HOW THE GATES OF THE G CENTER CAN TEACH US TO LOVE
The G center (sometimes referred to as the identity center) carries within it the energy of self-expression and love. This is the center of our being (the diamond in the middle of the chart), the part of us that offers compassion, understanding, and the ability to hold ourselves and all others in the highest regard.
Read on for some insight into how each Gate of the G center carries a gift that can teach us how it is we can offer love unconditionally.
by Fiona Bicknell, July 2024.
Throughout my Kundalini training there was one particular teaching of relationships drilled in on repeat that has become deeply imprinted into my understanding of our world and the way we relate to one another. The teaching is this:
We are all here to experience what it is to be human, to live a human existence. It is in relationship with others that we experience the self and our own humanity in the fullest and deepest way possible. When we seek connection with another, we seek to experience the parts of the self they mirror back to us.
This may sound a somewhat selfish view to take. But in experiencing ourself through another, we offer the same in return. It is an exchange. This is connection, a constant mirror back and forth - of the good, the kind, the desirable, and the powerful, as well as the parts that may be hard to look at. It is our conditioning and our state of mind that determines which parts of self we seek to experience. It is largely what we believe to be true about the self and what it is we believe we deserve that drives the kinds of connections we (often unconsciously) seek.
And so this takes us to another universal teaching, one that can be found in many systems of ancient wisdom - we can only love another as much as we love ourselves. And now let’s take this a step further - consider the possibility that we can only truly and completely love ourselves if we love ALL others equally, love ALL life equally.
In Human Design we lean heavily on the teachings of the I-Ching - an abstract, ancient Eastern text that we can crudely sum up as offering insight into 64 different types of energy. I like to think of these 64 energies as collectively making up the full spectrum of the human experience (Carl Jung famously spent decades studying the I-Ching, helping to inform his various works on the human psyche, archetypes and theories of synchronicity).
Each of us is entirely made up of energy - energy that is unique to who we are designed to be in the world. Human Design is a practice that offers us insight into the energy that we each carry in our system. The 64 aspects of the I-Ching, correlate to the 64 Gates of the Human Design chart, translated and interpreted to fit within our modern world.
In his book “The Art of Loving”, Erich Fromm concludes that to love well is an art to be mastered. He states that to “…love isn’t something natural. Rather it requires discipline, concentration, patience, faith, and the overcoming of narcissism”. In my study of the practice of Human Design, I have come to see the 8 gates of the G center as offering us incredible insight into what may be required to master this art and truly love another (or the self).
GATE 1 / THE GATE OF SELF EXPRESSION - THE CREATIVE
The energy of pure creativity, setting us up to share something unique with the world that arrives from places unknown.
How we can use this to love another:
- remind them of their uniqueness
- teach them it is safe to express creatively
- encourage them to seek the outlets that feel aligned for their creative expression in the world
GATE 13 / THE GATE OF THE LISTENER
A receptive energy that allows us to truly ‘hear’ another’s words, to create an understanding of what is being shared via a felt sense.
How we can use this to love another:
- offer them your ears, make them feel heard
- encourage them to share with you the thoughts that need somewhere to go
- practice receiving without judgement and without attempting to ‘fix’ anything unless invited to
GATE 25 / THE GATE OF THE SPIRIT OF THE SELF - UNIVERSAL LOVE
The energy of acceptance, compassion, innocence, and understanding.
How we can use this to love another:
- practice acceptance of who they are and where they are at in every given moment
- bring awareness of any attempts or desires to change the other
- when challenge is faced, or undesirable behaviors arise, seek to create understanding vs. creating hierarchy and seeking to ‘win’ or be ‘right’
GATE 46 / THE GATE OF DETERMINATION - PUSHING UPWARD
The energy of seeing all challenge as perfection, offering opportunity to build resilience and continue on an upward trajectory.
How we can use this to love another:
- remind them of their strength
- consistently remind them of how capable you see them to be and how much you believe in them
- do not give another your worry, instead offer them your faith
GATE 2 / THE GATE OF THE DIRECTION OF THE SELF - THE RECEPTIVE
The energy of using receptiveness to intuitively guide where and how you are to offer your gifts to the world.
How we can use this to love another:
- choose to trust and encourage the other to trust in their own intuitive guidance
- be someone to offer another the outside permission the mind often seeks to believe in ourselves, especially when our intuitive guidance might not align with how we have been taught things ‘should’ look
GATE 15 / THE GATE OF EXTREMES - MODESTY
The energy of living life in your own unique way. This is embracing the diversity in all ways of life and understanding that magnetism is created when we follow our own unique way of living. It is about a love of humanity in all its forms, free from judgement.
How we can use this to love another:
- practice releasing any judgements on their unique ways of being in the world
- remind them they are most magnetic when they follow the approach to life they are most pulled toward vs. the one society attempts to place upon them
GATE 10 / THE GATE OF THE BEHAVIOR OF THE SELF - TREADING
The energy of self love and living in integrity with who we came here to be.
How we can use this to love another:
- remind the other that you love all parts of them
- be aware of their insecurities, seek to understand them
- teach the other it safe to show up in the world precisely as they desire to do so
- remind them that when they share all parts of self, they give others the permission to do the same, one of the most valuable gifts we can offer
GATE 7 / THE GATE OF THE ROLE OF THE SELF - LEADERSHIP
The energy of guidance, offering the ability to lead when invited to do so.
How we can use this to love another:
- consistently show the other of the ways you learn from them
- remind them of what they have to offer others in the way of guidance
- build their confidence in their ability to lead when required to do so
Dive Deeper.
To learn more about your unique chart, our FOUNDATIONS reports - written by Fiona Bicknell - offer more than 100 pages of insight into the foundational elements of your design. One-to-one private chart readings are also available to be booked at the link below.
