Flow

Dragon Mood? -- happy when I'm in the flow

(Listening to The Paul Schwartz Project's CD, Earthbound)

A number of years ago, I read Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book, Flow. I was stunned that someone could write with such clarity about something that feels so elusive as creativity and the losing of oneself in creative endeavors.

Mr. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."

I experience "flow" when I'm doing certain things, like playing the piano, drawing and/or designing on paper, riding my bicycle. Just this weekend, I spent four or five hours beading, making myself an eyeglass necklace, as well as several bracelets. I don't know where the afternoon went!?!

Mr. Csikszentmihalyi is a psychologist at the University of Chicago. His last name is pronounced chick-sent-me-high-ee.