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We came into this world, each with a unique decision-making system within our energetic and physical bodies. An internal compass. Our North Star. One that lies latent in you before the presence of any external influences.

However, our societal conditionings, upbringing, past programming and experiences may have steered us away from trusting this internal guidance in our body and have us overthrown by our mind.

As a Human Design reader, one of the things I am most passionate and excited about is incorporating the understanding and experimentation of Human Design with our decision-making process. After all, it is a dilemma that most people face in today’s modern era.

What decisions do I make? What is the best and correct decision? Is my decision the right choice?

It is normally in the experimentation of decision-making that my clients observed the most profound changes in their life. The self-trust naturally deepens, the body coherence is naturally observed, and lastly comes ease, confidence and self-sovereignty.

And that is my intention for you today, knowing where your conditionings have stemmed from, feeling confident and sovereign to navigate through the complexity of our mind and trusting your authority in Human Design.

“the reason you have a hard time trusting your intuition is because you are still convinced that some outside authority knows better than you.”

— Maryam Hasnaa

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Conditionings that have intervened our internal guidance

In Childhood

In our childhood and formative years, it is rare that decisions were made for ourselves, by us.

Rather, decisions were made for us by our immediate guardians, caretakers and parents. For example, some of us never had the choice to decide whether we truly want to relocate but relocated because of our parents. We never had a choice to decide what academia to study and to pursue, or even the trivial moments like when can we play with our friends. For some of us, we had decisions made for us because it was “the best choice”.

He/she is just a child! He/she doesn’t know what he/she wants yet. How can you trust a 5-year-old child’s words? I think you look better in the purple dress instead of the blue. I think learning the guitar will be good for you.

Perhaps, our inability to tune into our energetic inner guidance was rooted because of our inability to formulate any decisions from a young age. Our right to be able to tune into our internal guidance was taken away from us, leaving us with little confidence to trust ourselves and our ability to formulate coherent life choices. This inadequacy may eventually pervade through our adulthood, relying on external sources outside of ourselves.

2. societal programming in a homogenised world

As one grows older and is exposed to a multitude of societal/religious/cultural programming, one may feel obliged to look, dress, act, think and feel, a specific way. Especially when one isn’t discerning, self-aware, and looking for external approval, one may unconsciously fall into such traps of our homogenised world. People-pleasing tendencies are formulated due to low self-worth and the desire to feel belonged and to fit in.

3. using your mind

A conditioning influence that was the most apparent in my journey, was the conditioning influence to use our mind.

Have you ever blurted to someone else, “Use your brain!” What do you think? “Make up your mind!” I know I have had such a regular and persistent narrative in my past.

In our Human Design chart, there are 4 motor centers. They are the root center, the sacral center, the solar plexus center and finally, the ego center. Each of these motor centers allows us to be equipped with additional specific resources that help us move forward in life. There is no Human Design chart that reveals any motor center connected to the mind/ajna center.

That is because one thing Human Design teaches is to never give our power of decision-making to our mind. Our Ajna/mind center is an amazing data bank used for storage, analyzing, processing and transforming cognitive information, but never for decision-making. Reclaim what is truly yours, your mind does not belong there.

4. asking for guidance outside of you

Lastly, my favorite conditioning of all — is the conditioning of asking others outside of ourselves for advice.

In our distracted and homogenised world, one may have fallen into the traps of seeking external sources like social media/internet for decisions. Social media and the internet contain a myriad of truths, and facts, yet also contorted unfiltered ideas/beliefs and misinformation.

Oftentimes, one may also rely on the cherished friendships and relationships around us for solutions and making our decisions. It is important to know that the person next to you, or your trusted confidante may have a completely different decision-making system to yours. For instance, your authority in Human Design is emotional authority and you are not here to make decisions at the exact moment but to learn the waiting game of riding out your emotions to arrive at the clarity you need. But your best friend’s authority is splenic authority, he/she is here to tune into the instantaneous, almost-quiet, instinctual, whisper in the very moment.

When we are empowered in our Human Design, we embrace our unique difference from one other. And even if we do hold the same authority as the other, we learn to empower and support them in their internal decision-making process, rather than offer what we think or what we perceive is right for them. Asking for guidance outside of yourself deviates you from your self-trust and self-sovereignty. Only when we support and reclaim ourselves in our self-sovereignty, do we radiate the same qualities back to others.

“One of our biggest conditioning as human beings resides in our decision-making process. ”

— Arawme

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7 Authorities of Human Design

In Human Design, under Authority, there is an umbrella of Inner Authority and Outer Authority. All of them hold the same function. They are our unique energetic guidance. Our internal compass and our North Star. They govern how we best make decisions and arrive at the clarity with our unique energetics.

Inner Authority is heavily rooted in our physical body’s wisdom. The emotional authority, sacral authority, splenic authority, ego authority and self-projected authority belong under this umbrella.

