On Sunday Feb 6, I attended again the 7th All Japan Memory Championships in Nara, both as a Judge and a speaker.

The Memory Championships are an amazing phenomena to see, with contestants competing against the clock to memorize a shuffled pack of cards, or 99 names and faces, random sequences of numbers, words, or phrases, all in the space of 5 or 10 minutes per challenge.

The Memory Championships are held each February in Yamato Koriyama City, a small Castle Town in Nara Prefecture, celebrating the birthplace of Hieda no Are 1300 years ago. Hieda no Are had an impeccable memory, being able to recite any text of any length on hearing or reading it just once. Working under the Emperor Tenmu, in 712 Hieda no Are was commissioned to compile a formal version of the Kojiki, the Record of Ancient Matters, which is the oldest chronicle in Japan, and details the mythology and stories surrounding the creation of the Japanese islands and the gods of Shinto tradition.

Hieda no Are is to Japan, what the blind poet Homer was to Greece, who chronicled from memory and for all posterity the many wonderful stories of Greek Mythology in the Illiad and the Odyssey.

The event is sponsored by the Yamato Koriyama City Government, and is covered by local media and Kansai television. Participants range from small children to elderly contestants, and one after another they perform feats of memory under pressure that seem like pure magic.

The Memory competition runs for the better part of the day, and I was asked to give a short message to all of the participants and spectators at the end of the competition. This is the essence of what I told them.

After the contestants spend an intense 5 or 10 minutes memorizing an extremely challenging set of random sequences of numbers or words, they are given again about that much time to reproduce them in the exact same sequence. As the answers are written out in pencil, the room grows serenely quiet with the sound of pencils rapidly jotting out the answers with remarkable accuracy. The sound is hypnotic, like the patter of gentle rainfall. I told them that when I first came to Japan in 1972 as an exchange student, I was quite taken with the small sounds around me, which in wooden Japanese houses became magically multiplied. You could hear every nuance of changes in the wind, passing sounds in the street, and the birds and insects of the season. I said that some 40 years later today in Tokyo many of these small sounds have vanished behind concrete walls, or with massive urbanization, and that the small sounds you are more likely to hear today might be the tinny beats leaking from the earphones of a young person plugged into his or her own world on the train. The poetry is gone. However, as I heard the sound of pattering pencils, I felt as if I were listening to the sounds of the flow of thoughts like rain, a very pleasant experience, and quite remarkable considering the high level of their memory skills. For me, it was a vintage Japan experience, and one that you seldom get to experience today.

They loved the message, and it still sticks with me. You might wonder why anyone would want to spend time memorizing random bits of information with no useful purpose other than being in the competition. Actually, it goes far beyond that.

The contestants are not memorizing as you might think. They are associating sounds and images with incredible fluency, converting what is mere abstract information to the rest of us into a vivid and memorable story or sequence of rich associated imagery, which they are then able to easily remember and access to convert back into the sequence of shuffled cards, the names and faces, the random sequences of numbers or words or phrases. They are practicing imagination at a world class level, and it is a remarkable thing to be a part of.

Here are some photos of the venue, as well as some of my notes and impressions taken during the event in my Idea Marathon Notebook.

Why a makeover is much better than the default fan page on Facebook

At a glance, look at the BEFORE and AFTER.

How did this happen?

You can set up a Facebook Fanpage for free, and it will look exactly like everyone else’s Fanpage, except for your photo, and the content of course, if they get that far.

Or you can customize it yourself if you are a Tech Wizard, or you can outsource the job to the best place I know, the Webchicks in New Zealand who worked this magic on my Facebook Fan Page in a very short time!

These ladies are the same Wizardresses who designed my website and blog at www.williamreed.jp. They are from the land where they shot the films The Last Samurai, The Lord of the Rings, Avatar, and many other magic films, and clearly something must have rubbed off.

They not only created great graphics including a logo which is now consistent with my Twitter page background, but also set it up so that I could easily add and display photo albums, videos, a discussion form, and event pages. All of these are available on the Facebook platform, but the default page that Facebook gives you is just a default page.

To get the cool visual design and navigation, you can either do it yourself if you can, or you can let the Webchicks do a brilliant job for you in a very short time.

Anyway, please visit my new Facebook Fan Page, have a look, have a like, and add it to your favorites if you may.

http://ipadcreatorsclub.com

Join Us      Next Event in Omotesando     Mar 10

I am pleased and proud to announce the launch of a new venture, the iPad Creators Club!

Details on the Club can be found on the website, but I would also like to announce the date and event of our official launch at the Ginza Apple Store in Tokyo, in the 3rd Floor Theater, on January 20 (Thu) from 19:00~20:00. No reservations are required, and the event is free.

If you are already an active iPad User or beginner owner, or even if you have an iPhone and are considering getting an iPad, this event and this club is for you!

I founded this club as an Authorized Apple Users Group, so we will get lots of support from the Apple Store and other groups. Come celebrate our launch, and learn about how the iPad can be a game changer in your lifestyle and business.

Now a Tool for Flexible Focus in Your Life

First introduced in my Flexible Focus Column on ActiveGarage.com, the Mobile Mandala article describes the new MandalaChart for iPad App, which was recently released, and is available through  iTunes iPad App Store.

Search for the Mandala Chart for iPad App, and the icon shown here.

English Online Users Guide

There are instructions online in English with a User’s Guide on How to use the MandalaChart for iPad.

For Japanese, there is the マンダラチャートiPad Page.

