7 Ways You Can Nourish Your Container As A Projector
Human Design, unearthing projectorhood
When I first learned that I was a Projector in Human Design, one of the first few things I began to refine and review in my life right away was my relationship with rest.
In my article on “ Normalizing Rest As A Projector”, I shared that one of the missions of an empowered projector resides in our ability to redefine our relationship with rest and guide the other energy types (Manifestors, Generators, Manifesting Generators and Reflectors) to do the same. But before embarking on this mission, one has to first begin the journey with themselves.
I coined this term “Nourishing my container” as a daily intention and reminder for myself in my daily sadhana. It wasn’t something that made sense to me right away, neither is it foolproof right now. Let me begin by dismantling what is a container and what does nourishment means.
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YOUR CONTAINER
A huge part of our conditioning as human beings involved being disconnected with our physical bodies. Most of us were taught to suppress and bury our emotions instead of expressing them. Most of us were told to visit the clinic/pharmacy for some medications the moment we experienced some bodily ailments instead of looking deeper into our diet, suppressed emotions and our relationship with rest. Most of us did not learn about self-soothing at a young age. Televisions, the internet, and constant social media stimulation perpetuate our false sense of identity with showing up online and perpetuate the avoidance dilemma and emotional disconnect through our adolescent and teenage years. Symptoms of fatigue, anxiety and stress are signs of disconnection with our physical bodies. Ask a teenager nowadays about what self-soothing is, or if they learned about mental health in school, the answer would most likely be a confused expression and/or a sharp “no”. It is only in recent years that self-healing, mental health and traumas became broader topics of discussion on social media streams.
As we grow older, with increasing commitments and responsibilities, we allowed the busyness of life to take over and forgot how to truly get in touch with our physical bodies. We ignored the earlier signs when there was a tightness in our chest or when there was a throbbing migraine. We ignored our bodies when burnout surfaced as bodily ailment. When panic attacks arise in our daily lives, we are confused and clueless about what went wrong. We ate and drank out of social obligations rather than listening to what our physical body truly needs, we jump into saying yes(s) without hesitations when our body held a clear, squeamish visceral no… Most importantly, we have assumed that our body was just this outer shell rather than the biggest wisdom keeper it really is.
Our physical body holds far more energetic wisdom than one can ever imagine.
Our minds often race ahead into the future, or replay patterns of the past, but our bodies are in the present moment. Look at it an extension of your soul. This is the container that houses your soul. Begin to observe how everything interlocks with one another. It is always sending out energetic cues and clues to what you really need at this moment.
Trust this wisdom and reclaim that coherence.
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PROJECTOR AND THE DISCONNECT
As one of the most deeply conditioned energy types in the world, it is no surprise that most projectors spent a large part of their life or always felt disconnected from their bodies. I remember the countless moments I ignored my body’s call for energetic boundaries and rest. I remember the internal dialogue of how I allowed the burnout to happen because I have to, I ought to, Everyone’s doing it, I should be able to handle/complete/achieve it too.
Living in a world that is largely curated for energy aka sacral beings- Generator-driven and Manifesting Generator-inspired, most of us have experienced years of conditioning by our society where we unconsciously attached our self-worth with the amount of work and tasks we accomplished. Most of us would agree to have to put ourselves through the just do it! or the 9-5 work life mindset at some point in our lives. Chronic busyness became a reason why we ignored our emotions as we had no time to consider them. It is inevitable that when triggers or difficult emotions/behaviors manifest in our physical reality, we struggle to move through them, further impeding our ability to regulate our nervous system.
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NOURISHMENT
“Nourishment” is a word derived from the word “Nourish”. Nourish simply means to sustain, to provide one the ability to grow and be healthy. The word is often referred to in relation to food. In relationships and communities, Nourish represents to promote or to build up. It can also mean to cherish, foster in an abstract way.
When we nourish our container, we open ourselves to selfhood and wholeheartedness; to love ourselves on a deeper, energetic level and in a radical way. We also develop a deepened sense of self, resilience and empowerment that one can only fulfill to themselves. When we master and refine our body’s natural attunement to rest, we help other energy types to forge theirs too. When we nourish our container, we learn to work smartly with our physical and energetic body rather than working against it. In an energetic sense, view the varieties of nourishing your container as a way to deepen and reconnect with your body, a re-learning and a de-conditioning process. Below are 7 ways a projector can begin to nourish their container. Do note that they can be applied to other energy types too. As usual, take only what resonates with your soul.
