Searching for lost magic | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata
-
0:17 - 0:20In a world in which
the word that defines the road I walk -
0:20 - 0:25sounds increasingly obsolete,
I can say with pride that I'm a magician. -
0:26 - 0:28And I'm also a storyteller.
-
0:29 - 0:33And a relatively short time ago,
I discovered that they're the same thing. -
0:34 - 0:38"Abracadabra,"
the magic word, par excellence, -
0:38 - 0:42comes from Aramaic, the oldest Semitic
language in the world. -
0:43 - 0:47It means, "I create as I speak".
-
0:50 - 0:53They say that magicians make things
appear and disappear, -
0:54 - 0:58but the truth is that our job
is to surprise, -
0:58 - 1:00which means to put into view.
-
1:00 - 1:04To discover, to remove that which covers,
that which is hidden, -
1:04 - 1:07and integrate, reunite
what's been separated. -
1:08 - 1:12Like a puzzle that was once
a complete picture, -
1:12 - 1:17and which can only recover its meaning
once its pieces are put back together. -
1:19 - 1:23A while back, I was invited to go see
a very famous speaker, -
1:23 - 1:26whose talk ended up being
a little bit of everything. -
1:27 - 1:30It ended with a story that some of you
will surely know, -
1:30 - 1:33about two men in the middle of the jungle,
-
1:33 - 1:37who suddenly see a hungry,
ferocious lion running towards them. -
1:39 - 1:44One of the guys was paralyzed with fear,
but the other calmly sat down -
1:44 - 1:49on a rock, took a pair of running shoes
out of his backpack, -
1:49 - 1:50and started to put them on.
-
1:51 - 1:54Surprised, the other guy said:
-
1:54 - 1:58"Do you really think you can run faster
than the lion?" -
1:59 - 2:02And the first guy said, parsimoniously:
-
2:02 - 2:05"I don't need to run faster than the lion.
-
2:06 - 2:09I only need to run faster than you."
-
2:09 - 2:11(Laughter)
-
2:13 - 2:16(Applause)
-
2:19 - 2:22The speaker ended his talk with this:
-
2:23 - 2:28"In today's world, all that matters
is to run faster than the competition." -
2:30 - 2:35That story sparked a look back
at my own career in magic. -
2:35 - 2:38I began to study when I was 9,
-
2:38 - 2:40and did my first professional show at 15.
-
2:40 - 2:43I was a traditional magician
until the age of 19: -
2:43 - 2:46Amazing people was my only goal.
-
2:48 - 2:50I was good at what I did.
-
2:51 - 2:53People would offer me more work,
recommend me to others. -
2:53 - 2:58Early in my life, I had managed to "run"
quickly enough. -
2:59 - 3:02But I wasn't happy with what I was doing,
and I couldn't enjoy it. -
3:03 - 3:08Eventually, I figured out
what the empty feeling inside of me was: -
3:08 - 3:12My magic lacked magic.
-
3:14 - 3:17I had tasted magic in my daily life--
-
3:18 - 3:21in a kiss, in a sunset, in an embrace--
-
3:22 - 3:27but I couldn't create that magical,
tingly feeling in my audiences or shows. -
3:29 - 3:34Until one day, when I happened to receive
a poem that touched me deeply, -
3:35 - 3:38and in which I felt I had found
the lost magic. -
3:39 - 3:43I immediately committed the poem
to memory, and at the end of my next show -
3:43 - 3:47I recited it, humbly,
and I felt a connection. -
3:49 - 3:54Later, while I was gathering my things,
two women approached, moved by the poem. -
3:54 - 3:58One of them took my hands and said:
"We really like what you did, young man, -
3:58 - 4:01but we found what you said at the end
particularly touching, -
4:01 - 4:04because it made everything else
make sense." -
4:05 - 4:10I had managed to bring together two things
that had always been separate. -
4:10 - 4:14My magic had regained its magic.
-
4:15 - 4:19Because magic without magic
is only a trick. -
4:19 - 4:21A bag of tricks.
-
4:23 - 4:26The secret of this reconnection
is pretty simple: -
4:27 - 4:30We have only one mind but it's divided
into two parts. -
4:30 - 4:35The left side is rational, pragmatic,
structured, skeptical, -
4:36 - 4:39programmed to question everything
and believe nothing. -
4:40 - 4:46The right side, in contrast, is emotional,
intuitive, naïve, creative, magical, -
4:46 - 4:49programmed to believe everything
and question nothing. -
4:50 - 4:53But we live in a very rational
and frenetic world, -
4:53 - 4:56that forces us to depend on reason
and dedicate ourselves almost exclusively -
4:56 - 4:58to production and consumption.
