The Kairos Code

Based on interviews with several of Norway's foremost artists and top athletes, Sødal developed his PhD at Oslo National Academy of the Arts a performance psychological method which is called The Kairos Code. The goal of this method is to contribute to the development of self-regulatory skills and optimization of a practitioners' creative resources. The method has been well-received in various performance environments, and in his lecture, Sødal outlined some main principles from his research that have been further developed in recent years through collaborations with both the business sector, top sports, and the art field. The concept of Kairos has its roots in ancient Greece and has for 2500 years represented an influential idea and a practice connected to moments of opportunity that has been applied in various fields such as philosophy of science, philosophy, psychology, sports and art. The most important dimensions that have crystallized in my research are presence (1) understood as direct experience gained through immediate sense perception which connects us to the moment and thus with reality itself. Thinking about something often prevents us from being in it. Momentary sensitivity (2) is about being responsive, open and receptive to what is actually happening in the moment. Surrender (3) is about letting the moment control us rather than we trying to control the moment. Free-flowing attention (4) involves a sweeping, effortless focus that does not cling to the past and future or to individual objects in the field of attention. The last key concept is what I call fundamental self-experience (5) which is about gaining ownership of one's own core personality and creative power and expression.