Liquid States of Mind

April 26th, 2006 Fred McVittie

William James (1892) famously uses the term ‘Stream of Consciousness’ to describe the unbroken succession of images which seems to characterize the flowing, river-like experience of wakeful awareness. He also writes of the ‘oceanic’ feelings associated with religious experience (1902), an entailment picked up by Freud (1973) and Clement (1994) and which also figures in first-person accounts of certain varieties of peak experience; a feeling of unbounded unity with the wider cosmos and an apparent dissolution of the boundary between self and world .

These two images, the stream and the ocean, can be seen as complementary features in an ontology, or rather a ‘hydrography’ of consciousness; at one extreme the subject is defined by the path of their individual stream; delineated, bounded, and temporal. At the other extreme the subject dissolves into a larger substrate, an all-encompassing, atemporal ocean. These two terms for particular radically different states of consciousness are entailments of an extended metaphor in which the operation of the mind is compared to the behavior of a liquid.

The metaphor does not just allow for these two entailments, but structures a range of discourses related to consciousness from the fields of psychology, technology and phenomenology. These include Csikszentmihalyi’s notion of flow (1990; 1997) immersion (Grau 2004), thought ripples (Greenfield 2001), and absorption (Gurwitsch 1979).

This deployment of a liquid metaphor in talking of consciousness has a long history and extensive current (sic.) use. Water, particularly, features significantly in many of the world’s religions and in mythological texts as a medium for describing cognitive states or processes which would otherwise be inconceivable, the most familiar of these probably being the Greek legends surrounding Lethe and Mnemosyne, the rivers of forgetting and remembering. Drawing on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory of Lakoff and Johnson (1999) and others, this metaphor can be shown not to be arbitrary and contingent, but as providing a consistent, coherent structure whereby the abstract notion of consciousness is made conceivable and articulate.

Clement, C. (1994). Syncope: The Philosophy of Rapture. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. New York, Harper & Row.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Creativity: flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York, HarperPerennial.

Freud, S. (1989). Formulations Regarding The Two Principles in Mental Functioning. The Freud Reader. P. Gay. New York, Norton: 301-306.

Grau, O. (2003). Virtual art: from illusion to immersion. Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press.

Greenfield, S. A. and T. F. T. Collins (2005). A Neuroscientific Approach to Consciousness. Amsterdam, Elsevier B.V.

Gurwitsch, A. (1979). Human Encounters in the Social World. Pittsburgh, PA, Duquesne University Press.

James, W. (1981). The Principles of Psychology. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press.

Posted in Clement, Catherine, Conference Abstract, Consciousness, Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi, Flow, Freud, Sigmund, Greenfield, Susan, Gurswitch, Aron, James, William, Liquid, Metaphor, Phenomenology, Psychology, Religion | No Comments »

Effortless Action as the removal of the Free Won’t

May 22nd, 2007 Fred McVittie

The condition of ‘Flow’ described by Cziksentmihalyi is the unimpeded acceptance of appropriate intuitive action, the minimal operation of the Free Won’t. This state is a non-standard experience of consciousness in which (self) awareness is both extended and heightened. An implication of this is that the awareness that we think of as normal is a construction of the ongoing operation of Free Won’t. We are normally self-aware because we are normally preventing ourselves from doing things. The Flow state is similar in many ways to that of Wu Wei, or ‘effortless action’ described in Chinese philosophy and analysed by Slingerland. The apparent paradox of ‘Effortless Action’ in which one ‘does nothing, and yet nothing is left undone’, is resolved if we understand that the ‘doing nothing’ which is referred to is the active nay saying which forms a part of routine consciousness. When this constant, identity-forming negation is removed, then what is left is the smooth, unimpeded flow of experience and being.

Slingerland, E. (2003) Effortless Action: Wu-wei As Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China. Oxford University Press.

