Practical versions

Leon's version

A treasure revealed

Picture this ...

Imagine you're in a room, looking at a colourful grid of many different shapes spread out on a wall. There's something intriguing about it – something almost magical. There are triangles, circles, squares, stars. Each has something on it – a word or diagram. There's one shape of each colour ... placed in a strange formation ... what could the underlying pattern be? It's as if each shape is a door or a window to another world. It looks like a chocolate box for the mind, or a magical carriage to take you on a journey through your imagination.

Get ready to embark on your very own Odyssey.

It won't be like any journey you've ever gone on before.

Want to find out more? Read on!

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Odyssey Grid. My version has three distinct sections: a top row with black shapes, a multicoloured grid in the middle, and a bottom row with white shapes.

Look at the top row:

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This row contains one example of each shape used in the grid. All the shapes in this row are black. Each shape has a heading word in it. I call it the 'Heading Row'. It provides a key that tells you which category relates to each shape.

In the next section, the shapes in the Heading Row reappear in different colours, arranged randomly across a grid of six rows and seven columns. If you look closely, you'll see they're arranged rather like a Sudoku puzzle, with as little similarity in shape and colour between neighbouring pieces as possible.

In my version, colours are used simply as navigation devices. They don't relate directly to the content of the grid pieces.

Each piece has an intriguing word or diagram on it. Look at this one, for example:

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Take a look at the star in the Header Row. This happens to have 'Story' written on it. A story about 'Juice'? What's that about?

And what about this?

Take a look at the teardrop in the Header Row. This happens to have Wisdom written on it. Best wisdom? What's that?

And what's that row of shapes at the bottom?

I call it the Destination Row. It contains the same shapes as in the top row, but they're blank, and in a different order. Why?

The only way to find out is to embark on an Odyssey journey – right now. Once you've tried it on your own, try going on an Odyssey journey with a friend, or in a group. Once you've done that, you'll be ready to facilitate an Odyssey journey for others.

Go on an Odyssey with Leon

Take a look at this Odyssey Grid:

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The black Heading Row indicates what each shape stands for, and is used for reference only.

The aim of this journey is to work through the grid, and end up on one of the blank shapes at the bottom in a set number of moves (in this case, you decide how many), to reach a jewel of discovery, as yet unknown. The unknown quality of this goal is what makes an Odyssey journey so exciting. We'll reach it by ultimately linking the experiences of the entire journey back to the category to which the chosen destination shape belongs.

How does it work?

Always start at the top left corner of the grid. (In this example, the blue circle marked Opportunity.)

You can move to an adjacent grid piece vertically, or horizontally, but not diagonally; or you can move to a piece of the same colour anywhere on the grid, or to a piece of the same shape anywhere on the grid.

So, in this grid, from Opportunity at the top left, you can go to any of these pieces:

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by moving vertically, or horizontally, one shape at a time, or by jumping to a piece of the same shape anywhere on the grid, or by jumping to a piece of the same colour anywhere on the grid.

Choose the number of stops you want to make on this particular Odyssey. I suggest you choose a number between four and eight stops before you reach your final destination. Make a note of the number of stops you want to take here:

I've decided to take an Odyssey journey using the following number of moves:

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Start at the top left piece:

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This is an opportunity for you to take an Odyssey journey into uncharted waters. The grid is a map of the territory you'll be journeying through. Each piece on the grid is a potential stopping-off point on the journey, a key to a specially-chosen activity that has personal significance to me, and that I'd like to share with you. I don't know which grid pieces you'll choose, so this journey is something you'll be creating for yourself. It's unlikely that anyone will have ever chosen the same sequence of grid pieces you've chosen before, and improbable that anyone has or will ever go on the same journey – for, in the unlikely event the steps someone else takes through the grid mimic yours, the individual insights each of you takes away will be totally different.

Take a look at the grid. Explore the links between the categories in the Heading Row, and the shapes in the grid; then decide where you want to stop off, and list the grid pieces in the table below.

From here (Opportunity), my stops will be:

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Now look up each activity in your list in the alphabetical Activities Section at the back of the book, tackling them in order. Complete an activity, and reflect on what you've learned. As you progress, note the connections you discover for yourself between the activities.

Use the following boxes to make notes as you go:

1. What I learned was:

2. What I learned was:

How it connected to my previous learning point.

3. What I learned was:

How it connected to my previous learning points.

4. What I learned was:

How it connected to my previous learning points.

5. What I learned was:

How it connected to my previous learning points.

6. What I learned was:

How it connected to my previous learning points.

7. What I learned was:

How it connected to my previous learning points.

8. What I learned was:

How it connected to my previous learning points.

Using the rules of navigation (jump to a piece directly below, or of the same shape as the one you're on), you now get to choose your destination:

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Look up your chosen destination point in the Activities Section at the back. Note the culmination of your learning here:

What's the thinking behind it?

There are four essential components to this Odyssey Grid:

• a Header Row of shapes at the top;

• a Destination Row of shapes at the bottom;

• a grid of coloured shapes between these...