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How finding flow can enhance your well-being

by Palak Barmaiya
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Discover how various philosophies encourage us to embrace flow in life and how it can elevate our well-being.

‘Go with the flow’ is a popular catchphrase among millennials. It’s likely that you may have seen it on T-shirts, coffee mugs, and stickers (I have one on my laptop!). Not to mention the number of times I have heard people repeat the phrase around me. But what does it mean to be living in the flow or how does one find flow? I explore here various flow philosophies and how they can help improve our overall well-being, guiding us toward a more purposeful and harmonious existence.

Be like water

The origins of the phrase “just go with the flow” can be traced back to the philosophy of Taoism. Lao Tzu is considered the founder of Taoism who authored Tao Te Ching, or the Book of the Way.

Wayne Dyer, a widely known self-help author who appeared on many talk shows including Oprah’s, explained Lao Tzu’s concept of living in the flow as being like water which simply exists.

“Live as water lives since you are water.”

 Cover of the book Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life by Wayne Dyer.

The nature of water can provide many lessons for us since the human body is largely just water, roughly 60 percent. By knowing how water behaves, we can learn many lessons. Water flows into rivers and streams. It flows to the lowest point and joins the sea. Evaporated, it returns as rain. It is not water’s intention to provide sustenance to life on Earth, but it does.

“It (water) simply moves and the benefits it provides occur from it being what it is in harmony with the present moment and knowing the truth of precisely how to behave,” Dyer writes.

He explains that for us as humans, it is natural to be gentle to allow others to be free to go where they’re inclined to go and to be as they need to be without interference. “It is natural to trust in the eternal flow to be true to your inner inclinations and stick to your words. It’s natural to treat everyone as an equal.”

Lao Tzu encourages us to be like water, be content and humble, do what feels natural, not try to be anything other than who one is, and live in harmony.

Practice mindfulness

Many spiritual teachers have emphasized the idea of being present and practicing mindfulness to cultivate flow in their lives.

The teachings of Thích Nhất Hạnh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, and renowned spiritual teacher, encourage us to bring awareness and attention to our actions, thoughts, and emotions in every aspect of life. By being fully present, we can experience a sense of flow in whatever we are doing. You can practice mindfulness while engaging in everyday activities such as walking, eating, or even doing dishes.

Buddhist master Thích Nhất Hạnh (Photo courtesy: Plum Village)

In his book The Miracle of Mindfulness,  Thích Nhất Hạnh writes about how one can learn the skill of mindfulness through a few exercises.

One simple exercise you can practice involves focusing on your breath as you inhale and exhale, anchoring your attention to the sensation of each breath. By doing so, you become aware of your body and the rhythm of life within.

By practicing mindfulness in moments such as washing dishes we break free from the grip of autopilot living and connect deeply with our immediate experience. We become attuned to the subtleties of our thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, fostering a heightened sense of presence and aliveness. Becoming aware of the present moment opens the door to a state of flow that transcends the limitations of the past and future.

Flow: The psychology of optimal experience

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was a renowned Hungarian psychologist and social scientist who pioneered the concept of flow, contributing to the understanding of happiness, creativity, and human fulfillment.

He wanted to find out when people are happy in their everyday life. In his book, The Psychology of Optimal Experience, he defines flow as a state of optimal experience and performance where an individual is fully immersed and engaged in an activity.

One musician described this feeling to Csikszentmihalyi as a state of ‘ecstasy’, which is stepping into a different reality while doing something. This alternative reality is different from everyday routine. Csikszentmihalyi studied how people experience this in everyday life and called this state of spontaneous flow, the ‘flow experience’. And this can happen in different realms; in other words, different people doing different things can experience this.

Based on over 8,000 interviews of people who enjoy their work – from Dominican monks to blind nuns, to Himalayan climbers, to Navajo shepherds – Csikszentmihalyi outlined seven conditions that are met when a person is in flow:

  1. Focus: Being completely involved in what one is doing.
  2. A sense of ecstasy: The concentration is so intense that it leads to a sense of clarity, ecstasy. You know what you want to do exactly.
  3. Great inner clarity: knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing.
  4. Knowing that the activity is doable: Our skills are adequate for the task.
  5. A sense of serenity: no worries about oneself and growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
  6. Timelessness: Thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes.
  7. Intrinsic motivation: Whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.

 ‘The Flow Model’ as described by Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi

Csikszentmihalyi in his book Finding Flow (1997). Skill level and challenge level both must be high for the flow state to happen. 

Csikszentmihalyi notes two more components, challenge, and skills. When our challenges are higher than average and our skills are higher than average, we can be in the flow. However, it is important that we really like what we are doing.

In summary, if you want to experience flow in anything you do, Csikszentmihalyi would suggest that first, you must really like what you are doing. Second, you should have some level of skill in what you are doing. And third, the activity should challenge you.

Be present, let go and surrender

Water has been used as a metaphor by others in the realm of spiritual philosophies.

One such idea has been shared by Abraham-Hicks, who describes herself as ‘collective consciousness’ channeled by Esther Hicks. Esther made an appearance in the movie version of The Secret.  

Esther Hicks (Photo courtesy: Abraham-Hicks Publications)

Abraham uses the metaphor of a water stream, like Lao Tzu uses that of a river, and emphasizes the importance of aligning with the natural flow of well-being and positive energy, like a stream effortlessly moves downstream. By focusing on thoughts and emotions that feel good, individuals can allow the stream of positive energy to carry them toward their desires.

When individuals resist the flow of well-being by holding onto negative thoughts, emotions, or beliefs, it’s like trying to swim against the current. Abraham encourages individuals to release resistance and go with the flow, just as the stream effortlessly moves around obstacles and finds the path of least resistance.

(Lead GIF courtesy: Gifer.com)

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