How Human Design Can Help You Live a More Authentic Life with Maike Gabriela
I first learned about Human Design in May 2019. I was invited to a dinner for work, and to RSVP, I had to submit my birthday, time, and location of birth for the human design expert they were honoring. I had heard of the term before but didn't know much about it until I arrived and found a piece of paper at my seat with a brief summary. It said that my energy type was: Generator. My strategy was: wait to respond, and my decision-making authority was: gut. But the most impactful part was a little blurb that said, “You may feel the most healthy when you can move around, work, and interact with a number of different people throughout the day.”
At the time, I was in the throes of trying to figure out how and when to leave my job at Bazaar, and this piece of paper felt like a sign. I was feeling stifled, trapped, and utterly frustrated at work. I was craving more freedom to just exist as myself. It would take about 9 more months before I actually left, but I never forgot about the words on that card how affirmed I felt by them. Even when I got home from that dinner, I googled human design and tried to learn more about how it could help me.
Understanding my human design has had the greatest impact now on my solo career. Almost every day, I have to make decisions about which projects I want to work on. Sometimes it's an immediate yes. Other times, it's not so clear, and I've tried to use these principles to learn to listen to my gut—and to recognize that if I'm deliberating on something for too long or I just don't feel a sense of excitement, then it's not for me.
I found today's guest Maike Gabriela on Instagram about a year ago or so. She's a former model, brand founder, and consultant turned human design expert. Below, read my interview with her where she breaks down what exactly human design is, how it can help you to trust yourself, and live a more authentic life. You can also listen to the full conversation.
What were you like as a child? I always ask this because I could see that I had some inclination towards the spiritual world as a kid, and the things I genuinely gravitate to now as an adult. So it's cool to see if it's the same for others.
Maike: I spent a lot of time alone, drawing, having a big imagination, I've always been very creative. I remember my first time leaving the house alone though was to go to this witchy kind of bookstore to get books on witchcraft, which were not real witchcraft. Even as a young kid, I can see I had this capacity to understand people on a deeper level. I don't know if that's because I'm a projector in my human design or also because my mom is a psychoanalyst. So we always had information to understand people on a deeper level. If somebody would hurt my feelings, my mom would help me understand why people would act out. So, I feel like I've always had that tendency in a way as well.
How did you find Human Design?
Maike: I found Human Design about 5 years ago. One night between feedings of my then two-month-old daughter, I was desperate to understand why I was doing everything I was told I needed to do, yet my sustainable underwear brand that I had back then was not generating an income I could live off. I was listening to a podcast and heard the description of being a Projector. I had no idea what Human Design was nor what a Projector was, but something resonated with me so deeply that I just had this big 'aha moment.' This sounds cheesy, but everything suddenly made sense.
Back then, there was very little information out there, so I got my hands on everything I could. After a couple of years of integrating and going through a spiritual awakening in 2019, I decided to do a Teachers Training in February 2020. A week after I was done, Covid hit, and we literally were not allowed to leave the house. All my side jobs as creative director and art director for commercials and music videos got canceled. So I really felt encouraged by the universe to start sharing my real interests on my Instagram. I only had 1,200 followers back then. What I shared really resonated with people, and soon I was booked out months in advance. It's just been this amazing rollercoaster.
What exactly is Human Design?
Maike: Human design is the science of our aura. We all have an energetic body that is three meters around us. Everything in our life is matter, meaning everything in our life is energy. Once we understand our own energetic body, we can understand why we have resistance in certain things and how we can move back into flow. Human design is made up of astrology, ancient Chinese knowledge, iChing, Kabbalah, and it also has the chakra systems. Then we add on top genetics and quantum physics. All of this information gives you what we call the body chart.
I really believe that we came whole into this lifetime. Our soul knows exactly what experiences, what relationships, what material things are meant for us and they're all kind of in this iCloud. Our aura has the password, our aura connects the things that are meant for our life into our reality. So something that we talk a lot about in human design is conditioning and the process of deconditioning. Conditioning is what I describe as this kind of slime that is sitting on top of our aura, not allowing our soul to express and communicate with the things that are meant for us. In this conditioning, this slime stems from when we were little and we showed who we were authentically, but that authenticity was shamed, punished, or rejected. Therefore, to feel safe and embraced, we had to lose parts of ourselves.
