I've been having a fairly consistent (and unimpressive) 50% hit rate with my spectators making pendulums spin or swing. Half of the time, it just doesn't move -- or does barely. (The other half the time, it spins like a fantastic whirlpool.) Does anyone have advice (or recommended DVDs or books) on guiding spectators into controlling the pendulum? Thanks!

There are some pendulum pdfs around. I think Iain has something. Try lybrary

Nah don't get mine...

Get the Richard Webster material, that'll show you all you need... Pendulum power is the one written for mentalists...

And this one...
Pendulum Magic for Beginners: Tap Into Your Inner Wisdom (For Beginners (Llewellyn's)) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008TSNWL4/r......b59EHTTD

At Lybrary.com we have an entire category for pendulum resources: https://www.lybrary.com/mentalism-spirit......837.html

The first of the recent Neal Scryer videos (on the living and dead test) has some really great advice on maximizing the participant's ability to make a pendulum move. The whole video is really good.


https://www.stevensmagic.com/shop/the-sc......ownload/

Actually this is my next venture.

Tom Graves has written a couple of excellent books on pendulum work and dowsing generally. He suggests that you deliberately start a back and forth "neutral" swing, and then ask for a yes response and a no response, which will be in different directions.

Barry

Richard Websters book is what you want. After that it's just a case of getting out there and trying it.
It's all about finding the perfect script, which is always a personal thing. What works for me won't work for you. With experience will come the knowledge of what to say to get an individual swinging.
If you've been trying this out in a busy, noisy environment where it's hard to keep people focused 50% isn't too bad. See that 50% as a positive thing, you need to believe it will work to make your spectator believe.

That's strange, cos I've considered the back n forth to be the easiest response to get, and the back n forth and side to side looks and feels the most simple for people to follow and understand. So it seems a shame to waste it on it being neutral.

I ask show me what yes looks like, back n forth or side to side?

I've always found side to side the easiest response.

I always begin with stillness

Well, you have to START with stillness no matter what, surely...

Http://ideaspendulums.blogspot.com/ this is a great pdf for anyone interested in pendulum work, the first chapter is free.

Long ago in my silly youth, I presented pendulum mechanics to a college class.
I offered the notion that the natural action of a pendulum held by a human was to swing continuously -
that the amazing part was using mental control to still the motion.

I gad four students happily holding pendulums swinging in continuous motion. I did not care if they zigged, zagged or spun.

Then I pointed to one hapless fellow and commanded that he still his dancing friend. It came to a halt.
Then I pointed to another and had them still the motion. I relented and allowed the first guy to have is swing once more, which it did.

A third volunteer (girl) cried, "I think I can stop it without your assistance." And she did.

Later, after class, everyone tried the pendulum and no one had any problem having it swing aggressively.
...

I guess I just don't understand why the OP has a problem? It isn't a matter of believing it might swung - but one of knowing it will.
Where does the doubt come from?

Maybe the idea of "controlling" is a problem. The motion is natural. What is interfering with the process?

I work with pendulums a lot and have had great success getting muggles to get a pendulum moving. I have found that some well thought out coaching goes a long way. I will not go into my coaching procedure here but I will say that if you are ever performing a pendulum effect for more than one person at a time, you can nearly guarantee finding a "pendulum-sensitve" participant by building in a kind of assessment into your routine. Laypeople find it absolutely mystifying and serves to build some great expectations for the actual effect. When performing with a pendulum, I always carry half a dozen 18" lengths of cord. I hand them out to people who are wearing rings and conduct a group test. I then choose the most qualified. I am sure there is some friendly competition going on that aids in getting a good response and I sometimes play this up, especially when working with a couple.

Christopher

Thanks for the great (and -- surprisingly for the Café -- almost entirely non-judgmental! Woohoo!!!!) feedback and advice. Christopher, that's a fantastic idea!!! And I'm gonna go check some of those books and videos. Thanks, all!

It's about how well 'prepared' they are before the moment they mentally start to move the pendulum. You need to have them shifted at least a little towards the edge of belief.

Also using suggestive indications such as placing two coins on the table either side of the pendulum and saying something like ".....notice what happens when these coins are placed within the energy sphere of the pendulum in a straight line.....". Rather than directly asking them to make it move with their mind,the suggestion arises from within themselves that this is likely to happen. Easier to bypass the conscious (questioning) mind this way and increase hit rate ala Hilford, Knepper and others who use these ploys a lot.

If you still hold that belief as part of your narrative, it will still happen.
The issue is not the result, is your approach. Let go and embrace any result, and be strategic to use that result towards higher ideomotor response, while you again deattach of the desire of control.

I have some strategies that you can use in my book, which you can check 👍🏻

I trust you'll send him a copy of your book for free? After all what we're doing here is offering help and advice, not indulging in shameless commercialism.

Here is something free from one of my books. I might provide some insight for a reader here, or just a clue as to my view of pendulum work.

May be it is just for enjoyment - or a reminder that everyone in your next audience may have some experience with a pendulum.

Pend Ulum

Everyone has a story about his first encounter with a pendulum, I mean in a magical sense rather than an old grandfather clock or metronome. Mine will make more sense if you consider the word “pendulum” broken into two words in an unusual way: “pend” meaning “waiting to happen,” and “ulum” being the missing part of a volume in a container – the other part of “half empty–half full.” This can extend to a pendulum’s magic being a matter of perceptions about life itself rather than a revelation of hidden truths.

My Great-Grandma Sullivan was prone to sudden fits of malaise with no apparent cause or consistent symptoms. Old age was the common excuse, but even as a kid of five I suspected a desire for attention to be the cause. At any rate, after all the relatives had visited and had their say it was time to call in Doctor Thom. House calls were also common in those days, and his fee often was fixing his dilapidated car that just happened to die upon his arrival. He was famous for his diagnostic skills and giving shots that did not hurt. So, I sat up on the dresser, quite like, just to watch him work. He checked her eyes and throat and ears and heart – all the normal things expected. Then he took her pulse. This was a grand affair with his gold turnip-watch and a lot of squinting and “hem-hawing.” During this stage-show he would ask questions of G-G and others in attendance in a non-stop flow of gestures that interrupted his pulse-reading and he would have to start again. Leastwise, that’s what everyone thought.

From my special perch I was able to see the truth of it. The watch and chain were a pendulum hanging over his finger while his other hand held her wrist. His back coat masked these actions from being seen, but that watch swayed back and forth and round-about in response to the questions and comments. Pretty soon he knew more about what was going on than Mavis on the switchboard at the phone company. He would prescribe some home remedy and regiment like reading to her, then threaten some awful concoction if she didn’t improve. Always worked. Had to since she had told him what to do.

The real magic began as Doc headed for the door. He would offer advice on everything from house cleaning to Amy’s new boy friend and chuckled at the gasps of breath and gapping mouths. He looked at me and winked, knowing I would never reveal the secret to his fortune telling. Guess it’s Ok now after sixty years. The point of this story isn’t about believing in pendulums, but of knowing that the old lady in your house that you ignore knows everything and might have answers if you ask just right. Every problem creates a hole for an answer to fall in, and a pendulum might just get things moving – if you believe in such things.