Many years ago I was introduced to the technique of mind-mapping.  It has been a valued companion on my mental journey ever since.  The map begins with a single word or phrase in the center of a blank sheet.  It fills the rest of the sheet with (however loosely) related words, phrases, perhaps doodles and designs.

The mind map is an unconstrained and disorganized outpouring of the creative brain.  It generates bits and pieces.  Words are written at odd angles.  Colors add a playful dimension.  Shapes---clouds, stars, boxes, pyramids, circles, ellipses-add a visual dimension of relatedness.  Arrows, loops, and squiggles connect the dots.  Mind-mapping is brain-storming, complete with thunder and lightning.

Some mind maps remain at the stage of gently orchestrated chaos.  They play their role by loosening the brain and liberating free association, then exit the stage.  Other mind maps are a warm-up for the next stage of creativity.  Tasks scattered across the page are pulled into lists, into flow charts, into sequences and diagrams imposed by the rational mind.  Free association leads to structure:  goals, actions, and outcomes.

The mind is a powerful tool in a rich and meaningful life. It starts out in the early years with a habit of creative learning and free connectivity that transform us from small blank slates into complex adult beings.  As we mature, the mind relies more consistently on patterns, on habits, on logic, on structure, on objectives and accomplishments.  In the process, many of us lose touch with the creative brain.  We write from an outline.  We shop from a list.  We work from a plan.  We sing to the music. You get the idea.

A mind map is a jam session.  Maybe even a peanut-butter-and-jelly session.  We re-connect with the inner toddler and her finger paints.  We let it flow. 

In the five years that I have been writing Reflections, I have developed a comfortable outline.  I sit down to the blank page and know roughly where to start, what the middle will look like, and how I will end.  So do you.  I suspect we both take comfort from the familiarity we share on Sunday mornings. 

What if that changed?  Not all the time, but now and then.  This morning I tried something entirely different...I wrote a piece in free-flowing mind-map style, absent the graphics (one step at a time, please).  Next time I am going to break with tradition and celebrate our fifth anniversary by sharing it with you here.  See you then!

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What does the interplay of creative and rational minds look like in your life?  How do you give the playful right brain its chance to sing and dance?