The trouble with Self Development

 The following was posted on the Human Design Facebook Group page recently and boy, did it hit home. I have spent the majority of my time in the last couple of years on refining my awareness--so easy to see how the mind can jump in and take control. Human Design is all about decision-making without the mind.

Taken from The Philosophy of the I Ching:

Offered for your contemplation:

“An important difficulty occurs if we mentally decide to dedicate
ourselves to our self-development. Without our noticing it, the ego
has intervened to find ways to regain control. Its first and most
important tactic is to say to us that since we are determined to develop
ourselves, it will join the effort. When we first hear this, we think
that is a good idea. It would, after all, get rid of all that resistance.
We do not recognize, however, that this cannot be, since the whole
purpose and end of self-development is to defeat the ego. This ploy
is only a flattery the ego puts to the true self to regain control. Or,
one might say, the true self has not truly recognized that the ego is
an enemy of the true self. The ego, we soon find, does not seek
merely to join self-development, but to lead it. Once back in charge,
it thinks only of pushing in a straight line to the goal, of forcing its
way by effort and leverage, and substituting a guise of virtuous trying
for a true sincerity. It looks about for comprehensive solutions that
will shortcut the work that needs to be done, or will hide in pre-
structured religions and cults where it will appear to be spiritual
merely by being attached to a group that regards itself as spiritual. If
the true self allows such ego-inspired ambitions, the ego will remain
in control, and the self-development that leads to a true inner
independence will be defeated. The idea that the ego can help in
self-development is a contradiction in terms. The goal cannot be
won by spiritual show, elaborate rituals, or visible sacrifices. Only
through a true modesty can inner strength and a true inner
independence be acquired.”

Do-in and Be-ing

I read a wonderful article--one that really resonated with me--in the Jovian Archive newsletter. Written by contributing couple Leela and Dharmen Swann-Herbert,  Noticing Your Life (overt overtones of  "be in the now"?) discusses how the Human Design System has helped them find success in really noticing the world, each other and discovering their own best way of being.

We are all wired uniquely, yet we judge ourselves and others against a homogenized norm---doers are valued, the work ethic is valued-- initiating action, etc is how we've been raised---while daydreamers are slackers and quiet contemplation is for those chosen cloistered few. 

It is easy to get pulled along in this life--doing as others do, dressing as others dress, eating as others eat. My very own Human Design bodychart has started me on the path to discovering how I've been literally made--how my circuits are set up to respond to stimuli, and the absolute best way to live my life as myself. What could be better than that? What can you really count on to be right for you? As it turns out, we all have an inner authority that we can call on to help with even the most mundane of choices.

My inner authority is sacral--a guttural yes or no pretty much sums it up. Can you imagine how difficult it is to hear the poor neglected sacral voice when you have been rushing and doing. Just how do you slow down?

"Although I saw the value of being rather than doing, it was something that felt unobtainable – that I was too busy, that it would be boring, that I couldn’t actually do it."

Bingo--exactly how I have felt!!!! But as I am relaxing a little into my life, listening closely to what my gut tells me is the right choice (while simultaneously wrestling to quiet the blithering mind) I am slowing the train down long enough to start to recognize the grand savory production that life is.

Dharmen and Leela say:  
Slowly, through the tools of Human Design and self-observation, life became less about what each of us were doing, and more about how each of us experienced our lives. It is this quality of being rather than doing, which fills most of our days now.

For me, disentangling myself from the drama of the day to day and being able to see for myself what it is all about is EXTREMELY valuable. As we head in to the next level of human consciousness, I want to be able to stand for myself with confidence. I want to be aware of it all and engaged in the conversation when I need to be. I believe that the Human Design system will be of great help for many years to come.