Going with the Flow

Flow-It has been described as the mental state of operation in which a person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing.  It is characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.  Yes, I got that right off from Wikipedia.  That is the concept that was proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.  He apparently came up with the word during some interviews with people way back in 1975 where they would describe their “flow” experiences using the metaphor of a current carrying them along.  It is that metaphor that I am talking about here.   

Lately I have listened to and read many things about going with the flow.  I liken it to letting go of controlling, letting go of expectations, believing in the possibilities, being open to new ideas and letting the current of the Universe carry you on to your dream.  There is such a thing as momentum.  If you release the struggle you can capture that momentum. 

The analogy of the canoe and the paddle tells it so clearly.  You can’t face your canoe upstream and fight the current and get very far if you get anywhere at all.  Turn the canoe around and follow the current.  You’ll sail right down the river. Easy. Effortless.

When you are struggling with your work, with your love, with your life, with your weight, with your disappointments, with your health, with your money, with anything or everything, you are not going with the flow.  I’ve spent time in the struggle mode.  I know it is a hard place to be.  It’s difficult and miserable.  I also know that it’s not always easy to let go of the illusion that you have to control it, that you have to fix it, that the responsibility for everything is up to you.    Sometimes it’s not easy to even know how to let go of those illusions of control.   

It has to do with your beliefs for one thing.  If you believe that you are stuck for whatever reason, if you believe that your situation is hopeless, if you are sick and you don’t believe in your ability to get well, if you believe your dreams cannot possibly come true, you are going against the current and trying to paddle upstream.  There is no better way to describe it that I have thought of yet.  Paddling upstream covers it pretty well. 

So identify those limiting beliefs.  Reality is just what you believe.  Change your beliefs and you’ll change your reality.  I know it’s not simple but it is good advice.

Try daydreams.  Really, try daydreaming.  Imagine your perfect situation.  Visualize it and see it in all of its glorious details.  Imagine the perfect health, the perfect weight, the perfect relationship, the perfect job, avalanches of money, whatever you want.  It’s only in your own mind.  There will be no one to criticize you or tell you you’re wrong unless you imagine that also.  Keep that kind of crap out of your daydreams.  No critics allowed.  And it you tend towards self-criticism, as I do, the rules are “no criticism in daydreams allowed”.  If you find yourself criticizing or defaulting back to the limiting thoughts and beliefs in your daydreams then it’s “Game over!  This daydream is now terminated due to uninvited thoughts.  Next session scheduled at an indeterminate time”.”

We are spiritual and infinite beings.  Everything is possible.  You don’t have dreams in your heart if there is not a way for them to come true.  Every illness known to man has been overcome by someone.  There is nothing incurable in the Universe.  It’s only your own mind and thinking that can make it so. 

Life is a magical, wonderful, incredible experience.  It’s not supposed to be a struggle.  It’s not supposed to be hard.  Let go of the struggle and find the joy in life. Go with the flow.