Connecting to Embodied Flow-State in Dance

Mark [0:00] I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Olie Demetriou to the World Heart of Connection podcast. Ollie tells me is no relationship to the former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou.  Olie is an artesian and who works with metal at Iron Arm Forge in Geelong.  I’ve been down to their workshop and I’ve witnessed the beautiful metal creations he’s done.  There is the wonderful tree of life and I remember the rose petals, the delicate petals in metal. There are other just beautiful metal momentums is that both he and his uncle Theo Demetriou create. Welcome to the podcast.

Olie [0:43] Yeah, thanks for that.  That was a good introduction. Thanks.

Connecting to Art through Steel

Mark [0:46] So Ollie, the creation, tell me about the rose petal – the beautiful roses that were there?

Olie [0:55] Well, the roses was probably one of the first things I created.  With direction for my uncle obviously. I’ve haven’t been working with metal for very long, maybe a year and a half.  So, yeah, he really pushed me to-to make those.  It took me a long time.  But the finishing product are very happy with.  It’s kind of kept me going in this type of this type of work.  I really enjoy it now I would have left a long time ago if I didn’t.

Mark [1:28] Do you to connect to it?

Enjoying the variety in this work

Olie [1:31] I think out of any other work I’ve done, I think it’s the best work I’ve done.  Because what else you doing for example, hospitality, in most other jobs, you just doesn’t really require much thought or anything really.  Once you learn something, and you do it over and over and over again.  You get sick of it pretty quickly.  It doesn’t take long.  Takes what a year or two and then you’re over it.

Mark [1:57] Yes, it becomes a bit…

Mark [1:59] A bit redundant.  Unless we can take a flow-state there to it.  If we can get into the zone, it makes the redundant day – we can experience the redundant differently.

Olie [1:59] Redundant.

Connecting out of my Comfort Zone

Olie [2:15] Yeah, well, I think anytime I have worked in things like that, it’s usually the things that are unrelated to my work that make my day better.  So things I have that are completely unrelated to the work. If I go out or do exercise or whatever.  Then it is probably better.  But it’s the same thing once you do something over and over again, it eventually just becomes that mental mindset of comfortable.  You know comfort.  When you’re so used to doing something, you just do it over and over again.  Because you don’t have to struggle and learn anything new.  So you just keep doing it over and over again because you’re comfortable but your brains not really doing anything.

Mark [3:04] It’s familiar and it’s comfortable.  I wonder whether the connection to this work is taking you out of your comfort zone and really putting you in – connecting you to an un-comfortability?

Learning to Become a Creator

Olie [3:20] Yes I would say a lot.  Very much so, because my boss pushes me a lot.  To do things myself and to create things myself.  I’m not quite there yet.  He says I’m a doer not a creator yet.  I’m still obviously learning but I feel like I’ve improved my skills in the steel fabrication and all the other stuff we’re doing because we’re not just doing steel.

Mark [3:56] Just curious as you been talking about – when we get into that routine of we know a job.  I wonder whether we know sort of it – we could do it in our sleep it becomes that subconscious.  What do you notice happens to the connection to yourself, when you get into that comforting, familiar routine?

Olie [4:21] Well if you’re working five days a week, and you’re working eight-hour shifts – sometimes you don’t have the energy to do some anything else.  So that becomes everything you do, basically.  And if it’s boring, you do it over and over again for a long time, then it’s not gonna be able to sustain doing that work. Because you just bore yourself out.

Connecting to and Noticing Boredom

Mark [4:45] What happens to you in the boredom?  What happens to the connection to yourself in boredom?  Do you daydream, do you wander off?

Olie [4:52] Well in today’s society there is a lot of things you can do to keep your mind off it.  You can play games, go out and drink.  These are just things that aren’t too bad for you but probably not the best way to direct yourself into the right path you want to go.

Mark [5:14] How do you bring yourself back to that right path?

