Last Wednesday at a coffee shop in Texas...

Looking up from her dealt Tarot cards the young woman sat teary eyed, "That is amazing. How can you see all that? How did you know?"

The Sensei pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket. The heavy cloud of smoke almost baptizing him for the explanation to come.


"Long before Jesus walked the Earth, a man by the name of Siddhartha quested for knowledge. For seven long years he starved himself, meditated and prayed. Finally one day, while he sat under the Bodhi tree.....he became enlightened. He was the first to awaken. He became the Buddha."

"Enlightened? What does that mean?" asked the woman - still visably shaken from her card reading.

"For three long years I lived in a temple in Japan asking myself that same question. Finally one day I too became awakened. Now I do not claim that my enlightenment was a powerful as the Buddha's, or that I am as spiritual of a man... but I got to glimpse at what he realized. I got a savory taste. The Buddha understood that this reality is an illusion. He realised that 'mind' IS reality. He realised that will and intent can reshape the very fabric of reality around us."

The woman looked at the Sensei slightly lost and puzzled.

"Even though my master strictly forbids this...let me demonstrate something for you"

The Sensei picked up the box of matches on the table and pulled out two. He put one in each hand between his index finger and thumb.

"Look at these two matches. We believe they exist. That is where we are the fools. There are no matches. An awakened mind can not only see the illusion you see, but manipulate it. The matches will simply melt through one another."

The woman dropped her drink. "What is going on here?" She asked scared, yet fascinated.

After a long pause...the Sensei responded "You are being to see."





Walk in Peace,

Sensei Strange

Cool.
I had to laugh at the very last part though when you said she dropped her drink .. aha, I thought, she's been drinking !! Coffee though .. oh well.

I'm noticing a recurring theme with many of you here, to refer to their "master" in the patter.
It's an interesting way to allude to a slightly higher power, to construct a kind of disciplinary structure in regard to magic and it's practictioners, and even provide some covertly needed restrictions on the performer, as cover perhaps for a method or move. I like that.
Rather than appear to the spectator (victim ? participant ?) as some kind of standalone superman, it manages to actually increase the mystery via suggestion of a secret order of magicians, while supplementing the believability quotient.

Yes she was drinking coffee.

I totally agree that the "master" topic is interesting. I like to drop in master because it gives the feel that you are part of a long line of knowledge - ancient knowledge that has to handed down, knowledge that has to be taught.

Also it connects me to my teachers symbolically. What I mean is everyone has a feeling about what a Zen priest looks like and is. It evokes a particular response. By mentioning my Zen master it connects myself to that memory response that a person has towards a zen priest. That is the theory anyways.


Sensei Strange

Sensei Strange, I really liked that presentation!!! Very well written my friend. I really enjoy when effects that are so commonplace to magicians at large are give their proper place with an purposeful presentation. While it may not seem that impressive a trick to a magician, to the spectator you are....scary!

Are you set up like an Alexander type character as your icon shows? I like how you are setting up your personna.

Am I like Alexander? Really I don't know. I really do not know much about him. Years ago when I first started performing a lot I had a need to make a sticker. I really wanted a mix of old and new feels. I love the old magician posters. I found the Alexander poster online. I thought the idea was cool, especially since I am a crystal ball manipulator, a Buddhist and a diviner. But, Alexander was kind of a pasty faced looking chap. I just sketched out the Alexander pose with my face (kinda) and scanned it in the computer. Even though it is a rip off from the old days, I tend to use it as my magic symbol. I see it as helping Alexander's spirit live on.

In Aikido there is a saying that we stand on the shoulders of our teachers and the artists that come before. I believe in this, try to exploit it. I hope to strengthen the old masters magic, and I hope they can help mine.

As far as personna goes - I am just me. Magic helped me find my true self. No charecter really, I just see the ego as more of a living art piece, malluable to will. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I weave magic, but more often than not I am just stuck in traffic and doing dishes.



Walk in Peace,

Sensei Strange