Centers

I Gotta Be Me

One of the gifts of Human Design is it helps you to uncover and or discover who you truly are. It points out the parts of you that are defined or hard coded and illuminates areas, thoughts, beliefs or expressions that are not you. In Human Design we call these defined and undefined areas or characteristics. There are three major pieces where we talk about definition in a Human Design chart and those are Centers, Channels and Gates.

Centers are the shapes and their origins are linked to the Hindu 7 chakra system.
Channels are the entire line between the Centers. They are made up of 2 gates and are associated with the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
Gates are the numbers in the centers and are represented by half the channel line between the centers. They are a synthesis from the I Ching.

When a center, channel or gate is colored in it is called defined. It does not matter what the color it is. By being defined it signifies that you will have a consistency of expression with the architype or characteristic that the gate, channel or center represent.

When a center, channel or gate is white is is called undefined. This represents that you are open to feel, carry or amplify energy with these characteristics or architypes associated with that center, channel or gate.

As you start to understand your design and the energies that are defined and undefined with, you can discover that maybe part of your expression in life is not coming from you but from others or the world around you. That is not to say it is good or bad being influenced by these energies, but the awareness of their origin can be helpful especially if they are creating conflict.

Lets take a look at a few examples from the singer and model Dua Lipa.

On the top right she has an undefined Channel of Logic. This is the beginning of the logical process where you are looking at a process or a product and coming up with the initial judgement is this good, bad or maybe ok but it needs improvement. Since it is undefined, on her own Dua might not really know or or have a firm that conclusion. However if she is around or surrounded by more logically defined people, she might take on a more logical approach to things. The truer version of her energy in the mind come from the defined gates 47 and 61. She would tend to look at things in either an individual know way, “it’s a given understanding” (gate 61) or an abstract way, “this is how things fit together”(gate 47).

Moving down the logic circuitry she also has an undefined gate 17 of opinions. Again, since it lacks consistent energy, she might not express her opinion much or if she is around opinionated people she might express an opinion quite boldly. You see undefined area can amplify the expressions they are exposed to. With the next gate in the logical circuit being defined, gate 62. the gate of the gate of details, her more natural expression might be to start listing the ingredients of a product or talking about where it was made without much of an opinion at all.

Lastly lets take a look at her Undefined Identity center and in this case it is called open which is an extreme case of an undefined center. Open centers can be extremely impactful as there are no gates defined on the center so there is no consistent influence. Two items stood out regarding her Open Identity center from the Wikipedia article I read.

She was heavily influenced by her father who was a musician and she started singing at age 5. The undefined G, (another name for the Identity center), can often be influenced to become something from a parent or significant mentor or partner. It will be interesting to see if she stays with music and singing or at some point decides “Hey this is really not my passion”.
She has had a series of relationships over the last years but nothing has lasted. The Identity center is home to the 4 Love gates so there is a lack of that energy and most open G’s are looking for love and to be loved. Her last relationship ended because of incompatible schedules. It is likely much harder for an Open G to carry on a long distance relationship without the persistent presence of felling that love energy.

Again, it is not about whether an undefined area is being influenced, but it is about bringing awareness of an influence. From awareness you can then think about if the influence is in harmony or bringing you discord. Dua has a lot of passions, acting as a feminist, speaking out about sexism in the music industry, acting as a philanthropist supporting a variety of charities and modeling and her interest in fashion and clothes. She may find over time that some of these aren’t really resonating and will let them go. The bottom line is thru Human Design you can shine a light on how you are designed and come to a more harmonious place because for all of us, ” you gotta be you!”

Dua Lipa singing her hit son Levitating:

Sammy David Jr. sings I Gotta Be Me:

Credit to Wikipedia for the picture and info
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dua_Lipa

Note – There is conflicting birth times for Dua Lipa on the astrological sites I reference some have 12:18 AM and some have 23:45. The difference in her chart in terms of definition are very minor, however there is a great difference in profile, the earlier time being a 5-1 and the later which I have used being a 6-2.

The Undefined Heart/Will Center

Am I worthy? Well are you?

Of course you are. But a person with an undefined Heart/Will center can feel a nagging or wave of insecurity. This is due to inconsistent access to the energy in the center.

