The Art of Futuremaking: Becoming Your Best Self

Last week, I had the privilege and joy of returning to the Manchester School of Art for another full-day Modern Meditation-based (MMb) Flow workshop. The session was part of the school’s inspiring initiative, Future Me, which focuses on cultivating mindsets that help students overcome creative blocks, conquer fear of failure, and reconnect with their inner creativity.

Working alongside my good friend and constant inspiration, Sally Heady , we guided the students through a range of inner techniques to help them thrive. Our goal was to help them tackle their inner critic, imposter syndrome, and any negative thinking that was holding them back. We wanted to encourage them to get out of their own way and instead move toward authenticity, embodiment, and genuine achievement.

One thing that always surprises me about design education is how little focus there is on teaching creativity itself. Courses are great at covering projects, history, and technical skills—the what of design. But the how—insight, flow, spontaneity, and play—is often overlooked. These aspects are left to chance, learned passively rather than through direct experience or the application of timeless mind-body skills.

This is a big oversight because creativity isn’t just a skill—it’s a fusion of craft and art, a blending of learned techniques with something deeper and more profound. Yet, so many students are caught up in stress over results, deadlines, and competition. As my mentor David Lynch once said, “Stress and fear destroy creativity. They are toxic to the artist.” Creativity doesn’t come from struggle or suffering—it flourishes in joy.

Throughout my career as an architect, teacher, and meditation guide, I’ve learned to see creativity not just as a skill but as a state of being—a mind-body experience of wholeness, empowerment, and joy. Creativity flows effortlessly when we connect to a deeper momentum, transforming even the simplest actions into creative moments. This shift in perception, which lies at the heart of Modern Meditation, can change everything.

During the workshop, I introduced students to techniques for accessing this state of creative flow. Activities like flow drawing and spontaneous exercises were paired with simple Modern Meditation practices. By focusing on process rather than outcomes and embracing play and self-awareness, students unlocked their creative potential, silenced self-doubt, and cultivated essential skills like presence and focus.

At its heart, this practice is about fostering flow—a state where action feels effortless, time dissolves, and joy takes center stage. Rooted in ancient wisdom, flow bridges being and doing, enabling a higher state of consciousness. It’s a teachable and transformative experience that elevates how we think, feel, act, and create.

By developing the four key Modern Meditation skills—Attention, Awareness, Attitude, and Action—outlined in my book A Modern Way to Meditate, students can learn to stay present, embrace creativity, and make the unconscious conscious. With practice, flow becomes a constant companion, not just in creative work but in life itself.

The 10 Benefits of Flow:

1. Unified Action and Awareness – You become the action itself.
2. Selflessness – The inner critic fades, replaced by confidence.
3. Timelessness – The past and future dissolve into the now.
4. Effortlessness – Struggle is replaced by intrinsic joy.
5. Control – A natural sense of knowing what to do next emerges.
6. Intrinsic Motivation – The process becomes its own reward.
7. Presence – Distractions disappear, leaving total absorption in the moment.
8. Skill Expansion – Challenges push you beyond limits, building confidence.
9. Clear Goals – Each action flows seamlessly into the next.
10. Instant Feedback – Creativity becomes a self-correcting loop.

When we embrace flow, we move beyond stress and expectation, unlocking creativity, joy, and optimal performance in every moment.

Let’s unlock your best self and start futuremaking together.

If this resonates with you, let’s explore it together. I run these workshops across academia, businesses, and communities in the UK. My next MMb Flow workshop is:

Summer 2025 – Unleash Your Creative Potential: Awaken Your Inner Artist with Mick Timpson 7 June, 9:30 am–1:30 pm

You can learn more here.

If you’d like to dive deeper into Modern Meditation and its transformative techniques, check out my book, A Modern Way to Meditate. It’s available here.