Your HD Authority

"What has made the biggest change in your life in the last 2 years?"

I was recently asked this exact question by my best friend.

I’ve made a lot of improvements and it was noticeable.

I thought it over and everything traced back to learning Human Design.

More precisely, using my Authority to make decisions.

I’ve practiced many tools over the last 20 years, and this “Authority Check” has stayed on top for a while.

What is Authority?

Human Design describes Authority as the way to make decisions in our lives.

There are 7 different types of Authority that you can be born with:

1. Emotional (Solar Plexus)

2. Sacral

3. Spleen

4. Ego (Heart)

5. Self (G)

6. Environmental

7. Lunar

The defined centers in your bodygraph determine your Authority.

In some cases, you could have several authorities, but you are designed to use the one that’s higher on the list.

I have sacral and splenic authorities, so I’m designed to use my sacral over my spleen.

Each Authority has a different way of helping you make decisions.

You’ll notice that your brain is nowhere to be found.

Brain vs Authority

Your brain is not designed to be your own authority.

The creator of Human Design (Ra Uru Hu) compares the brain to the passenger in the back of the car, while your authority is the driver.

If you’ve ever had someone try to drive your car from the backseat, you’ll know that it never ends well. At the very least you’ll be confused, and at the very most, you’ll be in a giant car wreck!

This is partly conditioning. Society stressed the importance of pure logic and thinking things through. 

But thinking is a gift that we can share with other people. 

When you’ve lived your entire life using your brain, it can be hard to switch back to your natural Authority. I see it every day with my friends, family, clients, and strangers.

The Authority

You might be thinking to yourself, “well my brain got me this far, why stop now?”

And you’re right. If your life is exactly where you want it to be, then there’s no reason to stop.

You can continue using your brain to make decisions and continue to feel exactly the way you're feeling now.

For many people, that’s good enough.

It wasn’t for me.

I’d spent my entire life using my brain (and sometimes my intuition) to make decisions big and small. I said yes to promotions, work, and invitations that my brain said was logical and would make sense.

But in all those decisions, I ended up burning out, low on energy, unhappy, stressed, or just plain frustrated with the situations I got myself into.

I would say yes to every party invitation because my brain gave me all the FOMO.

I would say yes to certain job opportunities because my brain said I needed the money.

I would say no to the things that “didn’t make sense” because they couldn’t support me or help me build my future.

Authority Muscle

One common objection is that people don’t know what their authority feels like.

Your Authority is a muscle that you build, like anything in your body.

In most cases, the reason you don’t feel it is simply because it’s under utilized.

When you start to use it consistently, the power behind it grows. 

You build it by using it.

And you can start using it today.

Even if you don’t act on it, you can begin to listen to it.

The Energy

When you start using your authority more often, you’ll be surprised at how much energy you have.

Our brain uses up so much time and energy to make a decision without even knowing all the facts.

Your Authority will always give you the right answer to what opportunities are right for you.

This was one of the more subtle changes for me.

Especially as someone who has been an overthinker.

Even something as simple as asking when to do the dishes can be a huge shift.

One night I was reading at home and realized I had a few chores that needed to be finished.

Not only that, but I had been wanting to try a new recipe for some snacks that I had seen on Instagram.

My brain instantly sorted the tasks from easiest to hardest. It told me to get to work on the easiest to get it out of the way.

(That’s usually how my brain works. That's how most logic works.)

But my body resisted, and I was reminded to check with my Authority.

So instead of thinking it through, I checked in with my Sacral.

I went through the list and asked what I should do first.

I started with the easiest (doing the dishes) and got a “NO”.

I moved up the list to “folding the laundry” and got another “NO”.

I eventually got to “try the new recipe” and got a “YES”.

My brain resisted with all the logical reasons why that might not make sense.

Especially because trying a new snack recipe was a lower priority than getting the laundry done.

But I’d learned to trust my Authority so I leaned into it.

I was excited to try the recipe and that energy multiplied when I finished and it tasted amazing!

(It was homemade peanut butter balls if you’re curious, I’ll share the recipe if you want it.)

With that task off the list, my Authority said “YES” to the dishes.

I was on cloud 9 from the recipe and that energy carried over into the dishes.

I was humming and smiling and actually having fun.

Time seemed to move slower and I was enjoying myself more.

It usually feels like I have a limited amount of it, but trusting my Authority had put more hours in the day!

I’ve noticed this trend happening consistently.

When I rank tasks based on ease, my brain puts them in the wrong order.

When I rank tasks based on Authority, everything flows easier.

How Your Authority Works

Only you know how your Authority feels.

