[Truth Tiger]

What are Life’s 4 Fundamental Questions?

#1 Who am I?
#2 Where do I come from?
#3 What is my purpose?
#4 What happens when I die?

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How to discover yourself through one or several wisdom traditions, and in particular, applying Nobles Sciences / Multi-Dimensional Human Design to aid your decision-making process

'Know Thyself'

The most fundamental question we can ask about existence is 'Who am I? In fact, a deeper question is 'What am I?' which assumes nothing. This question has led philosophers, scientists, mystics to seek for answers in their own areas of study. There are indeed several avenues one can take in pursuing this question and a single thread cannot cover them all. I'm interested in effective, efficient methods to arrive at results so after an introduction and historical context, I will discuss my understanding of and experiences with Nobles Sciences, a highly-integrated and comprehensive tool for self-discovery created by Dr. Eleanor Haspel-Portner.

Her system is based on the Human Design (HD) system which was revealed to Robert Allan Krakower (later known as Ra Uru Hu) in 1987. However, as Dr. Haspel-Portner indicates in 'Cosmic Secrets', she was asked by Krakower to validate the HD system. In discovering inconsistencies and errors, she was able to clarify and expand HD into a more 'multi-dimensional' approach which includes spiritual, emotional, and hormonal frames, not just the mental frame as Human Design does. Having initially been exposed to standard Human Design, I came to find incredible power in the fuller expression of Nobles Sciences (what is also called Multi-Dimensional Human Design or MDHD). I will cover that in more details in later posts.

For those who are interested in learning more about this system, I recommend the books 'Cosmic Secrets' and 'Astrology Essentials', by Dr. Haspel-Portner. I've purchased and am reading through each. You can go to her website to learn more her background and explore more of her writing. I've worked with her for many sessions as a coaching client. She is available for coaching and I highly recommend her services. Our sessions have aided me tremendously in learning about my decision-making process, which helps me express who I truly am.

However, I also know not everyone would want to buy the books, nor pay a premium for coaching. To each their own. I will share my experiences so you can decide if you want to explore this 'noble science' as self-study, which is also valid. My intention for the first few posts is to present a summary of my understanding of Human Design and Nobles Sciences as useful tools to explore the question of 'Who am I?' As a disclaimer, I receive no commission, kick-back, or bonus of any kind. I do work with individuals as a life coach and Nobles Sciences is one tool I employ in assisting with answering my client's questions.

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Historical context of how we used to find ourselves

In tribal living, every man is expected to contribute to the group. A young male on the path to becoming an adult is expected to learn from his elders, engage with his peers, develop and demonstrate his abilities to fulfill various functions as the tribe requires. His identify primarily comes from his value to and place in the tribe which centers on survival.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

In a way, self-actualization, as the highest of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, is only expected in the tribe's shaman, their spiritual leader. But each member would naturally develop a connection to Source, Nature, Heaven, ancestors, gods, etc. This connection would be a point of strength as the young man goes through tests to deepen his self-awareness. By nature of these trials, each young man learns about his strengths and weaknesses, tests himself, and may emerge victorious as a functioning adult and is fully welcomed into the tribe. He knows his abilities and role, although perhaps not the nature of his existence. He would be expected to continuously practice and improve on his skills, including teaching younger men as they move into adulthood.

Are there modern tribes that can provide a useful sense of identity?

As we've seen, it's become very difficult for masculine men to gather publicly in feminized Western societies. Even going back decades, industrialization and mandatory schooling took us away from our parents for hours of the day, and sometimes allowed for (or encouraged) family break-up. It's been mentioned by many writers and movies how modern men lack meaningful rites of passage. We can end up with a sense of malaise, aimlessness, frustration, anger, confusion, and worse unless and until we find our identity, role, and place in life.

Taking part in military service is the best analog to a modern tribal initiation. I have not been in the military so I cannot speak from experience, but I've seen that even those who have served can still be left feeling empty or directionless (e.g., as ronin) once their tour of service is over. However, even serving in the military does not clarify the question of who or what YOU fundamentally are. The military needs men to be compliant and trained in certain skills which usually denies your individual expression in favor of creating a cohesive unit. I believe that someone who lacks discipline can certainly benefit from joining the military, but as a means to self-actualization I'd be concerned about unreasonable dangers to life and limb, along with potential permanent indoctrination (or damage to health via unauthorized experiments) which could become impossible to question or recover from later in life. Therefore, I would say military service could create esteem and self of belonging but it would not be a means of self-actualization (referring again to Maslow's hierarchy). The same caveat applies to any ad hoc group from fraternities, brotherhoods, gangs, or groups. Self-actualization is a more solitary, individual, and personal process that cannot be coerced for it to be meaningful. The student has to be ready to learn - and perhaps more importantly, unlearn - behaviors and modes of thinking or behaving to awaken to their true and fullest potential.

Understanding the key concepts of Human Design

Now, let's return to this system of Noble Sciences and the system of Human Design it's based upon. To make more visual sense of these ideas, I recommend you go here to get your free Human Design chart and you can also watch some videos on Youtube or do a web search for 'what is human design.' The human design chart itself is an amazing synthesis of I Ching, Kaballah / Tree of Life, Western astrology, and psychological understanding of human development (the aspect created by Dr. Haspel-Portner).

Human Design chart for Donald Trump

A core philosophy of human design says that we are a non-physical, eternal soul that is temporarily animating a human body. We are here to learn and grow in our capabilities, discover how we are unique, and decisions that are correct for us without being pressured by the friends, family, society, or even our own mind. In their language, we are here to Differentiate Ourselves, to learn and express our uniqueness and celebrate our individual life. The system of Human Design is presented as an invitation to experiment with its suggestions based on your energy imprint (your aura type, which we'll touch on in the next section) and to see how your life improves as you learn what it means to really be YOU.

Once you've entered your birth data and have your own body graph, you'll see a column of data in red and a column of data in black. For those familiar with astrology, you'll note the symbols for each planet (although Nobles Sciences includes the vital asteroid Chiron). The black column relates to qualities of your soul self. The red column relates to qualities of your human ancestral genetics. We'll discuss the meaning in a couple paragraphs.

Chakras of the Human Design system

The center figure of the body graph has an outline of a human form upon which are superimposed different geometric shapes and connecting white lines. These shapes correspond to 'chakras' or energy centers and are loosely based on the Hindu chakra system but with some modifications. The chakras focus energy from different aspects of our human experience; mind (or third eye), imagination (or crown), heart (or ego), emotion (or solar plexus), gut (or sacral), intuition (or body awareness), root (or drive), identity (or God-self), and throat (or manifestation). Each chakra has several potential activation points called 'gates,' (the white lines) and between the chakras are energy pathways called 'channels.'

The white lines are each made of pairs of gates, which activate (or turns on) when a planetary body falls in that aspect of the chakra. When you look at a channel, keep in mind that there are two halves to each channel. The length of the gate or channel is not important. Each activated gate denotes certain natural abilities and inclinations which are described in the I Ching or 'Book of Changes.' Note that there is a direct correspondence between the 64 potential gates of the Human Design body graph to the 64 gates of the I Ching. If you have two gates activated in corresponding chakras, you now have a flow of energy between those two chakras via that channel and an emphasized energetic potential. There are channels for leadership, musicality, concentration and focus, generating money, storytelling, etc. Interestingly, 'The Donald' has channel 21-45, which is called 'The Money Channel.' No surprise! This is a channel between the heart chakra and the throat chakra.

Gate names of the body graph

Let's go back to the reason for the different planetary aspects, shown in black and red. There is a blending of attributes that are conscious (when looking at a human design body graph, colored black) and unconscious (colored red). Those attributes where we can naturally express ourselves will seem like second nature, but that is only half of our innate potential. Part of our opportunity in this life is to bring what is unconscious into conscious attention. This is important when you look at the two columns of planetary aspects and which gates they activate, and what channels may be activated in turn. If you have two black gates making up a channel, you almost certainly have natural abilities that others respect, admire, or envy. If you have two red gates making up a channel, you may have abilities that need work to express but are nonetheless available to you. For a combined black and red, you could have both ease and stress in expressing those abilities. Generally, any gates you see red are places where we are meant to grow in our self-awareness, and in black is where we can easily be who we are.

Where Nobles Sciences expands upon the system of Human Design is to include various time periods of our development in utero. There is a mental, spiritual, emotional, and hormonal 'body' that make up a complete human being. While some simple decisions such as what to eat may be taken in the moment, others may require more contemplation and reflection. Days, weeks, or months (and sometimes three months!) may be needed to come to a correct decision if you are to experience the most satisfaction, joy, peace, and success.

Sample of a Noble Sciences multi-dimensional chart

Understanding your aura type, and following your strategy to make the best decisions for YOU

The Five Ways of Being from Nobles Sciences (not an ideal image, apologies), click this text for link to Noble Sciences page

Aura visualization

Aura strategies

While examining the individual gates can be interesting and useful, the real power of the Human Design and Noble Sciences system is in understanding your aura type. There are 5 key energy or 'aura' types in the Human Design system, which are Generator, Manifesting Generator, Projector, Manifestor, and Reflector. Each energy type has certain common themes of decision-making while each individual Generator will have their own process. As a core concept, this usage of 'aura' is the first one that I really understood in my body because it relates to how my energy shows up in the world. I don't see visual auras as some people may, but I can sense other people's Human Design aura and I bet you can tell which of your friends are various types. It's pretty hard to miss one you start to tune in to yours! Again, check out the videos on the various Human Design sites and also Youtube (especially the videos of Human Design Unleashed, John Martin is a great guide and he's a very insightful Projector aura).

For example, the most numerous type (about 80% of us) are Generators. Here we combine Manifesting Generators with 'pure' Generators although the strategies are slightly different. A 'pure' Generator type has a strategy of 'Wait to Respond.' If you are a Generator type, to make a correct decision in the moment you would need to be asked a question and feel a response in your gut (or sacral center). You would make the sound 'mmm hmmm' or 'uh huh' if your answer is a 'yes', or the sound 'nuh uh', 'uh uh' if it's a 'no.' I could spend several pages just talking about Generators but it's very important to note for our community that the most masculine men I've seen in film are often men of few words but with powerful gut / sacral responses. I think here of Harrison Ford, Humphrey Bogart, Clint Eastwood and similar. Study their responses and see there is often an 'mmm hmmm' or 'uh huh' instead of a yes. This is a powerful way to tap into your body's wisdom, which is what Human Design emphasizes.

This fundamental question is in essence one of finding your identity, and through that to help you move through life. I posit that when you know your nature, you are able to make decisions that are correct for you. Improper decision-making takes you down a path that is not serving your talents. We may learn important lessons when we make decision not aligned with our highest knowledge so it's not a bad thing to not trust your strategy. But, as a Generator or Manifesting Generator, you will experience a theme of FRUSTRATION if you do not listen to your gut and use it when making decisions. If there is anything away from what I'm sharing, it's this: through understanding and experimenting with the strategy of RESPONDING, a Generator type will reduce frustration and experience satisfaction. This isn't a theoretical exercise, but one that has to be done over and over again in the course of your daily life. It is a radical path, as John Martin likes to say, a warrior's path, because it means you are trusting in a deeper body wisdom to guide your decisions and not relying on mental manipulation when making life decisions. The mind is a useful tool and has its place, but it is not meant to guide the body to its ultimate success. Even a great idea still has to filter down into the soil of your deeper knowing to see if it will bear fruit.

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I will expand more on these topics and other means of Knowing Thyself in subsequent posts, but this is a very strong and adequate introduction to the Human Design system and Nobles Sciences. I recommend, for those interested, that you get a free chart and look up your aura type on Youtube to read / see what your strategies are. This is a big awakening point for many people, myself included, and it really affirms what is instinctive knowledge we're born with but often forget or have programmed into the background.

In a world that seems more bent on putting people in one or another camp, we are all unique, precious, inimitable jewels that deserve to live a life that satisfies us. In answering the question, 'Who am I?', we're encouraged to explore the answer through every decision we make - and to know our soul's fulfillment in the process.

[Mage]

[Thomas the Rhymer]

Since I am a very results orientated person (I don't care how it works, it must just work), would you mind describing a few ways in which the system you describe has benefited your life? What were the results in your own life? Only if you don't mind sharing.

[Truth Tiger]

Great question, Thomas, and happy to share.

-applying the strategy 'Wait to Respond' helped affirm the role my gut (sacral center) played in how I make a decision. I would naturally make 'mmm hmmm' sounds when listening to someone (as many of us do) but didn't realize that was actually a 'yes' to my body's guidance system.

-also important was learning to respond with 'uh uh' before adding words if I didn't want to do or have something. For example,

'hey TT, do you want some ice cream?'

*uh uh* (sounds made with my mouth closed) then I could add 'thanks, but I'm lactose intolerant.' That non verbal 'no' response affirmed in my body what I knew in my mind. It felt good to say no even if everyone else was having XYZ, or if a conditioned, habitual part of my mind might think 'wow that looks good.'

-seeing which chakras or energy centers were activated helped me understand where I was naturally running my own energy and could trust their guidance vs. centers that were open and not activated on my own which could create pressure from the environment or people around me. For example, the chakras I had activated at my moment of birth are:

Sacral or gut, a motor center
Spleen or intuition, an awareness center
Root, a motor and pressure center
Throat, a manifestation center

Since I have an open heart center (in standard human design, at the moment of my birth) meaning an egoic will to 'make things happen' isn't natural to me, at least not without taking some time to feel with my gut and intuition how this decision would impact me longer-term. I would need to meditate, reflect, and ponder the impact of a decision to avoid feeling regret (as much as possible). For most of us it's not natural to be pressured into a snap decision that feels like a big commitment to do something farther out in the future.

-what was truly amazing for me to realize via Noble Sciences is that my heart center DOES activate but only after a week! In reflecting upon an opportunity or offer someone made or I was pondering myself, I would have deeper clarity on how to proceed if I took those 6 days to reflect and sense what I really wanted. I felt much more ease and flow when I didn't allow myself to feel pressured my someone's demands. A specific example is:

'Yo TT I'm having a party next weekend, can you come?'

*hmmm* 'I'd like to but am not sure I can commit to it right now. Do you mind asking me a day before?'

I've let them know via my sacral response that I am interested but I know since this is future planning that I have to wait for my heart center to activate over time to give me deeper clarity on what I really desire and want (the domain of will and ego). It's even more important for things like longer trips, bigger projects, etc. I would get stressed thinking I had to 'say yes and mean it!' which many of us are conditioned to do. Why all the pressure?! It's unhealthy and unnatural for most people - over 70% of people do not have a defined heart center at birth so making future commitments or promises isn't healthy without some reflection and consideration for a period of time. In human design, they say this kind of ego pressure is a contributing energetic factor for future physical heart disease. The will can be a tremendously powerful tool but ONLY if we engage with it correctly for ourselves. I know that much of my frustration and pain in life was from pushing from a place of mind to get things done even if the energy just wasn't there - at least, not in that moment. This is an extremely important truth and one that's helped free me from other people's demand more than any other awakening I've had through applying human design specific to my energy flow.

-at the moment of birth, my throat was activated via my spleen / intuition (my body or instinctive awareness center), not my mind. That means in any new moment, I have deeper access to speaking my life experience rather than speaking from a mental concept or imagination. I notice how true this is, that even if I wanted to talk verbally about a topic it would not ring as true and powerful as speaking from what I've done or sensed internally. With that activation of throat to intuition, I had a capacity to express myself such that others could appreciate my experience rather than a concept I hadn't applied. An HD reader said 'you are more designed to do it rather than to talk about it' which I realized was very true for me. But once I've done it, it was easier to talk about it!

-in terms of chemistry with women, I could see how certain of my gates on (or pointing to) the emotional center would make me more drawn to a woman even if she "wasn't my type" according to my mind. It's not just the emotional center gates that create chemistry but those are the most crucial in bonding. This aspect of how two people's individual circuits connect and create new channels is extremely fascinating to me and very powerful tool for understanding why we might be very drawn to a woman and she to us. It's helped me 'predict chemistry' for my relationships and for others in their relationships.

-also, because I have an open emotional center on my own, I would feel really juiced up when in love, like a different person entirely! It could be exciting but also disorienting to say the least. I now had a context to understand what was happening to me energetically and to make sure I wasn't being ruled by this temporary emotional activation when making important decisions. I had to continue to trust my own process especially with the added influence of this woman's presence and our powerful chemistry. That aspect of relationship is like its own spiritual practice, which is where I credit David Deida and Michaela Boehm for giving additional tools to help me enjoy surfing the madness that is love!

[Paracelsus]

In passing - found this freebie 21 page pdf from Dr. Haspel-Portner which breaks down the Chart's elements.

[Paracelsus]

And also a rundown of each of the 64 Gates, together with affirmations and writing exercises for each.