Human Design Determination – a note from Karen Curry Parker
Karen Curry Parker doesn’t teach Determination. It’s too easy to want to codify and label parts of the chart, such as the determination, without looking at the synthesis of all of the parts of the chart and the entire story that the chart reveals. When we grossly simplify this process by only looking at one element to tell us “everything” about important aspects of life – such as health – we miss the main point of the chart.
Your chart does not reveal what you are, but HOW you are. In addition, every element in the chart represents a potential with a shadow side and a high side. We’re not a “this” or a “that”. We are living possibilities that are responsive to life in every single moment of our existence. It’s up to us to consciously choose how we’re going to respond and how to de-condition ourselves to increase our capacity to make great choices.
In addition, the more we are in alignment and live our Type and Strategy, we will know what is right for our health and well-being that is unique to us.
What Is Human Design Determination?
In Human Design, Determination refers to an individual’s optimal way of taking in and processing food and information, ensuring that they maintain their health and well-being. It is part of the Primary Health System (PHS) in Human Design, which focuses on the body’s unique needs and functioning.
Key Aspects of Determination in Human Design:
- Digestive Environment:
The ideal conditions under which a person should eat and process information. This could relate to factors such as temperature, light, noise levels, and social settings.
- Digestive Type:
Specific guidance on how to consume food and information for optimal digestion
- Cold or Hot: Preferring cold or hot environments for digestion.
- Calm or Nervous: Needing a calm or slightly stimulating environment.
- High or Low Sound: Benefiting from a quiet or lively background.
- Day or Night: Being more efficient at digesting during the day or night.
- PHS Determination:
The process involves understanding one’s unique determination profile, which is calculated based on the birth data and helps identify the best ways for an individual to nourish themselves both physically and mentally.
Application of Determination:
- Food: Understanding your Determination helps in choosing the types of food, meal timing, and eating conditions that best support your body’s digestion and overall health.
- Information: It also influences how you best take in and process information, impacting learning styles and mental clarity.
By following your Human Design Determination, you can align your lifestyle with your natural design, leading to improved health, mental clarity, and overall well-being.
Understanding Determination
The beauty of Human Design is that it offers us a toolbox that contains a variety of different tools that help us know and accept ourselves. We can go through life and make choices in accordance with our Human Design type and strategy and live an awesome life.
The beauty and wisdom in Human Design is that the more comfortable we are living outside of our social conditioning we are gifted with more options to enhance our human experience.
Consider a car. In fact, consider a Ford Model T (the first mass-produced car in America) and then consider a Rolls-Royce Phantom (retail price begins at $465,000 in case you’re not a car person.) Both of these cars will get you from point A to point B without walking, but which one would you rather ride in?
When we begin to dig into the knowledge of our Human Design we are able to fine-tune our life so we can experience the very best the universe has to offer (the Rolls-Royce in case you haven’t guessed.) Determination in Human Design is how to fuel our mind and body to have the best experience possible.
How Does Determination Fit Into The Human Design Framework?
Determination, in the Human Design Framework, is a piece of the Primary Health System. The Primary Health System is about fueling your mind and nourishing your body in a way that increases your alignment.
No matter what your aura type, your Human Design Determination is a tool to aid you in caring for your body, and mind in the manner that you digest the world around you. This is how we fuel our bodies with food, people, beverage, touch, light, and even sound.
In order to fully understand Human Design Determination it is important to understand the Human Design Variables
The four arrows at the top of your chart point either left or right. The direction of the arrow determines your Human Design Variable and your Human Design Determination.
Top Left Arrow- Digestion
Bottom Left Arrow- Environment
Top Right Arrow- Awareness
Bottom Right Arrow- Perspective
Left Facing Arrows for Determination (High)
Appetite- Consecutive
Taste-Closed
Thirst- Hot
Touch-Calm
Sound- High
Light- Direct
Right Facing Arrows for Determination (Low)
Appetite- Alternating
Taste-Open
Thirst-Cold
Touch- Nervous
Sound- Low
Light-Indirect
Your Human Design Determination will also be listed on your Human Design Chart as High or Low
Human Design Taste
In Human Design, Taste is one of the primary senses or modes through which an individual is designed to interact with and experience the world. It is part of the Primary Health System (PHS) and often relates to how a person best processes information and connects with their environment.
