The First Three Steps— How I (Really) Started Embodying My Design
The Human Design system has bopped in and out of my consciousness for the last ten years. The first time I looked up my chart I found it bewildering, and after struggling to make heads or tails of it, threw the information up on a shelf in the back of my brain to gather dust. My Human Design journey really started when I was literally called to the framework by name through a podcast. Of course, they weren’t talking about me specifically, but another girl with my name and energy type.
All Lexie’s who are Splenic Projectors, put your hands up!
It was enough to make me stop the car on the side of the highway and look up my chart again. And in that instant, it made perfect sense.
I spent that weekend in a cabin near Bryce Canyon and just let the information stream through me. I was intoxicated by how much of the system I already innately understood and I was fascinated by the somatic connection between the framework and the physical body. I set out to get a reading of my own, and begin embodying my design.
Who doesn’t love a good “A-ha!” moment? Well, each energy type has an emotional signature in an aligned state and a not-self state. When I read that the not-self signature for Projectors was bitterness, I was 🤭 gobsmacked. How many decisions had I made in a state of bitterness? How many times had I felt that acrid, bilious sensation coursing through my veins? How many years had I carried a secret bitterness inside of me for what I thought were dreams deferred, rejections, and disappointments?
Identifying my not-self behavior, where I felt it, and what triggered it was an organic and embodied first step of learning my design. For me, this bitterness lived in my lower back, in my sides. It was a sourness in my mouth when I lied that my shortcomings and deferred goals didn’t bother me.
Where do you experience your not-self signature?
If you are a Generator or a Manifesting Generator: When do you feel frustrated? Where do you feel it in your body? What is your response? How does it affect your sleep, your appetite?
If you are a Projector: Your Not-Self is defined by a sense of bitterness. Where does this live in your body? What does it taste like? What does it sound like?
If you are a Manifestor: When do you feel angry? What triggers it? Where do you feel anger in your body? How does it affect your relationships and your creativity?
If you are a Reflector: What makes you feel disappointed? Where do you feel disappointment in your body? How does it affect your perspective of the world?
Find out your type at mybodygraph.com or book a reading here
While conditioning and deconditioning are cyclical processes that naturally occur throughout life, not-self behavior is an indisputable key to identifying what hasn’t been correct or where we are not following our personal Strategy—how to energetically move through the world— and Inner Authortity—the ultimate decision-maker. With this knowledge, I began to experiment further, with my own Strategy and Authority.
As a projector, my energetic Strategy is to “wait for the invitation.” …Uh, pause.
So, I have to literally wait for someone to invite me to everything?? How am I supposed to get anything done?! This doesn’t feel like being in charge of my own life…
But when I think back, I have always felt better about a friendship or an opportunity when I am asked or invited into it. Whenever I would blaze ahead and try to build something by myself or initiate a new idea/project with others, I would usually come up short or quit out of exhaustion, or be told (or sense) that I wasn’t welcome, and thus would begin a cycle of bitterness and self-deprecation.
When I would be invited however, or asked to join something, I felt like my insights were valued and I was able to contribute in a way that led to the success of the relationship or project. I felt stronger through an invitation than through initiating or singly responding to a stimulus.
Types, their energetic aura, and Strategy
If you are a Generator: Your aura is open and enveloping, and you are here to respond to things as they come into your field.
If you are a Manifesting Generator: Your aura is also open and enveloping, but your manifestation channel(s) allow you to expand on your strategy. You must first wait to respond to what comes into your field, visualize what it is that you’d like to initiate and build out from this response, and then inform others of your plan.
If you are a Projector: Because your aura is focused and penetrating, you must wait for an invitation to share your insights or build upon a project.
If you are a Manifestor: Your enclosed and repelling aura contains your precious manifesting energy, and you are pretty self-sufficient in it. But in order to work harmoniously with others, you must inform before you initiate.
If you are a Reflector: Your aura is sampling and reflecting. Because of your openness and sensitivity, you have your own rules. You are constantly absorbing and amplifying different energies, Your strategy and authority are Lunar, to wait 28 days before making a big decision.
Find out your type at mybodygraph.com or book a reading here
OF COURSE this does not mean that I need to wait for an invitation to fulfill my basic daily needs. Strategy applies to the way we energetically move through the world in our life. As I move into new relationships and new opportunities, I will know that it is correct for me if I am invited and if my Inner Authority responds positively.
As an experiment, I tried initiating a project. It was a small, side project, but I was hoping it would pan out as a way to expand my experience. I wanted to work in events management for an up and coming flower shop cum event space. I courted them over email and the phone, and one day walked up and approached them with an offer. It was well composed and the folks responded with interest—smiles, words of affirmation, new ideas to implement—but there was difficulty nailing down a start date, or a concrete plan. I could feel this energetic resistance immediately, and felt so completely out of place. I think that many of us become conditioned that if you want to do something you have to go out and do it! Which is great advice but only a half-truth. You have to do it in alignment with who you are.
