Intuitive Ideation Techniques

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“Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found.” – James Russell Lowell

In the book, THINKERTOYS, Michael Michalko, presents sets of techniques for generating ideas.

In my previous posts, I covered Ideation Techniques (Part 1 of 3), Ideation Techniques (Part 2 of 3), and Ideation Techniques (Part 3 of 3) for ideas.

In this post, I’ll cover the Intuitive techniques for generating new ideas. The Intuitive techniques help you tap your unconscious to find ideas that you already have.

Technique #1: Chilling Out (Relaxation)

Relaxation techniques designed to clear your mind.

Technique #2: Blue Roses (Blue Roses)

Ways to use intuition, and how to develop it.

Technique #3: The Three B’s (Incubation)

Describes incubation and demonstrates how to use it.

Technique #4: Rattlesnakes and Roses (Analogies)

How to use personal, direct, symbolic, and fantasy analogies to originate ideas.

Technique #5: Stone Soup (Fantasy questions)

Coaches you to direct your imagination with fantasy questions and how to use your fantasies to generate ideas.

Technique #6: True and False (Fantasy questions)

How to think in terms of contradictions and paradoxes.

Technique #7: Dreamscape (Dreams)

How to capture the ideas in your dreams.

Technique #8: Da Vinci’s Technique (Drawing)

How to use freehand scribbling, doodling and drawing to inspire ideas.

Technique #9: Dali’s Technique (Hypnogogic imagery)

How to originate surrealistic imagery, and how to find the associative link between the images and your challenges.

Technique #10: Not Kansas (Imagery)

How to direct your imagination with guided imagery scenarios to find ideas in unlikely places.

Technique #11: The Shadow (Psycho synthesis)

How to create your own spiritual adviser to help you solve your challenges.

Technique #12: The Book of the Dead (Hieroglyphics)

How to find ideas in the hieroglyphics from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Key Take Aways

Here are my key take aways:

It seems to me that the keys to using intuition are being open to it and being in a relaxed state. Stress seems counter-productive to intuitive modes.
My favorite techniques are Stone Soup and The Shadow. I like thinking through “what if” scenarios, and I like the metaphor of personal guides.
I see parallels across techniques that use personal mentors. While the means may vary (spirit, mentor, power animal), the end remains the same – tap into your higher part of your unconscious.