THOUGHTS AND COMMENTARY
Commentaries and essays on a variety of topics including parenting, the capacity for love, emotions, mindfulness and social issues.
A Book Excerpt From
The Road to Neuroplasticity and Change to Heal Trauma, Improve Cognitive Capacity and Maximize Performance
ABOUT THE BOOK
ACHIEVING A FLOW STATE
See Also:
Divergent Thought and Creativity
Achieving Creative Flow Boost and Reignite Creativity
Creativity and Visualization
The Neuroscience of Creativity
Divergent Thought and Creativity
Achieving Creative Flow Boost and Reignite Creativity
Creativity and Visualization
The Neuroscience of Creativity
A Flow State is a mental state in which a person is fully immersed in an activity with a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. You may hear it called Flow, In the Zone or sometimes Hyperfocus.
Characterized by complete absorption in what you are doing and a resulting loss in your sense of space and time. The flow state has been described as the "optimal experience" in which one gets high gratification from the experience. Achieving this experience is considered to be personal and depends on the ability of the individual.
The flow state shares many characteristics with hyperfocus. However, hyperfocus is not always described positively. Read more about hyperfocus on the next page.
Six factors of flow:
Those aspects can appear independently. In combination they compose a flow experience.
Three other components as being a part of the flow experience:
The capacity and desire to overcome challenges in order to achieve goals not only leads to the optimal experience, but also to a sense of life satisfaction overall.
A flow state can be entered while performing any activity, although it is most likely to occur when one is wholeheartedly performing a task or activity for intrinsic purposes (motivation for personal gratification).
Passive activities like watching TV usually do not elicit flow experiences as you have to actively do something to enter a flow state.
Flow theory states three conditions that have to be met to achieve a flow state:
Challenges to staying in flow include states of apathy, boredom, and anxiety.
Specific personality traits may be better able to achieve flow more often. These include curiosity, persistence, low self-centeredness.
People who have experienced flow, describe the following feelings:
THE BRAIN WAVES THAT AFFECT THE FLOW STATE
All humans have five different types of electric patterns or what are known as “brain waves.” Brain waves can be seen on an EEG. These waves are produced by electrical pulses from neurons during communication with each other. The 5 brainwaves are:
The wave speed is measured in Hertz (cycles per second) and change according to actions and feelings. When a slower brainwave is dominant, you feel slow, sluggish, or tired. And when a faster brainwave is in control you feel wired or hyper or alert. Multiple streams of brain waves may occur simultaneously but only one is dominant at a time.
Gamma Brain Waves are the fastest brainwaves (high frequency). They are associated with simultaneous processing of information from different functional brain areas. This is important for cognitive functioning like learning, memory and information processing.
Beta Waves (12 – 40 Hz) are associated with normal consciousness and the heightened states of alertness, logic and critical reasoning. Optimum levels make us focused.
Alpha Waves (8 – 12 Hz) are dominant during quiet thought, deep relaxation, daydreaming or meditation. Alpha is the frequency between our conscious thought and our subconscious. This is the Flow State Zone.
Theta Waves (4 – 8 Hz) occur in sleep but may be also dominant during deep meditation. In this state we are in a dream with imagery, intuition and deep awareness. This mproves intuition, creativity, and triggers the Flow State Zone.
Delta Waves (0 – 4 Hz) are the slowest. They are experienced in a deep, dreamless sleep and in very deep meditation. Deep sleep triggers the healing process and regeneration.
The Alpha-Theta area at 8 Hz is recognized as the State of Flow. This is the boundary line between the conscious and the subconscious mind. In sports performance it begins with Beta and moves into Alpha and finally Theta. Alpha Brain waves trigger peak performance. In intense creativity, you have a burst of theta that enables you to deliver at a higher level. This is when work feels effortless. This zone is also where Gamma waves can be produced . Gamma waves contribute to ideas, connect memories, and stimulate creative action.
All five brain wave states contribute to our conscious thought, actions, behaviors, and feelings. Too much or too little of each state leads to problems. Finding optimum levels will enable peak performance and contribute to State of Flow
Click Next to read about Hyperfocus.
Characterized by complete absorption in what you are doing and a resulting loss in your sense of space and time. The flow state has been described as the "optimal experience" in which one gets high gratification from the experience. Achieving this experience is considered to be personal and depends on the ability of the individual.
The flow state shares many characteristics with hyperfocus. However, hyperfocus is not always described positively. Read more about hyperfocus on the next page.
- Some examples include spending too much time playing video games or watching television.
- Risk getting side-tracked and absorbed by one aspect of an task to the detriment of the assignment.
- Hyperfocus can “capture” a person, causing them to appear unfocused or to start several projects but not completing them.
Six factors of flow:
Those aspects can appear independently. In combination they compose a flow experience.
- Intense and focused concentrationon the presentmoment
- Merging of action and awareness
- A loss of reflective self-consciousness
- A sense of personal control or agency over the situation or activity
- A distortion of temporal experience, one's subjective experience of time is altered
- Experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding, also referred to as autotelic experience
Three other components as being a part of the flow experience:
- Immediate feedback
- Feeling that you have the potential to succeed
- Feeling so engrossed in the experience, that other needs are not important
The capacity and desire to overcome challenges in order to achieve goals not only leads to the optimal experience, but also to a sense of life satisfaction overall.
A flow state can be entered while performing any activity, although it is most likely to occur when one is wholeheartedly performing a task or activity for intrinsic purposes (motivation for personal gratification).