This center is about will power. It is a pushy kind of energy to get, gather or take resources that you need to survive. In our society it can also be about not taking or consuming things, like that second cup of coffee or that bowl of ice cream before bed. People with defined will power can use this consistent energy to deny that indulgence. But with duality there is also the will to have that 2nd cup or bowl.

So what to do? If you are undefined you have inconsistent energy to hold back and if you are defined your will might work against you!

The solution here is to utilize your other defined energy to accomplish what you want. A person with a defined Ajna can potentially use process to accomplish their goal. Say they want to cut back on coffee. They may not be able to stop on will power but they may be able to rationalize, “If I don’t go into any Starbucks, then I will buy and drink less coffee.”

For other designs the strategy maybe different but the goal is the same, use your defined energies to accomplish your goal.

Undefined Heart/Will centers can borrow will from those around them. But it is important to remember, they are not wired to use will consistently. If they do they run the risk of ill health to the Gall Bladder and the Heart as this center is wired in to both these organs.

Think about what the heart does. It beats and then it rests, it beats and then it rests. It is not designed to work all the time. It needs that rest even if it is for a fraction of a second. If you are willfully pushing your way though life, you are not giving the center its needed rest.

Here are charts for the actor Clint Eastwood and his father Clint Eastwood Sr.
Clint Eastwood Sr. died of a heart attack at the age of 63. Clint Eastwood is 79 and is rumored to be having heart troubles.
(Click on the chart for larger image.)

The Open Throat

The Throat center is the nexus within the Human Design System. It is the Throat where all the circuitry comes together to produce expression. Now the expressions produced is not just words. It can be songs, music, gestures, art, many forms of design, the way we dress or even the car we drive.When someone has a design with an open or undefined Throat it creates a bit of a quandary. The Throat is all about expression yet with the open Throat the design lacks a consistent path to expression. With this lack of energy, there is unconscious recognition by others that you don’t have the energy to speak. The result is that open Throat’s don’t often get the chance to speak.In order to overcome the quandary of the open Throat people with this design often resort to one of two behaviors.

The first is to be flamboyant and or demonstrative. This draws attention to the person with the open Throat so they are recognized and then can express themselves. When I was pondering an example of this Lucille Ball jumped to mind. She was one of the most flamboyant actresses . Guess what? She had an open Throat. All her antics were her compensation to get recognition to speak.

Check out this short clip from I Love Lucy.

A second method used by the open Throat is to allow the energy to coalesce and come out in a fuller expression. However what this means is that the expression is not always available on demand. Some times the open Throat will freeze or stumble to bring the thoughts together when put on the spot. But interestingly enough that is maybe part of the reason that people with an open Throat are not recognized to speak right away. There is energetic recognition that the open Throat needs more time.

In group settings an open Throat may struggle to get the floor. They may feel they never get the chance to express their thoughts. The trick for the open Throat is patience. If they can wait their turn and speak when finally recognized, they will have allowed their energy to come together, they will be more cohesive and they will be heard in a deeper way.

Many singers have an open Throats. It allows them to have a wider range of expression in their voices and through the act of singing which may involve the writing of lyrics, composing of music and practicing, it allows the expression to come together in its fullness and command the audience.

Here is a song from Sarah McLachlan who has an open Throat. Interestingly enough she has one defined gate on the Throat center. This gate, 33, is about mindfulness and remembering or forgetting the past, as in past lives. I find this excerpt from the lyrics profound. It feels like she is speaking directly about the 33rd gate and the pain of the open Throat.
“I’m so tired,I can’t sleep,
Standin’ on the edge of something much too deep,
It’s funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word,
We are screaming inside, we can’t be heard.

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by,
Weep not for the memories ”

Watch the video “I will remember you” by Sarah McLachlan

Here are the Charts of Sarah McLachlan and Lucille Ball.
(Click on chart for larger image.)

The Open Root

Under Pressure? This is the pressure to get things going and to get them off of your list. This is the pressure to finish to be free.

The open Root is under this pressure to get started and be done. It can be relentless. It can run your life. It can push you to keep working after you are tired. It can make you skip lunch or work way past quitting time. The open root can have you spinning your wheels as well.

