A colourful treatise

A colourful treatise

May 2017

By Punya Srivastava

Mind Mapping is considered a useful technique to make optimum utilisation of your creative mind. A mind map is a thinking tool which helps one visualise a concept and its associated aspects in a vibrant, nonlinear and branched out manner. Mind Mapping Instructor Maneesh Dutt has tried to take this technique a notch higher by coming up with a mind map mandala colouring book. Apparently, the reason behind marrying these two concepts was to harness the potential of a relaxed mind since mandala colouring was found to greatly help manage stress in adults, going by the sudden rise in the sales of adult mandala colouring books in the market.

Live Life Colourfully is a big book with around 15 mandala illustrations based on mind mapping of various aspects of life, such as monthly goals, decision making, analysis of habits, problem solving, resolving relationships, and so on. Each chapter starts with a brief understanding of a particular aspect of life being discussed, followed by a step-bystep method of drawing your own mandala. A mind map uses the concept of radiance or branching out to denote creative thinking, and replace dull and linear thinking. Its recall power increases multifold after the elements of colourful mandalas get added to the picture.

Dutt's book is a beginner's guide to the potent tool that enables one to unlock his or her creative thinking prowess. Since Mind Map Mandalas combine both aspects of the brain – analytical as well as creative – they are a great way to bring both the hemispheres of the brain at equilibrium. Dutt is a certified Mind Map instructor with a feverish passion to take mind mapping to more and more people, which also forms the backbone of all his workshops on creativity, innovation and managing projects. His first book, Mind Maps for Effective Project Management, evoked serious interest and ranked 31st in the Management category of Kindle and e-books.