Image and Pilgrimage 3- Erin Comerford

Another concept covered by Turner in his book is the concept of flow. He defines flow as the holistic sensation when we act with total involvement. Flow is present in both religious rituals and in play. When one becomes fully immersed and energized in whatever it is they are doing, their mental state is said to be in flow. Some examples that I have seen personally have been in many different environments. The first one that comes to my mind is when I was a cheerleader in high school. Our team cheered for our basketball team in the winter and we stand at the end of the court next to the basketball hoop. When the guys are playing basket ball, we can see their faces because they are almost running directly to us. The look on their face during a game is so intent and focused that they are in a state of flow. It is evident by their expression and because they are fully immersed and energized in the game. You don't see this same flow from the boys sitting on the bench because they are not fully immersed at the time. Another place I have seen flow is in church. When my pastor is preaching, he is definitely in a state of flow. He is fully immersed in and energized about his sermon. The way he becomes fully immersed in by reading God's word from the bible aloud to the congregation and you can just tell that he is energized by the way he speaks and by the way he moves around while he is talking. This is something he is very passionate about and it shows by seeing him in a state of flow.