Shahram Chaudhry
While the control of consciousness immensely improves the quality of life it is hard to achieve because it can’t be transmitted through cumulative learning, instead it is acquired through trial and error and also because knowledge of control of consciousness needs to be reformulated according to cultural contexts.
I believe that the aim of flow-inducing activities is to promote deep concentration in order to teach oneself control of consciousness for e.g. sports players are physically separated from the audience and the outer world, immersing them fully into the ‘reality’ of the game. I also believe that ‘flow just flows (i.e. sometimes it just comes naturally) ‘ especially keeping the hanging out with friends example that the author gives. I have noticed over the period of the last two semesters that sometimes when I hangout with my friends, it’s really fun and refreshing and we don’t get bored even after talking for hours while at other times 5 minutes into the hangout and we’re all already bored and ready to head back. As the liveliest person in my friend group (or so I like to think), several times I’ve consciously tried to note what works for our group and what doesn’t but to no avail but now I understand the logic behind it .
Although all kinds of games (in a very broad sense) can be divided into 4 categories, agon (competition based games e.g. sports), alea (games of chance), vertigo (perception altering activities such as merry-go-round/scuba diving) and mimicry (creating alternate realities, all forms of art fall into this category), the aim of all of them is to transport participants into a new reality. I agree with the writer’s logic that flow inducing activities lead to growth because it is human nature to get bored or frustrated easily, if we engage in the same activity for too long, i.e. so we seek new challenges for enjoyment.
Another point the writer made and I resonate with is that if we try something new out of boredom and come across something challenging, although we have the option of stepping back into our comfort zone, it is hard for us to ignore a challenge once we’re aware of it. For example, several times over the weekend, my friend needed help with online payments bookings etc. although I failed several times and I was not in ideal conditions to help, I took the challenge personally and was more persistent and invested in solving the problem than he was even though I could easily ignore the problem as it wasn’t even my problem.
I believe that the writer’s observation that different cultures have developed their own forms of art, play and ritual to improve the quality of their experiences, and they probably occupy more time and energy than work holds true. For example, native new Guineans spend more time looking for colorful feathers for their ritual dances than food. Similarly, in my culture, cricket is a huge deal and you can see many people crazily following all the matches and others playing it even in the scorching summer heat.