Chris Yencha, Image and Pilgrimage 2

The concept of flow is discussed in this book. Flow was defined as a merging of action and awareness when an individual acts with complete involvement with no need for conscious intervention. The example that the term invokes in my mind is my mindset when I practice for Table Tennis. Whenever I prepare to run a forehand drill, I am constantly evaluating my form and stroke and consider how I will keep up with my footwork depending on the form of drill; however, once the drill actually begins, my mind seems to clear automatically and I hit stroke after stroke with very little consciousness of what I am doing. When I am in this state, I can drive a loop starting from my ankles and ending above my head without even wasting the time and energy to transmit that thought from my brain to my extremities. I can adjust my feet to allow my dominant side to remain open and can make the decision in a near-instant of whether or not to turn to a backhand slice or smash or shift to allow my stronger forehand to connected with the ball if I am caught off guard by an opponent's spin. I am in the zone as soon as the drill starts until it is completed. As soon as the drill ends, I am then able to consciously evaluate how I performed and what I need to work on. There have even been times when I couldn't comprehend how I made a particularly effective shot during drill because I was too absorbed with how the flow was directing my game. Flow is a wonderful feeling of complete absorption in an activity which allows for one's body and soul to achieve that which the conscious mind may consider impossible.