Attending the Mind Mapping workshop organized by Salt & Light Ventures one rainy Wednesday felt like sitting in kindergarten class, with sketch pads and colored pens on the desk setting the playful mood. My classmates, though, were not a bunch of cute 5-year-olds but a group of corporate professionals; some of them even hold a vice-president position, which didn’t matter much at the time. (We’re all like good buddies there, immensely enjoying the activities.) And the teacher was our facilitator, Eric Villarama (if the name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the husband of actress Donita Rose) who looked so relaxed in his hooded sweat shirt, jeans and converse shoes.
The mind-map thinking technique was designed and originated by Tony Buzan, an international best-selling author and the creator of mental literacy concept. Mind mapping aims to maximize the brain’s creative potential using imagination and association. Its principles can be applied to any activity that requires thinking. But then, is there a part of life that doesn’t require thinking? Hmmm, think again.
In this specific workshop, mind mapping was applied to marketing and advertising. Imagine marketing plans and creative briefs presented in an entirely different format. Using sketch pads and colored pens, each of us created our very own mind maps, with “what makes us happy” as starting point. I found it a little tricky at first, but it became easier as I slowly learned to process my thoughts by associating things with pictures, colors, shapes, etc. It helped that Eric never failed to inject his natural humor during the workshop - that made us maintain our lively demeanor despite the gloomy weather. (Eric, by the way, is a stand-up comic.)
 
Based on his research, Eric said a kindergarten pupil has a creativity quotient level of 95+ while an adult - professionals like us attendees - has only 10. Probably because the more we learn, the more we fear to take risks and dare ourselves. Many of us have even forgotten about daydreaming, which he said is one way to stimulate our senses. Most of the time, we would rather keep our ideas in a safe box where no one can see and criticize.
I couldn’t say the workshop has totally erased all my reservations to speak my mind all the time, such as brainstorming sessions for instance. Nor can I say that it has increased my creativity quotient – well, at least not yet. But at this point when I sometimes feel dead-beat about thinking out of the box, the experience has opened my eyes and my heart to the joy of creating ideas. It should be regarded as a journey to be savored and not as work to get tired of.
Salt and Light Ventures has upcoming workshops on Mind Mapping and other topics. Click here for complete list of seminars and schedules.
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