When I entered college, I had to make a huge adjustment to my expectations and habits pertaining to my course load and how I tackled it. I also had to look at the ways that I handled stress after finishing my finals that year. I went searching for relaxing techniques that I could implement into my routine regularly and easily so when finals came around, I would not view them as an arduous task. I was recommended activities ranging from exercising to taking long walks, and while I still do enjoy partaking in those activities, I needed something I could easily do at home. I then found out about meditation and decided to give it a try. My attempts at meditation, however, would prove to be unsuccessful, as I could not quiet my mind.
According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, meditation is “the act of giving your attention to only one thing, either as a religious activity or as a way of becoming calm and relaxed.” During my initial attempts, I tried to focus on the quiet, but I struggled with silencing my thoughts, as my mind eagerly focused on every sound I heard. I decided to take a break and try to find a relaxing technique organically. Coincidentally, I picked up painting as a hobby a few months later and noticed that whenever I would sit down to paint, hours would pass and I felt more relaxed at the end of it. I wrote it off initially and tried to give meditation another try. It proved successful, as I tried a guided listening that gave me something to focus on. Despite this success, meditation still required a lot of concentration that made the sessions far and few in between. I then decided to paint as an alternative relaxation method to meditation. Years passed as I continued to paint, and my collection amassed with more brushes, paints and canvases, but I pondered finding a more travel-friendly alternative that didn’t require me to haul my kit everywhere. When I took a yoga class this summer, my outlook on alternatives and how you find them shifted greatly. During that class, I was introduced to the movie “Soul” and its idea of the flow state, which changed the way I look at relaxation.
The film focuses on Joe, a music teacher and jazz pianist who ends up falling in a manhole that leaves him critically injured, transporting his soul to an afterlife realm called “the Great Beyond.” With only one way for his soul to return back to his body, he unexpectedly ends up mentoring a potential soul named 22 in another realm called “the Great Before.” In this new realm, Joe has to help 22 find what her passion is, and during that journey, he finds himself. In one particular scene, Joe and 22 come upon “the Zone,” a place between the physical and spiritual world, as they are exploring. The Zone is also known as the flow state, where one is totally focused on a task and time ceases to exist. It would be similar to being on autopilot in the sense that logical deduction and decision-making aren’t really present, and instinctual creative choices are made instead. Although fictionalized, this component of the movie has a very real counterpart: the flow state has a lot of benefits, ranging from deep concentration to a feeling of gratification.
I realized while watching this scene that I had tapped into the flow state as I painted, which would explain my relaxation and lack of awareness when it came to time. One of the benefits of being in the flow state that I enjoy is the absence of negative thoughts. “Soul” not only reflected how I felt in this state, but changed my outlook on how to achieve it. It showed that flow state, or the zone, isn’t achieved by doing a certain type of activity, but is dependent on how you feel about the activity and whether you are passionate about it. This makes the flow state achievable to anyone, and depending on your range of interests and how much you like them, you can go into the flow state during multiple activities.
In the past, when I was stressed or wanted to relax during the day, it felt even more stressful to not be able to easily participate in traditional modes of relaxation like meditation. Now, I no longer restrict myself to others’ recommendations. Instead, I am open to participating in things that I enjoy without needing validation. The journey I took to reach my flow state is a great example of finding one’s bearings by one’s own means, not by the modes of relaxation most commonly recommended. While it is always great to have certain cues and tips to follow, someone else’s recommendation shouldn’t feel stifling to your growth. Outside of that, realizing joy can be relaxing removes the complication of stress management and allows you to relax through activities that make you smile.
Kadijah Kaba is a senior majoring in political science.