The Flow State and the Other Side: Why Artists May Be Closer Than They Realize
Flow is the state where time dissolves, and creation comes alive.
What Is the Flow State?
Have you ever lost track of time while creating? The brush seems to move on its own, words spill faster than you can think, or a melody feels like it arrives fully formed. This is the flow state—a term psychologists use to describe the mental zone where challenge and skill perfectly meet (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).
For artists, flow is where time loosens and creation deepens. It is the state where many masterpieces take shape.
“Flow is the place where time disappears and creation happens.”
In a flow state, two hours can feel like ten minutes
What Flow Feels Like
In flow, ordinary time dissolves. Ten minutes may feel like hours, or hours like minutes. Your mind, hands, and heart seem to work together without resistance. Every move feels natural—less like invention, more like uncovering.
Neuroscientists have found that during flow, the brain quiets the part responsible for self-criticism while releasing dopamine and endorphins (Dietrich, 2004). This helps explain why flow feels at once peaceful and powerful.
When Artists Say It Was “Given”
Across history, some artists and songwriters have described their best work as feeling given—as if it came from somewhere beyond themselves. This is not the claim of every artist, but the stories repeat: the poem that seemed to write itself, the melody that arrived whole, the painting that appeared before the first stroke.
These accounts suggest that in deep flow, creators sometimes feel more like channels than makers.
“Some artists and songwriters have described their best work as feeling given—as if it came from somewhere beyond themselves”
People swear that what we know as ‘masterpieces” came from a source beyond themselves
Clairvoyants and Psychics: A Similar State
Clairvoyants, psychics, and mystics describe entering states that sound remarkably similar to flow: timelessness, openness, and a receptive awareness where information seems to arrive. They often frame this as “receiving messages from the other side.”
This doesn’t mean every artist is channeling spirits—it means the experiences overlap. Both artists in flow and psychics in their practice describe being in a receptive state where something greater than ordinary thought comes through.
What the Powerful Seek
Interestingly, artists and mystics are not the only ones interested in these states. Some of the world’s most powerful leaders have sought similar insights when ordinary strategy is not enough.
Business Insider profiled Kate Tomas, a psychic who has advised corporations, governments, and celebrities.
Fortune reported that executives sometimes consult psychics and astrologers when data cannot provide clarity (Fortune, 2015).
Vice revealed that some companies have even hired psychics as consultants, bringing these perspectives into boardrooms.
When facing complex or high-stakes choices, leaders sometimes look beyond conventional tools—toward sources others might dismiss.
“When data isn’t enough, some leaders look for insight from the unseen.”
Even CEOs have sought insight beyond strategy—artists may already be close.
Why This Matters for Artists
So why does this matter for artists?
Because the flow state that you naturally enter when you create—the state where time dissolves and focus deepens—is not so far from the state mystics and psychics describe, or the one leaders sometimes seek out.
This doesn’t mean every artwork is a channeled message. It means that as an artist, you may already be standing near the threshold of the same receptive space. And perhaps, if you listen in those moments, something surprising may arrive—something larger than you imagined.
“Artists may be one step from the same receptive state that visionaries and leaders seek—if we listen.”
Some artists throughout history say their work felt ‘given,’ not made
Flow as Healing and Revelation
Flow is also healing. Research shows it reduces stress, boosts joy, and helps people process trauma (Ulrich, 2016). But its deepest gift may be revelation.
Songwriters say their greatest hits were “downloaded.” Painters describe visions given to them. Writers wake with passages already written. These are not universal experiences, but they are powerful ones.
Maybe flow and the other side are not entirely separate. Maybe they are different ways of touching the same current of creativity and insight.
Final Thoughts
Flow state is where art comes alive, where time disappears, and where creators do their best work. Sometimes, artists have felt that their creations were given to them. Mystics describe receiving in similar states. Leaders sometimes seek that perspective when strategy alone falls short.
So perhaps the next time you lose yourself in flow, pause for a moment. Notice what comes through.
Flow may be more than focus. It may be a place where, if we listen, we stand just close enough to hear something greater.
