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10 Unexpected Benefits of Cultivating Flow

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10 Unexpected Benefits of Cultivating Flow

We all have periods in our lives where we feel out of sync and misaligned. Sometimes they are of short duration, sometimes they linger – sometimes they happen daily!

  I know that one!

Sometimes situations beyond our control whack us off track: illnesses, break-ups and divorces, losing a job, and other big life changes.

Most of the time, though, we do it to ourselves.

We do it with our schedules.

Our planners and iCals are jam-packed! The rush, the hustle, and our work hard, play hard, go, go, go mentality, have us continuously engaged in the rat race. If we aren’t busy-busy, we feel lazy, unimportant and uncool.

How often and for how long do we really sit still? When we crash, and lay on the couch and Netflix all day?

We have to stop and ask ourselves (yes, stopping is involved):

Where is the meaning in this?

My planner before Soul Flow

We do it with our technology.

You have to admit, we have made our lives easier, better, faster and more efficient, with our telephones, televisions, washing machines, computers, and smart phones. Yet, though we are massively ‘connected’ with tech, we are massively disconnected in deep and meaningful ways.

And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we all seem to be suffering from attention deficit disorder. Can anyone enjoy a dinner with friends without checking their messages, calendars, Facebook feed, Snapchat, and Instagram?

I have also noticed that “holding” a conversation is a lost art form. First, people would rather text one-sentence blips every few hours. Second, has become extremely difficult for a lot of people to maintain a stream of thought past 5 minutes. I can’t tell you how many times I hear “What was I saying again?” or “Where was I?” in conversations nowadays.

Is this where we want to be?

Now I am not saying this has got to stop. I'm not a quit tech cold turkey advocate. This is our way of life now.

But I am saying we have to evolve.

We can stay “connected,” AND CONNECTED.

The Great Divide

Recently I found myself in a very disconnected state. Everything in my life was out of alignment; my work/life balance, my physical body, almost every relationship I was involved in. Life had lost its luster, and I had lost my joie de vivre.

I felt overwhelmed, scattered, off-track and depleted. I suffered from insomnia, anxiety, and situational depression. I knew I needed to make some serious changes.

I craved feeling grounded and centered again~fulfilled, happy, and aligned.

I realized that the times that I was most fulfilled and balanced in life, were times when I was experiencing FLOW on a regular basis.

If you have ever experienced Flow, it is that mental state of being totally engaged, alert, and challenged during an activity.

No, Flow is not Netflixing it on a Saturday because you are burned out.

It is not checking out.

It is checking in.

I personally experienced being in flow when I was creating in my art journals, writing, during long walks, being in nature, and during meditation or yoga practices.

But dang it! I had created a lifestyle that no longer had the time for–nor did I have the focal endurance for–any flow-producing activities.

Out of desperation, I developed a life hack for cultivating Flow in my life.

Life Hack: Soul Flow

Now, usually when people discuss flow, they speak of a mental state... an optimal psychological state... a mind set.

But I knew I needed something more, something deeper. I wasn’t just struggling mentally, I was depleted spiritually. Not only did I want to find Flow, I wanted to make meaning. I needed to change my soul set.

I call my life hack Soul Flow, because I want Flow in my life that nourishes me at the core of myself, not just my brain, but also my heart and spirit.

Because my time commodity was short, I couldn’t afford a whole hour or more for yoga, mediation or creativity.

So I broke it down into bite-sized pieces. I started my practice with 5 minute, micro-moments~my little Om-ments. 

––>  DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY OF THE "SOUL FLOW" WORKBOOK  <––

 

My Daily Practice

I started by picking 6 activities; some that made me feel connected in the past and some that I felt I needed to try: meditation, yoga/stretching, creativity, reading spiritual and personal development texts, writing, and sacred sleep.

I wrote them in a special space in my planner, as though they were as important as my other meetings and to-do’s. And I made sure I took 10 minutes out of my day for each one. That’s right… just 10 minutes!

For instance, when I woke up each day, I would you some gentle stretching and a few Sun Salutations.

Later, I would read a few pages of an inspiring book.

At some point I would stop, in the middle of “busy” and meditate for 10 minutes… a Breathing or Grounding or Centering meditation.

To tap into my creativity, I chose to take at least one photo a day for Instagram. All day I found myself mindful of my surroundings and aware of beautiful things, snap a shot and then play with it in a cool app. (I call it #Instasoul if you want to add to the tag.

Before falling asleep, I would write in my journal a check in about the day and some gratitude practice.

