How Does “The Void” or “The Flow State” and Creativity Empower?

Tapping into this place between the subconscious and conscious mind is amazing.

The Void or The Flow State are references to that place outside of time and space where you simply are. They’re the ultimate expression of the here and now — the present moment. In the flow, you ride along aware and unaware at the same time. It’s an amazing disconnect where super cool things happen.

For me, there are two specific instances I can share as examples. The first is fencing. I’ve been doing medieval rapier combat – fencing – for over 30 years now. The best fighting, in tournament, melee, or just practice bouts, is when I let the muscle memory of bladework, footwork, and coordination carry me. Don’t worry or think about my opponent. Be present, be conscious, and let the fight play out.

These combat experiences tend to occur in slow motion and time loses all meaning. The joy I get from this martial art is hard to match.

The second example is writing. When I get immersed in a story or a blog such as this, and the words are just flowing from my mind to the page, time passes unnoticed, I feel centered and present, and before I know it there’s a chapter, a post, or a book completed. Here and now, I simply am a human, being, creating something new to share with the world.

Creativity directly connects you to The Void or The Flow State. That is one of the best ways to see, recognize, and develop your empowerment. In this way, you can take control of your life experience overall.

What exactly is The Void or The Flow State?

Everyone everywhere is made up of three minds. The first is the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is how your neurons fire to make your muscles do things, your heart beat, your lungs breathe, digestive system process food, and so on. You have zero control over this, save altering the depth of your breathing and slowing or speeding up your heart.

The second is the subconscious mind. This is where your memories, values, beliefs, and habits live. For the most part, they simply are. You can access them at will, but that requires a conscious act. Similarly, you can act to change anything in your subconscious mind, but that’s where we get to the third mind.

The conscious mind is your inner mindset/headspace/psyche self, as you perceive it here and now. It’s the conscious awareness of who, what, where, how, and why you are, now. Via the conscious mind, you can access the subconscious to make changes, create new habits, review old memories, and so on.

Two specific and separate places exist between the conscious and subconscious mind. One is the ego. The ego is a construct that is how you both show the world and yourself who you are. Ego is often a bit of a bully, believing you’re not good enough, must prove yourself, and other challenges of identity. The ego can be altered via conscious awareness practices like mindfulness.

The other space between the conscious and subconscious mind is The Void or The Flow State. This is a place where you simply are, being, doing, and existing, here and now. The Void or The Flow State lacks ego and loses track of time. In the flow of The Void or The Flow State, you are utterly present and hyper-focused on the moment.

What exactly is The Void or The Flow State? — *Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash*

How does it work?

When you reach this place, you tend to find yourself in a metaphorical current, being carried along by the act of creating, working your mind, body, and/or soul. It’s a place where thought, feeling, intention, approach, and action are one, moving automatically. Unlike the automation of habit, rote, and routine, however, The Void or The Flow State results from mindful conscious awareness action.

When you start to paint, and the brush strokes each bring about a new image, as they flow effortlessly turning the blank canvas into a work of art, you lose all sense of time and space, you simply are. You’re doing your work, creating, devising, making. Somehow, you reach the end, having no idea how long you were at it but utterly at peace. That’s The Void or The Flow State.

Painting is one of the main places where this can be applied, but by no means the only place. Writers, as I shared at the start, work into the void. So do athletes, other artists, scientists, chefs, actors, singers, and anyone who mindfully works from active conscious awareness.

This differs from habit, rote, and routine, because it’s a product of intent. You are doing a thing consciously and intentionally, rather than habitually and subconsciously. The act of the doing combined with the intent leads to The Void or The Flow State.

When you work in this place, it’s one of the most empowering feelings you can get. Being present, wholly present, here and now, and consciously aware to do whatever you’re doing with the effortlessness of flow some people call touching divinity (or if you don’t believe, connecting to something beyond).

Other ways to reach The Void or The Flow State include deep breathing exercises, meditation, Yoga, and other mindfulness practices.

The Void or The Flow State can’t be forced

While ideally, I’d like to enter The Void or The Flow State every time I pick up my swords and fence, I don’t. Often my greatest adversary isn’t my opponent, but myself. Nobody gets in my way quite like I do.

Overthinking, trying too hard, and judging my fighting causes me to lose bouts, fail attack attempts, and even get frustrated. What’s more, the inability to get into The Void or The Flow State is disconcerting. However, I can’t force it.

The Void or The Flow State settles upon you through focus combined with surrender. You begin intent on doing this, that, or the other thing, and acting upon it. As you do the work and just let it go, surrender to the action, that is where The Void or The Flow State is found.

Trying to force your way into The Void or The Flow State will have the opposite effect. Instead of being in that place where you are – doing, being, creating, in the now – you’ll connect to the ego and its artificial reflection and expression of who, what, where, how, and why you believe you are. This will keep you out of The Void or The Flow State because it’s missing the element of surrender.

Why is this so empowering? Because any act where you have reached the ultimate place of present conscious awareness is your doing. Because you thought, felt, intended, and acted on something to make a thing happen, and then allowed it to be, you empowered yourself from the start.

Touching this place is a sensation of near-bliss, satisfaction, and self-esteem. It’s also proof that you are ultimately worthy and deserving. Of what? Anything and everything you desire for your life.

Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you, I conclude with this: