Living In Flow: The Key to Unlocking Your Greatest Potential
Copyright 2019 by Catherine Krame
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ISBN: 978-1-54396-022-8
For Chris
My mother, friend, fellow travel companion and spiritual seeker ~
with gratitude for your unconditional love
contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book summarizes my own interpretation of the decades of research that have led to a paradigm shift in the areas of physics, medicine, and human biology. Repeatedly experiencing the benefit of an unseen universal energy (Flow) allowed me to understand and synthesize information through a new lens that produced a radically altered world-view, which I share with the reader. There are many people that have had an influence on the trajectory of my transformation and I would like to acknowledge some of those who were instrumental in that process.
I owe special gratitude to my family, who I would like to thank for the unconditional support they have shown me that has allowed me to explore the fringes of my own consciousness and push the boundaries of what it means to be human without judgment. First and foremost I must thank Billie, my husband and best friend, who has enriched my life for more than thirty-three years. Weve traveled on a parallel path of spiritual development and share a passion for bringing mindfulness to others. By her own example my eldest daughter, Simone, has taught me much about the art of manifesting and listening to our intuitive wisdom. Kailen, my youngest daughter has engaged me in many meaningful intellectual conversations that contributed greatly to this book, not to mention lending her keen eye to the editing process. My brother, Alex, helped me regain the strength necessary to pursue my dream of writing this book throughout the years of struggling with Lyme disease and the fatigue it caused. Last, but certainly not least, is the mother that always had faith in me since I was a little girl and encouraged me to believe that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. Her most valuable lesson was to have the patience to allow things to unfold as they should and in their due time.
Of my mentors, I must mention Gloria Loew and Eleanor Buscher. Without Gloria I may never have ventured down the path of spiritual seeking and I thank her posthumously for planting those all-important seeds. The years spent with Eleanor in our Focusing sessions may well be the turning point in my life that allowed the seeds to plant firm roots and grow into the sturdy stalks of spiritual awakening.
I am most grateful to be on this journey and have warmth in my heart for all those who supported me along the way. others include the folks at the Center for Mindfulness who became a meaningful part of my transformation throughout the MBSR teacher training process. I must also mention my business coach and brand strategist, Jeanne Grabowski, who has believed in my message and worked tirelessly to help me bring my book to market. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge President Peter Mercer and Vice President Cathleen Davey of Ramapo College of New Jersey for their collaboration with my husband and me to establish, and ensure the success of, the Krame Center for Contemplative Studies and Mindful Living at the college.
PREFACE:
The Gateway to
Conscious Evolution
What if you could enter into a stream of consciousness in which life unfolded with ease, flowed effortlessly, AND you could do this at will? What if you could tap into an upward spiral of positive energy where you werent held back by fear and anxiety, and obsessive rumination were a thing of the past? Welcome to Flowa dynamic state of consciousness accessible through the power of our own present-moment awareness.
In this book I investigate the Flow state as an elevated level of energy within us, between us, and all around us. Using recent advances in science and medicine I will show that we have the potential to cultivate Flow through our own intent. Our ability to develop the mind-body connection and tap into our bodys innate intelligence is the gateway into Flow. It is through a contemporary lens that we can begin to understand Flow in a new way, and harness it in a manner that will literally change our brains to make way for a giant evolutionary leap.
Most of us have experienced Flow on some level or understand what it means to be in the zone. By leveraging what researchers already know about Flow, I provide insights that are key to personal growth for individuals to reach their greatest potential. Most importantly, I shed light on the genuine possibilities we have for elevating our collective level of consciousness in a sustainable way. By cultivating Flow, not only will we achieve greater personal resilience but we will also unlock the door to enhanced human potential.
INTRODUCTION:
The Tides of Change
On the fringes of consciousness there was a restlessness brewing, an awakening of sorts. I had the simple recognition that change was coming, for myself and for the world. An internal flame that would grow brighter and brighter first flickered into my awareness quite a number of years ago.
It all felt so large, so overwhelming and very abstract. Id followed new age spiritual teachings and the term evolution of human consciousness was not new to me. But what did that actually mean? I knew something huge was happening; I could feel it deep within myself but the context in which to frame it eluded me. Dreams of old and new, visions of past humanity bleeding through to the present, and, time and space taking on a new meaning were the images that flooded my psyche. These confusing glimpses perhaps foretold the birth of an awakening, but how that would unfold was still a mystery.
It would prove to be interesting that one of the first words written in the spiritual journal I began to keep was: Convergence. I had the profound sense that old and new were about to intersect, forming a paradigm-shift in the evolution of mankind. I did not know it at the time, but I would experience my own personal convergence with the head-on collision of my abstract spiritual journey and the concrete practices of mindfulness. The effects of incorporating mindfulness practices into my daily life were staggeringlife changing and exponential in nature. As I ventured more deeply into practices that I hoped would bring about transformation, I began to experience periods of profound spiritual growth that were marked by episodes of what I can only refer to as, psychic phenomena. But isnt psychic phenomena just another way of trying to explain something that falls outside the realm of our current grasp of understanding? I believe what was happening was that I was simply becoming more in tune with the universe, and becoming sensitive to varying levels of energy and alternate realms of consciousness. I found myself in heightened states of being for extended periods of time. I would later look back and realize that during those heightened states, I was simply experiencing life unfolding in extreme present-moment awareness. I was, in fact, experiencing intense periods of Flow. The energy levels associated with this state of consciousness varied in intensity, with some being indescribably sacred. I looked in vain for explanations of these events in many different places. What was becoming crystal clear, however, was that there is so much more to our existence than we can even imagine. My interest in mindfulness and my desire to uncover the power of human consciousness naturally merged when I realized the impact one had on the other. More specifically, I realized that moment-to-moment awareness is the crucial element in determining the quality of our consciousness that lasts well beyond the moment we are in.