fry spectators.

Devin Knight

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 The Miracle Mind Act
Release Number 54 by Del-Ardo-Magnuson

For years, mentalists have sought an act in which they

could do away with assistants, preshow work, fake apparatus,
clipboards and impressions. They wanted to step out alone on a
bare stage and CONVINCE the audience that they
really…actually…did read their minds!
A noted performer once said, “The man who can create an
act whereby you ask a spectator to just THINK of the question
and then you answer it…will be doing something! In fact, he will
be revolutionizing the history of mentalism.”
I have experimented with various acts and methods striving
to fulfil the words of this mentalist, trying to produce the effect
of actually reading one’s mind without having the spectator
WRITE his question.
It is now a fact that I have attained that act or effect and it
works! At present, this is used be a well-known mentalist with a
great deal of success. The act, I admit, takes nerves and
adroitness.
It is not an act for the bungler or has been. With a fair
amount of showmanship, you can create a tremendous effect and
your audience will proclaim you a wonder!

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 SECRET & WORKING
The requirements for this act are a good knowledge of the
questions that spectators generally ask. There are several distinct types
of questions asked in the average audience. Generally, all questions fall
within these categories. For example, marriage and love come under
one type.
Sales and legal matters, such as purchase of property come under
another type. Trips and journeys are another type.
You must remember that the average question can be answered
with a yes or no.

You come out carrying NOTHING, but a small scratch pad and
pencil. You announce you are going to attempt the impossible. You can
freely state you are different from other mentalists or psychics.
You do not have them write their questions, but simply have them
to just think of them! Make your lecture STRONG as it is the TRUTH.
State you will go into the audience, amongst them and those
wishing to have their questions answered should raise their hands.
Proceed into the audience.

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 THE REAL WORK REVEALED
Let us say you step up to a lady. With the pad in your hand, tell her
to just THINK of her question. As you say this, look at her carefully,
observe her…if she is a young woman, you know the question is
probably about marriage or a love problem. With the pencil, you
scribble… YES, things will come out to your expectations!
Make the writing POOR…so when you show it to her, she will
have difficulty making it out.
Hand it to her and say, “Here is your answer.” Nine times out of
ten, you will have answered her question.
Quickly pass on to the next person and this time, simply write:
YES.
Now, if the first woman acts as if she can’t make out your writing,
she will say, “I wanted to know so-and-so.”
You say, “Here it is madam, I said, YES.” Point to the writing and
quickly move on to the next raised hand.
BE BOLD…don’t be afraid to tell them… “Here, can’t you
read…I said, ‘Yes, that’s right.”
The person rather than argue, will say, “Yes,” in answer to your
question or nod their head in agreement.
What you want is the effect on your audience, and if you can get
an acknowledgement or WHAT LOOKS LIKE ONE, fine and dandy.
You have created an effect on your audience.
I repeat that nearly nine out of every ten questions pertaining
to the future can be answered with a yes or no!
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 Step up to a man, the chances are he will be thinking about a sale,
a legal matter, a trip or even a love affair.
Now any of these can be answered with a simple YES and you
have answered the thought.
A young lady, in most cases, wants to know if her boyfriend loves
her. Here you can take a chance and say, “Yes, he loves you.”
Suppose she says, “I wanted to know if I would be married to
him.” You can say, “That’s exactly what I mean, he loves you enough
that he will marry you…yes.”
You can say NO to any of them and still answer their questions.
Suppose you step up to an elderly woman and she is thinking of a lost
article, a trip, sale of property or something else.
You can scribble on your pad: No, conditions will not be in your
favor. Or you could scribble: No, I do not see these conditions
materializing to your expectations. Meaning, she will not find the lost
article (if that was her thought)…or…her husband will not get the
job…she will not take the trip, etc.
The reader must readily understand he can NOT stand and talk or
argue with the spectator. He must be FIRM and hard and say, “Yes, that
is exactly what I have here.”
“Look, I said NO, you will not,” and quickly pass on to the next
spectator.
Here is one thing to remember, in a night club or banquet hall,
regardless of the floorshow, there is a lot of noise while you are walking
through the audience. In most cases, you will be talking almost
confidentially to most spectators you step in front of.

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 MANY WHO READ THIS WILL SAY IT CAN’T BE DONE!
The mentalist who used this and brought it into prominence is none
other than the well-known A. N. Rossi. He was an understudy to Joseph
Ovette and was for many years, until 1937, a Rockford, Illinois resident.
In his hands, this was a piece of master showmanship. In fact, he is
the only mentalist who played one night club in Peoria, Illinois for six
consecutive months and much of his success was due to using this
method!
Before leaving the reader, I will point out that the success of this
act lies in SHOWMANSHIP, NERVE and SPEECH. If you have the
slightest doubt as to your ability to put this across, then LEAVE IT
ALONE!
For this reason, I recommend this ONLY to experienced
performers!
Del-Ardo Magnuson

