Dearest Darling Friends,

 

 

My friend Dr. Malhar sent me a whatsapp message today morning mentioning, “I swam for 3 kms in 1 hour today. It was my best ever. I was meditating throughout.

 

 

I smiled as I read his message. I have often experienced this when I am training, when I am writing, when I am with my kids. Time just flies yet time seems to stand still. Psychologists call this state of being as the state of ‘FLOW’.

 

 

While doing work or practicing a hobby, have you ever, experienced a state of “flow”?

 

 

Flow is the transcendent state of being, identified by influential psychologist Mikhaly Csikszentmihalyi. In flow, says Csikszentmihalyi, “a person could work endlessly, for no better reason than to keep on working.” The reward is not the result. The reward is the work itself.

 

 

You are in flow when you feel totally engaged in an activity — whether it is long distance running or it is numerous laps of swimming, or it is heartfelt song writing, or solitary ocean sailing or even singing or painting or cooking.

 

 

In a state of flow, you’re neither bored nor anxious. In a state of flow, you never question your own adequacy. Time passes without noticing. For me…

 

 

*Flow is the state that a devotee experiences. He doesn’t want anything else from the divine but an opportunity to just ‘be’.

 

 

*Flow is watching my colleague Aditya’s five-year old son Dhyaan playing with his kitchen set, sometimes accompanied by his friend, sometimes accompanied by his mother Aarti, sometimes all alone, talking to self — oblivious to the surroundings.

 

 

*Flow was felt watching our son Neeraj play with his train set when he was 8 years old. He lies contentedly on his stomach, watching the wheels go round and round on the track. There is no hurry in the world.

 

 

*Flow is my 79 year-old father, sitting in the pooja room, spine straight, reading a few verses of Bhagwadh Geeta.

 

 

*Flow is my elder daughter Jo, sitting in the seat of meditation, looking serene as tears flow down her cheeks. She is blissfully unaware of the flowing tears.

 

 

People in flow tend to have a look of complete absorption and wear broad smiles of enthusiasm. In chaos, they feel no pressure. In turmoil, they feel no agitation. They seem to operate out of a depth, others cannot fathom.

 

 

Have you ever experienced ‘flow’? When? Would love to know more about it.

 

 

With love, prayers and exceptional wishes,

 

 

naren

 

 

Imagine, when we wake up, we are given only what we had thanked for.

 

 

 

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