So the moment a part of our authenticity or whole self gets rejected, we lose a part of that self and that's when we start feeling that emptiness inside. Then we try to fill that emptiness through intense but toxic relationships, work, material things, substances that are going to distract us, without understanding we actually have to dig up those parts of ourselves that have been too painful to embrace. They have been rejected by those that are meant to keep us safe and those that are meant to love us unconditionally. When human design helps us bring out those parts of ourselves that we deemed lost, that we had forgotten about, we come back to this whole authentic self. When we embrace and integrate, that slime from our aura can get pulled off and our soul can communicate back with the things that are meant for it.
Is human design most helpful in a particular area of our lives? I always think of it as being useful for work, but can it really be helpful in all areas?
Maike: Human design changed my life in my work. Before I knew human design, I had a sustainable underwear brand, and though everybody was like, "That's amazing," I was working 16 hours a day, writing 250 emails, and it didn't work. I wasn't making enough sales to be able to live off of it.
So, understanding my human design and that all of those things I was doing were completely incorrect for my energetic authenticity literally saved me from the third burnout in my life. I have an autoimmune disease, and I really think it's because I lived out of my design for so many years. So it can help a hundred percent in business in a way that is so dramatic from my experience and from what I've seen with my clients. You can have the most amazing product, amazing service, but if you are not taking into account your specific unique energetics, it doesn't matter how much you want it. It doesn't matter how much you work or how much you're hitting your head against the wall if the energetics are not aligned. It doesn't mean your product, your service, or what you're doing is not good. It just means the way that you're doing it is not aligned with what and how you're supposed to show up in the world.
But one of the things that I love most with my girlfriends is looking at romantic connections. You can look at health, you can look at your purpose. So many things that you can use human design to help you with.
Similar to a birth chart, you use your birthday, time of birth, and location of birth to generate your human design chart. First, you get a breakdown of how you fit into one of how many energy types?
Maike: Yes, so the most important thing is understanding your energy type. Once you understand your energy type, you understand how you're supposed to collaborate with the universe to get into your signature, which is your main goal in life, the one thing you should focus on.
PROJECTOR: which is 20% of the population has a penetrating aura, and they're here to guide people because they're really good at seeing systems, patterns, and people.
Famous Projectors: Princess Diana, Barack Obama, Serena Williams
GENERATOR: which is what you are, approximately 38% of the population, and generators have an open and enveloping aura. They have a very feminine energy, they're incredibly magnetic, they're sparkling, they're juicy. People love to be around them, and they really have this very creative energy. And what's really important for them is to follow the things that they love doing, and they're going to inspire people by living life and enjoying life.
Famous Generators: Cher, Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra
MANIFESTOR: which are only 7% of the population, and they have a closed aura, and they're here to initiate. So this whole Nike thing of, “just do it.” Literally, that kind of attitude is only meant for 7% of the world, which is very fascinating because our very masculine-built societies are like, "Oh, if you don't get it, it's because you're not working hard enough." That's not true. Literally only works for the manifestor. They're here to initiate and create something new. They're here to dream of a better world. They're really here to push us to the new paradigm.
Famous Manifestors: Maya Angelou, Adele, Gloria Steinem
MANIFESTING GENERATOR: the hybrid between the generator and the manifestor. They're approximately 33% of the population and they're here to have that balance, that yin and yang between the masculine energy that carries the manifestor, this very initiating energy, but always have to listen to their gut feeling first, always have to listen to what really sparks their joy and their interests. One of the things that they struggle with most, but also that characterizes them the most, is that they have so many different interests and they're like, "I want to read the book and then this documentary and then I'm interested in something else." They're continuously falling into different rabbit holes. So it's people who are incredibly curious. For them, it's overcoming that idea that they have to stick to one thing and embracing that every curiosity is going to bring them one step closer to their purpose.
