A&A Ep. 77
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Karrie: [00:00:00] Welcome to Awakened and Alive After 40.
Dominique: If you're searching for inspiring and easy to apply Enneagram and Human Design content, then you've come to the right place. We're your hosts, Dominique,
Karrie: and Karrie, two friends and coaches who are passionate about sharing our knowledge and insights on these two powerful self awareness systems to help you step outside the box and into a life that is true to who you really are.
Dominique: We're so grateful to have you here. Let's jump into today's episode.
Karrie: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Awakened and Alive After 40 podcast. We are so grateful to have you listening to this episode, because today we are going to talk about more specifically, the two systems that Dominique and I reference in every episode of this [00:01:00] podcast, and that is going to be taking a little bit of a deeper look, or at least look at some foundational aspects of the Human Design system and the Enneagram system. These are the two systems that Dominique and I specialize in. She is a Human Design expert and I am a certified Enneagram coach. That is why we are always trying to pull these frameworks into broader topics that we talk about because we find, for us at least, they connect so deeply to so many parts of our lives and who we are as people.
Dominique: These two systems are so complex in themselves, and if you've been listening for a while, then you might have a little bit of an idea of just how complex they are. So today we really want to keep it simple and cover a few basics here. Definitely want to cover the what about these systems. What are these systems? And going into the why, why do benefit from [00:02:00] learning about these systems? Then also how to learn more about your Enneagram type or Human Design type and learn how these systems could improve your life in some way. This is going to be a great one for you if you're brand new to hearing about either one of these systems, and we're going to start off right away with sharing what these systems are all about.
Karrie: The Enneagram framework is, people call it a personality system, but the thing that differentiates it from more traditional personality systems like Myers Briggs is that rather than it examining a set of one's behaviors, it digs deeper into finding the motivations behind someone's behaviors. Because once we understand our motivations, we can start seeing our behavioral patterning and that can be a really powerful way to grow and [00:03:00] to be able to change the things about ourselves that aren't serving us anymore. The system has nine different types. Each of the nine types has a different motivation that motivates them to act certain ways. The cool thing about the Enneagram, like Dominique said, it is a really complicated system because it has so many layers within the framework that there are far more than just nine types. We start out with trying to figure out which of the nine types we are, but then as we learn more, we can see that there are so many variations on these types because of the layers within the system. You may have heard words if you're interested in the Enneagram, like, what are your wings? What are your subtypes? What's your level of development? And these are just more layers that go deeper into the system that can vary how a Type 9 might look different from another Type 9. Another thing that the Enneagram has that makes it a little bit unique, in my opinion, is it uses a symbol. This symbol goes back to ancient Greek times, and it [00:04:00] has a triangle, a circle, and then a hexad symbol, which is this six pointed symbol that isn't a typical shape in geometry. This symbol is really important in showing how some of the types connect to each other within the system in terms of growth paths and stress paths and triadic groupings. So it's really visual and can be really easy for people to understand those connections better because of that symbol.
Dominique: I have to say that is extremely helpful for me. I'm a very visual person, and when I first saw that symbol, it just sank into my mind. So, I really love that part about the Enneagram.
Karrie: And that's something about Human Design, it is also very visual, but for me, the visual of Human Design is very overwhelming the first time you see it because it is so involved and complicated, whereas the Enneagram symbol never changes, and it's really, really basic. That [00:05:00] Human Design visualization that you see when you download your chart is unique to you, and everyone's will look different, and it can be really difficult to understand the different pieces. So Dominique, tell us a little bit about the foundational aspects or the basics of what is Human Design.
Dominique: Like you were just mentioning about the visual of Human Design, when somebody goes to download their graph, it's actually called the body graph, it's extremely overwhelming to see this visual that I like to say, it's kind of like a circuit board. If you think of yourself as being a source of energy, which we are, and in Human Design, it's giving you a map, if you will, of your energetic blueprint. This energetic blueprint is kind of like also an owner's manual. Like when you buying a new TV, you have an owner's manual of how to [00:06:00] keep it running well, and if there's anything that needs updating or fixing, then you've got this manual that you can go to to help you maintain and keep the health of the product. And that's kind of like how your body graph is. It gives you clues into how to really use your energy best in the world. It's also known as the science of differentiation. All this really means is that we're all extremely individual. We're designed to be different. Along the path of life, we collect these layers of conditioned beliefs, behaviors, protective mechanisms, and we start to lose who we truly are. Human Design gives you this map to bring you back to your true source of energy. The system itself is a beautiful synthesis of ancient wisdom and [00:07:00] modern science. The Ancient wisdom includes Western astrology, the Chinese I Ching, the Kabbalah, and the Hindu chakra system. When it comes to modern science, that includes genetics and quantum physics. This is, of course, what makes it so very complex as well. I like to tell people when you first download your chart, it's really about just visualizing it, taking it in, but not getting so overwhelmed with the busyness of it. Again, looking at it as this is a circuit board of my energy, and in time with time, you can learn more and more about making your energy function the healthiest way possible throughout your life.
