The Creative Process

 Everyone has had an experience of being in “the zone”.  This is the wonderful place we all get to experience when we are engaged and present in an activity we love to do and time flies by.  This is a release, a peaceful calm place or exhilarating experience that leaves us renewed.

 Psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and fellow researchers began researching the phenomenon experienced by artists who would get “lost” in their work.  From this research came the term “flow”.  “Flow” can be defined as the “mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement and enjoyment in the process of the activity.   Basically, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. “   

 Components of “Flow” include:

1. Intense and focused concentration on the present moment
2. Merging of action and awareness
3. A loss of reflective self consciousness
4. A sense of personal control or agency over the situation or activity
5. A distortion of temporal experience, one’s subjective experience of time is altered.
6. Experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding

 For many parents these components are exactly the goals they are working on for their children who have special needs.  In “Flow”, the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized and aligned with the task at hand.  This is the mysterious and rewarding experience artists, musicians and anyone creating get to experience.  Even a simple art experience can provide this and can have a powerful impact and leave us wanting more.