Really Going with the Flow is Good for You

How often do you hear people say “Just go with the flow”? Does it help you when you are having a difficult time, feeling stressed or facing a challenging time in life??

My observation is that too often this phrase is used as an  attempt to not react to stressful things. The intention to get to a better place emotionally is a good one, but it does not take into account how we are constructed and what we really need to do to arrive at a better state. Putting on a happy face and pretending to “go with the flow” can amount to denial which in fact make things worse in the long run.

 

There is magic in our inner capacities but adopting a false stance or trying to bully ourselves to a more positive mindset will not help us engage it. It is understandable that we would try those approaches s it takes learning and practice to truly know how to tap our hidden super powers!

 

Falsely “going with the flow”
When we try to will ourselves to “go with the flow” from a strictly mental level the effect this has is put all systems on stop as we attempt to avoid hard emotions. The result of emotionally abusing ourselves in this way is a neat package of nasty biochemistry that ultimately becomes shoved in a closet deep inside marked UNPROCESSED MATERIAL: KEEP OUT. This of course does not serve us well in the long run! This approach may serve us in the moment, but in the long run it causes problems in spirit, mind and body wrecking our inner peace, relationships and health.

 

Truly “going with the flow”
We are energy Beings. Every aspect of our nature—- our thoughts, feelings, even our physical makeup is comprised of energy. FLOW is word that is used to describe a particular quality of movement of our energies.

This movement subjectively is felt as a sense of ease, peace/ balance and at times it can be BLISS. A true flow state is an experience of inner strength, clear headedness and a deep knowing or trust that we can rise to the challenges of our lives as needed without too much undue turmoil.

Objectively the Flow state occurs when the energies (and subsequently the hormonal, biochemical and nervous systems) of our bodies, minds and spirits are balanced, and moving freely throughout our entire being. Externally we may notice more synchronicity in our lives….being in the right time, place etc.

The secrets to achieving this state and the ability to maintain it with any kind of regularity or stability requires a commitment to ourselves to: (1) become knowledgeable about our personal blocks to flow states, (2) learn methods to release those blocks, (3) develop and maintain the practices that support it.

This may take some effort…but imagine how it would be to live more often in a state of optimal well-being with your mental, emotional and physical bodies humming along leaving you free to focus on happiness, creativity, and enjoying life.
In the next post we will explore the common obstacles to flow and some methods and techniques to really “go with the flow”!