Flow is a useful metaphor for what happens with thoughts and
feelings. Like water, they proceed from a source and move along in a stream.
Sometimes they gush, spout, or spurt sometimes they just trickle in a small,
gentle stream, and some times the flow disappears into the background and seems
to have stopped (for example when dosing or sleeping).
There are many approaches to the concept of flow but I have
found three of them to be particularly useful for training my mind – Meditative
(M) Flow, Brande (B)Flow and Csikszentmihalyi (C) Flow
M-Flows
Meditation and Mindfulness go back at least 3000 years.
There are many variations on the basic theme of stopping (Shamatha) and seeing
(Vipassana). People who have trained their minds to Olympic standards can do wonderful
things but I am not interested here in being an Olympian.
Ordinary people can set aside some free time in a quiet
place where they just sit. Thoughts and feelings will flow. The trick is to
avoid being caught up in the particular thoughts and feelings by becoming a witness
to them. Not “I am angry”, but “Anger is arising”. In time attachment to the
mental formations gets less and you become free of them. The peace that results
causes empathy and compassion for others. One of Eckhart Tolle’s books is
called “Stillness Speaks”. It does.
B-Flows
Dorothea Brande (1893 – 1948) was a well-respected writer
and editor in New York. Her book “Becoming a Writer”, published in 1934, is
still in print and offers advice for beginning and sustaining any writing
enterprise. I have returned to this classic many times over the years.
She recognises that the professional writer has to be able
to dive into the flow of ideas passing through mind in a controlled way. Techniques
include (a) waking half an hour early and writing non stop for 20 minutes, and
(b) setting a time later in the day (say 12:00) and writing for 20 minutes with
no excuses. Do this for a month. Patterns emerge and the problem of writer’s
block does not arise.
C-Flows
According to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi flow is completely focused motivation. It is
a single-minded immersion and represents the ultimate experience in harnessing
the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow, the emotions
are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with
the task at hand.
Flow theory notes three conditions that have to be met to
achieve a flow state:
- One must be involved in an activity with a clear
set of goals and progress. This adds direction and structure to the task.
- The task at hand must have clear and immediate
feedback. This helps the person negotiate any changing demands and allows him
or her to adjust his or her performance to maintain the flow state.
- One must have a good balance between the
perceived challenges of the task at hand and his or her own perceived skills.
One must have confidence that he or she is capable to do the task at hand.
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"Repression
is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their
lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can
life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason."
Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi
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The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even
rapture, while performing a task although flow is also described as a deep
focus on nothing but the activity – not even oneself or one's emotions.
Buzz terms for this or similar mental states include: to be
in the moment, present, in the zone, on a roll, wired in, in the groove, on
fire, in tune, centered, or singularly focused. There is also the notion of the
muse talking through the poet or novelist.
Subjective Flows - non-egoic and out of space and time
I have practiced mindfulness meditation off and on for more
than forty years. It has a calming effect and through my own suffering I am
reminded of how other people are suffering and compassion thus arises. These
days, if I begin to get anxious, I have faith that ‘just sitting’ and being the
witness will have a calming effect.
I have been a Brande fan for more than 20 years. For some
reason I hesitate to set a timetable for the writing which thus goes through
phases. I was at my peak about 10-15 years ago when I could easily crack out 40
words per minute for 20 minutes. These days I rarely manage more than 30 words
per minute. In the main I have been disappointed by the triviality of the stuff
that emerges. But the exercise of pumping words against the clock is
therapeutic.
I have been aware of flow and of positive psychology for more
than 10 years. I think of it as being in the zone when writing my more
disciplined and professional works. The mind state used to keep up for 2-3
hours when I was non-egoic and out of space and time. It was effortless action
(wu-wei). I would sit at the computer and stuff would happen. There might have
been joy and bliss at being so absorbed but it was non-egoic – there was no ‘I’
present to experience the bliss. But it was a great way to escape the
troublesome ego and profitably use time.
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