In November of 2011, I put on a seminar called “The Flow” that is, arguably, the BEST seminar I ever did. I say “arguably” because for years, those who’ve attended my events often marvel at how they “just keep get better and better.”

My answer to this phenomenon is simple: “It’s not that the seminar gets better – it’s that YOU do.”

This truism about life is true of the books you read, the CDs you listen to, even the movies you watch. As you grow and change, the message you may have heard or read before seems to change along with you.

But even so, as much as I’d like to use my stock answer, I really can say that “The Flow” was special.

With less than 30 days to go before show time, I announced the event – and we packed the house. And what a great group of people who gathered together to learn how to get into FLOW on command, day in and day out.

Getting into the Flow – or “the Zone” isn’t difficult. When you’re under stress, when you’ve piled unnecessary pressure upon yourself, when you don’t breathe correctly – well, then it’s very difficult to get into the flow. In fact, you can’t get into the flow when your mind-body is operating in this manner.

Yet, the good news is you can banish all those stresses and tensions along with the non-flow state fairly quickly. And when you do, life takes on an entirely different vibration. You see things differently – and have a sense of being whisked through life, with ease, instead of plodding along a path filled with nothing but boulders, potholes, walls and electrical fences.

A quick gut check can quickly determine if you can enhance your state of flow. Place your right palm on your lower abdomen. Now monitor for a moment how you’re breathing. If you don’t feel your lower belly expanding or contracting, chances are excellent that you’re NOT flowing.

When you’re flowing, you’re in a tensionless state of being. You’re not tensing muscles. You’re not tight, mentally or physically. Think of it, there’s a reason the tai chi masters are incredibly flexible without really training for it. Their bodies are in tensionless flow – and when there’s no tension, how can you have inflexible muscles?

In today’s world, we often think of heaping on the tension in order to make progress. In my book, this is the wrong approach. You get where you’re going faster by eliminating tension.

As Dan Gable once taught me in a camp between my sophomore and junior year in high school, “You need to relax so you can move. You need to relax so you can EXPLODE.”

To be sitting in Gable’s presence when he said this was an eternal blessing. To this day I can still see and hear him saying every word in the sentence in a calm and relaxed voice. But when he got to the word EXPLODE – it was like a bomb went off.

“You need to relax so you can…” – all said in a casual manner, like walking through the park – then without any warning whatsoever, the word “EXPLODE” booms through the gym where he was teaching.

To say the sentence any other way would make it forgettable. Just another line. But to say it with an EXPLOSION on the word EXPLODE – oh my. It literally scares the stupidity out of you.

In Zen, there’s Rinzai, known as the “Master of Shouts.” He woke people up with an electrically charged SHOUT. This is what Gable did for me that day. He woke me up to the importance of being relaxed – and I’ve been improving upon it ever since through my study of both western and eastern methods.

In “The Flow” seminar, you’ll learn how to bring this spirit of relaxation into your life through many different techniques and teachings.

Be on the look out for it as I’ll be launching it this week – and it’ll only be available for a short window of time.

Best,

Matt Furey

Got a great question in yesterday about the Theatre of the Mind process. See below, followed by my answer:

Hi Roy,

Yes. ALL of us have the ability to mentally picture, imagine and visualize. And when we do it with deep emotion, we start becoming the predominant creative force in our lives that we’re capable of being. We begin to manifest the miracles we’ve always dreamed about but felt we couldn’t have.

So think of it this way, all of us dream in pictures. We don’t just dream in sounds, smells, tastes and feelings. This means all of us CAN picture what we want in the waking state, too. You just need to reawaken the ability when you’re… “AWAKE.”

To get better at seeing mental pictures, close your eyes and remember what each room in your house looks like. Then proceed to the contents in your dresser, on and in your desk as well as what’s in the bathroom. The bathroom is an easy one for most because we spend a lot of time on the porcelain throne. Can you see your own toilet? Did the last person who used it remember to flush?

Hey, if you just grossed yourself out reading my words, how’d you do that unless you mentally pictured something disgusting?

