Effortless Mastery

by Kenny Werner

The first time Charlie Parker did heroin must have been exquisite! But the one great sin of all drugs is ... the feeling doesn’t last! You always have to do more, getting less and less out of it. As you increase the dosage of whatever you’re addicted to, be it violence or chocolate cheesecake - the result is always sad or even tragic. Early in his life, John Coltrane found heroin. A bit later, he used LSD. The psychedelic drugs of the sixties and seventies gave the user a different kind of experience. You got the buzz, but a window would also open that allowed you to go beyond physical reality and explore other realms of consciousness (similar to the ”buzz” illustrated on those cereal commercials). In this state, the musician could see and hear on other levels. With heightened senses, it was possible to milk the ecstasy of each note. But after the effects of the drug wore off, the window always closed, making the natural state feel dry and intolerable. Eventually, for John Coltrane, the search led to no drugs. Toward the end of his life, his path had evolved into meditation, diet and spirituality. He ran the gamut, but was always searching for the same state. Finally he found what he was looking for within himself. The folly of human history is the search for this state in things outside us. This explains all wars, all quests for money, power, sex and other sensory experiences. The ultimate security one seeks can only be found within.

En resUlt of any external addiction is sad or tragic