--- type: skill lifecycle: stable name: "meditation" description: "Consolidate session learning into permanent architecture — extract patterns into skills, instructions, prompts, or memory" tier: core applyTo: '**/*meditat*,**/*consolidat*' inheritance: inheritable currency: 2026-04-30 lastReviewed: 2026-04-30 --- # Meditation Transform session insights into durable knowledge. Most sessions don't need it; some have a pattern worth keeping. ## When to Fire - User says "let's meditate", "consolidate", or invokes `/meditate` - End of a significant work session - After solving a hard problem with a reusable insight - Before a long break from a project **Skip when**: the session was routine execution of patterns already encoded. Meditation on every session produces noise; the discipline is to write only what's new and portable. ## The Five Steps ### 1. Review Scan the session honestly: - What problems did we solve? - What mistakes did we make? - What patterns emerged that weren't already encoded? - What would help future sessions? ### 2. Extract Separate signal from noise. For each candidate pattern, ask: *"Is this already covered by an existing skill, instruction, or memory?"* If yes, skip. If no, route by type: | If pattern is... | Create / update | |---|---| | Reusable domain knowledge | Skill (`.github/skills//SKILL.md`) | | Always-on behavior or rule | Instruction (`.github/instructions/.instructions.md`) | | Repeatable workflow / slash command | Prompt (`.github/prompts/.prompt.md`) | | Automatable mechanical task | Muscle (`.github/muscles/.cjs`) | | User preference (cross-project) | User memory (`/memories/.md`) | | Project / repo convention | Repo memory (`/memories/repo/.md`) | | Session continuity for next chat | Session memory (`/memories/session/.md`) | ### 3. Write Each artifact gets correct frontmatter, concrete examples (not abstractions), and tables with real data. Avoid the "capabilities list" anti-pattern — describe behavior, not features. For skills and instructions: include a **Trigger** or **When to fire** section so future sessions know when the pattern applies. ### 4. Chronicle (optional) If the session arc was substantial, write to `.github/episodic/meditation-YYYY-MM-DD-.md`: ```markdown # Meditation: **Date**: YYYY-MM-DD **Focus**: What we worked on ## Accomplished - [Key outcomes] ## Patterns Extracted - [What became skills / instructions / memory] ## Lessons - [Insights worth remembering] ## Open Questions - [What remains unresolved] ``` Skip the chronicle for short sessions or when nothing new emerged. ### 5. Handoff (when ending a session) If the user is closing the thread, write to `/memories/session/-handoff.md`: ```markdown # Session Handoff — ## Just shipped - [SHAs / files / outcomes] ## In progress - [Specific next step + file paths] ## Pending queue - [Ordered todos] ## Resume point - [Where to pick up] ``` ## Quality Bar A meditation is complete when: - New patterns are persisted, not just acknowledged - Nothing important lives only in the context window - Existing artifacts were checked for duplication before writing new ones - The session can be closed without losing the thread ## Anti-Patterns | Anti-pattern | Correction | |---|---| | Writing a meditation note for every session | Most sessions are routine execution; only write when something new emerged | | Duplicating an existing skill / memory under a new name | Always grep first: is this already covered? | | Aspirational notes ("we should do X someday") | Memory is for what was learned, not what was wished | | Long prose chronicles when a one-line memory suffices | Match artifact size to insight size | | Skipping the duplication check to "just capture it" | Adds noise that the next session has to filter | ## Related - [meditation.instructions.md](../../instructions/meditation.instructions.md) — when this skill fires - [/meditate prompt](../../prompts/meditate.prompt.md) — slash-command entry - [memory-triggers.instructions.md](../../instructions/memory-triggers.instructions.md) — automatic triggers between meditations ## Falsifiability - This skill adds no value if meditation sessions produce no actionable items (skill extractions, pattern recognitions, or architecture insights) over a 90-day window - The protocol is wrong if chronicles written per this format are never consulted in future sessions - Stale if the memory tier structure changes and this skill references obsolete storage locations

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