On the March 28 episode of Forum on KQED, Dave Iverson interviews author Steven Kotler about something called “Flow,” which sounds exactly like what I was thinking of when I wrote instructions for having an at one experience with nature.
Flow is basically “an optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best,” (02:31). Action and awareness merge, focus narrows, and our sense of self and time disappear. The two talk about this “in the zone” state in terms of athletes performing what seem like superhuman feats. Many people in this field actively practice both finding flow and controlling the entering and exiting of it.
Source: KQED
They also admit that before it was used to describe athletes, it described artists and creatives getting in the zone to create masterful work. In nature, I call it an “at one experience.” In art, I call it “getting inspired” and “going into a trance.” It’s an incredible feeling that allows for extreme productivity and a complete ignorance of the world outside of your current activity. It explains why I can put on music and work on artwork for 8 hours straight with little more activity than using the bathroom once or twice. The art created in this state is always superior to work done out of the state.
Source: Quirky Japan Blog
I was thrilled to hear them mention several key features of the feeling that match up with my own experiences, mentioned in my previous blog post. Most exciting are:
- “Exhaustion is a gateway into flow”
- This explains why flow happens in hiking after I’ve climbed uphill and in art when I work late at night.
- “[You] feel one with everything because [you] lose separation of self from everything else,” (38:50).
- A descriptive way of saying “at one with nature.”
Source: What Buddha Said
Other ways mentioned that can help, whether you want to enter flow for nature, sports, or artistic reasons:
- Clear goals
- Know what you are doing and doing next, but don’t focus too hard on overachieving those goals, (22:40).
- Take risks
- I don’t condone risking your life, but an example Kotler gives is playing music in public. The possibility of pleasing or disgusting the crowd constitutes the risk.
- Concentrate
- “Flow follows focus.” All triggers drive attention into the now, (18:30).
They also mention that Flow is addicting, since several chemicals are produced in the brain during that state (41:00). This can be dangerous when base jumping or other extreme sports. In my case, I wonder if this could partly explain why I have been “binge hiking” and my tolerance has gotten high enough that I don’t experience the “at one” feeling as often when I hike every weekend.
Listen to the 52-minute interview here if you want the full scoop!
Wandering in the Wind 