How to User This Framework

The actual transformation happens in practice, not in understanding.

How to Use This Framework

You don't need instructions to use a framework.

But you need a framework to realize you don't need instructions.

This page is the railing on the bridge.

Use it to cross. Then forget it existed.

---

The Recursive Joke

You're reading a guide about how to use a guide that helps you realize guides are training wheels.

The framework knows what it is.

Use it. Outgrow it. Both are the path.

---

The Core Principle

Just-in-time learning beats just-in-case reading.

Read the minimum needed to take the next step. Then close the book and do the work.

// How to use this framework

function navigate() {
  const action = identify_current_location()
                 .read_relevant_page()
                 .apply_one_practice()
                 .check_tuesday_morning();
  
  if (action === "understanding_without_applying") {
    return "You're using the framework to avoid the work";
  }
  
  if (action === "integration_visible_tuesday") {
    return "Close the book. You're done.";
  }
  
  return "Keep going";
}

// Runtime: As long as it takes
// Error handling: Tuesday Test

Translation: Locate yourself → Read that section → Do the practice → Observe what changes on Tuesday morning.

If nothing changes Tuesday, you're bypassing. If Tuesday is different, keep going.

---

Three Paths to Choose From

Pick based on what you need right now, not what you think you should do.

Path 1: Quick Reference

For People in the Middle of It

Use this if: You're actively transforming and need to orient fast.

Time investment: 10–15 minutes to locate yourself. Then depth as needed.

The Protocol

1. Read: What Is The Missing Act? (≈5 min)

2. Scan: The Five Acts Overview (≈3 min)

3. Identify: Your current Act (see Observable Patterns below)

4. Read: That Act's full page

5. Map: Use Map Your Story to confirm location

6. Apply: One practice from that Act

7. Test: Check Tuesday morning

Observable Patterns by Act

# Pattern recognition decision tree

def locate_yourself():
    # Act 1: Forgetting
    if living_from_wound and unaware_of_it:
        return "Act 1: Life feels normal but limited"
    
    # Act 2: Seeking
    if chasing_teachers or methods or identities:
        return "Act 2: Highs → crashes → seeking again"
    
    # Act 3: Journey In
    if crisis_forcing_you_inside:
        return "Act 3: Training wheels breaking, collapse"
    
    # Act 4: Remembering
    if internal_work and no_rescue_seeking:
        return "Act 4: Integration without technique-dependency"
    
    # Act 0: Divine Play
    if nobody_watching and somebody_responding:
        return "Act 0: You're the storyteller playing"

Act	Observable Pattern	Primary Signal
Act 1	Living from old wound unconsciously	"Normal" but limited life
Act 2	Actively seeking solutions externally	Teacher/method chasing
Act 3	Crisis forcing internal turn	Collapse, training wheels breaking
Act 4	Internal integration work	Building from new center
Act 0	Storyteller awareness	Playing vs. trapped

Pro Tip: If unsure between Act 2 and Act 3:

• Chasing = Act 2

• Collapsing = Act 3

Then What?

1. Read the Beat pages under your current Act

2. Apply the relevant Practices

3. Check Tuesday Test for integration

4. If stuck in loops: When to Get Support

If this is already obvious: Close the page. Go do the work.

Path 2: Deep Study

Path 3: Teaching It

---

How NOT to Use This Framework

// Bypass patterns to avoid

const bypass = {
  intellectualizing: "Using analysis to avoid feeling",
  collecting: "Reading instead of practicing",
  identifying: "Making it another identity ('I'm in Act 4!')",
  judging: "Using it to fix/diagnose/elevate above others",
  believing: "Thinking map = territory",
  performing: "Acting awakened instead of integrating"
};

// Tuesday Test catches all of these

Critical Bypass Warning

Don't:

• ❌ Use it to avoid feeling (intellectualizing pain)

• ❌ Get stuck analyzing instead of experiencing

• ❌ Assume understanding = transformation

• ❌ Make it another identity ("I'm in Act 4!")

• ❌ Judge where others "should" be

• ❌ Believe knowing the map = walking it

The Test: If it doesn't hold on an ordinary Tuesday at 10 a.m., it isn't integrated yet.

