Finding the Flow

 

05.06.2022 FINDING THE FLOW As a rock climber, I wrestle with a lot of feelings of doubt. In sport climbing, you try to ascend the route from the ground to the top, without taking any falls. You’re attached to a rope anchored to the rock for protection, but the goal is to complete the climb in one sequence. While examining a route, my mind will overflow with questions like “What will the next hold feel like? Am I strong enough to make that move? Is this fall safe?” I try to shut out the doubt in order to memorize the movements, trying to remember where that good foothold is, and how high to reach for the next clip. When I’m working on a climbing project, this buzz of information is relentless. At any hour of the day, I rehearse the sequences in my head, visualizing what it will feel like to try it again. On my way to the climb, the doubt will start to kick in, “What if today isn’t the day? It's too humid, I’m tired, I’m too nervous,” etc. But eventually, after a long time of obsessing and practicing, there’s a moment when all the doubt switches off. The preparation seems to blur into the background, and all that’s left is your body and mind working together in one moving piece. Suddenly, you’re in flow, and what was once hard or impossible seems easy. This flow state, also known as “the zone” is a place where athletics and meditation seem to magically mix together. In a moment of trust, we dial into the cadence of our breath, take a step away from the negative thinking, and experience this beautiful moment of presence. The flow state can come from all types of activities. Whether it’s in sports, creative pursuits, or in your meditation practice, that feeling of flow is something elusive and enticing. These three articles encourage you to find the flow in your own way. I hope they bring you a moment of blissful awareness this weekend. —Martine Panzica, digital editorial assistant, Lion’s Roar

The Man Who Found the Flow “What is happiness?” asked psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He found it in a state of mind beyond results and rewards and called it “the flow.” What, he wondered, do people feel when they are most happy? What is their state of mind? Why do certain activities bring enjoyment and others do not?

How to Unleash Your Creativity Informed by the profound teachings of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal tells us how to unleash powerful creative energy we can use anywhere, from the office to the art studio. If you can successfully clear the clouds of negative self-image and become more familiar with the vast sky, then by resting deeply enough in that space, you will begin to feel an even greater opening and sense of peace. The sparkling qualities manifesting in that space are the light of awareness and potentiality.

Mind and Body at the Extreme When body and mind join as one, performance is at a peak and the experience is almost spiritual. Noa Jones talks to high-performance athletes about the practice of sport A sense of selflessness and oneness, sometimes called the “flow” or being “in the zone,” is a common feature of the transcendent athletic experience. Team players rally as a single unit; pair skaters appear as a graceful four-legged creature; a kung fu master becomes his sword. For Rob Machado it is the ocean; for Chris Sharma it is rocks. Steep, sheer, awesome — some would even say unforgiving — rocks.

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