Going With the Flow or Being One With the Flow

In the two analogies below, the river is symbolic of life — the unknown. The kayak represents your stories as well as the patterns and beliefs that they generate. The paddle exemplifies your power (your awareness of your stories, your patterns and beliefs) and how you use your power to engage with the power of the river.

Going with the flow

First, imagine yourself on a river in a kayak without a paddle. You haven’t been in a kayak before. While you were focusing on getting into the kayak without falling into the river, you unintentionally left your paddle on the shore. You are not concerned, you will just float down the river and enjoy the ride. You are enjoying the warmth of the sun on your skin and the gentle breeze dancing with your hair. You are so relaxed that you close your eyes and settle into ‘going with the flow’. All of a sudden, everything changes. Your kayak is moving swiftly and when you open your eyes you see the rapids that your kayak is being swept into. The water is churning and crashing over the rocks. This dream-like journey has now turned into a nightmare. You use all the strength you have to hang on to the kayak as it is tossed to and fro. You are powerless to help yourself and all your survival fears are activated. Fortunately, the kayak stays upright and is not damaged, and once again you find yourself in the gentle flow of the river. You survived. It was a close call but you are alive and that is what is important to you. Your mind creates a narrative that the chances of there being another set of rapids is unlikely and a falls is even more unlikely. The mind tells you whatever you need to feel better. You are simply ‘going with the flow’.  

In this analogy, the power of the river and how your kayak interacts with it will determine your outcome. The experience is happening to you. You are separate from the experience. When you are unaware of your stories, and the beliefs and patterns that are generated by them, it is akin to ‘going with the flow’.  In other words, the stories that unconsciously express through you hold the power, and you go where they lead you. In other words, you are along for the ride — a passive participant unconsciously creating your life from separation.

Being one with the flow

Now, I invite you to imagine that you are an experienced river kayaker. You launch your kayak with ease and you have your custom designed paddle in your hand. You know your kayak well and you are very skilled in using your paddle. Even though this river is new to you, you trust you have skill to work with its power and meet the challenges the journey holds. You have shot many rapids and you respect the power of the river and you know that if you surrender into it and dance with it, there is a very high potential that you will safely find your way through any challenge it presents. This requires your attention being focused into the present moment. You know that this experience offers the opportunity for you to deepen your confidence and trust in yourself to embrace even greater unknowns in the future.

In this analogy, you are consciously participating in your experience. You are ‘one with the flow’. You are one with the river. You are one with the experience. When you are aware of your stories, and the beliefs and patterns that are generated by them, you are in your power and you are an active participant in your life. In other words, the stories that express through you have no power over you. You are sovereign, you have the power of choice, you are making choices aligned with your soul path and the choices that you make serve your highest good and the highest good of all. By being one with the flow, your choices are being made from a place of knowing that you are whole.

Going with the flow is an example of how we create our lives unconsciously. Being one with the flow is an example of how we create our lives consciously. Our power of choice is one of our greatest powers. In my experience, making choices consciously allows me to liberate myself from the patriarchal story of separation and attune to oneness.