What is Maslow’s peak/flow experience?
Abraham Maslow, a very influencial psychologist in the 20th century, developed the idea that there is a hierarchy of needs that all humans have. These range from the very basic, such as, the need for food, shelter, and sleep all the way up to the more complex and often rarely achieved need for self actualization. This final level of need involved a person achieving what they saw as the purpose of their life. These moments of complete actualization did not last for long periods of time. They happened and then merged back into the less fulfilling and much more common moments of their lives. However, it was reaching these points of satisfaction that permeated the rest of their life.
ShapeShifting actually fits the description of these fleeting moments of complete satisfaction.
Mihaly Csikszentmihaly spent many years doing follow up research to flush out what these moments of “peak experience” looked like. He called what he observed over those years “the flow experience”. Here is what he saw:
Control in flow
This is not the kind of control that comes from the compulsive need for domination. It is a state of security and relaxation with the complete absence of worry: the paradox known in Zen Buddhism as “control without controlling”.
Effortlessness
Flow involves flexibility and ease; everything works harmoniously and. A tennis match or a solo performance on stage may look strenuous from the outside; yet, if in fact the player is in flow, he or she does not experience any particular strain. The activity runs smoothly, guided by an inner logic. All necessary decisions arise spontaneously from the demands of the activity without any deliberate reflection.
An altered perception of time
In a deep flow-state, one’s normal perception of time is on hold. Time can either feel condensed - two hours feel like ten minutes, or expanded - seconds feel like minutes. That is why the flow-mode is called ‘timeless’.
The melting together of action and consciousness
Complete involvement creates a state in which there is no room for worry, fear, distraction or self-conscious rumination. Performers do not feel separated from their actions; they are one with their performance. This feeling of unity can expand to a person’s surroundings (nature) as well as to a whole group of people working together (team flow).
The autotelic quality of flow-experiences
From Greek autos – self and telos – goal. Not only achieving the goal of an activity is rewarding but the activity in itself is fulfilling. Flow is therefore “Immediate Return on Investment”.
What is being described here is a person feeling such a degree of satisfaction and spontaneity that they seem to transcend themselves.
This is the experience of ShapeShifting.