Name: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Price: $12.91 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly
ISBN: 9780061339202

About This Book

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

ISBN: 9780061339202

"Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a groundbreaking book that has been a cornerstone in the field of positive psychology for decades. First published in 1990, this classic work has been updated and re-released in various formats, including the Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition in 2008.

Who Uses It?

This book is primarily used by students, educators, and professionals interested in understanding the concept of "flow" and how it can be applied to achieve optimal experiences in various aspects of life. It is particularly relevant for those studying psychology, education, and personal development.

History and Editions

The book has been widely acclaimed for its insightful research on consciousness, personal psychology, and spirituality. Written by renowned psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow" explores the state of consciousness known as "flow," where individuals experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and total involvement with life. The book has been praised for its ability to guide readers on how to order the information that enters their consciousness to discover true happiness and unlock their potential.

Author and Other Works

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a leading researcher in the field of flow states. Born in 1934 in Croatia, he has taught at both Chicago and Claremont Graduate University. His work has been instrumental in shaping the field of positive psychology. While "Flow" remains his most famous work, Csikszentmihalyi has also written other notable books such as "Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention."

Key Features

Optimal Experience: The book delves into the concept of "flow," a state of consciousness characterized by deep enjoyment and total involvement.
Positive Psychology: It applies positive psychology principles to guide readers on how to achieve meaningful experiences.
Research-Based: The book is grounded in extensive research, including many studies conducted by Csikszentmihalyi himself.
Practical Insights: It provides concrete examples and principles derived from the research, making it a practical guide for living a more meaningful life.

Detailed Information

ISBNs and Formats

Hardcover: ISBN-13: 9780061339202

eTextbook: ISBN-13: 9780061339202 (The ebook for "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" is available right here on eCampus.com!)

Paperback: ISBN-13: 0061339202

Publication Details

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Publication Date: July 1, 2008

Number of Pages: 336

Language: English

Rental Options

Rental options are available through eCampus.com with various rental durations.

Other Editions and Formats

While the specific editions and formats listed above are the most commonly referenced, it's important to note that additional formats might be available. Always check eCampus.com for the most up-to-date and accurate information on available formats and rental options.

Preface	p. xi
Happiness Revisited	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Overview	p. 5
The Roots of Discontent	p. 8
The Shields of Culture	p. 10
Reclaiming Experience	p. 16
Paths of Liberation	p. 20
The Anatomy of Consciousness	p. 23
The Limits of Consciousness	p. 28
Attention as Psychic Energy	p. 30
Enter the Self	p. 33
Disorder in Consciousness: Psychic Entropy	p. 36
Order in Consciousness: Flow	p. 39
Complexity and the Growth of the Self	p. 41
Enjoyment and the Quality of Life	p. 43
Pleasure and Enjoyment	p. 45
The Elements of Enjoyment	p. 48
The Autotelic Experience	p. 67
The Conditions of Flow	p. 71
Flow Activities	p. 72
Flow and Culture	p. 77
The Autotelic Personality	p. 83
The People of Flow	p. 90
The Body in Flow	p. 94
Higher, Faster, Stronger	p. 96
The Joys of Movement	p. 99
Sex as Flow	p. 100
The Ultimate Control: Yoga and the Martial Arts	p. 103
Flow through the Senses: The Joys of Seeing	p. 106
The Flow of Music	p. 108
The Joys of Tasting	p. 113
The Flow of Thought	p. 117
The Mother of Science	p. 120
The Rules of the Games of the Mind	p. 124
The Play of Words	p. 128
Befriending Clio	p. 132
The Delights of Science	p. 134
Loving Wisdom	p. 138
Amateurs and Professionals	p. 139
The Challenge of Lifelong Learning	p. 141
Work As Flow	p. 143
Autotelic Workers	p. 144
Autotelic Jobs	p. 152
The Paradox of Work	p. 157
The Waste of Free Time	p. 162
Enjoying Solitude and Other People	p. 164
The Conflict between Being Alone and Being with Others	p. 165
The Pain of Loneliness	p. 168
Taming Solitude	p. 173
Flow and the Family	p. 175
Enjoying Friends	p. 185
The Wider Community	p. 190
Cheating Chaos	p. 192
Tragedies Transformed	p. 193
Coping with Stress	p. 198
The Power of Dissipative Structures	p. 201
The Autotelic Self: A Summary	p. 208
The Making of Meaning	p. 214
What Meaning Means	p. 215
Cultivating Purpose	p. 218
Forging Resolve	p. 223
Recovering Harmony	p. 227
The Unification of Meaning in Life Themes	p. 230
Notes	p. 241
References	p. 281
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Excerpts

