I’ve been doing some thinking about the concept of flow. Yesterday and today, I spent a great deal of time working on tax prep, and at one point, I realized I had forgotten to eat.
That is something incomprehensible to me. I can function just fine on lack of sleep, but if I don’t get fed on a pretty regular basis, I’m not pleasant to be around.
But I was in the groove, in the zone, focused, all these words which basically means I was in a state of flow. This happens to me sometimes when I’m writing, when I’m practicing. in performance, and when I’m teaching.
What is flow? It’s
- not being on autopilot
- not being passive or relaxed and letting things come to you
- in performance, being so in character that you literally forget where you are and who you are (there is one very embarrassing story about just that circumstance that I will save for another day)
- a state of intense concentration
But it’s more than that. Achievement of flow involves an alignment of a variety of elements:
- Concentration
- Challenge
- Skill
- A sense of something beyond self (which is why I forget I’m hungry).
To find out more about the idea of flow, here’s a great site with a lot of links to other articles about flow: What is Flow?
Have you experienced flow? Tell me about your experience in the comments!
*************************************
As a result of my recent accident I’ve decided to postpone my February Group Voice Class for Adults till May.
If you’re interested in participating or in finding out more about voice lessons, feel free to contact me
(I’m feeling much better, but I’m still taking it easy for the time being.)