CONTENTS

COVER

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TITLE PAGE

DEDICATION

NOTES

AUTHOR’S NOTE

PREFACE

1. HAPPINESS REVISITED

Introduction

Overview

The Roots of Discontent

The Shields of Culture

Reclaiming Experience

Paths of Liberation

2. THE ANATOMY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The Limits of Consciousness

Attention as Psychic Energy

Enter the Self

Disorder in Consciousness: Psychic Entropy

Order in Consciousness: Flow

Complexity and the Growth of the Self

3. ENJOYMENT AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE

Pleasure and Enjoyment

The Elements of Enjoyment

The Autotelic Experience

4. THE CONDITIONS OF FLOW

Flow Activities

Flow and Culture

The Autotelic Personality

The People of Flow

5. THE BODY IN FLOW

Higher, Faster, Stronger

The Joys of Movement

Sex as Flow

The Ultimate Control: Yoga and the Martial Arts

Flow through the Senses: The Joys of Seeing

The Flow of Music

The Joys of Tasting

6. THE FLOW OF THOUGHT

The Mother of Science

The Rules of the Games of the Mind

The Play of Words

Befriending Clio

The Delights of Science

Loving Wisdom

Amateurs and Professionals

The Challenge of Lifelong Learning

7. WORK AS FLOW

Autotelic Workers

Autotelic Jobs

The Paradox of Work

The Waste of Free Time

8. ENJOYING SOLITUDE AND OTHER PEOPLE

The Conflict between Being Alone and Being with Others

The Pain of Loneliness

Taming Solitude

Flow and the Family

Enjoying Friends

The Wider Community

9. CHEATING CHAOS

Tragedies Transformed

Coping with Stress

The Power of Dissipative Structures

The Autotelic Self: A Summary

10. THE MAKING OF MEANING

What Meaning Means

Cultivating Purpose

Forging Resolve

Recovering Harmony

The Unification of Meaning in Life Themes

NOTES

REFERENCES

COPYRIGHT