benefits
As well as its greatest and most obvious benefit — an unparalleled opportunity for association with an international family of others with like interests — the P.E.A. additionally offers several particularly valuable membership dividends, including a monthly journal (Vibrations), an interactive Internet forum (Raven's Nest), and our crown jewel: the annual Meeting of the Minds.
M.O.T.M.
Our annual convention, the Meeting of the Minds, is our "family reunion", an opportunity for people of like minds to share their interest and enthusiasm for mentalism and its allied arts. Held in conjunction with the Association's annual meeting (typically around the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox), the event spans five days, and includes lectures, workshops, shows, meals, and those all-important opportunities to socialize with friends new and old, in a truly egalitarian atmosphere.
Previous Meetings of the Minds have been held in Paramus, NJ (1979); St. Louis, MO (1980); San Mateo, CA (1981); Boston, MA (1982); Chicago, IL (1983); San Jose, CA (1984); Norfolk, VA (1985); Secaucus, NJ (1987); Edison, NJ (1988); Arlington, VA (1989); Phoenix, AZ (1990); Washington, DC (1991); Minneapolis, MN (1992); Miami, FL (1993); Atlanta, GA (1994); Seattle, WA (1995); Valley Forge, PA (1996); Minneapolis, MN (1997); Iselin, NJ (1998); Atlanta, GA (1999); Concord, CA (2000), New Orleans, LA (2001), Reston, VA (2002), Calgary, AB (2003), Chicago, IL (2004), Las Vegas, NV (2005), Iselin, NJ (2006), San Jose, CA (2007), Dearborn, MI (2008), Halifax, NS (2009), Los Angeles, CA (2010), Hartford, CT (2011), Concord, CA (2012), Chicago, IL (2013), Baltimore, MD (2014), and Portland, OR (2015); Las Vegas, NV (2016), Kissimmee, FL (2017), Salem, MA (2018); New Orleans, LA (2019); virtual (2020); virtual (2021); White Plains, NY (2022); Indianapolis, IN (2023); Albuquerque, NM (2024); the 2025 convention is scheduled for Charlotte, NC.
The name given to these annual conventions was originally coined by April Becker, wife of long-time member Larry.
Vibrations
The P.E.A.'s monthly journal (in continuous production since 1978) is considered a leading publication in the field. Its pages are chock full of contributions from some of the leading names in psychic entertainment: stage & close-up performance material, presentational ideas, business articles, news, reviews (products, performances, books, videos, etc.), humor, commentary, and tips on things psychic. Complete sets of back issues are available to members only.
Raven's Nest
A lively, Internet-based bulletin board and discussion tool, the interactive Raven's Nest (named in honor of P.E.A. founder — and first President — Tony Raven) organizes a large and diverse variety of forums for research, the exploration of new ideas, requests for assistance, and timely announcements of all kinds. Members can optionally configure the Nest for "hands off" usage, in which postings on topics of interest are automatically e-mailed.