Being in the flow

Back in the 70s a Hungarian-born psychologist called Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi (points for correct pronunciation) coined the term "flow". To be in the flow. To be in the flow state.

But what does it mean to be in the flow? I'm absolutely sure you've experienced it at one time or another. It's when time just seems to fly. All concept of time disappears, we're completely absorbed in whatever we're doing. According to Csíkszentmihályi it's "the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake". Being in the flow seems to lead very naturally to happiness.

People often go to extreme lengths to get into that feeling of flow. When you're skiing down a tricky piste, bungee jumping, racing at high speed, or paragliding, you can't not be in the flow - or you might die. It's addictive because it feels great. And it's not just the adrenaline; you begin feeling at one with the universe. It may be the closest some people get to a spiritual experience.

But the question is do we need to go to those extremes to get there?

Csíkszentmihályi came up with a plot showing the ways we can come into this flow state (see his talk on TED), based on the challenge of the activity and your skill in doing it.

According to him, you need sufficient skill, and the activity needs to be sufficiently challenging. Not enough skill and you become anxious or worried, not enough challenge and you get bored or even apathetic.

Let's take the example of doing a sun salutation in yoga. When you're a beginner it's very challenging and we're unskilled (that's certainly how I remember it!). Our bodies are stiff, we don't know the sequence, we tire very quickly, and we get feelings of worry, anxiety. "I'm rubbish at this, my body isn't good enough." Gradually you get better at it, your muscles and joints loosen up and you get the sequence memorised. You move through the arousal stage (cor, my body is loving this), you start to feel in control, until one day you find ourself moving without consciously thinking - you're in the flow. You're so involved in the activity that there is nothing else.

The same thing goes with, for example, learning to ride a bike or drive a car. 


So by focussing on an external object in this way we become more and more alive. Our life becomes present and vivid.
... And I would argue that the activity has to be neither challenging nor require much skill for you to get into the flow. All you need is to be mindful. Simple, repetitive tasks can actually work very well - like weeding, cleaning or washing up.

But as Zen Master Koun Yamada says, "when we concentrate on an object outside ourselves, for example archery where we aim at a target, no matter how strong the concentration may be, we cannot attain the Zen experience." So in meditation when we're aiming towards waking up to reality (enlightenment), we need to be absorbed inwardly.

The other thing about the flow state is that it's ephemeral. Like sleep - the more you try the harder it gets. You've got to let go into the flow. And you can't hold on to it either. As they say in Zen, you can trail your hand in a mountain stream and enjoy the cool, fresh water, but as soon as you try to grab hold of any you come up with nothing.

One of the reasons people get addicted to flow-inducing extreme activities is that when you're completely absorbed, there is no ego. That sense of self (little old me, and the big Universe) disappears, and that's why you get those feelings of oneness. When the concept of self dissolves, you are the Universe. You touch your true nature.

But it's no use to you (or to others) if you can only feel at one with everything when you're surfing a 4m wave - unless your friend who needs advice and a shoulder to cry on can come with you on the surf board! That's why we start learning to find that flow state during more mundane activities, then gradually during more inwardly focussed practices (as Master Yamada said).

But it's one thing being in the flow riding your bike, or ironing shirts, doing a sun salutation, or observing your thoughts and sensations on the meditation cushion. Can you live permanently in the flow state? I believe you can - I'm nowhere near there though. It takes lots of practice. Letting go, letting go, letting go, not holding on.

Mindfulness practice is one of the first steps into this. Bringing your thoughts sensations actions into your awareness, letting them be, accepting, acknowledging, and not judging. We cover this extensively on my 8-week mindfulness courses. For more on flow and it's connection to mindfulness, see this great article.