Levitation in Paris

I was in Paris the beginning of April, giving a talk at the Sorbonne for the launch of the French translation of my book, Supernormal. While walking about and enjoying the city on the way to the Arc De Triomphe, I passed a levitating man. This was a nice synchronicity given the topic of my book, which just won the 2014 Silver Naulitus Book Award. This is a major book award "for exceptional literary contributions to spiritual growth, conscious living, high-level wellness, green values, responsible leadership and positive social change as well as to the worlds of art, creativity and inspirational reading for children, teens and young adults." 


How is the man levitating? It's an impressive trick, even when you know how it works.



Comments

Gianfranco Bussalai said…
Really there is a trick? I was sure it was a real levitation phenomenon ... (just commenting as skeptics think a believer in ESP would answer)
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Topher Cooper said…
Just a minor point -- in the parlance of prestidigitation this is referred to as a "suspension." In a levitation there is no apparent contact with the ground. In a suspension there is but it does not appear to be adequate -- a casually held staff in this case, but two classic forms are an inverted broom being leaned against or a neck resting on the top of a chair back.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Dean Radin said…
Thanks for the distinction Topher!
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Enfant Terrible said…
This is how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTmg5jdKskE
see at 4min15s
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Unknown said…
Out of curiosity, Dean. What are your opinions on Christof Koch and his IIT?
Monday, April 28, 2014
Unknown said…
Action-reaction forces at work involving the staff and his body functioning as one system.
Monday, May 05, 2014
Benjamin Steigmann said…
Eric Dingwall, noted skeptic (I would say that term actually applies to him, as opposed to others who claim the term), put forth strong evidence supporting the claimed levitations of the "thaumaturgist monk" Joseph of Cupertino, suggesting that the case was authentic, in a book I am currently reading, "Some Human Oddities".
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Unknown said…
Madame David Alexandra Neel (24 October 1868 – 8 September 1969) has given a firsthand account of levitating lamas that she saw travelling at great speeds in the inner reaches of the Himalayas. The books on Tantra state that levitation occurs when one of the 5 pranas (life forces) in the body called the uddaan prana gets activated and ascends from the feet to the head making the body as light as a feather. Madame David Neel was a close acquaintance of the Mother, the Jewish spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Unknown said…
Truth is stranger than fiction




While on the subject of levitation, 2 respected Indian scientists, Prof U R Rao (ex-chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization) and Dr S Shukla (ex-scientist, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune), are on record for saying that they experienced levitation and nuclear transmutation (alchemy) while on a visit to a remote Himalayan town where they were led to a cave by a guide that was inhabited by a yogi. They say that the yogi imparted a supraphysical power to them via a mantra that caused their bodies within minutes to levitate 4 feet above the ground and that on being given a piece of iron they were able to convert it into pure gold after chanting a certain mantra 108 times given to them by the same yogi. The gold bit was later tested in a lab and found to be 24 carat.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Vasilios Billy Mavreas said…
gotta say, dean, i like your outfit better.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
AAB said…
There was a guy using the same trick in my hometown a few months ago. It drew a small crowd and is admitadly quite ingenious, though easy enough to figure out. He's obviously sitting on a kind of chair (of sorts) that uses the pipe as an oversized chair leg and a supporting base under the carpet.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
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