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Zen and the Art of Lock Picking
In order to excel at
lock picking, you must
train yourself to have a
visually reconstructive imagination. The idea is to use
information from all your senses to build a picture of what is happening inside the lock as you pick it. Basically, you want to
project your senses into the
lock to receive a full
picture of how it is responding to your
manipulations. Once you have learned how to build this picture, it is easy to choose
manipulations that will open the lock.
All your
senses provide
information about the lock.
Touch and
sound provide the most information, but the other senses can reveal
critical information. For example, your
nose can tell you whether a lock has been
lubricated recently. As a
beginner, you will need to use your
eyes for hand-eye
coordination, but as you improve you will find it
unnecessary to look at the lock. In fact, it is better to
ignore your eyes and use your sight to build an
image of the lock based on the information you receive from your fingers and ears.
The
goal of this
mental skill is to acquire a relaxed
concentration on the lock. Don't force the concentration. Try to ignore the
sensations and
thoughts that are not
related to the lock. Don't try to
focus on the lock.