Episode 204: Your Human Design Environment
What role do your surroundings play in your life?
Continuing our exploration of the Human Design Variables, in this episode, we take a look at Human Design Environments.
You’ll hear:
What are Environments in Human Design
Where Environment fit into the Human Design variables framework and how it corresponds to the other Variables
The six kinds of Environments, their tones, and what they represent
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“When you’re in your correct Environment, you have more awareness in your mind, body, and emotions - aware of yourself and how you fit into your spaces and place — your environment.”
Read the Transcript:
Hello there, my friend. Welcome back to The Live Fab Life Podcast. I'm your host, Naomi Nakamura and I’m so excited to welcome in 2022! It was a fun, relaxing holiday season, but I'm happy to get back into the swing of things, and I’m happy to be back here with you for the start of another year.
For the past several episodes, I’ve been having a couple of different mini-series going on, specifically having conversations with folks from the Human Design community with different Authorities and exploring the Human Design Variables, and today, we’re continuing exploring the Variables.
The Variables are the advanced, deeper parts of Human Design. the idea behind them is that we get so disconnected from ourselves, from our bodies, literally and figuratively, and the Variables invite additional deeper layers to our growth and development so that we can live our lives in alignment with our truest selves, with less tension, less friction, less angst and with more flow.
Because when we’re able to authentically, with authenticity and freedom, free of conditioning from the world around us, that’s how we become free, empowered, and happier, more joyful people who experience peace, satisfaction, success, and delight versus anger, frustration, bitterness, and disappointment.
If this is your first episode with me, or you haven’t listened in a while, I encourage you to listen to Episode 197 where I gave an overview of the Human Design Variables.
To find your Variables, you look at the Head, also called Crown Center on your Human Design chart. There are two arrows on each side of it. The direction of the arrows, along with the color or the tone, will indicate what your Variables are.
So, look at your chart, then listen to Episodes 198 and 199 which are on the first two variables, Determination, and Cognition to find out what your Variables mean and what they represent.
But to quickly recap, your Determination is how your brain is best nourished, in all the ways that we nourish it, through food and information. So, when we eat correctly, nourishing selves correctly, according to our Determination, you're feeding your Cognition, which is your super sense, your strongest most developed sense within you.
So, listen to Episodes 198 and 199 to dive more into Determination and Cognition, then if you’re curious, in Episode 200, I share what my Determination and Cognition is from my own personal Human Design, how it resonated with me, and how I'm going about learning about it and leaning into it and living it, or at least trying to weave it into my daily life.
Today we’re exploring another Variable, but before we do, let me repeat this statement which gives context to how the Variables complement and support each other:
“When you're in your correct environment (and that's what we're talking about today) it sets up your perspective (what we’ll discuss in an upcoming episode), so that it's easier to be motivated and nourished, and nourished encompasses Determination and Cognition.
Today, we're talking about Environment, so, let's explore what does Environment means in Human Design?
It means getting yourself, your body, into its correct space, the energetic space that your body is best calibrated for so you can reach your highest potential. When you’re in your correct Environment, you have more awareness of your mind, body, and emotions - aware of yourself and how you fit into your space, your place, your Environment.
When you're not in your correct Environment, you become vulnerable to conditioning because you’re not in the space where you’re best meant to thrive, and it has an impact on your other Variables too – when you're not in your correct Environment, you're not going to have the correct Perspective of life or be Motivated. The Variables work interchangeably together.
So, let’s review what the different Environments are.
If the arrows in your chart point left, you’re active in those Variables. If the arrows point right, you’re passive. When you’re active you’re the one being observed, when you’re passive, you’re doing the observations.
There are six different kinds of Environments and within each kind, there's are two tones.
The first one is Caves. Caves represent safety and security. If you have a Caves Environment, you seek places and spaces where you feel safe and secure. Along with that, you have a deepened sense of places and spaces that unsafe or have you feeling unsettled.
So, if you have a Caves Environment, you're someone who benefits from time tucking in, how we feel safe when we tuck into places and people, tucking into a hug, places with single entrances and exits, tucking in at home – being a homebody.
If your arrow points left, then you’re Caves - Selective, meaning that when you’re in a Cave Environment, it makes you feel active and energized. If your arrow points right, you’re Caves – Blending which means that it is where you feel relaxed, at ease – and safe. The next kind of Environment is Markets. Markets are about selectivity.
If you have a Markets Environment, which I do, we’re curious, selective, and picky people. To be selective and picky, we need to have a lot of options. We have choices so that we can and must be very clear on what we like and what we don’t like, what we're looking for, and what we need.
We get specific, dive into details, and we love customization. I know I do – I love customized things – monograms on my handbag, key chains, towels, things that are made specifically for me.
So those of us who have a Markets Environment, seek places and spaces that allow us to have a lot of options that we can be selective with. So, what are these kinds of places? If Caves are like homes, what are Markets like?
I think of urban places where there’s a lot of things going on and a lot of things to choose from. There’s always lots of things going on. So, Markets Environments people do better in urban settings than in rural places and isolated spaces where there aren’t a lot of options.