Then, of course, I would SLEEP. I always short change myself on pillowtime in order to fit “more important” tasks into the day. Well, I reminded myself that sleep is one of the most sacred spaces we have, for mind, body and soul. So I embraced that time and made it a Soul Flow practice.

One Hour a Day

To be honest, I was very judgmental about my Soul Flow idea. In total, it was only 50 minutes of my day, interspersed throughout the day. I chastised myself, thinking it was too for superficial and not serious enough. A real yogi would practice an hour. A dedicated meditator would sit in lotus at least 30 minutes!

There was no way 10 minutes here and there in my day was going to change anything.

But I was very wrong! It was POWERFUL!!! I not only cultivated flow and created moments that were more meaningful, several unexpected things happened because of my Soul Flow practice.

Here's what happened:

1.  I suffered less anxiety and depression.

Before Soul Flow, at least twice a week–usually more–I would wake up after 4 hours of sleep with anxiety…sometimes chest-crushing anxiety. I am not treated or medicated for this problem, so it usually took two hours for me to calm down enough to go back to sleep.

This stopped completely within a week of my Soul Flow practice.

When anxious thoughts catch me off guard during the day, instead of them working up into a full-blown panic attack, I release them very quickly.

I also suffered from occasional depression and there were days that I had great difficulty getting out of bed. Since beginning my practice, I think I have had one “low” morning; it was a Monday that I had to go back to work. In other words, a normal blah, not a weepy, covers over the head day.

This isn’t completely unexpected. I expected my anxiety/depression would lessen, I didn’t expect it to become nonexistent that quickly.

2.    I drank less.

Before, to deal with stress and anxiety and to calm down in general, I self-medicated with a couple of glasses of wine or beer at least 3 times a week.

Because I wasn’t feeling as anxious or stressed, I hardly thought of it.And I love red wine! I love it with food. I enjoy the whole ritual of pouring a glass, and swirling it, and savoring it. So to have it rarely cross my mind came as a shock to me.

3.   My energy level quadrupled.

I woke up joyful, alive and ready to go.

4.   My diet changed.

I craved vegetables and juices and WATER and a serious distaste for chicken, pork and beef. I was already on the fence about chicken, but beef! I’ve always loved a steak! I made it twice –a T-BONE– and threw it out because I couldn’t even swallow one bite.

Now it is summertime, so I thought that might have something to do with it. But summer never stopped me from eating meat before. Or Ruffles potato chips... and I haven’t wanted those either.

**Woo-woo Alert** Yeah, I am going to get woo-woo on this one. My energy level had started changing. I was feeling vibrant and light. It felt like my intuition was rejecting food that wasn’t nourishing or would deplete me.I lost weight.

5.   Well, duh! Less alcohol. Changed appetite. I lost 8 pounds without effort.

6.   I broke up with energy vampires.

This was hard. Because there were several and a couple of them were close family members.

Like my break-up with beef, I literally could not stomach staying in contact or the physical presence with people who had been using me, or abusing me. This was not done lightly, it seemed harsh and went against my pattern of caregiving (read: codependency). There is grief associated with it. But the level of toxicity, and TAKE was too high for too long.

Once I had reestablished the flow state, I was vibrating so full and powerful and light, that I immediately noticed the evaporation of my positive vibes when I was with certain people. I needed to establish strong boundaries, and unfortunately, with some people, the boundaries meant no contact.

7.   I lost rage.

Bummerz, huh?

I was angry. A LOT. Hot, white anger. The root was in the relationships with energy vampires. I wasn’t being filled up in any way, and what positive energy I had was being drained further. That depletion led to resentment... led to anger...led to rage...

Toward people... toward life... toward traffic... toward myself.

This unexpected benefit brings me to tears. Because in rage's place now is joy.

8.   I started enjoying my J.O.B.

This is mind-blowing. My job is not my ‘passion’ and all I have ever really dreamed of is finding a way out of it and doing my ‘passion’ full-time.

Because the work that I do, as a 911 dispatcher, by its very nature, is an energy vampire. It is all take and no give. It contributed to the rage pocket I carried around in my gut.

But my Soul Flow practice made me feel full and connected. I was able to find purpose and meaning in ALL moments, which bled over into the work I do in the Emergency Comm Center.

My attitude shifted. Now, I’m not saying I don’t feel irritated when people are rude and hostile (this includes callers and co-workers)... I am saying I am better able to shake it off, and maintain my energetic equilibrium better.