-
4:58 - 5:03Nowadays, people have neither the time
nor the disposition to play, to create, -
5:03 - 5:06to contemplate the world around us
with genuine curiosity. -
5:07 - 5:10We've become separated from ourselves.
-
5:10 - 5:14We've disintegrated. Dis-integrated.
-
5:14 - 5:16We live barely utilizing
half of our potential -
5:16 - 5:18and the world wants us to believe
-
5:18 - 5:21that's how it should be;
that living that way is good enough. -
5:22 - 5:27But denying this part of ourselves
hasn't made it disappear. -
5:28 - 5:30Invisible is not the same as nonexistent.
-
5:32 - 5:36The magical experience, if you're willing
to look beyond the surprise, -
5:36 - 5:40supports integration and reconnection.
-
5:40 - 5:43That which we can't explain
creates a short circuit -
5:43 - 5:46in the logical brain,
which makes us lose control -
5:46 - 5:49and it weakens the barriers
that separate us on the inside. -
5:49 - 5:53So naturally, our parts become integrated,
-
5:53 - 5:55and we can go through
the magical experience, -
5:55 - 5:59whatever kind it may be, the slightest,
the most everyday, -
5:59 - 6:03whole, sound, and without being
pulled this way and that. -
6:04 - 6:08If it weren't for the rational mind,
we could permanently connect -
6:08 - 6:10with the magic that surrounds us.
-
6:10 - 6:12Natural magic, as it was called
at the beginning of time, -
6:12 - 6:15is revealed in every moment of creation.
-
6:15 - 6:19For starters, we're here and we're alive.
-
6:19 - 6:22No two human beings are alike
in all the world. -
6:23 - 6:27We see magic in the gestation
and birth cycle of animals; -
6:27 - 6:31or in music, where from a mere seven notes
infinite worlds are created -
6:31 - 6:36in endless combinations; or in trips,
where in a question of hours -
6:36 - 6:40we can travel from the harshest summer
to the harshest winter; -
6:40 - 6:44or in two glances that meet
for the first time and become inseparable. -
6:45 - 6:49I'm convinced that magic,
in any of its forms, -
6:49 - 6:53enriches and strengthens
our experience of living. -
6:54 - 6:57That's why I'm here: to invite you all
to recuperate the magic -
6:57 - 6:59that exists inside every single one of us.
-
7:00 - 7:02To do that, the only thing we have to do
-
7:02 - 7:06is stop fighting it, fearing it,
and ignoring it. -
7:08 - 7:12And yet, I am in no way suggesting
that you abandon -
7:12 - 7:14your skepticism
or your search for answers, -
7:14 - 7:16which are themselves worthwhile.
-
7:16 - 7:20I don't think we should become followers
or fanatics of the invisible, -
7:20 - 7:24nor that we should replace our left side
with our right -
7:24 - 7:27up here, because neither of the two sides
can be the only one. -
7:28 - 7:31What I've come to suggest
is that we re-unite ourselves, -
7:31 - 7:34that we integrate our parts:
-
7:34 - 7:38our skepticism with our naiveté;
-
7:38 - 7:40our reason with our emotion;
-
7:40 - 7:42our intelligence with our intuition.
-
7:42 - 7:44That way we use all our parts.
-
7:44 - 7:49All of them are indispensable pieces
of the puzzles of our lives. -
7:51 - 7:56To test this theory, I ask you all
to share with me -
7:56 - 7:59a magical experience
right here, right now. -
7:59 - 8:03You're all going to participate.
-
8:03 - 8:06And I ask all of you who are not
here with us, -
8:06 - 8:08wherever and whoever you may be,
-
8:08 - 8:12that you also participate
as if you were here. -
8:12 - 8:16I need to ask you all
to close your eyes now. -
8:16 - 8:21I'm asking you to trust me;
I promise this is going somewhere. -
8:21 - 8:22Come on, then.
Close your eyes. -
8:23 - 8:26Uncross your arms and legs --
-
8:26 - 8:29I guarantee if you do, you'll enjoy
this experience 30% more. -
8:29 - 8:32For those who have a seat back,
lean against it. -
8:32 - 8:34If you don't have a seat back,
sit up straight. -
8:34 - 8:38Try to breathe from as deep a place
as possible, way down in the belly. -
8:38 - 8:41Let go of the hand
of the person next to you -
8:41 - 8:43especially if you didn't
come here together. -
8:43 - 8:44(Laughter)
-
8:46 - 8:48Breathe as slowly and deliberately
as you can, -
8:49 - 8:53and try to listen only to my voice
and to the music. -
8:58 - 9:01(Music)
-
9:06 - 9:10Imagine that you're sitting
in your favorite place, -
9:12 - 9:17that one place where you could spend
hours, just being there. -
9:19 - 9:23As you enjoy this moment,
free of worries, free of obligations, -
9:23 - 9:29an image begins to form before you,
that's wonderful to behold. -
9:29 - 9:33You can start to see different colors,
-
9:33 - 9:36shapes, textures, and characters.
