Have you ever talked to your own brain? “Good morning, brain. How are you today? Are your synapses firing off well? Have you lost many cells today?” My brain and I had a decent conversation this morning. Of course our own self-talk is endless. Some are better at ignoring it than others, and some are better at leveraging it than others. In that big bell curve of brain utilization, I’m not sure where I’d be–average I guess. Smack down the middle.
Not long after waking, I put pen to paper. My goal is to do this daily, out of principle, out of desire to maintain sanity of some sort. Years ago my friend Ron told me about The Artist’s Way, a Julia Cameron book which has guided many to more fruitful creative lives. Cameron wrote about Morning Pages–it’s non-negotiable. Get up and write three pages of long hand. Not computer. Your hand to the paper. It’s a different kind of connection. Back in ‘97 or so, I did this every day for a year. I now do them sporadically–but when I do get in the groove, things become clearer. I feel calmer, more creative, more accomplished.
Brainstorming is a factor in The Artist’s Way and so many other endeavors and disciplines, it’s a factor in all areas of our lives. As I do with many things, I subconsciously grab onto the idea of brainstorming and how to improve it–it’s part of my fabric. So how, where and why?
How To Brainstorm — simple, isn’t it? I believe it is. The hardest part about is simply doing it. We do brainstorm all the time, we just don’t stop and realize it. It’s what your brain does. OK, you can just let your brain wander all day and let its work entirely pass you by. Or you can capture it. Capturing it and using it can make all the difference. It can be your starting a poem, a love letter, a song, a web site, an invention, or a business.
Start with a letter, a word, a number, and emotion, anything. Start with or without a goal. Nothing is wrong. No judgment, no critic. You are free, let your mind wander freely. Circle a thought or concept, then branch out from it, move as quickly as you can. Let the thoughts spread out, blossom, grow. It is easy. Create now, and quickly. Review later.
Here are some quick & nasty ideas on where to brainstorm:
- Got a napkin? Start drawing, writing, and so on. Hopefully you’ve got a pen with you. If you don’t, borrow one, steal one, beg for one. If you don’t, well, you can prick your finger and write it in red…
- Notebooks, loose paper, calendars,
- WALLS. My friend Lisa wrote song ideas on walls. Shoot, I wrote on the wall when I was a kid. Big trouble there.
- Your Fridge. Use Magnetic Poetry. You can get some killer word collisions here. It’s fun too.
- Mind Mapping software. Freemind is a great one. More on that later.
- In the car – ok, be safe with this one. There are laws against texting
- In any room, chatroom, anyplace–in a collaborative manner
- Your PDA, digital recorder – go ahead, shout it out, or use the notes feature or better yet, even FreeMind has some pda apps. And who knows what the iPhone’s got.
So why brainstorm? Because you can! It can be the launching point toward somewhere marvelous. It can take you from where you are. Stagnant? Brainstorm on how the hell to get moving. Get down your dreams, wishes, shopping lists, gripes, anything. Use it to ultimately get better orgainzed–you generate ideas, then later you order them. Use it to better connect with yourself and others. It’s a guaranteed move forward.
We are so much in receive mode, or in such an automatic response mode. How great it is to capture what our mind creates , shake things up and interact with it differently, and have a way to look at what you create through different eyes. This is priceless. It’s entertaining as well.
So let it bloom!
As part of my journey into the day, and after I wrote some longhand in a very handsome journal my wife bought me, I went to review one of my FreeMind maps. It’s on songwriting. The map is growing rapidly. Within that map, you can move around ideas, up or down in the structure. I moved something around having to do with audience, and soon enough, the map got so large it was next to impossible to navigate.
Frustration. Ever get that? FreeMind Freaking, in abundance, in my face. I hit help, I tried moving round, reviewing documentation, going online, calling a medium, anything and everything–even looking at exporting and reimporting. I didn’t see the famous “repair” button or menu item anyplace. But no luck. Pulled some hair out because I couldn’t find the trick. Some of the documentation is in a MindMap itself!
But then, it appeared before my eyes in problem resolution glory: Format / Reset Position. I didn’t know quite how to phrase it–I was looking for auto arrange or the sort. But once I hit that menu item, poof. Back in business.
My FreeMind song map is one that I’m using to further my understanding of songwriting–by analyzing structure, charts, techniques. I visit it as often as I can. Links are embedded–both to web and local directories. Within this map I can brainstorm as well as organize and adjust later. A perfect way to get into whole brain thinking.
It’s all part of a desire to stay active, to have a better life, to look back on more accomplishments, dreams built. And I will say maybe a bit of it came from brainstorming and branching from there–with plans, follow up, execution, persistence.
It is and will be joyful.