Here’s the takeaway: If you have trouble seeing the future, then start with what you remember, start with the here and now. This will convince you that you have the ability to imagine/visualize. And it will cause you to transfer the ability to the present and future.

Matt Furey

P.S. Your questions about the Theatre of the Mind process and other aspects of goal setting, visualization and so on are welcome.

Ever feel nervous about giving a speech, making a call, writing a letter or any other activity?

Well, you’re not alone.

I’ve heard that most people prefer death over giving a speech. Imagine that. The very thing that may make you feel more alive than ever before – and you’d rather opt out – of living.

Strange but true.

Same sort of thing applies to writing or making a sales call. The very idea terrifies many, many people.

Or does it?

I now know it isn’t the idea that terrifies. It’s the mental picture you have in your mind about the activity or idea.

If you see yourself in the mental picture as nervous and full of jitters – they will manifest when it’s time to perform. If, on the other hand, you see public speaking as nothing more than having a conversation with a couple friends, there’s nothing to it.

If you see writing a book the same way, as writing to a friend, I seriously doubt you’ll experience writer’s block.

And if you see the person you are calling as a friend, I doubt you’ll be scared to hit the dial button.

It’s a fact then, that you CAN do any and all of these activities without nervousness – and have done so many times before.

What about sports?

In sports, you have the great practice athletes. They can work wonders and create cosmic situations when there’s “no pressure.” But as soon as there are referees, umpires and judges, along with a scoreboard and clock – uh oh. Game off.

Without pressure, the athlete is one person, with pressure, he or she is someone else.

One of my favorite quotes is from Chuang Tzu:

“When you’re betting for stones in an archery contest, you shoot with skill. When you’re betting for fancy belt buckles, you worry about your aim. And when you’re betting for real gold, you’re a nervous wreck. Your skill is the same in all three cases – but because one prize means more to you than another, you let outside concerns weigh on your mind. He who looks too hard at the outside gets clumsy on the inside.”

I encourage you to print this quote and tack it somewhere where you can review it often. Or cut and paste it onto one of your mobile devices.

Why? Because it’s a reminder to NEVER bet for gold. To never play for rings or awards of any type compensation – in your own mind.

Yes, you can play for awards, money, gold and the like – but deep inside your mind, you’ve got to mentally pretend that you’re playing for stones – and cheap ones. Not rare and precious minerals.

All activities, professions, sports and arts are “inside jobs.” And one of the fastest ways to lose sight of the inside job you are preparing for is to occupy your mind with externals.

The externals make you try too hard, which never works. The externals cause you to think too much, not a good idea. The externals can also make you forget the fundamental skills that got you in position to win the prize.

To be free of nervousness, fear, worry and the like, you need to be in a “no mind” state. This is one of the misnomers in the meditative community. They often speak of being “mindful.”

Translate “mindful” as “mind full.” And sense when is a full mind a good idea?

Empty the mind. Be free of the traps of the mind. Get into flow. Be natural. Be authentic.

Now, how do you do it?

Interestingly, Theatre of the Mind, does it for you.

You use your mind to relive and revivify powerful memories from your past – then you connect them to a bright and glorious future. And when you do this – you suddenly feel as if there’s no past and no future. There’s only NOW.

You get into FLOW and start experiencing the authentic YOU – the person who isn’t nervous, fearful or worried.

Yesterday a man told me that he was nervous before filming a DVD. His videographer was late and this caused more jitters. Then he thought about putting on Theatre of the Mind to calm his nerves.

He did so and 15 minutes later – he was renewed.

Zero nervousness. Zero Resistance.

He was totally in the ZONE – he was in FLOW.

And that led me to recall the Ray Knight quote from the 1986 World Series, wherein Knight garnered MVP honors.

After smacking a game winning home run, Knight responded to a question about concentration as follows:

“Concentration is the ability to think about absolute nothing when it’s absolutely necessary.”

Does that sound like “mind full” or “no mind” to you?

Make a choice to get into the concentrated state where you are no longer concentrating. You are being concentrated on something.

Big difference.

Best,

Matt Furey