Tag: spirituality

Thinking About The FLOW STATE

Thinking About The FLOW STATE

I want to crack the code on flow. I want the sense of feeling phenomenally enraptured and overtaken by the experience at hand and the simultaneous useful connections that I am generating.

I desire the feeling that I am being productive but enjoying it thoroughly.

 You can enjoy something to an extent, and it is not useful or productive. You can do something productive and it not be rapturous, enjoyable or even bearable.

 We all desire the collision of both; a delightful, immersive undertaking that is also useful. We want something that can be a stepping- stone to some other potential operation or action. In the end, we don’t want to waste our time in either boredom or mindless indulgence.

 It is important to realize that flow states are free for the taking.

 A mindset of abundance realizes that flow states must be accessible at least several times a day. Consider Buddhist monks. They live in a meditative and contemplative states.  Research suggests that monks can get into a state of absorption—a cousin to flow—several times a day.

One of the well attested ways to get into a flow state is by picking out an object and looking at it closely. Visually inspect the object and look at all its features. You want to pick out several aspects of it that are general themes, like color and shape.

 Next you guide your attention to other aspects of it. You might zoom into tinier details like the intricate pattern impressed upon it. You might consider the overall texture and then gaze deeper into this object and consider how lumpy it is. Perhaps there is a scratch mark or imperfection. You may also look at how this object sits next to other objects. Consider its position in space, does it invoke a sense of beauty? Does it seem oddly placed?

Think about the original creation of this object, was it made in a factory with a machine or was it a human hand that made it? Have you considered the entire process Involved in making this object? How was it formulated and then brought to the market? Think about the entire chain of events.

 The entire point of this exercise is to flagellate your mind with all the details of the object so that you merge into it. You want to push out the part of your mind that thinks of self by fully deleting the self in the process.  Even as I try to formulate these words, I find myself diving deeper into the state of flow. As I do this, I find myself more engaged and more deeply committed to the enterprise of writing.

Flow does require effort and time because you must use time to commit yourself to this effort. You must diligently engage your attention all the way– you don’t want any extra attention left to ruminate on someone’s disparaging remark.

One of the most fascinating things I have learned about this mental state is that there is a definite link between physical pain reduction and entering into flow. Flow is an analgesic.

Recently I broke my left wrist while ice skating. I fractured my wrist in several places.  The bone pain plus the stinging, throbbing pain from the incision (where a metal plate was installed) is so intense I can hardly think, create or engage with life. Two Norco pills are not assuaging the intensity today.

What I am learning is that getting into a flow state is a great way to override or downregulate the thalamus–the relay station for sensory information in your brain. In other words, engaging in a challenging activity that nudges up to one’s learning ability is the perfect place to be for pain management.

 I’m pursuing art and painting today. I’m going back and forth between sitting still resting my throbbing arm and then going back to painting with my dominant, right hand. The pain comes and goes but I do notice that as I come up with new ideas for the placement of color or the abstract arrangement of shapes on my canvas, I am taken away from my pain experience, even if momentarily.

WHIPPING UP DESIRE FOR PURSUING GOALS

WHIPPING UP DESIRE FOR PURSUING GOALS

I’m not at the end of my rope. I can do more than I realize. The market is saturated with influencers, attention grabbing headlines. It’s coated thickly with social media content and ideas. But this speaks more of this moment and moments change. Everything is in a state of flux and there are times for luck, for chance to find its way. You’ve got to find something, figure something out…make a way. You’ve got to keep up the momentum.

The realization that I’m coming to this week is that SO MUCH can be credited to simple desire. If you don’t have the desire or interest, nothing happens. DESIRE IS WHERE IT’S AT. No desire, no initial thrust towards something. No interest, no energy flow to the next possible thing.

Desire is the first (and usually easiest) thing that seems to pull us in a direction. Then we need the energy and motivation to sustain. But first, it’s desire. To gain desire you need to play around with something. Sometimes it’s a concept, or maybe it’s playing with paint, photography, wood, fabric or cardboard. Perhaps you need to spend a little time writing some words down or listening to a music piece. Maybe you just need to take that device or appliance apart.

So, if you ever notice you have a particular interest for something or maybe an idea appears and pulls at your attention, the next step is to give in to it. Try to see this beckoning as a natural push to get you out of homeostasis and maybe into a temporary flow state. This can yield dramatic returns on your life and wellbeing.

It takes effort and sometimes resources to pursue even the smallest desire. But this is worth the investment. You can use this opportunity of desire to turn a new leaf. At the very least you can get out of an anhedonic state.

And this is the crux of what I’m getting at. So many of us are in a mental state where we don’t have tremendous desire or interest for ANYTHING. Even just the act of stirring up intrigue seems exhausting. Yet, nature does present you with the occasional desire. Think of desire as a gift. Not everyone has desire. Not everyone has enough desire to make it happen or to finish even a basic small creation. We can’t even finish a longer video; much more initiate our own project. Most of us are living our days taming our boredom. Usually, we’re just scrolling along and being as stationary as possible.

This kind of static behavior on a daily basis induces a state of apathy for many things. Even more, it trains the mind for auto pilot mode.

Do you know what I’m getting at? You start to think only through the lens that is shaped by various content creators. You’re not allowing your mind to sublimate on its’ own stew of subconscious content.

Great things arise out of your subconscious mind when you let it happen–when you give your mind time to let it happen. When you give your mind time away from attention grabbing headlines, media, social media, or other online or in-person sources. Giving your mind a pause or fast away from online content (typically the ones that you find yourself compulsively checking–those are the worst!) will start to allow you to bring novel ideas and inventions to the forefront of your brain. I’ve seen this happen myself. It surprisingly works but you must take a refrain from the auto-pilot state.

Here’s another thought. The next time you have the impulse to criticize someone else for “wasting their time”–SOMEONE WHO IS ACTUALLY EMBARKING ON SOMETHING OR MAKING SOMETHING–maybe even some dumb creation–a cardboard sculpture, a blah blog post, or something that looks almost “useless” remember, somebody whipped up the DESIRE to DO THAT THING and even FOLLOW THROUGH WITH IT. They first had to have that initial uncanny desire to even approach the creation that they did. Then, they had to see it to the end. And many of these people are consistent and CREATE WEEKLY. Now that’s hard. It’s one thing to create something. It’s an entirely different thing to create monthly or weekly.

You may not appreciate someone’s final product. But you should have some sort of inspiration or admiration for the value of human desire. Some humans have discovered this desire and furthermore have the deliberation to untangle some aspect of physical reality and then to recreate, re-think, re-imagine, repurpose it. Desire is a gift. You, too, can take notice of it when it arises. We all get the desire feeling at some point or another. Next, take advantage of it. Don’t take the feeling of desire for granted because that feeling WILL PASS and you will be back to mental homeostasis.