Flow Motion
I am a product of the “make it happen” generation…if it is to be, its up to me. Somehow that phrase captured the notion of effort or force…and there is no doubt that when applied; stuff happens. I would often be exhausted and wonder why it wasn’t as fulfilling as promised or why it was so hard. It did not occur to me in those days, that life was moving in a natural flow and if I joined that flow, I would be able to create freely and in ways that were new. As we approach the vision and the longing for new ways of being, an important step is to relax into the flow.
Some years ago Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi, (try saying that fast for 10 times) a Hungarian-American Psychologist, recognized and named the concept of flow- a mental state conducive to creativity, discovery, and invention. Up to that point, flow was considered a state that only athletes and musicians entered during their respective performances. Mihaly showed that this was a state for any endeavor, from accountants to waitresses and required only an allowing oneself to move with the flow of the action and direction that life was moving.
The trick if there is one, is that you need to feel into the direction that life is flowing – and join it with ease. It isn’t difficult but it requires a couple of critical moves. The first is to release resistance. The number one reason we don’t create something new or move with grace is we resist what is happening either because we don’t want it that way, or we think we can’t do it, or we think it might lead us into some trouble. That brings us to the second move – knowing that Life is for us, that Life is friendly, and the direction Life is moving is always to some ultimate evolution of greatest good. This becomes an action of trust – of intuitive knowingness, of following wisdom as it appears.
I learned this a few years ago going down the Colorado river in a raft, through the Grand Canyon. It was Spring and the rapids were flowing – fast and furiously. The instructions as we approached a rapid were clear – keep your head down and hug the pontoon. Of course I was curious and I wanted to see the rapid in action..so I lifted my head to watch and Bing- I was thrown out of the pontoon (wearing a life preserver of course). Trying not to panic, the guides yelled to me over the roar of the water…”Close your mouth and go with the flow..we will pick you up on the other side.” Sure enough I relaxed and rode the rapid …it was a bit terrifying but somehow, I released my resistance and enjoyed the ride. When I entered still water, I noticed I was safe and joined my fellow travelers who wanted to know what it was like. If I had tried to force anything I would have had a very different experience. I knew intuitively that the water was stronger and greater than I was and I also knew I could join the flow and have a new experience; and still water always follows a rapid!
Being present to what is trying to emerge in this universal event requires trust, vision, longing, compassion and now flow motion. Play with this during the week – go with the flow.
