Eric Shulman on Flow and Liminality

The idea of flow is being unaware of how focused you are. It involves some sort of mental state where an individual is not self-conscious. An individual is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, and as a result of being fully immersed, a feeling of being fully energized comes into effect as well. During flow, an individual is in a state of full involvement and has a needing feeling of success and accomplishment. Some characteristics of flow are that it gives one clear goals, contains concentration, distorted sense of time and activity one is doing seems rewarding. Liminality represents features of preliminal social structures and new order of social structure. Liminality is hard to reach because no one knows the exact formula on how to encounter liminality. To combine the two terms, an individual inside of a flow experience can be able to reach a liminal state. In regards to my lifestyle, an example of flow would be being involved in a tennis match. When I am playing, I disregard everything that’s around me and put all my attention toward my match. I don’t let anything bother me or get in the way of what I have to accomplish. So, as a result, being fully immersed, being energized and my need for success all play factors for my idea of flow in my life.