Wonder and Awe

The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether the concept and activity of flow is an idea whose time has come in the 21st Century. Regardless of passing time, some ideas are so remarkably brilliant and so extraordinarily catchy that they define the prevailing trends of the given era. We say that somebody is following 'the spirit of the times' when he or she is passionately working on the concept that is very relevant to the advancement of progress at a given time. Flow is a state of optimal experience characterised by total absorption in the task at hand. It allows the merging of action and awareness thanks to which individuals can realise their full potential. Flow happens when students are so engrossed in their work that they effectively tune out any outside distractions. They often visualise their final piece of art, writing or music and keep working hard long hours apparently sustaining deep levels of concentration, enthusiasm and positive energy for extended periods of time. This paper discusses flow in education as a state of mind that everyone can reach thanks to meditation. To perceive anything, first we must look and listen, be receptive and open-minded. Through intense focus we can tap into the soul's infinite powers. The goal of meditation is to focus your mind, to overcome yourself so that to eventually reach a higher level of awareness and inner calmness. Since mind may be disturbed or troubled by mood, the state of mental flow needs employing the principle of cultivation so that we are not in a mood of neediness. "When we foster an expansive mood, it should be magnanimous and firm, able to expand beyond myriad of things, undaunted by anything." (Cleary, 2009: 39). Because the mind depends on the mood, when the mood is calm your mind is calm as well. Cultivating means assessing the excess and insufficiencies in the natural disposition, reducing the excessive and developing the insufficient while balancing action and response amid the state of calmness generated by meditation. Meditation is an ancient practice, but scientists are still discovering all of its benefits. Neurologists have found that regular meditation changes our brains in ways that can help us to control emotions, enhance concentration, decrease stress, and even become more connected to those around you. Meditation can take some kind of noble ideal goal, but we must remember that it is a journey. Meditation is not a goal that we can mechanically complete. It is more spontaneous, it is flowing from the heart, therefore viewing meditation just as a tool to achieve a certain goal would drain ourselves and lead to selfishness. As Amir Mourad (2015) noticed, ''the perception of the mind must open to the dimension that is beyond the limits of the ego.'' Instead, focusing on the process and experience of meditation itself, and eliminating the desires and attachments that distract us in day-to-day life from the meditative practice are more fulfilling. According to Krishnamurti, "Meditation is freedom from thought and movement in the ecstasy of truth. Meditation is explosion of intelligence." As Shinzen Young (2016) noticed, meditation can sharpen our thinking, ''Breaking the compulsion to think simply means that the thinking process is no longer scattered by distracting forces. So when you turn your mind to some topic, you can penetrate that topic with great clarity and vigor. To draw a metaphor from the physical world, when thinking is no longer at the mercy of scattering forces, it becomes like a penetrating beam of coherent laser light.'' Problem-solving, rational thinking and creativity spontaneously increase. This process could be utilised for achieving many jumps in solving important challenges or reaching knowledge that can shed light on previously unsolved conundrums. This process of increased concentration on the topic can be intensified when we are silent, when we listen and eliminate distractions. Without some inner detachment there is no inner peace. Detachment means letting go of negative, disturbing and unnecessary thoughts, emotions and habits. A good meditator needs to learn not to be disturbed easily by what people say or do, and not to take things too personally. He may be accused of being indifferent and uncaring. It might seem a paradox, but he can be compassionate, helpful and full of love, and at the same time, display inner detachment. Meditation is a mental attitude which leads to common sense, better judgement, more understanding and more inner peace. Therefore, the state of stillness or ''the mind like water'' effect generated by meditative flow could lead to higher levels of intelligence. Thereby generating new bursts of creativity resulting in positive inflow of inventive spirit. According to Bruce Lee, Dao or the spontaneity of the Universe or truth can only be comprehended by a mind that is free from distraction. A new light can inspire us, and we can generate an extra motivation enabling us to realise our hopes and make all our dreams come true. Nothing is more honourable than enlightenment, nothing is more beautiful than virtue. A person who has a growth mindset believes they can develop skills and strengths through continuous effort, and grow with each life experience. All we need to do is to decide how to make our lives grander, greater, richer, and nobler than ever before. Within our subconscious minds there are depths that are infinite. The infinite intelligence available throughout cosmos can reveal previously unknown knowledge. We can receive new thoughts and novel ideas enabling us to bring forth pioneering inventions, enable original discoveries, or write books and plays continuing in the process of improvement. The talent that is hidden within each of us and our subconscious minds can be compared to a comet striking briefly across the sky, shining brightly and being captured only by the flash of inspiration, brilliance and perhaps modern telescopes with the latest, innovative technology. Furthermore, the same infinite intelligence can impart to us wonderful kinds of knowledge of an original nature. The first step to infinitely prolonging the flow cycle to reach the next level of enlightenment is our understanding that there is a different path. It is possible, so the source of energy must be flowing from the Cosmos, for example, from the stars since the there is no limit to how fast the universe can expand. Infinity is a key concept since it brings to life new forms, new types, and patterns hitherto, unknown on earth and more importantly it is holding promise of greater changes yet to materialise. These changes can come to fruition when our brains are open and responsive. Indeed, in the human brain marked by 'unthinkable complexity' the possibilities of generating new ideas and new mental patterns are infinite. Nothing is real that is not eternal so infinity has to originate with cosmic, energetic sources such as stars. When we absorb and channel precious energy flowing from the Universe while trying to come up with novel ideas and experimenting with our intuition we also build up the ​spirit. Spiritual knowledge and understanding is achieved through intuitive meditation. Spirit helps to tune with the defining idea of our era shining a new light on a possible solution to a perplexing problem. Thus, a simple belief enabled by a leap of faith advances human progress on the planet thereby helping to find solutions to the prevailing problems in the given era. Remember one lesson throughout this process, a mind focusing on the goal might become clouded, if we focus too much on hitting the target then we might miss it because seeking perfection may dominate and then the mind becomes artificial. (Mourad, 2012). A skilled meditator is not interested in the goal, his only concern is the present moment and thanks to that he finds much more natural energy. Just as water takes the shape of the vessel it flows through, the life principle flows through us according to the nature of our thoughts. Some people can access altered states of mind, because they learned how to fully utilize the power of their brains, but others dismiss them as being spiritual. The fact of the matter is that human beings are not taught how to tap into altered states of awareness, to make an impact on the world. The healing energy can be flowing through us as: harmony, health, peace, joy, moderation and abundance. We can think of it as a living intelligence, a cosmic energy or a lovely companion on the way. If we firmly believe it is continually flowing through us vivifying, inspiring, prospering us it will do so. It will respond exactly this way. The mind must always be in the state of 'flowing.' It is done unto you as you believe. The undiscovered element is how to multiply every sprinkle of ingenuity by following our guiding light without draining ourselves, but naturally and spontaneously sustaining optimal levels of achievement into infinity.

