Observations placeholder
Composer - Going with the flow
Identifier
015324
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
When I contacted Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in order to find out which composer this observation was collected from, Mihaly said he was unable to recall which particular composer this was, but stated that the ones they interviewed were:
- Oscar Peterson,
- Ravi Shankar,
- Gunther Schuler
and one more whose name he couldn’t recall. The composer has passed away. Mihaly said the difficulties were due to the fact the studies started 40 years ago and the observation was collected in 1975.
A description of the experience
Source Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret to happiness
1975 – Composing music
You are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I have experienced this time and time again. My hand seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching it in a state of awe and wonderment. And the music just flows out of itself.