7 WAYS ONE CAN NOURISH THEIR CONTAINER AS A PROJECTOR
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REGULAR BODY SCANS AND ENERGETIC CHECK-INS
In Human Design, we are designed with our own unique decision-making factory also known as our Authority. Depending on what your Authority is, we each make our best big decisions differently. (A topic I will broadly discuss in greater detail in another article) However, just because we are not sacral beings (or have the visceral yes/no from the gut as other sacral beings do), it does not necessarily mean that we should not listen to our bodies. Our energetic body is directly linked to our physical body and as we have learned from above, it is a reaction that presents itself at the moment. Beyond our Authority, it is important to cultivate coherence with our physical bodies, and we can begin with regular body scans and energetic check-ins. Emotions always come up as a bodily feeling, and when unexpressed/suppressed and blocked, they can remain stuck in one of the meridian points of our physical bodies.
In somatic psychotherapy/healing, it focuses on using a body-based therapy to heal our body on a cellular level. It is based on scientific research that our body stores memories, experiences and emotions on a cellular level. The approach is based on the idea that cognitive approaches alone are unable to help individuals heal and release when deeply rooted belief systems are locked within the physical body. It focuses on utilizing body awareness as a powerful tool for healing.
One of the helpful techniques is through regular body scans of your body. Whenever one feels a heavy emotion, begin by asking yourself,
“Which part of my body holds tension or constriction right now?”
“Are there any tingling sensation or tightness in my body when I feel this?”
“Which thoughts/memories and behaviors of mine invoke a sense of calmness, peace and feeling of love?”
“What can I do to expand the feeling of it?”
Body scans allow us to develop a relationship with each part of our physical body in a compassionate and non-judgemental way, anchoring the experience with awareness and curiosity. One effective way of a body scan is through yoga nidra.
As a projector in Human Design, our open/undefined sacral center indicates that the life force and creation energy is not something consistent, or that we have access to all the time in our life. This means that we are designed to work for shorter periods with plenty of rest in between. Of course, because of our deeply penetrating and absorbing aura, we may expand, amplify and absorb sacral energy as our own when we are interacting with sacral beings. But we are inapt of expending this sacral energy in a sustainable and enduring way for a long duration. Gone are those conflicting old days, and here are the days where I all embracing-ly explain to others that “I have a more limited energy than you do and that is okay too.” Energetic check-in is directly correlated to refining our body’s relationship with rest.
Acknowledging our limited energy itself opens up a gentle spaciousness and unlocks an expansive reserve of how we can utilize them wisely. Regular energetic check-in and clean-up throughout the day have helped me manage and harness my limited energies. I would often check in with myself on how I felt throughout the day. Tuning in to the guidance and wisdom of my energetic body has been the most revelating to me as a projector and feminine being.
How is my Projector reserve doing? Is rest what I need right now? What does my physical body feel like right now? What is my energetic body trying to tell me? How can I meet myself as I am right now? Is there anything I could say no to right now? How can I rest right now?
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2. HEALTHY SELF-TALK
Our inner world shapes our outer world.
Our inner thoughts/ visualizations are the spark for every manifestation in our outer reality. A big part of nourishing our container begins cognitively by first rewiring our conscious mind. Only with awareness and mindfulness can we proceed forward to further nourishing our nervous system. Only when we couple both of these can we step into our unique energy blueprint and nourish our aura. Start by evaluating your usual self-talk when a negative thought/behavior/experience is present.
Is it disempowering and limiting? Are there thoughts rooted from past emotional wounds/past experiences and/or are they part of trauma bonding? Are you attaching your self-worth and identity to external influences/reactions/experiences? How can I refine the way I speak to myself? What are the ways I can begin healthier self-talks?
Consider journaling on a notebook to keep track of your inner thoughts. Consider giving meditation a go if you have not tried it before. The idea is to find habits not to mute the mental chatter, for it is impossible. The idea is to hold our mental chatter with grace, compassion and non-judgment and simply let it flow. Invite, witness, acknowledge and practice non-identity.
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One of the biggest tools in my de-conditioning and healing journey is the practice of energetic mastery through the tool of discernment. I often share and toss this word around in my articles. I cannot emphasize the importance of it in nourishing our container, expanding ourselves to selfhood, wholeheartedness and energetic mastery so we can step into our fullest expression as a projector (or any other energy type).