This paper, based mainly on astronauts’ first-person writings, historical documents, and my own ethnographic interviews with nine astronauts conducted between 2004 and 2020, explores how encountering the earth and other celestial objects in ways never before experienced by human beings has influenced some astronauts’ cosmological understandings. Following the work of Timothy Morton, the earth and other heavenly bodies can be understood as “hyperobjects”, entities that are distributed across time and space in ways that make them difficult for human beings to accurately understand, but whose existence is becoming increasingly detectable to us. Astronauts in outer space are able to perceive celestial objects from vantages literally unavailable on earth, which has often (but not always) had a profound influence on their understandings of humanity, life, and the universe itself. Frank Wright’s term, the “overview effect”, describes a cognitive shift resulting from seeing the Earth from s...

What is the sublime? This entry defines the "sublime" and presents its historical context, focusing on its conceptual and philosophical aspects. The sublime denotes an intense, charged emotion with high arousal and containing a mixed valence (i.e. negative-to-positive). A sublime experience is an aesthetic experience of uplift and elevation in response to a powerful or vast object that is otherwise often experienced as menacing or overwhelming. Yet the experience is overall positive and pleasing. Second, this entry surveys several themes disputed in the literature: the sublime's relation to beauty, fear, and awe, why it is pleasing, and its being self-referential or reflexive. Third, the entry summarizes recent empirical research on the topic. The sublime has received relatively little scientific attention, only beginning in the past decade. A prominent empirical approach to the sublime conceptualizes it as having a fear component, although some recent studies have begun to question this. Finally, the entry concludes with a reflection on the sublime and the possible.

This paper, based mainly on astronauts' first-person writings, historical documents, and my own ethnographic interviews with nine astronauts conducted between 2004 and 2020, explores how encountering the earth and other celestial objects in ways never before experienced by human beings has influenced some astronauts' cosmological understandings. Following the work of Timothy Morton, the earth and other heavenly bodies can be understood as "hyperobjects", entities that are distributed across time and space in ways that make them difficult for human beings to accurately understand, but whose existence is becoming increasingly detectable to us. Astronauts in outer space are able to perceive celestial objects from vantages literally unavailable on earth, which has often (but not always) had a profound influence on their understandings of humanity, life, and the universe itself. Frank Wright's term, the "overview effect", describes a cognitive shift resulting from seeing the Earth from space that increases some astronauts' sense of connection to humanity, God, or other powerful forces. Following NASA convention (NASA Style Guide, 2012), I will capitalize both Earth and Moon, but will leave all quotations in their original style. The "ultraview effect" is a term I introduce here to describe the parallel experience of viewing the Milky Way galaxy from the Moon's orbit (a view described reverently by one respondent as a "something I was not ready for") that can result in strong convictions about the prevalence of life in the universe or even unorthodox beliefs about the origins of humanity. I will compare Morton's ideas about humanity's increased awareness of hyperobjects with Joye and Verpooten's work on awe in response to "bigness", tying both to astronauts' lived experiences in order to demonstrate the usefulness of ethnographic data in this context, discuss how human experiences in outer space might influence religious practices and beliefs, and suggest that encounters with hyperobjects hold the potential to be socially beneficial.