The reason the open Root can be so intense is that the pressure of doing things causes the body to release adrenaline to create energy to do things. Because the open root lacks definition or consistency, it will manage this physical energy in an inconsistent way. Some times it will flounder to get started and other times it will push to finish, everything.

So how do you tame the open Root?

The strategy to combat the shadow of the open Root is a mental one. Keep tabs on your open Root. If you have done enough for this morning, go to lunch. Give your self permission to take a break. If it is quitting time, go home. The list will be there tomorrow. Besides, the boss will add more things to do so just because you finish doesn’t mean you are free.

The Root center is also designed to be off at times to rest. You can’t pump adrenaline 24×7 yet that is what our over caffeinated society is trying to do. Take advantage of the Root’s down time if you can. Do something more passive. If you are at your desk trying to get those emails out, or finish that report and it is not happening, take a walk, read a book, stretch or do something to allow the Root to rest. Once recharged you will actually be more productive than if you just try to struggle through.

The gift of the open Root is that it can amplify the energy around you. In the office or on the sports field the open Root can harness the energy of the defined Roots and get an amazing things done. It can be super human. So be super human and then get the rest you deserve.

And when you do take that rest, leave the lists mentally behind at the office and enjoy your time off, even if it is brief.

Here is a chart with an open Root.
(Click on chart for larger image.)

The Emotional Waves of the Solar Plexus

In the Human Design system a defined Solar Plexus is powered by waves of energy that rise towards joy and happiness and fall towards sadness and despair. There are three types of waves and they each behave a bit differently. The truth is that whether we have an emotional wave or not we are all impacted by emotions as we interact with others. Here is a newer take on an old classic song Emotion.

To understand how emotions flow, here is an overview of the three waves and a chart highlighting the connections called channels that they make to the other centers.

Tribal Wave

The Tribal Wave is the mildest of the three waves. The emotional feeling that is part of this wave flows up and down in a gentle way and most people may not even notice its flow. It can often work like a ratchet within family or community relationships. For example, someone in your group/family may do something that irritates you. The first several times you brush it off and ignore it. However over time it builds up an emotional charge until the wave cannot sustain it any longer and it snaps, coming into expression in the form of an outburst like “Stop doing that!’. It also might take the form of disconnection or distancing from the iritant person like a timeout. In a more severe cases it could result in a complete disassociation from the person or the group. This is a tribal energy and the connection demands that to be part of the tribe we live by tribal rules or we get out of that tribe.

Individual Wave

The Individual wave is the most dramatic wave of the three. This wave travels in big swings up toward joy and euphoria and big swings down to pain, saddness and despair. These swings are rhythmic and vary in length depending on the individual. An up and down cycle can range from daily to yearly with most falling somewhere in between. One of the struggles of this wave is at the bottom it can feel like it is never going to come back up. Too much mental focus on this can actually prolong or create a stuck pattern in the down cycle. It is important for someone with this wave to understand it will go up and down and if you are down the up side is on its way.

Collective Wave

The Collective wave is like an escalator. It rises and rises toward joy and happiness in a slow and steady way. But this energy is not sustainable and like a bubble it pops, falling abruptly down to sadness and sorrow. The bottom of this wave does not last long as the wave begins building again back toward joy. When the wave drops it can lead one to question what happened. In relationship it might be the question of “Did I say something wrong?”. But in the case of this wave it is just energy that has run its course and needs to drop back to rebuild again.

Here is a Chart of the Emotional Wave Channels

(click on chart for larger image)

The Will Center – Are you worthy?

The Will center in Human design is also the home of the ego. This is pushy energy to get or posses material things. It can also be about getting your way, staking your place or enforcing your ownership. The will center is intertwined to the heart and it’s processes which is why it is often called the Heart/Will center. Improper or over use of that pushy will energy can lead to health problems with the heart, the blood and the gall bladder.

Heart/Will Center

Underlying all this is a burning question. Am I worthy? The will center and it’s energy want to prove that you are! That you are worthy to have a nice car, a big house or a place at the table. That you are worthy because you get good grades or your team wins or you look great. But the catch in proving all this is that the will and or the heart must work and then rest. In our western society we are often conditioned to push, push push and forget about the rest. This is a recipe for disaster. It is not surprising that the rate of heart, blood and gall bladder health issues are so high!