A few weeks later, while I waited for a call from the flower shop, I received a different phone call from a property manager where I had been leasing space, but was planning to move. He asked if there was any way I could stay, and then said “This may be out of the blue, but would you be interested in possibly working with our events or coordinating some new projects?” 😳 I got a literal invitation.
In this moment, I felt my Inner Authority—my decision maker. I have Splenic Authority, which is purely intuitive and directly linked to the immune and lymphatic systems. I have felt this my entire life. Hearing that my intuition was my true decision maker was incredibly validating. The only tough part is, it’s instantaneous and is only available in the present. When I was asked by the property manager if I wanted to coordinate their events, I got a sensation of fresh blood coursing through me. “Yes! That’s something I would be very interested in doing,” I didn’t even have to think about the words before they came out. A verbal agreement was made, and I was asked to call after the holidays to schedule a “Planning Meeting” for the next year.
When I called back after the holidays, I was asked if the meeting could be pushed out another week. I felt a slight draining in my lymphatic system, around my shoulders and underarms, and there was the awareness of a door shutting; an inner knowing that this was no longer the invitation for me. But my brain and my conditioning told me that this was a thing I wanted, that there was nothing in their voice that suggested otherwise, so I agreed and the conversation ended on a mutual high note of looking forward to the meeting. Long story short, the job didn’t pan out and I had a super uncomfortable experience while those people told me that they had reconsidered, that I “didn’t even really fit in there,” and that nothing was promised. Welp 🤷🏻♀️ my Authority did tell me so…
There are seven different Authorities and to understand them is less about experimenting, in my opinion. It is more about tuning in to their processes and trusting the answers given above all else. [For a full description on Authorities, check this out.]
Authorities
If you have Emotional Authority, tune into the emotional wave that you experience over the course of a day, or several. Be mindful of not making decisions when you feel either really good or really bad about something. Wait until you feel emotionally neutral. For you, truth is discovered over time. It is best to give yourself at least 24 hours before making a decision or commitment.
If you have Sacral Authority, your gut will tell you in the now whether something is a yes or no through a vibrational frequency. Try to connect with your gut’s “ah-HUH!” or “UH-uhn.” You may even feel this as your body leaning or moving toward something that you want, or away from something you don’t want without having to think about it.
If you have Splenic Authority, you may not feel much unless you get a direct hit. It is intuitive and constantly operating at a low level, tasting the environment for what is and isn’t healthy. But these hits are felt throughout the body, sometimes originating in the upper belly area. This Authority also operates in the present and will not repeat itself. What is correct now, may not be correct in 10 minutes or vice versa.
If you have Ego Authority, your decision-making is determined by your will-power. If you are a Manifestor, this means that when you talk through a decision, you will hear your truth in your own voice as it will be coming from the heart center directly to the throat. If you are a Projector, your heart will lead you to what is correct, and away from what is not correct for you.
If you have Self-Projected Authority, it is imperative that you talk through your decisions with a neutral sounding board. The correct decisions for you come from your defined direction in life, your identity, and connection to your higher self. You may need to ramble for a bit before you hear that clear frequency of your own voice, but the sound is unmistakably you.
If you have Mental/Environmental Authority, sometimes called “Outer Authority”, your truth is found in the correct environment through talking. Your open/undefined G-center means that you are incredibly sensitive to your environment. An unhealthy environment—whether that be physically, mentally, geographically, socially—will lead to health issues as well as misaligned decisions. Getting yourself to an environment where you feel energetically supported is the first step. Then finding someone who can act as a neutral sounding board while you talk out your decision process, so that you can hear your inner truth.
If you are a Reflector, you have Lunar Authority. You discern your truth over time, and it’s best to wait 28 days before making a major decision or life change. Your sensitivity is your gift and your power, and you are meant to be pleasantly surprised by life when you are in supportive environments.
Find out your type at mybodygraph.com or book a reading here
Learning to incorporate the awareness of my Inner Authority (splenic intuition) while practicing my Strategy (to wait for the energetic invitation), and identifying when I’m acting from the not-self (bitterness) were the first three steps to embodying my design. Nothing shifted overnight, of course. I had to allow myself some grace for the things I had set into motion before I started this process that would need to be completed. This gave me some time to experiment on smaller levels with my energy and intuition. Such as shifting my work schedule to accommodate the times of day when I knew I had the most energy for it, and practicing active patience.
Since then, I’ve been amazed by the ease with which I can approach my life, grow through my goals, and tap into my innate magic. I do not believe in a one-answer-for-all approach, but the Human Design system lends a nuanced and personal framework that can be layered with embodiment practice, meditation, business coaching, you name it! I’ve found that understanding my elemental design has given me the permission, beyond and in spite of societal expectations, to live harmoniously and successfully with the world around me.
The process will look quite different for each person, considering their current circumstances and conditioning, but the accessibility of these three elements make them a great starting point to begin living with purpose. If you’re curious about how to start embodying your design, you can book a Human Design Counsel session with me, where we take bite-sized chunks of your design and apply them directly to your current life experiences. Or if you want to dive deeply into your chart first to understand the nuances of yourself at an elemental level, you can book a Human Design Reading.
