Levels of Understanding for Human Design Profiles

The story of how I came up with this framework is actually a really great example of how the framework operates. When I first got to college, I realized that I didn’t know how to take tests. I was getting great grades on all assignments, and I felt like I knew the content really well. But I was bombing pretty much every exam. So I decided to learn how to learn and recall information better. I taught myself how to learn from others and better recall information. This was one of the first topics I researched around psychology and human behavior.

After I understood how memory and recall worked, I was able to start studying in a way that would actually allow me to retain what I was learning and easily recall it when I needed it later. This helped me start testing at higher and higher percentages on things like nursing entrance exams. I got offered tutoring positions by professors, since anyone who studied with me did phenomenally on exams.

Here we have a clear example of the 6/2 profile learning and integrating information. I wanted to get better at taking tests so I needed to understand how test taking and memory recall worked. I needed to understand how to learn. After I understood how it worked and implemented it myself, I was able to start teaching it to others and embody the role model energy of the line six.

The unconscious mind is learning all the time. It filters and processes over 99% of the information that we receive. The unconscious memory, however, is not associated with language and words the same way that the conscious mind is. Recall and accessing the information requires it to be translated into language, thoughts, and words. This requires a connection between the conscious and unconscious sides of the mind.

Your profile shows the primary roles of the conscious and unconscious minds. It shows you the quality of information that you best hold in your unconscious mind, as well as the format you need the information to be in for conscious access. Knowing this allows you to create a bridge between the information, an association, and recall information even better.

The framework I am going to share is something of my own creation. This is based on a correlation that I see in a few sources of information, and I am presenting them to you together. I do not have the equipment, the level of education, or the voluntary test subject to run any sort of clinical trial and prove this information. I also don’t have the desire to do so. Please keep in mind that this framework is just how my brain categorizes and organizes this information, and does not have any scientific or official connections to the human design system.

The two things I am blending are the human design profiles and the six levels of understanding. The six levels of understanding is a framework that shows the levels of depth and mastery that someone can have over a certain type of information. 

The first level is knowledge.

The second level is understanding.

The third level is application.

The fourth level is analysis.

The fifth level is evaluation.

The sixth line is creation.

Let’s use the example of a nursing student learning to start an IV. The first level of understanding is knowledge. What is an IV? 

The second level is understanding. How does it get started, how does it function, how do you stop it? 

The third level is application. The physical act of learning how to start an IV yourself. 

In the fourth step of analysis, we are beginning to look at the information in other people. This is where you will start to play with different ways to do it. You might start watching others to see how they start IVs or ask someone how to make it pinch less. 

The fifth stage is evaluation. This is where you start to recognize while watching others what they do well and what they don’t do well. You understand the procedure and the patient's reaction well enough to know if someone is doing it well or not. Here you start to make theories about what types of techniques work well, what kinds of nurses know those techniques, is it personal or where the nurses learned that impacts their ability to do this well or not. 

The sixth and final stage is creation. Creation is the act of invention. You see the process so well that you see what is missing, and you can create it. This would be seeing a pattern in IVs being difficult to start because of patient anxiety and pain. So, you suggest adding a step of applying a numbing cream to the skin before the needle stick so that you can take the pressure off the nurse to do it quickly, and it takes away the pain for the patient.

My theory is that the way you learn is associated with your unconscious profile line, and the way you recall information is through the conscious profile line. The unconscious line is the format you want to make sure you have information in when you are learning. As you practice recalling the information, you go through the process of changing it from the unconscious line to the conscious line.

Let me explain.

The six lines in the human design profiles correlate strongly to the six levels of understanding. The profile lines describe the roles you play consciously and unconsciously. It tells you who you play as the student, taking in all of the information, and the teacher, who is recalling information from inside of you and bringing it into language. This essentially shows you how you remember it and how you recall it.

In human design, the line one is about building a foundation and finding facts. Line one is known as the researcher, and likes to build a solid understanding of facts. If this is your unconscious line, then you remember information best in its original format. If this is your conscious line, then sharing those facts with others, talking about what you found and learned is part of how you share it. As a learning style, look for the facts and the foundation of the information. As a teaching style, share the facts and fun things that you have learned with others.

The line two is known as the hermit, or the natural, in human design. This is about contemplation, inner reflection, and correlates to the understanding level of the six levels of understanding. As a learning style, you tend to be a little passive no matter what your variables say. You understand things easily. As a teaching style, others will learn from watching you do it. You hold an unconscious understanding and turning it into words can be challenging sometimes.

The line three is the martyr, or experimenter, and correlates to the application level of the six levels of understanding. This is about getting your hands dirty and trying it for yourself; hands on experience and personal application of the information. As a learning style, you gotta get your hands dirty. As a teaching style, you teach others how to apply the information for themselves, and can guide them through the process of trying something new even when it may be uncomfortable.

The line four is the networker and opportunist. This correlates to the analysis level of the six levels of understanding. It deals with observing the information in others, sharing your information through opportunities and connections. As a learning style, watching others and having someone walk you through the process is helpful. As a teaching style, you like to create opportunities in the way you share. Show others what you see, and use lots of examples.

The line five is the heretic or the hero archetype. This correlates to the evaluation level of the six levels of understanding. This is about watching the trends in others, and calling out the common problem. As a heretic, you are willing to share unpopular opinions when you know it will ultimately help others. As a learning style, watching others and being able to judge if they are doing it well or not helps you to grasp the concepts. As a teaching style, you offer solutions, answers, and you solve problems. Point out the problem, and share your solution.

The line six is the role model and educator. This correlates to the creation level of the six levels of understanding. This is about embodiment of the information and going where nobody has gone before. As a learning style, you do well with role models. Find people who expand you and who utilize the information the way you want to use it. As a teaching style, you are here to create new things and share them with others through personal embodiment and education.

Interested in a beginners guide to interpreting the details of your human design chart? Check out DECODED! 

Interested in a nervous system regulation tool based in Human Design, Rapid Resolution Therapy, with a dash of magic? Check out MESSY!