You must have heard about this strange otherworldly state where the creator is attuned completely with the universe, almost like an alchemist.
Scientists, musicians, composers, painters and artists have all tapped into this state to produce their best creations and works.
This ladies and gentlemen, is called the ‘flow state’.
It’s a state very similar to how you are under the effect of intoxicants that give you a kind of ‘trip’ which disconnects you from your immediate surroundings and connects you to this singular point of inspiration from which you draw and continue to draw until you have produced what you want to.
However, atheletes too have felt this and this is the state in which some of the most eloquent public speakers and entrepreneurs have created stellar pieces of content, speeches and interactions that had historic impact.
So is it dependent on hallucinogens or is there anything at all hallucinogenic about it?
Not really.
There’s another example in fact that you can compare it with, which is the ‘runner’s high’.
When you’re running, the mind does want to stop in the beginning but after a point it almost seems that the body is going on its own and the mind even if it logically wanted the body to stop wouldn’t be able to do so.
So what is it?
Well, scientifically speaking, the ‘flow state’ is a state of perfect attunement between your conscious mind and your subconscious interacting seamlessly with your active memory as well as reflexes.
It’s kind of like a ‘pump’ that you get from working out or a tunnelled vision that you might get into when faced with an important deadline, task or challenge.
The only difference is that while usually big challenges can throw off the workings of your mind, when your mind is in ‘flow state’, it is so perfectly rooted and grounded in reality that the brain seems primarily to be relying on tried and tested pathways to control and clear instructions.
Is there any scientific evidence of that? Because it just sounds like I’m talking about a continuous reflex action!
Well, there must be when it comes to mapping the intricacies of the chemical reactions and how they are taking place.
However, what we are relying on is more the experience of people who have reported what it feels like to be in the ‘flow state’.
And we’re sure you too must have experienced this at some point in your life. Definitely in fact, if you went to college or played a sport. The sheer pressure of an examination or competition can heighten your awareness to a level that isn’t normally possible.
So how do you get into a flow state?
Well, here’s the first set of tips in the first part of this series:
- By allowing your mind to be free.
- By allowing your body to also function freely.
- By dropping your ‘logical’ side.
Tuning into your ‘intuitive’ side is the first clue about tapping into ‘flow state’ energy.
Thing is, most people aren’t able to do that because they are too programmed to do things a certain way that is a result of the standardization of how our minds should ‘function’ according to society.
‘Taoism’ is a doctrine of Buddhism and it talks a lot about the philosophy of ‘flow’.
And one of the most interesting things written in the Tao Te Ching, the primary book on Taoism written by Lao Tzu is this:
“A river does nothing more than flow from higher land to lower land and yet everything is accomplished. Life is sustained, farms are watered, rocks are weathered to generate new soil and river banks and river paths are created. Be like a river; strong and gentle at the same time.”
Follow this blog to follow the entire series.
See you in the next one!
Love, Jay