Olie [5:18] By constantly reminding yourself.  You have to constantly remind yourself because it’s very easy when you get caught and comfort.  It is very easy to just shut your mind off.  And then you just go into that place of just ‘doing what you’ve done’ for however long you do it for.

Connecting to my Sense of Self

Mark [5:38] What do you notice happens to the sense of self?

Olie [5:43] Well time goes very fast and you lose a lot of time.  Basically, your sense of self disappears.  And depending on your situation, some people might suffer more than others.  In my case, I haven’t suffered that much.  I’ve had a pretty easy life.  But you know, there are difficulties and in many things in life.

Mark [6:10] What’s it about connecting to self in those difficulties?  What do you notice?

Olie [6:17] Depends on difficulty. But I would say for me, I can get past things very easily.

Olie [6:29] No matter what it is, I seem to have the ability to get over very quickly and move on with my life and whatever I’m doing.

Mark [6:39] Do you do that on a physical, mental, emotional, spiritual levels?

Mentally working through Difficulties of Life

Olie [6:47] Hmm.  I’d say, I think over time I’ve kind of just learned how to – I can’t really explain how or why or what I’ve learned back in the past, that makes me get over things in a certain way.  But now, more so now I feel like – it is more of a mental exercise I get myself into.  So, if I have a problem, I’ll repeat that problem and the more you repeat it, seems like the more your mind tends to sort it out.  So, if you’ve stuffed it down, and you ignore it-it’s going to get worse.  If you bring it up, then it tends to get better.

Mark [7:34] What happens as you’re working the mind through what happens to your heart with the problem?

Men and Emotions

Olie [7:41] Well, you have to deal with any emotion that comes up.  Emotions, I think a lot of people, especially men, don’t like their emotions.  It’s very easy to stuff down your emotions and I’ve done it in the past, but it just gets you – nowhere.  You have to – I have found that you have to express your emotion in any way you can.  So, it could be anything could be singing, it could be dancing, whatever.  You have to express the emotion, or some people through mixed martial law, punching the bag, getting their aggression, aggression out.  There’s different – there are heaps of types of different ways to do it.  I do it.  I guess you could call it a spiritual type of way of getting over things.  Because, it’s quite a natural – I think your brain once you program in a certain way, it’s quite a natural path your mind goes on.  When you’re going through these things and you repeat it.  Like, if you just keep going over whatever happened in your head over and over and over again.  It just seems like you’re brain sorts it out for you.  And you go through the emotions and you’ve – over time it kind of wilters – I guess.

Men and Emotional Connection

Mark [9:01] I just want to bring back the conversation to when you talked about men not connecting to their emotions and shoving them all down.  What impact do you think that has on men’s connections to themselves?

Olie [9:13] Well men who do that who stuff their emotions down.  I understand – I’ve done it.  I do a lot too.  I still do it.  I still stuff some emotions down but they tend to come up and manifest in other ways usually aggression.  Especially if somebody’s done – something bad to you.  Or you feel hard done by,

Mark [9:41] So they’ve hurt our feelings so, therefore, do we reconvert that hurtful?

Suppressing our Emotions affects our Mental Health

Olie [9:45] Yes, you stuff it down and then it comes back, later in time.  You might take it out on somebody that doesn’t particularly deserve it.  And you don’t understand why you feel that way is because you haven’t really, you haven’t sorted it out in your head.  You’ve just stuffed it down.  So the more stuff you stuffed down I feel, the more confused you’ll be because you haven’t really verbalized it or writing it down to good technique I find.

Mark [10:10] It’s just interesting. I hate to be in a hotel with all the men that have stuffed all those emotions down.  A little trigger in a hotel with a bit of alcohol.  I’m wondering whether it comes out in aggression, which is probably unnecessary because they’ve converted that – all that stuff down emotions into – they’ve bottled it all up.

