As a follow-up to Finding Flow, I am looking to delve deeper into the mind and specifically meditation. Flow state and meditation are inexpecibly connected: getting into a meditative state supports finding your flow state and in turn flow state can perpetuate the positive impacts of mediation.
Meditation is a practice that involves focusing or clearing your mind using a combination of mental and physical techniques.1
When most people think of meditation, they think of the photo above; sitting quiet, eyes closed, cross-legged, and maybe a vocalized hum. A person’s calm, used to clear the mind and focus on your intention can take many forms.
What are the benefits of meditation?
There are 11, scientifically-proven potential benefits to meditation2:
- Stress reduction
- Anxiety control
- Emotional health support
- Self-awareness optimization
- Attention span growth
- Age-related memory loss reduction
- Being kinder
- Managing addiction better
- Sleeping better
- Blood pressure reduction
- Pain management
Ways to meditate
Another interpretation of mediation from Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is:
Meditation is the delicate and beautiful art of doing nothing3
It is impossible to do nothing, but finding things to do something without thinking is key. The goal is to have the activity become white noise. Something you can remove other thoughts in through focused attention on the activity to then have it fade into the background.
- Movement…walking, floating in water, Tai chi
- Mindful eating4
- Breathing
- Art
These are just some of the ways activity can be a part of your meditation. Not every way works for every person, so you have to find yours. You may have to try a few before one sticks or even change over time as you change.
Whether you can find the time and space to sit on your floor, eyes closed, and focused on your breathing or you can put on your headphones on a crowded subway and speak your mantra to yourself, it is all meditation. Taking this time for yourself to set the stage for your day and your life as a whole. Clearing out instrusive thoughts that can bring on focus will give you a sense of balance and allow you to maximize your time.