In the late afternoon of July 4, 1776, the unanimous Declaration of Independence of the thirteen United States of America was made, severing for once and all, ties to George III of England. In reading this Design, it is not as though I am reading for a person, but rather for the energy of the entity which was brought into being at that time. America definitely stands for a unique presence in the world.

The timing of the signing of the Declaration of Independence gave birth to a Nation with an Incarnation aligned with Individuality. When I use the word "Individuality" in Design terms, I relate to various concepts of personal empowerment, romance, personal truth, unpredictability, pioneering, permutation, difference and inventiveness. Beyond everything else, America stands for the Individual, and the one who very often finds him- or herself at odds with 'society,' and the 'normal run of things.' Individuals have the hardest time relating to mass movements, totalitarian regimes and fixed dogmas, because they cannot see the possibility of the fulfillment for individuals under such circumstances. America is a champion for those seeking refuge from engrained societal systems in other parts of the world. Of course, there is always the possibility that an individual is the source of derision for being so completely out of touch with a supposedly "regular" way of doing things.

The Design for America is one of a split definition Projector. In Design terms, a Projector is waiting for recognition and invitation to take part in other people's scenarios. Very often America draws criticism for not involving herself more in the apparent chaos of other parts of the world... well, a projector needs not only recognition, but also a direct invitation to even consider whether they want to assist. What is not always appreciated about a Projector is, that once they are given access to the steering wheel, they become the driver, and that is that. So, as much as one is seeking the assistance from a Projector in steering one's project out of the mud, one has to negotiate for clear terms first! Projectors have an inbuilt recognition of resources, both good and bad, and how to utilize them.

There are 4 definitions within the Design for America. The Channel of Talent and the Design of Penetrating Awareness (Intuitive - the inner hearing) are the two channels connecting between the Spleen, the Center of Health/Fear and/or Alertness, and the Throat, the Center of Articulation and Manifestation. If you have talent, America is the place to be. Your talent can be for anything from the arts, to making better pizzas, to science, to finding a new money-market twist. If you are negotiating for an American's interest in something, what you are proposing, on some level, has to sound right and practical, otherwise you will not get any attention. If America cannot "hear" the possibility, nothing is going to happen.

The Channel of the Alpha, the Design of Leadership (good or bad) connects between the Self and Throat Centers. America is a natural leader (good or bad) with an authoritarian background ("If you want me to lead, this is how we are going to do it!") and an inclination to only lead in a way in which is in line with the principles of America, i.e. Individual empowerment.

America has an emotional definition, the 41 - 30, the Channel of Recognition and the Design of being Focused. America works hard (Open for business 24 hours a day, 12 months a year) and America plays hard (We have Football, Basketball, Golf, Athletics, Stock Car racing, Frisbee and Baseball to mention a few areas of Play, what else is interesting?) In fact there is such a degree of focus that it is very hard to get America's attention on issues that do not apparently, directly relate to America. ("What United Nations bill?")

The Channel of Recognition promotes painstaking efforts into providing ultimate levels of experience. Everyone worldwide is fascinated not only by Hollywood and Disney and other's theme parks, but also the extreme sports and televising of weird and wonderful events which happen in the US. If something can be even vaguely imagined, expect to see or hear about it soon, in America!

Above all, America is a feeling nation. It has the Design of being Spirited and Emotional. When the flag goes up, many people put their hands over their hearts and cry.

What puzzles many Americans is why, when they do engage in the world's apparent chaos, they so infrequently receive grateful thanks for the incredible and unstinted efforts they put into other people's lives. To get this recognition, America would have to align herself once again with those elements of the world from whom her Declaration of Independence has so painstakingly removed her. America has to be the individual and outsider to be not only effective, but to feel free. Freedom is the creed of America. In freedom, America can set the standard. However, freedom is a responsibility, not a license, and abuses of individual freedoms leave America with a high jail quota.

With the planet Mars in the 45 gate, America is also the world leader in the possibilities of education, (or potentially militarism.) Since America promotes individuality, it is up to each individual and each individual's family to find the best of educations available. If you want to write up your own educational subject and invent your own course of learning, you can take the lead and do that in America. The resources for education in America are simply colossal. There will always be a fascination in America with guns and military might, and often, the concept of education in America is aligned with military schooling.

There are 4 undefined Centers in the Design chart for America. Undefined Centers provide the opportunity of wisdom in that they reflect the energies of the environment around them. America has an undefined Crown Center, which implies openness to inspirations of all sorts of cross-cultural possibilities. An undefined Ajna allows for a diverse range of solution potentials, with generally a lot of reminiscing after events happened, to see if the apparent solutions aligned well with the apparent problems. An undefined Ego Center with an activated 51 gate, gives the possibility for America and Americans to be very shocking to others, without ever feeling they have to prove anything to anyone. America is different, is all.

An open Sacral Center, with no gates colored in at all, gives a sense of the unknown and unknowable about America's relationship with Life and the movement and growth of Life Force energy. An open Center can give the Design a fascination with all the energies relating to that Center. With America's open Sacral Center, this fascination includes sex and all possible ways of relating, health and all possible styles of caring, transformations and outcomes, power and how to wield it, getting things started, or even a bemusement with the nature of Life and where it takes us and "what is it all for?" When you look objectively at an open Center, you are likely to get a direct reflection back at you of anything that you bring from within yourself. Thus, to an outsider, life in America is whatever you personally might want to suppose it to be! Since America stands for individuality, you are going to see a complete multiplicity of diverse possibilities. Even Americans don't know what is going on, beyond realizing that it is all, without question: "The American way of life."

Sir Winston Churchill spoke of the American character: "There are no people in the world who are so slow to develop hostile feelings against a foreign country as the Americans, and there are no people who, once estranged, are more difficult to win back."

The great Russian mystic, George Gurdjieff (Meetings with Remarkable Men), who traveled the length and breadth of the Eastern and Western world, in his dying words, said: "Bravo, America!" He had the gift to see that in this difficult age of human consciousness, moving from faith-based dogma and fossilized caste systems to Individual realization, that of all the possibilities open on Earth, only America is capable to go about individual freedom in the right way.

For all her falterings, America is truly the home of the brave and the land of the free. Brave, to find the creative and novel way, free to foster true empowerment of the individual. Her greatest challenge comes in this time, when, can she uphold the freedom of the Individual in the face of those who would shut it down for their own vested interests? It does not matter how any person sees themselves, holy or not, but if they seek to curb someone else's individual freedom in the name of a "religious" of "higher power," they are coming from the deepest place of self-interest and self-hatred. Belief is just belief, opinion is just opinion, individual knowing is what is true, Individual-by-Individual.

America has the possibility, once recognized and invited, of providing leadership into a new world consciousness for humanity, Individual by Individual.

In conclusion

Life is sacred. The sacred needs cherishing and nurturing carefully. If you have a Sacral definition in your Design, listen to your own inner response. Regardless of what you "think" might be going on, your Sacral response is guiding you faultlessly through this life. If you can appreciate about yourself that most likely you don't know what you want until you hear or feel your inner sacral response, then suddenly, the mystery of life is open to you in every response. Trust what the sacred within you is drawing you towards, and you have the easiest journey to realization.

Next month, we shall return to the theme originally scheduled for this month - looking at some of the other decision making processes with Human Design.

© Chetan Parkyn, December 2001