Outer Authority on the hand, unlike the former, goes through an external, deliberate and outward process to arrive at the clarity. Time (lunar) and environmental are imperative in getting you there.

Emotional/ Solar Plexus Authority
Individuals with emotional authority will have their solar plexus center defined. This is an extremely strong authority and often “louder” in bodily cognition in comparison with other authorities. One with this authority is here to be wise about their emotions and manage them. It is important to experience the fullness of their emotional energy. One may have experienced a wide spectrum of emotional energy in their lifetime. Unlike several other authorities, individuals with this authority are not here to decide instantaneously. The goal is to learn to arrive at clarity by riding their emotional waves. Time is the friend here. Learning to sleep on one’s emotions, and taking a moment are some examples to foster the composed clarity you are looking for in decision-making. Rash decisions are managed by the mind, attached to emotional expectations of hopes and/or fear of how it may transpire that may be tied to your past/future. Adopt replies like,
"I need time to process/digest this, can I get back to you about this again, I don't think I am currently in the right space to make any decisions now."
If one has the spleen or sacral defined along with the solar plexus center defined, know that nudges from these centers may prompt one to make a decision right away, but the emotional energy outweighs everything else. One has to be patient and commit to arriving at emotional neutrality. You are here to love and embrace your emotions. Love by giving time.

Sacral Authority
Individuals with a sacral authority are here to be attuned to their gut.
This person is here to respond to the dance of life through excitement. The sacral is responsive and not proactive. When the sacral is lit, it feels juicy, sparkly, expansive and excited. When the sacral is a no, it feels dull, contractive, and uninterested. The sacral response is often described as a visceral gut response, a response that often goes unnoticed. As a rule, it arises naturally, in the form of belly sounds, kind of “yep”, “Naah”, “uh-huh”, “yeah”, “or mmm”, It is important that one cultivates their relationship with the sacral center in their de-conditioning. One useful way to ask is to be responded to in yes/no questions and to always apply their sacral in smaller day-to-day calls for decision-making. Tuning into what excites you is a good way to stay with your sacral.
One must always remember the difference between a response and a reaction. A response is calm, measured and patient. But a reaction is often haste, rushed and appears as a reflex due to past or future reckoning of the mind. The sacral is a powerful center of life force and workforce energy. When the sacral responds with a yes, it creates the energy to engage. As the sacral is not an awareness center, the sacral response may not make sense as it is not here to be rationalized. Trust your sacral.
Splenic Authority
Individuals with a splenic authority are here to be attuned to their well-being, survival, safety and the present moment awareness. Splenic authority can be described as the oldest and most primal instinct. It is an awareness rooted in survival and is the most visceral authority. It may also be the most subtle sense, often emerging spontaneously and impermanent. A whisper, a pull towards something, often acoustic, it appears to be difficult to interpret and access. The spleen’s whisper may change from moment to moment depending on the environment and context. Individuals with a splenic authority may have often felt psychic and have had, “ I knew it!”, “I knew this would happen.” experiences.
It is important for individuals with splenic authority to cultivate a strong relationship with their body and be present. The spleen often operates quietly and subtly and may appear unnoticed. It is an authority that works faster and quicker than most authority and this could rattle other people easily. Know that the moment you begin to ponder, analyze, question, and discuss the decision, you have already fallen into the potholes of the mind.
The spleen is also associated with fears— after all, it is these fears that mechanically and instinctively know how to keep us safe. Do keep in mind that the fears are not designed to hold anyone back from any form of expansion. Hence it is essential to decipher and study the fear gates of one to overcome them.
Ego-Authority
Individuals with an Ego-authority are here to be attuned to their personal heart desires and what drives self-fulfillment.
A rare authority, these individuals are here to do what they want in life. It may manifest as, “ I want this, so I am going to make it happen.” When arriving at clarity, tune into your heart’s desire, is this person/environment/opportunity/object pulling you towards your heart or pulling you from?
If your heart is not in it, don’t bother, otherwise, it is often that such individuals are locked up in people-pleasing tendencies, feeling exhausted from fulfilling others’ wishes as if it was a duty.
It is important for one with ego authority to realize that the ego center is also the center of willpower. With this willpower, one can undertake any tasks that one promises to. However, as it is not a center of sustainable and enduring energy, cycles of rest are necessary.

