Human Design: Initiation Week

I'm a Human Design Guide, and I’m starting a simple weekly series here. Each Monday, I’ll share the current Human Design transit of the Sun and Earth, and how I’m personally noticing it show up in real life. Human Design helps us tune into both our own natural rhythm and the shifting energy in the collective—and my hope is this space helps you do just that, too.

Want to learn more about Human Design?

Jovian Archive and MyBodygraph

Sun: Gate 53, Gate of Beginnings

Earth: Gate 54, Gate of Ambition

Transits for Week of July 6-12

I have a jewelry studio in the same building as a pottery studio, and this week, I'm going to start learning how to make porcelain components for my jewelry line.

New beginnings are so exciting. And this impulse to add something new to my metalwork has been in the making for many years.

I just had to wait for the right timing and now it's here!

A few weeks ago, one of the pottery instructors called me over during my hand building class to show me some Pinterest photos she'd been collecting about porcelain jewelry

I saw some of the photos and immediately knew this was something I wanted to learn how to do.

So slowly, we started figuring out the right time that would fit into our respective schedules to learn more about porcelain and ordered a 50 lb bag of it, along with some gorgeous slip and glazes.

This is a studio that also teaches others how to hand build and throw, and we're hopeful we can develop a class centered around making porcelain jewelry. So lots of discovery, making mistakes and learning something new regarding jewelry fabrication is now in my life, and I couldn't be happier.

I didn't know that after we synced our schedules last week, that this week's energy centered around initiation until I looked at the transits yesterday.

This morning, I thought I would start this weekly series on Mondays to help set the framework for my own week, and watch to see how my life unfolds as I consider the support of the weekly transits over the next year.

I thought I'd share it with you, too, and this makes me more accountable to my own goal and I would love to get feedback from you to see how you experience the transit also.

So what am I looking for this week?

Opportunities to use my Generator energy to start something new, such as the porcelain jewelry adventure I'm starting this week.

As a Generator, you may experience a strong response to something in your environment that comes your way and your body moves toward the idea to provide it with the energy it needs to come to life.

As a Manifestor, this may come as an idea that needs to be expressed to the right people to initiate something new.

As a Projector, be on the lookout for those invitations from those seeking guidance to put something new out into the world.

And if you are a Reflector, you may experience those around you starting something new and sweeping you up along with their excitement.

This energy is about slowly getting to your new goal, deeply learning as you go (which requires time to integrate, so you know, patience) and joyfully seeing where it takes you.

Next Monday, I briefly recap how I experienced this week's transits, and introduce the next round of collective energy to consider. This series will evolve and deepen as we go, so feedback would be appreciated!

Oh, and I guess starting this new series is, yes, another example of New Beginnings grounded in Ambition!

Whoop!

The Daily Choice

Are my choices today moving toward life, or am I just running from death?

Is there another point of view to consider?

Yesterday I read an article about that smell some older people develop. You know the one. I don’t want that signature scent to be mine as I get older.

So, what to do?

The article said mushrooms can help.

They prevent a certain compound from oxidizing in our skin oils. This compound is behind that smell that you can't cover with cologne.

That got me thinking about fungi.

Mushrooms are liminal organisms. They live where life and death meet. They break down what has died, and in doing so, lay the foundation for what’s next.

I've never fully considered the intersection of life and death in this way until I read that article.

I was going to just write about how I need to consider whether I'm acting from a place that moves towards life, or resisting death today.

Moving toward life means stepping into the unknown, evolving, creating, and embracing change. We naturally adopt this mindset when we're young.

But what about when we get older? Many of us often resist living fully because of fear of change. This is what I mean about resisting death.

It's clinging to what already exists, often leading to stagnation disguised as stability. I have to watch myself there, making sure my decisions are based in moving towards evolution. But with a healthy understanding about what's worth preserving, also.

And then I read that article about the mushrooms--and it led me to contemplating the importance of composting what had died, and turning it into the foundation for what comes next.

Grief comes to mind, as does any great change that requires time to integrate into our future.

A little part of us dies daily. We can choose the lesson of the mushroom to turn those parts that have passed into the rich soil of our current moment. Then, we can see what grows from there.

I think this mindset keeps our internal ecosystem humming at a nice pace.

Aging well means making peace with where you’ve been, turning it into something useful, and not being afraid to live fully from that place.

And eat your mushrooms if you don't want to smell musty and become rusty.

The End of the Tortured Artist?

Benson. Boone.

Benny brings up a lot of emotional juice, doesn't he?

To the cynics, he’s suspect.

To the ones that love him, he's a fantasy.

Either way, he draws a line in the sand, doesn't he?.

Me? I like him.

My husband is bewildered by my fascination with him. But he's not too fond of pop music.

I'm not known as a music aficionado. I discovered Robert Plant in 2007 when he did an album with Allison Krause. Somehow I missed Led Zeppelin.

But I like what I like, and with Benson, I like the whole package.

He didn't have a miserable childhood, yet he is still wildly creative. I believe he works out the melodies on his piano and co-creates the lyrics.

He didn't know he was a singer. His best friend asked him to sing for The Battle of the Bands contest in front of his hometown. That's where he discovered he has some natural talent.

He's courageous and loyal to his friends.

He jumps into experiences with confidence that he'll land on his feet.

Literally! What a talent stack!

He's also innocent in a way that I haven't seen often in a pop performer. It's more of an unspoiled presence. This innocence is demonstrated in his ability to be emotionally vulnerable. He expresses himself without fear of how it makes him look.

His joy and wonder hasn't become jaded by cynicism.

And he's what I believe they used to call a triple threat. He can sing beautifully, is wildly performative, and can probably act based on the video he did for Mr. Electric Blue.

He is who he is naturally, and he's well adjusted.

