Approx 40 Notes on Flow, Stress, Behavior

A similar division appears in society, people behave in regimented ways and do not even imagine life in any
other way (Reciprocality: M0 and "Who moved my cheese!")

The ritual addiction and dislike of trying new ideas or responses (because that would cause withdrawal symptoms
from addictive stress) reduces innovation in society

Cognitive dysfunctions (deficits of executive functions, flexibility, creative thinking) are identifiable
features in most societies around the world

There are societies that are exceptions to these features (red indians, nomadic cultures)

High Dopamine level begets loss to awareness and novelty seeking is then mostly replaced by habitual behaviour
and other higher-level cognitive functions are shut down

COMT gene among europeans cleans up dopamine in the PFC

Neural feedback mechanism is a common denominator to many higher cognitive features (Programmer's Stone, M0)

Ritual habit seeking is part of a neurological alteration – the enlargement of DLS (dorsolateral striatum) an
area responsible for habit seeking behaviour and solving problems by elimination rather than by fluency of new
ideas and responses and insight, in goal-based thinking provided by DMS (dorsomedial striatum)

The dopamine and the stress model connect up: Insights happen in phasic dopamine while most people self-abuse
the tonic dopamine on trivialities to the point where dopamine level becomes a continuous high, as tonic level of
dopamine is maintained, the phasic spikes are cut off.

Men are drawn to stress, and mild stressors are present in most work environments, the family goes through
patterns of stress in their communications,

Stress level is strongly increased and maintained in public education by socialising stresses from the ages of
4 to 6 on,

Additional stresses are provided by the phenomena of addictive behaviours and others like OCD.

Stress shuts individual's cognitive faculties like pattern seeking, recognition, deep structure perception,
cognitive flexibility and novelty seeking

Those who do not conform to rituals are scolded and scorned, coerced to undergo stress (so called Jungian
backlash and "hate/contempt displays")

Wars and calamities are major contributors to trauma (and hence stress levels) and thus also cause repetition
(Fromm)

On some level newscasts of calamities and wars function as sources of mild stress

Stress levels of wartime experience stories propagate changes in epigenetics

Stress can be reduced by MBSR, long random walks, mindfulness or self-awareness exercises

Propranolol can reverse the phenomenon of reduced goal-directed, strategic thinking and increased habit
thinking/behaviour as caused by stress

There is a parallel in Buddhism and esoteric teachings - serenity (the absence of stress), then
mindfulness(self awareness in every activity – self monitoring), then insights, then empathy

Once serenity becomes continuous - flow begins

The key to better programming may be flow (agile attempts to achieve that...)

Flow can be learned and activated at will to some extent

There are triggers to flow

Flow itself maybe addictive(?) Kotler

Controlled state of flow is achievable but needs a recuperation phase

Whole empires are constructed by connecting together the rituals of the habit seekers who are "happy" to get into useful procedures with zoned out brains

Nations and empires collapse because pointless rituals replace goal based thinking with habit seeking where any old habit will do. Actions lose sense.

Even mild stress causes a flood of dopamine in the PFC shutting down executive functions. (A. Diamond 2010)

Stress in early life causes reprogramming of the dopaminergic system

Sugar takes over the dopaminergic system

Human neurology has a second control mechanism

Spontaneous impulses within the brain identified by Conrad Foo 2014
Is there willed control of dopamine release frequency and amount and can this response be learned / trained / perhaps inhibited?

Wolfram Schultz: 1990s, dopamine and expectation of reward

Coherence work and physiology based control of the vagus nerve Alan watkins

Induction of the parasympathetic system calms the mind, reduces anxiety

Flow is the result of volitional/ control of neurotransmitters

Flow has STER - selflessness, timelessness, effortlessness and richness

3 types of breath of which the sigh breath is the fastest to get into the parasympathetic system - a calm
state

A gelled team is not a type of a team its also a state of mind for a group of flow hackers aka 'mappers' in the original texts (Programmers stone and Reciprocality) what kotler calls the group flow.

10 seconds on and 10 seconds off (rest) skill aquisition for physical skills (like typing is the fastest way to learn

2015 - Vivienne Ming: 50 metalearning skills are necessary for career success in most knowledge worker careers, STEAM careers need
social skills, emotional skills, cognitive and creative skills and self regulation

programming stone has a silver buckshot - the metalearning skills, while metacognition is the masterkey to escape the habit rituals and enter a mapper programmer's mind.

2021 Michael Bruchas second reward and reinforcement circuit, beyond dopamine: GABAergic projection inhibits cholinergic interneurons.

Flow happens between anxiety (lack of skills for the objective) and boredom (lack of a challenge)

Problems that are solved suddenly and require fantasy inductive thinking (need insightfulness) vs solved slowly and require deductive thinking (can be learned)

Flow needs a broad selection of deep skills in a given domain (does it matter whether they are acquired by rituals or ) PLUS a skill of letting go and relaxing to drop into STER (selfless, timeless, effortless and rich) state suddenly. John Kounios from a Jazz improvisation study.