An ongoing inquiry
On the Inherited.
The deepest work in any relationship is not the cycle. It is the maps each person inherited before they had words.
The tool
The MAPSS™ Check
The MAPSS™ Check is the structured tool. Five layers, descended one at a time, applied to one inherited map you are questioning right now. Buy once for lifetime access, and run it on as many maps as you need.
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Five layers down
The descent the MAPSS™ Check runs.
One inherited map, taken down one layer at a time. Each layer explains the one above it.
Mind
Where perception begins. The nervous system scans for a specific pattern before a word is said.
Attribution
Assigns intent. The story about why they did it arrives faster than the facts.
Perspective
Names the hardened vantage point, so it can stop being identity and start being information.
Sentiment
Pairs the primary affect with the autonomic state holding it.
Story
The original developmental conclusion underneath all of it.
What gets inherited
We do not arrive at our relationships clean. We arrive with maps. Maps handed to us about who we are supposed to be, who we are supposed to love, who we are supposed to become. Some of those maps still fit. Some no longer fit. Some never did. The work begins when we examine which is which.
People who do this work stop being controlled by maps they did not choose. They reclaim the territory the maps were pointing at. Marriages re-stabilize. Identities clarify. Old loyalties get honest. Some maps stay. Some go. Some get redrawn. All of them stop running unconsciously.
Identity Maps
- Maps of manhood
- Maps of womanhood
- Maps of being a partner
- Maps of being a parent
Relational Maps
- Maps of love
- Maps of marriage
- Maps of fatherhood
- Maps of motherhood
- Maps of friendship and loyalty
Cultural Maps
- Maps of success
- Maps of faith and meaning
- Maps of work and worth
Pick whichever one is loudest right now.
Read the companion series
Questions about the MAPSS Check
What is an inherited map?
An inherited map is a model of how something works that you were handed before you had words for it, and then mistook for the world itself. Maps of manhood and womanhood, of love and marriage, of success, faith, and worth. A map you inherit and never examine runs you; a map you examine becomes a choice.
What is the MAPSS Check and what do I get?
The MAPSS Check is a structured tool that descends five layers, one at a time, applied to one inherited map you are questioning right now. It is a one-time purchase at $27 with lifetime access, so you can run it on as many maps as you need.
What are the five layers of the MAPSS Analysis?
Mind, Attribution, Perspective, Sentiment, and Story. Mind is where perception begins and the nervous system scans for a specific pattern, Attribution assigns intent, Perspective names the hardened vantage point so it can stop being identity and start being information, Sentiment pairs the primary affect with the autonomic state holding it, and Story is the original developmental conclusion underneath all of it.
Is this therapy?
No. The MAPSS Check is a self-guided structured tool, not treatment and not a substitute for it. It is often the entry point into the clinical work rather than a replacement for it.
How is my privacy handled and how is my data protected?
Your reflections are private, and they are never used to train any AI. The Check is guided by Anthropic’s Claude on its commercial API, which does not use what you write to train its models, and your words are sent to it from our own secure server rather than from your browser, with no name or email ever attached to them. What you write is stored in a private, access-controlled database, encrypted both in transit and at rest, and tied to your own sign-in, which is a one-time email link or a Google login, so there is no password to store or lose. On our side it is accessible only to me, and nothing you write is ever sold, published, or added to a marketing list. The card you build at the end is yours to keep or share, and nothing is posted anywhere on your behalf. If you would ever like your data removed, email me and I will delete it. This is a self-guided tool rather than therapy, so it does not create a clinical record, and you never have to write anything you are not ready to share to get something from it.
