Cookie Settings
Our website may need to store or retrieve information on your browser in the form of cookies. Used mainly to make the site work as needed & give you a more personalized web experience, this information might be about you, your preferences, or your device. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different cookie settings below to learn more and to manage your preferences. Please note that blocking some cookie types can impact your site experience & the services we're able to offer.
Advertising Cookies(?)
Enables storage related to advertising
Analytics Cookies(?)
Enables storage related to analytics (for example, visit duration, page views, etc)
Functional Cookies(?)
Enables storage that supports the functionality of the website or app such as language settings
Personalization Cookies(?)
Enables storage related to personalization such as video recommendations
Security Cookies(?)
Enables storage related to security such as authentication functionality, fraud prevention, and other user protection
Strictly Necessary(?)
REQUIRED: Allows our website to function correctly and cannot be disabled. For login authentication, form submission, basic security, admin, hosting, etc
Confirm My Choices
Accept All Cookies
Cancel
141 Meditation Benefits FAQ Testimonials Order Now Contact Health & Body Brain Power Mind Power Happiness Mental Health Login
Free Demo / Newsletter
Go Back
All About the Flow State: What It Is & How to Enter It – EOC Institute

All About the Flow State: What It Is & How to Enter It

The Ultimate Guide To The "Flow State" & Meditation

The Psychology of Happiness

Why the flow state is the key to human happiness

His shoes rhythmically pounding the pavement. No thoughts enter his mind. Heartbeat and stride in perfect sync. Time doesn't exist. No awareness of himself or the world around him. Mile after mile, he's totally immersed in the experience. Nothing else exists. Flow.

In his quest to "reverse engineer" happiness, Hungarian psychologist Dr. Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi interviewed a series of world class mountain climbers, chess players, tennis players, ballet dancers, surgeons, and other "self-actualized" high performers.

He outlined his incredible findings in the book "Flow: The Psychology of Happiness," becoming an overnight bestseller. So, what's this flow state all about?

In an interview with Wired magazine, Dr. Csíkszentmihályi described flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you are using your skills to the utmost."

Why Flow Makes Us Happy

How meditation unlocks the flow state and opens the door to happiness

Why does flow make us so happy? According to Dr. Csíkszentmihályi, the human mind can only process about 110 bits of information per second. For example, listening to someone speak takes about 60 bits, the reason we can't listen to two people at once.

It's when we are making, doing, creating, and/or playing that our mind has no room for anything else. That's when our full abilities get put to use, all 110 bits per second.

Why the flow state of mind is so important to be happy

And if we love our chosen activity and are good at it, whatever "it" may be (usually a favorite hobby, sport, or creative endeavor), then our magical "flow" state gets unlocked. And this makes us happy.

We have all heard of the "starving" artist, writer, musician, or composer who would get so lost in their work that they forgot to eat, drink, and sleep. For them, when words, musical notes, and colors "flow" from their consciousness, then nothing else really matters.

So, how long does this "high" last? According to Harvard psychologist Dr. Teresa Amabile, achieving an uninterrupted creative flow state leaves us feeling ecstatic, motivated, and fulfilled for (up to) three days afterward. A powerful drug indeed!

Think back to a time when you experienced flow. What were you doing? Were you gardening, painting, or hiking? Maybe you were dancing, woodworking, or writing? Did your sense of self fade into oblivion? Did time disappear? Did the world drop out of sight? Were your mind, body, and soul absorbed by the moment?

The "Flowing" Brain

What is flow and how to achieve the flow state

In the 30+ years since the publishing of Dr. Csíkszentmihályi's groundbreaking book, neuroscientists have developed a much deeper understanding into the "flow state" brain workings.

Responsible for "skill learning" and "automatized cognition," flow lights up our brain's highly adaptive "caudate nucleus" like the Manhattan skyline. You know when pro-athletes talk about being "in the zone?" Caudate nucleus.

While the best way to get into a flow state is to find your life passion and do it everyday, not all of us know what that is and if we do, there are only so many hours in the day. If you already know what makes you "flow," then DO IT! Everyday if possible. The world needs happy peeps!

While the Mozarts, Picassos, Roger Federers, and Stephen Kings of the world get to experience daily creative flow by virtue of their career, there is another way.

How meditation opens the door to the creative flow state

Is Meditation Flow?

In 2013, Belgian researchers (Pickut et al) examined the brains of 27 Parkinson's patients before and after an 8 week mindfulness meditation class. What did they find? In addition to massively upgrading no less than 5 (!) very powerful brain regions, the meditation rookies dramatically increased the gray matter density (GMD) of their "flow state" caudate nucleus.

"In plain English please." The old saying applies here. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck — then it's probably a duck. Likewise, if flow lights up the brain scans like meditation, strengthens the caudate nucleus like meditation, and makes us feel euphoric like meditation, then it's probably meditation.

Whether flow or close to it, what's for certain is that the ancient mind practice opens the door to happiness like no other medium. While the legendary consciousness shifting power of meditation has been known and felt for millennia, it's a whole new ballgame to see hard scientific proof.

And you don't need to give up your material possessions or live the rest of your days in a cave. Countless everyday folks are tapping into meditation's "flowing" benefits to upgrade all areas of their life, with creativity and happiness just the first two drops in an ocean of benefits.

How to find flow and experience euphoric states of consciousness everyday

What else can flow do? It lifts us out of the mundane, gives us a sense of purpose. Flow neutralizes apathy, catapults motivation. It makes us grow, develops us as humans, boosts self esteem, opens the door to success. Flow brings meaning to existence.

Sounds a lot like meditation.

Feel The Power Of Deep Meditation. Discover EquiSync®
Feel The Power Of Deep Meditation.
Discover EquiSync®

Try For Free
Button 1
Button 2
Button 3
Button 4
Button 5
Button 6
Stop Interval

Click the buttons to play or pause the audio.

X