‘There are many names for it. I call it getting in the zone. You’re not feeling shameful about past stuff, you’re not future-tripping in fear about what’s coming up next. You’re right there, and you’re doing exactly what you need to do… I think everyone searches for that sense of presence. I searched for it in the wrong medicines for a long time. I just wanted to turn my head off. That worked until it didn’t work. Finding a new god that isn’t alcohol . . . yeah, that’s what I’m still workin’ on.’ (from the New Yorker)
Reading this, of course I would suggest zazen. It turns out that Kirk Hammett is a Buddhist, and as for Lars Ulrich, the article ends with this quote from him: ‘People say, ‘What does Metallica mean to you?’ It’s just a fuckin’ . . . it’s a state of mind.” He paused. “Metallica is the whole energy of the universe. We just steer it along.’
Perhaps Dogen might nod along to that one…
Shundo David Haye 