Karrie: It has energy centers, it has how those centers may connect energetically together, and each of those centers has certain themes behind them. It's so interesting. [00:08:00] And like we've said before in past episodes, we approach these systems as we layer them together as everyone's Human Design is their true selves, their essence, and the Enneagram helps us better understand our conditioned personality, our ego structure. We need to know and understand both of these things about ourselves to have a clear picture of who we are and who we want to be and the path we want to take going forward.
Dominique: Yeah, and that's why when it comes to these two systems, there's tremendous benefit of learning more about them, especially if you are somebody who is a seeker like myself, seeking a better way to live life, to live a life that's in greater alignment with who I feel I truly am. Also like you mentioned, the Human Design lens here is showing you your authentic self, who you were born as before the world told you [00:09:00] who you needed to be. You will always be that particular blueprint of energy. That is yours, period. That's the beauty of this science of differentiation. It's almost like your permission slip to be who you are. When I first started learning about it, so much of my body graph resonated with me with all the different themes, all of the different ways I felt throughout life were validated. I was like, wait a minute, so that wasn't wrong. It just gave me this huge sense of relief where I was like, I'm right where I need to be. I've got some things I need to work on, but that's the beauty of learning about your design is that it can show you areas of conditioning. It can show you the areas where you are living in better alignment and how you can continue to do so. It also [00:10:00] shows you your role that you're here to play in this lifetime. We all have a purpose here in this lifetime. It doesn't have to be to be a massive changer of the world, but you have a purpose in just being who you are. That can be just simply giving from a place of love to anyone you come across within your life and having them feel that source of love and it being a domino effect. It doesn't have to be anything more than just you being who you are. But you have to first know who you are in order to live out this purpose. That's what learning about your design can do. On top of that, one of the biggest things for me was learning how my intuition worked. I always heard, follow your gut. You'll have this gut instinct. I was just always so confused. I was like, I don't get this feeling in my gut. Like, what is it? How do I know something is right for me? Well, there's [00:11:00] many different ways of instinctual knowing. Within your body graph, you can learn how your particular inner compass works and how it can help you make aligned decisions. Decisions that are healthy for you. It doesn't have to resonate with anyone else because again, we're all different. We're all unique. But that's where you're going to know how to make the best decisions and how to create the life that you really want within these layers of your design.
Karrie: Hey there, friend, have you signed up for the Awakened and Alive newsletter yet? If not, we want to invite you to get on the list so you don't miss out on the exciting new offerings we have planned for 2024.
Dominique: By receiving the weekly newsletter, you'll be the first to hear when new episodes drop along with updates on a very special project we've been working on for our amazing [00:12:00] community.
Karrie: Within the Enneagram framework, some of the ways it can contribute to your growth is first and foremost, it is able to clearly show us our subconscious motivations behind our personality, which has led to a lot of our conditioned behaviors and responses. This can be really jolting and eye opening at first when people are first understanding this about themselves. It's also able to give us this really clear framework in which we can view our own behavior with a bird's eye view, looking outside of ourselves and noticing these behaviors that we have subconsciously had for most of our lives, and how these behaviors may be limiting us and the benefits of noticing them and choosing a different path, choosing a different behavior, and see how that works. It is able to also show us clear ways that our [00:13:00] personalities may deteriorate in times of stress. It'll show you, once you know your type, when you go to stress, you may start to see these unhealthy behaviors and those can be red flags when we are able to notice them, that we need to change something, we need to become aware of what is stressing us and get ourselves out of that path. Then conversely, it shows us how to intentionally take a path of growth or get on a healthy path that is more productive, that is more joyous, more in alignment with who we are. That's one of my favorite parts of the system, because I find it is really tangible and really helpful for all of us to understand, even people who may already feel really aligned, it can give them even greater validation to that. It also has pieces where it helps us understand our different conflict styles, which can be great in relationships or working relationships or sibling relationships, because we don't all [00:14:00] handle conflict the same way and that is one of the biggest things that causes conflict to escalate or to continue to build on to itself and how it just doesn't get resolved because we expect that people want to engage in conflict in the way we do because we think, we all think the same way, and that's just not true, which probably one of the biggest messages we have today is just how different we all are. That's the powerful piece of learning about these systems, not only for yourself, but for those who are really close to you in your life.
