By Susan Booth Mack Snipes
Have you ever had one of those days that when you got to the end of it and looked back at what was accomplished, you were amazed? Everything on your herculean to-do list got done and then some. And you had time to chat with a friend and to enjoy all the interactions along the way. You found new ideas develop as solutions to problems, and things dovetailed in a way that was not so much multitasking, but infinite unfolding.
A few months ago my husband and I had a lot of those days, and we began to notice that as we were consciously yielding to the divine Mind as the source of all action and impulsion, we experienced this inevitable flow of God’s infinite goodness. We also became aware of a pull upon thought to keep taking up a more linear, controlling, fearful approach to the day based on us being the source of responsibility for getting things done.
The difference was so noticeable that we began to pray about how to live consistently with this sense of flow, and it led us to realize that to the infinite Principle, divine Love, flow is the natural action of expression.
The book of Malachi in the Bible says: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (3:10).
From the standpoint of flow, I would interpret this to mean to bring thought into alignment with the tithing of gratitude, and that will align you with the endless flow of outpouring goodness. And Christ Jesus told his followers to quit being so concerned about how they were going to earn a living, get food and clothing, and so forth. He said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). So again, the wisdom on “flow” seems to be to seek the consciousness of God’s reign of universal harmony, always at hand, and then all that we need to achieve or acquire flows naturally from that state of thought.
My husband and I began to put this to the test each day. We endeavored to align ourselves with a relaxed and joyous sense of divine Love’s completeness instead of an unfinished place in thought, and to set aside the daily agendas that pressed upon us to merely get things done. And if we found ourselves hitting walls of frustration on a project, instead of thrashing around for human solutions or trying to rearrange the agenda, we prayed to rediscover the joy and peace of feeling God’s work already done. Invariably this proved to be the most joyous and productive way to proceed.
For instance, one day we were on a trip to get some information about an activity, which we expected would then lead us to some days and weeks of Internet research in order to purchase needed equipment. We awakened that morning and began to plan an agenda that we thought would be logical timing-wise. (In retrospect we realized this had not been “flow” thinking.) From the moment we set off for breakfast we started hitting walls – the equipment we wanted to see wasn’t functioning well in cold weather, and the people who needed to help us were busy with other tasks. By midmorning we felt so unproductive that we wondered if we should just drive home.
But we stopped to pray first. Wanting to get a jump on the busy day ahead had caused us to miss our normal study of the weekly Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly. So we drove to a wildlife preserve and enjoyed listening to the audio version of the Lesson while sitting in the car and taking in the beauty of the scenery. We stopped the audio recording to share spiritual ideas with each other, and we quickly began to feel again that familiar release of “seeking first the kingdom of God” and “bringing the tithes into the storehouse.”
Then we just listened for the next right thing to do, and surprisingly it came to go to a specific place for lunch. We had a wonderful meal, again looking out over mountains and a beautiful valley. Then we went back to the place where the equipment was, tried it out, and were able to purchase it at a reduced rate from extremely helpful people.
Other tasks that day were completed easily and efficiently. That night as we prepared for bed, we marveled at the productivity of that day. What a change that small yet significant shift in thought had made to being in the flow.
It reminded us of a statement that Mary Baker Eddy, who started The Christian Science Monitor, made in the textbook of Christian Science: “We shall obey and adore in proportion as we apprehend the divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no more over the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence of our God” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 140).
Rejoicing in the affluence of God. Now that’s what it takes to live in the flow of the infinite, and I am becoming convinced that it is not only the way to live joyously, it is the best way to be productive, too.
