Mysteries of the Mind The David Meade Project

-Awesome!

-Unbelievable. I think he's sold his soul to the devil, so watch out!

Time again to drop into the David Meade Project.

This is the geezer with his name over the door, David Meade.

-Is that an L?

-Oh!

-Yes!

-Argh!

-Oh, my God!

David is fascinated with how we think.

As usual, his mission is to play with one particular concept of human nature.

Trouble is, not everyone has the mindset to cope with it.

It's crazy. That's insane.

-How?!

-It was weird, yeah. How'd he do it?

This time, David is returning to his greatest passion,

controlling the way we think.

He wants to unlock the mysteries of the mind.

I'm constantly amazed by the human mind.

What it can do and what I can make it do.

Today, David is going to do a bit of reading.

No, he's not off to the library.

For this kind of reading, David will appear to use his mind power on

complete strangers out on the street.

But you know not everything is what it seems with David Meade.

I'm going to stop random people in the street and borrow their keys.

Based on their keys, I'm going to try and tell

them interesting things about their past, present and future.

In the first instance, I'm going to try

and do that through cold reading.

In other words, I'm just guessing.

But, in the second instance,

I'm going to use every one of my skills as a mentalist to try

and divine incredible and impossible facts about them.

-Do you have some keys on you?

-Mm-hm.

-Can I see them?

Would that be all right?

I'd be interested to see...

OK, so there's chaos and order in these keys.

They suggest you're the type of person who always says,

"Oh, did I say the right thing,

"was that the right thing to do or say that point?"

Absolutely. That's correct.

-Does that kind of fit you?

-Absolutely, yes.

I'm going to start off with a blatant cold read.

In other words, I'll just be rhyming off guesses

and random information that would fit for anyone.

Because we have a number of keys off to just one side here,

that suggests to me that you're the type of person that,

almost the minute you make a decision,

you're instantly questioning it and regretting it.

-Yeah, that's true.

-Is that right?

-Yep, all the time.

Sometimes you'll be in, maybe on a midweek night,

and you decide, "I'm going out."

-And you die for it the next day. Is that...

-Something like that, yeah.

Cold reading is driven by an understanding that we all

share social norms.

We all share experiences that are common to everyone.

The fact is that when those experiences are pointed out,

it seems like an incredible observation that someone couldn't possibly know,

when, in fact, they're just general statements.

David's convincing this lot he's got psychic flair.

But, really, he's just using stuff he's learnt from books.

These are just games to make people believe in the power of his mind

because David's true talent lies in mentalism.

I want to show that, as a mentalist,

you can do far more astonishing and incredible things

than just an ordinary psychic, or a fake psychic.

I'm a mentalist.

And, using mentalist techniques,

I can sometimes ascertain a little bit more detail.

So what I'm going to do is give them one shake.

Ah, OK.

So, if you were to choose a country that you would love to travel to,

I'd say most people would think of France or America

because they seem obvious. But you're not most people and I would say you'd probably go for

somewhere like Australia because that's a bit off the beaten track.

Is that somewhere you've been thinking about travelling to?

OK, can I think of your husband's name, then?

-Now if you get this, you will be doing very good.

-Right, OK.

Honestly. It's very unusual.

OK, I'm going to say...

Now, the way that all of these rings are connected,

that suggests to me that we're talking about a very flowing

character, a very male character.

-Absolutely.

-A pretty hard man.

-Yeah.

So it probably starts with an S or a T, but I'd say an S is more obvious.

-Is that right, an S?

-That's correct.

Actually, if you hold out both of your hands for me.

Let's just lay them flat there.

Oh, it's like... Oh, it is weird.

It's like Gilbert. I don't know what it is. It's like Gilbert?

I honestly don't...

It's Silbert.

Silbert?

Silbert. S-I-L-B-E-R-T.

Is that a real name?

Honestly, that's why I thought you'd never guess it.

You're joking! No way! So, like Gilbert but with an S?

-Yes.

-Right, OK.

David's mentalist approach is definitely dazzling this lot

with what seems to be impossible revelations.

I thought it was mad.

I never thought they would have got my dad's name

because it's such an unusual name.