See: Integration vs. Bypassing

---

Where to Start Based on Your Situation

# Navigation decision tree

def where_to_start(situation):
    
    match situation:
        case "stuck_in_loop":
            return "Act 2: Seeking"
        
        case "everything_falling_apart":
            return "Act 3: Journey In"
        
        case "breakthrough_fading":
            return "Act 4: Remembering"
        
        case "dont_know_where_i_am":
            return "Map Your Story"
        
        case "im_a_guide_or_therapist":
            return "Core Concepts + The Twelve Beats"
        
        case "want_everything":
            return "Start: The Five Acts Overview"
        
        case "need_support":
            return "When to Get Support"

Quick Navigation by Situation

If You're Experiencing...	Start Here
"I'm stuck in the same loop"	Act 2: Seeking
"Everything is falling apart"	Act 3: Journey In
"I had a breakthrough but it's fading"	Act 4: Remembering
"I don't know where I am"	Map Your Story
"I'm a guide/therapist/teacher"	Core Concepts + The Twelve Beats
"I want to understand everything"	The Five Acts Overview
"I need support with this"	When to Get Support

---

A Note on Timing

You can't force the timeline.

Each Act takes as long as it takes. Knowing the structure doesn't speed transformation.

// Transformation timing

const reality = {
  insight: "instant",
  integration: "2-5 years",
  yourBrain: "hates this math",
  shortcuts: "don't exist",
  errorHandling: "Tuesday Test"
};

// What the framework DOES do:
// - Helps you avoid common traps
// - Keeps you on the path vs. restarting
// - Prevents bypassing the hard work

// What the framework DOESN'T do:
// - Speed up integration
// - Replace actual practice
// - Shortcut the timeline

What the framework does: Help you stay on the path, not arrive faster.

What it prevents: Restarting the cycle by skipping Act 4.

See: The Tuesday Test for integration verification.

---

The Meta-Layer

What's Really Happening

You're using a framework (structure) to help the mind relax enough to recognize structurelessness (Act 0).

All of this is consciousness teaching itself to itself.

The framework's job:

• Give the mind something to hold

• So it can let go

• And recognize it was never lost

Training wheels analogy:

• You need them to feel safe crossing

• Once you're across, you don't need them

• The crossing was always possible

• The wheels just helped you believe it

The completion: Realizing you're Nobody (Act 0) playing Somebody (Acts 1-4).

At that point, the framework has done its job.

Frame it. Burn it. Laugh at it. All responses are correct.

---

The Paradox to Remember

This framework is designed to become obsolete.

That's not a bug. That's the feature.

Use it seriously until you can laugh at it.

Follow it precisely until you recognize you wrote it.

Trust the structure until the structure dissolves into Act 0.

// The framework's recursive joke

function the_missing_act() {
  return {
    purpose: "Help you remember you don't need this",
    method: "Structure that points beyond structure",
    completion: "Recognizing you're the author",
    endgame: "Close the book"
  };
}

// Runtime: Until you realize you're running the code

If this landed: Close the page. You already know how to use this.

If not: Pick a path above and start walking.

---

Next Steps

1. Choose your path (Quick Reference / Deep Study / Teaching)

2. Locate yourself using Observable Patterns

3. Read that Act's page

4. Apply one practice

5. Check Tuesday morning

If Tuesday changes → you're integrating. Keep going.

If Tuesday's the same → you're bypassing. Try a different practice or get support.

---

Related Pages

Start Here:

• What Is The Missing Act?

• Who This Is For

Core Framework:

• The Five Acts Overview

• The Twelve Beats

Essential Concepts:

• Training Wheels

• The Tuesday Test

• Pattern Recognition

Practices:

• Map Your Story

• Surrender Practice

• Discernment Practice

Safeguards:

• Integration vs. Bypassing

• When Tools Become Traps

• When to Get Support

---

The Framework's Promise

Give it an honest try. Use it as prescribed.

If it works: You'll complete the transformation cycle and won't need it anymore.

If it doesn't work: It revealed itself as another training wheel, which is also valuable.

Either way, you move forward.

Now: Pick your path and start walking.