Inner Kingdom System
Cognitive OS · Three-layer model and shared schema for internal state and work
Status: Active — schema in use, system in ongoing development
Brief overview
A three-layer cognitive operating system and data model for internal state management, connecting parts work, ND-led protocols and everyday tasks and events. It provides a conceptual and technical blueprint for neurodivergent-friendly tools built on a shared schema.
Where most tools assume a single, rational "user" who only needs better goals and reminders, this system treats internal complexity as a starting point and designs around it.
Three layers: Who I am, How I run, How I perceive
Layer 1 — Who I am: Parts and alliances
Internal parts such as Perfectionist Executor, Girl Who Carries Shame, Angry Protector and Royal Self are represented as entities with roles, alliances and activation states. Based on IFS-informed parts work, translated into a data model.
Layer 2 — How I run: Protocol engines
Key protocols (Dimension Reduction, Inner Council, State Calibration, Boundary Check, Weekly Systems Review, etc.) run on top of this inner architecture. Bind protocols to situations: when perfectionism spikes, suggest a Dimension Reduction run.
Layer 3 — How I perceive: Control rooms and views
Transformable views of the system — daily control room, weekly review, friction heatmap — that let's User see their own patterns without requiring linear narrative recall.
The shared schema
All three layers write to and read from the same JSON-based schema, with five core entity types:
| Entity | What it captures |
|---|---|
friction_record | A moment of stuckness — type, intensity, tags, context |
task_entity | An outward operational requirement mapped against internal energy cost |
c_note | Contextual notes bridging raw data and qualitative patterns |
metric_entity | Quantitative indicators of system load and state change |
tag_entity | Cross-cutting taxonomy for neurophysiological and environmental attributes |
[View raw JSON schema →](/data/schema)
Usage story
It is 22:00. You are staring at the same sentence and have not typed a new word in 20 minutes.
- You log a friction: "Perfectionism, can't write · intensity 8/10 · tags: writing, self-doubt, night."
- The system identifies parts involved (Perfectionist Executor, Girl Who Carries Shame) and suggests Dimension Reduction.
- Dimension Reduction walks you through three questions and produces one task: "Draft 3 possible subtitles for this section."
- You do it. Ten minutes later you log energy and focus again; the friction record now links to metrics and a completed task.
- At the end of the week, Weekly Systems Review shows that perfectionism at night is a recurring friction, and that Dimension Reduction is the most effective protocol so far.
- In one evening, model, protocol engine, and control room work together to turn a vague stuckness into a concrete action and a piece of reusable data.
How this fits into broader programme
The Inner Kingdom System is the conceptual and technical backbone of the Cognitive Friction programme. Its schema is the same schema used by the NPS Service Experience study and the Friction WishPool, making cross-project analysis and future tooling possible.