About me – Who I am, my personal story
OVERVIEW
My
name is Kip Winsett. . I was introduced to Human Design with my first reading
in 2000 by Chetan Parkyn, author of Human Design: Discover The Person You Were
Born To Be. I was stunned by the level of detail he provided, his own confidence
in his words and the things he described that nobody could have known about me.
Over the next few months I studied the very beginning steps of Human Design with
Chetan while I waited for the next official Ra approved class to begin. I was
very fortunate during that time to also hear Ra speak in person as he began, not
long after that, to spend less and less time in the US.
In early 2001 I travelled form California to Taos, New Mexico where I spent all day every day for a week studing the basice elements of Human Design. The training was done by Zeno and Chaitanyo, who initially brought Ra to the States. For some years they were the only 2 people in the US authorized by Ra to train Human Design Analysts. I was very lucky because Martin Grassingher showed up at that class and joined Zeno in teaching it. Martin was one of Ra's very early students and was part of the European group with whom Ra spent much of his early days after receiveng the Rave. At the end of that week I was an officially licensed professional Human Design Analyst.
After being certified as an analyst I continued to study for a few years with Chetan Parkyn. He was, in my opinion, a brilliant teacher and a gifted speaker able to really connect with his students. His classes were immersive full day events and I often came home bursting with newfound understanding so profound and intense that upon one occasion I was convinced that I had learned everything I had been seeking and would have been content to die at that moment! Over the next several years I listened to countless lectures recorded by Ra, bought all of the written material available at that time, bought software that would create a Human Design chart based on place, date and time of birth
Ultimately my education has come from doing readings for hundreds of people. Very early on I developed an ABC Basics course for teaching Human Design which RA himself approved and which was used online for several years. Over the next several years I wrote a complete in depth description of every part of Human Design reading, including the 4 Circuits, the 9 Centers (both the defined and undefined), the 64 Gates, the 384 Lines, the 7 Authorities, the 5 Types, the 12 Profiles. AS well as the Conscious vs Unconscious elements of a reading so I could be certain I really understood a chart completely both in scope and depth. This enabled me to really see a chart as a "whole" thing not just a bunch of pieces.
In 2006, after years of writing and learning, I realized that I had a foundation that would enable me to make a reading available to people at a very affordable price. I had always thought that lack of money should not stand in anyone's way if they really wanted to learn about themselves. So,. I started developing a computer app that would take all of the information shown in a Rave chart and create a detailed reading from that info which I then put together along with the chart and some further information . Finally In 2007 I had finished the app and I began to offer people a 15 to 20 page reading for only $69.95. This at a time when many analysts were charging $250 or more for a 90 minute reading. I did hundreds more readings and each time I did a reading I learned a little more about the depth of subtlety in Human Design. Over the years I have had people tell me that my $69.95 reading was far superior to the $250 reading they had received. Well, really, any properly trained analyst can give a competent reading in 90 minutes so maybe that was simply due to the fact that for some people it is easier to understand when they have a written version. I am flattered to see that other analysts have recently copied my idea and encouraged to know that more people than ever can afford a reading.
Long before I came to Human Design, I had been a "seeker" of truth and enlightenment The journey has been challenging, rewarding, and frustrating. At times it has seemed easy, at other times it has seemed nigh on impossible. I have studied, philosophy, psychology, religions, (many forms of Christianity, the Native American tradition as well as Eastern traditions such as Hinduism). I've studied Astrology, Tarot, the I Ching, Castaneda, Zen, Sufism, Buddhism, Yoga, Jung, symbolism, meditation, and metaphysics, I have read the Bhagvat Gita, Ouspenksy, Gurdjieff, Kierkegaard, Depak Chopra, and any number of obscure books. It has all been worthwhile – but also disappointing in some ways. What I really wanted was just to understand myself and my world. I wanted to know how it all worked. So often, I felt like I was missing some "key".
Well, in fact I WAS missing some key. I first heard about Human Design in September 2000. I had my first reading in October 2000, my second in November 2000, and began serious study in December 2000. I knew with my first reading that I had found the key I had been seeking for so many years. The years since have been amazing as I have learned more and more how to use this key to become who I am.
MORE DETAILS
I was introduced to Human Design by my chiropractor, Doug. When he first told me about it, I was very skeptical. He described it as a synthesis of Astrology, the I Ching, the Kabalah, and genetics - he claimed it was "amazing".
Having been a "seeker" for more than 38 years, I was very familiar with those systems – particularly the I Ching. Frankly I didn’t believe that this "new system" was likely to offer much of anything I didn’t already know. When Doug told me that there was someone in San Diego who would give me a reading for a few hundred dollars, I was even less interested. I’ve had astrology readings and Tarot readings, etc. And while they weren’t useless they weren’t all that useful either. Typically, I have seen astrological readings that give information such as: "Assuming you have brothers or sisters, you are likely to have an especially close, intuitive bond with one of them. One would expect you to have several brothers and sisters" Now this is the kind of information that could easily apply to millions of people and it’s kind of hedged with words such as ‘likely’ and ‘expect’. In point of fact the person to whom this "astrological" information was given has only one brother - with whom he is not very close. This is NOT the kind of information that I find satisfying – even if it were true. I want concrete information that will help me to know myself better, and enable me to become myself more fully. I want information that I can experiment with and test.
So, while a few hundred dollars may not be a LOT of money, I really don’t like to spend that much money and not be really satisfied. I mean heck, I’d rather spend that much money on a really good meal that I know will leave me feeling VERY satisfied.
