Though I should post this...
Since becoming a photreader, I have always had difficulty with Mind Mapping because I thought that I couldn't draw. I mean, even my stick figures looked terrible. But, I gave it the old college try.
Paul recommends learning Mind Mapping through Buzan's the Mind Map Book [as well as some others Margret 
]. I purchased the book. And in his book he makes the statement that something like 90% of people or higher) believe they have a genetic trait which makes them horrible at drawing. Buzan argues, however, that this is not the case. Most of our brain's function is dedicated to seeing, and thus, if we were to receive some instruction on drawing and practice for several hours, most people would be able to draw well. He then shows a before and after pciture of his own art work to illustrate.
I photoread and dipped that section and thought that this would be a perfect chance to me to experiment with Direct Learning. Sure, drawing is a skill, not a behavior, but I thought that if I photoread some instructional books, I might assimilate some techniques.
So, yesterday, I went to Borders and found five books...three on cartoon drawing and two on drawing in general (I figured that cartooning would work best for mind mapping in the beginning). My purpose was to improve my nautal drawing abilities and be able to express myself visually. I got into state and spent about 15 minutes Photoreading.
I noticed in my expanded visual field some strange looks people were giving me. normally, that would have bothered me a little, but then I thought, "WOW, I can see their faces in my peripheral vision!!!"
I ended with the affirmations and then went on to something else entirely.
Three hours later, I sat down and something amazing happened, I DREW. I'm not a professional artist quite yet, but my ability to draw has improved by leaps and bounds. I drew a still life and several cartoons. My mind maps were brighter and more alive. I can sense shapes better and I have better I hand coordination. As Paul Scheele would say, I developed a strong eye-mind connection.
If you were to ask me to tell you consciously the techniques that I photoread, I would have no ideabecause it was not my purpose to know any material on a conscious level. But, I am drawing better and able to express myself visually better than I ever did before. And that was my purpose.
Try it for yourselves. Next, I'll photoread some martial arts books (I study tae kwon do and hapkido and I am always looking for an edge). If anyone is interested, I'll let you know the results.
[This message has been edited by JoeJones (edited December 01, 2001).]
