goals for the sixth evening

1
goals for the sixth evening

• to understand how to use the reminder dots for
  calming re-centering during the day
• to know what is meant by flow and how important
  this is for wellbeing and happiness
• to be clear about the specific formal belly
  practice and the relaxation/awareness challenges

2
research on how to feel really alive and well

• ESM - experience sampling method - genuine
  snapshots of present time experience
• 25 years of research into the experience of
  happiness, involvement, vitality, focus, and
  enjoyment
• studies in Canada, Australia, USA, Italy,
  Germany, Japan, India, Korea Thailand
• initially experts - musicians, athletes,
  surgeons, artists, chess masters - then people
  from all walks of life

3
the elements of enjoyment
flow experiences typically contain several of
these 8 elements

• usually involves a challenging activity requiring
  skills
• clear goals and rapid feedback on how were doing
• attention is largely absorbed by the activity
• the mind clears of irrelevant material
• there is a sense of exercising control
• loss of self-consciousness, though paradoxically
  the self tends to emerge stronger and more
  confident
• our sense of time bears little relationship to
  clock time
• the activity becomes an end in its own right

4
typical components of flow
the mind clears of irrelevant material including
self- consciousness
challenge
mental focus
skills feedback
nunc fluens
our sense of time changes and the activity
becomes valid in its own right
5
the challenge reward!!!

• when a person is able to organize his or her
  consciousness so as to experience flow
  as often as possible, the quality of
  life is inevitably going to improve
• flow makes the present more enjoyable
  but it also builds confidence and
  develops skills

Csikszentmihalyi M Flow the psychology of
happiness London Random Century Group, 1992
6
developing skills in application
formal practice
developing a trigger phrase/focus
first differential practice
second differential practice
the reminder dots are to encourage us to
re-centre just as much as to calm
the reminder dot exercise
stressful real life situations