This is so powerful. I notice that it shifts the momentum of the calls I take, and it has shifted the dynamic in the room when we work. I am more engaged in my tasks, and enjoy my shifts more.

9.   My dreamspace came alive!

I’ve always been a vivid and lucid dreamer. But it was only a couple of nights a week that I would break past the Mundane and Astral Planes and venture further.

Now, every night is an adventure. My dreamspace is invaluable when it comes to my spiritual growth and creativity. I will talk more about this in the future, for sure!

10.   There was more time in the day!

Gone are the days of saying, “There’s not enough time.”

It seems counter-rational that by taking time outs to stop everything and get into flow, that I would have MORE time instead of less. As my Soul Flow practice continued, I began spending even more time in my practice... meditating longer... practicing more than 6 times a day, yet I was still getting more accomplished in the same amount of time.

This Flow state, made me more centered. I discerned better what was really important. The tasks that were just spin, fell away. I became more effective at what I was producing. Getting things done was easier, almost effortless.These benefits were cumulative, and interrelated, like a domino effect, except the dominos lined up instead of falling down.

Bringing Soul Flow into YOUR Life

Last week, I introduced my eBook “Soul Flow: A Workbook for Creating a Lifestyle that Nourishes Your Soul.” It is available for FREE and outlines the system for creating your own Soul Flow practice.

It is popular to say, “It takes 21 days to form a new habit.” This is a myth. It takes daily practice to create a habit ~ a daily commitment to find flow and make meaning.

What can flow do for you? What would you like it to do?

To help you establish flow in your life, I will be hosting a 30-Day Finding Flow & Making Meaning Challenge on my Facebook Page beginning August 1st. I invite you to DOWNLOAD the ebook, and journey with me during the month of August as we #makeflowhappen!

 

 

Hope to see you August 1!

Namaste,

 

Got Matches?

I was roused this morning by a chant repeating in my head.

"This year! This year! This year is on FIRE! We don't need no water, let the mutha #%$er BURN!"

It's the most wonderful time of the year. New Year's Eve! The very last day of the year. Rather than anticipating an evening of champagne and balls dropping, NYE holds a special tradition for me personally.

It is the day of the Burning Bowl.

It is a day of reflection; about the past 12 month cycle, the things I accomplished, how I evolved—and the things that totally sucked ass that I do NOT want to repeat.

It is the day that I gather up my disappointments, grief, and all the other miscellaneous energies that inspired wallowing and channel them down onto a piece of paper…

or several…

At around 11 o'clock tonight, I will look at my pages and thank them. The hardships that I faced, the pressures, were a tourniquet on my heart. CRUSHING.

And I am grateful beyond measure!

Because under the weight of my burdens, a miracle happened: my ego shattered and my soul eked out.

So I will bless the experiences of 2013, the people involved, say goodbye and light them on FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can feel the relief already—the release as the embers chew through the paper—the sweet taste of communion in the smoke on my tongue.

This year I will do this outside under the stars, because last year I almost burnt the house down with the book (and divorce papers) I lit on fire. And compared to 2011? Hot damn! 2013 was awesome!

But there is room for improvement.

More Better.

Tomorrow can be about creation. Today is about sweet release.

Let's burn it down, people!

Namaste,

Shannan

 

Original Post at Shannan Sinclair - Life Coach

Wake Up Call

 

He whispered in my ear this morning.

The clock read 6:30.

What the eff??? He couldn't wait for a decent hour? I mean, I work nights...I had a 14 hour overtime shift I was trying to rest for!

But nooooooooooo....what does he know about timing?

"I wish people would remember the things I did in my life, the way I acted toward people, the things I said to them, how well, and deeply, I loved and cared for them."

"Uh huh," I mumbled, rolling over, trying to find a cool spot on the sheets.

"People say they understand, yet the words they speak and the way they act, don't reflect that."

"Yeah, I know." I squish the pillow over my ears. "Please please please let me sleep." I say that just to myself, not to him.

"They spend a lot of time pointing their fingers at the very same people I devoted my life to...the poor, the sick, the hungry, the outcasts. Their words ring of judgement, not love. They separate rather than unify."

He was on a rant now.

"They say it's the truth, but it isn't my truth. It is the complete opposite of how I went about fulfilling my life's purpose. 

Yet, they do it in my name!

Which, quite frankly, pisses me off...

even more than that day when I went all hyphee in that temple."

"Jesus!" I half cried, half took his name in vain.

"Yeah."

"Duuuuuude! I'm really trying to sleep here and your getting all deep and philosophical and shit. Does this have to be right now?"

