3 Tips for Working With Feelings Cognition
Are you the kind of person who can’t stay in a room if the energy feels off? Do you notice the energy that different cities or restaurants have and instantly pick your favorites based on that alone? Well, truthfully, there are many Human Design related reasons this might be the case AND having feelings cognition is definitely one of them.
Cognition lives in the variable layer of Human Design and speaks to your "super sense.” Understanding your Human Design cognition can help you identify the environments that are supportive to your design, make it easier to honor your authority and strategy, and more. If you’re interested in digging into the significance of Human Design cognition, check out this post.
What is Feelings Cognition
Feelings cognition is a 5th color chain of the 3rd line (if that doesn’t make sense to you, don’t fret!). With that, it has to do more with the ability to pick up information about your external environment – whereas other cognition types have more of an internal function.
Feeling cognition picks up on the subtle energy that places and people give off and allows you to physically feel the vibration in your system. I have feelings cognition and notice that if I come into a new space and feel on edge or unable to fully relax into a place, my energy wants me to pay attention. Navigating the experience of feelings cognition can be tricky! But the most important thing to remember is you are the authority in your life. Honoring the feelings or sensations in your body is completely valid. The more you notice how you interact with yourself, the more you start to learn to have your own back – and we all can benefit from that! Knowing the language of your cognition can help you get to know yourself on a deeper level and in turn, effectively express that to others. So let’s dive into some cognition tips, shall we?
Tips for Working with Your Feelings Cognition.
1. Get Curious About the Way Places Make You Feel
I want to state outright that working with feelings cognition is not an excuse to avoid confrontation or discomfort (hello my open solar plexus friends!), it is an invitation to get to know yourself better so you can effectively interact with others. We don’t live in a perfect Human Design world where every space is custom fit to individual types and environments (but let’s hope for someday!). I want to encourage you not to allow knowledge of feelings cognition to get in the way of your own process of self-discovery. You want to be able to use it to validate your intuition, not amplify your anxieties. This means not operating in the binary of thinking if a place doesn’t feel lovely and cozy that it must be avoided at all costs. It’s about getting curious about what you are picking up on, identifying it, and then using that wisdom to dial up what your authority is telling you.
Having feelings cognition means you notice things that others don’t and this can lend itself to heightened empathy or compassion for what people around you are experiencing. Taking a moment to center yourself, check in with your intuition, and set an intention can help anchor the sensations you are picking up. It is also helpful to understand what your open or undefined centers are to further narrow down the inputs coming through.
By doing this, you put yourself in the driver’s seat and can lead from a place of control rather than feeling like the energy of the space is bombarding you. You may be particularly sensitive to the emotions in a space or pick up on a buzzing sound or hum from the lighting that throws you off. Being present with what you notice getting really curious about how you feel (and if this situation can be righted in some way or not) will allow you to gracefully (or not) exit.
2. Unplug if You Feel Overwhelmed
Being sensitive to electronics and technology, in general, can be a very real thing for people with feelings cognition. I see feelings cognition as a skill that allows you to identify ways to stabilize the body and nervous system by literally feeling the frequency of what’s happening in the “unseen” energy of a space. It’s recommended that people with feelings cognition take regular tech breaks and give themselves time to be out in nature. If you find yourself feeling extra overwhelmed or hyper-stimulated, it may be a good time to do a little tech detox. Leave your phone at home and go for a walk or unplug for a weekend – whatever feels good for you.
While I am someone who is on the computer for most of my day, I do my best to minimize the techno noise at night by putting my phone on airplane mode and unplugging the WiFi. This is something I did before I even found out about feelings cognition, which I think speaks to the innate senses we have about what is correct for us. Personally, I notice a difference on nights when I forget to put my phone on airplane mode, usually it shows up as having more of a busy mind or feeling slightly overstimulated. This is just my personal observation though, so I encourage you to experiment for yourself!
3. Mind Your Environment and Create a Safe Haven
Cognition is part of the unconscious design of your body in Human Design, which means we can’t talk cognition without discussing Human Design environment as well. Knowing your Human Design environment allows you to recognize what sort of spaces, places, and experiences enable your body to fully relax. When you’re working with your feelings cognition, I encourage you to notice how your sensory perception changes when you are in your ideal environment or not.
With Caves environment, I like to be somewhere where I feel secure and protected. If I am in a place that is not very supportive in this way, my feelings cognition tends to ramp WAY up in picking up unpleasant sensations. For example, sitting in the middle of a busy restaurant can be aggravating to me. Often I find that choosing a booth or table against a wall will give me the baseline comfort I need to really focus my feelings cognition. When I’m not taking in EVERYTHING from the space but only the energy I want to – like how my friends are feeling or the exciting hum of the space, I can use my feelings cognition to really serve and support me.
IT’S ALL AN EXPERIMENT
Your cognition is meant to illustrate just how unique your experience and expression are, so these are not hard and fast rules. Use your strategy and authority to guide you and remember this is all about self-knowledge and exploration. Take what works and feel free to leave anything that doesn’t – or at least doesn’t for right now.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Variables in Human Design, click here.