I created the following Mandala Chart in this App to describe my Flexible Focus Column, which is the primary source of information in English on the Mandala Chart and its applications.

And Now the Nanba Diary

I have written a number of articles on Nanba such as, NANBA: Art of Physical Finesse, and for which I have a separate website called Nanbanote.com, which also has a page of Nanba Articles and Nanba Videos.

Now to go with the release of the MandalaChart for iPad, we are please to announce a series of Content Templates for this App. The first in this template series is a set of 30 templates which can help you develop a Nanba Mindset on a daily basis.

Check out the NANBA DIARY on MandalaChart for iPad

Note that it is only possible to view these templates on an iPad with the MandalaChart for iPad App.

The English version is available at the NANBA DIARY Contents Page.

The Japanese version is available at the NANBA NIKKI (ナンバ日記) Contents Page.

For both there are bonus downloads that explain more about NANBA the Art of Physical Finesse, and how it the Nanba Mindset can be developed to a high level in your daily life.

There will also be videocasts and further articles, as well as online coaching coming!

We will help you learn and apply this at a high level, no matter where in the world you live.

William Reed

Prezi is just the Beginning

We view life on one screen at a time. The Art of Attention is being able to select the screen you want to see or show, and to be able to freely zoom in for a closer look, or out for an aerial view.

The Prezi presentation above is a quick visual sweep over three of the events I am conducting in January and beyond. Click on the Prezi screen above, and hold the cursor over to the right hand side of the screen. A zoom bar will appear that allows you to zoom in and out on the screen. To get a close up view of any object or video on the screen, simply click on the object or text, and it will occupy the entire screen. There is even an option for a full screen view. Alternatively, you can visit my Prezi Page, and see how this amazing software works.

Living in FLOW or in FEAR Prezi

Folding the Square Prezi

January Events

For more details on this month’s events, visit the following links:

1/19 (WED)
Creative Career Path Orientation @ Caspa Ginza

1/20 (THU)
iPad Creators Club @ Ginza Apple Store

1/25 (TUE)
SAMURAI WALK @ Kiyosumi Teien

I apologize for the mixture of English and Japanese information and media, which was obviously created for a Japanese audience, but I hope you will bear with me in seeing how the process of flexible focus works in Social Media. This year we will be rolling out many new events and stages, and attempting to provide access for people in both English and Japanese.

A Virtual View of the Venue

The Internet gives us an ability to do this that surely would seem like magic to people even a short time ago. For example, this month on January 20 from 19:00~20:00, I am doing another event at the Ginza Apple Store, launching an Authorized Apple User Group I am calling the iPad Creators Club.  Without leaving your seat, in a virtual sense you can go there and see a full photographic panoramic view of the street in front of the Apple Store, as well as locate it on the Google Map by clicking on View Larger Map below. From there you can zoom in for the street view of the Apple Store, or just take a virtual walk around Ginza. That is quite amazing.

However, if you are in Tokyo, I hope instead that you will actually come inside the store for my presentation in the 3F theater. Look for the announcement on the Ginza Apple Store Events Calendar (in Japanese).

View Larger Map

Interview on Wealth Dynamics USTREAM Channel (Japanese)

On January 10, I was interviewed in Japanese on the WD USTREAM Channel, following my first guest appearance on that channel on Oct 12, 2010.

In this interview, I did a preview of three upcoming events I will be hosting this month.

1/19 (WED)
Creative Career Path Orientation @ Caspa Ginza

Find out how to Get Your Career in Gear! This orientation will preview the 4 Steps to getting in FLOW on a Creative Career Path.

1/20 (THU)
iPad Creators Club @ Ginza Apple Store

Come to the opening launch of the a New Authorized Apple Group I am starting, and learn how the iPad can get your Creativity in FLOW, and be a Game Changer in your life!

1/25 (TUE)
SAMURAI WALK @ Kiyosumi Teien

Set in a beautiful Japanese Garden, learn how to find your FLOW in daily movements.

It is all about learning how to Live in FLOW, not in FEAR

Here is a Goalscape Map of what I presented in Japanese on the video above, which is also a preview of some of the concepts, exercises, and experiences in the upcoming events this month!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me in English or Japanese.

GOALSCAPE is the perfect circle

For its simplicity, elegance, and ease of use, Goalscape is an innovative and fun way to look at your life goals and projects. A perfect way to review the current year, or preview the coming one.

I wrote it about how it gives you a Gestalt view of your goals and projects in my recent article, Tyranny of the To Do List.

I have spend a number of hours in fascination working with this magic compass, and even speaking with one of the developers, an Olympic athlete who sailed in the 49er Skiff Class in the Syndney 2000 Olympics. In fact the whole development team are Olympic and world class athletes and coaches, who developed the software not from an IT perspective, but as a practical tool for managing and coaching an Olympic team.

Perhaps that is why the software feels so well tuned and managable, like the sailing craft which was in part the reason for its development.

Whether you are wondering what the past year meant to you, and want to get a bird’s eye view of all you can be thankful for, and all of the lessons learned, or want to plan your priorities and projects for the coming year, Goalscape will help you do you that.

And for a deeper view into that crystal ball, read my latest article on ActiveGarage.com called Projecting Your Future.

All the Best in charting and achieving your dreams for 2011 and beyond!

Yeha Noha – Sacred Spirit – Wishes of Happiness – Native American Chant

A beautiful mix of New Age electronic music and Native American Chants. Best Wishes for a Peaceful Collaboration of World Cultures.

If you like this, subscribe to Katydidscorner YouTube Channel for more like it, with great annotations and background.