-
9:37 - 9:39It's as if it were a painting,
a work of art -
9:39 - 9:43that had been created especially
to suit your personal tastes. -
9:46 - 9:52As you enjoy the beauty of the piece,
it starts to give off a white light -
9:52 - 9:56that distracts you
and breaks your concentration. -
9:57 - 10:01You get up from where you're sitting
and move closer in order to see it better, -
10:01 - 10:07and you realize that the flash of light
is actually something missing from the painting, -
10:07 - 10:10almost like a piece missing from a puzzle.
-
10:11 - 10:16You move even closer, and see
that the puzzle piece is big, -
10:16 - 10:22big enough to be a little door
that you could pass through. -
10:23 - 10:29You stretch out your right hand, push
the door, pass through to the other side. -
10:30 - 10:33You've come now to a deserted beach.
-
10:33 - 10:37It's twilight, and the sun
is shyly taking leave. -
10:38 - 10:40You can feel the warm sand
under your feet, -
10:40 - 10:42the cool breeze on your body,
-
10:42 - 10:45you hear the sound of the sea
reaching the shore. -
10:47 - 10:52You look up to one side and see
a person in the distance. -
10:53 - 10:57It's someone you know very well, yet
it strikes you as odd to see them here. -
10:58 - 11:04You run towards one another, ready
to give each other an everlasting embrace. -
11:05 - 11:09And in the excitement of the hug,
you ask the person: -
11:09 - 11:12"What are you doing here?"
-
11:13 - 11:15You wait for the answer:
-
11:15 - 11:19"I came to see you, to give you this hug
and to bring you a gift." -
11:20 - 11:24The person takes your hand,
and places a gift in your palm. -
11:24 - 11:27It's a puzzle piece.
-
11:27 - 11:30It's the piece that was missing
from your painting, -
11:30 - 11:32the piece that completes you.
-
11:33 - 11:36You give another forever hug
to the person, -
11:36 - 11:43the one you're so happy to have found.
This time, in the emotion of the embrace, -
11:43 - 11:47you realize that the time has come
to set them free, to let go. -
11:49 - 11:51You begin to slowly disengage
from the hug, -
11:51 - 11:54walking away backwards,
in order to not lose eye contact, -
11:54 - 11:58holding the puzzle piece tightly
to your chest. -
11:59 - 12:01And also slowly
-- very, very slowly -- -
12:01 - 12:04you start to get used to the idea
of returning to this place... -
12:06 - 12:08and you open your eyes.
-
12:10 - 12:11(Music ends)
-
12:18 - 12:20For every 10 times I do this exercise,
-
12:20 - 12:248 or 9 of them,
I meet my grandfather, Lázaro. -
12:25 - 12:27He was my teacher while he was here,
-
12:27 - 12:30and he's continued to be my teacher
for all these years since he's left. -
12:31 - 12:35He's given me many puzzle pieces,
that I believe are, little by little, -
12:35 - 12:38completing the puzzle of my life.
-
12:38 - 12:40Did that happen to anyone else,
-
12:40 - 12:42that you met someone
you thought you'd never see again, -
12:42 - 12:45or who you hadn't seen
for a very long time? -
12:59 - 13:00What's your name?
-
13:00 - 13:01Woman: Pato.
-
13:01 - 13:03(Applause)
-
13:10 - 13:12NJ: Who did you meet?
P: A friend of mine. -
13:12 - 13:15NJ: What's her name?
P: Julieta. -
13:15 - 13:17NJ: When was the last time you saw her?
P: A long time ago. -
13:17 - 13:19NJ: Was it good to see her?
P: Yes. -
13:20 - 13:24NJ: Pato, I brought my favorite painting
to share with you and everyone. -
13:24 - 13:30It's "The Metamorphosis of Narcissus,"
by Salvador Dalí. -
13:30 - 13:34It's missing a piece; it's like a symbol
of that door that I can go through -
13:34 - 13:37every time I get lost, in order to find
a deserted beach, -
13:37 - 13:40where my grandfather Lázaro
or one of my teachers -
13:40 - 13:44gives me a gift, a puzzle piece
that helps me get back on track. -
13:44 - 13:47I also brought, to share
with you and everyone, -
13:47 - 13:49a bagful of puzzle pieces.
