Good health is not a guarantee for us, even though the human is an incredibly resilient and versatile specie. Our bodies can survive and prosper in all kinds of diverse environments, eat and digest an enormous spectrum of foods and liquids and yet, we can still be prone to disease.

The implication of the word 'dis-ease' is that we are made to feel uncomfortable within our body when we allow certain anomalies to penetrate its working mechanism. Many older people, when asked what are the greatest qualities of life, will always say that health is the most important thing. Guarding and nourishing our health is of primary importance.

This article is not written from a medical point of view, either from a Western perspective, which is a medical system that has evolved in large part from a military presence on battlefields, (the Surgeon General is still the top medical official in the USA), nor from an Eastern perspective, which has evolved from a meditative, empathic and more abstract viewpoint. It is written from a perspective of viewing the human being from Human Design. This is the first of a three-part article on Health in the New Millennium.

Defined and Undefined

In Human Design terms, there is an enormous difference between a Center that is defined and a Center that is undefined. When a Center is defined, it means that the function relating to that Center is turned on, reliable, and consistently available at all times. When a Center is undefined, it means that the function relating to that Center is inconsistent; it is NOT always available. The undefined Center only becomes activated when another person (who has that Center defined in their own Design) comes into the presence of the person with the undefined Center, or when a transiting planet completes a definition. When this happens, the undefined center is temporarily defined.

As we look into a body graph, we can instantly see what part of the chart is defined, and what part is undefined. This is how we see which of the person's energetics is running consistently, and what part of the being is conditioned by the environment. All of us are subjected to "healthy" and "unhealthy" environments and we each respond to those environments according to our own personal makeup. When we have an undefined center in our Design, we are prone to taking on and absorbing the energies relating to that center. Usually this happens through the presence of other people in our lives who have those centers defined in their own Design. When we are in an environment that is "unhealthy" we need to be aware of the potentially "dis-easing" effect of those around us. This is not to suggest that we should go through our lives keeping everyone at arm's length, but rather, it is to make clear that each of us has to take responsibility for our own being, our own wholeness. For instance, if we have undefined Mental Centers in our Human Design, there is absolutely no point in trying to rationalize our way through life, because we are surely processing other people's thoughts.

The Heart

The human heart is an amazing organ. It provides our very pulse, and keeps the river of life flowing through us. Thus, it is one of the saddest statements in the world that, according to medical statistics, heart disease ranks highest on the list of diseases that affect humans. It seems a tragedy that this part of us should be so prone to disease.

In Human Design, the Heart Center is the place within us from which we derive our willpower; it is the place within our makeup from which we draw the willingness to proceed and select what we 'want' to do within our lives.

The Heart by Design

If one looks at the Heart Center in the Human Design Body graph, it is apparent that there are only four channels that make an energetic connection to it.

There is the 40-37, the Community, Family channel which connects to the Emotional, Solar Plexus Center. Next, there is the 44-26, the Transmitter Channel, which connects to the Splenic, Immune Center. The third channel is the 51-25, the Initiation Channel which connects into the Self or the Liver Center. The last one is the 21-45, The Money Channel, which connects to the Throat or the Thyroid Center. Out of 36 potential channels in the Human Design Energetic makeup, only four give access to the Heart Center, our place of Willpower.

If one considers this from a statistical point of view, there is a low possibility of anyone having a definition into their Heart Center. Most people in the world do not have a defined Heart Center. Most people do not have access consistently to their own source of willpower. The results of this fact are plain:

If you have a defined Heart Center, you can access your willpower, and, hopefully, apply it successfully within the context of the rest of your Design. I say 'hopefully,' because it is vital to consider your Type, your consistent means of accessing the world around you, and your Authority, your personal decision-making process, which we have discussed in previous articles.

If you have an undefined Heart Center, you cannot consistently apply willpower into your world, and if you attempt to do so, you will doubtless end up straining your heart and the mechanisms related to it. With an undefined Heart Center, committing to something or someone becomes entirely relative to your environment. Your life presence here is one in which you do not have to prove anything to anyone, neither to yourself, to your parents, or your boss, or your family. There IS nothing to prove to anyone.

I always tease people with an undefined Heart Center, telling them that if they should ever, for any apparent reason, feel the urge to go out and prove something, they would do far better to just find some Bach Flower remedies or homeopathic remedies that reduce their sense of willfulness; or make a cup of tea, have a good laugh and sit down... for they will immediately feel much better!

The Solar Plexus, Emotional Center

Emotions rule the world. Whoever gets the most upset, has the most power, since the rest of us will immediately try anything to calm them down, knowing that if we don't do something to defuse the situation, they will either blow a fuse or else injure someone, either physically or psychically. Babies learn very early on that if they require something, they merely have to throw a tantrum to get quick results. It is inevitable that we will all suffer some degree of emotional bruising during our lifetime; that is just a normal part of being human.

The Emotional, Solar Plexus Center registers the highs and lows of life. It is where we get to experience the pleasures and disasters of life through food, relationships, sex and all kinds of thrills and spills. Life would be dull indeed without these experiences, but we know that, in the end, none of these experiences bring lasting satisfaction, and yet, we still tend to pursue them! These days, we humans seem to be getting crazier than ever in our thirst to witness and indulge in extreme experiences.

