The Family Compass Module
The family's story, values, and traditions — a shared layer for the living and a private layer of letters and reflections reserved for later reading.
Text file — the flexible one. Use it as-is, open it in any editor, or paste it into an AI tool to reshape the blank form to fit your family: rename a field, add a row, drop one you don't need.
Print / PDF — the ready-to-use one. Print it and fill it in by hand, or choose Save as PDF and complete it in your own offline PDF app. Either way it stays with you — the finished Secure Guide template goes inside your Vault.
One rule: only ever give an AI tool the blank template. Never paste your real information — passwords, account numbers, anything you'd keep secret — into an AI tool, an online service, or anywhere outside your own Vault. Customizing an empty form is fine; filling it in happens privately, offline. That's the same rule this site follows: nothing sensitive ever leaves your hands.
Secure Guide Starter Template
Store this inside your Vault. This entry holds the private layer and the stewardship record — where the Compass lives, who keeps it, and what is reserved for later reading.
| Document | Recipient | Occasion | Location in Vault | Date Written | Last Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reference in The Family Guide: "Private letters and sensitive reflections are stored in The Secure Guide within The Vault."
Family Guide Starter Template
This template contains the shared layer — safe for the whole family, meant to be used while you are alive.
A short account of where your family comes from, how it was built, and what shaped it. Written in your own voice. One paragraph to one page is sufficient.
| Value | How It Shows Up in Our Lives |
|---|---|
| Tradition or Practice | Why It Matters | Notes for Future Generations |
|---|---|---|
Optional: a personal message — to be written in your own voice.
Private letters and sensitive reflections are stored in The Secure Guide.