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It started with a serendipitous bus trip. I was making my trek from London to Standsted to attend Arthur Findlay and had taken approximately 7 wrong turns in the process- including getting on a train going in the absolutely wrong direction for about an hour. At my last juncture, I exited the train to meet my bus. After a day full of mishaps I arrived at the station desperately trying to decipher the coding in my travel app and how it related to each terminal. I asked around a bit and was met with some impatient employees who couldn't understand why I didn't comprehend that Bus B 12 would be found in Lot 13A and even though my app said it was heading to Arthur Findlay, the marquee on the bus said nothing of the sort.
As we finally came to an understanding of exactly where my bus was and where it was going, we looked up to see it just pulling off. It would be another 45 minutes at least until the next bus arrived. Luckily I had given myself approximately 7 extra hours of travel time and as it turned out I needed almost every second of it. I was on vacation and honestly was just happy to be traveling, even if it was in circles. I'd been embracing the "everything happens for a reason" mentality and I sat back and took in the scenery while waiting for the next bus. When it arrived I carefully made sure the bus was heading to Arthur Findlay, the driver said he would drop me off there even though it wasn't on the route, I was a little confused, but at least I was getting there! Not long after that, a relieved, wind-swept blonde woman made her way onto the bus, I overheard her say she was also headed to Arthur Findlay. That's how I met Hedy. Or should I say Dr. Hedy M Smit, PhD.
We exited the bus together and hauled our luggage laboriously down a rock encrusted road. Naturally, we sparked up conversation and we wound up being lunch buddies at the college for the week -along with an equally excellent group of folks who proved to be quality company. A few days into our classes the topic of Human Design came up, none of us had ever heard of it so the angelic Hedy began the daunting task of introducing a group of knowledge-hungry students to the depths of information that is the Human Design System. She explained the different aura types and over the week she'd gone over all of our charts to an alarming degree of accuracy. I was sold.
After nothing short of a magical week, Hedy and I wound up being some of the last folks to leave the college. During one of our chats, she mentioned she can audibly hear -when someone is speaking- whether their words align with their truth. What a superpower! I really got a sense of it as we spent our last day together meandering around the quaint little town of Standsted. We even caught a bus to the Airport together where we had lunch and she extended an invitation for me to meet her in the Hague. I gladly accepted and a couple of days later I was on a plane to Amsterdam where she was kind enough to drive me around so I could take in the beautiful landscape. Hedy resides in an amazing Condo looking over the beach at the Hague and the time zipped by as we gabbed on more about the intricacies of Human Design. Before I left she gifted me a book that she'd written herself. When I got home I continued my interest and carried on the research by working up the charts of anyone who would let me. Accurate, accurate, accurate. I was blown away, I had never seen a model of metaphysical guidance be so specific. It was right up my alley.
Hedy believes, and she's not the only one, that the biggest benefit you can receive from Human Design is learning to trust and listen to your "Authority" or your built-in decision-making mechanism. Everything else, she quips, is "mental masturbation." But she was skeptical at first, which is an amazing testament to the validity of this system. Her book, which is privately published, is called "Thriving Through Aligned Personal Decision Making" - Here is an excerpt from page 188:
Human Design is not a scientifically or rationally conceived body of knowledge, and as such it is a body of knowledge that has great chances of immediately being rejected by any "serious" scientist, scholar, or any other person considering themselves primarily rational, even before a look at the contents and possible relevance of the information is taken. Happily enough, I had the fortune of being told some of the concepts -which I found very interesting and intriguing - before being told that a stellar natal chart is at the basis of the possible personal blueprint of people. My interest had been awakened to such a degree from the 1st theoretical information received that I was able to set aside my societal and personal conditioning against anything remotely resembling astrology -which I was extremely skeptical towards- in the interest of at least testing the information for any possible validity, or interesting ideas that could somehow be of value. From the testing I did and the overall insight that I gained, my interest only increased as the information gained from individual HD charts seemed so vast, as well as very specific, detailed and accurate, and the insights gained into human beings and their behaviors, so much more precise, explanatory, and encompassing than anything I had previously studied regarding the nature of human behavior.
