Several days ago, I was struck by a way to describe the flow I’ve often written about. What’s the flow? It’s when I wait until I have the feeling, something clicks into place and my being knows what to do or where to go next!
If I’m struggling with options or feel like I’m putting a lot of energy or effort into making something happen, I stop and listen. I’m forcing something that’s not clear and until it is clear, it’s not!
In looking for, really feeling for the path with the greatest ease and the least resistance, I’ve get a sense of clarity. Something begins to emerge from the fog of possibilities. It literally clears itself up. When I’m in tune with my inner experience and listening, it always guides me. When I’m not, it still guides me by showing how difficult and complicated things can be when I don’t listen.
So, how to I put that into words to give a clearer experience of it to others? It is an experience, not a word or phrase I can easily express here and I’ve found words are a very poor substitute for experience.
While talking to Don and Brit one evening, I couldn’t remember the name of the man we had all met here who organized our great trip to Komodo and Rinca. I asked but they couldn’t remember either. I tried a couple names speaking them out loud but they just didn’t feel right. I’m sure you all know that feeling! “No, that’s not quite right” is something you may have said before or something else like “that just doesn’t feel right”.
Perhaps you’ve been in your car driving when you’ve gotten the urge to “turn left here” and take a different path home? But, you ignored it because “you always drive this way and it’s quicker”. Around the next corner or over the next hill, you stop behind a traffic jam caused by an accident and now must wait before you progress. If only you had listened to that urging. Do you know that feeling?
I awoke the next morning after talking with Don and Brit and, as I was packing, his name came flying into my mind. “FIGO”! I KNEW it was the right name. Something inside felt so comfortable and certain, and that feeling confirmed I had remembered the right name. It was like the tumblers all lined up and the lock immediately opened, easily and effortlessly. Some thundering sense of certainty and knowing rose within me, from my core being and I KNEW!
THAT’S THE FEELING! When that feeling is lacking as I consider travel options, I wait. When I realize I’m working very hard to make something happen that doesn’t seem to be happening or flowing, I let it go and look for that feeling. When an idea pops in, when a travel plan pops into my mind, and it’s accompanied by that feeling, that’s what I do. It’s always there and using it requires me to be “here now” with it. What a great ally. I hope that makes what I’ve written about the “flow” more clear for you.
Now, to remember to live from that place when I get back to the US, that’s crucial. What tips have you found help you operate from there or what experience do you have with it?