Now about 35% of the population have defined Will centers and that means they have consistent energy to do this willful pushing. With a defined Will you are more likely to recognize when you have pushed too long and take a rest. The people with the undefined Wills have a harder time, as they often don’t know when to stop pushing. They also don’t always have will energy around them so when they push they don’t have the defined energy to support the push and it puts a greater strain on their body. Open or undefined Wills can often struggle with worthiness. In school for most a B+ is a sufficient grade but the open will center will continue to push for that A just to feel worthy.

Overall, a good strategy is to use the will energy sporadically. Like a runner when you need that kick to finish. For accomplishing things that we often think take will power like dieting or quitting a bad habit, using other strategy not will power is a better route to success. For example, if you are trying to cut down on caffeine, don’t go into Starbucks. Strategy like that can go a long way in helping you accomplish what you want with out straining your heart.

Generators – Respond and Flourish

Generators are one of 5 types in the Human Design system. They make up about 35% of the population. Generators have an internal motor like the engine of a car which gives them a consistent physical energy. When utilized properly, the generator motor is the electric power plant and supplies the energy to do things.

This power center is called the Sacral Center or Sacral Motor. It is the red colored square in this diagram. If you have a colored in Sacral Center in your chart you are either a Generator or Manifesting Generator. Manifesting Generators are similar but slightly different. Manifesting Generators in addition to the defined Sacral lso have motorized power to the throat. I will be covering Manifesting Generators in more detail in a few weeks.

With this power the Generator is here to do things. But ultimately the Generator will be more successful when they follow the strategy of doing in response.

What this means is to do things in response to people, invitations, suggestions that are in the Generators reality. Most of us think they we need to initiate or go out and make something happen like the Nike mantra of “Just Do it”! And we can do it but for the Generator it will work more smoothly when we do it in response. There is so much to respond to in this world.

Lets compare this Generator engine to a machine, say a dishwasher. What would happen if the dishwasher just started up when it wanted to. Perhaps it would be mostly empty and waste water, or even worse, the door would be open and flood the kitchen, What works best for the dishwasher and us is for it to respond to the door being closed, hopefully you remembered to add the soap, and then the button being pushed. Then when the dishwasher does it, things flow smoothly.

Most of the time the response works in a chain. Lets take this scenario where a friend is over and asks me if I want to go to the movies. I have an opportunity to respond yes or no. If I respond yes, we will probably work through following questions with an opportunity to respond to each one. What movie? What time? What theater? Who is going to drive? Should we get food after or just eat popcorn?As I go I am responding to each question and doing something or not. I might not get popcorn ;-).

Whether it is a big or small question make sure you bring it back to your heart and soul to determine if it is your passion. You want to spend your time and your life responding to things that make your heart and soul sing. That is what Generators are here to do.

Here are some charts of Generators.

Openness In Our Charts

In Human Design, we often focus on the defined areas in our charts or the areas that are colored in. But it is often the open areas that control or create ripples in our lives. These are the white areas in our charts and we are open to being conditioned by those around us. We should live the expressions from these areas less frequently, but when we are conditioned, we take on the habit of living our openness in a defined way. When we live our conditioning it can impact our lives.

Take the example of a mother who has a defined will center. This mother will be able to have consistent access to will energy. The will center is also home to the ego, so will energy is pushy and is often about me or what I want. A child of this mother, who has an open will center can grow up amplifying will energy. Using this will energy can become a habit. As this child grows into an adult, if the conditioning is deep, they continue to use the will energy. But their system is not designed to handle will energy consistently. Their will center is undefined. Just like wiring in a house it is only rated for occasional usage. The will center is physically connected to the gall bladder and the heart. The result of over usage of will energy by this adult child can be gall bladder failure and or heart trouble. The best solution for the child is to de-condition or stop living the energy that they are not defined to live.

While this example is extreme, it is not an uncommon problem. All the areas in the Human Design system are connected to body parts or functions. Over use of energy in undefined areas from prolonged usage can result in physical illness. Thyroid issues, eating disorders, MS, etc can be related to living conditioning in the undefined circuitry.

