Today,
We'll start with a new type of technique.
We're going to explore something in unified mindfulness that we call flow.
You may have heard of a flow state from positive psychology.
That means a highly concentrated state where you're in the zone.
In Shenzhen's system,
We use the term flow to mean something else.
When we say flow,
We just mean change.
Any change in a sensory experience,
Other than an abrupt vanishing,
We call flow.
Abrupt vanishings are a special type of flow that we call gone,
Which we'll cover later.
Flow is available whenever we detect any kind of change in a sensory experience.
So it's not a different type of experience.
It's when any experience changes in any way.
It could increase or decrease in intensity.
It could change location.
It could speed up or slow down.
If you have an awareness of moving or of a force of some kind within a sensation,
Then you're experiencing flow.
Flow can be found in visual,
Auditory,
Or somatic feeling experience.
Today we'll practice feel flow and explore body sensations that change or move in some way.
Let's give it a try.
Take a moment to sit up tall and relax your shoulders.
Get into a relaxed but alert posture.
Release any tension you can.
Tension tends to inhibit the detection of flow.
Relaxation promotes it.
Bring your attention to physical or emotional body sensations,
And specifically look for any quality of change or movement in these sensations.
Even a slight shift in a sensation in the body is flow.
The breath is always moving in and out,
So it's an easy place to find flow.
You could also experience tingling,
Pulsing,
Or some other type of changing sensations.
When you find a flowing body sensation,
Clearly acknowledge it,
Label it as flow,
With a neutral matter-of-fact tone,
And soak your attention into it for a few moments.
Release attention,
And repeat the process.
Remember,
We're not looking for anything unusual,
Simply the quality of change or movement in body sensations.
Focus on it,
And allow your attention to follow it.
Just pay special attention to the quality of movement or change in the sensations that you can detect.
Even if you notice the movement of your attention itself,
That's flow.
If you're focusing on your hands,
And then you're aware of your attention moving up your arms to your shoulders,
That's flow.
If you detect an emotion,
Whether it's subtle or strong,
Can you detect any change within that experience?
Does it grow stronger or weaker?
Does it move in location?
Does it exert a force on your attention,
Gripping it?
These are all aspects of flow.
Getting concentrated on flow can be pleasant.
It may feel like the flow is massaging you,
Or you're going with the flow.
This can promote a sense of equanimity.
In this way,
The idea of flow puts a positive spin on the idea of impermanence,
The concept that nothing stays the same or lasts.
We can see how this can actually be a good thing.
Even if you're detecting something unpleasant,
Like discomfort,
Can you investigate if any part of it is moving or changing?
When you can detect flow in an unpleasant sensation,
It can become less unpleasant.
Sometimes it totally breaks up into a neutral or even pleasant flow experience.
Well done.
You've spent time looking for flow and focusing on it if it's there.
Even if you found no flow,
That's fine.
The practice is in the looking for it.
We'll continue exploring different types of flow in the next few sessions.
If you'd like to continue on your own,
Please do so.
When you choose to end,
Take your time in doing that,
And see if you can bring some mindful awareness to whatever you do next.
