Whispering Buddha

THE BLURB:
An Amazing Classic Brought to Life!

The Whispering Buddha is one of the greatest and strangest
classics in magic. Greatest because of its simple and direct
effect, yet strange because probably no one has actually
performed it!

That's about to change. Fifteen years ago, Docc Hilford
developed a workable method with his friend the late German
mentalist, Punx. The result was a routine that maintained
the clean directness of the original effect and made
performance easy on the entertainer.

The mage shows a beautiful 5 inch, antique statue of the
BUDDHA from Thailand. A participant writes a wish, a person
and a location where they could both enjoy the wish on a
prayer paper. They also think of a question and writes it on
the paper. The prayer paper is burned and in a whisper the
idol discloses the wish, the person's name, the destination
of joy and answers the personal question. THE SPECTATOR
HEARS THE WHISPERS!

In the 1920s, Joe Ovette marketed the effect that was
subsequently published in Corinda's Thirteen Steps to
Mentalism. In that version, the method was simple; you read
the lips of the participant when she whispered her question
to the statue! Simple, however near impossible to
accomplish.

Docc's Whispering Buddha utilizes some methods that YOU MAY
ALREADY KNOW. The classic method of the famed CT has been
blended with another technique and disguised by the genius
of Punx. The improvement lets information be written all
OVER THE PAPER! In addition, the paper is designed with
Buddhist themed art rich for patter possibilities.

The REAL secret is an advanced waking hypnosis and NLP
technique that makes the spectator ACTUALLY HEAR THE
WHISPERS! That's right!

How rare are simple, direct tricks that completely baffle
magicians with clever methods while emotionally affecting an
audience? This is one of those rare gems. A true reputation
maker.

Here's what you get:

* A beautiful, 5" Thai BUDDHA
* A velvet carrying bag
* A pad of special billet papers
* Scripted story and instructions

MY COMMENTS:
If you're like me, and you're a big fan of Docc's Cellular
Mitosis, then you'll absolutely love this. One could say
that this is Cellular Mitosis without the cellphone.
Instead, there is a Buddha. And, yes, the spectator does
indeed hear the Buddha. How? It certainly involves a
"waking hypnosis and NLP technique," but I could also
explain it a bit more easily if I describe a very natural
phenomenon that can occur when one goes to the beach. I
can't be more specific though or I'd give it away. Trust me.
It works.

Docc demonstrated this at the 2008 Mindvention and it was a
big hit. As stated in the blurb, the effect uses a few
well-known classic techniques to gain the information that's
written on the special paper that is provided in the
package. These techniques do need to be mastered and
they're not difficult. Actually, these are techniques that
most mentalists should know.

Also included in the package is a pad of paper with about 50
3" x 4" sheets in it (the "special billet papers"). The
design of these papers is ingenious but also leads to one of
the drawbacks of this routine. As written, you need a
matchbook and be able to burn the torn papers. In some
areas, like California where I am, it's not easy to find
ashtray and matches, nor are there places which would
welcome the burning of billets. Docc does not provide an
alternative, however I'm sure professionals familiar with
the needed classic techniques can come up with an
alternative solution.

The Buddha which is included stands a tad more than five
inches high. Incidentally, if you don't wish to use a
Buddha, you can use another small, special object. Whatever
it is (and Docc personally uses a smaller Buddha), that item
is not gimmicked at all (like the cellphone in Cellular
Mitosis). As Docc points out, it is stronger when done in a
small group and he explains why in the booklet.

Like Cellular Mitosis, I consider this an invaluable
technique for mentalists. If you're in a situation where
you want to perform this, you can pull out a mysterious key
or special coin, plus a business card or piece of paper, and
perform the effect. Needless to say, I definitely recommend
this.

NOTE: Docc's TOP SHELF marketing system package includes THE
WHISPERING BUDDHA, THE ROSINI SECRET, THE SECRETS OF DR.
TAO, and THE INVISIBLE STRANGER, as well as the TOP SHELF
marketing system.