Flow is probably the best state of our consciousness!
Flow state has been with us since the beginning of the human race, we just didn’t know, what it is and how to name it
In the 70s flow state was grounded by an American psychologist of Hungarian descent dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Together with his team, they conducted more than 10.000 interviews with various people from various cultures, rase, social status and professions. They wanted to know, when in their lives do they feel at their best and which activities really made them satisfied. This state of biggest happiness and satisfaction was named flow.
The flow state is determined by 4 components – STER
- SELFLESSNESS - A sense of self disappears
- TIMELESSNESS - The perception of time gets distorted
- EFFORTLESSNESS - A feeling of ease and control emerges
- RICHNESS - Action and awareness become one and one is so focused that the environment is barely noticeable
We talk about a state, where the whole experience becomes fluid and starts running in a current it becomes flowy. This is also the origin of the name since flow is flowy.
FLOW THROUGH HISTORY
Before 1970 many great thinkers of our time have already talked and wrote about flow indirectly. These thoughts were an inspiration for dr. Csikszentmihalyi’s research and they are today the foundation for flow state understanding, based on which also the program of Resna igra was developed.
Friedrich Nietzsche
1844 – 1900
Uber mensch – super human,
Reusch – flow
Will power
William James
1842 – 1910
The power of free will, importance of our nervous
Carl G. Jung
1908 – 1970
Collective subconscious knowledge, archetypes
Abraham Maslow
1908 – 1970
Self-actualization and peak performance states
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
1934 – 2021
Proved, defined, and applied the flow state. Biggest global flow state research
FLOW STATE AND NEUROSCIENCE
Apart from psychology, in the past 10 years flow was also defined by neuroscience. At the personal level the experience of flow can be totally different between individuals, therefore in reality this state is a very unique experience. But what neuroscience has found out is that in flow state the processes in our brain are practically the same for every individual:
Prefrontal cortex, where the highest cognitive functions are performed, shuts down.
The brain gets flooded by neurochemicals, that enhance and lift our well-being: dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, anandamide, and endorphins, sometimes also oxytocin
The brain waves are in the gamma and theta frequencies, which is the same as in meditation.
OTHER SOURCES ABOUTH THE SCIENCE OF FLOW STATE
Next to the key thinkers and theoretics of flow, Resna igra content was based on the findings of many organizations, scientists and researchers, which have dedicated their entire academic careers to flow state and connected topics.
- Dr. Adam Gazzaley – Ph.D. in Neuroscience Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York – Brain development, distractions, and multi-tasking
- Dr. Andrew Huberman – Ph.D Stanford University – Acute stress reaction in flow (fight or flight response)
- Dr. Angela Duckworth – Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania – Grit: The power of passion and perseverance
- Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman – Ph.D. Yale University – Creativity and human potential
- Dr. Andrew Newberg – Doctor and neuroscientist, who was the first to connect neuroscience, flow and mystical experiences
- Dr. Michael Gervais – Types of mentality
- Dr. Herbert Benson – Harvard University – Flow cycle
- Dr. Edwin A. Locke – University of Maryland in Dr. Gary P. Latham - University of Toronto – Theory of goal setting
- Dr. Martin Seligman – University of Pennsylvania – Positive psychology
- Dr. Edward Deci in Dr. Richard Ryan – Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
- Dr. Glenn fox – Ph.D. California university, Santa Cruz – Neuroscience and gratitude
- Dr. Paul Zak – Ph.D University of Pennsylvania – Neurochemistry of trust and love. He discovered the role of oxytocin
- Dr. Carol Dweck – Stanford University – Fix vs. Growth mindset
- Dr. Wendy Troxel – Ph.D. University Pitsbung – The influence of sleep on health
- Dr. Wendy Troxel – Ph.D. University Pitsbung – The influence of sleep on health
- Dr. Sarah Sarkis – Ph.D George Washington University – Connection between positive psychology, food, drugs and well-being.
- Dr. Keith Sawyer – Ph.D. University of Chicago – Creativity and group flow
- Dr. Christina Maslach – Stanford University – Burnout at work