How to get into a flow state

The flow state, as we all know, is a talked about topic globally. In fact, not only people from psychology talk about it, but also people from other walks of life. Especially, athletes talk about this state a lot. For those of you who do not know, the flow is that state wherein one feels a trance like state, while being engaged in an activity. People in the flow state often reported:

• Full concentration on the task in hand

• Positive state of mind

• Altered perception of time, wherein time either slowed down, or flowed quickly

• A trance like state

A lot has been done in the field of psychology for making people enter this state more often, however, it still seem like a distant goal. Do you know why? Well, because we have been doing it wrong. To understand this, first let us understand an important point about the flow state from psychology point of view. It has been widely experienced that in this state, people experience:

• An altered perception of time

Yes, in this state, people often felt that time have either slowed down, or is flowing quickly. Now, if we understand something basic about the dimension of time, then we might be able to hit this state at will.

Now in psychology, a lot is done to help people reach this state: from belief reshaping to visualization to positive self talk and what not? However, still people only get into this zone accidently. This is because the flow state happens, when we “cease to exist.”

Yes, our physical self is time-bound that is why we lose track of time in sleep state. We often saying things like “his time was over” when someone dies, or “he is having the time of his life” when things are smooth, or “time heals” when things get tough clearly show how we are bound to time. Hence, only when we create a distance from our physical self, we get free of time, hence which alters it in our perception. This simple fact is enough to prove that the “altered time” feeling is simply a result of, us ceasing to exist. To understand this further, let us know something about a famous Russian ballet singer, Vaslav Nijinsky.

So this dancer, used to achieve something remarkable: he used to jump during his performances, which is not possible as per physical laws and his performances were very fluidic. On being asked that how he achieved this, he said “my peak moments are when the dancer is not there, just the dance is.”

Now isn’t that beautifully explained? Vaslav Nijinsky very smoothly has given us the key to flow according to which, we must cease to exist. This Is a way of karma yoga, wherein we act and surrender our actions to the divine. We become devoted to our work: which means we become devoid of ourselves. Hence the flow state cannot be forced, but is a natural consequence of being devoid of ourselves.

When we do that, then the other characteristics of the flow state like: Full concentration on the activity, belief in one’s ability, and a trance like state, happen naturally. The flow is a consequence of creating a distance between us and our thoughts, and operating through deeper intelligence within us. This is what “work is devotion” means: working being while being “devoid” of oneself! This is the art, wherein our work becomes meditation for us, and we are smoothly able to glide through any activity.

This is the real meaning of “our mind is our servant.” When our mind bows down to the awareness within us, then the chatterbox calms down, and we experience the serene flow state. So, let loose, and let go!