Personal Reference Slides

Part of the variable Parent Material (P) in Cl+O+R+P+T

Personal reference slides are basically a way to examine your belief systems. You create microscope slide collages that explore your beliefs, where those beliefs came from, and if you still hold to those beliefs.

In science, reference slides of known objects are used to aid in the identification of unknown objects. Once a collection of reference slides is created, it is easier to classify unknown objects in your samples. There, is, however, the danger that a reference slide may be incorrect. If the reference slide is incorrect, all assumptions and interpretations of data based on that reference slide will also be incorrect.

Everyone has a personal set of “reference slides” – a personal reference collection of ideas and beliefs that they use to identify unknown elements of their experience. Examples of categories in our personal reference slide collection might include cultural ideas of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, political ideas, religious ideals, and concepts of gender and sexuality. Some families have strong political ideologies or have been members of a particular religious order for generations, and these ideas are passed down, often with minimal scrutiny, to successive generations. Unless these “reference slides” are questioned, outdated or incorrect ideas and beliefs may continue to form the basis for creating individual realities.