Private Practice Podcast

James Hall, ego extraordinaire, "privileged white man", enjoyed Flow in the paradise of Montpellier a year ago, and is now here to symbolically remind you that you don't stand a chance in hell of improving your life with Flow thinking, because you can't be James Hall. You've got so much on your plate just trying to get through the day, that finding Flow experiences is way down at the bottom of the to-do list. This podcast is just a vanity project for James, counterproductively showing off how his Flow is better and more abundant than yours could ever be… right?

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi thinks not. And as Dan wisely observes, it's not all about James. If you enjoy our annual indulgence of feedback at Christmas then you're in for a treat; barely two months later and we're engaging with the rampage of our most critical listener. We start with Dan reading the Flow manifesto as Csikszentmihalyi puts it, which leads into a conversation about disabilities as catalysts for Flow, how symbolic profiling of skin colour and all other identity categorisation lends directly to Flow-obstructing chaos in consciousness, and other topics including the dissipative structure of the mind and finding order in consciousness with dementia. So come with us to overcome the psychic entropy of self identity, whatever yours may be, in the here and now. Can you Flow? Yes you can!

Find all episodes of Private Practice Podcast and send us your thoughts on the Contact Us page of www.privatepracticepodcast.net – I'm sure we will enjoy the Flow experience of thinking about your concise, considered and extraordinarily witty contributions (neutrally whether you are another white man or if you are not).

'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi claims to be 'The classic work on how to achieve happiness', although we think it's more like 'how to create states of purposeful complexity', which make for enjoyment, which can be interpreted as happiness. But obviously no one is going to write that on the cover of a book. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent over two decades looking scientifically at situations in which people from a variety of social and biological backgrounds report feelings of deep enjoyment. His studies revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of ordered concentration and complexity, which eliminates the psychic entropy that causes anxiety, and he called this 'Flow'.

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Have you ever meditated while your neighbours were having noisy sex? Which of your friends provide you with the most complexity? How can you become more popular with friends AND win a sexy legs competition? Continuing from last week's introduction to this chapter of the book of Flow, we take a deep dive into the pool of complexity, taking off the armbands and achieving Flow where our selfish genetic programming has to share the lane with the most complex of all problems; other people.

But first, we conclude part one with all the bits that didn't make it into last week's episode… Taming your mind involves both internal and external order, and with the example of Dorothy in the wild we explore how her approach can be applied in the city with just as much effect. It's the first post-Brexit episode of the podcast and James takes a moment to celebrate how the referendum prompted him into action, as well as how ordering consciousness can eliminate a lot of the hysteria surrounding moments of political chaos.

How often do you enjoy Flow experiences with your family? The book offers both useful and outrageously entertaining examples to help you function better together (you may even develop an appreciation of fish). And when you spend time with your friends, how much effort do you put into that Flow diagram? When conversation starts to become predictable it's time to get out of the boredom zone. We finish the episode with what is quite possibly the ultimate highlight of the book, so stick around to the end if you really want tips on how to win at life.

In the recording of this episode we took a substantial (and inevitable?) detour into the topic of free will. This is a subject too complex for an already packed episode (in talking about free will we used the example of picking flavours of yoghurt, such as fudge, and therefore it could be said we packed in some extra fudge). So a decision was (again, without much choice) made to better match our ability to the challenge, and to remove a hefty wedge of this obstacle. You'll hear Dan vote to move on, which originally followed approximately 30 mins of knocking out ideas onto the table. Chances are we'll come back to this subject in the more appropriate context of our discussion of chapter 10, when we conclude the season with, quite literally, the meaning of life. For now though, limit your excitement to finding Flow with other people.

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Which is worse, having nothing but your own company, or putting up with other people? The next chapter is divided into two episodes, and in this one we focus on solitude, before turning our attention to the ordeal of other people next time. If only we had an only child who spent the whole of last year thriving in solitude, to deliver a masterclass in dealing with psychic entropy on your own. Great news, we have exactly that.

As we know from previously, avoiding psychic entropy by watching TV, taking drugs or having sex to "kill time" mostly does not lead to Flow experiences, but how can you order consciousness to avoid the chaos of feelings of loneliness? We discuss meditation, and James' updated time walking it off in London. We also imagine how a mosquito has sex, when this seems tenuously relevant in the moment.

Find all episodes of Private Practice Podcast and send us your (ordered) thoughts at www.privatepracticepodcast.net – I'm sure we will enjoy the Flow experience of thinking about your concise, considered and extraordinarily witty contributions.

