Living authentically with Human Design

My first glimpse of Human Design

I first encountered Human Design in early 2023, at a point where I was searching for something that could help me truly understand myself.

This journey started with a new friend I met at the Arthur Findlay College in early 2023. Both of us had signed up for a course on Trance Mediumship.
We’d spend evenings at the bar talking about things like psychedelics, UFOs, and our constant curiosity for what lies beneath the surface of life. Later on, he introduced me to Human Design – a system that, he said, could map out a person’s energy and purpose. Intrigued but skeptical, I figured I’d give it a try.

Before this, I didn’t have any real tool to navigate my life path. Personality tests like Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram offered some insights, but they only skimmed the surface.
I wanted a way to make sense of things, and Human Design offered a map, a guide I could try, fail, and keep exploring with.

Discovering my Generator energy

According to Human Design, I’m a pure Generator. That means I have a constant energy flow, almost like a rechargeable battery (Do you remember the Duracell commercial with the bunny?)

There’s a catch though: it’s not about just using energy. It’s about waiting for life to bring something to me that sparks that energy. And when something excites me, I can work without stopping, lose all track of time, and feel fully satisfied at the end of the day.

For instance, I’ll dive into a project, and before I know it, hours have passed. I forget to eat, drink, or even pause. I’m in the zone, I’m in a flow state. The work is energizing, not draining, because I’m fully in alignment with what excites me. But that’s only when I’m following what feels right; I’ve learned not to chase just anything. As a Generator, responding is the name of the game and I’m still figuring it out.

I’ve learned that not everything deserves my energy, and part of this journey is about letting life bring me the right opportunities. Learning to set boundaries is still a huge thing for me.

Navigating life as a 6/3 Profile – living in phases

In Human Design, I have a 6/3 profile, which combines two archetypes: the experimenter Line 3 and the role model Line 6.

For the first 28 years of my life, I was in the exploration phase – constantly experimenting, trying different paths, and learning through all the things that didn’t work. I was not conscious about any of this, to be honest!

Now, at 51, I’m supposed to step into the “role model” energy, though I’m still trying to understand what that actually looks like.

Looking back, I see it all so clearly. My life’s been one experiment after another – relationships that didn’t work out, career shifts, new business ventures, and endless side projects. For example, I got into entrepreneurship when I was 18, trying out different business models, failing at some, succeeding at others. It was all part of my process, and for the longest time, I thought I was just “unstable.” Now, I see it as part of my design. I was always meant to learn through experience.

Tuning into my sacral authority – trusting my body’s intelligence

With the insight of my profile, I also discovered the imporrtance of my decision making authority – my Sacral Authority. For Generators, this means I need to rely on my gut responses, a kind of “yes” or “no” that my body communicates. For me, these signals come as sounds – like a “mm-hmm” for yes or an “uh-uh” for no. This is not something I always knew I was doing, but now I listen for those responses more consciously.

Through plant medicine ceremonies, I’ve connected with this body intelligence on a deeper level. In one vision, it appeared to me as a woman I could talk to; a guide in my journey. She’s not as accessible in daily life, but the feeling stays with me, helping me to trust my body’s voice. Learning to listen to this voice, this presence, even outside of ceremony, is a whole journey in itself.

I’m new to this. I’ll be honest; I don’t have it down perfectly. Sometimes I even need reminders to listen to my body instead of my mind. I’ve printed exercises, stuck them on my fridge, trying to get the hang of it. But when I do listen, the answers feel like they’ve been there all along, just waiting for me to notice.

Learning to trust my body’s answers is a whole journey in itself. Sometimes I’ll ask myself a question, wait, and let the response come. It sounds almost too simple, but when I follow that yes or no from my sacral, my decisions feel right. It’s a process, and I’m still practicing. I’m far from perfect at this, but I’m learning.

Deep fears and limiting beliefs

Many fears have also come up to the surface during this last year. Some of these are deeply rooted, like the fear of not belonging or wondering if I’m “allowed” to even be here. These fears feel old, almost like they’ve been with me for lifetimes. And when I go deeper, I wonder if they’re passed down through family lines.

There’s a kind of freedom in acknowledging them without needing to “fix” them. Inspired by Ram Dass in a beautiful track by East Forest, I’ve learned to just “love my dark thoughts.” He talks about sitting with those difficult thoughts, observing them without judgment and just state “I love my dark thoughts”.

So when one of those old fears rises, I try to welcome it, let it be, and then let it go. I’m not trying to rid myself of these fears, just seeing them as part of my journey.

Psychedelics, fears, and generational healing

I’ve spent time working with plant medicines like Ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms. They’ve opened me up to the idea that some fears might not even be mine. These experiences make me consider how our energies get passed down, from ancestors to us.

Part of my healing process has been to just stop pointing fingers – to see it all as energy I can choose to hold onto or let go.

I acknowledge that neither my parents nor my grandparents had any tools to process such fears or even the awareness to see the patterns.

I sometimes imagine that by working with these fears, I’m breaking a chain. That’s where I find some peace: knowing that I’m doing the work of realisation here, within me, so I don’t pass it on.

Sharing my process as it unfolds

I made the choice to “build in public,” not because I have all the answers but because I’m curious, and I think curiosity is contagious. I’m writing and sharing my journey so others can see that it’s okay to explore without a clear destination. Maybe my story will inspire someone else to look into their Human Design, or maybe it will just make people feel less alone in their own self-discovery process.

One tool that’s helped in all of this is metacognition – the practice of watching my own thought patterns. I’ve started stepping back and observing, not getting wrapped up in the fears but just watching them come and go.
I love Ram Dass’ approach to ‘loving dark thoughts.’ He says, ‘Just love them, welcome them as they are.’ I use this practice when I catch myself in fear or self-doubt, and it gives me a freedom I didn’t have before.

So if you’re intrigued, get a Human Design chart done. It’s not about having it all figured out; it’s about being open to the process and seeing where it takes you.