Posted: 2/14/2014 | Personal Development	Comments
RSS Feed

Flow has different meanings according to who you are talking to. It may have been called by different names, but it has been experienced by many throughout history and can be experienced potentially by all of us.

In psychology, flow is best known through the work of Positive Psychologist, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. For many years he studied artists and other folks in their everyday lives and found that when people are immersed in activities they felt positive emotions in the moment and were happier people overall in their lives.

Csíkszentmihályi defines flow as operating in a mental state where the participant is fully immersed in a feeling of deep engrossment, energized focus, and enjoyment of an activity. He describes it as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."

In flow, one experiences being wholly absorbed in what they are doing, in completely focused motivation and single minded attention. When experiencing flow one lacks any self-consciousness, and experiences being one with whatever the activity is.

Many of us might experience this through doing some kind of art, such as painting, dancing, writing, or feeling it as you do a project that takes complete concentration. Finding something creative that sings to the deepest part of you would help you find your flow. Flow is generated by activities that we must strive for, but that also bring us pleasure.

To some Yoga teachers or spiritual teachers, being in the flow or finding flow would be seen as a connection to Spirit. You could help yourself begin to feel this more fully by adding a Yoga or meditation practice to your life.

The deepest experience of flow would be achieving our connection with the fluidity of life. In my book Your Ultimate Life Plan, I talk about our fluidity. “We get so caught up in our self-concepts, we’re not aware of the movement and dynamic nature of our ongoing experience.” We often forget that we ultimately flow down the river of life and as we grow in consciousness, we begin to know that we are actually one with that flow, one with that river. That experience of flow would be one of unified consciousness, knowing the oneness with All-That-Is.

When someone finds their way to connect to their passion and purpose in life, it becomes easier to find flow. The more we know ourselves and our inner lives, the easier it is for most of us to experience life as flow. It’s what many of the great religions and spiritual teachers have taught about for thousands of years.

How have you experienced flow in your life? Your comments make a difference for us all.
 

For further information on accessing your wisdom, happiness, fulfillment, and peace you desire, click here to learn about Dr. Howard's Multiple Award Winning Book "Your Ultimate Life Plan: How to Deeply Transform Your Everyday Experience and Create Changes That Last."

Image courtesy of Stock Images via FreeDigitalPhotos.net