Yeah, because it was so random.

Imagine, for a moment now, if you could go on a date with

anyone from the public eye, a celebrity,

on this side we start to see some of the prettier ones like...

Well, he's rabbiting on but it seems to be working.

So I'd suggest that whoever this is is also massively attractive,

probably really fit...

That's it, David. A bit of flattery always helps.

-We're probably talking about Peter Andre, someone like that.

-Yes!

-Yes!

-Is that who it was?

Oh, they've only gone and bought it!

OK, right, well, you can share him.

I'm not 100 percent sure about psychics but, as he said,

he's a mentalist and he's not a psychic

so the information that he gave was accurate.

As far as I can see, all readings are fundamentally the same.

They all draw on the same broad guesses.

And what happens is,

the person receiving the reading makes those guesses fit for them.

And it can seem like a really astonishing experience.

Pumped up with the success of his activities on the street,

David has a new thought.

Manipulate the mind?

As usual, not asking for much(!)

Mind you, I could think of a few minds I'd like to manipulate.

Anyway, David's doing what he loves best,

finding new games to harness the power of the mind.

Or so he thinks.

Wouldn't it be incredible if we could unlock the power of the mind?

It seems to be capable of incredible things.

We've all heard that urban legend - and who knows if it's true? - of a woman involved in a car accident

and, in the moments immediately after, she is filled with adrenaline

and able to lift that car to rescue someone from underneath.

Now that may be a load of old rubbish but, if it's true,

it seems to suggest that our emotions can have a huge impact on our physiological ability.

With that in mind, I'd like to try and tap into an extremely powerful human emotion,

but I'm a mentalist and I have my own techniques.

I want to see if I can make a person believe

that they have superhuman strength.

David has taken to the street on a particularly colourful day.

As usual, he's looking for random strangers

who have little or no inhibitions.

People who are open to testing the potential power of their minds.

What's interesting about this for me is I don't want a bodybuilder.

I want ordinary people.

I'm going to ask random people in the street that I've never met

to think of a time in their lives when they felt anxious,

afraid, scared, terrified.

I then want to see if I can have them harness that energy

and that adrenaline and seemingly translate it into strength.

-Girls, have you any money?

-Yeah.

-Can I have some?

OK, grand.

Now, let me see.

We'll use this one. You can take those back or give them to me. Whichever, I don't mind.

And I want you to sign your name on one side of it.

Do it across a couple of lines, if you want.

Are you doing it on my arm? Don't get that ink on me!

You'll hardly notice it on the tan, anyway.

OK, I'm placing it down there in the middle and I want you to squeeze your hand into a fist.

Now, I want you to think about a time in your life

when you were incredibly stressed.

A time when you were really anxious, when something was really, really getting to you.

And it really, really affected you and you felt that adrenaline build

and build and build. Could you get one in your head? Yeah?

-Have you got one? Is there any way I could know it?

-No.

-Total secret?

-Secret.

-OK, I want you to think about it.

It could've been at home, school, work, college.

-Oh, wait, this was at school?

-Yeah.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

-This was at school, OK.

Think about the person's name that's involved.

Think of the name for me. Think of the first letter for me.

Say it over and over in your head. Think of the first letter.

Is that an L? L?

Oh!

-Is that what it is, yeah?

-Oh, my God!

OK.

-Gossiping, whispering, talking crap? Talking rubbish, telling lies?

-Yeah.

Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze! SQUEEZE!

Open up, open up, open up!

-Oh, my God!

-Check it out. Do you see it? Lift it up.

Oh, my God!

-Look at that!

-Why am I crying?

-That's so freaky! I can't believe it.

-How did you do that?

BOTH: How did you do it?!

I was actually crying.

And there were tears dropping off me!

I can't believe that!

I didn't even know what was going to happen when I opened my hand.

I mean, how do you bend that?

That's your muscles, love!

I want you to say the name over and over and over in your head.

-Just in your head.

-OK.

Not out loud. Louder, louder, louder.

-Tina? Tina, is that the name?

-Yes.

Is this a friend, Tina?

An acquaintance.

-Oh, right. OK, OK.

-I want you to think about what happened.

-OK.