"Well, it is the only time you slow down and shut up long enough to listen."

True that. He got me there.

He was quiet long enough for me to start slipping back into La-La Land.

"I wish people would realize that my second coming was never going to be me descending from the clouds on a golden UFO."

Oh, geez....I'm awake again. That's gonna bum some people out.

"My second coming is every day...

in every heart...

the moment you remember WHO YOU ARE...

that we are one...

and when you take up my mantle and continue the work that I started."

He let me sit with that. I mean, what could I say? He was right. As usual....

I started drifting back to sleep.

"Hey, Shannan."

"Yes, Jesus."

"Could you imagine what kind of world it would be if just one person remembered who they were for just 10 seconds?"

I could imagine that.

"Could you imagine them in that moment being completely full of the love they were created with?"

I imagined that, too, and smiled. 

"And then, what if they passed just a fraction of that love on to one other person? Could you imagine the ripple effect that would create? What your world could be like?"

I imagined that, and it filled me with joy, and peace, and a mass of Christ.

"Hey, Jesus."

"Yeah."

"If I blog this conversation will you let me sleep?"

"Deal."

 

 

Namaste,

Shannan

Shannanism 11/12/13

Tick Tick Tick

 

Alone

except the wind

and the

tick

tick

tick

of a tumult of emotion

barely contained

and a clock still set to the future.

 

Shannan

Letting Skeletons Out of the Closet

"The Lovers" Thoth Tarot

 

I have been an avid student and practitioner of the Tarot for over 20 years. Only my closest friends and family know this, just as they are the only ones who know of the years I have spent studying all things esoteric and doing clairvoyant readings.

I spend most of my life in a black and white world, (don't we all?), where we judge things only by what we see and what can be rationalized with our minds. It can be difficult to reveal intuitive insights, for fear of judgement and invalidation. Although mine have been known to "slip out" at inopportune times, it is something I have really tried to keep in the closet.

I don't read Tarot cards every day, or even every week for that matter. I use them as a tool. Some days, I can meditate and hear divine guidance as clearly as if God was whispering directly in my ear. And some days I need help. Contemplating a situation with Source and pulling cards, helps me see the energies around what is going on in my life.

It is so funny, and so "no duh", that I sat down this morning to do a reading about the choices I am making and something told me to check my growth journal. 

I have kept a chart tracking the growth cards for every year since the year I was born and journaling the events around those years in my life. I haven't looked at that chart in 5 years.

But I listened to the suggestion, pulled out that chart, realized that 2013 is a "6" year for me. It is a year where my birth date and month and year add up to the number 6. 6 also happens to be my soul and personality number...I was born a 6. 

Every 6 year has been a year when I have chosen to change the course of my life completely. They are huge transition and transformation years for me. 

The Lovers card is the 6th card of the Major Arcana. It is the card that reflects what this year is about for me. The Lovers is about synthesis. The union of the divine in us with the divine in the universe. It is about combining the elements of head AND heart, intellect AND feeling. It is about making choices between security and a risk of some kind...or between the old and the new. It is about the freedom from bondage. It is about integrating ALL of who we are and not holding anything back anymore.

I'm kind of disappointed that I only realized this today because helps me understand what I have been going through this year--what all the trials and tribulations have been leading up to. But if I knew all this was coming, I would have been petrified and would have resisted it more.

Knowing this now, I can embrace the choices and changes I am making.

It was meant to be all along.

Namaste,

Shannan

Make a promise to yourself...

Make a promise to yourself to hold your own well-being sacred.

Namaste,

Shannan

Lunatic

Photo Composite: Dan Zampa

Last night, as the full Harvest Moon hefted its massive weight over the distant foothills to the east, I sighed with relief. How could something so bright and beautiful, bear such enormous weight on my soul?

The restless nights, the dark dreams, the intense emotions that well up from the deep, these are not unusual during the final days of any moon cycle. But the lunacy of this particular moon felt like it had been building up far longer than the standard 28 days. I felt the pressure building inside for a very long time. A year perhaps?

There has been a deep dissatisfaction roiling around in my innards. I have been living from a place called "I Have To." 

"I have to do this...  because I have to do this...  because I have to do this...  because...  because...  because because because..."

But this equation stopped adding up when many of the core becauses in my life disappeared or grew up. Marriages. Children. They were good reasons to give up "I wants" for the "I have to's". 

But they no longer hold reign, and every time I find myself saying "I have to" a nagging "why?" answers. And it's right.

