We are mesmerized by flow, both within us and outside of us.

What is Flow?

Flow is a “mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment. Flow, creativity, and happiness are related.”*

Flow heightens creativity in the moment and future moments. Being in the flow can train us to be more open, more innovative, more curious. During Flow, concentration is so intense it can change our brains, producing natural pleasure-inducing and performance-enhancing chemicals.

A flow state is very similar to a state called eustress, or a positive response to stress.

This inherent fascination with flow and the movement of water is part of the current fluid acrylic art rage in popular art (using acrylic paint mixed with a special medium poured or dripped onto a surface), capturing and commemorating moments of flow in a visually tangible way.

Do Dreams have FLOW?

I say: Yes. Have you ever experienced a time when everything fell into place? I have that feeling regularly now, but I didn’t when I was first on my own after a difficult divorce.

Do you think you can “will” things to be? I do. When I first became a single mother, I thought a lot about it, and then wrote down on a piece of paper how much I needed to make per year to sustain myself and my son: $60,000. I hadn’t made that kind of income up to that point, as I had usually been part-time, or starting a business, but lo and behold, that was the exact amount I was offered when I started my new job as a tech writer.

There seems to be a way that energy “moves” when you consciously direct it. Do you agree?

What Can You Do to Encourage Flow?

To encourage flow, use a journal and WRITE DOWN who you want to be, using yourself as the starting point and working outward from there to what you want to make or create.

I find that the right music helps me get into a state of flow when I am creating goals or making artwork.

MUSIC TO FLOW BY (A FEW FAVORITE FLOW MUSIC ARTISTS)

BRIAN ENO Music for Airports
TVO
Jordan De La Sierra (post-minimalist piano)

FLOWSTATE.FM will send you an email with a musical artist specially picked for focus and getting in the flow every weekday. I recommend it. You can get the recommendation free in your email every weekday, or subscribe and get access to their private podcast mixes and Spotify playlists. (If you want to see their Spotify playlists and remove ads, you can upgrade to paid.)