Chapter 1
Csikszentmihalyi’s first chapter serves as an introduction to the entire book, establishing his overall argument and all of his basic premises. He establishes his definition of “flow” as “the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered, and they want to pursue whatever they are doing for its own sake”, and this definition is the basis of Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of “optimal experience”. Optimal experience concerns engaging in a particular activity in the most rewarding way possible. Csikszentmihalyi asserts that a optimal experience is a happy experience. These experiences are not necessarily enjoyable at the time, but with reflection they are the most rewarding times in a person’s life.
To actively pursue optimal experience through flow, Csikszentmihalyi maintains that the universe does not naturally facilitate happiness and that human culture has created “shields” to the disorder that the universe can inflict on human consciousness. He spends significant time criticizing the system of materialism, where people try to accumulate goods to give meaning to their lives. By pursuing flow in individual, daily activities, Csikszentmihalyi believes that “power returns to the person” as social expectations can be forgotten. Control of consciousness that leads to “personal liberation” can give life more meaning.
Chapter 2
Physic entropy, or disorder, is the “disorganization of the self that impairs its effectiveness.” The reverse of this state is optimal experience. Optimal experience can be pursued even in seemingly meaningless situations. Csikszentmihalyi gives the example of a factory worker who created his own goal of decreasing the amount of time that it takes for him to accomplish his repetitive job. He has almost completely explored his goal and has accordingly given himself new more challenging goals, such as taking a night course on electronics. He achieved “negentropy”, the opposite of physic entropy, and was able to expand his concept of self in the process.
Through balancing what Csikszentmihalyi calls “differentiation” and “integration” the self can be made more complex and life can be made more meaningful. Differentiation is the development of a self as a more unique individual. If only this part of the self is developed, there is a risk of egotism. Integration is connection with other people. If a person only develops integration, they can begin to lack individuality. Flow helps integrate these two aspects creating a concept of self that has differentiated, personal skills placed in an integrated context.
Chapter 3
In exploring happiness, Csikszentmihalyi makes a distinction between pleasure and enjoyment. He defines pleasure as “a feeling of contentment that one achieves whenever information in consciousness says that expectations set by biological programs or by social conditioning have been met.” Enjoyment occurs when a person has “gone beyond what he or she has been programmed to do and achieved something unexpected….” Enjoyment can be pursued within everyday activities and even be a part of activities that provide pleasure. Food can give pleasure because it meets the biological needs of the body, but through extra effort and exploration, eating and cooking can provide enjoyment beyond this biological imperative.
An experience that is most enjoyable, and is therefore an optimal experience, is most often pursued as “an end in itself.” It is “autotelic”; “auto meaning self, and telos meaning goal.” In addition to this, a flow activity requires all of a person’s attention to be focused on the activity. You engage in an activity so completely, that there is no need to wonder about the effectiveness of an activity. Furthermore an enjoyable experience has clear goals and decreases self-consciousness.
Chapter 4
Csikszentmihalyi’s exploration of the response of autotelic personalities in unbearable situations was fascinating. He focuses on people who were in confinement. One such person was Tollas Tibor, a poet who spent time in solitary confinement during Hungarian communist regime. He and his fellow inmates devised a competition where they attempted the best translation of poems. To organize this took many hours of planning. Even the process of selecting a poem took time. By completely pursuing an activity to stretch their mental capacity, the inmates were able to escape their surroundings and work in a flow state.
These individuals exhibited autotelic traits, because they are “bent on doing their best in all circumstances….” They used their free time and physic energy to discover “new opportunities for action”. A narcissist in the same situations would fall apart due to negative external conditions. By releasing concern of the self, flow may be more effectively pursued.
Chapter 5
Excursions of the body are particularly good instances for flow states. To be so though, the mind must be fully engaged in the physical activity. One such example of this is sex. Sex can be a source of pleasure, meeting a biolocially prescribed need, or it can be a source of flow when more thorough effort is invested into it. When physiological elements and elements of love are added to sexuality, sexuality can be a source of flow. Sex can be made enjoyable “if we are willing to take control of it, and cultivate it in the direction of greated complexity,” where “enjoyable” is Csikszentmihalyi’s definition of going beyond expectations and biological need.
Csikszentmihalyi also explores the physicality of Hatha Yoga, as it very closely embodies the goals of flow states. “Both try to achieve a joyous, self-forgetful involvement through concentration, which in turn is made possible by a discipline of the body.” Hatha Yoga requires complete concentration on mental and physical aspects of living. The goal of both the process of Hatha Yoga and flow are to gain control over consciousness.
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