A defined Emotional Center generates a wave pattern, touching between the highs and lows of life: the highs are the hopes, expectations and delights, and the lows are the pains, disasters and depressions. If you go up, you also go down. If you are 'attached' to going up, inevitably you are 'attached' to going down. If you go up without any attachment and expectation, you can be unattached on the downturn. This gives you the possibility of finding a place of clarity in your emotions, and emotional clarity opens a gateway to Spirit.

An undefined Emotional Center picks up and amplifies the waves generated by people with defined Emotional Centers. If the emotional atmosphere created by people with defined Emotional Centers is high, up and excited, the person with an undefined Emotional Center will be ecstatic. However, when the emotional atmosphere falls, the person with the undefined Emotional Center crashes emotionally. If you have an undefined Emotional Center, it is essential to comprehend something: Yes, you can express emotions, but, no, you cannot necessarily stabilize and control them.

If you have a defined Emotional Center, it is essential for you to understand that you are continually generating emotional waves, setting the tone of the emotional atmosphere around you. That is your nature. So, if you are in a good mood, you will see that everyone around you is in a good mood, but if you are feeling grumpy and upset, you will tend to emanate that wave of emotion around you. Sometimes you are excellent company to be around, and other times, you are not such good company. In the latter case, it does not imply that you need to go around shaking a little bell, calling out: "Unclean!" as lepers did in the dark ages. But it does imply that sometimes it is far healthier for everyone, and especially for you, if you take some space to yourself until the mood shifts, the wave rises and you feel like "joining in" again. People with defined Emotional Centers are here to process the highs and lows of life. This process requires time for reflection, and when given that time, it yields the most profound view of life as a human. Clarity from an emotional perspective can lead to profound wisdom.

However you live your life, if you try to ignore your emotions, you will end up getting sick. Some of the diseases related to the emotional center include: breathing and lung problems, stomach upsets, eating and digestive disorders, diabetes, bladder and sexual problems.

Sooner rather than later, everyone will see how essential it is to relate intelligently to our wonderful emotional nature as humans. It is through our touch to the emotions that we can access Spirit. If we shut down our emotions or allow the center of our emotions to become diseased, we can become immune to Spirit and lose access to our highest potentials.

The Root Center

The Root Center in Human Design relates specifically to the Adrenal glands, which, among other things, supply the pressure that gets us into motion to provide for ourselves in this world. The adrenals connect us particularly to the deep underlying fear of whether we are going to "make it" in life or not. Does Existence remember us, or do we have to make a particular effort to be included in the scheme of things? The Root Center is the center of Stress! In the 21st century, particularly in America, and perhaps most places, stress seems to thrive! So, understanding the place of stress in the Human Design chart can be a valuable study.

If you have a defined Root Center, it implies that you are someone who is not only equipped to handle stress but who also can promote stress in people who have their Root Center undefined! This is neither a good nor a bad thing, because all of us from time to time need to access adrenaline energy, otherwise nothing would ever get started! It is just that a defined Root Center exerts the impetus for something to get launched, and if you have an undefined Root Center, you may well get set into motion unwittingly, living on someone else's deadline! I always tease people with an undefined Root Center, telling them that they are 'born procrastinators!' Within their own makeup they do not have consistent pressure to get things started and they need to be particularly careful about what deadlines they agree to meet. Committing to unrealistic deadlines causes uncalled-for stress that the person with an undefined Root Center is not equipped to handle.

Depending on which channel defines the Root Center, there will be a particular drive, either through the Emotional Center, where the emotions get stirred up, or through the Spleen Center, where physical energy is exerted, or through the Sacral, Sex Center, where the Life Force Energy is engaged. It is through the Sacral Center connections (the three channels called Format Channels in Design) that the shape of whatever we set in motion in our life is determined. These Format Channels determine the outcome of everything in our lives, from source. The way in which disease takes its course in our bodies is determined from the way in which it starts out in the Format Channels. All of us know perfectly well that if we succumb to stress we will most likely soon find ourselves getting sick!

Your Design reading can really help

An awareness of your Design shows you continuously where in your makeup you are vulnerable to disease and how to make simple adjustments in your life to avoid, counter and treat any disease. Of one thing every healer is assured and most agree: humor is the best medicine, thus, it is very important to not take oneself too seriously!

Old Mrs. Grumblebum goes every day to visit her doctor. The doctor, a very patient man, humors her, listens quietly and sometimes gives her medicines. One day, Mrs. Grumblebum doesn't show up. The next day, the doctor asks, "Where were you yesterday? I missed you!"

I'll tell you the truth," replies Mrs. Grumblebum, "I was sick!"

Sickness is the body's way of cleansing. It is a natural process. Our great meditation in this life is to make sure that we catch the "right" sicknesses that cleanse our body in a "right" way. A comprehension of your Human Design shows you immediately where you are consistent in all aspects of your life and where you are potentially vulnerable and therefore susceptible to taking on things that can cause you dis-ease.

Next month: Healing in the New Millennium (Part II) A look at the Immune, Sacral and Liver Centers.