Take your left hand and squeeze for me now.

Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Now two hands! Two hands. Squeeze.

Harder for me, Portia.

Harder, harder, harder!

Open up, open up.

Wow! Oh, my goodness!

Look at that!

-You bent it!

-Isn't that just typical of me? Bend everything!

Did you get your nose broken? In the street on the way to a nightclub?

OK, think about who was there. Think about the name for me.

Say it over and over in your head. Just in your head. Not out loud.

Over and over and over.

It's, er, is it Chris? Chris, is that the name?

Is that the name? Quickly. Squeeze, squeeze.

Now squeeze, squeeze, squeeze!

I'm squeezing!

Squeeze! Open up, open up.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

Hold it up so we can see.

-That's the hormones!

-How did you do that?

RECITES ALPHABET

Larissa? Who's Larissa?

-Oh, my God!

-Is that who it was?

Now, Johnny, squeeze. Squeeze, squeeze.

Both hands. Both hands. Squeeze.

Squeeze tightly. Squeeze!

Open up, open up, open up.

-Ohh!

-Oh my God!

Jesus!

Oh, my God!

Oh. My. God.

How did you do that?

How did YOU do that?

How?! I can't believe this.

-Oh, my God.

-Awesome, awesome.

Unbelievable. I think he's sold his soul to the devil, so watch out.

Phwoah!

After all that outlet of emotion,

David needs a little sit-down to recharge his batteries

and turn his mind to even more powerful emotional responses.

Up until now, I've been looking at emotions,

but specifically the responses that those emotions create.

So now I'd like to see, if I add meaning to those emotions,

positive or negative, it doesn't matter,

exactly what response can I get?

Now, this box is essentially meaningless. It doesn't have a soul.

It doesn't have personality. It doesn't have a life.

But what if we were to put something meaningful inside this box?

Perhaps this box could become incredibly important.

David needs participants with diverse attitudes to physical strength.

Physical strength to me is very important because I play sport.

I'm not physically strong. I'm not embarrassed.

It's just the way I am.

This is going to be a really simple exercise.

I'm going to have them think of positive things and negative things.

And I want to see if they perform better

when they're thinking of positive things than negative things.

I'm not entirely sure about the science of it, truthfully.

But I thought that it might be fun to see just how difficult

it's going to be for them to pick up this box.

-Scott, you're obviously a pretty strong bloke.

-Do I look it?

Ah, well, a wee bit, yeah. You're obviously not strong as me(!)

What is it about your mindset that makes you

want to get stronger and want to keep working out?

It makes you feel good. It makes you want to do better.

In a moment I want you to think of a bit of a negative situation.

And it's important that you know that this negative situation is

an absolute secret, and that no-one here could know what it is.

So I want you to scribble one word there to describe what it is.

And, whenever you've got that one word written down,

make sure that I can't see it,

I want you to go ahead

and scrunch it up into a ball.

Do you find it difficult to get into the zone, Scott,

whenever it comes to working out?

Or do you just always find yourself right there, ready?

First couple of times, it's hard enough, but you get used to it.

OK, brilliant. So, holding that in your hand,

I want you to just pick up this box for me.

Pick it up until it reaches my hand.

Not too heavy. You're pretty strong, obviously. You can put it down.

-Was that easy-peasy?

-Yeah, straightforward.

-Easy for a tank like you?

-That's it.

-OK, all right.

Well, I want you to think now about that negative thought

for me for a moment.

I want you to extend your hands like this,

hiding it in your hands.

-Hide that negative thought in your hands, OK?

-Mm-hm.

And I want you to look straight here.

I want you to think about when this happened.

I want you to think about when this negative situation happened.

Whatever this thought is, it could be one week, two weeks, three weeks.

Oh, wait...

Was this like four months ago?

-Maybe, yeah.

-What do mean maybe?

It was about four months ago?

-Yeah.

-OK, great.

I want you to think about where it happened.

It could've been at home or at work, could have been at a nightclub.

Could have been at college, in a library.

No, this is something to do with movement or travelling.

A little bit to do with speed, as well.

Was it on a road, whatever this is?

-It happened on a road, is that right?

-Yeah.

