Flow by Hwang Nong-moon: A Summary of the Three-Day Immersion Process

Today's book notes summarize the three-day process of entering flow from Professor Hwang Nong-moon's book Flow.I also plan to write about what to do before entering flow and specific methods for achieving it.

 

Even someone with some practice in meditative thinking, or thinking slowly, takes about a week to enter a complete state of flow when trying it for the first time.. However, once you have experienced flow, and become familiar with repeatedly immersing yourself in the topic you are thinking about, 3days are enough to reach the flow stage, according to the book..

 

The process of entering flow over three days is as follows.

 

Day 1: Clear Away Distracting Thoughts and Establish the Right Posture

 

On the first day, focus on analyzing the chosen problem.. Calm your mind,, sit in a comfortable chair, and think slowly about the problem.. It is important to deliberately slow the pace of thought,, and writing the problem on a note is even better.. Also,, get enough sleep,, and write down ideas whenever possible, even if they seem immature..

 

Day 2:Ideas Begin to Move

 

As on the first day,, continue thinking through conscious effort.. Better ideas may emerge than on the first day.. At this stage,, it is important to stay peaceful by calming your mind and thinking slowly.. Also,, do not stop thinking intently about the problem., Depending on the situation, you may even make use of a crisis.. Again that evening, exercise for about 1hour, working up a sweat,, and continue thinking only about the problem until you fall asleep..

 

3Day:The Joy of Thinking Surges

 

On the third day, thinking about the problem becomes much easier.. You can think for longer without interruption,, and thinking about the problem no longer feels boring or difficult.. When you reach this state, 70~80% is the approximate degree of flow you can be considered to have achieved..

 

For full immersion, this 3-day process can be adjusted slightly to suit your own way of thinking and lifestyle.. What matters is organizing your thoughts slowly, and concentrating on them.. Through this, you can experience complete immersion..

 

By going through this 3-day process toward full immersion,, you can gain value beyond simply solving the problem, the book explains. It also says that the experience of flow improves our thinking abilities, and enhances creativity, and that this process helps us understand problems deeply, and develop the ability to discover new ideas or solutions within them..

 

To enter flow as described in this book, we need to know what to do and what to prepare beforehand. I would like to address those topics in the next post.