It had all the drama of a summer storm. Clouds quickly accumulated encompassing the sky in darkness. Purple shadows inked across the landscape. Wind bent trees soon felt the pelt of rain on their willowy branches.

Julia Hargreaves – boreal expedition

In midst of the brewing storm, her brush didn’t loose rhythm. She remained on her granite perch overlooking the fresh water lake. A watercolour kit nested nearby. The artist sat composed, engrossed, head bent to task, tilley hat securely at a signature tilt. Rain drifted while mist closed in. A moment I wished never to forget and desperate to capture. In fear of breaking the spell, I didn’t even lift my camera.

Julia Hargreaves was in the flow.

Thoughts drifted to another friend, who met challenge in the face of a storm. He loped by with 2k left in the 21.1 k run, after a grueling hilly 90k bike and chilly 1.9 k swim. Unrelenting rain drenched both the triathletes and road ahead. We watched him secure the lead, his face, a pale glazed mask. His ghostly pallor, the only sign he had been fighting a horrible cold for a week.His floating stride never faltered. Undaunted, former pro triathlete Richard Pady was in the zone.

A “decades- old secret to happiness” Mark Remy of Time Magazine* states flow is achievable to anyone, during a task that’s both challenging and enjoyable. Weather you are painting in the wilderness, having the run of your life, or mastering spreadsheets, flow is possible.

Imagine, in a state of flow, humans can learn up to 500% faster. Well, hang onto your hat, because scientists say it’s possible.

Remy says flow state is rare, not brought on by will. Elite athletes may have true ‘flow’ 10% of the time in their career. Remy writes “the catch is patience”.

In Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s popular book “Finding Flow” lessons are toted as ‘life altering’. This Amazon review interesting and in my opinion, truthful, “ the absolute key, is to let go of any thoughts you have that work is oppressive and something to be escaped from.”

Mihaly relays a critical factor in his Ted Talk. He says such states of ‘ecstasy’ only happen to someone who is “well trained and has developed technique”.

In other words, just because you strummed a few chords on your Uncle’s guitar in junior high, doesn’t mean 30 years later, equip with ‘ flow techniques’ you can bang out Stairway to Heaven effortlessly.

Flow may not be available on demand, but you can clear the path and establish consistent routine for its possibility. As Remy says, have patience.

I view flow as both an energy state and state of mind. Think Yoda and the Force.

Here are a few of my routine practices to welcome flow:

• Energy is dependent on health: maintain a healthy lifestyle of fitness, quality sleep and a clean diet.
• Practice mindfulness/ meditation
• Practice mindful deep breathing. Click here for example.
• Have supplies available, boards prepped, and an uncluttered studio: this creates fertile ground for flow to take root.
• To achieve the state of “intense concentration’ remove elements of distraction. Yes, the phone. It also means addressing nagging tasks beforehand, with a clear agenda to your goal. Be ‘all in’.
• Remember “Energy flows where attention goes.”
• Some artists channel focused thought by eliminating daily decisions, saving important decisions to their creative task.

~For example, the same clothes, same food, same routine, every day. It’s amazing how free the mind becomes when daily easy, thou energy draining decisions are eliminated. Market shopping becomes a breeze with this method. If you work in the corporate world, you may want to rethink the same clothes every day, by deciding a week’s clothing in advance.

• The logbook. I keep a fitness training log, with sleep & nutrition factored in.

~ Success is easier to target when you can identify patterns leading to that success. Art is similar. Why was that painting session more successful than others? Everything from what you did to prep for the session, snacks you ate, rest & fitness beforehand, to the music you played factor in.

Note: in both art & sport, every so often, shake things up to break feeling stagnant. Use a different size brush, or get in there with your hands.

• Experts say we perform best with intrinsic motivation, meaning internal rather than external rewards. (ex: Feeling you are making a difference rather than motivated by a pile of money.)
• Have a deep sense of purpose and believe your contribution matters. When a janitor was asked at NASA what his occupation was by President John F. Kennedy during a tour, he replied “I am helping to put a man on the moon!”

Clear the path for flow, approach work with heartfelt purpose and you may feel the force rise within. Your name doesn’t even have to be Luke.

~ All new work is available for purchase, email me at dawn@dawnbanning.com for details. I would love to hear your methods for achieving flow, response to the blogs, or what you do to achieve flow. Keep in touch, thanks so much for your feedback!

*Time Magazine’ Mindfulness; issue Special Edition 2017- see full article for details