Re: state of flow in conlang (was Re: Ke'kh - degrees of volition)

Jonathan Chang wrote:
>
> In a message dated 2000:09:19 3:34:20 PM, joerg.rhiemeier@FREENET.DE writes:
> >
> > [...]
> >
> >Does anyone else here have state of flow grammaticalized in their
> >conlang?
>
>     I am thinking of using aspect modulators (sorta like adverbs) in Viivo.
> Some are similar to this idea of "flow":
>     _alea_  randomly occurring, periodically
>     _fluxii_ in flucuation (sp?), constantly
>     _nadii_  streaming, indeterminate to whether constant or periodic
>
>     These aspect conceptualizations tie-in with Viivo's _CaosCultura_.
Interesting, but not really related to what I was talking about.

"Flow" is not an aspect, but a state of mind: you enjoy doing something
such that you don't want to stop.  People in a state of flow often
forget
about time and other things around them, and spend more time on it
than they were intending to spend on it.  It is something like a trance,
but a _conscious_ trance.  A state of intrinsic motivation.  Hard to
explain
in a few words.

This is in a sense both a lower and a higher degree of volition than
simple volitionality.  Lower because the subject has less "control"
of the action; higher because he/she not only acts out of free will,
but really *enjoys* what he/she is doing.

I admit that this is a difficult concept, and grammaticalizing it in a
language
probably requires a culture where self-realization and creativity are
held
to be very important, as they are among the Elves of Kemr.

Joerg.