Thrive and Awaken® Tip

We tend to think of flow as movement. A river flows. Music flows. Life flows. We speak of moving with life rather than against it.

Yet there is a paradox within flow. When we are fully immersed in it, there can also be a profound sense of silence and stillness.

We may experience this while running, writing, creating art, playing an instrument, gardening, or engaging in something we know so well that we no longer need to think about each step. Our attention becomes completely absorbed in what is happening. The usual mental commentary quiets. Our sense of time may even seem to disappear.

There is movement, sometimes considerable movement, but within the movement there is stillness.

In Survival Mode, our attention is often pulled in many directions. We anticipate what might happen, revisit what has already happened, monitor for problems, and react to whatever captures our attention. Even when our body is still, our inner world may be anything but still.

As we Thrive and Awaken, we cultivate the capacity to be more fully present with what is occurring in the moment. Through Conscious Awareness, we learn to intentionally direct our attention and gently return when the mind becomes distracted. We become less caught in the activity surrounding the moment and more available to the moment itself.

While silence and stillness can be a result of flow, they are also portals into flow. As the mind quiets, we become more available to what is emerging. Rather than trying to make something happen, we can become receptive to the natural movement already occurring.

And once we enter flow, the flow itself can deepen the silence and stillness. Attention becomes less fragmented. Self-consciousness recedes. There is less efforting and more participation. Flow supports stillness, and stillness supports flow.

Over time, this can become a self-sustaining cycle.

Perhaps this is why flow can feel so vibrant and alive. We are not withdrawing from life. We are becoming more intimately engaged with it. The stillness is not an absence of movement, but a quality of presence within movement.

Reflection

Consider an activity in which you naturally experience flow. What happens to your awareness of time? What happens to the usual commentary of your mind?

Then experiment with approaching that activity differently. Before beginning, allow yourself a few moments of silence and stillness. Ground yourself. Become present. Then enter the activity without rushing.

Notice whether stillness helps you enter the flow—and whether the flow, in turn, carries you more deeply into stillness.