In class we have talked a lot about flow. Victor Turner, in Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, defines flow from M. Csikszentmihalyi, as “the merging of action and awareness, the crucial component of enjoyment” (234). It involves acting “with total involvement” in an ego-less state. All your attention is focused and fixed, where you are fully immersed. An example we talked about in class was when athletes are on the field playing in a game, centered on their task. They are not aware of the screaming fans or other stimuli around them. Each move they make is done without thinking and the moment they think about thinking how to do it, flow is disturbed.
Flow is experienced in pilgrimage and is the reason many people go on a pilgrimage more than once. It is a state where an individual or a group can be feeling complete bliss but they do not have to think about it to experience it. This is why it so attractive to pilgrims, it “is one of the most fulfilling of human experiences” (103). Flow can be found within communitas because it is an essential component of communitas. When communitas occurs, it is done without effort or consciousness. It is not forced or socially constructed. I think most people desire flow because it facilitates genuine relationships that are difficult to form and find in every day society. A person does not have to worry about mistrust or betrayal. These thoughts do not even cross their minds and are not an issue.
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