Stealing Fire: Roadmap to Ecstasy and Creative Flow — PILGRIM SOUL

What do Navy Seals, Burning Man devotees and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have in common? Though it may sound like a bad set up to the classic “walk into a bar” joke, in their book, it is that they all take a different approach to reach the same goal — Flow State

In Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy Seals, and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work, Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal come to the conclusion that the one thing these three groups have in common is reaching an elevated, focused and creative state of mind.

To be specific, Kotler and Wheal devote to their pursuit of the enlightened and elusive state of mind otherwise known as “.” Plato characterized ecstasis as not only an enlightened state of being, but also as a state of deep euphoria and stronger intellectual capabilities.

Stealing Fire is a close exploration and detailing of altered states of consciousness. Kotler and Wheal further delve into how altered states of consciousness can enhance creativity and improve problem solving skills in order to benefit all-around performance aspects in day-to-day life. Kotler and Wheal also found that the enlightened consciousness of “ecstasis” often allowed for an ease and increase in collaboration, sociability, and productivity.