A phenomenological inquiry into the attention postures of flow-like states

The phenomenon of flow is a state of optimal performance that occurs in a variety of settings that include the realm of athletic performance within which this study will be situated. The state has been explored primarily from a cognitive perspective, which carries within it the assumptions of a modernist philosophy of mind as a rational information processing system superimposed on insentient biology. However, flow is a phenomenon that seems better situated within an understanding of the mind as embodied process. As such, the investigation of flow would appropriately include the exploration of the somatic experience of the body in order to offer a more holistic picture of the phenomenon. The concept of attention posture is introduced, referring to the somatically located core subjective I---the origin point of attention. This attention source has a bodily location, and changes in its location correlate with changes in state of consciousness. The method of somatic phenomenology was employed in the investigation of flow-like states, situating the phenomenon within a somatic perspective and a participatory worldview. The findings of the study suggest that the attention posture is an associated component of state of consciousness, giving rise to qualitative phenomena specific to a particular state. As such, the study data demonstrated that as the attention posture changed location relative to the body, the qualitative data changed as well, giving rise to what seemed to be a continuum of specific flow-like states. The implications of the study suggest that to consider qualitative data apart from the structure of the underlying phenomenal constituents of a state of consciousness, in particular the attention posture, is to consider only part of the picture relative to the state. This in turn may give rise to inconsistent data, as has been the case with some flow research to date.