Capstone Design Lab: Crafting a Complete Architecture-Based Working

Orienting Your Capstone Working

Step 1: Clarify a Concrete, Ethical Tikkun

Your first task is to define a single, precise aim for your capstone working.

Use these constraints:

• It must be ethical and non-coercive.
• It should be specific and observable in your own life or immediate context.
• It should be modest in scope: a shift in pattern, not a total life overhaul.

Examples of acceptable tikkun aims:

• "Clarify and soften my habitual anger response in academic critique situations."
• "Stabilize a daily 10-minute contemplative practice anchored in Hesed."
• "Bring more truthfulness and restraint into my online communication."

Non-acceptable aims:

• "Make a specific person love me."
• "Gain power over others."
• "Win a particular scholarship through occult influence."

Activity (5 minutes):

1. Write one sentence that describes your tikkun aim.
2. Under it, write:

• Why this matters now (1–2 sentences).
• Who could be harmed if this went badly, and how you will protect them.

When you are done, check your aim against this quick test:

• Is it focused on your own responsibility and sphere of agency?
• Could you explain it to a thoughtful mentor without embarrassment?
• Would you still stand by it if the working had no visible effect? (If not, it is probably too outcome-grabby.)

Step 2: Map the Aim onto the Tree and Architecture

Step 3: Choose Letters, Gates, and Names Coherently

Now select the symbolic building blocks for your working.

Use this 3-part checklist:

1. Letters

• Choose 1–3 letters that:
• match your Sefirot/paths (using your course's correspondence table), or
• resonate with the quality of your tikkun (e.g., a softening or clarifying sound).
• Decide: Will you use them as:
• a simple sequence,
• a permuted pattern,
• or a visualized form?

1. Gates

• Identify 1–2 Gates (letter pairings or thresholds) that represent:
• a key transition in your process (e.g., judgment to compassion), or
• a boundary you need to cross (e.g., from reactivity to reflection).
• Note where in the protocol each Gate will be engaged.

1. Names

• Choose 1 main Divine Name (or short phrase) that:
• aligns with your Sefirot map,
• you can hold with reverence and stability.
• Optionally, add 1 supporting Name for a specific phase (e.g., grounding, protection).

Activity (5–7 minutes):

• Write a short table with 3 columns: Element, Choice, Justification.
• Fill in rows for each letter, Gate, and Name you choose.
• For each, write one sentence explaining how it supports your tikkun aim and Tree mapping.

If any element feels arbitrary or purely aesthetic, either:

• strengthen the justification, or
• replace it with something more structurally grounded.

Step 4: Worked Example of a Coherent Design

Step 5: Write the Procedure as a Script

Step 6: Build Safeguards, Contingencies, and Limits

Every high-rigor protocol needs safeguards. This is where you apply what you learned in the Diagnostics and Theurgic Orientation modules.

Design three layers:

1. Pre-working safety check

• State conditions under which you will not proceed (e.g., acute emotional crisis, lack of privacy, substance use).
• Define a brief grounding test (e.g., can you track 10 breaths calmly?).

1. In-working contingencies

• Decide what you will do if:
• you feel overwhelmed or dissociated,
• imagery or sensations become frightening,
• you feel grandiose, inflated, or "chosen".
• Examples:
• Open your eyes, place hands on a solid surface, name 3 ordinary objects.
• Shift to a simpler, purely grounding Name or to neutral breath.
• Shorten the session and move to closing steps.

1. Post-working integration plan

• Set a minimum reflection time (e.g., 10 minutes of journaling).
• Identify who you will talk to if strong effects linger (mentor, peer, counselor, not a random online forum).
• Set a cool-down window before making big decisions (e.g., "No major life decisions for 24 hours after intense experiences").

Activity (5 minutes):

• Write three bullet lists titled: "I pause or cancel if…", "If things go sideways, I…", and "After the working, I commit to…".
• Keep them short and concrete.

This section is part of your final capstone document and will be graded for realism and responsibility, not for drama.

Step 7: Check Your Design Logic

Use this quick quiz to test whether you are thinking in terms of structure and coherence.

Step 8: Define Evaluation Criteria and Reflection Prompts

To complete the capstone, you must specify how you will evaluate the working and how you will reflect afterward.

1. Evaluation criteria (process and outcome)

• Process criteria (during the working):
• Did I follow each step as written?
• Did I stay within my safety limits?
• Did I maintain a humble, aligned intention?
• Outcome criteria (over days or weeks):
• Did my reactivity pattern shift in small, observable ways?
• Did my awareness of the relevant Sefirot or qualities become clearer?
• Make these measurable enough to notice, but modest.

1. Reflection questions

After the first full run, journal on:

• What surprised me, compared to what I expected?
• Where did the protocol feel over-complex or under-specified?
• How did the architectural elements (Tree, letters, Gates, Names) actually function in my experience?
• What, if anything, needs to be revised for safety or clarity?

Activity (5 minutes):

• Write 3–5 bullet-point evaluation criteria.
• Write 3–5 reflection questions.

These will be part of how you critically review and refine your own protocol, and how you give and receive peer feedback.

Step 9: Quick Concept Review

Flip these cards mentally to check your grasp of key terms for the capstone design.