Discernment is the ability to distinguish what resonates for others may not be for you. It is the ability to hold calm objectivity and keen observations through all forms of energetic interactions and the ability to formulate your own. It is tuning into the dissonance in your energetic body even when the facts and/or if everybody disagrees.
Discernment is important even with friends, family, coaches, and especially on social media, etc. Social media is a powerful source of ideas, knowledge, and inspiration—bridging and connecting us closer than ever before in this Aquarian Age. Yet, it also consists of a melting pot of individualized truths, distortions, unfounded projections, fabrications and facades. We can be so readily conditioned by what we expose ourselves to on a daily basis.
My invitation for you as a projector is to always nurture your eye for discernment. Even with reading this article, or any other HD reader’s infographic/post on Instagram — take what resonates and feels right in your body and leave what doesn’t. It is in our energetic matrix to absorb from the world, but knowing how to be a sieve and not a sponge is important. Adopt a detached objectivity approach and hold wisdom impassively to formulate your own wisdom and truth to guide others. Experiment with it and curate your own decision through exercising your Authority. You have ALL the wisdom you ever need my dearest projector.
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4. ENERGETIC CAPACITY AND STRATEGY
An important part of nourishing our container requires respecting our energetic capacity as an individual. Besides entraining our mind cognitively, energetic mastery tools and frequent body scans, we need to be proactive in making sure our energetic capacity is respected and not compromised.
Ever since I have learned that I am a projector in Human Design, the biggest validation was finally forgiving and wholeheartedly embracing myself for my limited daily energy. The next actionable step was to reclaim my relationship with rest and respect my non-sacral energetic birthright. This could be implemented by saying no to overworking our body, not taking far too many commitments and responsibilities knowing that my energy would not be able to sustain through it all, not multi-tasking, prioritizing my alone time, taking regular pauses in my work and creating space for more intentional rest. You can read more about my 8 energetic non-negotiables as a projector over here.
In Human Design, the strategy with our energy type offers us a unique way in which we should interact with the world. It allows us to create more flow, expansiveness and authenticity when we step into it in our lives. Listening to our strategy is fundamental when we begin our deconditioning process to reclaim our essence and to live our genius. Most of us would find that the strategy of our energy type is the most difficult to execute and implement in our personal and professional lives. This is because we have been conditioned in our homogenized world to behave and interact as our society has expected and conditioned us thus far.
For projectors like us, our strategy is to wait for the invitation. Waiting for the invitation for big decisions, especially in career, relationships, and geographical moves. It is important to spend the rest of our time cultivating, deepening and acquiring more knowledge on things that we are interested in to obtain mastery of it. It is through this practice we obtain our value of wisdom and awareness. When we lean into and act intentionally out of our strategy and unique authority, we naturally open ourselves up to selfhood and wholeheartedness in our lives; to love ourselves on a deeper, energetic level.
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5. FREQUENT GROUNDING + SOCIAL MEDIA DETOX
Spending time in Nature is extremely restorative to decompress the energies that we absorb from the day. Whenever we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or deeply fatigued, being in the space of Nature helps draw awareness and healing power to our lower chakras. It also anchors us in the present moment. Grounding helps calibrate our nervous system and draw positive electrons from our earth to our bodies.
There is no specific time of day that is best suited for grounding. It is best done when we are directly in contact with Earth. Find ways to be shoes-free and walk freely on the grass/sand/soil as often as possible. Otherwise, being in the space of Nature works as well. Take a morning/evening hike without your phone. Take a moment to lay on the grass after walking your dog. Put limits on your social apps during your daily downtime to limit distractions and disturbance. Use this time to supplement your social media detox.
My personal favorite way of grounding is swimming/floating in the ocean and walking barefoot on the beach. As I live next to the beach at the moment, it is the easiest option for me. I also enjoy grounding meditations with my feet flat on the floor too. If you live in a city, find moments to include Nature as often as you can. Be intentional in practicing grounding as part of your life.
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6. SLOW DOWN
A large part of our societal conditioning manifests itself through chronic “busyness” in our personal and professional lives. As a projector, do you remember a time when you worked double hard as others just because you felt it was morally right? Or just because everyone is doing it too? Do you feel bad if you don’t? Do you feel a deep sense of projector bitterness right after?
Earlier in my entrepreneurship days, I have spent a great deal of trial and error (line 3 here) to foolproof my process in productivity. I have spent a huge part of my life battling these inner conundrums and it took my understanding as a Human Design projector, unearthing my projectorhood and years of continued and consistent practice to embrace that these thoughts no longer resonate with my energetic capacity and my values anymore. I do not have to wear the badge of “busyness”. Most of all, it is okay to let go, it is okay to slow down.
