Last week, I wrote about flow, what it is, and how I began to pursue inviting more of the feeling into my life in 2020. While in M. Csikszentmihalyi’s conceptual framework the basic descriptive outline of what flow is is fairly simple, it is only the starting point. Once we understand what flow is and where it can be found, “Dr. C” prompts us to consider the purpose of flow in life: the provision of enjoyable experiences.
Importantly, these enjoyable experiences—i.e., flow activities—are intrinsically motivated, or what Csikszentmihalyi calls autotelic (auto = self, telos = end goal). This means that practical activities that can generate flow are, in and of themselves, their own reward. They are done because they are enjoyable, and there need not necessarily be larger purpose. The objective in feeling more flow—understood as practicing ordering of consciousness—then, is to develop an autotelic personality. That is, to create a self that is motivated by its own goals, and which easily converts psychic entropy—disordered consciousness—into flow by mastering a set of practices. Herein lies the liberatory potential of this idea: these practices can be undertaken regardless of circumstances, stresses, and adversities.
Read moreAs I mentioned last week, for my first round of play with the Feelings Collector I chose to invite the feeling of “flow” into my life. Early on in the year, Natalia—in her role as MC for the game—sent us a prompt to brainstorm about “portals” to our chosen feeling. Feelings portals are those areas of activity in our life where we want to have more of the feeling, where we think we might find more of the feeling, or simply a point of departure for an open-ended exploration into the feeling. My natural inclination was to take the free-form approach and I began to play through the portal of reading.
Given my academic background, I instinctively reached for a scholarly volume on flow. The first book that I read on the topic was “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. “Flow” was not only my point of departure, but it also became my north star over the course of the year. “Flow” is a remarkable book. The acuity, brevity, and clarity of its prose are exemplary. But the book’s erudition and the significance of its findings are what made it truly special for me.
Read moreSince January 2020, I have been playing a year-long game called the Feelings Collector with a friend of mine, Natalia. Natalia is a game maker and the Feelings Collector was a game that she had been playing on her own for a few years but decided to debut as a multi-player in 2020. The game is simple, but profound. You play by first asking yourself “what feeling do you want to have more of this year?” Then, you do a few exercises to answer that question and explore your current relationship to the feeling. Next you identify areas in your life where you might be able to find more of your chosen feeling. After this, you’re off on an open-ended adventure of self discovery.
In 2020, the game took the form of an email newsletter that Natalia sent about once every six weeks or so. In each email, Natalia shared her own journey with her chosen feeling and provided some exercises, prompts, and guidance to try out for the participants. The game can be played at any speed, at any time, and at any level of commitment you choose. At its core, the game is about learning how to tune into your inner compass, to honor your desires, and follow your intuitions. The Feelings Collector encourages its players to be receptive to the synchronicities that arise when attention is consciously directed toward a goal.
Read more