Key Aspects of Human Design Taste:
- Sensory Orientation: Taste as a primary sense means that an individual is particularly attuned to their gustatory sensations. They process and understand the world through their sense of taste and have a strong preference for certain flavors and food experiences.
- Environmental Influence: Individuals with Taste as a dominant sense may prefer environments where they can savor different flavors and have diverse culinary experiences. This can include a preference for specific types of cuisine or enjoying the process of cooking and tasting food.
- Personal Interaction: For people with Taste in their design, sharing meals and culinary experiences with others can be a significant way to connect and bond. They may have a refined palate and enjoy discussing and exploring different tastes with others.
- Learning and Comprehension: These individuals might learn best through experiences that involve tasting or experimenting with flavors. They benefit from activities that engage their sense of taste, such as cooking classes, food tastings, or sensory evaluations.
Application of Taste in Human Design:
- Health and Well-being: Emphasizing gustatory experiences can enhance well-being. This includes paying attention to the quality and variety of foods consumed, as well as the pleasure derived from eating.
- Relationships: Understanding the importance of taste can improve relationships, as these individuals enjoy sharing and experiencing flavors with others. Meals and food-related activities can be meaningful ways to connect.
- Work and Hobbies: Choosing careers or hobbies that involve culinary arts, food critique, or any activity where taste is central can be particularly fulfilling for those with a Taste orientation.
Another aspect of determination is touch:
Human Design Touch
In Human Design, the term Touch is another one of the primary senses or modes through which an individual is designed to interact with and experience the world. It is part of the Primary Health System (PHS) and often relates to how a person best processes information and connects with their environment.
Key Aspects of Human Design Touch:
- Sensory Orientation: Touch as a primary sense means that an individual is particularly attuned to tactile sensations. They process and understand the world through physical contact and the sense of touch.
- Environmental Influence: Individuals with Touch as a dominant sense may prefer environments where they can physically interact with their surroundings. This could mean enjoying activities that involve hands-on engagement, such as crafts, physical exercise, or any activity where touch is a key component.
- Personal Interaction: For people with Touch in their design, physical contact in personal relationships is significant. They may feel more connected and understood through hugs, handshakes, or simply being in close proximity to others.
- Learning and Comprehension: These individuals might learn best through hands-on experiences and tactile activities. They benefit from feeling, manipulating, and directly interacting with materials rather than purely theoretical or visual learning methods.
Application of Touch in Human Design:
- Health and Well-being: Emphasizing tactile experiences can enhance well-being. This could include massage, physical therapy, or engaging in activities that provide sensory satisfaction through touch.
- Relationships: Understanding the importance of touch can improve relationships, as these individuals thrive on physical expressions of affection and connection.
- Work and Hobbies: Choosing careers or hobbies that involve hands-on work can be particularly fulfilling for those with a Touch orientation.
By recognizing and honoring the sense of taste and touch in your design, you can align more closely with your natural inclinations, leading to greater satisfaction and effectiveness in various aspects of your life.
Human Design Determination: Conditions vs. Circumstances
The first three determinations:
Appetite, Taste, and Thirst are considered to be Conditions. Condition refers to what is happening inside the body.
Circumstances: Touch, Sound, and Light refer to the surrounding environments outside of the body.
The Six Kinds Of Human Design Determination And The Tones Of Each:
Condition Determination #1: Appetite And Its Tones
The first type of determination is Appetite. Appetite is really about our sense of safety and security. Food has become increasingly complicated with additives, fillers, dyes, etc. Appetite is about eating simply. Meals with basic ingredients, consuming one item at a time.
The tones of Appetite are Alternating or Consecutive.
Alternating Appetites use food as fuel slowly. These are the people who do best with snacks, grazing, and relaxed eating.
Consecutive Appetites are about being fueled in a consistent manner and those with Consecutive Appetites do better with standard meals and less snacking.
Those with Alternating Appetites also do best with simple environments, limited clutter, and completing one task at a time.
Condition Determination #2: Taste And Its Tones
The second condition is Taste. Taste is being selective about what you choose to put into your body. Some may consider this to be picky or even snobbish. There are two tones of Taste: Open and Closed.
Open Taste Determination allows you to be adventurous and try many new things. You want to still be selective in regards to quality and simplicity but you can be flexible with what you are consuming.