Men Converting Suppressed Emotion into Violence

Olie [10:37] That’s the usual thing, the bar fighting.  Like get a bit of alcohol in you and you’re that way inclined.  Then or you’re looking for trouble.  There is a lot of those guys out there.  You go out and try to have a good time and there’s somebody who just who’s looking for a reason to fight somebody or,.  I understand the mentality.  I understand the mentality but I feel it’s a bit of a weak mentality.

Mark [11:08] Is it a reptilian mentality?

Olie [11:11] It’s a survival mentality.

Mark [11:12] The reptilian brains kicking in and….

Olie [11:15] Well you don’t want to be perceived as weak.

Olie [11:17] So you’re overinflating yourself.  To make you seem – make yourself seem a lot bigger than you really are.

Men Connecting to our Vulnerability

Mark [11:27] How do we men learn to connect to the vulnerability that’s perceived as our weakness?

Olie [11:38] A lot of people would say, I feel understanding.  But even now, me saying these things I still come back to some harsh realities when it comes to men and emotion.  Because I think our environment is catered to us – to stuff our emotions down.  And we want to be strong.  We want to be strong, we don’t want to be weak.  We never want to be perceived as weak because if we are weak then we get, usually, we get stood on or stepped on or used.

Mark [12:15] Bullied.  Bullied in schools. Yep.  So, therefore rather than connect to that – we armour up against it.

Olie [12:21] Yes.  And you can usually tell when somebody’s stuffing their emotions down.  Because they give you a blank expression.  They won’t give you any emotion, or they’ll give you aggression.  And so, you know, if you cross the line, they’ll kind of subtly give you that – oh don’t mess with me.

Will Men Change our Suppressing Ethos?

Mark [12:41] As a young guy in this world, what do we men need to do to change that ethos?  And do we need to change it quickly?  For the sake of our well-being, for the sake of our mental health and for the sake of our connection to Ourselves, Others and ‘All That Is’?

Olie [13:00] That’s a very hard question to answer.

Olie [13:03] Because it’s I think it’s so ingrained in us that – it’s kind of – I don’t know if it would be impossible to completely get rid of it.  I think at the end of the day comes down to maybe how our society views men, or how we raise men, maybe.

Mark [13:28] It’s just wondering, yeah, maybe we’ll never get rid of the reptilian part of our brain which is fight, flight, freeze, food, and fornication.  But I’m wondering whether through – the more we evolve, whether we can just come from a space of noticing and observing the reptilian brain wanting to act out?  Then perhaps, centre in more of an empowered position within our self and connect to that and operate differently as men?

Men Openly Facing our Fears

Olie [14:01] Hmm, well, I think it comes down to fear at the end of the day.  Like when it comes to all of our problems.  It’s a fear of many things.  Fear of being inadequate, fear of being on the bottom. Fear of being dominated.

Olie [14:20] Yes, heaps of things or situational.  Do you know who you hang out with?  I think that’s probably one of the most important things. If you’re hanging around with – how can I put this?

Mark [14:33] To prove – I think we get what you mean?

Olie [14:35] Yeah, if you’re hanging out with….yeah, those type of people…then you’re probably going to be like those people.

Mark [14:42] When in Rome, do as the Romans do so to speak.

Olie [14:45] Exactly.

Mark [14:45] That’s a polite way of saying it.

Connection to Others

Mark [14:47] So let’s come back now to connect to others.  How does Ollie, a young male, work at connecting to others?  Be it, family members, be it, friends, be it society.  What’s – do you have a process to connect and then notice yourself disconnecting?

Olie [15:08] Well, not so much with my family.  Because we’re a very big family and we’ve always been close.  So the connection with my family isn’t a problem.

Olie [15:18] Friends, I’ve had many friends, but I’ve never really kept friends.  I’ve got – I still got mates.  But if I go back in my entire past of how many friends I had, and now how many friends I got now.  It’s kind of ridiculous.  So I’ve always found that bit harder to – I won’t say I keep friends, maybe giving them the time and effort that they need to – for or to show them that I care I guess.