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 Devin Knight’s AFTERTHOUGHTS
There you have it, a secret I have used with tremendous success.
Magnuson was way ahead of his time with this secret. The method is
one that for most mentalists, will be, either you love it or hate it. There is
no middle ground. For my part, I love it and I will give you some tips I
have developed from more than 20 years of performing this.
I use this mainly as an after-show bit, after I have done my regular
mentalism act. This gives me the chance to establish credibility with the
audience as someone with psychic powers. I tell them that many people
want me to answer personal questions, but I don’t have enough time
from stage. Instead, after the show, I will go into the audience and
answer questions about the future you may have. (This can be sold as
an added feature to the person booking you, and increase your show
fee.)
The most important thing is your closing comments. I say
something like this; “I want you to just think of a question you want
answered. Something you DON’T know the answer to and preferably
about the future. Don’t think of question such as, how old am I, or
where do I live. You already know that. (Stress this point.) Also, do
not think of medical questions, such as should I have a certain
operation. I am NOT a medical doctor, and cannot legally give you
psychic advice on medical issues.
Instead, think of questions like, Will I get married? Will I find a
better job? Should I buy a new home? If you want to think of a question
pertaining to YOUR FUTURE, think of it now, raise your hand and I
will come to you and answer it.” Stress the questions should be about
their futures. This will ensure that most questions can be answered with
either a yes or no.
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 The astute reader will realize that every question used in your
closing comments are ones that can be answered with a yes or no. This
plants the idea in your audience’s minds as to the types of questions to
think of. This means that the majority of the audience members will
think of a yes or no question. Trust me, it works. Do you better
understand how this works and where we are going with this?
I tell the audience that I will jot the answers to their questions on a
sheet of paper, to protect the privacy of each person and to not to
embarrass someone who has thought of a very personal question.
Of course, the real reason is that if you said the answers aloud, the
audience would realize everyone is basically getting either a yes or no.
Writing the answers prevents this.
Another important point, everyone in the audience will not want a
question answered. I have found generally about a third of the audience
will raise their hands. Most of these will be women. The idea is to
quickly go from person to person handing them the sheet of paper and
moving on to someone else as quickly as you can.
Also, once you give the slip of paper to the spectator, say “Here’s
your answer.” Then move on, don’t stand there and say, “Did I answer
your question?” To ask that question, would imply doubt on your
part and kill the effect you are shooting for with those around
watching.
Most people, when they see the answer will say things like, “How
did you know what I was thinking?” Don’t answer them, but keep
moving to the next person. Some ladies will even scream when they see
your answer because it answers their question.

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 Occasionally, someone will say, “But, my question was…”
meaning that a yes or no did not answer it. The experienced performer
needs to rephrase the question instantly, as Magnuson showed in his
writings, so the question can be answered either yes or no.
Here are actual examples from my shows. I will show you how I
twisted the questions around into a yes or no answer.
Question: I wanted to know when my house would sell.
Answer: What you really are asking is, if your house will sell. I told you
yes. Your house will sell. (OR you could say, I told you no.)
Question: When will I get married?
Answer: What you are really asking is, IF YOU WILL GET
MARRIED. I told you yes, you will get married.
Question: When will I die?
Answer: What you really want to know is if you will live to an old age.
I told you yes.
What you are doing here is twisting their question into a yes or no
question. This works. If you give the person a slip and she says, “But,
my question was…” Remember, Magnuson said, it is like you are talking
almost confidentially with the person. The rest of the audience will
normally not hear the conversation. However, raise your voice so the
audience can hear, “I told you yes.”
This creates the dual reality that you DID answer her question and
just confirming it. Once you do this, move on to the next person. I have
found from experience only two or three people will say, “But, my
question was…”

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 When this happens you have to be quick-witted with an immediate
answer, ending with, I told you yes or no, depending what you wrote on
the slip. Then move on, don’t argue with the person.
This situation rarely happens, as the majority of thought of
questions pertaining to the future can be answered by your yes or no
answers. Those people will be amazed and act accordingly.
In more than 20 years of performing this, I have never had a
question that I could not quickly rephrase into one that could be
answered either with a yes or no.
If you have a firm and commanding personality, the rephrasing
makes sense as you are saying what you really want to know is…I have
never had someone argue or challenge me after I rephrase the question
and say, “See I said…”
I have taken the answers I write on the slips a step further.
Sometimes, I will write: Maybe.
Other good things to write on a slip paper, if you are giving it to a
man:
Yes, if you want it enough.
Maybe, if you want it enough.
The two answers seem to hit the nail on the head, when dealing
with a man. He could be thinking should I change jobs or buy a new
house. These answers fit perfectly.

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If You Are An Experience Performer, Then
Don’t Be Afraid To Try These Methods!
The More You Perform This
The Better You Will Become At It!

Our Doubts Are Traitors

And Make Us Lose The
Good We Oft May Win
By Fearing To Attempt
Shakespeare

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