Why do we meditate? It could be to give the weary mind a well-deserved break. Just as your body demands rest after an intense workout, your mind yearns for rest when it’s weighed down by stress. The relentless pace of the modern world often leaves us with “brain fog,” a tech bro’s ultimate nightmare. But here’s the catch: even when you sleep, your brain doesn’t truly stop thinking; it remains quite active.
What we truly seek is a way to quiet the mind while we are awake and alert, allowing consciousness to flow freely, unfiltered by mental noise.
The emerging new philosophy on consciousness
Understanding of consciousness is evolving. Currently, the norm is to think that consciousness is produced by the brain. However, a shift in perspective is underway, suggesting that consciousness exists independently outside the brain. It is ever-present, regardless of whether a brain is there to perceive it.
The brain is now seen as a tuning device, capable of accessing different aspects of this vast consciousness, but it cannot perceive all facets simultaneously. For example: your brain cannot perceive gratitude and disappointment at the same time. It’s selective, like a radio tuning in to one station at a time.
Expanding consciousness
Expanding consciousness may initially seem like a desirable goal, but it becomes apparent that consciousness encompasses emotional states, including pain and suffering. Technically, each time you encounter a new state of pain that you haven’t experienced before, your consciousness expands. However, the true significance of this term lies in the expansion that occurs when we successfully overcome that pain.
When Einstein famously remarked, “You cannot solve a problem with the same level of energy that created it,” he was alluding to the need to shift to a higher state of consciousness in order to surmount a problem. Achieving the ability to resolve a problem signifies reaching a new state of consciousness and expanding one’s mental horizons.
This is why the hero’s journey often presents obstacles and rites of passage. It not only strengthens the body and sharpens the mind but also expands consciousness to include knowledge not previously accessible. Those who embark on this journey emerge wiser.
Choosing in which direction to expand
tates and levels of consciousness are quantified to be limitless. If we aim to expand our consciousness without guidance, life becomes a journey of mere observation, leaving us to wonder who we will become. However, as humans, we yearn to shape our destiny consciously, with creative control over our transformation. Hence, it’s crucial to intentionally select the direction in which we nurture our consciousness.
When we passively allow external influences like news and social media to dictate our thoughts, our consciousness tunes into negativity, problems, and suffering. However, by deliberately choosing our thoughts, we can change the channel and tune into the quality of consciousness we desire. For tech enthusiasts, this means accessing states like solutions and flow while working and peace and abundance during breaks.
The Role of Meditation
Meditation serves as a powerful tool for becoming aware of your default thought patterns and their impact on your life. You may even find that a lot of your thoughts aren’t even yours, and were installed by things you heard repeatedly.
Yuval Noah Harari, famous for his book “Sapiens,” explains that he meditates an hour in the morning and one in the afternoon. The main reason he gives is to get in touch with reality. He said, “the mind is constantly producing these stories…and mediation is about letting go of these stories, and actually see what’s happening.”
Through meditation, it is possible to choose new, high-quality thoughts and access the desired consciousness. In tech, we want to quiet the mind, remove distractions or false assumptions, and tune into a state of problem solving and solutions. We call this Flow State.
Flow State
“Flow state” represents a mental state where individuals immerse themselves completely in their tasks, resulting in heightened productivity, creativity, and reduced stress. It’s a state of profound concentration and optimal performance.
In the next section, we’ll delve into various schools of thought and interpretations of flow state, offering insights for both beginners and those familiar with the concept. Whether you’re a novice or an expert, there’s always something new to discover.
Csikszentmihalyi Flow Theory
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the pioneered the concept of flow, associates flow with creative tasks, sports, music, and other immersive activities. He fond that people would accidentalyy find themselves in this stae when doing something they enjoy. To deliberately enter the state he advices setting a clear goal, getting rid of distractions, matching skill with challenge so that it’s not too hard nor too easy, and mindfulness meditation.
Stealing Fire
This book explores how the Navy SEALs use flow state as a tool for optimizing their performance and resilience. They incorporate flow-inducing techniques like high-intensity, visualization, and meditation.
Athletic Flow
Elite athletes like Michael Phelps, harness meditation and visualization for peak performance. Phelps vividly imagines every race detail, even solutions for potential issues, the night before competing. This mental training programs his unconscious mind for victory, enhancing his chances of winning.
Bliss Brain
In his book “Bliss Brain,” Neuroscientist, Dawson Church explains that a tech executive’s brainwave patterns during a flow state can resemble those of master monks and meditators. When you achieve this state, you connect with what he calls “non-local consciousness,” granting access to infinite intelligence and expanded problem-solving abilities.
Law of Attraction
According to the Law of Attraction, aligning with your inner being provides access to the energy that creates worlds. In this perspective, meditation and positive visualization become tools to attract desired outcomes and enter a flow state for manifesting your intentions.
The jedi way
The Jedi Way Finally, we come to Yoda — a symbol of wisdom and inner mastery. It’s impossible to conclude this article without acknowledging his role as a meditator. Just as you and I can explore new states of consciousness, Yoda connects with “The Force,” bestowing upon him supernatural abilities, much akin to the heightened powers we experience in Flow State — a sharpened mind and enhanced skills.
Whether we seek the Force, non-local consciousness, or simply a heightened psychological state, the journey is open to all. So, fellow Jedi, may you find your flow and let it guide you to new horizons., and as you embark on you path to become aFLow-State Jedi,
“May the Force be with you.”
