The maps we hold in our mind are metaphoric, like story boards rather than the kind of maps you buy at the gas station. The distances are distorted, many landmarks are left out all together. Each location has an emotional charge, a sensory load.

Look at a picture of yourself at an earlier age. Close your eyes and remember everything you can about your life at that age, reliving through all your senses the memories of that unique time.

Draw out a map of your experiences of this time and place you have just explored.  Draw, paint, collage and write the memory landmarks for each piece of experience.  It need not be true to scale or even a real map with directions.  Images can overlap.  It may look more like an experience quilt with pieces connected by colorful patterning.  It need not include ALL the experiences you remember.  Just try to include the most powerful or interesting (to you) ones.

When we revisit our internal maps, the stored impressions start popping and sizzling, like a fireworks display. We get charged up and "wised up" about our experience when we make art of it, and memory maps are one way to do that.