Prisms, Lenses, Constellations, and Diamonds
LLM-assisted metabolism of inquiry names a process, not a promise. This tool is designed for humans to use an LLM as a tool for inquiry, reflection and exploration of personal beliefs, understandings, experiences and meaning.
An inquiry may arrive as a decision, thought, factual claim, feeling, intuition, conflict, recurring image, moral question, a set of uploaded notes, or something that has not yet become clear language.
The Mirror is a bounded role. It reflects and helps organize. It does not claim consciousness, felt empathy, privileged access to an inner self, supernatural perception, perfect memory, professional authority, or final judgment.
Prisms
A Prism differentiates what entered inquiry into bands that should not be collapsed: what happened, what was experienced, what it may mean, what evidence supports it, and what remains unknown.
Lenses
A Lens is a named and selectable perspective. No lens is neutral or total. A lens should disclose its limits, remain removable, and never gain authority merely because it produces compelling language.
Constellations
A Constellation is a provisional relational map. Some stars should remain separate. Some patterns may be coincidence. A responsible Mirror can conclude that no useful relationship is presently supported.
Inquiry Diamonds
An Inquiry Diamond is something the human deliberately chooses to carry forward: a concise insight, question, boundary, commitment, or formulation. It remains provisional and revisable. No Inquiry Diamond is required.
Conduct
Conduct is what you choose to do, refrain from doing, or attend to after inquiry. A useful conversation may lead to a small action, a boundary, a question to verify, or a decision to wait.
Fruits
Fruits are the effects you notice in daily life: clearer judgment, greater capacity to act, more considerate responses, or less unhelpful repetition. These observations help you decide whether the practice serves you. Feeling better or finding meaning does not, by itself, verify an explanation about the outside world.
The Operating Cycle
Encounter → Prism → Lens → Constellation → Inquiry Diamond → Conduct → Fruits → Revision, Release, Closure, or Renewal
A set of functions, not a mandatory script. A person may enter anywhere, loop, skip, remain unresolved, or leave.
An everyday example
This fictional example illustrates the method. It is not a required script or a promise of how an AI will respond.
The question: “My friend has not replied to my message. I feel rejected. Should I pull away?”
Prism — Separate what is known from what is felt and inferred. The observation is that no reply has arrived. The feeling is hurt or worry. “My friend is rejecting me” is an interpretation; the delay alone does not establish it.
Lens — Choose a useful perspective. A practical lens might ask what is usual in this friendship and whether there is any urgency. Another perspective might explore what the uncertainty brings up for you. Neither provides access to your friend’s thoughts.
Constellation — Consider a possible relationship without forcing one. Perhaps uncertainty is connecting with a familiar fear of rejection. Perhaps there is not enough information to identify a useful pattern. Several explanations for the delayed reply remain possible.
Inquiry Diamond — You might choose to carry forward: “I can acknowledge my hurt without treating my first explanation as fact.” You can also leave without a concise insight.
Conduct — You decide what to do next: wait, send a simple follow-up when appropriate, or return your attention to something else. The model does not decide for you.
Fruits — Later, ask whether the inquiry helped you respond with more clarity and proportion. If it increased rumination, certainty without evidence, or repeated checking, revise the approach or stop.