Famous Manifesting Generators: Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton
REFLECTOR: which is only 1% of the population, and they're here to reflect back the health of their environment and their community. But it's really important to allow the reflector to understand that their life experience is not limited to only reflecting other people's lives. They can have an incredible, exciting, magical life because their keynote, which is their signature, is surprise. So, if they are aligned, they're going to have the craziest stories to tell you. They're super interesting and fun to be around.
Famous Reflectors: Sandra Bullock
My human design chart
So let's break down the rest of the human design chart.
Maike: The main thing that I can't stress enough is the strategy, because the strategy is the tangible tool. For me, what makes such a difference between astrology and human design is it gives you a tangible tool to put into practice, to put into action how you specifically collaborate with the universe to make life happen. So, once you understand your strategy, you start moving through life completely differently, and you start understanding why things are meant for you and what things are not meant for you. And then we have the not-self theme.
The not-self theme, that was also very eye-opening for me. Mine is frustration.
Maike: Exactly, I love that you say that in a positive way. The beauty of the not-self theme is that it's just here to remind you, "Hey, Chrissy, you're not on the right path. You got to go back to your authenticity. Listen to your gut. What is it? What really excites you?" Every time we face our not-self theme, it's not something to avoid, it helps us reflect on where we have moved out of alignment with our authentic self. Then we get to the signature. Signature is your goal. Signature is how you're meant to be feeling when you're doing things right. So for you, that's satisfaction. Satisfaction, the way that I describe it, it's very sacral, it's very in the tummy. It's like you've just had a cozy warm meal that's giving you that little smile on your face. That's a deep sense of satisfaction.
In our society, we are often told to work a job you probably hate, save money, don't drink lattes. Then when you're 65, if you are lucky, you can start living the life that you want, which is insane. What human design tells us is when you start focusing on being authentic, I will see you and I will support you with the chances, opportunities, the money, the people, whatever it is, you need to keep continuing, evolving on showing your authentic self because that's where you're going to share your gifts with the world and you're actually in your purpose. You're contributing to the world, which is why I put you here. When we make, and in your case, when you make satisfaction your highest priority, then all the rest that you desire will come. If you try to focus on money, success, and recognition and you are sacrificing your desire, creativity, and satisfaction, that will not come. And that's really eye opening.
As I've said before, when it comes to human design and my career, I fully understand how to use it. It's only in the last year I've started thinking, actually I also need to apply this to dating.
Maike: So you want me to tell you at first glance what I see, why that might be more tricky for you in romantic relationships? You're triple split definition. Triple split definition means that you have three different aisles of defined energy centers that are connected to each other but not together. So this means that your mind, your heart, and who you are speak three different languages. Your mind could be like, "Oh no, this is very rationalized. I thought this is like this and this is how I think about it." But then your heart and your drive to survive is going to be, "Oh no, but this is unsafe. I don't know if this makes sense." And then your gut is like, "Oh, but I really desire this, I really want to experience this."
They're like, how can we make this work? Triple splits are actually pretty rare. It's very common for generators to be “split definition.” People who have split definition are really good for monogamous relationships because they only need one person to literally bridge the split between these two islands that need to communicate with each other. So these are people that get home, they talk about their day with their partners, and it helps them just digest what happened. But you are somebody who needs different input. You are somebody who, even if you just met somebody, you're dating and you're just spending the first week in the bedroom, it's important that you go out, get a coffee, whatever it is, even if it's just random, quick run somewhere, because you need the energy of other people. If not, you're going to feel very closed in.
As a Generator, opportunities come to you, so I've started to think more about how that applies to my dating life. Even on dating apps, I feel like the men that I have dated usually initiate or come to me.
Maike: Yeah. I think apps are a great thing to talk about. Bumble is amazing for female-identifying manifestors because female-identifying manifestors have a very masculine energy, and a lot of times, they don't fit in this whole, you have to have divine feminine energy to attract a guy. It doesn't work for a manifestor woman. But we have the same if we are a male-identifying projector because that's a very feminine energy. The projector energy is waiting for the invitation. So male-identifying projectors are going to lose out trying to initiate and trying to be in their masculine energy and trying to make the first step.