I get the feeling that when this stops being fun for him, he'll disappear into the sunset. We won't hear from him again.

He doesn't need the world as much as the world needs him, and he seems to know it in a deep way that's hard to describe.

So is he an anomaly, or is he the beginning of something new?

Is his rise in popularity a sign that we are making a shift in what we believe about artists and performers?

If it is, I'm all for it. I want to see more artists that are on board with being joyful, emotionally available and grounded in self-respect.

And his music and lyrics are surprising, not formulaic.

Artistic self-expression isn't one-sided. It doesn't have to be skewed to trauma and self-hatred.

There is beauty in healing and connection, growth and realization. You can be whole with lightness and a sense of belonging and still be creative.

I'm definitely team Benson.

Grief's Placeholder: Life with the Squatter

My father-in-law died in March, and he was the last of our parents to pass in the last 4 years.

We've been bracing for grief for a long time. It hurts the body to stay in a state of bracing for impact uninterrupted for so long.

The personality develops coping strategies. These strategies help it stay functional while dealing with care-taking responsibilities and familial duty. Life continues to move on, even when everything else feels like it's spinning out of control.

Off and on, over the last few years, I would take my emotional leave.

And The Squatter moved in.

She arrived during my father's serious medical issues. She stayed and became more entrenched when my mother-in-law died suddenly.

She moved in and took over the house as my mother and father were dying of cancer. My body needed to be in two places at once. The Squatter managed it somehow.

The Squatter was in business and was entrenched.

Let's see, there are doctor's appointments, pharmacy runs, and insurance conversations with long wait times that need to be managed. Wound care considerations are important. Do you hire someone to clean out the wound daily or do you do it?

You never wanted to be a nurse, but you find yourself teaching the nurses how to do their job. No wait, The Squatter did that.

The Squatter loves Nitrile gloves. She teaches you that you can do anything that needs to be done with them on your hands. She can live in a mess. She knows how to cope.

Noted.

Additionally, calls to family members are necessary. They need to know how much time is left. This allows them to rearrange their schedules to say a final goodbye before time runs out. And all of this during COVID when the world went crazy about being around others.

Madness.

How do you want your remains to be taken care of? Memorial service or graveside? Cremation with ashes scattered over your favorite place to fish when we were young?

There are so many decisions to make. There is so little time to fully process the horror that they are leaving. And realizing they are leaving you behind to clean up the remains of what filled their days for decades.

No, I can't do it.

Let The Squatter figure it out.

There are now conversations about what they are seeing. Their eyes can now see "more" on the ceiling. They can also see "more" in the air ducts and at the foot of their final bed.

Agitation is dealt with when you interrupt their gazing.

Let The Squatter take the heat.

Then come the unexpected guests. Unseen people arrive with messages that only the dying can hear. Finally, their eyes are open but can no longer see.

I momentarily returned at my mother's deathbed. I cried as I held her hand, warm then cold.

But then The Squatter took care of the details.

She took over where I couldn't. She could live with the mess, and she shared with me her secrets.

It's a big business, dying.

My squatter is very loyal and protective. She's stoic. She is functional and somewhat cold emotionally. She is clinical. She can discuss death and the dying process with precise clarity. This can be helpful for others in the beginning stages of caring for the dying. Her matter-of-fact delivery instills a knowing trust and truth in the receiver.

But it comes with a cost.

She can overstay her welcome and the gentle process of eviction can be painful.

I want to feel again, my feelings. I want to feel again, my joy.

I don't want to be clinical anymore, I yearn for fun and an occasional frolic.

She was my protector but now that job is no longer needed.

My husband is home again, for good now.

They are all gone, Squatter. I need you to move on, too.

And now it's time for me to return home.

I have work to do, feelings to process and a new life to live.

Thank you Squatter.

You were my placeholder, but now I need you to exit gracefully.

No drama.

And let me start to fill the space you occupied.

Until next time.

How Stringing Beads Changed My Life at 38

When I was 38, I had to stop working.

Shayne and I were about to move to Singapore due to a job transfer for his business. They are pretty strict about working there if you don't have a work visa.

Nobody in Singapore was going to sponsor me for a real estate work visa, the only career I had any experience in up to that point.

I was facing an existential moment of identity.

I'd been working in the real estate field since college, and I had no clue about where to go next.

I went to see a counselor, and she gave me the best advice.

She asked me, "What do you do when there isn't anything you have to do? You know, when the household chores are done, and you just have free time."

I blurted out, "I string beads and make simple necklaces."

She told me to keep doing that, and it would all work out.

I replied, "But don't you think I'm too old to start learning how to make serious jewelry?"

I don't know why, but 38 seemed long in the tooth to me then.

She said, "Well, if you make it to 58, you'll already have 20 years of experience. And I'm 56 and from where I'm sitting, I still have plenty of years ahead of me to work. I'd rather enjoy what I'm doing now than being stuck in a decision I made 20 years ago that I felt at the time was playing it safe."

She then advised me to do something daily to learn more about making jewelry.

She also stressed to me not to make a big deal out of it.

So I did. One thing led to another. A class here, a workshop there.

Then I started teaching others, and writing articles for magazines and before you know it, I had myself a new career.

Bead stringing guided me to other interests too.

I explored metal working, Human Design, and photography. I started writing articles for jewelry magazines, joined gallery memberships, and opened a few studios. 

I have a small card line in watercolors and gel pens.

Today, I have a studio where I share space with potters.

I'm branching out into using ceramics in my jewelry designs, because I'm taking advantage of my environment to learn something new.

I have a rich life.

I'm turning 58 this year, and yes, I now have 20 years of experience as a jewelry designer under my belt.

Her advice was worth the dough I paid her.

And it's still all working out.