Why I built this

When I found IFS, it felt like I had been waiting my whole life to have this kind of access to myself. It was (and is) sometimes overwhelming to move through the world with the awareness of my parts, and the parts of the people around me. I started reading and listening to resources as much as I could.

There are a lot of good resources out there already. Who needs another one?

Well, I didn't find a parts mapping or parts management tool that I liked, and some of the more authoritative apps in the IFS community rely on AI.

I think I am polarized here. Some of my parts are full of enthusiasm and wonder at how AI even works, what it means for humanity, and all the good that could come from such a monumental technology shift. And then there are my more hopeless, dystopian parts, who know what happens when technological revolutions happen.

Letting those parts settle for a bit, here is what it comes down to for me. After extensively using AI to co-create code, I all too well know what it is like to talk to my computer and have it lie, gaslight, make connections I know are wrong, and on and on.

So I couldn't do it. I don't want to make something that tries to prey on, surveil, or commodify the inner work that is possible here. There is no AI in this, on purpose.

For me, and the way I want to do this work, I want to make the connections myself. The joy of discovering and playing with your own system is all yours. So that is what I've tried to do here. Give you, the user, the authority over what you want to do, without having you question whether something else will act on your behalf without your consent.

The fun stuff

I've included some features that, for me, were pure entertainment. Party Line is a nostalgia toy that turns your parts into an AOL Instant Messenger type interface, where you can chat and then trade places with your parts, start a group chat and invite one of the meditations, or log in as Self. I know I don't struggle to chat with people I've never met, anywhere on the globe. But meeting the parts inside me? That's new. So it takes an interface I know I'm comfortable with and inverts it.

I also took great liberties with the Trail Map, where you can make your own island, place parts and trailheads, and walk them. At university I studied Geography and GIS, and as a child I would read every National Geographic I could find. Finding myself in the contours and spaces of this big, beautiful and varied earth is absolutely a way back to myself. And I like the synesthetic orientation of interacting with my parts in a less sterile, bullet point kind of way.

Where I am

I am also considering what it would take for me to head back to school and make a career change, and it's incredibly difficult to make that change right now. But I still want to build something and offer it to the community, if for no other reason than to compassionately become blended with my Creative and Community oriented parts on my own journey of healing, growth and awareness.

I make it on evenings and weekends. It is free and will stay free. If something here should work differently, send me a note.

Who made this, and the work I am looking for. Back to About