Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1994

Explains how to attain inner fulfillment and improve satisfaction and control through a total absorption and involvement in the activities, events, and emotions of life. Read by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Book available.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You have heard about how a musician loses herself in her music, how a painter becomes one with the process of painting. In work, sport, conversation or hobby, you have experienced, yourself, the suspension of time, the freedom of complete absorption in activity. This is "flow," an experience that is at once demanding and rewarding--an experience that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates is one of the most enjoyable and valuable experiences a person can have. The exhaustive case studies, controlled experiments and innumerable references to historical figures, philosophers and scientists through the ages prove Csikszentmihalyi's point that flow is a singularly productive and desirable state. But the implications for its application to society are what make the book revolutionary. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Aristotle observed 2300 years ago that more than anything men and women seek happiness. Csikszentmihalyi (psychology, Univ. of Chicago) has for 25 years made similar observations regarding "flow," a field of behavioral science examining connections between satisfaction and daily activities. A flow state ensues when one is engaged in self-controlled, goal-related, meaningful actions. Data regarding flow were collected on thousands of individuals, from mountain climbers to chess players. This thoroughly researched study is an intriguing look at the age-old problem of the pursuit of happiness and how, through conscious effort, we may more easily attain it. Recommended for general readers.
- Terry McMaster, Utica Coll. of Syracuse Univ. Lib., N.Y .
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Nightingale-Conant; Abridged edition (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671894803
• ISBN-13: 978-0671894801
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,291,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Books on Cassette > Health, Mind & Body > Subliminal & Hypnosis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book that will held you understand how to get into the flow of things, October 23, 2008

By 

Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience (Audio CD)

I first discovered the concept of flow several years ago when
I was working at home on a grievance matter that I was
handling for my teacher's union . . . all of a sudden, I was
interrupted by a call from my massage therapist . . . she
was asking why I wasn't in her office for my appointment.

Now massages are one of the things I REALLY look forward
to . . . yet I had been so "into" what I was doing that the
appointment completely skipped my mind.

Sometime thereafter, I became acquainted with the work
of esteemed psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his
work on this subject . . . so when I just got the chance to hear
FLOW: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE--written
by and featuring the author--I jumped at the opportunity to learn
even more.

And learn I did in this fascinating book . . . most of all, I became
acquainted with the following major components of the flow experience:

* There's clarity of goals.

* Feedback is immediate. You know moment-by-moment how well
you're doing.

* The challenges of the activity are matched with the skills of the person.

* There's a feeling of focus on what you're doing.

* Everyday frustrations are removed from your attention.

* You feel that you can be control of your life.

* You also lose a sense of self-consciousness.

* And as I previously observed, a sense of time is transformed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Surfing the Slipstream of Sanctity, February 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience (Audio Cassette)

Flow cascades with liberating insight on how to derive real enjoyment moment-by-moment and taste the true richness of living. Csikszentmihalyi's (pronounced chick-sent-me-high) intelligence tuned my worldview to the positive flux of a pleasurable state of mind marked by concentration and deep satisfaction. With this keen manual for optimal existence, I now set "autotelic" challenges via an action system that accentuates the ebb between being and becoming. The rewards are powerful; a contented context - a connecting order that illuminates meaning and the potential to transform the entirety of life into a single flow activity that provides constant evolutionary purpose. An essential emanation for the idea generation. **** Mark Riva

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, August 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience (Audio Cassette)

Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com