Flow
The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Introduction

Twenty-Three Hundred years ago Aristotle concluded that, more than anything else, men and women seek happiness. While happiness itself is sought for its own sake, every other goal--health, beauty, money, or power--is valued only because we expect that it will make us happy. Much has changed since Aristotle's time. Our understanding, of the worlds of stars and of atoms has expanded beyond belief. The gods of the Greeks were like helpless children compared to humankind today and the powers we now wield. And yet on this most important issue very little has changed in the intervening centuries. We do not understand what happiness is any better than Aristotle did, and as for learning how to attain that blessed condition, one could argue that we have made no progress at all.

Despite the fact that we are now healthier and grow to be older despite, the fact that even the least affluent among us are surrounded by material luxuries undreamed of even a few decades ago (there were few bathrooms in the palace of the Sun King, chairs were rare even in the richest medieval houses, and no Roman emperor could turn on a TV set when he was bored), and regardless of all the stupendous scientific knowledge we can summon at will, people often end upfeeling that their lives have been wasted, that instead of being filled with happiness their years were spent in anxiety and boredom.

Is this because it is the destiny of mankind to remain unfulfilled, each person always wanting more than he or she can have? Or is the pervasive malaise that often sours even our most precious moments the result of our seeking happiness in the wrong places? The intent of this book is to use some of the tools of modern psychology to explore this very ancient question: When do people feel most happy? If we can begin to find an answer to it, perhaps we shall eventually be able to order life so that happiness will play a larger part in it.

Twenty-five years before I began to write these lines, I made a discovery that took all the intervening time for me to realize I had made. To call it a "discovery" is perhaps misleading, for people have been aware of it since the dawn of time. Yet the word is appropriate, because even though my finding itself was well known, it had not been described or theoretically explained by the relevant branch of scholarship, which in this case happens to be psychology. So I spent the next quarter-century investigating this elusive phenomenon.

What I "discovered" was that happiness is not something that happens. It is not the result of good fortune or random chance. It is not something that money can buy or power command. It does not depend on outside events, but, rather, on how we interpret them. Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy.

Yet we cannot reach happiness by consciously searching for it. "Ask yourself whether you are happy," said J. S. Mill, "and you cease to be so." It is by being fully involved with every detall of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly. Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychologist, summarized it beautifully in the preface to his book Man's Search for Meaning:"Don't aim at success--the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue ... as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than oneself."

So how can we reach this elusive goal that cannot be attaitied bya direct route? My studies of the past quarter-century have convinced me that there is a way. It is a circuitous path that begins with achieving control, over the contents of our consciousness.

Our perceptions about our lives are the outcome of many forces that shape experience, each having an impact on whether we feel good or bad. Most of these:forces are outside our control. There is not much we can do about our looks, our temperament, or our constitution. We cannot decide--at least so far how tall we will grow, how smart we will get. We can choose neither parents nor time of birth, and it is not in your power to decide whether there will be a war or a depression. The instructions contained in our genes, the pull of gravity, the pollen in the air, the historical period into which we are born--these and innumerable other conditions determine what we see, how we feel, what we do. It is not surprising that we should believe that our fate isprimarily ordained by outside agencies.

Yet we have all experienced times when, instead of being buffered by anonymous forces,we do feel in control of our actions, masters of our own fate. On the rare occasions that it happens, we feel a sense of exhilaration, a deep sense of enjoyment that is long cherished and that becomes a landmark in memory for what life should be like.

This is what we mean by optimal experience.It is what the sailor holding a tight course feels when the wind whips through her hair, when theboat lunges through waves like a cblt--sails, hull, wind, and sea humming a harmony that vibrates in the sailor's veins. It is what a painter feels when the colors on the canvas begin to set up a magnetic tension with each other, and a new thing, a living form, takes shape in front of the astonished creator.

Excerpted from Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.