Science: 'Flow state' when 'in the zone'

There are prepared raps, and there are on-the-fly, by-the-seat-of-your-pants raps in a flow state

There are rumored to be whites who overcome their stiff awkwardness and get with the flow

White men can't jump, but some may be able to kickstart Broca's area in the brain and GO.

"Nice job." This white man can hump jump...on anyone in front of him because he loves pizza.

Can culture foster flow states as a common expectation of the natural range of human ability?

What would hip hop and rap have been without the magic of dropping into flow?

.

Irishmen can rap, at least in Gaelic and on drugs.

Life is better when everything flows and "goes swimmingly." What is that magic, ease, and effortlessness? It seems to be the spontaneous way of being Zen is constantly harping about and elevating to spiritual status.

When we are calm and confident (full of relaxation and faith), we tend to be able to speak without hesitating or halting, stammering or stuttering, thinking or pausing.

It is pleasant for all, full of ease, and joyful for the natural actor who is simply living, simply being rather than doing. All life can be like that, unpremeditated, artless, authentic?

The "zone," the "zone," where is the zone? Twilight Zone? Drugged state? Zen and [the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"] the art of relaxation?

Where's science when we really need it? Tell us how to get it! Breakthrough alert:

Flow state uncovered: We finally know what happens in the brain when we're "in the zone"

Meditative absorption flows with ease

Many of us know the feeling of being "in the zone" as we're fully immersed in a task [absorbed = jhana = Zen], the background noise of the world fades and we may not notice time passing or things going on around us. [It is sweet relief, producing piti].

Gymnasts may enter this all-consuming mental state as they're refining a floor routine, an artist might find "the zone" when adding delicate brushstrokes to a painting, and writers might enter it as they're crafting the climax of a chapter.

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Oh, I can stop yelling and criticizing and just be.

This state, known in psychology as a "flow state," is pursued by those who want to be more productive and creative in an enjoyable way.

What happens in the brain during this state, however, has been under debate for more than four decades. Now, in research published March 4th in the journal Neuropsychologia, scientists may have settled the debate.

Life can be full of bliss and ease (piti and sukha).

They conducted a new brain-scan study that has finally revealed which regions of the brain are activated in the midst of a creative flow state.

Their findings contradict one popular theory of flow while supporting another, and they seem to reveal the key ingredients needed to get "in the zone.":

• 'Flow state' uncovered: We finally know what happens in the brain when we're 'in the zone'
• Jennifer Zieba, LiveScience.com via MSN.com, March, 2024; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly