Your Authority in Human Design
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Your Authority in Human Design is your inner compass. Your inner compass guides you to the decisions that are correct for you. But what if you didn’t even know you had an inner compass? Hint: It’s not your mind.
It’s not your fault. You (and I) were taught to trust our mind from a very young age.
Use your head.
Make a plan.
Think rationally.
Think. Think. Think.
So, for a good part of our adult lives, we’ve been trained to think about the pros and cons of a decision, examine it from all perspectives, and arrive at the most logical place.
No Human Design type is asked to turn to the mind for decisions. Every type has a strategy and an inner authority. (I suggest you read these two posts before you dive into this one on your inner authority or your inner decision-maker).
In Human Design, the mind is not invited into decision-making. The wisdom of the body leads us to what is correct for us.
The part of your body that you’re meant to trust for decision-making is your inner authority, or your inner compass. Your Human Design chart lets you know what your inner compass is.
- Some of us are meant to feel into things and wait for clarity before we arrive at our yes or no.
- Some of us are meant to be guided by our instincts and intuition.
- Some of us need to talk it out before we arrive at clarity.
- Some of us are meant to tune into our gut for answers.
Those who have emotional authority (feel into things and wait for clarity) are not meant to make spontaneous decisions. Instead, for big decisions they’re meant to sleep on things.
Those who have splenic authority (instincts and intuition) are guided to learn to trust the wisdom of their instincts that arrive as quiet whispers in the moment.
Those with self-projected authority (talk it out) would do well to find a trusted friend and hear themselves speak out loud and explore the decision from all angles before they decide what to do.
The ones with sacral authority feel the knowing in their gut whether it shows up as a verbal sound or their body leaning toward or away from something.
What happens when we go to our mind for decision-making?
Our mind always, always wants to keep us safe. It is not interested in us growing or evolving. It always points us to the path that promises familiarity, safety, and security.
Our mind is a wonderful tool for analyzing, categorizing, learning, and planning. But its job is not to help us stretch outside our comfort zone, lean into the unfamiliar, or say yes to something that makes no sense on paper.
The mind’s role is AFTER the decision has been made.
For example, let’s say you’re thinking about taking on a new role at work. Depending on what your inner authority is, you sleep on it or talk out the opportunity (this is less about going to the mind and more about feeling the expansion or contraction in your body as you talk), or you just know in the moment what to do.
Once your decision is made, you prepare for the role by studying a new skill or shadowing a colleague. This is where you use your mind.
Haven’t you heard people say stuff like this all the time?
- I quit my job and went on a meditation retreat because I just knew I had to do it.
- I cashed in my savings and decided to go on a road trip. I had no clue why I was doing it but something felt right.
- My gut was screaming at me to walk out of an abusive marriage and somehow I found the courage to do it.
None of these decisions can emerge from the mind. In fact, when people do these things their mind is screaming: Are you out of your mind? You’ll get killed. You’ll be living under a bridge.
This is why when we follow the wisdom of our body, we learn. We grow. We do things we never believed we could. Because the body is the inner compass that knows what needs to happen next.
Interested in knowing what your Human Design Authority is? Go here, put in your birth information and see what shows up as your Authority.
Interested in learning about your inner authority? I invite you to book a Human Design reading