If you’ve ever run your Human Design chart, or had a reading done by someone else, then you might be familiar with the concept of “openness.”
Now, while you may know what it “openness” means on some level, for most people, when they look at their chart, there tends to be some serious confusion in truly understanding what their openness means.
We often think those are the areas we are “broken.” or not enough.
So, first let me put that myth to rest by letting you know that we ALL have ALL the chart. Meaning there is nothing lacking, and you, most definitely, are not broken in any way, shape, or form.
This idea of being broken is one of the biggest drivers of imposter syndrome. Our culture capitalizes on us believing that nonsense. So, when we see something that shows us we are different, we immediately reinforce that programming and fixed mindset.
Let me go off on a tangent for just a moment on this idea of being broken:
I cannot reiterate enough how not broken you are. Because, the truth is you are not broken, nor were you (or will you ever be) broken. You're not damaged goods, and we need to stop buying into that bullshit.
That programming is part of what fuels the energy that keeps us playing small. It's time for you to destroy that noise and take your power back.
So, instead of thinking we are flawed, I want to offer you a different perspective on how to assess the open areas (anything not colored in) within your Human Design chart.
These are the areas where you take in energy from others.
Whereas, your defined areas (those areas colored in) are where you have consistent access to that energy and are broadcasting it 24/7.
Your open areas, however, are the places you absorb the energy of others, your environment, and the planetary transits. Everything is energy. And, we are either radiating it outwards, or we are drawing it to us.
This is the dance between the defined and undefined (or open) spaces.
Before we have done our own work to de-condition the programming and narrative attached to our openness, we often confuse the energy of others to be that of our own. It’s only through our experiences that we begin to learn and understand what energy is ours, and what’s the energy of others.
This is part of your Soul Curriculum, and your evolution, as you remember who you are and come back home to yourself. As we mature, we then can discern what energy works for us, and what energy we don’t want to take in. We become wise about how to use the energy in that open area.
This is more easily understood as we look at the nine Centers (which, in essence, correlates with the Hindu Chakra system). When we understand the not-self (or conditioned) theme of the openness in each Center, we can begin to understand the power of our own discernment.
In your journey to become wise in the open Centers, you sample the energies of everything around you. Through experimentation, you then can choose which energies feel most “right” or “correct” for you. It’s like bellying up to an all-you-can-eat buffet, where you can try everything.
But, just like a buffet, if you try to sample everything at once, you’ll end up sick as a dog. The same things happens if you absorb too much energy and don’t practice what I call “deliberate discharge” — for we all need to physically, mentally, or emotionally discharge the amplified energy from others that we picked up throughout the day.
And, depending on your design (especially non-Sacral Types: Projectors, Manifestors, and Reflectors, who are not here to work the way 70% of the population is) this need to discharge daily could be even more important.
Because if you don’t discharge that build up, the energy then gets stuck in the body and ricochets around literally making you sick. It’s also the biggest cause and trigger for where you get burnt out. Whether it be your adrenals, your gut, your thyroid, to name just a few, each Center correlates with different body parts and organs.
For example, the Sacral Center can lead to issues with your gut, your hormones, and inflammation. Your Root Center is all about your adrenals, and your Throat Center affects your thyroid and parathyroid glands.
Not to mention, the build-up of amplified energy can wreck havoc on your parasympathetic and nervous system.
This overload of stress becomes a toxic load that then takes us out and manifests our illnesses. Our bodies know when we are out of alignment.
This is another reason I love Human Design so much. When we understand our openness, we then know how to properly care for our bodies.
Human Design is the operating plan of YOU and it helps you understand:
- how you work, rest, and play best
- how you interact and align with others
- how you make decisions that are “correct” for you
- where imposter syndrome lives in your design
- where you are most prone for burnout
In learning and understanding these nuances about myself, I have been able to show up more (with more time off), serve at higher capacities, lead more effectively, and love myself deeper.
In using Human Design with my clients, and understanding their definition and openness, and that of their teams, we have been able to develop richer, more connected cultures, and a more compelling why.
In addition, mentoring and coaching people in the organization feels more aligned, more meaningful, and people are more engaged, as a result.
For our openness is not where we are lacking, it is our source for our greatest wisdom. It’s the areas of what we are hear to teach and guide others on. It’s is what’s calling our leadership forth.