Hey guys
We all heard about basketball players being "in the zone" and doing what ever they want on the court, and we've all heard about how rare and hard it is to get into the zone, but once you're in there, you explode.
Well last night I was entertaining in a big holiday dinner (Passover, haha that jewish holiday sounds like a sleight of hand move), drinks were had, stories and jokes were told, and then a friend of mine, who arrived with his wife, told me that she loves magic and that I have to show her something.
Well, maybe it was the wine or the holiday spirit, but let me tell you something, I've been doing magic for a little over 10 years now, and never in those 10 years have I been more "in the zone" than I have last night.
I was completely surrounded and yet had coins appearing on people's shoulders, under their watches and in their pockets, everything working with perfect time-misdirection, it was as if sleight of hand didn't even matter, I just had to imagine what's going to happen and it did.
Thank god I didn't let myself get drunk with power, and had the self-restraint needed to leave them at the exact point of "stop this voodoo!" and "just do one more!"
Well that's it, just wanted to share this experience of being in the zone.
Would love to hear stories about other people "getting in the zone" doing magic!

Shalom


Your sharing made me smile. I know it made your audience smile.


Happy Passover.
La Chaim. To Life.


Shalom

Harris. Aka dr. Laugh
Aka Zvii Arey.

It's rare, but it happens now and then.

Now wait,
back up for a moment.
A 'lady',.. comes up to you, in the middle of a party,
says, "she likes Magic,..(!!),..{!??!!!}",..
asks to see a "few tricks",..?
Was this the Twilight Zone?

just joking,...

(So like, at the end of the party,
had someone cleaned out the pockets of your jacket,
that was hanging in the hall?...)
smiles,
gallagher

p.s.: Harris, did you hear the one about Abraham talking to God?
"Now let me get this straight.
They get to keep ALL the oil!??!.
,and we have to cut off the tips of our WHAT!??,"

It was a dinner party. The lady was the wife of a friend of mine.

Great story, Daniel. And congratulations on having the good sense (and self-restraint) to know when to quit and "leave them wanting more."

Yes, those magical in the zone moments happen once in a while. I have no real explanation for why or when they happen. Of course, you have to be proficient at what you do (which you obviously must be), so that when the right situation arises, you can create miracles for your audiences.

I've sometimes had spectators react in different ways to exactly the same show. One group will be politely appreciative, while another will scream and rave about the same tricks. I guess it all depends on the "outer" circumstances.

I agree with Arthur, great post. I completely understand, as I have had similar experiences both on stage (as a musician, not a magician!) and a few times playing hockey - time seemed to slow down, almost stop. I could see what to do and when to do it with complete clarity...this is more difficult to explain than it should be, but I know YOU get it Daniel.

I feel that this "opportunity" occurs more often that discussed, with many unwilling to "take advantage" or "release themselves"

Not limited to a performance, of course. Spiritually can be a "unitive" experience.

It takes both a high level of confidence, empathic trust and presence. In writings I have called this a "Proximal" setting.

While you can't create it, you can be prepared for the moment with a practiced effect or two that are only performed when the situation exists.

Glad you were willing to share ...

now follow.

That's like being on a roll,when everything
works perfect and you can't seem to fail.
Your at the top of your game and it feels great.
I know that feeling and it does feel good.
Todd

I often experience this feeling as well and it's golden.

Often, when playing with just a coin and sl**ving, I really get it going and man, you can do all sorts of things once you begin hitting that thing consistently, even with both hands sometimes. I feel ready to go on a moment's notice without any particular direction of destination -- No routine necessarily, just sorta Freestylin'…It just happens and all comes together to deliver some really good magic for specs, and a great feeling of overall accomplishment for you.

...for me sometimes it is set routines, other times it is (like others above) when I am free to try out new destinations.

This is true in coin magic and when I'm playing music or doing comedy.

Sometimes it's the
a. people
b. venue
c. type of show
d. type of routine
e. props
f. attitude
g. caffeine

I agree with Funsway and Harris ... being "in the zone" can happen in all sorts of endeavors. Music, magic, sports, spirituality, teaching, telling jokes, writing a book, training your pets, even doing your taxes!

When it does happen, it's truly inspiring and exhilarating.

In my experience it is sleightly different when I share in church.
Those experiences have been as part if a worship band or sharing a message as part if a service.

An example of the latter, I paused playing, to listen to a beautiful run of notes during a violin players solo and realized he wasn't playing.
It was me on harmonica.

I'll have what he's having!

Glad to hear it man. Also glad to hear you had the restraint to stop. I've had one or two of these and once you get the rush it a simply hard to stop

Agreed, sometimes you just go at it and perhaps sometimes a bit too much.

When people ask me to do something on the spot, I can go several different ways but as of late will typically begin with a gag I do with 1 card… I ask them to think of any card, they do, and then I pull out one card from my pocket that says, "Yep, that's the one I was thinking of." It's corny but it always get's a laugh and sets the table for the real show… Enter, my old, beat up Morgan Silver Dollar…

This is all a simple show but I get it started with a spectacular vanish and production sequence, that I've been playing with for a while now. It's really dramatic and grabs people instantly, and allows me to get really up close with them as to further engagement. After I play with the little vanish thing, I usually say, "Let's slow it down a bit and use 2 coins…Would that be OK?" Of course it is as they always eagerly want to see more… That's when I do my "MB Transpo" or "ReViSiTed."

I can go on and on I suppose, but I usually will stop there and bid them a good day. A little goes a long way and knowing when to move on does, too.

Oh, and welcome to the Café, clips.

Mb217, you are fantastic and I would love to see you in action!

Hey, thanks Arthur…

This is a little part of my zone, and for now might just be about the next best thing to live and in-person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tlG7i56RyY

Hope you all like it.

Excellent. The vanish is great; the reproduction is beautiful because you see the hand empty right up to the last second.

Very nice!