The Mystery of Flow

 Flow moments have sometimes been described as experiences of being at one with an activity that we love, such as a sport or even writing itself. When someone experiences "flow" moments, they are said to lose the sense of time, become absorbed in what they are doing, and just challenged enough to feel that they are engaged with something. People have sometimes found themselves "unified" with the experience of flow, as though they were one with whatever they were doing. Does this mean that flow can only be experienced with certain kinds of activities--especially ones that are challenging or passion filled?

  I would like to suggest that flow moments can be induced in any experience. There are two conditions required to get oneself into a sense of flow. The first is focus: focus on a particular event, experience or doing, as though this were the only experience, event or doing that is of any importance in the moment. When walking, only walk; when typing, only type, etc. The second condition required for a flow experience is a completely supple, relaxed mind. We let thoughts flow evenly from our minds like water from a river, and we don't suppress some thoughts over others. In that way, our mind is less tense and not so focused on successfully completing the task at hand.

   Even something that is challenging can be changed to a flow experience, if we adjust our focus to be in that moment, while allowing for as many permutations of the action as possible. As I am typing these sentences, I am performing the balancing act of allowing certain meanings to be freely put together through the words and controlling the meaning to make cogent sentences. By balancing between focus and relaxation, I am able to maintain a certain presence toward the writing itself without going back to correct the sentences.

Flow moments can even be created from lax times when we have no particular goal to accomplish. When listening to a long speech, we can pay attention to the flow of sounds and just relax with that flow. In that moment, there is no need to respond to the speaker or try to catch multiple meanings from the words. Instead, it's sufficient to simply behold the words and let them penetrate our eardrums. The sheer delight of the sound itself, without going into the meaning, can help us to relax into the talk or conversation, because we are simply enjoying the presence of the words themselves without suppressing or seeking them.

In today's age of distractions and many entertainments, I believe flow is a muscle that we can flex through the process of writing, particularly what we call "free association" or stream of consciousness writing. By seeing words freely put together on the page, we free our minds of thoughts while also seeing a product come to life before us. We can also get a more concrete sense of what we truly think and feel about something. Flow moments such as this can give us the sometimes surprising revelation that we do have many stories to tell and thoughts to share. We only have to commit them to the pen (or keyboard) to see them emerge.