Dr. Evan’s story is a fascinating one. He found himself in the darkest moments, mental health crisis and emotional turmoil. And by finding himself again, he found art and, more importantly, became art. Not like a typical painting, but rather the meaning of life, to live as art, to play, to connect, to share & express all that life has to offer and become the medicine we seek in the process.
But what does it mean to live life as art!? The great mystery of life. To create as we live. With every word we speak, every action we make, and every breath we take. We imagine that to truly be art is to be so immersed & engaged in life that the process of living is the process of creation. A state that ancient gurus & modern-day science still study to this day. It’s the exploration of human performance.
Yet, we know that it doesn’t have to take radical reorganization to get to this state; we can hack it. And, high-level performers, artists, and musicians are in this peak flow state more often than not. That’s the power of art.
We asked Dr. Evan Johnson what he thinks of this topic and what’s happening when our favorite artists, musicians, and performers are “in the zone.” Here’s what he said,
“Flow state occurs between alpha & theta brain wave states. This is the opening to the subconscious mind. When the brain wave states start to shift, an attunement happens, and the neural networks are primed for creation, expression, and even beyond. At the same time, gamma brain waves initiate, and the individual enters heightened consciousness. The gamma brain waves draw information in from the field & different edges of consciousness, and actual ganglia in the cortex to make sense of more complex experiences. Societal expression, learning, systematic & procedural memory, and self-expression start to find a coherent rhythm. Next, there is synchronization between the hemispheres of the brain. The right & left hemispheres find coherence. And lastly, transient hypofrontality reduces the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This is part of the brain that houses our perceptions of self, the inner critic and the voice inside of us that wants to close the door to the subconscious mind & prevent a new reality from coming to life.”
This is probably why artists state the feeling of being alive like nothing else matters, the seismic shift & time dilation of high performance & a whole lot of fun!
As a former two-sport college athlete, Dr. Evan explains the biggest of stages brought out the most extraordinary levels of stillness & serenity. Experts say that flow & peak performance arises when a person’s skills, talents, and gifts are challenged just enough to put them at the edge of focus, presence, and levels of expansion that take them to the next level of who they are and how they show up. Art & performance is no different. Each show is different, each album & stage with a new swagger, and each year the evolution of someone’s passion is directly connected to who they become in the process.
Dr. Evan, one of the world’s leaders in flow & peak performance, explains that this is a typical process, and we’ve found ways to hack it, accelerate it, and do it in a way that’s specific to each artist and their most significant expression.
Now, he has dedicated his life to a greater mission, to help people understand that they are the medicine. There comes a point when people no longer have to rely on the outside world for the answers. We are all the doctors of the future. Sometimes it takes a while to remember this, yet it happens at the right time, in the right place, for the right reason.
So now we can choose what is next as humans and become art. As Dr. Evan would say, it’s time to take our mind, body, and spirit and turn it into the medicine we seek. So what kind of art will you live as today?
