My original intent for this article was to write about the psychology of flow, described as "the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity." Then, after I got ahold of an original 1897 copy of Ralph Waldo Trine's In Tune With the Infinite after I found it at an antiques shop the other week, it seemed to me that what was detailed in this book had so much to do with flow that it would make more sense to integrate the two into the same piece.

The repackaging of ancient wisdom for new generations isn't necessarily a bad thing, particularly if it is presented in a clear, thoughtful way that brings new insights to old ideas. However, when it is sensationalist or strips away too much logic (*cough* The Secret *cough*), while it may not be harmful and does give the occasional nod to the originators of concepts, it doesn't do as much good as it could as picking up from pure observations about life can.

Ralph Waldo Trine (1866-1958; named after Ralph Waldo Emerson) was a writer of the New Thought Movement, "a spiritual movement which developed in the United States during the late 19th century and emphasizes metaphysical beliefs." The central message of In Tune With the Infinite, in accordance with so much of New Thought writings, is that there is an 'Infinite' source (which is understood by religious groups to be a deity) that any individual can tap into in order to manifest a spiritual and creative strength within themselves. The entirety of the book goes onto illustrate how the author came to understand this concept, in his own life, in his contemporaries, and in known spiritual teachers.

This 'Infinite' is not necessarily an idea that has to be attributed to a God, but rather a sort of deeper energy, a central lifeforce that it is possible for each of us to draw from...under the right conditions. This is described in the section of the book The Supreme Fact of Human Life as "the coming into a conscious, vital realization of our oneness with this Infinite Life, and the opening of ourselves fully to this divine inflow". Seeking peace and inspiration from outside sources is futile, unless it awakens within you the spark that already there.

Not only do your thoughts and actions create who you are, but the people you associate with as well, their positive or negative behaviors can have both obvious and subliminal effects. All of this may seem obvious enough, though in the section Plenty of All Things - The Law of Prosperity, Trine points out: "The majority of people of the modern world are looking for things that are practical and that can be utilized in everyday life. The more carefully we examine into the laws underlying the great truths we are considering, the more we shall find that they are not only eminently practical, but in a sense, and in the deepest and truest sense, they are the only practical things there are."

How does all of this apply to flow? Flow was put forth as a psychological concept by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (b. 1934), a Hungarian psychology professor who published his research in the 1975 book Beyond Boredom and Anxiety, Experiencing Flow in Work and Play, as well as in many other subsequent books and articles on the topic. These are 9 factors he identified as commonly contributing to the experience of flow, though not all of them must be present at one time:

"1. Clear goals (expectations and rules are discernible and goals are attainable and align appropriately with one's skill set and abilities). Moreover, the challenge level and skill level should both be high.

2. Concentrating and focusing, a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it).

3. A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness.

4. Distorted sense of time, one's subjective experience of time is altered.

5. Direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).

6. Balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).

7. A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.

8. The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action."

9. People become absorbed in their activity, and focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself, action awareness merging."

Religious and philosophical movements long beforehand, particularly Eastern teachings, especially in Zen Buddhism and Taoism, had described similar states of being long before Csikszentmihalyi engaged in his research. As valid as anyone today may hold spiritual beliefs formed ages ago to be, I think it is important to continue to investigate how true these professed truths really are, and if there are any advances that can be made on personal development. Further still, the flow principles, and a resurgence of interest in personal development at large, have surfaced again to an even wider spectrum of readers in recent times through blogs like Steve Pavlina's blog (whose articles '7 Rules for Maximizing Your Creative Output' and 'My Experience of Creativity' are well-worth reading) and Stepcase Lifehack.

As right as the ideas of flow and a reservoir of infinite inspiration that lies within us may perhaps sound, it is through personal experience and dealing with others that matters more than reading about the principles. There are surely times in your life that you can reflect back to some project you were working on, maybe in school, in your work, writing, painting, or making music- even in playing video games. You probably lost track of time and were immersed in what it is you were doing, and after working at it reached a heightened point in creativity and success than what was normal for you. Certain conditions must be in place for this to occur (frequently those 9 listed above), and being aware of what triggers of flow are for you personally will help you maximize when and how often you are able to reach this state.

What can be more important than living your best life? With the deadlines that come from employment, education, and personal obligations and creative pursuits that you wish to excel at, flow is essential to better understand, though when it is really happening to you, it will be on a subconscious level. If more people would be putting out a greater quality of output, it would gradually make the world a more positive place...and that's where the snag comes in.

Though we may be able to take self-improvement into our own hands (mind, rather), we can't force anyone else to do the same. A person may be inspired at seeing a positive attitude in another, but it is up to that person alone as to whether they take it in and put it to effect in themselves.There is also a sort of reverse well-being some types of personalities exhibit at times, like a drain to your own spirits and poison to creativity, because they get a charge out of the misfortune of others or seek to create it where it didn't exist previously. When you can't avoid dealing with these types, it is important to realize that they are only cheating themselves out of a fuller existence for themselves by devoting so much time to causing others grief.

Having a personal understanding and implementing the ideas of works like In Tune With the Infinite, the concept of subjective reality (which I wrote about in an earlier piece), and flow won't halt all of the laziness and despicable behavior in the world, but it will allow you to accomplish and experience more in your life and make whatever atmosphere you find yourself more positive for those around you.

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