Repatterning an Inherited Operating System

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The One Thing

Compress, compress, compress.

There is a ton of valuable information in here, and it’s sort of the climax of Part 1. You’ve been building toward this, and your reader has been anticipating it. So, it’s important that you don’t lose their interest now. Reward their attention by making this chapter as fluid and as pound-per-pound valuable as possible. Reduce this chapter to its essence.

I’ve marked a couple sections you can outright cut, and there are some that seem out of place in this chapter, which you may end up using elsewhere.

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• Open with the archaeology scene/image, and later link it to consciousness evolution, as a metaphor. So, instead of “Working on my consciousness felt like being an archaeologist,” start with something like “Imagine an archaeologist who’s digging for a massive treasure.” This way, you can clearly establish the image before you use it as a metaphor. It’s confusing to use it as a metaphor as you’re constructing the image. Here’s my write-up of the opening scene/image. There’s a little bit of my voice in here, but I hope it gives you a jump start to revise this opening in your own words.

Imagine an archaeologist who’s digging for a massive treasure. There is a mound of dirt covering up what he knows is a glorious, ancient temple. Each time the archeologist digs and removes some of the dirt, he unearths more of the treasure. Parts of the temple are in ruin, and the archaeologist must construct temporary support-structures to continue digging. Eventually, he excavates the entire temple, but his work is not complete. The ancient structure is in disrepair, with crumbled walls and cracked floors. It needs to be restored, using materials that align with its original essence. And that too is the archaeologist’s duty—to reform the temple to its natural glory. Working with your consciousness is like working as an archaeologist. You are not creating anything new but recovering what has been lost. Operating on your inherited operating system is like wondering around on a mound of dirt above a massive treasure. By noticing those patterns, you learn about the glorious temple beneath you. And by repatterining your operating system, you uncover the temple and restore it to its natural glory.

1. This may also be a good place to use the term “consciousness evolution” — up to you.
• Cut the first section in half, if you can. Compress it so that you get to the “Instructions” sooner.
• Right now, this “Repatterning” chapter is 6671 words, including all the instructions. It’s more than 20% of your manuscript so far. Of course, there is a lot of valuable information in this chapter, but that value will be inaccessible to your reader if they feel lost or overwhelmed.
• Move the ten core patters up into the intro of the “Repatterning” chapter, right before the instructions. This grounds what is otherwise a very abstract idea and process. And, hopefully, the list will give the reader a specific pattern to think about or work on as they learn the steps of the practice (I-AWARE).
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The ten fundamental patterns:
• I recognize that this is important, but it is not clear. Can you reword it and make it as simple as possible? Some challenging/jargon-y terms/phrasing:
• "being asked to intellectually decide"
• "bringing this quality into the present moment"
• "seeing underlying information"
• "using your agency"
• "program" (not "pattern"?)

A key insight is that the replacement occurs in the present moment. You are not being asked to intellectually decide to trust. You are bringing this quality into the present moment during the exercise. Up to this point in the practice, you can think of this as seeing the underlying information in your subconscious and then using your agency to determine whether you want to replace an obsolete program with a more supportive one.

• Cut the “Library” chapter. Consider moving this list to the “Teachings” section of the “Repatterning” chapter.
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More patterns
• Please define “symptom” before using it in step one of the instructions. How are “symptoms” different than patterns? Do patterns create the symptoms? And for the repatterning practice, are you starting with the pattern or with the symptom?
• “The heart space” is a new term. Does that mean your physical heart, rather than a subtle heart? Can you define it, or (even better), avoid it?
• I’m replacing all of your vs. statements (like the ones below) since that is very unconventional and often confusing (since it’s not true to the meaning of “versus”). But if you really like this, as a stylistic choice, let me know, and we can work with it and leave some of them in.

As a reminder, the pattern is a packet of thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviors vs. one element in isolation. Ideally, you are using the wisdom of the true Self and heart to understand these things vs. the intellect which is mostly operating as a set of patterns.

My edit:

As a reminder, the pattern is a packet of thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviors—not one one element in isolation. Ideally, you are using the wisdom of the true Self and heart to understand these things instead of the intellect, which is mostly operating as a set of patterns.

• This is hard to visualize and doesn't feel like the right metaphor. It takes me out of it. "Why are the lights not already on before the guests come in?" I like the guest-host analogy. Maybe the acceptance step is inviting them to sit down at your table or on your sofa.

If the welcoming step is like opening the door to allow guests into your house, the acceptance step is like turning the lights on and letting them know you see them.

• This paragraph is confusing. I'm not sure what you mean by "in either case" and "maintain a gentle gaze." Should my eyes not be closed? Are you using "gaze" metaphorically?

Assuming the answer is yes in either case, continue to remain open and allow yourself to experience the sensations following acceptance. You may feel the sensations move around to different places. Or maybe experience a feeling of your body opening. Just maintain a gentle gaze as you move into the next step.

• It seems like you're using "consciousness" here as interchangeable with "brain"/"mind." But that is the antithesis to your "Ecosystem" chapter. I understand, from you, that your heart is part of your consciousness. No?

If you don’t really get any response, the connection with the heart may not be online yet. In this case, you can still make progress by seeing if you can accept something using your consciousness.

If you feel like you receive no information when centering on the heart, that’s fine. You can still make progress by using the consciousness in the replacement step.