Mark [15:35] It takes energy to cultivate that.

Energy to Cultivate Connections

Olie [15:56] Yep.  100% it takes a lot of energy to cultivate that and sometimes you fall by the wayside.

Mark [16:04] I’m not sure what’s making me ask this question.  But, where does that energy come from in your being? Can you?

Olie [16:11] What energy?

Mark [16:13] The energy to cultivating friendships?

Olie [16:19] Well, it’s kind of – it’s something that kind of happens naturally.  You know, I mean.  Like when it comes to – when you meet somebody, it’s very hard to explain when forming a friendship with somebody.

Mark [16:32] There’s a connection?

Friendship Connections on many different Threads

Olie [16:33] There’s a connection, but there are many, many things that happened throughout you meeting this person. To then become a really good friend with them.  I mean, it could just be as simple as spending more time with that same person. But yeah, I don’t know.

Mark [16:45] Simple as barracking for the same football team.

Olie [16:52] Yes. Well sometimes.

Mark [16:54] You know, those threads that we might – we might find those mutual threads that we – that builds that connection – philosophically, politically aligned.

Olie [17:06] Yeah, well, that’s a good thing you brought up when it comes to alignment.  It is definitely the things that we have in common.  That makes a good friendship.  But I think, I find a lot of the time if I like something, something my mate doesn’t like, there’s that – there’s that thing, where it’s like oh – like oh, you like that?  Why do you like that for? I don’t like that – why would you like that?  It’s like, well because I’m not you.

Breaking Down Resistances – Open-Hearted & Open-Mindedness

Mark [17:32] And there’s a resistance there?

Olie [17:34] Yeah, there’s resistance.  There’s – a hey, you shouldn’t – you should like what I like, cuz we’re mates.  I don’t really understand that mentality or I’m not quite sure how to break that down.

Mark [17:47] Do we need to break that down by developing an open-mindedness and open-heartedness?

Olie [17:53] Yeah, see, I feel some people.  Like if you don’t have – maybe you don’t like something and they do.  It’s that understanding of – oh, maybe I’ll give it a chance.  If you don’t like it, you don’t like it.  But you know, you don’t have to be weird about it you know what I mean.

Mark [18:10] I wonder whether we can connect that back to the original part of the conversation.  Is that for you, you’re comfortable in that realm.  And for them, there’s an un-comfortability and they’re not familiar with it. And until…

Connecting to the Unfamiliar

Olie [18:25] Well, in my younger days, like, I’d usually just let it – I’ll just change my behavior usually, you know, multiple man-with multiple faces.  But that doesn’t really, you know, it’s, – you’re not being something you’re not.  You end up just being like them because you like everything they like and raarrah.

Mark [18:50] What happens to the sense of self when you find yourself doing that?

Olie [18:53] Well, you start to disconnect.

Mark [18:55] Okay.  Is there a sense of being inauthentic?

Olie [18:59] Oh, yeah definitely.  Well, you want to be authentic with people.

Connecting to my Authentic Self

Mark [19:06] What’s it like to connect to your authentic self?

Olie [19:13] That’s not hard because – I usually can express myself in multiple ways.  So like, when I was younger, I used to dance.  So, break-dancing.   I used to have all this pent up energy and I’ll put it into my dancing or singing.  It was very easy for me to express that – any emotion through singing or dancing. So, I’ve no problem with when it comes to bottling up.  You can call them energies, I can just get them out because all I have to do is just express it. Or even through art, drawing and I can get express my emotion or put something onto paper that might be bubbling up.

Mark [19:57] Yeah, and it’s really interesting how you naturally progressed to that – emotions are the language of the body?

Connecting to Dance I Connected to My Emotions

Olie [20:04] Yeah, that’s why dancing and singing go so well when it comes to emotions.  Because, all you really have to do, is just allow yourself to feel it.  And, people who say they can’t dance are just – for me it just means they are afraid to show their emotion or afraid to look silly in front of people.

