# Is there a term for this state? (The "zone") **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-state-the-zone/196479 "2003-08-20T16:53:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-state-the-zone/196479/1 "2003-08-20T16:53:10Z")
It seems I remember learning a term for a sort of consciousness (or lack thereof) in a college English class. The professor used the example of a child swinging; he’s happy in the moment, but only because he _is_, not because he has evaluated the moment or is even aware that he is happy. In adulthood sometimes I notice I achieve this state (I call it being in the zone) when I’m cooking. Is there a term for those moments of just “being” in the immediate absence of self-analyzation? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-state-the-zone/196479/2 "2003-08-20T16:59:38Z")
There are probably quite a few Eastern Religion and New Age terms for that. I like “being” as a simple way of distinguishing that “state of mind” from other more analytical or retrospective states. I may have it mixed up with the more “nirvana” oriented levels, but I seem to recall “satori” as a Japanese equivalent to the place of “just being.” I do look forward to more knowledgeable replies. It’s a good thing to have a name for. I like living in that place as much as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Claudio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Claudio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claudio)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-state-the-zone/196479/3 "2003-08-20T17:06:52Z")
[Flow](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0712657592/qid=1061399479/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/202-4991486-8574237) ---
**Author:** ![smam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@smam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smam)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-state-the-zone/196479/4 "2003-08-20T17:48:49Z")
In ‘The inner Game of Golf’ by Timothy Gallwey he describes it as " Relaxed concentration." he goes on to write - > [@](#): > > **"Everyone has experienced the awareness mode at one time or another during moments of peak performance or experience. In those spontaneous but all too elusive moments of heightened alertness and perception, actions seem artlessly excellent and life simple and whole. Even in complicated, demanding situations the effort needed is clear,and actions flow out of us that are uncannily appropriate. Golf shots are made as ifthey were the easiest imaginable, and we wonder what we ever thought was difficult about the game. > Athletes often call this experience " playing out of one’s mind, " a phrase that indicates an absense of mental interference. I have interviewed many athletes who reported that when they are at their bestthey are not thinking; the mind is clear and very much aware. Ted Williams said that in such moments he could see the baseball so well " that sometimes it almost stands still for me. " Eastern martial arts disciples have known for centuries this fundamental equation between mind and body; the les conscious thought in the mind, the better the chance for pure and precise action. " A single conscious thought through the mind diverts the arrow from its course towards the target," says the Zen archery master ( Zen in the Art of Archery ). > People who have experienced heightened performance in this state of mind are often surprisingly humble about their achievement, attributing the credit not so much to themselves as to the amazing capabilities of the body and mind when working harmoniously. There seems to be less room for ego ( Self1 ) in the awareness mode, and when it does intrude the magic of the experience usually vanishes.**