What I've Been Reading...

I thought I might share with you bloggers what I've been reading lately. Well, some of the things I've been reading. I have about 14 books next to my bed, all of which I dabble in occasionally. I've been reading a lot of psychology books. Have you ever heard of Csikszentmihalyi? He's fascinating. Here's an article that's a good overview: http://austega.com/education/articles/flow.htm
I read a book called Beyond Boredom and Anxiety. It 's about optimal experiences, or flow--where we do things that are not so easy that we're bored and not so difficult that we feel anxious (hence the name). It was great.

In a similar vein I've been reading some of Abraham Maslow's books. Similar to Csikszentmihalyi's flow, Maslow writes about "peak experiences". Most people know him for his Hierarchy of Needs. It's all related. In order to be a self-actualizing person you need to have your basic needs met. If you are driven by deficiency in life you won't have the power to go beyond that. Right now I'm reading Toward a Psychology of Being. Fascinating too. I got this book at the library and I'm wishing I would have just bought it. There's so many things I want to underline and notes I want to take. Here's a link that has a good overview and a lot of exerpts: http://www.psychedelic-library.org/maslow.htm
Maybe this isn't interesting to anyone, but I'm excited about it all and I thought I should share.