How is Meditation Different From The State of Flow ? Unconventional Methods of Meditating

[Sheetal]

Meditation to me does not imply to be seated with a straight back in a cross legged position on a mat placed on the floor trying to concentrate on something. You could sit in a chair with back support or lie down, in the initial stages, to facilitate a level of bodily comfort that is conducive to entering the meditative state more readily. Meditation, in true essence means thoughtlessness - the state where no thoughts are flitting through your mind. Even the state of flow implies thoughtlessness. However there is a difference between the state of flow and the meditative sate. To illustrate this I give the example of a sportsperson, say a footballer who's playing football in the field. He is completely immersed in the sport while he's out there in the field and when he is making a goal - every other thought gets obliterated in that moment, all he sees is the goal. Even the action of hitting the ball towards the nets lacks thought, since at that very moment the footballer is 'in the momentum' of the action. That state has a commonality with the meditative state - the mind is devoid of any thought flitting through it. The difference between the two states is that the state of 'flow' happens naturally, and effortlessly, as in, the footballer, in this case, is unaware of the fact that he is in a flow. Later when he looks back on those moments spent in playing football in the field, he says he was 'in the zone' - in essence, he means to say, he was in a state of flow, or a state where the mind is in perfect integration. In the process of meditating, the practitioner is very much aware of the mental chatter, and is consciously engaged in quieting it. He has to consciously induce a state of flow, wherein, layer by layer, all thoughts will peel off from his mind, and as he tries to do so, he is aware of the integration and harmony of the mind that he is steadily moving toward. The awareness of the process towards a state of thoughtlessness, and the state itself is present in meditation, which differentiates it from the state of flow, and also makes it more difficult to accomplish. One of the unconventional methods to bring about a meditative state is to play foot tapping music in the background and dance to it alone in a room till the rising energy of dance takes over and one has become completely immersed in the dance, and thus a state of flow is enduced. After this state has been experienced through the dance form or any other activity, one can more readily enter the meditative state, or rather 'flow into' the meditative state from the state of flow. This becomes possible because after performing such activities, the state of flow lingers in one's consciousness for a while, and if an attempt to meditate is made whilst the energy from dancing or any other activity is settling down, the results will manifest much more quickly and easily.