How to increase your flow with a daily meditation practice
There are 2 kinds of humans: Ones that are in suffering and ones that are not.
Across the world, in every civilisation and continent, the wisest of humans have explored how to go from suffering to not suffering.
And in every single case, these explorers realised that suffering was an inside job, and therefore the solution was also an inside job.
So they developed meditational training methods to help us develop our minds. These methods have stuck around. Unlike many antiquities of the past, meditation has passed the test of time… and of science.
Meditation is proven to be a wonderful human technique to deal with a uniquely human problem: the ego- our concept of separate self, that leads to anxiety and feelings of disconnection.
Meditation has had bad press
Somewhere in recent history, meditation has become entangled with crystal balls and kooky mysticism.
Some meditation styles come with the trappings and trinkets of cultism. Certainly, for thousands of years, the concept has been often connected to religion or faith, and this connection is hard to swallow for many modern minds.
But meditation is not religious. It is a science of the mind.
But is it a “spiritual” practice?
Well, that depends on how you look at the “s” word, a word so laden with baggage, that many of us have developed an allergy to it.
Jon Kabat-Zinn (who explored the far reaches of both Buddhist wisdom and modern science before developing the MBSR meditation program) opined:
“Spiritual simply means experiencing wholeness and interconnectedness directly, a seeing that individuality and the totality are interwoven, that nothing is separate or extraneous. If you see in this way, then everything becomes spiritual in its deepest sense.”
That makes perfect sense to me. Everything is spiritual. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Meditation is the practice of exploring and experiencing this wholeness of what we are. It is the path of understanding our interconnection to all life. It is the journey that leads us out of separation and towards wholeness.
In that sense you could say its a spiritual practice. Or you could say its simply about realizing your full potential as a human being.
Kabat-Zinn again hits the nail on the head when he writes:
“Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.”
Simple.
There are no negative effects but many profound positive effects on the mind and body.
Meditation practice has also been scientifically attributed to an increase in self-control, compassion, sustained happiness. memory, emotional range, immune system, creativity and intuition.
All of this with zero side effects. It has to be the most powerful tool we have at our disposal to grow, heal and develop as humans.
Where does Mindfulness come into the picture?
You may have heard of mindfulness, an ancient practice passed down through the Buddhist tradition. It is incredibly simple to explain yet takes years of practice to master. Mindfulness is a form of meditation, the most simple, unadorned, accessible method I believe.
It can be defined as the practice of deliberate, non-judgmental attention to the contents of consciousness in the present moment, whether pleasant or unpleasant.
Cultivating this quality of mind has been shown to help people deal with pain, anxiety and depression, lower blood pressure and boost the immune system.
It also has been proven to improve cognitive function as well as actually changing the density in areas of the brain related to memory, self awareness, learning and emotions.
Mindfulness involves practising to solve the problem of thinking when we don’t know we are thinking.
The problem is not thoughts. The problem is being controlled by your thoughts.
A key practice is to pay attention to your breathing, noticing when our thoughts stray from this and bringing your attention back to the breath.
Mindfulness can be practised in every walk of life, by deliberately paying attention to the thing we are doing, in a non-judgemental way.
You can be in conversation mindfully… or not. You can drive to the beach mindfully or not.
You can eat mindfully or not.
It’s always amazing for me to suddenly realise I am mindlessly eating, and switch to mindful eating.
The difference is a dramatic down-shift of gears, from frantic, distracted shovelling of fuel into my face, to a calm and measured nourishment experience featuring a fuller appreciation of flavours, textures and colours.
So why develop mindfulness?
The benefits of training your mind to be more present are huge. You will gain the ability to live in the moment for longer, appreciate what you have, gain the ability to forget the things on that to-do-list when you want to forget.
You will reduce the amount of anxiety around future events and regrets about past happenings. You will get some more space around all of the chatter and dialogue that is constantly running in your mind.
You will strengthen your access to your subconscious, and achieve a sharp and focused clarity of mind.
What is the connection between Meditation and Flow?
Meditation and flow states have long been connected by researchers- after all the common target for both states is full attentional control.
Both states are characterized by a deep focus and concentration, and experienced meditators talk about a feeling of effortless attention similar to flow, which is probably actually the same as flow.
In both states practitioners report a loss of the senses of time, space, self and sensations of one-ness, inseparation with other people and surroundings.
Feelings of euphoria and bliss are another commonality.
On a neuro-electric level, the Alpha-Theta and Gamma brain waves prominent in meditators are also active in the brains of those in flow states. In fact, we could say that the meditative state is the flow state.
Therefore when we are in flow, we are in a sense meditating. You could say that flow is a form of active meditation.
So if you want to flow, learn to meditate. If you love the benefits of meditation, learn to flow. If you want to develop the capacity to end your own suffering…. DO BOTH!
Read this Simple Guide to Meditation to learn how to get started.
Originally published at www.jirotaylor.com.
