Chopping Bamboo

So, as the mighty founder of the rogue mage dojo the House of Flying Cards, commanding armies of magicians at my disposal like Gengis Kahn to conquer crowds wherever we go, I secretly freelance at a 9-5 desk job every now and then. It's great! It's so laid back. I pick up the phone and ask people if they would like free movie tickets, as opposed to picking up the phone and convincing people to book our shows. I sit peacefully in an air-conditioned cubicle surrounded by movie posters, as opposed to standing under the hot sun in front of groups of strangers waiting to be impressed. It's low-intensity, and stable. I have tasted this world. It's humbling, and there's peace in low-brainpower tasks such as shipping boxes of movie posters and stuffing envelopes. I once read that a Buddhist monk from the Ching Dynasty fled the bustle of the imperial city to retire in the mountains, and chop bamboo. He achieved enlightenment this way. It's a change of pace, the 9-5, but the more I do it, the more energy I store up energy for my next run on the performance grind. I love the way things balance out: low-intensity office hours and high-intensity gig runs. I can appreciate the balance both bring to my being!

-antidote

Ego

A good friend and mentor of mine Alex Geiser has had a profound impact on how I approach this art. He also does a gangster coin matrix that is too hardcore to compete with or comprehend how hardcore it hits you in the brain. Anyway, out of all art forms, magic has the potential to inflate your ego more-so than music, painting, and the like, because you get instant props! Like the response is right away. People will tend to worship you if you did what your supposed to do correctly. This is bad. Ego is bad. Let it go like sand.

-antidote

"The root of this behavior lies in the ego. A lot of people think they understand ego because they are aware of the definition of the word. The one’s who are cocky may be that way because of ignorance. We are magicians, we are supposed to be people’s people. If wer’e not, how can people like your magic if they don’t like you? Or better yet… how can you make people dream if their too busy thinking you are a douche? To fully understand, you also have to be aware of how you are percieved. And that’s why you should be the respectful gentleman. The main lesson of this topic is, ‘ Let go of the ego’. Your knowledge will increase because you should understand that everyone has something to bring to the table."

- Alex Geiser on the Ego

for more info on the gangster hardcore magic of Alex Geiser go to http://www.myfavoritemagician.com