Spoon bending

[jacob]

This thread is for the discussion of spoon bending using (or with the help of) mind powers, psychokinesis. The famous feat, started by Uri Geller is one of the most known psi abilities.

I've never seen quite a good demonstration myself and never saw a good research on it, except Jack Houck's reports on a metallurgic tests that he performed on a spoon bend using some of the methods he teaches in his spoon bending parties, called PK parties.

I've seen quite a lot of discussion on this on the blog and several people have sent me their stories, photos, videos and instructions.

Here are some links:
My first article on spoon bending, describing PK parties, plus stories from Michael Crichton and other people: Spoon bending - Parapsychology articles and blog

Spoon bending instructions and pictures - Parapsychology articles and blog - the most popular page on the blog (324 comments). Includes technique description and photos of Shannan performing it.

The following link has the video of Shannan performing spoon bending:
Spoon bending video - Parapsychology articles and blog (202 comments)

How to bend a spoon using your mind - Parapsychology articles and blog - another technique sent to me by another blog reader.


Story of spoon bending by Dr. Dean Radin: Spoon bending evidence by Dean Radin - Parapsychology articles and blog

Plus a fascinating recollection of spoon bending by a boy in 1976 at Spoon bending boy in 1976 - Parapsychology articles and blog

Discuss your thoughts, trials, failures and successes of spoon bending here.

[anonymous]

I've read accounts of spoon bending parties and I have no reason to contradict those who have done it. However I did attend a class on spoon bending and saw spoons bend but I don't think the explanation was paranormal.

Firstly, the teacher's spoon broke. I didn't understand how that could happen. I looked all over the internet and read many accounts and I never heard of that happening. Then a friend of mine explained the obvious: if you bend a piece of metal back and forth it eventually breaks.

Secondly one student in the class said that her spoon bent but that she just forced it. The teacher agressively insisted, "But you used less force than you normally would." The student replied, "well, uh, yeah".

Thirdly, many accounts I've read said that you can't bend the spoon back once it's bent. However this didn't stop one student from straightening his spoon.

So my belief is that in this class people who's spoon bent were either deceiving themselves or deceiving others and in either case they were encouraged to do so by the teacher.

This was at a spiritualist church and I stopped going to that church when the teacher of the class became pastor.

[damian77]

I find it very difficult to bend this spoon. I am new to this kind of mind – energy thing.

I always wanted to do this as my grandfather is good in hypnotism and he did lots of magic’s and tricks but unfortunately he is no more with us but I always wanted to do this like him.

I did this spoon bending for hours and days but still I am not successful, is there anything else I need apart from "peak emotional" thing?

[jacob]

A reader of my website sent me an email with her success with spoon bending. Below is the email. I also attached the image that she sent me.

Hey - I read Spoon bending instructions and pictures - Parapsychology articles and blog and... It worked. I did it a little different though. I am a mystic Christian (not Gnostic) Here's my story:

I had the desire a few moments before. So I surfed the web. Read 2 how-to articles, and decided that I could do it. I read your article 2nd. I went into the kitchen, deciding to bend a spoon. I had never tried it, but I felt that I was supposed to discover a new spiritual gift (well, a latent one - haven't touched it since I was 15... I'm 23 now.) I plunged my hand into the spoons, and grabbed the one the felt right.
I sat down on my bed, talked to it with my hands, used it, put it in my mouth and then washed it. It looked beautiful. I lit a candle, some sage and prayed (singing). I pulled out the energy of his past users with my hands (passing my hand over a flame, like I was burning pieces of dust that I would shake off) I cleansed myself and the spoon with sage, and I told the spoon how much I loved it and how I wanted it to be sacred. I told it I would keep it with me as a sign. I asked him to bend.

He reminded me of a loving pet. Wanting to obey, but not knowing how. I tested how hard it was to bend the spoon a few times through all of this, and I knew how hard I really had to push. It hurt my fingers. You know, I'm looking at the spoon now and thinking, gosh - I remember doing it, but I didn't exert enough force. Yeah, I pushed it, but not enough to do that. Just like the article said, it becomes softer. It didn't bend itself, but it did yield to me.

This excites the heck out of me: Now when I try to bend the spoon back into place, it's too hard! And when rub its sides, or it clangs against my necklace, it makes a beautiful sound (like its singing back to me)

Anyway - good story. Thought I'd share it.

[bellco]

I think: Need to buy a plane ticket to Australia. (No kidding.)
At fork-you.com , they say they taught 100+ people to do this.
I wonder if this is transitive. (Hope so...) So: A teaches B, who teaches C, who teaches D, etc.

[rachit]

A couple of weeks ago, some friends of mine had gone for a spoon bending class here (Singapore) and they came back to show off their spoons. At that point I started believing that if they could do it, I could too!

I'm not new to energy & self-hypnosis ... but I am relatively new to meditation. So when I googled "spoon bending", I was hoping to find some sleight of hand or trick for doing this.

Instead, I stumbled upon this site ... and the instructions seemed easy enough. And then I saw the video - that really got me pumped up! It was the first hour of my awakening in the morning, so I decided that today ... instead of meditation, I'm going to bend spoons!

I've read reports that people weren't able to do it without the company of other people ... but I guess it's all about belief. I'm really pumped up and pretty sure I can do it ... and after meditating for about 30 seconds and mentally chanting "Bend Bend Bend", I was able to bend the spoons!

Like Jacob said, it didn't bend by itself. I still had to put force to bend it ... but I hadn't been able to bend it without meditation. It definitely did feel much softer, like it wasn't steel but something else.

I posted my picture on my blog post here - Rachit.org - “dont mind” - » I Can Bend Spoons!

[Jozen-Bo]

OK...this sounds like fun! I am going to get a spoon and work with it, seeing if I can bend it, I will be patient and set aside 1 or 2 minutes a day and report back when I have some success (or when I have a question)...I never tried to bend a spoon with my mind before...this should be interesting!!!

Best Regards,
Jozen-Bo

[68mustangfan]

This was on my third attempt:

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/2236/img0865rq0.jpg

I'm still trying to figure out whether or not I was forcing it because I've never done this before.

[SkepticInYourHead]

Spoon bending (or fork for that matter) is a time-honored old magician's trick. The two basic methods are:

1) Prepare the target spoon by employing what is called "metal fatigue", meaning you bend it back and forth repeatedly until the friction warms the metal and it becomes increasingly bendable. You return it to its proper shape to later pull it out in front of your audience and bend it with minimal effort.

2) Or you use the handle end of it to bend it surrepticiously, using the bulk of the hand holding it to hide the action from your audience. You grasp the spoon with your fingers near the narrowest part and push the handle end against a table or other hard surface. The leverage makes it bend quickly and easily with a little practice.

The above are also how magicians - or magicians pretending they are psychics - bend keys. Slo-mo video of Uri Geller shows him using both methods, as well as palming his own spoon in to replace the unprepared spoon offered by an audience member or TV show host.

It's a simple basic magic trick that went out of fashion for decades and was resurrected in the 1970s by Uri Geller after the public had forgotten it was a trick.

[DUKER]

So whats to stop me from getting up, marching into my kitchen, and bending a spoon around on itself a few times..... I'm really not understanding this whole "with the mind" portion.. All the research that i've done, I have seen people bending a spoon with their hands....not their minds........HANDS.. Am I missing something here?? I'm trying, really I am...... I'd love to beleive that somehow I can tap into my own mind....