Mark [20:29] As we’re sitting here connecting through this conversation – as you’re sharing that with me, I just got a real sense of flow.  As you’re dancing it through, as you’re singing through, there’s an incredible flow – is that, am I reading that?

Olie [20:41] Well, I think human beings have been doing this type of thing for a long time.   When it comes to ceremonial type dancing like you see the Aboriginals.  They have their own type of dancing, of expression.  Yep, many other different cultures have different ways of expressing themselves, but I think it would have to be an expression of the emotions.  That, whatever that feeling at the time, it’s the way to get it out.

Mark [21:05] Is that a powerful connection for you?

In Dance, I could Shred Anything

Olie [21:08] Yes, I’d say so.  It’s a way to shed anything that is – maybe holding you back.  So it is important to remind myself that – or I’ll find ways to express myself otherwise…

Mark [21:27] And through dance we can also connect to others?

Olie [21:29] Yeah, definitely.

Mark [21:31] Collective.  Collective parties. There is that collective flow-state, collective groove that everybody’s getting into.  They’re elevating beyond the self in way.  Which then can lead us into the next part of the conversation, the connection to the ‘All That Is’?

Olie [21:53] This is umm,

Mark [21:54] Spiritual realm.

Olie [21:55] Really, philosophical, spiritual.  It requires a lot of thought when it comes to a question like that.

People are Looking for Spiritual Connection

Olie [22:09] Because I think a lot of people looking for, the spiritual light, the spiritual connection.  There’s the connection to the higher being, or the higher self, or whatever you want to – or have ever you want to explain it or express it.

Olie [22:28] I like them when it comes to spirituality it’s kind of hard to – it’s kind of hard to really express when it comes to spirituality.  Because it’s a very hard thing.  It’s like, individually it’s very personal, and everybody has their own take on it.

Mark [22:54] Some of those connections to the ‘All That Is’ – I call it “The Ahha Moment” – those peak experiences that we can have – Wow.  It’s like beyond self, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually everything lines up.

Olie [23:08] “Ahha” as in thought?

Mark [23:10] Just ‘Ahha” experience like a sunset.  Beautiful sunset.  Just that incredible connection.  And is the sunset just a manifestation of our higher self.

Awareness of Ego in Spirituality

Ollie [23:30] Kind of hard for me to express it.  Because I’ve been bought up when it comes to religion I’ve been brought up Catholic and Greek Orthodox.  I was baptized as Greek Orthodox and I’ve been brought up in Catholic schools and go to church and stuff like that.  And a lot of it, I find – like you like you’re saying the “aha moments” –  I having a think about this before like when you have epiphany type of moments, “the aha moments” I tend to be a bit wary of them.

Olie [24:14] Because they can manifest into your ego.  I’ve definitely felt that – like I’ve had an “aha moment” and I’ll be having a conversation with somebody and I’ll be so hell-bent on trying to push my point across. Push my thought across that I want – I’ll lose the connection of the conversation.  I won’t listen to the person and I won’t keep that opinion in my mind and have a proper conversation.  I used to do that. I kind of got rid of that. A different time in my life I guess.

Mark [24:57] When you’re break dancing with others, would you get in sync?

My Mind Goes Quite in ~ Break Dancing

Olie [25:03] Break dancing, I wouldn’t say you really would do with others.  It’s a quite explosive movement, so if somebody is near you, you’ve probably gonna accidentally kick them in the face or something.  I’ll do other types of dancing too.  So yeah, when it comes to just dance, it’s very easy to connect with people.

Mark [25:22] Is it like the ego then goes out of the picture and we’re just connecting?

Olie [25:29] There’s no thought

Mark [25:30] There’s no thought?

Olie [25:31] No, no thought.

Mark [25:33] We are just connecting at more of an energetic level with each other?

