Flow State

In positive psychology, a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state of operations in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in feeling of energy, focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting loss in one’s sense of space and time. – Wikipedia

I asked a question to @Gauri03 and she responded affirmatively to my question about hiking and associated great sense of fulfillment and energy. I did some further research on the said subject and bumped upon some very interesting content. When one climbs the mountain, high above the ground, one cleaves to the rocks and move very deliberately, aware of every placement of one’s foot, the angles of one’s body and how one’s hand grips every protruding stone. Apparently, there is no room for error and one elapse in attention can cost one’s life. The focus is intense and nothing else exists but the climber and the mountain. In that circumstance, the mind shifts into a new space. A sense of vibrant aliveness, connectedness and peace infuse one’s being. One feels in tune with life, moving with a precision and poise one doesn’t understand but at the same time relishes in. One is in the zone and in flow. Those who experience this feeling would like to go back again and again to experience it.

Something happens during the moments of unbridled bursts of rampant creativity that is difficult to quantify. A jittery warmth swells throughout the body down to the extremities. Emotions like “fulfillment”, “satisfaction”, and “optimism” have been proven to feel like they are affecting the physiology of the whole body. Abraham Maslow explains these sessions as “extraordinary experiences”. According to him, one feels most fulfilled, unified and aware. It is the physical manifestation or one’s true potential. The imagination is so present that time and space become illusive. This tunnel-vision phenomenon is reported by athletes, creatives, and psychologists alike as a hyper-focused, sometimes spiritual, state of mind where anything is possible. It is where one becomes most productive, creative, and powerful self.

Bill Russell of the Celtics (NBA player) said, “It was almost as if we were playing in slow motion. During those spells I could almost sense how the next play would develop and where the next shot would be taken”. Christopher Bergland, world-class endurance triathlete said, “I would visualize the jolt of pain entering my body through the soles of my feet and feel the energy coming from the core of the earth. My feet became a conduit that allowed my body to tap into an infinite energy source that propelled me forward like I was plugged into a nuclear reactor”.

Swami Vivekananda defined subconscious as, “Every work that we do, every moment of the day, every thought we think, leaves an impression on the mind-stuff (the internal organ or antahkarana), and even when such impressions are not obvious on the surface they are sufficiently strong to work beneath the surface, man’s character is determined by the sum total of these impressions.” Paramahansa Yogananda narrates super consciousness as “In meditation, you must go beyond thought. As long as you are busy thinking, you are in your rational mind, on the conscious plane. When you sleep and dream, you are on the subconscious plane, and in your astral body. And when your mind is fully withdrawn in super consciousness, it becomes centered in the bliss of the spine. You are then in ideational, or casual, body. That is the level of soul’s existence.”

Swami Rama in his “Perennial psychology of Bhagavad Gita” said, “The time factor is the prime conditioner in the human mind. It is the task of the aspirant to release himself from this conditioning and to attain timeless state in which there is neither fear nor death nor conditioning. That experience is possible if one systematically practices inward methods that lead him to the Source, instead of going towards the external world and becoming scattered. There are only three known methods explored by the sages such as prayer, meditation, and contemplation. No external method of knowing can lead one to the fountainhead of awareness, where infinite knowledge beyond measure resides. After attaining this infinite knowledge, one understands that the absolute Reality or Truth is never lost, no matter how many deaths one experiences in his physical or mental life”.

No wonder the “Flow State” gives us a glimpse of awareness and blissfulness that envelop the beings. One breaks the barrier of time and space during that experience resulting in unique emotions that makes us do that again and again. Can we call it as a longing for reaching the highest state of consciousness beating the conditioning of the mind?

 

Geeta,

Thank you for your first response. It is indeed a meditative experience especially when the tunnel-vision develops on the focused activity and awareness of time disappears. It is euphoria that one experiences in the body, mind and intellect during this process.

Viswa

 

Dear Satchi,

Thank you for summarizing the gist of what I had in mind when I wrote this snippet. I honestly believe it is a call for a super-conscious state when one experiences being in the present moment and in flow state. It is a gentle reminder of the potential of our being.

Viswa

 

@Gauri03,

Thank you for reading and responding to this snippet. You are the cause of this snippet and without your response, this snippet will be incomplete.

You are right about the children experiencing the present moment more than the adult. As we grow up, we put our mind in autopilot when we perform known activities without experiencing the pleasure of the activities. The thought energy in the process gets lost. The energy in the process is like splitting the atom. There are only two ways one can address life at later stages. One is to learn new things and have new experiences or alternatively engage in the processes of our activities losing time consciousness. Bhagavad Gita teaches performing actions skillfully at the best of our ability, lovingly with so much involvement in each process of the activities and selflessly without expecting any outcome as meditative state. When one enters the flow state more often, accolades have no value and the satisfaction derived in the sense of fulfillment is immeasurable.

 

@vidhyalakshmid,

Thank you for your words of appreciation. The cricketers and baseball players see the ball like a football when they get into the zone. Many have explained the slow motion experience and losing the focus on time. Flow state happens only when the mind is not in autopilot mode and fully engaged in the processes of the activities. Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

The attached Ted talk by Dr. Mihaly Ciskszentmihalyi is very interesting about the flow.