Why am i in a rut?

[murkat]

Been playing 35 years, ruts happen. It is part of the instrument.
sometimes it is good to just put it down for just a lil bit.
Go do something else you really enjoy that has been put away in the happy box.
come back fresh with a new outlook. Go seek, inspiration will find.

[ginsambo]

Buy a Les Paul. Jacksons dry you out after a while.

[tonemonster]

Buy a Les Paul. Jacksons dry you out after a while.

not if you keep some peeps in the guitar case. they hydrate too.

[horns666]

I bought a tuba last week and already nailed Eruption. Now, I'm going to hook it up to my Whammy Pedal and make Tom Morello noises.

[jgcable]

Why can i not progress after 17 years of devotion to the guitar? Im bored with it and sick of playing the same shit over and over. and my mind just refuses to open up and come up with new patterns. anybody got any good scales and interesting chord shapes or progressions?

Probably because you are devoted to the guitar and not guitar playing.
Seriously.. to answer your question. There is no such thing as new patterns. Every pattern that could ever be written for guitar has already been done 10 times over. What you need is a style change.
What type of music do you play?
The first step should be blues and I am not talking about casual blues. I am talking heavy blues. I got stuck in a rut playing neo-classical shredding for many years so I went out and bought the Hal Leonard SRV complete DVD collection, a Fender Nashville Deluxe Telecaster and I have a Fender Pro Junior on the way. In the mean time I am borrowing a Fender Twin. The last 4 weeks I have been going to open mic nights and only playing blues riffs. Nothing else. No rock, jazz, metal, pop. Just blues.
Another great way to expand your playing style is to pick up a 12 string electric and buy the Roger Mcquinn instructional 12 string DVD. Lots of players think they know how to play a 12 string until you see how Roger plays one and exploits all the tonal variations of having a 12 string. It will really open your eyes.
Another band.. The Beatles. The most mis-informed band on the planet. Guitar players think playing the Beatles is easy. Hah.
Get The Complete Beatles book and start studying. Probably the best chord progressions in history.