To avoid burnouts, anxiety, strain in relationships, and a backfire of productivity, we need to take time regularly to slow down. This is a time for a recharge, to reboot our mental well-being and bring our awareness inwards. It took me a long time to embrace the gift of true slowing down as part of nourishing my container as a projector. When we do slow down, we find ourselves clearer and calmer, and more in tune in showing up with our gifts to assist other energy types, We hold a more responsive rather than reactive demeanor while interacting with others.
Slowing down is less about our intentions and goals towards what needs to be accomplished but more about we treat ourselves and others.
One can read more about my “8 Tips On Mastering The Art Of Slowing Down” here.
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7. SLEEP AND DAILY ALONE TIME
Sleep is important for everyone regardless of your energy type.
However, because of our penetrating aura and undefined sacral center, we are constantly absorbing and amplifying the sacral energy even when we are sleeping. It is often shared that projectors are recommended to sleep alone to properly decompress their energies during the day for restorative rest. I do believe that while it is ideal that projectors sleep with other non-sacrals beings like manifestors, reflectors and fellow projectors, we can still sleep with sacral beings. As much as my sleep is better when I am alone, I do notice that when my sacral being partner used up his energy for the day and went to bed, tired and intentional to sleep I sleep really well. Unlike them, projectors are always recommended to lay in bed first before feeling tired to be ready for bed. This way, we ensure our energetic body decompresses the energy we have taken up from the day. If I have flatmates, I also ensure that my bed is not located in close proximity to other people’s beds too, so to avoid absorbing/amplifying their aura at night.
Lastly, although dependent on the circuitries in your chart, daily alone time is imperative for nourishing our container as a projector. Especially as sensitive beings like us, being in a crowded place and constant interaction can be overwhelming and exhausting for our physical and energetic bodies. Human Design offers us a glimpse of our energetic blueprint, it illuminates how our aura interacts with the world. This interaction is all mechanics and invisible, but deeply felt in our body. Being in your own space as a projector allows you to deepen your clarity, wisdom and allow us to cultivate and magnetize the right invitations so we can use our gifts to guide.
One of my biggest callings since awakening as a projector is to serve other projectors like yourself. I have once felt overwhelmed, clueless and alone too. De-conditioning and stepping into our projectorhood can feel confusing at times. Do check out my other free resources in “Unearthing Projectorhood”.
My free resource, “Projector’s 3 Agents of Change Guidebook” is designed to support projectors like you in becoming and feeling empowered as we decondition and embark on our projectorhood journey. In this 30+ page toolkit, I share my tried and tested ( line 3 here) personal in depth-expansive practices to assist you in activating your projector divinity today. Read more about it here.
If you are looking for something physical and tangible to support you in your deconditioning and projectorhood journey, my Your Companion 2024 Planner is the world’s first-ever Human Design energy type specific planner. It is currently available only for Human Design projectors. Besides being a year, month and weekly planner, it contains a comprehensive guide about Human Design catered to projectors with a focus on practical integration and embodiment.
It is suitable for any Human Design projectors who are at the beginning of their de-conditioning journey or have been in their experiment for a while. It is designed to instill self-accountability and empowerment for one to take practical actions toward a life of authenticity, fulfillment, ease and Projector success. Read more about it here.
Lastly, if you feel called to engage in my frequency and have an in-depth Becoming Empowered Human Design session or a Projectorhood Uplevel Session, explore my offerings here.
The Projector Remembrance is a 12-week, small group, live Projector mentoring container, centering around the technology of Human Design and Neuroscience.
TPR is for soul-led Projectors who are serious about stepping into their Projectorhood with a focus on community, embodiment and practical integration through differentiated and group support.
If you are looking to wholeheartedly uplevel and align yourself with your unique Projector divinity, and hold the readiness to usher change and live a different reality, I welcome you to join us in this sacred container.
Explore here.
Click below for other “Unearthing Projectorhood” resources:
My Reflections On My Human Design Chart As A 1/3 Self-Projected Projector
10 Gentle Reminders For Projectors To Thriving In A Sacral-Dominant World
Staying In The Familiar As A Projector
Read till the end but clueless what is Human Design? Wondering what your Human Design is? Find out your energy type over here.
All my love. Sat Nam,
Sylvia
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I am Sylvia— the founder, writer and human design reader of Arawme. “Arawme” is basically, a raw me put together.
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