Marijuana to get into "The Zone" or the Flow State!

Can Cannabis Help Athletes "Get in the Zone"? from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

The “Flow State” is a psychological term that represents a moment when an individual is fully immersed in a particular action. This total absorption of an activity usually results in an individual doing some truly “epic shit”. From the guitarist shredding his solo to the basketball player making every shot, when you are in the flow state, you are on top of your game.

There have been many studies conducted on the flow state.

According to part time motivational speaker, B. Altantsetseg, Csikszentmihályi, flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate experience in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow, the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. – Wikipedia

Currently, there are no drugs out there that can induce a flow state, however for me personally, Cannabis has helped me get there many times, specifically in music and in writing.

At times, when I’m baked, I can enter into a psychological state that allows me to write new lyrics, find new sounds and create epic songs that speak to the heartstrings of the masses.

I have even entered into the Flow State with the assistance of cannabis when going to the gym or even playing basketball. While there are absolutely no research into cannabis and the flow state, I have experienced it on several occasions.

Don’t smoke too much cannabis

The first trick of entering the Flow State with cannabis is to consume the “right amount”. What that magic amount is exactly, I have no idea. However, I typically can do it with maybe one or two solid tokes. Anything above this makes me “not” want to go into the Flow state and I’d rather chill. So in my personal conclusion, I believe small doses is the key to achieve these states. Even if you don’t “feel high”, the cannabis is working in the background; Similar to micro-dosing LSD.

Sativas are better for the Flow State

You also require an uplifting energetic high to achieve the flow state. This is why indica strains aren’t necessarily the best. Sativa dominants help you get energized, it helps you to be more creative and you lose a lot of the “fears” associated with expression of self.

Whenever I play music or am writing a new article, I like to take a few hits of a sativa dominant and within about 15 minutes, I know I’m ready to go for it.

How to “go with the Flow”

In order to achieve this “Flow State” you must let go of structure. Similar to Jazz musicians, you stop “thinking” about what you’re doing and you simply do it. You let the music guide you, your fingers do the talking and you experience a bliss like never before.

I usually start off with just random jamming, or even a song I know very well. Once I have submersed myself into this state, I can let go and find new sounds, new combinations of notes and lyrics to accompany the sound.

As I mentioned, this isn’t a scientific approach to Flow State, but it’s something that works for me most of the time. Sometimes, I smoke a bit too much and prefer to chill and watch a show or something like that.