Now, if you have a Markets Environment and your arrow points left, you’re Markets – Internal, so, when you're in your Markets Environment, it energizes you and brings you life.
If your arrow points right, you’re Markets – External, and when you're in your correct Markets Environment, you feel relaxed and at ease, observing what’s going on around you.
The third environment is called Kitchens. If you think the kitchen in your home, it’s not just a place for cooking, but it’s also a gathering place. And that’s what the Kitchens Environment is about – gathering, creating, and transforming.
Cooking brings different foods and ingredients together, and as you cook them, they alchemize and transform, and they come together to form a new dish.
If you have a Kitchens Environment, you best thrive in places and spaces where you’re able to gather with others, where you can collaborate, where you’re an active, valued part of a community where you feel seen and heard. When people with a Kitchens Environment are in this environment, they can create something out of nothing - just like when cooking, taking raw ingredients and alchemizing it together to create a new, delicious dish.
If your Kitchens Environment arrow points left, your Environment is Kitchens – Wet which means that being in a Kitchens Environment activates you, energizes you, inspires you. You are observable and an active participant.
If your arrow points right, you’re a Kitchens – Dry, so while being in that environment is energizing for you, you’re a passive participant. You love being part of the gathering process that brings people together, but you’re one that observes, rather than being observable. The fourth environment is called Valleys. It’s about sharing and intimacy. People with a Valleys Environment are people-focused. Connections and relationships are important to them because it’s how they share information, and experience intimacy.
Valleys Environment people need to be at the source, the base of the information, So, if you think about it, the Valley floor is at the base, then throughout the valley, as it’s surrounded by the peaks, noise echoes, so acoustic sounds are also important to Valley Environment people.
If your arrow is points left, you’re a Valleys – Narrow which means that when you’re in your correct Valleys Environment, it energizes you and you have a gift of creating connections with people.
If your arrow points right, you’re Valleys – Wide. You find spaces and places where you can observe but not necessarily directly engage with people to be the most energizing for you.
The last Environment is called Shores. I find Shores interesting, Shores is about places of duality, being at a threshold where you can cross over into another place into something or somewhere new.
When I was first started learning about Environments, I had the most difficulty processing or contextualizing Shores.
My mentor suggested thinking about Shores like the horizon where the ocean meets the sky, being on the threshold of two places.
If you have a Shores Environment, you seek out places and spaces that allow you to experience the duality of things - seeing two different perspectives, two different realities where you can experience both sides of things.
You're someone who can get lost in the beyond, in the horizon, where the ocean meets the sky. You’re able to experience things through other people's perspectives, other people's views, and you live in such a way that you can easily experience the duality of things.
If your arrow points left, your environment is Shores – Natural, bringing the same active, engaging energy as left-pointing arrows with all the other environments.
If your arrow points right, your environment is Shores – Artificial. Like the other right arrows, you’re equally energized as an observer.
So, here you have it – these are the Environments of Human Design.
Learning about my Human Design Environment immediately resonated with me, and I'll share my experience with that in next week's episode.
The Variables are advanced topics in Human Design, so while I don't cover them in my initial readings with clients, but I do see their Variables on their charts, and as I dive into studying their Type, Strategy, Authority, and other foundational topics that are covered in that first session. So, I’m already processing their Variables and seeing the synchronicities and how they complement the other parts of their Human Design. It’s so interesting and it helps me dive deeper into an understanding of each environment.
I share this with you because although the Variables are advanced topics, if fascinates you as much as it fascinates me, then I know you’ll want to hear more, as I did as I first started learning about Human Design.
As I mentioned, in the next episode, I’m going to share what my Human Design Environments is and why it resonated so quickly and deeply with me. I'll share some real-life examples of how being in my environment energizes me and gives me life, and how not being in it does the opposite.
If Human Design is new to you, if this is the first episode you're listening to or you're just getting into Human Design, I have a free resource, a PDF for you on my website to help you learn your Human Design. It’s called, “Your Human Design, Discovered.”
In it, I walk you through, step-by-step, where you can go to find your Human Design chart, what information you need, and then, once you have your chart what to do all the information.
I think there’s a gap between finding your chart and having a reading with someone like me who can help you understand your design at a deeper level. This guide is intended to help you bridge that gap so you can have a basic understanding of your design, so you can look at it and not feel overwhelmed and have an idea of the different parts of it, and what it says. Then, when you sign up for this guide, you'll receive a code for a discount when you book your first reading with me.
As always, thank you so much for listening. I can never say enough how much I appreciate your time and attention. And Happy New Year! I'm excited for the year to come. We’re going into our third year of the pandemic and who knows what's ahead of us but I'm still optimistic and excited and I hope you are too. I'm looking forward to spending this next year with you. Bye for now.
Naomi Nakamura is a Health x Human Design coach who’s creating a healthier society through aligned energy.
She blends a bespoke mix of Functional Nutrition and Human Design to help others shift into alignment to leverage and correctly manage their energy to support their body, mind, and spirit.
She believes that when we embrace our authenticity and lean into our bio-individuality, we naturally live a life of freedom, empowerment, and optimal health.
Naomi resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and can often be found exploring the area with her puppy girl, Coco Pop!
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