Yeah, even thinking about how my authority is gut or sacral, and really listening to that and the not-self theme, I know how it feels when I'm in a relationship that does not feel in alignment. But I will talk myself out and just think, "Oh, it's just my anxiety, it's just this." More and more, I come to realize, no, I'm having these feelings because this is not in alignment with what I need.
Maike: You said you have this gut reaction, so the way you're going to decide is going to be on the spot. I like this person, I don't like this person, I like this restaurant, I don't like this restaurant, I like this, I don't like this. And it's very interesting because you also have what we call a sexual stream. So you have a very intense non-emotional, solar plexus— this is gate 36. It also means you go through the most intense emotional experiences, and through your own experience, you're able to help others. You have this gift of solving other people's emotional issues, which means that a lot of your friends come to you and ask you for advice. A lot of therapists, psychologists, and coaches have this gift that you carry within you. It doesn't have to be your profession, but it's maybe something that just comes out within your friend group or whatever.
If you're in a relationship with somebody who has emotional authority, they're going to be like, "I can't make a decision now." Let's say this is about kids, marriage, or other important cornerstones of life. So you're going to be like, "Oh no, but I know that I want to have kids with you. This is my sacral, this is what I want. I'm feeling it." And the other person could need more time. So maybe there's a compromise because of their need for time.
I want to talk about manifesting because you actually made a video a couple weeks ago about why you don't... I forgot what the wording was, you don't believe in manifesting?
Maike: I do believe that we can create something into existence, which is what I believe manifesting is. But I think the practice of manifestation has been so exploited. The amount of manifestation tips that I get, I mean, it's probably also the algorithm— but manifesting is great for our capitalist society, and I love material stuff. I like nice things, but it's great to sell. Manifestation sells great, why? Because I'm promising you that if you do what I tell you to do, you're going to get what you want. But what you want is only what you think you want, and I can see that from my own personal life.
What I thought I wanted was absolutely not aligned with my highest best interest and my authenticity. So we think we want these things because of limiting beliefs, environment, whatever it is, our heart has this desire for these certain things, but we cannot see what higher plan the universe has. We can get so hung up on “no, but I want this thing” and “this is how things have to be.” And then it can be really, really frustrating if those things don't come to fruition, you think it might be because I'm not deserving enough or I'm not doing enough of the manifestation practices, I'm not looking at my pain enough, I'm not doing whatever exercise enough.
It all comes back to me not feeling good enough, not feeling worthy. Why is something wrong with me that what I want is not happening? Versus how I see alignment and why I think human design is so incredible and especially the way that I use human design—I really help people embody it and live it out because we also hide behind information. I want to know more, I want to know more…
I've definitely been one of those people, but I'm in recovery.
Maike: No, but for example, you have a one in your profile. So you are meant to dig information, you're meant to research. You have to know your shit. That's your energy and that's great. But there is just this fear of actually living it out—and action is a universal law of success. We cannot expect our life to change if we're not taking action. It doesn't matter how much you're reading and saving posts on any topic, human design, psychology, whatever it is, you're not going to overcome your trauma just by identifying that you have a certain trauma.
When we start aligning to who we are authentically and we release that expectation of what I need, what I want to have, what I'm expected to have, what's my dream, whatever salary, boyfriend, car, apartment, the universe can come in. When you focus on yourself and being your most authentic self and instead of trying to do a morning routine, trying to have a celery juice diet, whatever, instead of putting all of those things on top of yourself, you start removing and focus on unbecoming who you thought you had to be in order to achieve certain things. You start aligning and focusing on just being your most authentic self and sharing your gifts with the world, creating value in the world with who you are. And naturally, I truly believe your purpose is being you because if not, we would be interchangeable and we are not.
I love that. I think the world of manifestation is really tricky. I've always tried to be really mindful about the way that I talk about manifestation because I think manifesting is different for everyone and because I am a generator and just of who I know myself to be and how I've seen things evolve in my life, I think about what I want and I let it go. I don't have to write my manifestations down, I don't have to set an intention every day. I know and trust that the right opportunities are going to come to me, especially when it comes to work.
