Play, mindfulness, flow state…we tapped into this often when we were kids, but deny this beautiful feeling to ourselves now. We can easily go into flow and wellbeing with simple, everyday activities. Listen for some ideas.

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Hello lovely person, thank you for being here. I’m Susmitha Veganosaurus, and you’re listening to the Feel Good Factor.

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Now onto today’s episode…

It’s my 9th birthday. My gift? A shiny brick red bicycle.

“It’s a surprise!” My dad looks so happy giving it to me.

We live in the perfect residential layout for cycling. A U-shaped layout with houses on both sides of the road. Well, mostly houses. There’s also one small apartment building and two empty plots overgrown with weeds.

First I practice with training wheels. Then the wheels come off. Since I got a cycle, my little sister got one too. A blue one because she wants to be a boy. She rides too, but I ride a lot more.

I love my red cycle! When I am on it, I am free. When I am on it, I am flying.

I don’t need any other kids to play with. They all come out only in the evenings. But I rush out in the late afternoon. The sun doesn’t stop me from going out (actually, it doesn’t stop me now either).

I love the quietness of the layout. I cycle up and down the U like a pendulum. One end, turn around, then to the other, then turn around. Oh, the turning is so much fun! I feel like I’m turning so low the pedal is almost touching the ground. I feel like a superhero.

Hours and hours of riding. I also hum a song as I ride. 🎶 Take my breath aaaawayyyyy. Too-doo-doo, too-doo-doo, too-doo-doo. 🎶

I didn’t know Tom Cruise or anything back then, but I had heard that song on the radio and it seemed perfect while I was riding. The cycle really took my breath away, but I was never short of breath.

Can you think of the last time you felt that way?

I mean, I’m sure you can think of some moments from your childhood, you know, stretches of days where you lost yourself in doing something. You didn’t need anybody else and you felt so powerful. Like that moment could last forever. Those hours or minutes while you’re doing that activity, you just wanted them to go on and on and on.

I’m sure you can think of something like that from your childhood. But when was the last time you felt that way in the recent years, in the recent months, the recent days?

When we’re kids we aren’t hesitant to just play, to lose ourselves in some kind of joyful activity.

I mean, my parents got me a cycle because, well, it’s good exercise, it’s going to help me get tall. (Actually it never did. Haha I’m just a little shy of five feet tall but that’s a different story.)

You know, they probably had all these other intentions. In addition to making me happy of course. They remembered being delighted when they were kids riding a cycle, so they got me a cycle. But yes, they had all these other motives too. For it to help me in a beneficial, productive kind of a way.

But for me that cycling was just joy, it was bliss, it was…

It was flow state.

I didn’t know it was flow state. I wouldn’t have known that’s what it’s called back then. But that’s exactly what it was. A feeling of flow, a feeling of things being so perfect in that moment.

If you want to know more about flow state, listen to episode 95. I’ve spoken a lot about what flow state is exactly, how you can tap into it consciously, and all that.

But in short, it’s this feeling where time has slowed down and sped up at the same time.

While immersed in the activity, time has just slowed down. It’s just you, and what you’re doing. There’s nothing else. The moment just stretches and stretches and stretches. But then, once you’re done with it, and you’re out of the activity, you see it’s hours later and it didn’t feel that way! So that’s basically how you feel during flow state.

The more often we tap into flow state, allow ourselves to be in one thing completely, mindfully, just enjoy it, feel it…Allow ourselves to be focused on it without even making an effort to focus (the focus just happens)…

The more we allow ourselves to be in flow state – the better the quality of our lives, the more well-being we feel, the more creative we are.

And it reduces anxiety and stress and things like that from our life!

Now, most often people feel flow state when they’re involved in something creative, maybe drawing, or sculpting, even cooking. Something where they’re in creative mode. That’s the easiest way to get into flow state.

Of course, you shouldn’t have any other distraction, you should be involved in doing only whatever you’re doing.

But we can tap into flow state often without any other tools. Nothing fancy. We can get into flow state simply during walking or doing some vacuuming around the house, washing dishes, chanting, singing…Flow state is easy to achieve.

All we need to do is ensure there are no other distractions. Absolutely no multitasking!

All we’re doing is being involved in that one particular activity. It could be done for hours, but it could also be in pockets of just some minutes, you know, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes.