Energetic Expression and Connection in Dance

Ollie [25:37] Yeah,  it’s um, you’re more in tune with – I guess expressing yourself through the music that’s playing. So whatever, whatever music it is.  I like umm hip hop and r & b.  Because I like the baseline and certain aspects of hip hop.  So I tend to dance.  I like to dance to that as opposed to country music.

Mark [26:07] Where does the self-go when you’re in that dance, and you’re connected to others in that dance?

Olie [26:16] Hmm.

Mark [26:17] Does it dissolve?

Dance a Disconnection from Yourself

Olie [26:19] Yeah, I think that’s the point of it, though.  I think – it’s the whole point of dancing is to – is a disconnect from yourself.  You could be a good dancer, and still be – yourself can still be there and you can still be aware of what other people are doing.  Because you can pick up when you’re dancing to – it depends what you’re trying to accomplish.  But when it comes to expressing yourself through dance, yeah, I think you’re doing it right – if your sense of self is starting to disappear?

Mark [26:52] What do you notice to your energy when the ego is dissolved and you’re in that dance space?  What do you notice happens to your mental health, your well-being?  Can you describe what you might notice?

Dance an expression of Emotions

Olie [27:11] Obviously, if we have any thought – anything really, you’re just expressing – kinda like just expressing your emotions.  So, if somebody sees that, and they pick up on that usually can’t really go wrong.  Because, sometimes you can look a bit foolish or you can do some silly moves, but it doesn’t matter if you’re really, expressing yourself.

Mark [27:39] When they’re expressing yourself and like connect to that, can they move into your vibration?

Olie [27:43] Oh, yeah, definitely.

Mark [27:44] Okay. As they are moving into your vibration, there’s a connection to that.  There’s a resonance there. In that resonance do you notice – does that improve or facilitate a deepened and flow-state within yourself?

Embodying my Flow-State

Olie [28:03] Yeah, I think you get into a flow-state as soon as you start to dissolve.  It doesn’t matter what other people are doing.  It’s a better feeling when somebody connects with you while you’re doing that. But like I said, your sense of self is completely gone.  So it doesn’t really matter.  It’s good to dance with somebody because it feels good to dance with somebody.

Mark [28:28] And your well-being?  What happens to well-being, what do you notice happens to well-being? Is that?

Olie [28:32] Well your whole mentality changes.  So let’s just say to you at the beginning of the night.  You feel that can’t be bothered, don’t really want to go out and want to do this, don’t do that.  Like, your mentality is just completely wrong.  But as soon as you start to feel it, and you have a bit of a boogie and after that, you usually feel pretty good.  There’s a whole shift that’s happened and it can happen within 10 minutes or five minutes.

Mark [29:04] What would happen if more men are able to connect to themselves in that process?  How the world of men be different?

Letting go of our Self Consciousness a Freedom

Olie [29:14] Well, I wouldn’t suggest one process when it comes to connection.  Like everybody’s different.  I feel like I can express myself self through dance because I guess I’ve done it for a long time.  So, when it comes to movement, I know how to move just naturally.  But somebody who doesn’t really know how to dance and they feel self-conscious.  How are they supposed to let go of their self if they feel like they’re going to be judged or you know, whatever.

Mark [29:40] Back in the day mate I used to say I’ve got two left feet on a dance floor (Laughter).

Olie [29:46] A lot of people feel like that.

Mark [29:47] I think it was fortunate that electronic music came through.  That then just enable – you could just let all that go and just allow your body to move to the sense of the music.

Olie [29:59] Electronic.

Mark [30:00] Yes, electronic.  It’s really – you can suspend that self-consciousness and just…

Olie [30:08] Let go.

Mark [30:09] Just let go.

Connecting to our Flow-States through Mind-Altering Substances

Olie [30:11] That’s the – I think that’s if, when it comes to men, I think that’s a lot of the time that’s a problem.  Like, we know how to let go if – its things like taking drugs.  Because our culture today is very heavily drug orientated when it comes to partying.  So that’s their way, not just guys, girls, too.  Their way of getting into that flow-state.  A drug can get you into the flow-state, but it’s not a sustainable way.  And it’s not a healthy way to – I’m not saying don’t do it. I ‘m just saying, if you’re doing it every weekend, then you got – I think there’s something wrong there.