In addition, consistently using energy that is not yours can come off as being phony. People are likely to feel a lack of sincerity or clarity from you. Take the gate 17 which is to have opinions. If you are put in a job that is constantly requiring your opinions, yet you are not defined in the gate 17 you may have trouble being listened to. By design your opinions will come across inconsistently and not nearly as robust as someone who has defined opinions (gate 17). The solution is to work in a job that doesn’t require opinions all the time or work in partnership with someone who does have the gate 17 opinion energy.

The goal in Human Design is to be wise about our open areas. We can experience through the openness unlimited ways of experiencing the applicable energy. A person with an open solar plexus can feel and amplify emotions in unlimited ways. But on a daily basis we want to live out the consistency of our defined areas. That is how we are wired to live and that wring is integrated into our bodies and right on down to our genes.

Here are some sample charts that display openness. The open areas are circled in pink.

The Sacral Response

Generators and Manifesting Generators have a built in “self truth” detector that shows its presence in our earlier childhood years. Here let me take you back to your childhood…

Father: Please give me those scissors or you might cut yourself.

Son: Un-uh

Father: Please.

Son: Un-uh.

Or how about …

Mother: Would you like to go for Ice Cream?

Daughter: Un Huh!

You see, we know the sacral response when we are toddlers, yet our schools typically beat it out of us as we grow up. We must say the proper, Yes and No. But the Un-Huh(for yes) and un-uh(for no) are an instinctive hold overs that is tied directly to the sacral motor. This is the gut instinct. We should listen to it.Have you ever said, “Un-Huh, I knew I was right!” The more we say the un-Huh and un-uh, the more it engages the sacral. This sacral motor is deeply tied to the body and has a knowing of what we need and what we don’t.

So if you have the Sacral center defined in your chart. it is colored red, then grab a friend and you are on the way to “self truth” discovery. Simply have your friend ask you a series of simple yes and no questions. You respond appropriately with un-Huh and un-uh. Using the sound is very important as it gets the motor going in a way that does not happen with yes and no. Use some simple set up questions like “Is your hair red?”, Do you drive a black car?” before getting to the questions you really want the answer to. The goal here is to get the mind out of the way. We are interested in what that gut instinct has to say about what is right for you.

Her are some additional tips.

Simple questions
Must be yes or no questions
Be clear/precise on time references in the questions. ( now, today ,tomorrow, next week)
Questions about the future will be less certain
Answer rapidly without thinking about it
Feel the connection to the gut as you say un-Huh and un-uh
Answer without emotion or will energy
If you have the 34-20 channel, from the sacral to the throat, don’t over due it.

I hope you will try this out and have some fun with it.

The Open G/Identity Center

The G or Identity center is the seat of the soul in Human Design. There is probably no more empathetic or vulnerable part of the design then when this center is open or undefined. Someone who has the open G is influenced at birth forward by the identities of those around them. Early on they can be swayed, pressured and conditioned to be someone they are not. There openness, that white diamond at the center of the chart is like a portal. It can get clogged with their parents ideas of who they should be. It can be overly influenced to aspire to be just like an older sibling or maybe the opposite of what they represent. But the beauty of the open G is to be empathetic and recognize aspects of other individuality’s so what comes forth are the aspects that resonate on a deeper level.

The open G that finds their place and allows their soulful identity to shine through is a magical thing. To see that watch the video in an earlier post, click here, where Sarah Maclachlan releases her soul through the window of the Open G in her song Angel.

But like a window the Identity of an Open G can become smudged. Because of this the person with an open G needs to take care to shield and even coddle their openness. Comfort is a big factor. The size, the design and the layout of the rooms they spend time in are very important to the open G. They need to be comfortable in their surroundings. An open G that walks into a house or restaurant that is not deigned to their comfort will want to leave. They know right away whether it is right or not. This is an energetic thing that only they can know for themselves. If you are with an open G then it is important for you to respect that openness and help them comfort the G. Take the seat at the table that they shy away from, don’t force and open G to move into an apartment or house that they are having second thoughts about. If they are not comfortable there now they never will be.

This comfort that the open F seeks is also a barometer. When the open G finds its place of comfort then it is in the flow of humanity. Like the flow of the river, if they are comfortable then they will be in the right place, at the right time, to meet the right people and or have the right experience to move them forward on their path in life.