Before I was working for myself, the last two years that I was working at my full-time job, I really wanted to leave. I remember always feeling like, oh my god, all these opportunities are passing me by because I haven't left my job yet. I was really hard on myself. But it's actually incredible that once I finally did leave, all those opportunities that I thought I missed out on still came to me.
Now that I work for myself, human design is great for decision-making because almost every single day I have to make a decision. Do I want to work on this project? Do I want to work with this brand? And there have been countless examples of where I'm like, "Okay, well, I'll just do it." Even though I'm like, "I'm not really sure, but okay." And then I regret it.
Maike: Authority, which is the tool that human design gives us to make our best decisions, is all about understanding that the mind is great to find solutions to problems and to get inspired, but it's not here to make decisions. We all have this inner guiding voice. When we trust this guiding voice, it's going to lead us to the right path and help us make the right decisions that are going to bring us on the path of our purpose. In the last few years, we have taken ownership over what feels right for us, but generally, we're seeing an increase in how much what feels right for me is more important than what somebody else tells me to do. It's such an incredible way to see how we are having this evolution of consciousness in trusting ourselves and understanding how our own voice is so important for our own path. What happens a lot, especially for generators and manifesting generators, is that if we, for example, look at a little kid that has no conditioning, and so the parents tell the little kid, "Hey, you have to throw out the trash." So a generator, manifesting generator, if they're not conditioned and they're reacting to their sacral response to their gut feeling is going to be like, "Ugh, no disgusting. I don't want to do it." Obviously we all have to take out the trash—this is just an example.
What are parents or caretakers going to do? They're going to tell the kid, "Hey, don't be selfish. You have to help the family. Who do you think you are?" Kids only see black and white—either you love me or you don't love me. They feel they're not being loved. That feels unsafe. What does a little kid do? Go throw out the trash. What do the parents and caretakers usually do? "You're amazing. We love you. You did such a great job." But especially generators and manifesting generators, learn from a really young age that it's not safe for me to express my inner guiding voice. It's not safe for me to trust my own authority, to trust my own feelings and to be accepted and loved. And that's actually what we call education—because many times as parents, we can't see, we don't want to see, we don't understand how strongly our children are already connected to this inner guidance.
I think human design is actually something a bit more logical in a sense that people can really hold onto. Because again, it is giving you information about how you like to make decisions in life and what things should feel like inside when you are in alignment versus when you are not in alignment.
Maike: And most of the things that human design tells you, you already know. Problem is that somebody made you feel that that's not okay. Somebody told you that that way of doing things is not going to bring you what you want. And that's why you change who you are and how you do things. If somebody told me that as a projector, I'm only supposed to work four hours a day, I'm going to laugh in their face and be like, "That's impossible." And I don't talk about me personally, but just generally, that's how I'm going to guide the world into allowing them to see a possibility of doing things without having to be stuck in this hustle culture mentality. And so we already know most of the things, they resonate deeply with us. They're not like, "Oh, I've never ever thought about that," unless there's a real deep trauma.
What advice do you have for people who are looking to find more alignment in their life?
Maike: So I think the most important thing is to take it really slow and to look at the information that you have available and really just go step by step. The most important thing is understanding your energy type and living by your strategy. Without this foundational information, none of the gifts, none of the talents, none of your digestion, environment, perspective, motivation, none of the other shit is going to flourish if you're not owning your energy type. So focus on your strategy, and once you are completely owning that, then you can start digging deeper. But strategy, not-self theme and focusing on your signature, like your energy type, that is the most important thing. You don't even need to know the other stuff. The other stuff will come by itself because you are in alignment. Where you'll see the biggest shift, the most impactful shift is understanding your energy type.
Maike’s Most Recommended Reads
It Didn't Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle
This helped me tremendously in cultivating a new perspective and relationship with my parents and background, perfect to support us for holiday trigger time.
Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples
The absolute best book I have read about romantic relationships that explains why they are so effing hard. I've recommended this to nearly everyone I know and saved a couple of relationships in the process.
Creating Money: Attracting Abundance
This book is channeled and is the best alternative, spiritual book on money I have found. It really brings in a new, positive, abundant mindset.