Passive activities like watching TV usually do not elicit flow experiences as you have to actively do something to enter a flow state.
Flow theory states three conditions that have to be met to achieve a flow state:
- The activity must have a clear set of goals and progress. This adds direction and structure to the task.
- The task must have clear and immediate feedback. This helps the person negotiate changing demands and allows them to adjust performance to maintain the flow state.
- One must have a good balance between the perceived challenges of the task at hand and their own perceived skills. One must have confidence in one's ability to complete the task at hand.
Challenges to staying in flow include states of apathy, boredom, and anxiety.
- Apathy is when challenges and skill level are low producing a general lack of interest in the task.
- Boredom is when challenges are low but skill level exceeds those challenges causing one to seek higher challenges.
- Anxiety occurs when challenges are so high that they exceed one's perceived skill level causing distress and uneasiness.
Specific personality traits may be better able to achieve flow more often. These include curiosity, persistence, low self-centeredness.
- People with most of these personality traits have an autotelic personality. The term “autotelic” derives from two Greek words, auto, meaning ‘self’, and telos meaning ‘goal’. Being Autotelic means having a self-contained activity, one that is done not with the expectation of some future benefit, but simply to experience it as the main goal.
People who have experienced flow, describe the following feelings:
- Completely involved in what we are doing - focused, concentrated.
- A sense of ecstasy - of being outside everyday reality.
- Great inner clarity - knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing.
- Knowing that the activity is doable - that our skills are adequate to the task.
- A sense of serenity - no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
- Timelessness - thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by the minute.
- Intrinsic motivation - whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.
THE BRAIN WAVES THAT AFFECT THE FLOW STATE
All humans have five different types of electric patterns or what are known as “brain waves.” Brain waves can be seen on an EEG. These waves are produced by electrical pulses from neurons during communication with each other. The 5 brainwaves are:
- Gamma (fastest)
- Beta
- Alpha
- Theta
- Delta (slowest)
The wave speed is measured in Hertz (cycles per second) and change according to actions and feelings. When a slower brainwave is dominant, you feel slow, sluggish, or tired. And when a faster brainwave is in control you feel wired or hyper or alert. Multiple streams of brain waves may occur simultaneously but only one is dominant at a time.
Gamma Brain Waves are the fastest brainwaves (high frequency). They are associated with simultaneous processing of information from different functional brain areas. This is important for cognitive functioning like learning, memory and information processing.
- Too much results in Anxiety, Hyperarousal and Stress
- Too little results in ADHD, Depression, or Learning Disabilities
- Increase them with Meditation
Beta Waves (12 – 40 Hz) are associated with normal consciousness and the heightened states of alertness, logic and critical reasoning. Optimum levels make us focused.
- Too much results in Anxiety, Adrenaline, High Arousal, Inability to Relax, Stress
- Too little results in ADHD, daydreaming, depression, poor cognition
- Optimal Levels lead to focus, memory, problem solving
- Increase them with Coffee, Energy Drinks, or Creative Flow
Alpha Waves (8 – 12 Hz) are dominant during quiet thought, deep relaxation, daydreaming or meditation. Alpha is the frequency between our conscious thought and our subconscious. This is the Flow State Zone.
- Too much results in Daydreaming, inability to focus, deep relaxation
- Too little results in Anxiety, High Stress, Insomnia, OCD
- Optimal Alpha Waves result to: Flow State
- Increase with Alcohol, Marijuana, relaxants, some antidepressants
Theta Waves (4 – 8 Hz) occur in sleep but may be also dominant during deep meditation. In this state we are in a dream with imagery, intuition and deep awareness. This mproves intuition, creativity, and triggers the Flow State Zone.
- Too much results in ADHD, depression, hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattentiveness
- Too little results in Anxiety, poor emotional awareness, stress
- Optimal result in Flow State, Creativity, emotional connections, intuition, and relaxation
- Increase with Depressants
Delta Waves (0 – 4 Hz) are the slowest. They are experienced in a deep, dreamless sleep and in very deep meditation. Deep sleep triggers the healing process and regeneration.
- Too much results in brain injuries, learning problems, inability to think, severe ADHD
- Too little results in Inability to rejuvenate body, revitalize the brain, and poor sleep
- Optimal results in stimulation of healing, aids in restorative sleep
- Increase with Depressants, sleep
The Alpha-Theta area at 8 Hz is recognized as the State of Flow. This is the boundary line between the conscious and the subconscious mind. In sports performance it begins with Beta and moves into Alpha and finally Theta. Alpha Brain waves trigger peak performance. In intense creativity, you have a burst of theta that enables you to deliver at a higher level. This is when work feels effortless. This zone is also where Gamma waves can be produced . Gamma waves contribute to ideas, connect memories, and stimulate creative action.
All five brain wave states contribute to our conscious thought, actions, behaviors, and feelings. Too much or too little of each state leads to problems. Finding optimum levels will enable peak performance and contribute to State of Flow
Click Next to read about Hyperfocus.
STARLIGHT POETRY BY KAI
View Me on Twitter @kairosoflife
See Creativity Chaos - a Creativity Blog by Kai
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View Me on Twitter @kairosoflife
See Creativity Chaos - a Creativity Blog by Kai
About | Reprints & Copyrights | Home
© 2019-2020 Copyright Starlight Poetry
VIEW FULL SITE DIRECTORY