Theos-Talk Archives (November 2002 Message tt00561)

--- In theos-talk@y..., Bart Lidofsky <bartl@s...> wrote:
> There are different rewards out there. The one for the Indian Rope
> Trick allows for trickery to be used. The JREF reward (which is the
> former) specifically does NOT allow trickery to be used.

There is something wrong, then, because the rope trick has been 
performed. After reading your mail I went to my vast library and 
pulled down John A. Keel's book JADOO. In his travels through India 
he met a fakir who did the rope trick in his youth, then dumped 
fakery for fakiry, which is to say, real phenomena. Keel gives a 
long description of how the trick is done, based on what the fakir 
said amd says the horizontal wire works because everyone assumes 
there is something about the VERTICAL rope. The psychology of the 
audience creates one of the misdirections which makes the trick work, 
in other words. There are many other details in the book (which you 
can read at the 42nd street library if it matters) but the trick is 
rarely if ever performed today, like burial alive, the mango tree 
trick, and other famous Indian stunts. All of these were done 
regularly when Blavatsky was in India. I have not checked the book, 
but I believe there are some words about the rope trick in ISIS 
UNVEILED.

I remain persuaded that the offer of money is a bogus offer. Ditto 
with the Randi and other offers which mysteriously are never 
redeemed. There are plenty of pros like David Copperfield or Doug 
Henning who could do this trick given an incentive.