Spontaneous Flow
“You are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I have experienced this time and again. My hand seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching it in a state of awe and wonderment. And [the music] just flows out of itself”
– Anonymous Composer
I’ve been thinking about the experience of “flow.” We have all had these moments, when everything sync’s up just so, clicks right into place, locks and loads, and then you are vibrating with a frequency that feels so right and in tune with everything around you. This can be felt in what is frequently called a “runners high,” or riding a bike, reading a book, listening to a favorite song while driving on back roads with all the windows down, composing a piece of music, dancing, public speaking… there are endless experiences of flow. It’s like a peak performance when all the elements align and you are in ‘it.’ Everything feels so natural and energized.
It’s a space of creativity, it can’t be forced, it is spontaneous and fluid. It's ecstatic effortlessness. In flow, there is an acute inner clarity, serenity, and sense of timelessness, you are completely present. You are responding to an intrinsic motivation, to your source. You are in line with source. You are able to call upon the universe and it provides. It’s an immersion of energized focus.
So how do we live from this space more often in every day life? How do we call upon flow? Can we harness it? Is it so spontaneous that it just arises when we least expect it, BOOM! You're in flow. And then it's gone, and it felt like a dream...
I think it is possible to familiarize ourselves with flow. If we begin to notice what makes us feel alive, what challenges us but still allows us to access our own personal skill set. I believe we can tap into it at any given moment. This also involves engaging with and recognizing when we are not in flow and the barriers that are blocking us from tapping into that seamless current. For me this is acknowledging my core habitual beliefs that actually are not true or even useful. This could be a belief around money "I'll always live paycheck to paycheck." A belief around love "I'm unlovable because of A, B, and C..." or "Ill never be able to run that far, get that job, get that promotion, complete that project..." I've been challenging my own negative beliefs and self talk as I attempt to align more with my source. I locate that sensation in my body, for me it is often my solar plexus. I check in, feel the stuckness, the inner angst, I let it bubble and brew. And then I bring kindness to this area in my body that is clinging out of fear. I breathe deep and I imagine spaciousness. I might picture a vast and open blue sky. I expand and feel my body pulsing with possibilities. I harness that flicker of energy, and I am that much closer to flow.
If we allow ourselves to continue to exist on autopilot and not bring awareness to this underlying belief system that is blocking us from expanding and vibrating at our truest and most energetic potential, we are missing out on the chance to feel most alive and happy.
To finding flow.