Every person feels it differently.

The themes are the same, but to know it, you have to try it out.

Here’s a quick overview of how each Authority works:

• Emotional (Solar Plexus) - Your level emotions are your guide and you’re not designed to make big decisions in the moment. Whenever you’re faced with a big decision, ask to sleep on it. Once you’ve let some time pass, if you still feel good and excited about it, then it’s a yes. If after that time, you’re not feeling great about it, the answer is a no.

  • It’s helpful to know your emotional cycles, some are pretty quick, while others can last a few days. When you ride the wave of your emotions and wait to make a decision, you will always have the right answer.

• Sacral - Your gut will tell you “YES”, “NO”, or “maybe”. I purposely use caps in this case. This answer will be immediate when you are making a decision. This is a very black and white energy, this or that. If you’re asking “what do I do next”, then it’s not going to be helpful. But if you reframe in terms of yes or no questions, you’ll get better answers.

  • In general, a “YES” is expansive, forward leaning, and exciting (even when you don’t fully understand exactly what you’re saying yes to). A “NO” will feel shrinking, backward leaning, and not exciting.

  • There’s always a chance for a “maybe”. I tend to get maybes when I’m tired or sick or feeling low energy in general, it’s like my inner compass gets a little distorted. If you can, get some rest and it will come right back up.

• Spleen - This is pure instinctual knowing. There’s not usually a need for a question with this Authority, you just know. Because this is based on survival and fear, it’s very quick and happens instantly when you’re faced with a decision. 

  • Trust your first instinct on a topic and don’t allow your brain to dissuade you with all the reasons why. When you get the answer, trust it.

• Ego (Heart) - There are two types of Ego Authority, Manifested and Projected

  • Ego Manifested Authority is expressed through the voice. Rather than trying to control what you say, you will tend to blurt out how you really feel about a decision, trust that answer. It’s incredibly important to trust your own voice.

  • Ego Projected Authority is expressed by being selfish, which sounds weird but really works. With this Authority, it’s important to ask “what’s in it for me”. If the invitation and the offer is beneficial, then you know it’s the right decision for you.

• Self (G) - This is another Authority that benefits from listening to themselves talk. When you speak your truth, you will hear your decision being made for you. Not with mental scripting, but being in the moment and speaking freely.

• Environmental - This is also called Outer Authority. Which can be kind of confusing, since Authority is all about how we make our own inner decisions. The “outer” means the world outside of you. If you feel comfortable somewhere, then any decision you want to say yes to, is the right decision. If you don’t feel comfortable, then the answer is always going to be no. 

  • This Authority also benefits from a concept called “soundboarding”. It’s helpful to have a few close friends that you can talk at about a decision and see how you feel about it. I say talk “at” specifically because you are simply hearing yourself say something. Then seeing how it feels.

  • Your environment can be your house, a restaurant, a coffee shop, a bookstore, or even your car. And it can change rapidly. If you’re at a coffee shop and feeling good, then any yes decisions are a good idea. If the music suddenly changes and you’re feeling bad, then you’ll want to make no decisions. It can be a little tricky, but with practice you can choose your environment more consciously.

• Lunar - All Reflectors have Lunar Authority, and this is pretty rare. With Lunar Authority, any major decision should be contemplated for a full lunar cycle, or 28 days. During this time, you will sample the transit field and think about the decision that must be made. This can be difficult because you’re not always able to wait 28 days on a decision.

With all Authorities, part of the trouble can be the worry that waiting or not making the right decision will cost you an opportunity. The irony is that if the decision can be moved on without you, then it was never for you. But that can be really hard to grasp with our logical minds.

The more you start to practice with your Authority, the more the Universe will give you the correct things and the others will fall away.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Try using your Authority today.

This is a muscle that has probably been pretty atrophied in your life and is going to need a little bit of dusting off.

But trust me, it’s there and ready to be used.

You’ll be surprised at how quickly it starts working again at full capacity.

And just like those old Pringles commercials, “once you pop, you can’t stop”.

You’ll be using your Authority for every decision just because it’s so much easier.

If you’re struggling to trust your Authority, just start by listening.

If you intentionally listen for your Authority as you’re making a decision, you’ll start to notice how it feels.

Even if you don’t take the advice, make a note of it in your journal or on your phone.

The simple act of recording and paying attention will start to work out the muscle.

Then when you are feeling daring, actually follow it.

Things will magically work out much easier when you do.

If you’re a Generator that’s having some trouble getting started, check out the Generator Bootcamp. It’s a course designed to kickstart your Sacral response in 5 days and covers everything you need to get started today!