G-Center/Self Authority
Individuals with a G-center authority are here to be attuned to their identity and who they are as a person. It is an authority exclusive to Projectors in Human Design. This center governs anything one identifies with, aka purpose, direction, and love. Thus, one may feel the pull to honor them when it comes to decision-making.
One of the best ways to practice listening to your authority is by asking for a clean sounding board. The role of the other is to be a compassionate listener, a person who is here to purely listen, hold space and reflect. His/her role is not to advise/project/steer you in any other direction but supporting you toward going back to yourself. When you are speaking about the matter, be extremely mindful of how your words are articulated, how the tone sounds, hold no restraint in your speech, avoid any form of conceptualizing (that is from the mind), and oftentimes, our answers are in the very words of what comes out of our mouth. With sounding boards, one needs to hear their own thoughts and opinions projected through the conversation with others.
As one deepens their relationship with the authority, the need to have a sounding board is not necessary as tuning into the deeper knowing of your body, emanating through your chest. Cultivate the unwavering sense of trust in yourself and your knowing. Keep a circle of trusted and conscious individuals who can be there for your sounding board whenever needed.
Mental Authority
Individuals with a mental authority do not have any defined centers below their throat center. They have a defined Head, defined Ajna, defined Throat, or both. This is an authority that is also unique to Projectors in Human Design too. Because of the largely white/undefined centers, these individuals are very easily influenced and sensitized by their environment. Their environment is extremely important to their well-being and decision-making.
The best decisions are made when one is in the right environment to process their thoughts. Similarly to Self-authority, mental authority arrives at the clarity with the help of a trusted sounding board. It allows one to see how others respond to what you shared and thereby making the decision independently. It is also of utmost importance that one remains cautious of the influences of other people during decision-making. All of the open centers can pick up on a lot of different voices and opinions from the people one surrounds themselves with, and this can also lead to misaligned and non-sovereign decisions.
One should never rush into making haste decisions but ensure that the decision is slow, deliberate and measured. Because of one’s naturally active and consistent mental awareness from the Ajna and/or pressure center of the Head, there is a natural impulse for one to make decisions hastily from the mind.
Lunar Authority
Individuals with lunar authority are here to be attuned to the cyclic cycle of the moon. Only Reflectors in Human Design have this authority. The process for one with this authority is more measured, and deliberate and requires a more patient and outward process to arrive at clarity.
For the other authorities, the main influence is the sun, but for the reflectors, the main influence is the moon. The moon transits a few times a day along the gates of the Human Design chart, thereby activating different parts of the body and activating different gates and energy centers of the Reflector individual. Reflectors may feel different from moment to moment and have different insights and thoughts that are not consistent as compared to other energy types.
Being a Reflector without any defined centers does not mean that they are in no position to make well-refined decisions. The gift of a Reflector allows themselves to absorb, sample and amplify energies around their environment deeply. Like mental authority, their environment is of utmost importance. And being so attuned and highly influenced by the transits of the moon, it is important for Reflectors to take their time in making sovereign decisions. A Reflector’s authority is to take a lunar cycle to make a big decision. This is often approximately 28 days.
It is helpful for those with lunar authority to note down their energy levels, and how they feel during the lunar cycle by journaling. This encourages more awareness of their cyclical nature and allows them to create ease when clarity comes for decision-making. A rule of thumb is to take one’s time in making big decisions and observe what the world has to show up for you with the clarity you are looking for.

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Do keep in mind that one should always honor their authority for macro decisions in life, but we are free to make micro day-to-day decisions quickly, if necessary, and to always tune into your body and our inner intuition.
Our goal is to cultivate the relationship with our internal energetic guidance and be attuned to the unique voyage of arriving clarity with it. One should however engage with this self-trust muscle as often with lower stakes decisions on a day-to-day practice.
Remember, at the end of the day, you were born with this energetic gift, so harness it.

What is your authority in Human Design? I am a self-projected projector. So I have the self-authority. Let me know your authority below and if you already had those inclinations above with trusting your authority, or what did you do when you did not know about your authority.

If you are new to Human Design and would like to know your design, check it out here. If you would like to understand more about yourself and your unique energetics through the profound technology of Human Design, you can check out more of my services here.

If you are a projector in Human Design, check out Unearthing Projectorhood, a series of free resources to support Human Design projectors and their divinity. I have designed my free resource, “Projector’s 3 Agents of Change Guidebook” to support projectors like you in becoming and feeling empowered as we decondition and embark on our projectorhood journey. In this 30+ page toolkit, I share my tried and tested ( line 3 here) personal in depth-expansive practices to assist you in activating your projector divinity today. Read more about it here!

If you are looking for something physical and tangible to support you in your deconditioning and projectorhood journey, my Your Companion 2024 Planner is the world’s first-ever Human Design energy type specific planner. It is currently available only for Human Design projectors. Besides being a year, month and weekly planner, it contains a comprehensive guide about Human Design catered to projectors with a focus on practical integration and embodiment.

It is suitable for any Human Design projectors who are at the beginning of their de-conditioning journey or have been in their experiment for a while. It is designed to instill self-accountability and empowerment for one to take practical actions toward a life of authenticity, fulfillment, ease and Projector success. Read more about it here.

Lastly, if you feel called to engage in my frequency and have an in-depth Becoming Empowered Human Design session or a Projectorhood Uplevel Session, do get in touch with me here.

I would love to support you.

All my love. Sat Nam,

Sylvia
New here?

I am Sylvia— the founder, writer and human design reader of Arawme. “Arawme” is basically, a raw me put together.

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