Do you remember a time you were completely absorbed in what you were doing?
Perhaps while engaged in a pastime you love.
Time flew by.
You felt deeply happy and calm.
You were aware of all the details involved.
It didn’t bother you when things were difficult or went slightly wrong.
The day just disappeared.
This kind of absorption is at the heart of an approach to life shared by some of the world’s oldest people. In Japan gravitating towards activities that spark this state of “flow” leads to your “ikagai”. This is “the happiness of always being busy” according to Hector Garcia and Frances Miralles the authors of Ikagai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.
They also add that “the happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.”
Many of the world’s oldest people live in Japan. They prioritise ikagai nearly every day of their lives.
Pursuing ikagai comes down to focusing on activities that bring this state of flow where you are absorbed in your activity – a peak state that is inherently enjoyable.
This state also shares its qualities with mindful awareness. Practising the skills of mindfulness allows us to take this experience from something that is only available when we are enjoying a favourite activity to an experience that is accessible on demand. Mindfulness makes this possible because any part of our sensory experience can be used as the focus of mindfulness practice. With practise you can bring the 3 attentional skills of mindfulness to whatever you wish and this peak state available in any context. Having the ability to access it with mindfulness skills, regardless of what is happening, means you have access to an experience of happiness that is deeply pleasant, calm and focused and not dependent on the ‘right conditions’.
Discovering that this experience is available and can be trained and deepened can be life changing.