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Issue 2, finding flow

Achieving a state of flow can significantly enhance your cognitive performance, boost your creativity, and bring more joy and fulfillment into your daily life. But what is flow? And how do you access it? These pieces will help you understand the essence of flow and provide practical insights on how to achieve this optimal state of consciousness.


"Flow has been described as effortless attention. It's total focus and absorbtion on a task. It's pleasurable. There's no distraction."

John Kounios, PhD, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and Creativity Research Lab director

Dive into the brain's inner workings during moments of creative flow. In this podcast episode, neuroscientist John Kounios shares insights from his study on jazz musicians, revealing the brain mechanisms that facilitate flow states. Learn how expertise influences brain activity and what it takes to achieve this state.


"Flow is the doorway to the 'more' most of us seek."

Steven Kotler, author and Human Performance expert

Steven Kotler explains the concept of flow and how this state of total attention and absorption can transform performance and enhance creativity. Learn about the 22 triggers that can help you achieve flow, such as: managing distractions, triggering dopamine, and maintaining intense concentration.


"The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow."

Hector Garcia, co-author of Ikigai

According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—the place where passion, mission, vocation, and profession intersect. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy.


Alter. Chindōgu

Chindōgu is the Japanese practice of pointless inventions. Literally translated, chindōgu means ‘unusual tool’. The crux of the concept is about solving problems with an invention that causes more issues than it solves. 

practice

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