Mark [30:56] Yeah, it’s doing in an appropriate manner and giving your body the time to recover.  Using it for the appropriate reasons.  Maybe there is a cleansing, healing, a release in that state that enables them to then front up back into the humdrum of your everyday life.

Olie [31:19] The longer you hold on to things and don’t let go, that the worse it’s going to get, basically.  And then when somebody has experience on a drug, like alcohol allows your inhibitions to go away and you’re able to get rid of all those emotions.  That’s why some people – certain ways on alcohol, some people may be aggressive because, they’re holding on to something or they might be loud and obnoxious. They might be many different things.  But the key I think, is to find a way to, to do that with something you generally enjoyed to do.

Move Beyond Just our Thinking Mind

Mark [32:00] Any advice you’d have for young men coming through connection to self, others and ‘All That Is’?

Olie [32:08] I would say just get out of your head.  It’s good to think.  I’ve been – I guess I won’t say victim I don’t like saying victim.  But that process of questioning yourself and you know your mind can just ramble on forever if you let it.

Mark [32:29] Do we men overthink?

Olie [32:32] I think so.  And then – you can it depends on the person really.  Because you can  overthink and you cannot think at all. And either both ways is bad.  Like you have to have a balance.

Mark [32:46] Come into your body?

Overthinking Blocks our Flow-State

Olie [32:47] Yeah, you can’t just think and expect things to work out for you.  And you can’t overthink because then you’re probably not going to get anything done, you’re overthinking.  You’re not – you’re not getting into – I don’t think you get into a flow state if you’re overthinking.  You have – it has to be a balance.  There has to be thinking and there has to be a time where you disconnect from everything like in dancing or whatever.

Mark [33:17] I’m not sure whether this acronym is – it sounds like to embody the flow-stage?

Olie [33:25] Yes.  Which is an extremely hard thing to do.

Olie [33:27] I think it should be mentioned more and taught in our society when it comes to how to actually achieve a flow-state.

Transform Your Spiritual Flow-State

Mark [33:39] Yes, I’m thinking about setting up workshops for this year, called Transform Your Spiritual Flow-state.

Olie [33:45] What does that entail?

Mark [33:47] Embodying our flow-state. How do we – I think we naturally experienced that flow-state through those “Ahha Moments” or “Peak Experiences.”  But how do we learn to reconnect?  How do we learn to anchor back there?  And let go of the thinking, let go of the emotions and just allow the innate flow to – maybe connect to our own Buddha-nature, whatever that is.

Olie [34:14] So ask – is like through meditation?

Mark [34:16] Yes through meditation or through workshops.  And through memory, through thinking, and through mindset.   There’s a number of ways to get there.  That’s what’s hopefully on the agenda this year.  I’m just mindful of time, anything else you’d like to share in this beautiful connection – in this podcast?

Olie [34:39] Not really, there are so many things we could talk about.  But, I guess you could just save it for another time if we end up having another conversation.

Mark [34:50] We will.

Olie [34:51] And yeah that’s all. We’ll just leave it at that.

Mark [34:53] Alright mate. Thank you very much for coming on. I really appreciate your time and deliberation.  Just that it’s lovely to talk to a young guy.  You guys are the ones that are coming through next.  And I think there’s a lot of work that we men need to do collectively to help shift the ethos. So we can learn to notice and just observe the need for the reptilian brain to operate.  It’s a bit outdated that reptilian brain but it’s still with us, unfortunately.

Olie [35:00] And it’s a useful too, in some ways.

Mark [35:28] Alright mate, nice talking to you.

Olie [35:31] Nice talking to you too.

Mark [35:32] Namaste – Cheers.

 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai