Quite a few years ago, I came into the possession of a book entitled Zen Guitar. I didn’t think much of it at first. It had some interesting things in it, a lot of good quotes from a varying stable of well-known musicians and some deep, thoughtful insights. A few years after receiving the book, however, the true power and meaning of its message hit me in a new light. Zen Guitar delved wholeheartedly into a subject much deeper than just being a guitarist. Zen Guitar provides an incredibly well thought out interpretation of how one can apply a joyful process such as playing the guitar to the life we live everyday. Being someone who never studied the philosophy of zen, I’m sure the views and practices suggested in Zen Guitar are nothing new under the sun but for me, it shined a lot of light on beliefs I had long harbored as a guitarist and a retired guitar instructor. Zen Guitar is a great book for reading cover to cover or, even better, it is a great book for picking up and opening to any random page and finding a brief moment of inspiration in the middle of a busy day.
http://www.maui.net/~zen_gtr/index.html