Actually, let me take this. I don't want to see it.

Hands up again. Hands up again.

-I feel like someone made a mistake or made an error of judgement.

-Yeah.

OK. Actually, do me a favour. Pick up that box.

Look here for me. Pick up the box. Look here for me. You can do it.

Come on, you can do it. Look here, straight here.

You can do it. Come on. You can do it. Scream out! Argh!

Come on, you can do it. Argh!

Come on, let a good yelp out!

Come on, you can do it.

Look straight here. Actually, let go. Let go for me.

Under the table, I want you to check and make sure there's no magnets there.

Come on, now, Scott. You can do this. One last try, one last try.

Straight here. Come on, Scott. What does this feel like?

-It's not going to budge.

-Is that right? OK, just relax for me.

Relax for a second. Now extend both of your arms out for me again.

Whatever this negative thought is, I want you to imagine now that you could just let this go.

Just focus really clearly and, if we put this back in here for a moment,

I want you to think about now whatever this was that affected you.

You could just let it go. Do me a favour. Throw that away.

Throw it away.

Pick it up. You can do it. Come on, pick it up. You can do it.

-Easy?

-Yeah.

-Easy?

-Yeah.

OK, you've done a brilliant job, Scott.

Unreal. Jesus!

I'm still shaking from it.

I had a car accident four months ago.

It was just in my mind, so fresh.

So weird.

That was incredible.

I'm shaking. I need a drink. I need to sit down.

You should find it even more difficult now.

I don't want to see what this is but you're about to find it even more difficult now.

I'm not going to say a single word. Try one more time to lift it up.

It should feel even heavier this time. It should feel even heavier.

Go ahead and try and lift it up.

-Even heavier?

-Yeah.

-Feel a little bit fatigued?

-Yes.

Sore on your arms and things?

It should be harder that time.

Now think of a positive scenario. Stretch out your arms for me.

Think of who this positive thought represents.

Is it a person you know really well?

Yes.

Oh, wait, you were up late so that's a celebration.

-Something really exciting, like a wedding.

-Yes.

The minute you have that positive thought, go ahead and try and pick

it up for me, the minute you have that positive thought.

OK, fine. And right back down.

Who's Norman.

-My grandad.

-Oh, right, OK.

-Well, did he pass away?

-Yeah.

Oh, really. OK, I got you.

All right, grandad died.

My grandad died. He asked me to picture being back when I found out about it.

It was quite difficult.

I definitely think your emotions have control of your strength.

Mind over matter definitely counts.

Up until now I've been looking at emotions

and specifically how those emotions affect the way we perceive things.

Now I'd like to see how far I can push this.

I'd like to see if I can make someone believe that

they've got the ability to unlock the power of their mind.

Oh, my God. What's he up to now?

What I'm really excited about trying is seeing if it's possible,

and perhaps it won't be, to make two people share one thought.

But one instantaneous, random secret thought.

A thought that I couldn't possibly know and no-one else in the world could know.

So, with that in mind, I've chosen two people who, I hope,

just might have a connection.

OK, you eagle-eyed viewers, can you spot where David's going with this?

I feel really lucky because today,

I'm going to get the opportunity to work with twins.

Oh, yes, we've seen twins before, haven't we?

Rather than trying this experiment on just anyone,

the mentalist is deviously exploiting what mother nature has created.

No doubt hoping that the twins' special connection

will stimulate their minds' power.

I suppose what's really exciting about this opportunity for me

is it gives me the chance to push my skills as a mentalist

to the very edge of what I know I can do.

I've never tried this before.

And I'm just not sure how it'll work.

I'm going to start with you, if you don't mind.

I'm going to give you a notepad.

I want you to flick through it, make sure all the pages are blank.

Now you're happy it's all blank,

-I want you to sign in one of the corners of the page.

-OK.

Just so you know that that's your page.

Now, Phelan, for the time being,

just sign your name across the middle of that for me.

Once you've done that, go ahead and fold that up for me.

Fold it twice so that it's in quarters, as well.

I'm going to ask you to put this glove on with the other hand.

Bit of health and safety, kids.

If you do any cutting, always wear safety gloves.

Don't try this at home, please.