Her healthy skepticism is normal, and as a former atheist, it speaks volumes to me. Thankfully by the time Hedy had introduced me to the concept of Human Design I was already aboard the crazy train and ready to buy a ticket to my next destination. Choo choo!
As it turns out, in order to best make aligned decisions, some of us need to use our intuition, while others simply decide based on their emotions -how something makes them feel, some use their gut, -their first instinct- and though it's rare, some need to use their own personal sonar to see how it resonates with their environment to decide. Not to mention the other, somewhat rare, authority types involving willpower, identity, and "lunar" cycle pattern decision making. Realizing that humans differ so greatly regarding this important aspect of everyday life has really fueled my compassion for them and it makes it a lot easier to be understanding of little everyday interactions. While this is helpful information, putting it into practice is a bit more tricky. After viewing your chart and determining what your authority IS, possibly one of the hardest parts can be learning to distinguish your authority's method of communication with you from your rational head's natural tendency to loudly think things.
An example she uses time and again is the idea of making a decision on what to eat, let's say a menu choice at a restaurant (I know, we can't really do that RIGHT now but let's pretend.) For me, as a single definition "gut," or Sacral, decision-maker I might make an audible sound if something pleases or displeases me. Once I learn to trust this is my true inner authority, and not the rational one that has been conditioned by society, I can then clearly say, yes, that decision will satisfy me, or no it will not. The trick for ME is not to overthink things. Society tells us they value critical thinking, putting emphasis on "using your brain," but now we must question is that really the full story? For years Eastern medicine has acknowledged the "gut" to be a "second brain" of sorts. Maybe this is another area where "modern" medicine has failed us by not thinking holistically. It's important to note that Human design does not advocate "not thinking" as it considers our minds the evolutionary tool for conscious analysis, but it does advocate listening to your personal authority above conscious, rational thinking. Your authority takes into account all conscious mental considerations next to a myriad of unconsciously processed information to give you the best possible decision for you in any situation.
My friend, for example, let's call her Emily, she's a triple split definition projector with EMOTIONAL Authority, which means a few things. When it comes to her deciding what she wants to eat she's very unlikely to be able to make a quick decision, and she may NEVER feel satisfied with the decision she does wind up making. She needs time to consider all the factors and most importantly to mull over how each decision makes her feel, and that can change from minute to minute! Now let's consider my other friend, we'll call her Kensie. Kensie is an Environmental Resonance decision-maker, which for her means, she can't be sure how she feels until she gets the right voice resonance feedback cue from her environment! So for each person, their mechanism functions so differently, yet the societal system rewards quick decision-making or critical thinking. Maybe it's because 70% of the population has a Sacral element involved in their process, and those generators expect everyone to know what they want immediately, but that's not fair. It's not a good system trying to jam all the cogs into one part of the machine and expect it to function as it should. That's like walking around with a bag of screws expecting it to be a clock. Each of us as humans plays an integral part of the system as a whole and acknowledging our differences may play a key role in the advancement of our species moving forward.
When first explaining it to me Hedy used the helpful analogy of the workings of a car. Of the four aura types, they each play a role in the functioning of it. Manifestors are the keys, they spark the initial fire and are the inspiration for the momentum. Generators are the Engine, they provide the life force energy to keep the car going. Projectors are the oil keeping things running smoothly, they're kind of like guides, meant to gently keep us all on course. And Reflectors, well they're rare! They make up maybe 1% of the population but I presume they'd be the mirrors. Reflectors are here to reflect things back to us, a picture of how we're all playing our parts. I have yet to meet a confirmed reflector but they say Sandra Bullock and H.G. Wells are Reflectors. For each type, properly listening to their mechanisms is imperative for their well-being as it maximizes their energy potential and keeps them from acting out their "not-self themes" such as anger, frustration, disappointment, or bitterness.
