Very occasional quote of the day: random factors

“Life is a cut-up; consciousness is a cut-up. Every time you walk down the street or look out the window, your stream of consciousness is cut by random factors.”

— William S. Burroughs, The Adding Machine

More technique

This is one of the more memorable quotes from the pianist Kenny Werner's book Effortless Mastery— I think a lot of people noticed it, and fully embraced it:

Once after playing a concert an interviewer asked me, “If you could add anything to your playing, what would it be?” Without hesitation I answered,  “More technique.” He looked at me strangely because I had shown a lot of different skills in this performance, and that didn't seem to be my most pressing need. Also, it was not the most politically correct answer. He asked why, and I replied “Because I love to let the great spirit manifest through me. She only gets stuck when I go for something that's not there technically. That distracts me from the bliss I am receiving.”

I don't disagree with it, but in light of the current wave of obsession with pure technical prowess, maybe we should throw this into the mix, from William S. Burroughs:

I am frequently asked, “What would you do if you were President? What would you do if you were the dictator of America? What would you do if you had a billion dollars?” In the words of my friend the late Ahmed Jacoubi, “This question is not personal opinion.” A prior question must be asked: “How did you get to be the President, a dictator, a billionaire?” The answers to these questions will condition what you will do. For one is not magically teleported into these positions; one gets there by a series of discrete steps, each step hedged with conditions and prices.

How fast can you take your time?

The Discipline of DE, from William S. Burroughs' Exterminator!, reprinted in it's entirety via Melancholia, which appears to be a Dutch literary blog. For me this is right up there with Zen in the Art of Archery:

DE is a way of doing. It is a way of doing everything you do. DE simply means doing whatever you do in the easiest most relaxed way you can manage which is also the quickest and most efficient way, as you will find as you advance in DE.

You can start right now tidying up your flat, moving furniture or books, washing dishes, making tea, sorting papers. Consider the weight of objects: exactly how much force is needed to get the object from here to there? Consider its shape and texture and function. Where exactly does it belong? Use just the amount of force necessary to get the object from here to there. Don't fumble, jerk, grab an object. Drop cool possessive fingers onto it like a gentle old cop making a soft arrest. Guide the dustpan lightly to the floor as if you were landing a plane. When you touch an object weigh it with your fingers, feel your fingers on the object, the skin, blood, muscles, tendons of your hand and arm. Consider these extensions of yourself as precision instruments to perform every movement smoothly and well.