I think we would all love the skill to be able to work out

what's going on in someone else's head.

So I want to play a really simple game today,

based on the idea that it would be incredible if someone, anyone,

would be able to share a thought with another person.

I'm going to ask you to now think a thought.

This should be a random thought that you're just thinking of

right now in this instant.

If you've got a notepad on your lap you will start to sketch, write or

draw anything that is related to what you're thinking about.

Same with you with the scissors.

As you think your thought, I just want you to gouge into that page

and trim the edges, trim the corners, et cetera.

It's important that, as you share this thought,

allow this thought to seemingly travel between the two of you.

Phelan, I want to make absolutely sure that this is random.

Could you scrumple that up into a ball for me?

This is just to make sure that...

By the way, are you consciously thinking about what you're doing?

-Er, no.

-Not really?

-No, no.

OK, I want you to continue to scrumple that up really small.

Phelan, I'm probably going to ask you to stop there.

I'm going to ask you to leave it there.

Off with the blindfolds, then, chaps.

Let's see what you've done.

OK, so, for the first time now, with me,

I'd like you both to stand up.

Stand up.

I'd like you to turn around and face each other.

Now, is there any way that either of you could've known

what your random, secretly thought-of thought was?

-No, not at all.

-I don't think so.

-I'm terrified.

For the first time, I want you to say out loud,

what were thinking of?

-A boat.

-A boat, really?

-Mm-hm.

OK. What were you thinking of?

A cruise ship.

-Woah!

-You're joking!

-Really?

-Yeah!

OK, can I look and see what you've done?

This is kind of like a...

Kind of a boatish type... Oh, you tried to write it there, as well.

Yes, I tried. That's right.

-Yes, yes, yes. There it is.

-B-O-A-T.

Well, by the look of this, I thought it looks like an apple

but both of us think it looked like a boat.

So you've ended up looking a little bit like an apple?

An apple, maybe, yeah.

Now I don't want to mess with this so keep a close eye on me.

Let me just see...

I want to do this really carefully.

-Is that your signature there? Can you see it?

-Yes, that is.

-That's a lovely signature.

-Oh, thank you.

Looks kind of like an anchor.

-Is it?

-It is!

ALL: No way!

You're joking me!

How is that even possible?

I don't understand how something I randomly cut turned out like that.

That is amazing.

Oh, that is...

-That's incredible.

-How did you do that?

-I don't know.

The more that we unfurled it,

and the more that we saw where the scissor marks were on the piece of paper,

I started to realise that it really was an anchor.

I mean, it knocked my socks off!

It really does seem, as stupid as it might sound,

that maybe we do share thoughts.

Yeah!

Taking the experience of that single shared thought,

bearing in mind that they could have thought of anything in the world.

There were no restrictions whatsoever.

I want to see, given those impossible circumstances,

how can I make this bigger?

Oh, dear. I think David's having what you might call a Eureka moment.

In view of the fact that they were both here in the same room and

that worked staggeringly well, I'd like to see how big I can make this.

Would they be able to share a thought

across a geographical location?

Or, better than that, might they be able to transmit a thought?

This time, I want to see if one can transmit a thought to another.

Because, if we can do that, then, perhaps, maybe anything's possible.

I'm going to send you out onto the streets, right into the city centre.

You can go anywhere, turn any corner, go up any street, down any alleyway.

It is entirely up to you. I will have no clue.

And you will have no clue where you're going.

And, then, I'm going to ask you to pick anything when you're out there.

Choose a random object to focus on, a random object to look at.

It will be up to you to try and intuit what that random object is.

-OK?

-Right, OK.

-Feel confident?

Mm, yeah-eah. Maybe. Maybe.

I don't!

Off you go. Now remember you can go wherever you like.

I'm going to call you in a few minutes when you're out there,

when you're roaming around.

-Just keep walking around until you see what you like.

-OK.

Enjoy!

Cathan's off.

Let's go this way. There's more shops down this way, isn't there?

He might have a better chance of mind transmission without the hair.

Just saying.

As he's roaming around the street, he could literally see anything.

He could see a brick that he really wants to focus on.

He could see a piece of concrete. He could see a cloud in the sky.

