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 If you can muster it...... life changing
I read a lot, and never post reviews. This book is special though.
A very well researched and articulated book, the author throws light on the most important subject - you. It will teach you about your evolutionary past and what drives and motivates you (in more detail than I have read in most other books). He tells you everything you need to know about "flow." This book will take your thoughts (however they are) and make them more positive, productive, and happy. In doing so, you will become all of these.
The basis for the book is essentially that we are evolutionarily programmed to enjoy challenges. Absence of challenges = boredom. Challenges far beyond our reach = Stress. But challenges just above our skill level are what makes us grow and become more complex individuals. This book also throws light on morality and how that should (and can easily) guide your every move.
It is heavy reading, so be prepared for that. I read it when I was 19 and I think it is perfect for young people. A person of any age, however, will find this book of great value as it will challenge you to become a better and more complete person. If you don't need this, then don't buy the book. But, most of us do.
Align with the Divine Inteligence
Professor Mike is on to something with this book. When you follow your positive emotions, especially Flow, you are following the guidence of the Divine Intelligence that is unfolding the universe. This is a very thought provoking and inspiring book. As a life coach, I see the practical application of Mihaly's work every day. This may be the way to a happier, more harmonious and sustainable future for our planet. Thanks Mike for showing us how to follow our Flow to build a better self and a better world.
Clear and Positive Message
By discussiing the evolution of the mind, this book gives us a clear and positive message about the future direction of our species. This made gave me hope about our future even though there are many terrible things going on in the world. The author argues that we are evolving self-organizing systems and we can continue to evolve. The message is very similar to the book "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato except that Sato's remarkable book explains this in more simple and straightforward language. I think we all need to learn from these types of thinkers in order to help us move toward positive change in our evolution.
 Great Book - Amazon misspelled author's name!!
Mihalyi Czikszentmihalyi This is the author's correct name, taken from the actual titles themselves. Amazon[.com] needs to correct their site, as the author's name is not spelled correctly anywhere, for any of his titles!Otherwise, I thought the book was excellent, better than his book Flow in many ways. I used it as a resource for a college paper this week, and encourage others who liked The Moral Animal or The Selfish Gene to read it. Especially worthwhile for those who are nihilistic, pessimistic, and doubtful about humanity's survival or overal worthwhile characteristics. Read this book!
A new landmark for the third millenium
Flow experiences, human peak experiences and high synergetic states are introduced in such an original and practical way in this book that, while readind it, one really experiences flow. Genes are the information units of life; they are associated with the genetic code, while "memes" are the equivalent information units when dealing with consciousness, with mind, with the noosphere, and they are coded in this master piece, from beginning to end, so that the "I" is challenged continually to evolve and to know how to obtain wisdom, "because wisdom is a cognitive skill, a special way of acting and a personal good, because the practice of wisdom leads to inner serenity and enjoyment". Complexity is certainly a fashionable catchword but again Mihaly makes it graspable and human, a practical tool, so to speak, because the final principle of evolution is an increase in both differentiation and integration ... Differentiation refers to the parts that differ in structure or function and integration refers to the whole in which the different parts communicate and enhance one another's goals. Flow, memes and complexity are presented in this work in such a unified framework that we can think that with it we have finally a truly complementary work for the "I", or some sort of evolutionary ontology, while with Ken Wilber work Sex, Ecology and Spirituality we have the corresponding philosophical counterpart, for the "we", and with Physics and the Principle of Synergy by Epsilon Pi, we have the corresponding scientifical counterpart, for the "It". But the important point to recall is that they all three are integral proposal; they really complement each other in this new stage of mankind in which the integration of the big three is a main concern. Synergy is a principle that when applied produces harmony and when not produces entropy, and when synergy is obtained, flow is experienced and a "field" is created, a field that can be used as a medium to detect a higher ordered state or an increased complexity, as "a good society is one that encourages the individuals to realize their potentials and permits complexity to evolve".After reading this most influential book you will be not the same again because its "memetic" influence will start working by itself in your own evolving self.
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(based on 18 reviews)
