Slow to Flow

by Nannette Foster

I don’t have an “addictive personality.”  As a freedom-lover, I am too fond of autonomy to let something take control of me. 

Except that time I had a sugar addiction in college and tried to see if I could live on brownies. 

Or those unhealthy relationships I stayed in way too long.

...Then there's Survivor.  

Last season was AWESOME!

OK, so maaaybe I have a few addictive tendencies.  

[Let me be clear up front that I am not making light of the destruction of substance abuse and other addictions. I am painfully familiar with the decimating effects of addiction. Please talk to a professional if you or a family member are under the bondage of addiction.]

The true idol in my life isn't an immunity idol. I have spent my life obsessed with one thing:

MOVEMENT

Specifically forward movement. Riding horses, hiking, driving, zip lining, vacations, adventures…I want to GO somewhere. Even relaxing on the beach, I’m reading a book with a moving plot, or drawing, or journaling. 

Maybe you're looking at this list thinking, “That’s not unhealthy.” And you would be absolutely right. These are all positive expressions of my commitment to forward movement. 

It’s all good when there’s fun to be had or a gentle flow to take part in. Where I get messed up is when I get DRIVEN. 

Have you experienced this shift?

For me it looks a lot like surfing.

Like looking for the perfect wave after a long paddle… voila! I catch a current of creative flow. Building movement carries me. I get stuff done. Doors open. Desperate to harness this momentum, I bust my butt to keep things going at a breakaway pace. Switching from riding to pushing, I am now obsessing. My work hours increase as my self care and healthy interactions decrease. Eventually I lose the current entirely and I’m bobbing about, alone and exhausted...

This is exactly what my project pattern used to look like. As a jewelry artist, I was always looking for that burst of inspiration. Hitting the current of momentum just right was addictive. I wanted to feed my buzz. Instead I’d wind up working for hours past exhaustion, nursing a box of wine with Survivor reruns playing in the background. All to numb the pressure of the looming deadline. 

One January I decided to take a post-holiday-rush break. A month later I finally began to unwind from the stress. That was concerning.

Art is supposed to be fun and relaxing. This was something else. 

It was consuming my life. 

What could have been a healthy habit became my addiction. 

Fast forward a few years. After a much needed sabbatical I took on a new passion project. Sure enough, the same pattern emerged. I know this isn’t it. What am I missing? 

Holy Spirit whispers,

Slow to flow.

Wait, what?! Slow down to stay in the flow? That’s counterintuitive.

Except it’s not. Because my intuition is exactly what I had been ignoring. 

(Side note: One of my soap boxes is the common use of “intuitive” in place of "assumptive" and ‘counterintuitive” in place of “countercultural.”)

Drivenness is a universal trap. But for passionate intuitives, it'll cut our creative legs out from under us. 

Over the last three years, I have become an avid student of working from rest, sustainability, and flow. The results for myself and other highly intuitive women is astounding… #itworks.

There isn’t a secret formula, but there is a starting point. 

Slow to flow. 

"Whoever believes in me [Jesus], as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit..." - John 7:38-39

 ^"If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." - Galatians 5:25

Holy Spirit is the author of flow and is never in a rush. 

Spirit-led intuition feels like being drawn, not driven.

Sounds delightful but illusive, doesn't it? Remember this, being a lover of Jesus, you are the home of the divine. You are seated in heavenly places. Everything is yours, including effortless movement.

Want to step into intuitive flow? Take the challenge below!

Breakthrough Challenge

1. Commit to co-creating a Slow-to-Flow pace with Holy Spirit as a part of your daily practice.

2. Download the Oasis Journal: A Replenishing Flow Prayer Journal. This is my gift to you to support your daily Slow-to-Flow ritual. Click here.

I want to hear from you! Comment and share this post with someone you love 🤗

🫶 Nannette