THE FLOW Experience

Have you experienced being in the zone when into a task of creating? Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called FLOW. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness and greatly improve the quality of our lives. Here is the link for his book, FLOW:

https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061339202

It is MY experience with FLOW as a professional artist, to be aware of and use FLOW as an avenue to enjoy my creative work. In my book, Out of My Mind, Life lessons as an oil painter,
I point out how it works for me. Here is what I know.

Sometimes, when working, I experience a phenomenon which is called being in the moment, otherwise known as going into the FLOW. Being in the moment is when you experience maximum created motivation and acute focus. This intense moment of living requires that the body and mind be in perfect unison. It is the joy of complete engagement. Flow tends to occur when a person's skills are fully mastered to overcome a challenge. For me, it is when I have pulled off a painting during a moment of intense living. It is about as perfect a moment as falling in love or having a child. It is the moment when your skill level perfectly matches the degree of challenge presented. Is the same for vocalist who is in full command of his her vocal ability, or surgeon performing an emergency operation with utmost skill. Or a writer having a moment of perfect storytelling. It does not happen frequently. It does however sneak up on you when your mood is heightened by the intensity of good moments.

Tennis players, golfers, other athletes say they can't feel anything when they are in the flow. The harmony of mind and body causes them to move effortlessly and play instinctively. Some of my paintings have been started and completed in complete flow, or the time was standing still, and hours went by until I noticed it was dark, or sometimes dawn. How does it work? Pure concentration and hours go into the craft of working. By complete immersion in feeling, thoughts, and action. Only with flow, will you gain control over your psychic energy, the basic feel for creativity. Being in the flow or in the moment eliminates all self-consciousness. Who you are and what you're doing, become one. Only when it is over with a feeling of satisfaction in the rush of happiness, do you know it has occurred. At that time, you can't wait to get it back. It is allusive and requires patience.

I have explained flow to my students who asked me FIRST. I don't go around bragging, explaining, or preaching flow. It is very personal. When I try to explain to my students the phenomenon of flow, and they want it experience it, I have also asked them if they know how to be prepared for flow. One must be prepared to experience flow in absolutely knowing their subject. They have to be prepared. They have to have complete energy to focus. In other words, they have to feel good, they have to not be hungry, they have to feel energy of positivity. They have to be excited about diving into their project. One has to be not distracted, and confident, ready for action. One has to be totally relaxed. And one cannot conjure it up and be disappointed that it didn't happen. Sometimes, people feel flow without knowing it. They get involved in a project, and time is illusive, and goes by very fast, and hours pass, and they have no idea that hours have passed until they're completely exhausted and fulfilled at the same time. Maybe you have done it on the golf course, tennis court, or sewing a piece of clothing, or just general housework where you have been in the rhythm of actually enjoying the task. (Ha, it has happened!) I have had people in my creativity classes tell me they have had a baby completely in flow without feeling any pain.

You cannot rationalize or intellectualize flow. You can only respect the possibility of your subconscious taking control at a time when your skill level is equal to your goal level. At that moment the creative energy generated from the harmony of inspiration and action is pure and uninhibited, and will often result in your best work. There are no bells or whistles to alert you. You just know. And sometimes don't even know until the flow is interrupted by your knowledge of complete satisfaction. It's a lot like falling in love at first sight. These elements further characterize flow:

There are clear goals every step of the way.
The action and awareness are merged.
There Is a balance between challenges and skills. Skills are equal to the challenges.
There is immediate feedback by the doing. In my case the actual painting tells me what to do next.
There are no distractions. The subconscious takes over. (my intuition finishes the painting)
There is no worry or fear of failure.
Self -consciousness disappears.
The sense of time becomes distorted.
One is completely relaxed.

Creative people tell me that they experience flow in myriad and unexpected places, like swimming laps, sewing, driving or jogging. They say their body is moving but they feel like they are out of their body watching or being lead by an energy force that us not their control. An author I know told me that he had a key plot twist while washing his hair in the shower. With his eyes closed, the scenes and dialogue just sprung up. Lathered in soap, he called out for his wife to bring a pad and pencil, and, while she sat on the edge of the adjoining tub, he dictated the scene to her from behind his still closed eyes. Apparently, the soothing flow of warm water created a spasm of technicolor flow. He also told me that he often has had creative flow on solitary jogs around the countryside. Since his wife scribe does not jog, he has learned to carry a small pad and pen and a jogging bellypack for those creative attacks. During a 13 mile jog, he imagined the entire start to finish outline of a book. Later his wife commented how she had witnessed flow from him, but she couldn't rationalize or interpret flow for herself. You need to be open to the possibility.

So, don't think you can go home and just conjure up flow. It has to come to you. Here is how I suggest finding flow in your life. Be prepared. Be open to it. Know your subject matter. Be inspired. Be confident in your skills level. Be happy. And when you are honored by a few hours of flow, share it with one of your friends that is open to this idea as not all are. Know that you have had something very special from your subconscious to find you alive and aware and open, to reward you, for just being alive and experiencing the pure joy of being a human being on this planet.

This being said, now opens the subject of energy, and how energy can define us. First, we have to know that we are energy. We have been formed from energy. Some people call energy God. Some people call energy the vibration of the life force that is us. Massage therapists, acupuncturists, surgeons, any people that work on the body will tell you that we are all energy, vibrating with life. This life force is not only our subconscious, but everything we have talked about in these prior paragraphs that cause us to be alive. Knowing the positive aspects being alive, and our own vibration can really help us be inspired and open to the relaxation of flow.

That gets us to positive thinking. In my life, I have had a lot of things that circle around me that are not positive. We all do. We have family members that bring us down. We have family members that bring us joy. That we can certainly focus on, and not the negative. We have people in our lives that are always down. It is certainly easier to focus on the positive ones. It is easy to get off track from positivity. Everyday in my life, I am struggling with pulling myself upward from anything that brings me down. It is a constant message from my universe to get back on track. There is no sense dwelling on the past that is not positive, or people in your life that are not pulling you upward. If you have toxic people in your life, you have to purge, and if you can't purge them, you have to ignore them. You have to wish them well, and go on. I love these quotes, "It is not my circus, not my monkeys." "It is not for me to say, I'll take the high-road, thank you."

It is only when you can be positive every day that you can invite flow into your life. And if you have tasks every day that brings you joy like I do in painting and croquet, then every single day is an opportunity to grow and live in the joys of FLOW. Enjoy the Universal energy of talents that you have whether is sports, arts, family or a paying job, you can keep bringing yourself forward to a positive and grateful daily conclusion. Our life force gifts of energy is there to vibrate us more toward positive living. Those vibrations are gifts to ourselves, our soul, our health. Those vibrations are called FLOW!