'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi claims to be 'The classic work on how to achieve happiness', although we think it's more like 'how to create states of purposeful complexity', which make for enjoyment, which can be interpreted as happiness. But obviously no one is going to write that on the cover of a book. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent over two decades looking scientifically at situations in which people from a variety of social and biological backgrounds report feelings of deep enjoyment. His studies revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of ordered concentration and complexity, which eliminates the psychic entropy that causes anxiety, and he called this 'Flow'.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enough of all this daydreaming and walking, it's time to do some work. But does this mean Flow is put on pause while you surrender yourself to the tyranny of oppression? Of course not, the Flow has only just be-go! This week cultural relativism is washed away by the currents of Csikszentmihalyi's value judgments, as we look at the case study of welder Joe and how he found Flow not only in the factory, but also at home with his extraordinary rainbow fountains. We look at enjoying work in the 2020s, with Dan dismissing James' comparisons of best and worst jobs. And we ask, who is to blame for dissatisfaction in the workplace? Who do you think... But don't worry, we'll guide you safely to the indubitably superior function of the autotelic worker. So stop faffing about and press Play; there's work to be done.

Find all episodes of Private Practice Podcast and send us your thoughts at www.privatepracticepodcast.net (as long as you're not simultaneously welding) – I'm sure we will enjoy the Flow experience of thinking about your concise, considered and extraordinarily witty contributions.

'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi claims to be 'The classic work on how to achieve happiness', although we think it's more like 'how to create states of purposeful complexity', which make for enjoyment, which can be interpreted as happiness. But obviously no one is going to write that on the cover of a book. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent over two decades looking scientifically at situations in which people from a variety of social and biological backgrounds report feelings of deep enjoyment. His studies revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of ordered concentration and complexity, which eliminates the psychic entropy that causes anxiety, and he called this 'Flow'.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much enjoyment can you get out of absolutely nothing? If you assign some time to close off those sensory inputs we looked at last time and leave the brain to stimulate all content, just how high can you get? Wordplay, daydreams and memory are all "looked at" this week (whatever that means). We also condense the entire history of the world into one concise podcast. Of course we don't, we bring up the subject of history instead as an ordered Flow activity to look at personal history, or psychoanalysis. Everything starts to come together in this episode as we include the many ideas in psychoanalysis not just in terms of creating the conditions of Flow for other activities, but as an inherent Flow activity in… you've guessed it… in the moment. It's the coming together of Freud and Jung with Csikszentmihalyi and Yalom, not to mention Dan and James. That can be as sexually charged as your subconscious demands. This week we go well beyond Dan's cognitive ability and plunge him into the abyss of anxiety, questioning if our lofty podcast is not accessible enough for you, basic simpleton. Well you can make the call on that one, mapping it onto your own Flow diagram of challenge and ability.

Find all episodes of Private Practice Podcast and send us your thoughts at www.privatepracticepodcast.net – I'm sure we will enjoy the Flow experience of thinking about your concise, considered and extraordinarily witty contributions, and trying to store them in a complex memory palace.

'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi claims to be 'The classic work on how to achieve happiness', although we think it's more like 'how to create states of purposeful complexity', which make for enjoyment, which can be interpreted as happiness. But obviously no one is going to write that on the cover of a book. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent over two decades looking scientifically at situations in which people from a variety of social and biological backgrounds report feelings of deep enjoyment. His studies revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of ordered concentration and complexity, which eliminates the psychic entropy that causes anxiety, and he called this 'Flow'.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Czikszentmihalmas, or if not happy then Private Practice Podcast wishes you a complex yet accessible Christmas this year. Mid-Flow through the season, we decided to increase the complexity of our traditional Christmas Special by challenging ourselves with more critical listener feedback than in previous years. Or rather, James made that decision and Dan took the blow. James also has some great news, we play the Sack Game, and Dan's suggestion of what to do with your Christmas tree will certainly make your yuletide gay. Feel reassured that our Christmas Special is full of tidings of complexity and enjoyment. While the pleasure outside is frightful, getting higher up that Flow diagram is so delightful, and since you've gone for a purposeful walk in the snow; let it Flow, let it Flow, let it Flow…

Music credits: all from Archive.org

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We're going to ask some of life's biggest questions in this girthy episode. What sex toys does Dan use? Does pain exist? Can lavender cure PTSD?

The Body in Flow is the subject as we examine the senses, particularly sight and touch, to explore sex, art and walking as Flow activities. We look at "Flowing sex" in many positions, touching on some of the loose ends of our Perversion episode last season, but also considering monogamy as a Flow activity. James leaves the Private Practice Studio this week to take you on a walk somewhere hideous, to talk about aesthetics and to see if he should be changing the world or merely looking at it. We go on a tour of an art gallery to create order in consciousness, and question which other states of mind you can access by walking into them. There's a scientific conundrum about the existence of pleasure and pain, and an ethical one about how to interpret it. And if you're playing along with the drinking game every time Dan says "Flow experience" or "accessible" you'll be unconscious before we're even half way on our odyssey this week. It makes sense (at least one of them) to fully use your ears and concentrate on the stimulation (and titillation) of The Body in Flow.

Find all episodes of Private Practice Podcast and send us your thoughts at www.privatepracticepodcast.net – I'm sure we will enjoy the Flow experience of reading your concise, considered and extraordinarily witty contributions.