Many of the things I have "had to" do have stopped making sense. They not only don't feel right, they didn't feel GOOD. My mind, my body, my spirit, ache.

I bore it a long time, but lately, realized...something has to change.

I HAVE TO CHANGE.

Rather than rushing into a quick fix in order to solve the problem, I have sat with it. I embraced the discomfort, held it close, and listened to its heartbeat. The process has looked, and felt, like depression, but I didn't let it go or shake it off. I wanted to make sure that this time, I heard it clearly.

I let the uncomfortable build, let it wax full and pregnant within me until it gave up its secrets.  Until, finally, it spoke.

My life is not sustainable operating the way I have been for so many years. Forcing myself to continue this way is not an option. 

 

 

Photo Composite: Dan Zampa

This moon, with her ever-increasing gravitational pull, stirred up a sea of emotions in me: fear, anxiety, doubt, uncertainty...but I held steady, trusting in the wisdom, the truth that is inside me. And then, under her soft glow, I planted some seeds into the warm soil of late summer.

They are the potent seeds of transformation.

I am trusting them to the earth where they are grounded and can take root.

I will tend to them; nourishing, caring, loving, minding them through the cold dormancy of winter, the fertility of spring, the celebration of summer, until the next Harvest Moon, when these seeds will come to fruition.

 

Namaste,

Shannan

 

Divine Messenger

 

All summer I have had some interesting interactions with these amazing creatures who live in my yard. I'll be out nurturing my little slice of nature, and one will slip out from under a leaf to say "Hello!"

A few nights ago, I had an exceptional experience with one. 

My boyfriend and I were sitting on the back porch in the late evening enjoying a glass of wine and discussing our current state of affairs. You see, we are both in a state of transition, wondering about our purposes in life, and what are souls are calling us to do. Both of us feel lost, him in his quarter-life crisis and I in my mid-life one.

Out of nowhere this large winged beast landed on my shoulder. I freaked out. My boyfriend freaked out. Something that big and green doesn't usually land ON you!

After a bit of a coniption fit, the creature flitted off onto a plant where I was able to see that it was a Mantis. What happened next enthralled Dan and I for 45 minutes.

This Mantis didn't just sit there and stare at us, he (she?) was engaged in communicating to us; cocking his head from side to side, moving his mouth and sticking its tonguey thingy out, it seriously looked like he was saying something. 

At one point, he reached his arm-y thingies out and started motioning them to me, like a baby asking to be lifted up off the leaf. I tentatively stuck my finger in front of him and he happily trotted up my finger and onto the back of my hand. 

This interaction with this "bug" had just as much connection as one would expect to have with a dog, horse or some "higher" form of life form. The whole time I was enthralled, amazed, and tickled.

 

 

The magic of the encounter stayed with me all week. I couldn't help but feel that he was some kind of messenger, trying to tell me something important, a sign in the midst of my confusion and uncertainty.

So I did a bit of research about the symbolism of the Praying Mantis and this is what I discovered.

The praying mantis is the oldest symbol of God. The African Bushman believed them to be a manifestation of God come to Earth, “the voice of the infinite in the small,” a divine messenger. “Mantis” is the Greek word for “prophet” or “seer,” a being with spiritual or mystical powers. When one is seen, diviners try to determine what the current message is. They are also associated with restoring life into the dead. 

Believe me...I have been feeling spiritually dead.

The praying mantis is known to be a way-shower. In the Arabic and Turkish cultures, a mantis points pilgrims to Mecca. In Africa, it helps find lost sheep and goats. In France, it's believed that if you are lost the mantis points the way home.

The adage "Follow Mantis" means putting the core aspect of yourself, your foundation of Spirit, at the helm and let Spirit direct your intellect and ultimately your life.

The mantis comes to us when we need peace, quiet and calm in our lives. Usually the mantis makes an appearance when we've flooded our lives with too much activity or chaos and reminds us to listen to the still small voice within.

In China, the mantis has long been honored for her mindful movements and is a symbol of meditation and contemplation. 

The mantis never makes a move unless she is 100% positive it is the right thing for her to do. This is a message to us to be still, go within, and reach a place of calm and to be sure our minds and souls agree about the choices we are making in our lives.

Like Jiminy Cricket, flying out of the sky to land on my shoulder and whisper a divine secret, Mr. Mantis could not have appeared at a better time to bring this message. 

 

 

Namaste,

Shannan

 

Symbolism/meaning sources:

What's Your Sign

Souled Out

Percy in the Sunrise