I'm not going to have a clue. It sounds impossible.

I hope it works but the chances aren't very high.

Have you ever tried anything like this before?

Have you ever had him think of something

and you try to work out what it is?

No, actually, we never have tried that.

Aye-aye, Cathan's onto something.

OK, so I've now got what I want.

I want you to enter into this with confidence.

And just knowing that, if this doesn't work, it's still just

a bit of fun and you've already had an amazing experience so far.

Yeah, yeah.

OK, so I'm thinking the best place I could go up

and concentrate would probably be at the top.

So, if we could head up there now and see, yeah?

PHONE RINGS

-Hello.

-Hello, is that Cathan?

-Hello, it is.

-How are you?

I'm not too bad. How are you?

Cathan, have you selected something to focus on?

I have, indeed.

OK, now is there any way in the world that Phelan

would know what you're thinking of?

Most definitely not.

OK, I want you to stare at whatever that is.

I want you to stare at it and I want you to focus on it,

I want you to focus on it deeply, firmly, tightly.

I want you to see whatever this is big and bold in your mind

and just focus on it there.

OK, great. No problem.

Great, thank you. Bye-bye.

OK, bye.

I'm going to give you this pad and this Sharpie and,

just for the fun of it, sign the bottom corner of it for me.

Now close your eyes for me and scribble down your first impression

really slowly and just trust your instincts.

And imagine, for a moment,

that you could receive this thought from Cathan.

Concentrate now, Cathan.

Are you feeling it, Phelan?

Just trust your instincts.

You will just allow the pen to move and, as it moves,

I want you to genuinely feel and imagine what it might be like

if Cathan was able to transmit something to you.

Could spend that tenner on a haircut.

Just a thought.

Because it's only when we trust ourselves that we can help

each other make better decisions.

-Yeah, I think I'm...

-Feel like you're done?

I think, yeah.

So what have we got here?

Six, five, seven, one, seven, one, two.

This isn't a telephone number or date of birth,

or anything like that?

-No, not at all.

-OK.

PHONE RINGS

-Hello.

-Hello, Cathan.

Phelan has made his guess at this side.

OK.

Go ahead, Cathan, whenever you're ready and tell me,

what were you focusing on?

OK, at the moment I'm holding £10 sterling, a £10 banknote.

-A banknote?

-Yes.

-So it's got a one and zero on it?

-It has, yeah.

OK, actually, it's probably best if you just come back but,

unfortunately, it hasn't worked.

Oops! I'm not telepathic but that Phelan does look a bit disappointed.

If twins fail, does that make it a double whammy?

Slightly disappointed that we've come out all this way and,

apparently, it's not worked so well.

Come in, come in.

Thank you for coming in. Take a wee seat.

What was it, again? Would you show me, do you have it?

-And did you go to a cash machine for this?

-Yeah.

-All right, OK.

That's really, really, super, super, super random.

Phelan had got a series of numbers so I thought for a while

-maybe you were looking at a flyer or something.

-Right.

Or I thought maybe you were looking at a telephone.

-What are the numbers, actually?

-Well, it's a tenner, isn't it?

Six, five, seven, one, seven, one, two.

I kept going over that number in my head because at least...

Hold on, hold on! Let me just get this right now.

Six, five, seven, one, seven, one, two.

-No, you're... Unbelievable!

-No!

So, hold on, you took this out of a cash machine?

Yeah, out of a cash machine.

-And this number didn't mean anything to you?

-No!

-No, not at all, in any way.

-Oh, my gosh!

-That's just so weird!

-I can't believe it. I can't believe it.

That's just so weird.

I just... I feel like giving myself a punch in the face!

TWINS LAUGH

I mean, it's almost written the same way.

You see the six and then it's going up.

Yeah, I think wow is the word for it, definitely.

That was absolutely incredible!

Even I'm blown away.

My job was to make the guys believe that the power of their mind has no limit.

I'm kind of shaking a little bit.

It's just... Woah!

The human mind is an astonishing thing that

I don't think anyone fully understands.

I don't think we really know what power the mind has

and that's my job as a mentalist, to make people believe that

they can do impossible things.

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