[Jewelry making - Article 00761] - Re: [Orchid] Concentration and productivity

[Joel Elfman]

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    I believe everyone can refine their ability to "flow" or achieve
    other resourceful states. 

    Below is a fun experiment for everyone to try.  Does anyone else
    know of other exercises they could provide to increase "flow",
    creativity, productivity, etc.?: 

    Exercise 
    Find a quiet place for a little while.  Sit upright, arms and legs
    uncrossed and just allow yourself to relax for a moment. 

    Remember a time when you were really in "flow", when everything went
    smoothly and incredibly easily.  If you don't have one, imagine for
    a moment what it would be like to be in that state of flow. 

    Really be in that experience.  See it through your eyes, hear it
    through your ears, feel it in your skin, your fingers and toes. 
    Smell and taste the sensations in your body and the environment
    around you.  What is your breathing like?  What's your sensation of
    touch like?  What is the quality of light like around you?  Go
    deeper and deeper in the experience of being truly in "flow". 

    Allow all the sights, sounds and sensations of being in "flow" to
    get richer and deeper.  Perhaps richer and deeper then you've ever
    had them before.  And allow them to be even deeper still.  Perhaps
    add another experience or two that increase the feeling of "flow". 
    Keep allowing the sensation of being in "flow" to be even more
    intense until you've gotten it as high as you can go.  Then allow
    yourself to return to your normal state of being. 

    Practice this a couple of times to increase the accessibility of the
    skill and it's intensity.  You can practice this as often as you
    wish whenever you wish.  Practice it in your studio or practice it
    other places where you might want the skill.  I would also advocate
    practicing this skill w/ your chair too low, or music too loud,
    imagining their is a little stress in your life, etc.  How do you
    have to adjust the sensations in your body or what other feelings or
    resources do you have to add to keep the same feeling of "flow" when
    everything is perfect.  If you can learn to adjust to staying in
    "flow" when conditions are less then ideal when a real-life problem
    does occur you will be more likely to be able to stay in "flow". 

    As Del notes often we need a "hook" (in NLP we say "anchor") to
    access a memory, so I will include a simple process for "hooking"
    into your "flow". 

    What I am going to do in a moment is to make a simple representation
    or symbol of that sensation of "flow".  That simple representation
    can be anything.  It will be totally individual and idiosyncratic. 
    It can be silly, it can be serious.  I encourage you to let it come
    from unconscious, don't pick one, let the simple representation of
    "flow" be whatever is just right for you. 

    Your representation can be a simple picture or icon.  It can be a
    sound, a phrase, a bit of music or song.  It can be a smell or
    taste.  Anything you want.  A simple representation is faster and
    easier to access then anything that is overly complicated. 

    So now take a moment to get back into that wonderful state of
    "flow".  Allow it to grow really strong.  And as it gets stronger
    and stronger let yourself make your special representation/symbol
    whatever it is.  And hold it for a moment as the feeling of "flow"
    gets stronger and stronger again.  And then let your representation
    go.  And the feeling you can let go of whenever you want.  Stand up,
    shake your body for a moment to clear the feeling from your body. 
    Practice  2 or 3 times standing up and clearing the sensation out of
    your body each time. 

    Finally as a true test take a moment to bring up your special
    symbol.  When you bring up your "hook"/"anchor" do you get the
    feeling of "flow"?  Is it strong?  If it is not as strong as you
    like, you might want to go back and practice to make it stronger. 

    Another thing you can do to make it stronger is to take your symbol
    and imagine it has a dial next to it.  Imagine turning the dial and
    making the feeling of "flow" stronger.  Imagine turning it down and
    the feeling of "flow" gets less intense.  Find a setting that is
    just right for you.  When you turn the dial you might find your
    simple picture getting larger or growing, and the feeling intensify,
    you might find the icon getting brighter or changing color, you
    might find it spinning faster.  If it is a sound or phrase or music
    of some sort, you might find the sound getting louder, or the tone
    changing.  Perhaps the location moves, perhaps one voice becomes
    many, what's it like w/ choir?  As you turn it up perhaps the rhythm
    changes.  What happens when you turn it down?  Perhaps you don't
    even need a dial but can still make your symbol brighter, louder,
    etc. w/o a dial if that is appropriate for you. 

    Play around and have fun! 

    Another aspect to play w/ is to take the sensation of "flow" and to
    slow it down and really pay attention how to the feeling develops in
    your body.  Where does it first start?  And where does it go on your
    body, before it becomes the full-bodied "flow" you think of.  Do any
    images, words, sounds come to mind as it grows.  Slow the sensation
    down even more, see if you learn anything new. 

    You can do these exercises w/ any feeling or resource, from calm,
    focus, confident, etc. 

Joel

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