Day 14: Finding Flow

the balance between effort & surrender

 

 

 

Finding Flow: The Path of Happiness

the balance between effort & surrender

 

Flowing through our lives with ease and grace, requires a balance between effort, showing up to our practice and discipline and surrendering to what is and how that can unfold.  This is the balance between practice & non-attachment, or allowing the moment to be as it is.

 

When we’re in flow, we drop out of the thinking, judging, comparing, rational mind and tap into a timeless state of simple be-ingness, of flow.

 

“Flow is the process of achieving happiness through control over one’s inner life. The optimal state of inner experience is order in consciousness. This happens when we focus our attention (psychic energy) on realistic goals and when our skills match the challenges we face”. – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

 

When we feel out of flow, we have a choice:  We can struggle against the current, we can resist, we can fight or flight our way into a temporary shortcut.  Or we can use those obstacles as fuel,  to show up to the element of fire, the practice of discipline, the fires of transformation and purification. 

 

A balanced practice of Yoga contains equal measures of Abhyasa, effort / practice,  and vairagya, non-attachment. We can compare our Yoga practice to the wings of a bird.  We need equal parts of abhyasa and vairagya, effort and surrender, to keep the bird flying free. 

 

We need persistent effort to know ourselves, to evolve and harness our challenges of life to realise the goal of freedom, and a corresponding level of surrender of how this can unfold in our external reality.

 

This is one of the reasons our school is named “Pure Flow Yoga” – to serve as a reminder: When you’re not in flow, the recipe is to purify – Fire! : find your discipline, your focus, your willingness to transform yourself so you can get back to that sweet element of water, of connection, fluidity, and adaptability that are the nature of flow.

Flow, the Secret of Happiness

Today I feel inspired to share 2 powerful and excellent talk to broaden your flow:

 

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi asks, “What makes a life worth living?” Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of “flow.”

 

 

 

What would Water do?

How do we find fulfillment in a world that’s constantly changing? Raymond Tang struggled with this question until he came across the ancient Chinese philosophy of the Tao Te Ching. In it, he found a passage comparing goodness to water, an idea he’s now applying to his everyday life. In this charming talk, he shares three lessons he’s learned so far from the “philosophy of water.” “What would water do?” Tang asks. “This simple and powerful question … has changed my life for the better.”

 

 

Path of Practice

Do your “Big” or “Small” practiceEnter your “Yay” or “Nay”.

 

Journal  / 3 Gratitudes

What does “go with the flow” mean to you?  How do you find flow? How can you cultivate more flow in your life?

Today I invite you to spend time finding flow. Choosing one activity that you love doing that helps you tap into that state of timelessness and do that!  It could be Yoga, dancing, writing, cooking…..anything!

 

Comment Below & Share on the  FB Group,

 

1 Comment

  1. francie fishman

    Today i found some serious flow working on today’s lesson. I think it’s great when our work can feel like flow and our creative juices feel like they have an awesome outlet. It certainly is a balance though. I feel I could work on this for infinity and still feel I could do more…. I need to take a break now, send this out to you all, and trust that you’ll get what you need from today. Thanks for your continued support on the path of practice XOXOX

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