Flow

This Saturday I attended the sixth annual Flow Show in San Francisco.  From their website:

Celebrating its sixth year in San Francisco, The Flow Show SF is an innovative showcase of object manipulation that will change your idea of movement. Sometimes known as “spinning”, this group of movement disciplines all share one common trait: the manipulation of a “prop” or object.  This year’s cast includes flow artists exploring artistic themes with poi, hoop, staff, buugeng, ball, and other props, all in the intimacy of a dance theater setting.  Combining elements of dance, circus, and theater, with mind-blowing dexterity, timing, and expression, this groundbreaking show will take you on a creative journey through flow.

As promised, it was an evening of "mind-blowing dexterity, timing, and expression."  As a hoop dancer, myself, I am particularly drawn to the hooping performances, of which there were fewer than I had hoped to see, but the other acts were engaging, indeed!  The energy was inspiring and invigorating, and I was most affected when an inanimate object became animated through the talent and love of the artist.

So why "flow?"  The coined term "flow" comes from Hungarian psychology professor, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.  He explains it as such"

Imagine that you are skiing down a slope and your full attention is focused on the movements of your body, the position of the skis, the air whistling past your face, and the snow-shrouded trees running by. There is no room in your awareness for conflicts or contradictions; you know that a distracting thought or emotion might get you buried face down in the snow. The run is so perfect that you want it to last forever. 

If skiing does not mean much to you, this complete immersion in an

experience could occur while you are singing in a choir, dancing, playing

bridge, or reading a good book. If you love your job, it could happen

during a complicated surgical operation or a close business deal. It may

occur in a social interaction, when talking with a good friend, or while

playing with a baby. Moments such as these provide flashes of intense

living against the dull background of everyday life.

These exceptional moments are what I have called "flow" experiences.

The metaphor of flow is one that many people have used to describe the

sense of effortless action they feel in moments that stand out as the best

in their lives. Athletes refer to it as "being in the zone," religious mystics

as being in "ecstasy," artists and musicians as "aesthetic rapture." 

It is the full involvement of flow, rather than happiness, that makes for

excellence in life. We can be happy experiencing the passive pleasure of

a rested body, warm sunshine, or the contentment of a serene

relationship, but this kind of happiness is dependent on favorable

external circumstances. The happiness that follows flow is of our own

making, and it leads to increasing complexity and growth in

consciousness.

 Visit http://wiki.idux.com/uploads/Main/FindingFlow.pdf for Csikszentmihalyi's full article.  

This concept of flow requires attention; specifically attention to the present moment, senses engaged.  This feeling of flow makes time stop while the delicious energy of what it is to live surges through one's body.  Stress, sadness, overwhelm melt away under the heat of this intensely alive state.  When I spin with my hoop, I go to another world, and somehow I understand so much.  You go there, too, when you engage in your experiences of flow.  But if you don't go there or don't often enough, I invite you to visit my website at www.galleryofthesenses.net, send me a note at lcharpontier@gmail.com or call me at 408.320.2954, and let's talk about bringing more flow to your life!