“The Quiet Truth About Flow and Mental Health”

Syd Banks, author of the Missing Link, once said,

“The world only changes when one person at a time looks deep inside and touches a moment of pure consciousness and has an insight, and then looks out and sees a different world.”

It’s a stunning reminder that change doesn’t begin with the world — it starts within. Not through effort, not through fixing, but through quiet. Through seeing.

We can’t change other people. We can’t even change the world in the way we often think of change. But we can allow our minds to settle — like a snowglobe after it’s been shaken — and from that stillness, something remarkable happens: clarity, compassion, and wisdom emerge naturally.

The Rub: How Do We Get There More Often?

This is the question nearly every client asks sooner or later:
“If all healing and mental health reside in that quiet place… how do I get there more often?”

It’s a fair question — but it contains a subtle misunderstanding.

Because the truth is, you’ve already been there. Many times.

You’ve known the feeling of being “in flow” — that effortless state where time disappears, creativity takes over, and you perform at your best. It might happen while driving, walking, playing music, helping a patient, or simply watching the sunset.

In those moments, you didn’t try to get there. You didn’t think your way into flow. You found yourself there.

And that’s the key.

Flow Isn’t Something You Do — It’s What Remains When You Stop Doing

We’ve been taught to pursue states of mind — to chase peace, clarity, or confidence as if they were goals. But the harder we try, the more elusive they become. That’s because the act of “trying” stirs the snowglobe again.

The flow state, the quiet mind, pure consciousness — these aren’t distant places we visit with the correct passport of meditation, breathing, or positive thinking. They are our natural home base.

They return on their own when the storm of thought settles.

We can’t force calm. But we can notice agitation. We can notice when we’ve sped up, when we’ve filled our heads with “what ifs,” judgments, or mental to-do lists. And in noticing, something magical happens — we’ve already started to slow down.

The Gentle Direction

So rather than asking, “How do I get there more often?”
Consider instead, “What takes me away?”

Every time you notice that you’re caught in the noise of thinking, that’s already awareness awakening. That’s the intelligence of Mind tapping you on the shoulder.

You don’t need to fix the noise. You just need to see it for what it is — a temporary storm, not the sky itself.

The stillness you’re looking for isn’t hidden. It’s what’s left when you stop looking so hard.

And when your snowglobe settles, when thought quiets, you’ll find yourself back in flow. Not because you did something right, but because you stopped doing what was getting in the way.

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Reflection

Think of a recent moment when you felt completely at ease, or effortlessly engaged in what you were doing.
Ask yourself:

• Did I create that moment, or did I fall into it when my thinking dropped away?
• What might happen if I stopped trying so hard to return there — and simply allowed life to unfold until I noticed myself back in that space?

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In the end, the journey isn’t about “getting there more often.”
It’s about realizing you were never really gone.

With love and respect,

Watch & Listen

“If you’re willing, click play, drop your gaze, let your thinking soften — and notice what shifts.”

“What subtle change occurred when you simply allowed instead of striving?”