My 5-Year Journey with Human Design: 3 Reflections and Insights
I had the realization recently that it's been around five years since I started using Human Design. My relationship with the system has oscillated between full scale infatuation and commitment to study to simply allowing the knowledge and information percolate in the background.
The Power of Human Design in Self-Discovery
I've had the wonderful experience of reading for many people and learning deeply about the nuance and extraordinary ways aspects of individual design show up and build to a collective experience. My draw to Human Design is rooted in my unrelenting belief that there is so much power in self-discovery and being empowered to show up as one's truest self.
A Year of Reflection
You may have noticed it has been a minute (or 1000) since I've posted on my blog – while there are a million reasons why and yes, life has a way of getting busy and attention gets pulled in one hundred different directions, but I really think that part of me was yearning to see what happens when I truly let the knowledge and information of the secret inner-workings of my design operate without intense self-study and focus. A bit of a test to see if the utility of Human Design would wane over time if I weren't checking transits, consuming content about new elements of study or being fully stuck into the world and discourse around Human Design. After a solid year of pursuing other interests and, frankly, just not feeling called to explore more, I have a few thoughts I'd like to share.
Three Key Insights from My Human Design Journey
Human Design as a Flexible Framework
Emphasis on framework – not rules, not an absolute, but a framework that you can use to build the scaffolding of your very own experience. At moments when I would be feeling off or overwhelmed, instead of being consumed with questions, concerns, and the endless swirl of searching for the exact meaning and source of discomfort, I had an internal check-in list. "Am I responding or pushing something to happen?" "Do I really feel this decision in my body or is my mind taking over?" "Are these my problems to solve or is my incarnation cross just shaking other people's issues to the surface?" and even my personal favorite "Do I hate everything or is this room just too bright and open triggering my Cave's environment?" Let's face it, our brains are designed to solve problems and even when everything is just fine and dandy, it has a way of searching and noticing to make sense of our reality. Having a framework like Human Design to investigate how you relate to that reality in a way that transcends temporary thoughts or feelings is wildly helpful.
2. The Balance of Seriousness and Lightness in Human Design
“It ain’t that deep.” Borrowing this lovely phrase from my favorite brilliant witches at Holisticism that perfectly captured the very serious and unserious nature of a system like Human Design. I mean, it was transmitted in the 1980s to a man living in a cave on Ibiza who was told "the sun is a dog" and then transformed into a full very ~ culty ~ MLM-style business. I'd believe the dog part, naturally. But I also believe that Human Design is not new or unique but built on the foundation of ancient wisdom from cultures across the world. The synthesis of these tools and modalities is significant nonetheless and I've seen countless times how helpful and life-changing Human Design is. I also believe that like any set of principles, it is best used as a jumping off point for self-exploration and discovery. There is so much about just living for the sake of it that is informative and healing and inspiring that does not require referencing a system. All jokes about the founder of Human Design aside, I do believe that was the original intention of sharing these ideas: make what you want of them as long as you do it as yourself.
3. The Magnetic Power of Self-Alignment
When you know, you know and everyone around you also knows it. They can feel it in their bones, they respect it, and ultimately I think grounded self-knowledge is something we all strive for in different ways. When you consider the amount of mental and emotional energy that can go into making simple decisions (given the myriad of external factors that can influence one way or another), it is no wonder people can so often feel stuck. Making a change requires alignment with your core values, intuition, and self-trust. While all of these components may seem basic, it can take years to clarify within oneself. Human Design is a wonderful tool to expedite that process. (And I mean expedite in an amorphous sense, time is relative). Confidence and assuredness are self-generated qualities. I spent the majority of my life seeking these in others and being truly afraid when interacting with people who had these qualities because I felt deep down they'd know I did not. The process of learning to trust yourself through self-knowledge is complex but having guidance from my Human Design has made all the difference. I see my design as background operating software today. I'm aware it exists and I like to check in on it when I feel called, but ultimately I trust myself to make the right decisions and calls with or without double-checking if I've used the correct strategy. A big piece of this is, I know I can trust myself to handle the inevitability that I haven't made the exact perfect choice and will be able to manage whatever process is needed to right my inner-ship. Or perhaps that's just my 1/3 profile showing ;) I've noticed that spending less time on questioning myself and more time in following the inklings, validating what I notice, and letting my full self shine has led to the best connections, most fulfilling experiences, and importantly freed up SO much energy that had been otherwise been diverted into "shoulds" and "what ifs".
The Ongoing Human Design Journey
I had a moment when I was doing a manifesting meditation recently that the self I want isn't a solid concept. It's freedom, love, ease, creativity and a sense of building a life on my terms from those places. Experiencing these things is not about imposing external desires to fit the mold of self but scaffolding what's next from a centered and assured reminder that I am earth, I'm everything, I'm magical. I can have and be infinite creations from that space. I give so much credit to a holistic system like Human Design for helping me to grow to see this. I look forward to continuing to share and explore – and hope you find inspiration in my sharing to discover this for yourself.