Dominique: Yeah, that's easily one of my favorite parts about the Enneagram, and what I love so much about how these two systems layer on to each other is, so for example, with Human Design, I explained that it's your essence. It's the energy that you were born with, that you're here to give. We all interact within our energies and that's how we also get conditioning, but that's not the only [00:15:00] way. We're not conditioned only because of each other's energies. And of course, with our conditioning through family and experiences, there's so many layers to it. And some of this stuff you cannot explain through just knowing about how your energy reacts within the world and how it interacts in the world, I should say. Because there's so many layers of conditioning, the Enneagram really does a great job diving deeper into more of the ego side of things. I love how it just enhances what one can learn within the Human Design system and take it to a whole nother level in order to shed those layers of conditioning that is so important for us to be able to live an authentic life and a life that is true to who we are, not true to what the world told us we needed to be or what we learned from others because that's [00:16:00] really the power that lies is just the more you get to know yourself at these layers beyond the ego, within that natural essence, then the life that you create is naturally going to create so much purpose and change within the world too.
Karrie: That was beautifully stated because one of these systems may resonate with you more than the other and if you are feeling pulled more towards one system than the other, then I would say go with that. The Enneagram takes a lot of self reflection and deep inner work. Even if you work with an Enneagram coach, most of the Enneagram world believes that only you can determine your own type because only you really understand your internal motivations. Now there are some groups out there who are questioning this, which I think is a good thing to do. We should always be learning and [00:17:00] growing and questioning these types of frameworks. There are groups out there that you can pay, like coaching, but you send in a video to them and they just tell you your type from that video. So if you want like a rip the bandaid off quick and it's just done and you are told your type by someone else, that would be a great way to go if you're in a really busy season of life because determining your Enneagram type can take a lot of inner reflection. Whereas your Human Design chart, you can instantaneously get it for free through various websites, through Dominique's website, you can download your whole chart for free. And like I said, when you see it, it might feel very overwhelming and you might still want to talk with a Human Design expert in order to better understand it. But you can also start getting to know it yourself and the answers are all right there. You don't have to figure anything out about yourself on your own.
Dominique: Absolutely. Like I mentioned earlier on, when you look at your graph, [00:18:00] it is most likely going to be extremely overwhelming. I'm very much someone from the mindset of less is better, especially when you're first starting off. It's something that I did for myself as well, is I looked at the four key elements in the Human Design system. This is actually what I offer in my readings too, to really nail down your understanding of these four key elements, because by just knowing these areas, you're golden. Like, don't really have to dive any deeper than that. I mean, if you're like me, a one who's just like hungry for all the information, I get it. And you want to learn more? Wonderful. I do have a few people who are very much interested in learning about all of it. But by just looking at these four things and having a reading that's a basic reading, may not sound that exciting initially, but trust me, you will [00:19:00] be able to make tremendous change within your life. You will gain so much knowledge about yourself that it's just a catalyst for everything else from there. I do want to make note, when it comes to grabbing your body graph, wherever it might be, having your exact time of birth is crucial. There is a lot that changes in the body graph. It's just like astrology. You need your location, your time of birth, and your birthday. If you don't have that exact time of birth, it's going to be very difficult to feel confident in knowing that, yes, this is my exact blueprint. This is my being. So I always tell people, unfortunately, at least for myself, I won't be able to do readings because I want to provide exact, thorough readings for people. But there are ways around it. You can certainly go online and look up ways to find your exact time of birth. Even looking [00:20:00] within your local town at the hospital, things, along the lines of that, can be helpful.
Karrie: If you're wanting to dig deeper or to figure out your Enneagram type and it feels overwhelming and you don't know where to start, I would suggest starting just with the core fears and core desires of each of the nine types, really reflecting on those and looking at which ones resonate the most with you, taking the ones that you really don't connect with at all and setting those types to the side. Then the handful of ones that you do connect with, start to play around with the perspectives that how would it be if I was living my life as a Type 1 or a Type 4 or whatever type you're resonating with. Does this connect? Am I falling into these patterns of the core desire and the core fear for this type? That's a way you can play around with trying to figure out your Enneagram type if you prefer to do it on [00:21:00] your own or just start to experiment with it.
Dominique: And as we've shared on today's episode, just the beauty and complexity of these two systems, we definitely want you to keep in mind that some of this, or maybe all of this, does not resonate. That is absolutely okay. If this information doesn't seem right for you, great. Leave it. There's no need to really go any further. But if there's bits and pieces that are sounding really enticing to learn more about, or just striking your curiosity, whether it's within the Enneagram system or the Human Design, then follow your inner compass to what is feeling good for you and striking something, getting you a little bit excited. We'll have information in the show notes for ways that you could contact one of us or even other ways that you can have more information for these [00:22:00] systems. It's all about listening to what you feel is right for you and leaving the rest.
Karrie: Thank you for listening to this episode. Your support is so appreciated.
Dominique: If you'd like to have a question answered about your Human Design or Enneagram type in a future episode, you can submit it through the link in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you.
