The SHN #25: Human Design, The Gene Keys, and Free Will

Welcome back to The Synergetic Health Newsletter! 

In this edition, we’ll explore Human Design and The Gene Keys.

After that, I’m all over the place with a look into free will, mangos, AG1, nature, flicker, the physiological sigh, and more!

Joe Burt

🧠 Two Holistic Self-Knowledge Systems

I’m sure many of you have heard of the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Enneagram, two personality typology systems. While these two more secular, theoretical systems are fun and useful, I’ve found two other systems to be more comprehensive and relatable.

1) Human Design

Human Design is a practice that combines astrology, Kabbalah, Myers-Briggs, I Ching, quantum physics, and the chakra system to generate an "energetic blueprint" called a BodyGraph. It is based on an individual's exact time, date, and place of birth and is a means of observation and self-knowledge to explore an individual's individual path in life, providing insight into their strengths, challenges, tendencies, and potential paths in life.

I’m not going to do an in-depth post about the system, because there’s already dozens of sites, books, and resources out there you can easily find. I do recommend taking a bit of time to learn the basics, get your individual Bodygraph, and see if this system resonates with you.

Some of my findings through the system gave me a newfound level of peace with my lifepath, which has been and continues to be quite different than the average person.

For example, I am a “Projector” type, which constitutes around 20% of the population. Projectors, unlike the energy-types of Manifestors and Generators (~75% of people), have energy that operates in bursts. “We” are not designed for sustained, long-term work and need periods of rest and recuperation.

The Human Design system suggests that Projectors excel in guiding, managing, and overseeing. We are often found in “guide” roles like teachers, counselors, healers, managers, and coaches. When I read about my type, it made so much sense as to how I view and operate in the world. I do best working in short bursts, struggle to be in social situations all day and night without recharging, and have never loved participating in many laborious tasks.

If you find out your type and also discover you are a projector, you can read my 20 pages of notes from the book “Becoming an Empowered Projector.”

The main difference between the non-energy types (Projectors and Reflectors) and energy-types (Manifestors and Generators) is nicely summed up in the following analogy:

Picture a cup and saucer. Non-energy types need to keep their cup full and give only out of the excess spilled onto the saucer, keeping their energy reserves topped off. Energy types can freely deplete their cup/energy and often need to do so before calling it a day.

If we take this as truth, how could we expect the same levels of output from everybody in school and the workplace? There are individual differences among us which can be seen not just in Human Design but throughout the personality typology systems, as well as in the real world! It does not make sense to treat every person as a carbon copy of one another.

There is way more depth to Human Design that can assist you in knowing how to best make major life decisions, how you interact in the world, where you’re more susceptible to outside influences, and much more.

Here is one of the places you can find your chart.

2) The Gene Keys

The Gene Keys is a system of self-discovery and personal development created by Richard Rudd. His book, released in 2013, draws inspiration from various mystical, spiritual, and scientific traditions, including the I Ching, astrology, Kabbalah, and the Human Design System. The central idea behind the Gene Keys is to provide a map for unlocking the higher purpose and potential within individuals.

Each of the 64 Gene Keys outlined by Rudd has a Shadow, Gift, and Siddhi aspect. The Shadow represents the lower, more challenging expression of that energy, the Gift represents the higher, harmonious expression, and the Siddhi represents the enlightened or transcendent aspect.

Individuals can receive an individualized Hologenetic Profile by mapping the positions of their Sun, Earth, and Venus at the time of their birth onto the Gene Keys. This profile is unique to each person and provides insights into their life path, purpose, and challenges.

You can get your profile here.

While there is value in learning about all 64 Gene Keys, it’s more fun to know how your personal profile reads.

In it, you will learn (according to this system):

Your Life’s Work (What You’re Here to Do)

Joe’s: “You are one of the greatest potential guides of others…”)

Your Evolution (What You’re Here to Learn)

Joe’s: “One of your challenges in life is to step up as a leader…”

Your Radiance (What Keeps You Healthy)

Joe’s: “You have a profound need for solitude and silence in your life….”

Your Purpose (What Deeply Fulfills You)

Joe’s: “You are here to make life easier for others….”

Your Genius, Your Love, Your Prosperity…. and more!

I believe the Gene Keys (as well as Human Design) are much more profound that astrology alone and seem to be uncannily accurate, at least in my case but also in many others who I’ve discussed them with.

Why not take some time to learn about the systems, get your personalized type(s), and see if you can have yourself a nice “a-ha!” moment?

💡 Best Song for Focus?

In a study, this song outperformed a host of other tested songs, reducing stress and anxiety levels by 65%. Its effects extended to lowering of heart rate, lowering of blood pressure, and reduced breathing rate.