'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi claims to be 'The classic work on how to achieve happiness', although we think it's more like 'how to create states of purposeful complexity', which make for enjoyment, which can be interpreted as happiness. But obviously no one is going to write that on the cover of a book. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent over two decades looking scientifically at situations in which people from a variety of social and biological backgrounds report feelings of deep enjoyment. His studies revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of ordered concentration and complexity, which eliminates the psychic entropy that causes anxiety, and he called this 'Flow'.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conditions of Flow, Chapter 4 in the book, looks at society and environment to see which external circumstances clear the Flow runway for take-off, and which ice it over to leave your flight, complete with all that emotional baggage, grounded at the airport. But it also looks at the individual, their personality, and what they need to do or understand in any conditions to achieve Flow (and pack nothing but pants and fudge in their case). This makes it an action, and not a mystical happenstance as Venus is aligned with Uranus and your chia seeds are in harmony with your feng shui.

A lot is packed into this episode, including some singing and an audio graph, but when James gets the small allowance of fun out of his system the conversation moves onto the role of religion, tradition and cultural rituals which provide Flow experiences through order and complexity. We discuss how in many modern societies these have been well-intentionally blown up and created better living conditions for women and gays to find their Flow, but in the process throwing the baby out with the bathwater can cause some anxiety when society has no replacement rules or structure, and everyone has to create their own and compete to have them implemented.

In looking at mushrooms and other hallucinogenic 'Vertigo' mind-games, we are unsure if the author does not believe they add complexity like other "mind-expanding" games, or if he is saying that there is a finite amount of information a person can process at any time, and so mushrooms merely shuffle this and 'expansion' is impossible on a linguistic level.

Instead of finding Flow in Nazi concentration camps as a prisoner of war, this time the subject is the Nazi himself, demonstrating the need for Flow and yet the lack of its inherent virtue and quality. And from external to internal conditions; selfishness and self-consciousness can override flow, causing, for example, selfish people to only talk so they can go on about themselves, says James…

Find all episodes of Private Practice Podcast and send us your thoughts at www.privatepracticepodcast.net – I'm sure we will enjoy the Flow experience of reading your concise, considered and extraordinarily witty contributions.

'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi claims to be 'The classic work on how to achieve happiness', although we think it's more like 'how to create states of purposeful complexity', which make for enjoyment, which can be interpreted as happiness. But obviously no one is going to write that on the cover of a book. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent over two decades looking scientifically at situations in which people from a variety of social and biological backgrounds report feelings of deep enjoyment. His studies revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of ordered concentration and complexity, which eliminates the psychic entropy that causes anxiety, and he called this 'Flow'.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No pleasure. No happiness. Only enjoyment. Creating new order in consciousness is the subject of this episode, in which we reject the symbolic goal of happiness, pushed by the publishers of 'Flow'. We look at cancelling activities which provide only pleasure, most of which are found guilty of obstructing Flow, concentrating instead on the pursuit of complex enjoyment. Since the Flow experience is not inherently "good" and the super-ego is not always the dominant force in conflict with the shadow, we consider Mihaly's criminal friends and the enjoyment they get from robbing a house. Once Dan has dismissed all social media as mindless pleasure, James makes the case for a wonderfully flowing time there. And if you don't fancy a life of crime or phone addiction, why not try life-long education? Something for all the family. This episode was recorded with James in the Paradise Private Practice in Montpellier, in front of a large jar of jam, and Dan in the London Private Practice. Twenty minutes before the end of the episode Dan says, "So, to summarise…" and this is followed by James finally getting into what he actually wanted to talk about, so do stay to the end…

Find all episodes of Private Practice Podcast and send us your thoughts at www.privatepracticepodcast.net – I'm sure we will appreciate your concise, considered and extraordinarily witty contributions.

'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi claims to be 'The classic work on how to achieve happiness', although we think it's more like 'how to create states of purposeful complexity', which make for enjoyment, which can be interpreted as happiness. But obviously no one is going to write that on the cover of a book. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent over two decades looking scientifically at situations in which people from a variety of social and biological backgrounds report feelings of deep enjoyment. His studies revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of ordered concentration and complexity, which eliminates the psychic entropy that causes anxiety, and he called this 'Flow'. This episode is based on Chapter 3 of the book.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The conditions of consciousness and self-identity are the subject of Part 2 in our series on the book of Flow. While consciousness is an enduring mystery to neuroscientists, there are certain patterns of decision-making, free will (or lack thereof), and core beliefs which can be understood to some extent. These mental states are in constant conflict with the outside world and allowing the horrors of life to control psychic energy does not make for a happy bunny! So this week James slips into provocateur mode to talk about social class and bullying as a life-long exterior obstacle to inner harmony. The book takes as a given that people have certain intent to do things, which is to some extent an argument against free will, but it doesn't look at the reasons behind intent from the point of view of psychoanalysis. Therefore we have put more emphasis on core beliefs, and if you haven't heard our specific episode on core beliefs from last season, it's available from wherever you found this one. We also address the whimsical-sounding 'psychic energy' term to pack in a bit of extra scientific fudge. And throughout this episode we are both in the staring presence of a stuffed fox in the London Private Practice.

Additional (optional) reading: 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' by Daniel Kahneman is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

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