The status of my “lab report”
At the beginning of this memoir, I wrote about the nature of my “journey” and the tools I would need. That first part – The Old Country, the story of my life experiences – was one of exploration…going back. Observing. I needed things from that past, as well as my paintings and journals. I described the process as a lab experiment, which included gathering the supplies, then running the experiment. That part was my revisiting the past and making observations.
The Undiscovered Country is that part of the experimental process that generates the final lab report and gets at “what did it all mean?” It involves assessing, analyzing, and questioning. It often requires deeper research to help with drawing conclusions.
So, the bed full of folders, books, paintings, journals, and research, and the binders holding the entries for the story of my life, is my overwhelming pile of experimental data. Now somehow, I have to bring order to it, make sense of it all, and see what it tells me.
I think of this part of the Undiscovered Country as a journey through the Underworld. I have to go where I have not been yet, to find the meaning.
The autopsy
In a way, it is an autopsy. All of the data are the “body to be examined.”
To do an autopsy, first you need a logical, ordered, step-by-step procedure. Here, my procedure is mapped on a chart – my mind map. It lists all those topics laid out on the bed that I need to address, the order in which I will tackle each, and extra notes and reminders for the important points along the way.
Another requirement is autopsy tools. My “scalpels and probes” will include:
- Questions
- Action Verbs
- Extra Research materials: Paintings, journals, books, movies, songs, quotes, whatever it takes to expand on each topic
And the last step requires time: To reflect, to decide, and to write up the results.
So, next up…WHY do it this way?
Soul Mosaic 
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