Have you found your ''zone'' yet? Thoughts around ''flow''.......

After finishing up a painting, I found that I had a lot of left-over dabs of paint.

Since the possibility of getting the paint back into the tubes was nil, I decided 

to use the left-over paint to paint another painting.

Ever since I first picked up a paint brush, what I have found to be so enticing about painting,
is the sense of freedom I have experienced when I have
 put thinking to one side, and just

allowed my self to get lost in the process of pushing pigments around on a canvas.

Apparently, there is a word for that experience of getting ''lost'' whilst doing something

one enjoys so much that one loses all sense of time and place: ''Flow''.

(Although, some also term it: ''Being in the Zone''. I have a penchant towards calling it

''The dullification of the Brain'' chatter.)

Being able to take a break from the incessant chatter of the brain, if even for a few

minutes here and there, can be wonderfully refreshing and re-energizing in my view.

(According to some studies, on an average, a human being thinks around 70.000 thoughts each day.

Not that we are aware of them all, but that's a lot of activity '

for something that is basically done by a mass of fat and water methinks. 

Some liken the brain to a ''machine'' or a computer, and perhaps thinking of the brain that way may makes it easier for us to better understand what it is and what it does, but, even with all the new and exciting information and knowledge that we have these days with the help of ''the sciences of the brain'', we still don't seem to be able to answer the simple question why it works in the first place.)

                            The brain, even when we are asleep keeps chattering on, and although

we are not consciously aware of the chattering, it can still ''colour''  what our emotional state will be when we wake up. Ever gone to bed in a great mood and then woke up the next morning

feeling grumpy, anxious, irritated and on edge? Ever wondered why?

Some say that while we are busy sleeping, the subconscious is busy ''working'' on untangling our ''knots''. Ever gone to bed with your mind busy with trying to solve a problem, fallen asleep, and then when you woke up the next morning you suddenly knew the answer?

Ever wondered how that came about?

Ever found yourself so engrossed in doing something that it seemed to make time ''fly''?

In most human cultures, time (whether we view it as ''real'' or as a human construct) plays a pivotal role as far as human behaviour is concerned; we have schedules, routines, habits, calendars,

etc.etc. in short, we organise how we will use time.

Although we have quantified time as years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds, the way we experience the passing of those quantities, can vary greatly.

The way we experience an hour if we are in pain, if we are afraid, if we feel lonely, if we are lost, anxious, worried, nervous, stressed, angry, etc.etc. is very different to how we experience an hour when we are having fun, when we are absorbed in doing something we enjoy, when we are spending time with someone we love, when we are relaxing,  etc.etc. 

Though I do not know this for sure, I have a sneaky suspicion that when are having a ''bad'' time, the 

''negative and critical'' brain chatter seems to become louder

and more difficult to ignore, but when we are having a ''good'' time,

the opposite seem to be the case.

When we are in a state of flow/in the zone, the brain chatter seems

to become muted and relegated to the subconscious.

Michaly Cziksentmilhalyi, a Positive Psychologist and the man

 behind the term ''Flow" defines it this way: ''Being completely involved in an activity for 

its own sake. The Ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement

and thought follows inevitable from the previous one, like Jazz*. 

Your whole being is involved, and you are using your skills to the utmost.''

That's all fine, but how does one achieve it? you may ask.

Some suggestions:

Find out what you are passionate about, passionate enough

to be willing to invest time and effort into it.

It needs to have an element of challenge in it so that

you can see your improvements. As in, every time you

engage in the activity, your knowledge and skill level improves.

Setting goals can also be very helpful in ascertaining our progress.

Flow, as I see it, has a quality of mindfulness to it.

Allowing oneself to be totally absorbed and focused on doing the one activity (life-affirming)

holds the mind steady and firmly centered on the now.

ps. about the painting....

It is merely the outcome of painting whilst being in a state of flow, but, I did name it.....''Hope''

* why Jazz? Perhaps because to play Jazz a person needs to be able to compose on the spot, and in order to be able to do so, there is a requirement of a technical, theoretical, and improvisational skill level that can only be gained through years of dedication and hard work.