When I first heard of the Barbie movie, I turned up my nose and thought, “Oh great another movie that is about commercialism and the invitation to consume." So when the invitation came from my Men's circle to see Barbie, I paused before saying yes. Men and the women in their lives were invited to attend, then we would go for coffee afterwards and discuss the film. Quick side note: 5 years ago, I co-hosted a men's & women's circle, and we used dolls as a prop to guide our discussions and create our intention. Back to the movie, I had no idea what I was about to experience and went into the experience with a critical eye. I was pleasantly surprised by the messages that came through this film. I feel called to see the movie again because I wasn't prepared for all the insightful and sometimes subtle messages shared. ​

In addition to my passions of coaching and human design I have also been working in the field of addiction and wellness for the last 7 years. What I have noticed is that almost all of those that struggle with addiction also struggle with anxiety and depression. In my observation, anxiety and depression are on the rise in all demographics in this society. In the past, I have  personally struggled with both anxiety and depression. At the time, I didn't have words for what I was feeling. It was much later in life that I went to a presentation and a video was shared on mental health and anxiety. I was beside myself when what I had struggled with for years was depicted so clearly. I worked through this on my own without help because I thought everybody had these feelings.

Each Type in Human Design is also connected to what is referred to as an “Authority”. Authority is the way you are uniquely designed to make decisions. There are a total of 7 different authorities in Human Design. Today I want to focus on my authority, which is referred to as Emotional Authority. As the name implies this way of making decisions involves emotions. More specifically, I have what is referred to as an emotional wave and there are 4 different types of waves. In my case I have 2 of the 4 waves. Have I lost you yet? Approximately, 47% of the population has emotional authority. This is an important fact which relates to my story. Another fact about me that is important to know, is that I have always had this underlying feeling that I didn’t fit in here and by here, I mean this planet.

​I have been working with individuals one on one for 16 years. The phrase I hear the most is, I’m a people pleaser. I would describe people pleasing as the perceived need, desire or compulsion to take care of the needs of others instead of yourself. This can show up in passive ways that are invisible to others. Or it can show up in more overt ways, like overly focusing on the needs of others. The origin of this behaviour, often goes back to adapting to family dynamics to get our individual needs met.

In Human Design there is an invitation to discover how we are unconsciously designed to operate in this lifetime. We are designed to be an individual and unique expression. There are approximately 2 billion different ways that the body graph / chart can be expressed in Human Design. Which reinforces just how unique we actually are. At the same time we are here to have the experience of being human and everything that goes along with that. We are here to experience the pain and suffering of being human, along with the joy and wonder and everything in between. The experience of being human brings us conditioning.

One of the many areas of Human Design that has captivated my interest is the energy centers because there is so much valuable information embedded in them. Before I get into the Open Solar Plexus specifically, I will share some important info about the centers. Each center on the chart has a specific focus and consciousness.  Think of each center as a disk drive containing a wealth of information about our design.  Each center also relates to different parts of our biology.

I want to try and convey why I am inspired by Human Design and give you a deeper understanding of why it can be so powerful. As I begin to write this, I can feel this ball of energy that is very clear (to me) and also hard to describe. So this is me articulating what I am feeling. I have been working with others formally since 2006 as a life coach. I also feel like I started coaching long before that in my career. Since then, I have also worked in various roles and jobs. In recent years I have been working in the field of addiction. I have always had an intrinsic desire to help people realize who they really are and to gain an understanding of what that means.

When teaching someone about their Human Design chart, one of the first areas we discuss is Energy Type. So let’s start by clarifying what the word energy can mean in relation to your design and type. Energy refers to your physical, mental, and emotional energy levels. It also refers to your aura and energetic field and how this energy is exchanged with the world/universe. Energy also refers to how those around you experience you / feel you. Perhaps you can best relate to this with the example of having a reaction to someone who enters a room and feel drawn to them or possibly feeling repelled by their energy and not wanting to engage.