Flow State, Photography & A State Of Being
I have always been interested in true greatness. What makes people the best at what they do? What drives this, and how is it achieved? Perhaps I am a narcissist. But really? What makes people so great at what whey do? Are they genetically gifted? Is it learned? Is it persistence, repetition and dedication? Are they just lucky? Whether it be personal, social, physical, creative, occupation or athletic achievements. One thing I have noticed, that all these great people have in common, is they can enter a specific state of consciousness which allows them to perform at a superior level as they are not burdened by the overactive and over stimulated human mind. This has been dubbed as the “Flow State”. In this state, there are no doubts, no questions, no foreshadowing, no reflection or rumination, no thoughts, just doing; just being. This state of consciousness allows one to act freely without the constraints of the conscious mind. And when it comes to creativity, I feel this can be an absolute game-changer; creating true freedom for expression.
I believe this ‘flow state’ can also be extremely beneficial to the human psyche in general. I feel we have become such a socially anxious culture. Most people, during general interactions in everyday life, at work, at home, in public, are constantly worried about how others perceive them; or what they think or feel of them. This leads to anxiety, overthinking and negative emotions which in-turn affects our outward behavior and re-enforces these negative emotions we feel from our external social stimuli. We constantly reflect, we judge, we foreshadow, we question, we doubt; the modern mind of most, is an unnecessarily overactive mess. And many people, in the pharmaceutical culture we live in, turn to medications to shut down these over active parts of the brain. But research shows this only exacerbates the true issues causing these 'feelings'.
The ‘flow state’ shows us that these over active parts of the mind can be shut down, or at least slowed down naturally; without medications or intense psychiatric practices. Rather, it can be done through simply altering your state of consciousness. Much of the negative human experience is actually caused by ourselves and our own internal dialog. We create problems in our mind that do not exist in reality. But how do we enter and harness this ‘flow state’? This, I feel, is where more research needs to be done.
I have, at times, noticed myself entering these flow states during my own photography journey. Time will literally disappear. Hours go by like minutes during these photography hikes. So much so that I've had to start setting alarms to remind me to hike out before dark. I noticed my work was much 'better' during these mystical states of being. These states are very fleeting and cannot be forced. Many times after experiencing one of these mental states, I would go out the next day, and consciously try to force myself into one of these 'flow states', horribly unsuccessfully. This would also be reflected in my mundane photos. You must enter these states almost unconsciously. I find it similar to falling asleep; you can never actually feel your self fall asleep, and the only time you realize you have, is when you wake up. This is similar to a flow state, you do not consciously know you have entered a flow state until your out of it; almost as if to awaken from some sort of hybrid lucid dream. I have not yet understood what leads to these states of consciousness but I am certain they can lead to profound performance enhancements for human endeavors.
For me, the most common time this will happen, is when I visit a new area I have never been to before. I become consumed by my surroundings and my brain goes into overdrive absorbing all of the shapes, colors, and textures cascading through my visual space. I am so fully consumed by my observations and experience, that it seems parts of the mind just shut down completely. I don't think, there is zero internal dialog, no 'oh I think this looks good', 'I hope I have my exposure right', 'I wonder if there are any bears around?'. There is no mental process other than the exact task I am doing. Laser focus, with zero distraction; almost an unconscious trace like state. There is no singular thought, just a single and constant stream of present awareness 'flowing' through time and space. And there is no actual awareness of this mental process occurring at all; until it is over. I live for this state, I chase this, I yearn for this; this, is my muse.
In summary, I think If humans were some how able to adopt a more 'flow-like' state to everyday life, this would eliminate a ton of the social anxieties a lot of people feel. Simply being fully present in any given moment is a beautiful thing, and allows you to experience and interact with your reality more honestly and genuinely. The real freedom actually comes from the lack of self-judgement. Perhaps a flow-like state should be what we all strive for at all times? Lets all be great!
As the great Bruce Lee once said - "Be like water, my friend".
- By: Mike McCumber
