Back in my college days, which seem a lifetime ago already,
I took a Sports Psychology class, taught by one of the professors who was part
of my circle of other professors and students I lovingly refer to as the ‘Psych
Ward.’ I lucked into one of the greatest teachers to ever have taught
introducing us to the concept of Flow.
In a nutshell Flow is the optimal experience. Like when an athlete is in the zone. I would venture to say creators; painters and
musicians hit that moment when it comes seemingly unconsciously, body relying
on instinct, everything’s Just right.
Me and some of my Psych Ward buddies dug the notion and
found a book in the Library by the guy who came up with the concept, so I
checked out Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I plead the fifth amendment on whether it
ever got returned, but we put it to good use!
We were nerds, cool nerds, but would do what college kids do, a little
partying, and then sit and talk about the stuff we learned in class. Flow caught on quick with this crowd. A couple of us had a debate with the
professor on whether or not Flow could be obtained chemically, our example was
using drugs. She said it wouldn’t be
natural. I agreed maybe not, but would
it still be considered Flow? We
collectively found Mr. Csikszentmihalyi’s email address and sent him our well
thought out question. Disappointingly,
we never got a reply. I ended up also
agreeing that obtaining it naturally was a more ‘purer’ form, if you managed it
chemically, it would be dirty in a way, not as pure anyway.
Was used in Sports Psych, we got into it n
tried to take it where it didn’t need to go. The author’s kinda nutshell definition of Flow is the mental state of a
person when performing a task, fully immersed in ENERGIZED (*coming back to
that*) focus, full involvement, enjoying it, and being completely absorbed by
it.
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| Missy Franklin probably Flowing on her way to another gold medal |
The butterflies of Lost Creek have led us to
back to Flow because they flew there from all this stuff with Energy that’s
been in the last few medicine shows. It occurred
to me that to obtain a true state of Flow –I concede Nicole, chemical wouldn’t
count as positive here… that you would
have to be in a state where you were in the opposite of a Fear Cage we talked
about before. You manage to focus all of
your Energy into that race, that game, that song.
We took the ghost hunting term Fear Cage,
that they use to describe a place with high EMF levels that make people
biophysically more likely to experience/think they experience paranormal activity. We took it out of the spooky haunted broom
closet of ghost hunting and applied it to everyday life, using the example of
someone in a depressed state, lost, hopeless, afraid. They are in a type of Fear Cage. They have manipulated the energy around them
to create a negative psychological environment for themselves.
The notion of this optimal experience of Flow
is the opposite. It’s already having
positive energy, and then by either lucking into it or by practice, practice,
practice you hit that place where it literally just Flows. Doesn’t have to be a sport you spent 15 years
mastering, or playing a Chopin piece on the piano, can be something you just
learned, playing a video game, or something you do everyday but get into that state with
it. Which leads us to…
The couple Lost Creek researchers we sent to
take in the Spook Show (again, meant in the most positive way possible, just
vibing with Positive supernatural) are wondering how close the Holy Spirit
baptism we talked about in the last blog and Flow are related. They reported personal experiences where some kind of UberEnergy was felt, and were at first reluctant to agree that it was this Holy Spirit they were talking about. It's hard for them to say how closely Flow and the Spook Baptism are related, because what they experienced was just a taste, and haven't had experiences like they've seen and heard of others having. I'm thinking those they see experiencing it regularly would agree that it's something akin to the notion of Flow, but maybe on a different level/wavelength. Getting into the Supernatural here, and didn't email the book's author about that, just natural and chemically induced.
Isn’t it all the same energy, in us, around
us, everywhere, that’s being manipulated one way or the other, depending on the
worldview of the individual in question?
The research and evidence we got point to it being the same thing, and
also involved in the Spook Show in other ways than speaking in tongues –
confirmation, prophecy, people knowing stuff they have no way of knowing.
The Optimal Experience of Flow has woven
itself into the ever growing jungle of this adventure. Still working on the Jung – collective unconscious,
synchronicities – meaningful coincidences one, but when the butterflies take
off you gotta ride it out with them. Following are some pics that I took in the Spook Show House while playing with the camera on my new phone. (didn't have to blur the faces this time, was just figuring out how to use the camera, blurred em learning) Just laughed when I saw I'd got something, cmon! Til
the next time…
To read more on Flow, hit this link
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| Above pic zoomed |
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| And that one zoomed, on her elbow |
Actually, I believe flow IS chemical..but it's the natural chemicals our bodies release when we are pumped up about whatever it is we are doing...endorphins, adrenaline, and the such. These chemicals give us a natural high that no man made chemicals can produce. I believe that the high we experience from man made chemicals creates a negative energy, thus the reason for illness, depression, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, etc that come with chemical dependence. Such usage will also cause people to do NEGATIVE things when seeking that kind of high...such as stealing, lying, etc. Man made chemicals distort our thinking whereas the high you feel from the natural chemicals created while doing something we are passionate about make us feel great. An example of this is a runner's high that runners get after reaching that optimal flow. I feel it sometimes when I am photographing and I hit that point where I KNOW the photos I am taking are money shots. Nothing compares to that feeling. No artificial chemical can compare to the feeling I get when I am in that zone. Chemical dependence is a way to numb. Flowing from doing your passion is a way to live and feel alive. Chemical dependence will alter your flow experience and I believe will actually inhibit it from happening because there is negative energy surrounding those chemicals. To hit optimal flow, drugs have to go. Keep it up, Mandy! You are really on to something. This is YOUR flow. Don't let ANYTHING stop you!
ReplyDeleteevery thought we have is a chemical reaction if u wanna break it down that way! think ur onto something with the addiction and negative energy thing, got some notes on that very thing. That runner's high is a perfect example of Flow, but it can be as simple as something you do every day, just getting in that zone positive energy around you. Chemical Flow and/or chemical dependence can very well block Flow, because of the negative energy created. As related to the Spook Show, negative energy around you would also prob block an experience with the 'Spook" from happening as well. Need to do a little more research on that particular point. The butterflies keep leading me down this yellow brick road, and i Wont stop til i've put it all together in a book!
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