Hedy's book does us the service of going into detail about each mechanism and how to best listen to yours. She's also reported on the results of a qualitative study in which people followed the guidance of their individual mechanisms over a period of time. In general, people reported that despite meeting resistance with friends, family, and colleagues at first, they're now living what they believe to be happier and more fulfilled lives. That's right though, in trying to implement this plan, you will inevitably meet some resistance.
People are not conditioned to understand this type of decision-making. My fiance does not like it when I explain to him that I simply don't have the energy for a task at this time. That's not a good enough "excuse" is it? But what is the alternative? Do we continue to make the same draining choices day after day that leave us feeling beat up and exhausted by the grueling grind? We return to work each day huffing and puffing, trying to keep up with energies that aren't meant to mesh? Colliding into energies of other misaligned people fumbling about their existence? Society does not take kindly to us reclaiming our energy. They've pigeonholed us into a system that realistically works for very few. If you've noticed people are generally unhappy, the societal conditioned ways aren't working for most of us, they don't allow us to align with ourselves.
Since learning about my chart, and my friends and family's charts, I understand our interactions and their motivations FAR better and am therefore more compassionate to their needs. I know Emily might need a month to decide where we go eat next time we go on vacation, and that Kensie has to call me to hear the options out loud so she can see how they sound to her, and because I know that's how they work on a mechanical level, instead of greeting them with frustration over their perceived "inability" to make a decision, I respect their process and they respect mine.
On a personal level, it has enabled me to begin to accept myself for what I really am and allowed me to start the process of coming to terms with my "Self." I am not "just" energy looking to be reunited with source, I am already part of that source as a specific expression of that energy taking human form - for a reason. I'm here to explore, experience, grow, evolve, report, be, love, live, make mistakes, and more. Not only am I a drop of water in a seemingly limitless sea of consciousness, I am ME, I am THIS drop of water, RIGHT NOW - and that's OK! I can be both aware of and part of the ebb and flow of the universe but also know that I occupy a distinguishable point in time and space. That differentiation is just as important and valuable as the integration. I feel there is pressure in the Metaphysical Community to detach from Ego or Self, but I don't believe that's the whole picture. Though there's something to be said for "reconnecting to the universe" and exploring what is possible for our unconscious selves, Human Design opens a door, not only to that, but also for us to embrace and experience THIS life from our physical vessel, and the expression of who we are. It is a tool to help us understand the way we're designed and allows us to freely play our role as a part of the aggregate. I can be both the Universe AND myself, the ideas are not mutually exclusive, and Human Design is the first science I've come across that begins to wholly explore that.
I mention learning to trust and act on the guidance of your personal authority, and even with a fairly solid understanding of it, I find it difficult. It can take years for us to rewrite society's "programming" in favor of following our own authority. The warnings about societal pressure are very real, so even once you know and trust your authority, the voices and input of friends and family who are conditioned to be a certain way will often cloud that voice. But the retraining of society and the redirecting toward more aligned living has to start somewhere. If it starts with me, through my own Authority I can learn to make decisions that align with my conscious and unconscious self, in turn leading me to thrive, in whatever way is right for me. Be the change you wish to see in the world, right?
Historically humans are always looking for "purpose." Well, what if it isn't as elusive as we once thought? What if there was a blueprint designed to guide us through the best use of our vessels. What if, for starters, our workplace was educated in the ways of human design and took some of it into account? Imagine if your boss accepted that you needed an extra day to get back to him on that file, not just because "you're lazy" but because your system needs time to properly process it for the best results? What if the reason you don't jive with Jeff in finances is that you may have conflicting gates and channels and your energy just isn't as efficiently utilized as it could be if you were paired with say, Julie, with whom you have 4 magnetic connections?
If you're ready to buck the system and see what your ever intelligent energy system is telling you, go ahead and get your free chart here and if you'd like my understanding of your chart and to learn how to start making better decisions that lead to a more satisfying life, contact me here.