Newtown residents can anticipate an evening of fun entertainment, said Keith Zalinger, “Reader of Minds,” when he performs at C.H. Booth Library on Tuesday, October 27, at 7 pm.

Mr Zalinger, of Branford, has been sharing his talent of mind reading and stage hypnosis with audiences since 2006, although he has been cognizant of his unusual skill since the 1980s, when he was in his teens. For this mind reader, it was merely a sense of becoming aware of certain feelings that drew him to ideas.

“I didn’t take it seriously until about 2000,” Mr Zalinger said in a recent telephone interview. “It’s really just an inkling, and hard to go on,” he said of his awareness that he can intuit what is on another person’s mind.

“This field is funny,” he admitted. “It’s not an easy thing to quantify.”

He had heard stories from relatives that his great-grandfather had the same intuition, and regrets he never met the man. It is Mr Zalinger’s belief, however, that “reading minds” is not that uncommon of a talent.

A body builder works to develop visible muscles; a person who never goes to the gym still has muscles, albeit undeveloped, Mr Zalinger pointed out. The mind’s underlying abilities are the same.

“I absolutely believe that others have this ability, but just don’t recognize it,” he said. Not everyone is comfortable with that recognition, he said.

“You always hear about these people who are incredibly ‘on.’ But some people worry about how others might react. I respect that,” Mr Zalinger said.

Once he began to take his talent seriously, he focused on developing that intuition. “I used a lot of self-hypnosis,” Mr Zalinger said, to connect himself with the unconscious mind. “Doing anything psychic,” he explained, “it’s the unconscious mind that makes the connection.”

When he visits Newtown’s library on October 27, Mr Zalinger will demonstrate mind reading, as well as stage hypnosis, which he emphasized is quite different from self-hypnosis. The hypnosis is entirely dependent on volunteers, and is never done when he is mind reading, he said. He also stressed that mind reading is entirely different from what a medium does.

“People don’t always make that distinction. But I don’t do séances or talk to the dead,” Mr Zalinger said.

He is looking forward to performing at the library. “I’ve done quite a few library programs, as well as corporate, birthday, and bachelorette parties. Library shows have been fantastic. Reactions have been off the wall,” he said.

There are always skeptics in the audience, Mr Zalinger said, “and that’s okay.” There are people, too, who think that every demonstration of psychic ability is out of a Hollywood movie, and expect an experience that is over the top, he added.

“Some people are amazed. The beauty of this is that everyone’s experience is different. It’s fun, and we have a great time,” he said.

The program is free, but registration for the Reader of Minds program is required at chboothlibrary.org, under the calendar listing.