HUMAN DESIGN 101: THE NOT-SELF THEMES OF THE ENERGY CENTERS

I love how straightforward Human Design is.

The not-self themes of the aura types and energy centers zero in on exactly where we are out of integrity with our own energy.

The NOT-SELF is exactly what it says - it is an indication of where in the aura you are literally NOT your self.

Just as we can wear masks, we can chose (mostly subconsciously) to live off of energy that isn’t exactly ours. Each of us has energy that is consistent in our blueprint (your individual bodygraph is a map of this) and the places in our chart that are white are particularly susceptible to “borrowed” energy. When I was early days in Human Design, I thought that the not self themes were only relevant if you had a center open or undefined. HA. Any energy center defined, open, or undefined can operate from a place of not self.

How do you determine if you are in your not self? Look at the following questions. Answering yes to them isn’t shameful, wrong, or bad - it just means you are leaning into energy that isn’t yours a little too much. It is awareness and feedback you can use to ease back into your flow.

Each Energy Center has a Not-Self theme: These questions are an incredible and simple tool you can continually go back to and check where you are out of alignment - I suggest bookmarking this page so you can come back to it!

CROWN /INSPIRATION, HEAD CENTER - “Am I trying to answer everybody else’s questions?”

AJNA / MIND, POINT OF VIEW CENTER - “Am I trying to convince everyone/myself that I am certain?”

THROAT / COMMUNICATION, MANIFESTATION CENTER - “Am I trying to attract attention?”

G-CENTER / IDENTITY, LOVE, DIRECTION CENTER - “Am I looking for love and direction?”

HEART/EGO, WILLPOWER CENTER - ”Do I have something to prove or improve?”

SOLAR PLEXUS/EMOTIONAL CENTER - “Am I avoiding confrontation and truth?”

SACRAL/DESIRE, CREATIVITY, SEXUALITY CENTER - “Do I know when enough is enough?”

SPLEEN/INSTINCTS, INTUITION CENTER - “Am I holding on to what is not good for me?”

ROOT/ AMBITION, DRIVE CENTER - “Am I in a hurry to get everything done so I can be free of the pressure?”

REMEMBER: A Generator can still burn out even with a defined sacral center. When I realized it doesn’t matter if you have the center defined, open, or undefined in your chart - I was like OOOOOOOH this explains A LOT. I used to think Manifestors were all magic and so lucky with that defined throat connected directly to a motor, but a Manifestor can still use their throat center from a place of desperation and attention seeking! No one is immune to the Not-Self!!

It is simplistic to look at a chart and think defined energy is a gift more than openness because it is more “fixed.” Someone with more openness in their chart isn’t more likely to get caught in the not-self than someone with defined energy - this is what Ra was speaking to when he talked about the conditioning of a homogenized society (if you don’t know who Ra is, or what this last sentence means, that’s ok)

We are seduced by what we don’t have!! When/if we’re not rooted in our own energy, we’re likely out of whack in at least one energy center. (ahem, most people are not aligned in their own energy and that is fine! Again, this is an awareness tool!)

I find it comforting that every single one of us can all get out of balance in an energy center regardless of that center’s status in our chart. It is a reminder of our humanity and ability to mirror and get deep. The Not Self questions show us where we are out of our own bounds, allowing us to listen in on where we’re pushing or forcing instead of allowing.

Are you ready to look into your distinct energies? Book a reading with me, I’d love to work with you.

Using the Wisdom from the Open and Undefined Centers in Human Design

Open + Undefined Centers:

We’re driven to get what we don’t have. If you look at your chart versus your friend’s or your partner’s chart, I bet they will have gates and energy centers that “complete” your own personal chart.

We are deeply attracted to what we don’t have, it drives us to improve, it drives us forward but we can’t let the quest for what we don’t have overtake us, we can’t let it diminish us, or let it turn off our light. 

When we are driven by the mind (which is an illusion, we never have control) we can get caught up operating out of a lack mentality.I believe this is what fuels rampant consumerism, this drive to fill this void, this need to be externally validated that will never stop until we learn to work within our own internal framework. 

Our wisdom comes from an ability to accept our own humanity.

The wabi-sabi. We begin to stop the hemorrhaging when we learn to accept our own limitations. It’s not the same as giving up, but it is surrendering. Surrendering to the idea that maybe our mind doesn’t know all the answers. When we honor our body’s wisdom, we can see our gifts more clearly. I love Human Design because it’s a framework that honors all the ways we can be smart. School + social conditioning tamp down our inclinations for individualism, forcing us to be measured through testing. We have all these measures of success out there - success metrics however set up a system of winners and losers. We must widen the societal acceptance for success.

WE’RE AFRAID TO LOOK INTO OUR CONDITIONING BECAUSE WE’RE TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY FREAKED OUT ABOUT WHAT WE WILL FIND.

MYTH: THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE ASHAMED OF MAKE YOU A BAD PERSON.

FACT: YOU ARE A PRODUCT OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT + CIRCUMSTANCES

MINDSET SHIFT: YOUR CONDITIONING IS NOT PERSONAL - REALIZING YOUR CONDITIONING IS A PRODUCT OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT (WHO YOU GREW UP AROUND, YOUR CULTURE, YOUR SCHOOL, ETC.) AND NOT A REFLECTION OF WHO YOU ARE IS A MASSIVE AH-HA MOMENT.

JOURNAL: WHAT CAN I ADMIT TO MYSELF IF I CREATE SPACE BETWEEN MYSELF AND MY ACTIONS?