Only one firefighter, the one with the least amount of training and experience (10 years), spoke negatively about being in flow and how it frightened him. I found the more training and experience a firefighter had, the more likely he or she was to employ creative suspension and choose the appropriate gentle action while in a flow state. All of the 49 stories collected contained characteristics of flow, creative suspension, and gentle action. Additional common themes, such as the triggers of flow and references to training, were also identified. Characteristics of gentle action include subtlety, the ability to refocus and operate within the dynamics of the system, and taking nothing for granted. Characteristics of creative suspension consist of resisting the urge to rush in, listening without judgment, and knowing when the time is right for action. Characteristics of flow include clear goals, opportunities for acting decisively, the merging of action and awareness, and an altered sense of time. The interviews were coded in terms of the characteristics of flow, creative suspension, and gentle action. Using a basic qualitative approach, I asked 16 firefighters to review the definitions of “flow,” “creative suspension,” and “gentle action,” then asked them to relate the first stories that came to mind about being in a flow state while active in fire and rescue situations. This is the report of a study of the flow experiences of firefighters and their ability to make decisions, effecting gentle action, by employing creative suspension.
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