A key component to understanding flow is understanding how it is different than the current world view. And one of the best ways to see that difference is through words, or vocabulary. To that end, once a week I will blog about common words and how they are different in flow. By reading these “definitions” you will get a greater insight into the concept of flow!
Intolerance
When you are in flow you are your most successful, and that means that you have no “need” to disparage others in order to feel superior or fill some void. Intolerance stems mainly from ignorance and societal conventions. No one is born intolerant of others, especially when it comes to ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, etc. Intolerance is something that is taught, and it really is only allowed to fester when there is a willing host. What does that mean? If a child is happy in his life, content with the way things are, there is no need to be intolerant of anybody else.
Yet if there are blockages that are affecting the child, the situation changes and the child is susceptible to intolerance. These blockages can include virtually anything from poverty to an abusive parent. Rather than resolve his own issues, he takes out all his frustration in life on others. There was a conversation in Alex Haley’s Roots miniseries that best summed up this condition. Basically two characters were talking about why slavery was a good thing. One character said that slavery was beneficial because no matter how down on his luck a white man got, he knew he was always better than a black man.
Intolerance is also a key component of many other flow blockages. War cannot exist without intolerance. The enemy must always be vilified, and that means creating an air of intolerance. If you want voters to ignore problem issues yet vote for certain candidate that candidate need only invoke intolerance to gain support. In America, issues such as gay marriage, flag burning, and displaying the Ten Commandments in public places are used to distract voters and incite their intolerance over “the enemy”.
Intolerance as defined above is incompatible with flow.