-
13:49 - 13:52So I need you to, with your left hand,
-
13:52 - 13:55pull out 3 or 4 pieces at the same time,
without looking. -
13:55 - 13:57P: Together?
NJ: Yes. -
14:02 - 14:03NJ: Today.
-
14:03 - 14:04(Laughter)
-
14:05 - 14:09NJ: Now, standing off to the side
so that everyone can see, -
14:09 - 14:11try each of the pieces to see
if one of them fits. -
14:30 - 14:32NJ: No, no. OK.
-
14:32 - 14:36Take the bag with your left hand,
like that, and close your eyes. -
14:38 - 14:43I need you to, using your imagination,
go back to the beach where you just were. -
14:44 - 14:48And with your imagination, call to
your friend, because we need her help. -
14:49 - 14:52Ask her to come over to you,
and with her left hand, -
14:52 - 14:55take your right hand,
but don't move your right hand, -
14:55 - 14:58until she's the one who's guiding you.
-
14:58 - 15:01Put your hand in the bag again,
but this time take out only one piece. -
15:01 - 15:04But it can't be just any piece,
-
15:04 - 15:07it has to be the piece that completes
all of us this afternoon. -
15:16 - 15:17Open your eyes.
-
15:22 - 15:25(Applause)
-
15:27 - 15:28P: Thank you.
-
15:31 - 15:32NJ: Pato!
-
15:41 - 15:46On behalf of my grandfather Lázaro and me,
I give to you this puzzle piece. -
15:46 - 15:49May you soon find the puzzle
that completes it. -
15:49 - 15:50P: Thank you.
-
15:50 - 15:53NJ: Can we give another round of applause
to Pato for helping us? -
15:53 - 15:55(Applause)
-
15:55 - 15:56NJ: Thanks.
-
16:08 - 16:13A while back, I was delighted
to discover that my career -
16:13 - 16:16had started to turn into a path.
-
16:17 - 16:22And then one day I received an email
that revealed a new discovery. -
16:22 - 16:24The message said:
-
16:25 - 16:27"Hello Jansenson, my name is Sara.
-
16:28 - 16:30The other day I saw you on a tv show.
-
16:30 - 16:33It was an interview, and there wasn't
any time for you to do magic. -
16:34 - 16:38The following day, while I was taking
a walk in the park -
16:38 - 16:41with the nurse who pushes my wheelchair,
-
16:41 - 16:44I thought to write to you and tell you
that I don't believe in magic, -
16:44 - 16:47but that if magic does exist as you claim,
-
16:47 - 16:50and if you're as good a magician
as the show's host says you are, -
16:50 - 16:53then you should be able
to make me walk again. -
16:55 - 16:59But yesterday you were on the show again,
and I saw you do magic, and build a bridge -
16:59 - 17:02to a magical world I've never been to.
-
17:03 - 17:09And it occurred to me that I should write
to tell you that your magic gave me wings. -
17:10 - 17:12Now I don't need to walk."
-
17:14 - 17:16(Applause)
-
17:21 - 17:24There's a world in which there's no need
-
17:24 - 17:27to run faster and faster.
-
17:27 - 17:33It's the amazing magical world that exists
inside of each and every one of us. -
17:35 - 17:39I hope the next time you encounter it,
you embrace it with all your might. -
17:40 - 17:45I'm talking about one of those hugs
that you hope never ends. -
17:45 - 17:50I'm talking about the kind of hug
that makes you feel like your feet -
17:50 - 17:52lift off the floor a little bit.
-
17:54 - 17:55I hope.
-
17:56 - 17:58(Applause)
- Title:
- Searching for lost magic | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
A proposal to bring magic back into our lives.
Norberto Jansenson has been a professional illusionist for twenty-five years. He designs, produces, and directs his own shows for audiences ranging from intimate, to numbering in the thousands. He uses his talents as a storyteller and speaker during his performances, and also organizes and creates content for other events.
- Video Language:
- Spanish
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 18:14
Camille Martínez approved English subtitles for Buscando la magia perdida | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata | ||
Gisela Giardino accepted English subtitles for Buscando la magia perdida | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata | ||
Gisela Giardino edited English subtitles for Buscando la magia perdida | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata | ||
Gisela Giardino edited English subtitles for Buscando la magia perdida | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata | ||
Gisela Giardino edited English subtitles for Buscando la magia perdida | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata | ||
Gisela Giardino edited English subtitles for Buscando la magia perdida | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata | ||
Gisela Giardino edited English subtitles for Buscando la magia perdida | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Buscando la magia perdida | Norberto Jansenson | TEDxRíodelaPlata |