So ask yourself how you can tap into flow state. It could be, as I said, with some fun hobby type or creative, artistic activity. But also look around your house, look around your workspace, wherever you are, your art studio.

What one activity can you involve yourself in right now?

To tap into flow state, you just have to remember to forget everything else on our minds. Because we live in such a fast-paced world, with very, very full schedules and to-do lists, and there’s so much to be done, a lot of us don’t even allow ourselves to lose ourselves in single things, in just one thing.

I was chatting with a good friend of mine who tends to be very busy, there’s always something to do, he’s always up to something, and he’s always occupying himself. So he’s in this constant state of rushing and struggle and not really taking much care of himself.

He said, “You know, I walk every day for 30 minutes, but it feels so wasteful to just walk and not do anything else.” And that made me so sad!

A life of abundance is about having an abundance of time, a sense of well-being.

It’s not only about being productive, making money, or even struggling for money or whatever. Always working in the rat race. That is not an abundant life!

If you aren’t even able to allow yourself time to enjoy something, lose yourself in it, be in a state of mindfulness and flow without being distracted, then that’s a very poor life you’re leading, right?

So it broke my heart to hear him say that. But yeah, I didn’t give a lecture on mindfulness, though I wanted to, I didn’t. Haha I only spoke about how it’s good to be mindful, it’s not a waste and, you know, you deserve to treat yourself to that walk. And I left it at that.

But yeah, this is a mindset that we need to overcome – “If we’re doing only one thing, we’re wasting time.”

Time is human construct. We’ve just made it up. We’ve said, “Okay! Every minute of every second of every day needs to be filled, and we need to be occupied. Otherwise we’re wasting our life!”

That’s being very, very cruel to your own self. And to the rest of the world, because you’re adding to those expectations, you’re adding to this culture of hustling all the time.

When was the last time you sat and felt bored? Like, what’s wrong with feeling bored?

You know, you can allow yourself that too. Boredom comes because we’re so used to our minds being stimulated all the time that we aren’t able to sit still. Sitting still, as in, just being. I’m not even saying meditate or do anything, just allow yourself to sit down. Allow yourself to just be and see what comes up.

There’s something amazing, something beautiful. There’s this powerful stillness that comes after the boredom. But we need to get past that boredom first. So we need to allow ourselves to feel that boredom.

I got bored quite often when I was a kid. Even in my teens, in the pre-screen days. The pre-screen era had plenty of days of joy, days of work, days of boredom. All of that existed in our lives.

But things have changed, and we need to allow ourselves to just be. To embrace, “It’s okay, I have all the time in the world. It’s okay to spend some time doing nothing at all.” To while away the time, day dream, lose ourselves in whatever thoughts come, and all of that. “It’s okay to allow myself to do that!”

Once you embrace that, you’ll be able to embrace flow state even more. Because, if boredom itself is okay, then doing one activity, only one thing, is of course alright! It’s beautiful!

So pick something today to lose yourself in. Allow yourself to be only in that thing mindfully, fully.

It can be something simple, like, if you’re washing dishes, don’t play a podcast, don’t play music, just let the water flow. And as you’re scrubbing those dishes the water flowing over your hands, experience all of that and be fully in that. See what that does to your mind, the kind of relaxation it brings. It just regulates you and resets you.

And whatever you choose to do, that particular activity for flow state, don’t do it with pressure. Don’t even set a goal like, “I have to finish all these dishes today. I have to vacuum the entire house today.” Or you know, “I must do three pages of doodling”. Whatever. Don’t put any goals or pressures on yourself.

You’re doing it for the sake of doing it.

For the sake of feeling it, mindfully enjoying it, and tapping into flow. That’s the only intention with which you’re going to do that activity today.

So yeah. Here’s to you finding your cycling equivalent. Let it take your breath away. *smiles*

Alright, I’ll talk to you again next week. Take care!

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Susmitha Veganosaurus

“I read voraciously, find humour in most things, and I’m most in my element when I’m teaching, writing, and playing with clay. I believe authenticity and kindness are the key to a joyful world. Sign up for my free newsletterwhere I share Life and Business Tips, Vegan Hacks, Holistic Guidance, and more.

Vegan cuisine and holistic business building are my two biggest passions. If you’re looking for guidance with vegan cooking, or want to grow your conscious business with joy and fulfilment, explore ways we can work together here.”

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