Closed Taste tends to stick with what they know they enjoy.
Taste Determination, Open or Closed, flourishes when they eat seasonally.
Condition Determination #3: Thirst And Its Tones
Thirst is about being creative and cultivating transformation. Thirst tones are either Hot or Cold.
Hot Thirst needs warm food and drink.
Conversely, Cold Thirst Determination prefers cold, and even uncooked, food or drink.
Circumstance Determination #1: Touch And Its Tones
Touch Determination is about gaining insight and perspective. The Touch Tones are Calm or Nervous.
Calm Touch Determination requires a calm and quiet environment to process appropriately. Those with Calm Touch do best eating alone, or in their homes, as they are sensitive to noises and external stimulation. These humans thrive working from home because they can cultivate a serene environment to spend their time. Mornings and evenings are your moments of deep thought and creativity.
Nervous Touch Determination thrives on external stimulation. Eating and consuming information in exciting environments helps you digest in the best way. Restaurants, outdoor gatherings, and even standing up or moving while you eat are perfect for you. Many with Nervous Touch were scolded as children for wiggling at the table or talking a lot in school. Unlearning the social conditioning around how you take in and process food or information will be very powerful for you in your journey.
Circumstance Determination #2: Sound And Its Tones
Sound Determination is about sharing. The tones of sound are High and Low. High Sound Determination enjoyed external stimulation through noise. Your digestion enjoys multi-dimensional flavors and textures. You enjoy a lot of sound around you and you can process a lot of information at one time.
Individuals with Low Sound Determination do not handle a lot of flavors, or information coming at them at one time. They are sensitive to overwhelm and prefer to be in quiet calm environments where they have control over how information is presented to them.
Circumstance Determination #3: Light And Its Tones
The last Determination is Light. Light refers to how sensitive a person is to light. Those with Direct Light Determination love to be outside in the sun. These are the early risers, the big breakfast eaters, and the sunbathers. They have a unique ability to see how things work and to be positive.
Indirect Light Determination individuals are night owls. They need big dinners and may skip breakfast altogether. They thrive in overcast weather and are homebodies. Indirect Light Determination can lead you to be a little more pessimistic than your Direct Light counterparts.
What Does Human Design Determination Mean For Me And My Life?
Human Design is a complex system. Our design shows us how to express ourselves, where we are vulnerable to social conditioning, where we limit ourselves, and how to make decisions. It shows us who we are at our most aligned and who we are when we are out of alignment. How we process food and our environments may seem trivial but it can deepen your understanding of your design and help you achieve even greater alignment.
Human Design Determination originated in the Primary Health System and is directly tied to your Human Design Variable. How you experience your Human Design Determination will vary depending on what channels and gates you have. Additionally, each aura type will experience their determinations in a different way. For example, a Projector and a Generator may both find themselves eating without feeling full.
The Projector (Orchestrator) can tune into their Human Design Determination and learn to eat in quiet environments so they can nourish themselves in a manner in which they will feel satiated. The Generator (Alchemist) will benefit from moving around when they eat and allowing themselves to eat more as they use up their Sacral energy.
All Human Design requires experimentation and using the knowledge of your Human Design Determination will take time and patience. Set aside time to experiment with a variety of foods and environments to allow your Authority to guide you to what is best for your body.
How To Get A Free Human Design Chart
Visit Human Design Chart for your FREE BodyGraph.
For a guide to reading your BodyGraph Click this link to read about it.
How To Learn More
Being aware of your Human Design Determination can be very beneficial to how you live your life. Determination is a much deeper dive into your Human Design and can feel challenging at times. Quantum Human Design coaches are here and ready to guide you through your Human Design Determination, as well as other details in your chart.
Find a Quantum Human Design Coach here.
If you are ready to become a certified Quantum Human Design Coach please click here to view our certification programs.
We aim to enlighten, educate, and empower people to achieve their goals using Quantum Human Design.
Note: The names in brackets above are the Quantum Human Design (QHD) names for the Types and Profiles. QHD helps us to reframe the ‘Not Self’ or conditioned self shown in Human Design to explore the potential of the deconditioned self and to live more in alignment with our inner truth.
Curious about the difference between Human Design and Quantum Human Design? Karen Curry Parker explains it in this video
If this has inspired you to want to know more about how to live your Quantum Human Design, click here
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