Can flow be dysfunctional? and how to improve it?(according to the article From Dys/Function to Flow from Rebecca J. Lloyd)

 The existential state of flow is experienced through merging of bodily action and awareness within the timeless nature of the present moment.  

Joyful movement, effortless exertion, fluidity, expansion, connectedness to the cosmos.... such moments emerge when one's action merges with one's awareness influenced by information theory and notions od mental order. 

There is no such a place or wish one would rather to go or do as the consuming the moment of now, the moment of presentness. Depending of what we are doing; sitting with the lover on the bench in the park, cooking pasta for dinner, reading a book, practicing yoga..... such moments carry the essence of flow, if we want to draw a flow theorist Csikszentmihalyi. 

The existential state of flow is an out of reach for the raw beginner. People should do doing activities for the sake of doing activity. Something similar Kant had in mind in his Critique of Practical Reason, where he argued that this reason are related to morality and hte Highest Good for humanity is complete moral virtue together with complete happiness. The only thing the human being need to act in life is without expectation. There is no real possibility of moral perfection in this life. But we must keep on trying to deserve the happiness without expecting anything in return. Duty because of duty is the only thing we need to do. First formulation of  the Categorical Imperative is a central concept  od Kantian deontological moral philosophy and goes"act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that id should become a universal law (Kant, 1785, p. 30).

But what if flow cease? What if we change habits?can flow be dysfunctional? how to be back to the track? Shifts in moods are likely... is it in that condition flow still possible? Is there  a possibility to create a new kind of flow that is more purposeful and bring more sense of gratitude and joy? and less dysfunctional, bad, poor, unpleasant? Depends of how much we perceive and receive but definitely this is a journey worth pursuing.

Flow research has shown that participants in any kind of activity needs clarity of purpose, a clarification, a procedure. If one applies Heidegger's philosophy in the context of thinking on flow, when one engages in such a cognitive act, less linear, which bringing a possibility for joyful existence, depicting such a concept invites the void of one's existence to also enter one's awareness as move toward the positivity. One moves toward a possibility of desired pleasure, emphasizing the space of between. Heidegger’s mindful sway contrasts Csikszentmihalyi’s preference of cre-ating a sense of mental order when making the best of a difficult situation. Csikszentmihalyi suggested a several steps: (a) to believe destiny is in your hands, (b) to focus attention on processing information from your surroundings, and (c) to discover new solutions and alternative goals that take into account the entire situation. We might consider Heidegger's notion of steadfastness: strength, decisiveness, waking of the concealed and retained, simplicity. 

Phenomenologically exploring dys-function to flow with a Heideggerian steadfastness thus affords one to sense more fully a journey that departs from the linear and what is preconceived or known, into a place of darkness as one moves with both strength and decisiveness toward the dim glow of self-surpassing. 

Balance between challenge and skill, a sensation of action merging with awareness, a set of clear goals, immediate feedback to one’s actions, the feeling of distraction being excluded from consciousness, no worry of failure, a loss of self-consciousness, and a distorted sense of time. Nuances of flow are very important, not only in art-making experiences, but also in the activities that are part of everyday life.  

The universal characteristics of flow are present, yet the degree to which the goals are clear in a moment-to-moment way differs and can be experienced in many ways. This increase the feeling of happiness and connectedness, and led to question of relational dynamics between peak flow experience and deep flow experience. FLOW is a phenomena which shape my life, discovering my research about the body, mind, movement and breath. Through Flow I am engaging in creative processes.

 

 

 

 

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(to be continued)