Posted in Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi, Flow, Free will, Slingerland, Edward | No Comments »

Bad Mojo

June 29th, 2007 Fred McVittie

In writing about the experience of ‘flow’, Cziksentmihalyi treats it entirely as a positive way of being, allowing optimal performance of the task in hand and apparently having no questionable consequences. What is not brought out is the fact that flow demands no particular moral or ethical alignment; it is as easy to enter the flow state when engaged in a dangerous, illegal, or immoral activity as it is when involved in the kinds of activities Cziksentmihalyi indicates. In fact, it may even by simpler to experience flow when behaving ‘badly’ than when doing the right thing. One possible interpretation of flow is that it involves the automatic following of subconscious prompts without the usual steering provided by consciousness. As we engage in an activity, at each moment a number of possible alternative courses of action present themselves and unconsciously we begin to prepare ourselves for carrying out one of these possible alternatives. The alternative which the unconscious mind chooses, and which is subsequently presented to consciousness for approval prior to its being actuated, is ideally the most appropriate for the task. When this is the case then the conscious mind does not exercise its right of veto and the action selected by the unconscious is carried out. If this process is repeated, with unconsciously chosen actions constantly being allowed to proceed without the intervention of consciousness, then the feeling is one of unrestrained mastery and control. Everything that we do feels right. Also, because the conscious mind is not playing the role of censor or monitor in this process it becomes less prominent as a part of our experience; there is a sense in which consciousness seems to slip away leaving only the activity, to which we are unproblematically connected.

It is clear from this process than the conscious right of veto, our ability to say ‘no’ to an action begun by the unconscious, is constitutive of the self-consciousness which marks normal awareness and which possibly prevents our entering the flow state. However, as noted above, there is no requirement within this process that this unself-conscious engrossment can only be achieved in ‘good’ behaviours. On the contrary, the conscious exercising of our ability to stop ourselves carrying out certain actions, the use of what Libet refers to as the ‘free won’t', is mostly clearly in evidence when the action is socially or morally unacceptable. When we feel a temptation to carry out some behaviour which we know (consciously) to be wrong, then we are presented with a choice. We can either carry out the action and embrace the feeling of unimpeded flow that it brings, or we can veto the action. Whilst this latter option may not bring the sense of well-being that Cziksentimahayi indicates, it could nevertheless be said that it is in these moments that we are the most conscious. It could even be suggested that ‘giving in’ to flow involves the dissolution of the very self-reflectiveness and responsibility that makes us human.

Posted in Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi, Flow, Free will, Libet, Benjamin | No Comments »

Rivers and Dams

August 26th, 2007 Fred McVittie

The river of non-conscious (animal) cognition flows along the path of least resistance. The great trick of consciousness begins with an ability to temporarily arrest this flow and make a choice about whether we really want to follow the urging of the landscape and carry on in that direction, always downwards. We feel these moments of choice occasionally as build-ups of pressure or temptation, almost as if the waters of the river that is carrying us along have been dammed and that water is backing up behind us. This arrested flow causes the water behind the dam to form vortices and eddies, turning over itself and becoming chaotically complex loops of current before the ground offers a route that we agree to. Then we let ourselves go and follow the river downstream. A valley carved out not just by the yes of the river but also by the no of the dam.

Posted in Consciousness, Flow, Liquid, Metaphor, Re-entry | No Comments »

Rollercoaster Zen

August 29th, 2007 Fred McVittie

The experience of riding a rollercoaster, or more generally of visiting a theme park, is a useful parallel to an experiencing of existence which is idealised within Zen and related practices. A trip to 6 Flags, Universal Studios, or Alton Towers, for those of us who are keen riders, involves preliminary research into the types of rides that are available and where they are located. Then one might put together a rough ‘running order’ of the rides so that they provide a good overall experience; one should not start with the fastest, most thrilling ride, or the most idiosyncratic, and one should definitely aim to finish on a high note. This plan might include and take into account such indirect factors as: distance one might need to walk between rides, opportunities for eating and drinking, availability of bathroom etc. Also, proper planning should identify external features which may affect the rides; if your script for the day includes the biggest fastest rides, it is not a good idea, for example, to plan your visit on a day near the end of a school term when school parties may be visiting and clogging up the queues for these.

