Being in the flow to me means a feeling of everything going right- smoothly going along.Yesterday,Bella and I had the wonderful experience of litteraly being the the flow of the river. I knew that the days to do this were getting limited so for one last time this year Bella and I walked down the stream. This is at the Black Mountain Recreation park that I have spoken of before – the park that Bella and I go there to walk almost every day. Actually today we were in the flow there again while walking in the rain- different kind of flow- from the sky. Lest you think I am the only crazy person walking in the rain- there was another woman / dog with an umberella and two men in rain gear playing disc golf. I am guessing trying to throw the “frisbee” in the rain would be quite a handicap.  

As I looked in Wikipedia for flow & in the flow I learned many things, including there is a psycology method called the flow method. The founder Mihály Csíkszentmihályi was fascinated by artists who get so engrossed in their work they forget to eat or sleep. Musicians and writers also talk about music or words just flowing into their minds. There is an experience I could stand to have.

The left half of the entire ceiling, after restoration (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Historical sources hint that Michelangelo may have painted the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel while in a flow state. It is reported that he painted for days at a time, and he was so absorbed in his work that he did not stop for food or sleep until he reached the point of passing out. He would wake up refreshed and, upon starting to paint again, re-entered a state of complete absorption.

The in the flow I speak of is the “spiritual” kind where you feel enlived and at peace and oneness with the divine and all of creation. While I was walking in the river I started struggelling, my feet slipping on the stones and almost took a tumble twice which one does not want to do carring a camera. I stopped struggling, stood still, did some relaxation breathing and asked Spirit to guide my feet. After starting to walk again I was able to feel a oneness with the stream and did not slip again. Coincidence you say- maybe but it became so easy where it had been difficult.

The idea of flow has been around for a long time. First known to be used by the Roman Emperor Marcus Arelius (yes, the one from Gladiator) in his writings ‘the Meditations.’ Marcus wrote a lot about the flow of thoughts and happiness and he concluded that “most things flow naturally” and in his opinion it was better to “Go with the Flow” than to try and change society.

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” - Lao-Tzu

Related articles

• The Importance of Flow Friends (powerofslow.wordpress.com)
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in ‘Flow’ (theauxiliary.wordpress.com)