𝕏 Thread of the Week

Robert Sapolsky is an American neuroscientist, primatologist, and author. Born on April 6, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York, he is widely recognized for his work in the fields of stress, neurobiology, and primatology.

He’s written a few of the most groundbreaking books in behavioral science, including “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers” and “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst.”

His newest, and likely most anticipated book “Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will,” tackles perhaps the thorniest philosophical question out there: "Do Humans Have Free Will?”

I’m waiting on the Austin Library to have an e-copy for me to borrow in order to read the 528 page behemoth, but here are some standout quotes from Sapolsky that Kyle Kowalski over at Sloww compiled:

"None of us have earned the right to have our needs be considered more important than anyone else's."

"We are nothing, more or less, than the outcome of our luck ... All we are is the outcome of biology interacting with environment in the context of luck."

"There's no circumstance in which blame and punishment make moral sense or are good things in and of themselves, and likewise there's no circumstance in which praise and reward are virtues in and of themselves because nobody earned one or the other."

"The entire damn (criminal justice) system is irrational and medieval and has to be completely abolished because it's premised on the notion that it is okay to punish people for things over which they had no control."

"For most people on this planet, the news that you were not responsible for how it turned out is the most humane damn thing you can tell anyone."

"The only logical conclusion from this is none of us are entitled to anything more than any other human on Earth. There's no person out there whose needs are entitled to less consideration than yours."

You can listen to Dr. Sapolsky talk about his new book on “The Psychology Podcast” with Scott Kaufman and “The Origins Podcast.”

💊 AGworthless?

I met Ryan Carter (@livevitaeuk), an English health coach and nutritionist, in Nicaragua earlier this year. A nice guy who is one of a growing number of decentralized health practitioners out there who challenge conventional thinking. I enjoyed this video where he does a take down on Athletic Greens (AG1), the popular health supplement promoted by seemingly every major health influencer out there.

Read more about AG1’s robust influencer marketing strategy.

*AG1, if you’re reading this, I’m happy to delete this post if you sponsor my newsletter 😂 

🥭 Mangos: I think one of the biggest regrets in my life is having slept on mangos for so long. Here’s a super quick and easy smoothie recipe that I make pretty much daily:

8-12 oz. of milk (preferably raw but OK if not), 1 TBSP raw, organic, local (if possible) honey, 1 scoop quality chocolate whey protein powder, 1.5 cups of frozen mangos, 5g creatine

Add-ons: other fruit (strawberry, banana, etc), coconut flakes, avocado, cacao nibs

🏞️ Nature: The Natural Remedy for Burnout: This article explores the paradox of people reporting increased happiness outdoors but spending less than 5% of waking hours in nature. Burnout, fueled by global competition, constant digital connectivity, and a stressful political environment, affects over 40% of Americans.

Nature is proposed as a remedy, supported by studies showing its positive impact on stress levels, mental faculties, and creativity. Despite evidence, people spend insufficient time in nature, and this article suggests deliberate actions, such as changing screensavers, incorporating nature into routines, taking nature vacations, and considering proximity to nature in relocations.

💡 Flicker in Artificial Lighting a Hidden Health Threat: Flicker refers to the rapid variation in brightness or intensity of light. It is often perceived as a rapid and repetitive change in light intensity, which can be irritating or disruptive to the human eye. This study says that “flicker has been found to influence behavioral and movement patterns, visual systems, and levels of stress,” and that “the impacts of flickering light on natural systems are given urgent attention.”

For a mega deep dive into flicker and its impact on your health, you can check out this article. In it, Alex Fergus talks about what flicker is, how it shows up in different light sources, how humans react to it, the worst types, health hazards associated with exposure, and mitigation tips and avoidance methods for flicker.

🧂 Quick Addition to Your Salty Pre-Workout Drink: A few issues back, I introduced you to a salty pre-workout cocktails consisting of -1.5 teaspoons of a high quality salt, 5g of glycine, mixed in ~25oz of high quality water. I just wanted to add that this drink should be consumed ~90 minutes before your workout session and preferably sipped slowly for ~30 minutes. So don’t just chugg the whole thing as you’re walking into the gym!

💨 The Physiological Sigh: If you listen to Andrew Huberman, you’ve probably already heard about this a dozen times. If you haven’t, this pattern of breathing can be used anytime you’d like to reduce anxiety. Here’s a link to a study done on the technique. It’s accomplished by a double inhale through your nose until full with air a 2x the length exhale out through the mouth. Watch Andy Huberman discuss it:

✔️ That will do it for this time! Hopefully you got some value out of it. If you have any questions/comments/things you’d like to learn more about please don’t hesitate to reach out.

🔗 If you know anyone who loves learning about these types of topics, send them this link!

📰 To read all past newsletters, go here.