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Perceiving 'Flow'

Whether it's a pattern in the branches or coming across a particular reference over and over, symbols are the tools of the subconscious and paying attention to them is the only way to exist without having a mind-racking grip of control. The more subtle aspects of our psyche (read: subconscious) have no recognized way of communicating with the conscious self outside of basic negative emotivism but they ultimately determine the quality of many external interactions with others.

Fear, hesitance, anxiety and depression are (and I say this lightly) not always things to be medicated, but hashed out and explored. I am of course not talking about cases where individuals need some assistance finding their way back, but the day to day worries and stressors that guide the rest of us away from a life well lived and towards the kind of bubble-wrapped experience we trick ourselves into thinking is the kind of life we want. The opposite of flow, control.

Anyways, as we at Derivative Psychology have said before, the psyche is a funny thing and chooses what information to raise to our consciousness, but there is a way to gradually open up the lines of communication.

Sometimes we can trick our subconscious into giving us answers by 'pinging' the system when it wants us to focus on something, but you need to be listening. This sounds like a conundrum I'm sure. You're not sure what you need to be looking for but we're asking you to do just that. As with anything, the key is practice. Be okay with misinterpreting signals your mind sends regarding small decisions first...

Think about a few restaurants you've never been to before, let the experience of driving to one or the other be the deciding factor. Left turn to Restaurant A congested? Take a right turn towards Restaurant B or go straight to Restaurant C. Be cognizant of the situation but open to anything. DO NOT try to plan ahead.

Instead, enjoy the drive, finding a parking spot and the walk across the parking lot. Smell the air. Enter the building, keep your phone in your pocket or leave it in the car if you can, try to notice as many little touches of decoration and pride the owners and employees took in the entryway. All those little hand-written signs were meant for you. Read them. Be open to any seat, barstool or otherwise.

Ask the waiter or waitress what he or she recommends to eat, order that. It might be good or bad, but realize you've just opened yourself up to enjoying the little things, made the staff feel like their opinion matters and practiced letting the grip of control slip a bit and everything (hopefully) turned out okay.

Beyond letting the experience wash over you, you've freed up the conscious and subconscious to communicate with each other. Instead of letting yourself be overcome with distractions, text messages, Facebook and the like, you're becoming more aware of what is going on around you and the people who make up all of those little corners of life that we so often neglect to recognize.

Most importantly, you've begun to change your perception. You've become someone who is listening, watching and reactive. Your subconscious has room to speak and if you are patient, you'll not only start to feel instinctual and aware, you'll come to realize how good living in the moment can be.

PsychologyToday: Unleashing the Power of Symbols

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