The purpose of this memo is to serve as a high level update on the state of the project. Feel free to comment or get in touch if something inspires you!
NOTE: I am taking April to slow down and let things marinate. Thinking about a minimum viable product, hosting a New Moon Reflection Circle, facilitating workshops at events this summer, coaching a handful of people through making their own.
- Instructions to Make Your Own
- My latest Soul Map on Canva (I make a new one every moon cycle, per Jewish calendar)
- Adar II
- Adar I
- Shevat
(^ examples of map content integrated into physical, desktop and mobile experience)
What’s this all about?
Still figuring it out! Some ways to think about it:
- Tuning Fork - a ritual tool to help you identify what is out of balance and bring it back into balance for the next cycle
- Soul Media - media from and for your Soul. Soul ID - doing the work of dusting off and sharing our Soul Essence / higher selves.
- We know, but it’s harder than ever to remember! A creative, practical, spiritual tool to support coaching/therapy clients in remembering what’s most important, serving as a motivational map to find center/north/Truth to navigate weirdness of Anthropocene (Meta-Map for meta-crisis, or Personal Metaverse). Practice of synthesizing most important knowings, learnings, intentions at different time scales. "The unexamined life is not worth living"
- Devotional Art. Creating an artifact that is relevant, beautiful, useful, shareable (for accountability). Portable altar to support regular devotional connection.
- Integration Tool. Clever method of reflecting back the sacred throughout physical and digital experience. Especially for integrating transformational experiences.
- Community/Organizational Tool. Process of building trust, intimacy, and accountability. “We're all just walking each other home”
- A new project Andrew is naturally coming into relationship with, integrating previous passion projects and insights from brief experiences with coaching. A context for collaboration, practicing what I preach re: ethical entrepreneurship, and channeling ideas around lifestyle transition / wayfinding.
Chronology
There’s a weird way in which I’ve been orbiting this concept for more than a decade:
2010: Had an idea to put inspirational quotes on rolling papers (Fortune Papers)
2011: Designed t-shirt frame to make it easy to display memorable t-shirts (Tik Tak Tee)
2018: Designed new smartphone home screen to display user’s “intention” (Siempo)
2020: Designed template for Personal User Manual
2020: Designed browser extension to display user inputted “prayers”
2021: Deepened connection with Jewish holidays, experienced Circular Calendar workshops, began work with coaching clients
2022
- January
- Supported coaching client A in making a forward-looking Circular Calendar
- Supported coaching client B in creating a physical distillation of mission, habits, reminders
- Created and shared personal v1 Life Map on social media
- February
- Facilitated two small workshops with Hestia Winter Incubator participants
- Coached 1.5 clients through making their own version
- Continued working with and ideating on Soul Map
- Choose to deepen relationship with this project
- March
- Facilitating workshop for Vision Groundwork Rootcamp, as well as participating in the program with Life Map as my focus
- Facilitated multi-week retreat for coaching client
- Facilitated workshop for co-living community in San Juan
- April
- Slowing down, letting dust settle, integrating notes/thinking
- Continuing to work with my own Soul Map
- Conducting user research on those working on their Maps
- May - July
- Pilgrimage map guided my travels
- August
- October
- November
- Facilitated simplified version for high school students
Early Insights
- This is a flexible exercise/tool that can be adapted to the unique needs of participant(s). There appear to be three types of Maps for different contexts Types of Artifacts
- Type
- Process (slowing down, self-directed or facilitated, getting artistic)
- Artifact (physical tool that can be engaged with, ritually)
- Systems (refining, expanding to other surfaces)
- A workshop only allows time to start work on one section, or a mini version, or introduce topic. It’s a long journey to make something “complete” or even usable. Large scope creates intimidation to get started.
- It takes time (multiple cycles) and effort (hours of commitment each cycle) to meaningfully integrate the tool into one’s flow of life
- There value in just thinking about / beginning the process; joy in sharing with others
- There are existing tech tools that can extend the efficacy of DM (Momentum, Android homescreen, iOS homescreen)
S (Reason) | M (Season) | L (Lifetime) |
Business Card | One Pager | Multi-Pager |
Party
Festival
Retreat
Ceremony | Team Mission
Program intentions
Seasonal/annual intentions | Soul Map |
Common Thread
Rough Plan for Upcoming Moon Cycles
- Continue developing Personal Soul Map
- Continue integrating notes/thinking
- Continue updating Self-service Instructions
- Conduct trial with Rootcamp
- Write a Substack announcement
- Test a clear coaching offering
- Connect with Advisors
- Facilitate workshop at community space in San Juan
- Launch weekly/monthly Circles (community of practice)
- Create personal Learning Journey
Potential Applications
- Book / interactive workbook
- Festival/Retreat workshops (especially transformational experiences)
- Online Course
- Personal / Team Retreats
- Community / Corporate Workshops
- Soul-cial Media Platform (share DM’s within communities)
- License methodology to coaches
- Smartphone operating system
- Agency (to create custom browser extensions)
Questions
- Analogs for this type of thing? What could I benefit from researching/studying? What is it to create a spiritual/religious tool? Pitfalls to watch out for? Is this actually about devotion?
- Minimum Viable Product?
- So many potential directions - how to prioritize? What role(s) do I want to play?
- Document and share my process outwards?
- How to create conditions for right engagement in this new relationship?
- How to make Soul Map fit more smoothly into participant’s life? Actually useable and helpful.
- Who to collaborate with, on what?
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