Going With The Flow

For as long as I have been on this planet, I have noticed an ebb and flow of energy, not only in my own life, but in ALL life. There are times when things move quite quickly, and everything seems to go your way, and then there are times when nothing seems to move at all, and no matter what you do you can't change it. I like to equate these times with day and night, respectively. The daytime is the time for movement and action. The nighttime is the time for rest and rejuvenation.

When you have a task at hand, a goal you have set for yourself, you will find there are times when you will feel inspired to take action. Whether it's a large or small action step is not important; what is important is that you take the step and go with the flow. The action itself will, for the most part, feel easy, fun, and you will have the sense of accomplishment just after the step is finished. This is how you know you are in the flow.

When you know your goal, but you don't have a clear idea of what to do next, you are in the rest and rejuvenation part of the flow. This is where many people make the mistake of taking action. In an "on-the-go" society such as ours, we are so used to taking action that it becomes difficult for us to notice when it is time to rest, and stop taking action. Our society breeds coaches and leaders who scream at us to "push on through," and "make it happen," even though we clearly need to rest. This distinction between action and rest flows can be quite subtle.

One such subtle example is when you are studying a subject, like learning a language. Science has shown that when a student studies, then takes a break, the brain has time to absorb the information and the student will be far more masterful than another student who has crammed and not taken a break at all. This happened to me in Mexico when I was studying Spanish. I took classes at a school for 5 hours per day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks, and my brain was overloaded! I was absolutely sick of Spanish by the end of the third week. I took a break by parking myself in Puerto Vallarta in an all-inclusive resort where all the staff spoke English and I barely even heard a word of Spanish for three full days. It was heaven to me!

On the fourth day, I decided it was time to venture into town on my own to see the sights. I knew I was going to encounter Spanish, and I was eager to dive in, though my Spanish studies were far from over. To my surprise and delight, I found words and sentences flowing from my lips effortlessly. I had an easy and fun conversation with the taxi drive, not to mention the fact that I was able to communicate to him exactly which of the dozens of resorts to drive me to. What a breakthrough, all because I had taken that time to relax my brain, and not speak, think, or even hear Spanish for 3 days!

Yes, I truly believe that it is in the rest time of the flow where we find the most value. It is so important to rest, because no matter how hard you've worked during the action time, if you don't rest, the entire action you have taken may be jeopardized.

The day and night, ebb and flow metaphor is found in all cycles. There is always a time for action and a time for rest. If we pay attention and notice which flow of energy we are in, we will be highly successful in the flow of our lives.

Kim Markison for www.Hypno-Freedom.com

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