The Flow Channel

What is flow?

Flow is an optimal state of consciousness, where we feel our best and perform our best. This is the why, the juice, the peak state that makes life worth living.

We experience wrapped attention and total absorption. Action and awareness merge, time expands or becomes irrelevant, and the inner critic goes silent. 

The statistics on performance of any kind, whether it’s athletic, creative, or productivity based, would seem too good to be true if they didn’t have the research to back them up:

  • 500% boost in productivity while in a flow state (derived from a decade long study by the McKinsey consultancy)

  • a 430% boost in creativity (based on research from University of Sydney)

  • 490% increase in skill acquisition (research from Advanced Brain Monitoring & DARPA)

  • increased endurance and a decreased experience of pain or discomfort

A simpler way to explain this phenomenon is that flow is present whenever you see the impossible become possible. 

How does it work?

The flow state emerges when a clear intention is matched with aligned action. Even though this sounds simple, problems arise for most people because 90% of behavior is directed by the subconscious. Therefore, the process begins by reconciling the stories, patterns, and behavior that are manifesting the current reality. 

The impact - the big thing beyond reason - usually comes with a lot of resistance because of the size and potency. Flow brings you into the now and it makes the journey so enjoyable that it’s worth having for its own sake, regardless of the outcome. It’s effortless non-attachment.

Beyond resistance, we can access authentic desire. Most often, the reason people are unsatisfied with their lives is because they haven’t fully embraced their core dreams and desires, dismissing them as impossible fantasies. What’s true is that you are your dream. This alignment with inner truth sets the volcanic potential in motion.

Structure and flow require each other. The most expansive dreams and desires that you have for your life will remain unrealized without an integrated structure to flow through. Flow needs a channel. On the other hand, there is no true fulfillment in working towards or even achieving a goal without the peak state that is flow.