When you actually arrive on the day, the plan you have changes status. A lot of unforeseen circumstances can arise which might force you to change your ideas, and new opportunities might arise which you would be stupid to pass up, so stay flexible and improvise. Stay with the plan where it proves useful, but feel free to deviate wildly from it if the need arises. In many ways the success of your day depends not on either the plan or what you actually do, but on a dynamic and healthy relationship between the two.

The most significant time during your visit is, of course, the actual rides themselves, and it is worth paying special attention to what is happening at every stage of these special moments. The chances are that, even if you have bought an express pass to let you have priority access, you will still have to stand in a queue. This is not a problem. Do not see this as a problem. I repeat, there is no problem here. Standing in the queue for the fastest, more terrifying ride, particularly as you edge toward the front, is probably the most fully conscious you will feel all day, maybe all week. At any time you could turn around and walk out; you are sweating and nervous, everyone around you is nervous, the hype of the ride itself, if it is designed properly, is making you even more nervous, and almost every self-protective instinct in your body is telling you to get the hell out of there. And yet you stay. You don’t heed the hailing of your intuition and refuse to go with the flow of your instincts. You can feel the pressure to do what comes naturally (run) building up inside you but you stand your ground, and the longer you stand the more conscious you become. You can feel your self, fully and completely here, now, and under threat.

The moment has arrived and you move from the queue across the threshold and are being strapped into the ride. This transition is carried out in an almost blissful state of self-consciousness in which you seem to witness yourself from outside your body. Part of you cannot quite believe that you are going to go through with it, whilst another part of you is moving mindlessly from the easily escapable position in the queue to the inescapable inevitability of the ride itself.

And then there is the ride itself. Now the time for choosing is over and whatever happens is out of your hands. Of course you know that rides are safety checked and that nothing can really go wrong, but that knowledge is no good to you now. That was just something you read when you were doing your preliminary research. What is important now is way beyond the rational evaluation of risk factors as laid down is health and safety standards, what matters is that you have committed yourself incontroverably to a course of events in which choice is absolutely and totally absent. There is no possibility of escape and every move, shock, twist, turn, and gyration is mapped onto your future as surely as the events of yesterday are mapped onto your past. For these seconds there is nothing to think about, nothing to do, nothing to be. There is just you, and the ride.

Posted in Art, Buddhism, Flow, Rollercoaster | No Comments »

The Middle Way of Consciousness

September 30th, 2007 Fred McVittie

It is interesting that Buddhism refers to the ‘middle way’ as a route to the non-duality of undivided consciousness or non-being. This image seems to be drawn from the metaphor of lived experience as a kind of journey, perhaps along a road or down a river. On this cruise downstream we are constantly confronted with divergent paths; tributaries in the stream. At these moments of choice, which we may not consciously be aware of, we may feel the play of those cognitive operations which allow us the dubious luxury of such choices. The flow of our existence is momentarily arrested at such times (which are most of the time) as our brain loops around the possibilities, entering and re-entering the suspended moment in and endless series of yes and no. This yes/no interlude may be one of the defining characteristics of individual consciousness and its close association with the feeling of ‘free will’ (or ‘free won’t’ as Benjamin Libet rephrased it). In a quest for non-duality however, this suspension of the flow in which we are held behind the dam of our own free will is counter productive, and the desired state is one in which the mind is not divided up into personal consciousness through the apparent necessity of endless decision-making. The cultivation of an approach to the journey downstream which conceives of a third option: a way which is neither left or right, but which is simply straight ahead, may help to avoid the dams.

This is the middle way of Buddhism in which one (One) is carried downstream in the effortless action of the stream itself. More, one realises that one is the stream and that the stream is One.

Posted in Buddhism, Consciousness, Flow | No Comments »