August 3, 2021
The Magic of Being in the Flow State
As someone who loves to tap the subconscious through hypnosis, I was fascinated by this podcast by Jonathan Foust about the “flow state.” Around the 10-minute mark, Jonathan breaks down his discussion into four parts (the first three of which are covered in this podcast – the last part will be covered in a future podcast):
1. The magic of being in the flow state?
2. Is the flow state mindfulness?
3. How to sabotage the flow state?
4. How to access the flow state?
Since I play a lot of basketball, I know the flow state well. When I enter it, I can do no wrong on the court. I know my shot is going in before I even start to make a move. It’s all instinct and none of my actions are dictated by conscious thought. It’s only when I “press” – when I try too hard – that things start to go wrong.
Jonathan provides a similar anecdote. About when he played ping pong for first time. He could anticipate where the ball was going next. After I while, he thought to himself “I’m crushing this” and then he immediately wiffed. Perhaps part of this auspicious start was beginners mind but part was probably the flow state.
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi describes the flow state as sort of an optimal state of happiness. Your’e fully immersed in an activity. You can have the flow state in a group setting as well. Those intense conversations where everything is blocked out. The flow state increases creativity and expression…can’t wait to learn how to more easily access the flow state. But I do know that hypnosis can help…