<p>Loose definitions for mindfulness and flow (text from Wikipedia):</p>

<p><em>Mindfulness</em> involves being aware moment-to-moment, of one’s subjective conscious experience from a first-person perspective.</p>

<p><em>Flow</em> is described as a deep focus on nothing but the activity – not even oneself or one's emotions.</p>

<p>Both are good, but they appear to be opposite mental states. Is entering a flow state incompatible with developing mindfulness? If so, then would flow be considered "bad"? If not, then how can these distinct concepts be presented so that they are compatible?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-30T15:23:50.747Z
I just found out that the Chinese character for "mindfulness" is composed of ideograms for "present" and "heart". This is interesting because mushin - a Japanese concept similar to flow - literally means "absence of heart" (though without the negative connotations we westerners would associate with this notion).
JnBrymn
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-30T22:46:39.640Z
@neko I'm thinking about mushin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushin_(mental_state)) but in the sense of "mind" rather than "heart"
JnBrymn
<mindfulness>
Are mindfulness and flow related
# Are mindfulness and flow related

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-30)

Loose definitions for mindfulness and flow (text from Wikipedia):

*Mindfulness* involves being aware moment-to-moment, of one’s subjective conscious experience from a first-person perspective.

*Flow* is described as a deep focus on nothing but the activity – not even oneself or one's emotions.

Both are good, but they appear to be opposite mental states. Is entering a flow state incompatible with developing mindfulness? If so, then would flow be considered "bad"? If not, then how can these distinct concepts be presented so that they are compatible?

**Tags:** mindfulness

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I just found out that the Chinese character for "mindfulness" is composed of ideograms for "present" and "heart". This is interesting because mushin - a Japanese concept similar to flow - literally means "absence of heart" (though without the negative connotations we westerners would associate with this notion).  
> **username_0**: @neko I'm thinking about mushin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushin_(mental_state)) but in the sense of "mind" rather than "heart"  

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