At that time, I was seeing Doug every week for an injury sustained in a minor car accident, and each time I saw him, he would mention Human Design in glowing terms. One day, Doug told me had been studying Human Design for some months, and he offered to give me a ‘student level reading’ for $20. Well, that didn’t seem like much of a risk – more of an experimental lark at the cost of a coffee shop meal. At that time Doug was a relative newcomer to Human Design and while he was able to "read" my chart it wasn’t the kind of in-depth analysis that I now know Human Design can provide. Even so, I was, yes, "amazed".
I was SO amazed at what this "student" told me that I immediately scheduled a reading with Chetan who was teaching Human Design in San Diego. Yes, it was for the "few hundred dollars" reading. Was it amazing? Astonishing is perhaps a better word. He described to me in some detail specific behaviors that are a subtle part of my makeup. It seemed impossible that anyone could know such things about me – they are internal strategies – not the kinds of behaviors that would be identified simply by observing me. None of this "you are very social and are likely to derive great satisfaction by having a large circle of friends."
Compare that to this brief excerpt from the reading Chetan gave me. "You are a person who is highly organized, who can explain things in a very logical way if need be, somebody who will always take the lead if he sees it is really necessary, and somebody who somehow just can cut through things very easily if he is called on to do that without necessarily needing to explain to himself how that comes about." These are very specific behaviors and not ones that are likely to be evident when first meeting me.
Three weeks later I took a weekend seminar in Human Design from Chetan (at a cost equal to several marvelous dinners). Each night of that weekend I would come home filled with an incredible sense of wonder that finally after so many years of seeking real knowledge I had found it. The key was given to me. The secrets were being revealed. I would talk with my wife about it and we would look at various facets of our 25 year marriage using the knowledge of Human Design. So many little confusions about our relationship were now so clear. It WAS amazing!
There was so much information in Human Design and I was like a beggar at a banquet. I just couldn’t get enough. The information was so profound and far-reaching. After I completed the basic class, I took an at-home study class, followed a few months later by a very intensive week-long seminar in Taos. Many more classes and seminars followed, along with hours of study and doing readings for friends and family, and in November 2001 I was licensed as a Human Design Analyst.
As I began to understand this incredible system better, I also came to understand myself and others in my life so ,uch better and I experienced several breakthroughs in personal growth. Behaviors that I had been unable to resist lost much of their compulsive force. I felt angry less often, and even in the midst of anger I had a place to stand that lessened its hold on me. For all of my life I had felt compelled to stand my ground in any conflict – regardless of the cost. I would just keep going, insisting on a resolution, unable to walk away. The first time my wife and I had an argument following the basic class, I was actually able to do just that. I simply walked away, got in the car, drove to the store, picked up some groceries and came home. The conflict wasn’t finished, but those few minutes of reflection enabled me to break our typical pattern of escalation, and the conflict was soon resolved – with much less difficulty than usual.
Light was shed on a number of my behaviors. There was no judgement about these behaviors, just clear observations. The more I studied, the more I began to see that these behaviors were inter-linked.
Some of the behaviors and qualities were obvious and some were very subtle. In the reading Chetan gave me, he mentioned that I came into this world with an incarnation cross called the Vessel of Love. As he described it he told me that in this lifetime I consistently experience and exude a sense of love for humanity in general. This was quite at odds with most of my experience of myself. I am not a glad hander, a hail fellow well met, definitely NOT an "I love you brother", type of person. Not at all. I had a hard time with this. Over the months that followed, though, I began to understand what this meant. I observed myself talking, thinking, and reading. I paid attention to what I was interested in, what side I favored in various political issues and I began to see that underneath my persona, my façade, I am, always concerned for the wellbeing of humanity in general. Yet I had always perceived myself as being somewhat apart from it all. I’d always had a bit of a sharp edge in my dealing with others, and pretty high expectations of how they SHOULD behave. It was hard for me to admit that I really did care about others. Oh, I could say the words, but I rarely experienced the feeling itself. As Human Design helped me to understand others, to accept them as they are, I found that I was much more comfortable admitting that I did care about others.
I remember one epiphany in particular because it was so simple and so obvious. I was thinking about somebody I know pretty well but whose behavior I quite often cannot fathom (a polite way of saying I don’t like it). I remember thinking to myself "Why is he like that?" The answer fell into the silence of my mind like a whale falling into a pond. "Because that’s the way he is!" Well, of course this is obvious, but the acceptance and understanding that accompanied the answer was immense. Suddenly I had to need to change him, to disagree with him, or to judge him. I am now able to respect this person, give him room, understand him, and even, sometimes, enjoy his company.
During the year that followed my licensing, I continued studying Human Design, took more classes, listened to more tapes, and read more. I get things pretty quickly, but Human Design is a little different. By the time I was licensed, I knew the language, the concepts, and the mechanics. I could look at a person’s chart and pass on specific pieces of information, sort of like reciting the multiplication table. People found it useful, but I knew that I wasn’t giving them the whole picture. I concentrated my studies on putting it all together.
My understanding of the system progressed as I began to be able to see the "whole picture". We aren’t just little packages of discrete behaviors, we are each a whole person, and every element of our design affects every other element. They are all working together to make us who and how we are.
For me, the best way to learn Human Design is to really focus on yourself, studying your own chart, observing your own behavior, testing the information, watching for the subtleties. As I became more aware of various behavior strategies in my design I slowly began to see the "continuity" of it all. I could see how my profile influenced most of my decision making. I could see how my Type dictated not just what I would do it, but how I would do it.
I also began to understand not just the specific behaviors that are part of my genetic makeup, but just as importantly, to understand how often and in what ways I am influenced by others to behave as someone I’m not. My own design leaves me very open and sensitive to the feelings, the stress, and the competitiveness of others. For all of my life I had simply assumed that whatever I felt or experienced was produced by me. Because I had decided early in life to be a "genuine" person, to express myself, I had often acted on impulses from within that were actually the product of whoever I happened to be with. I had no choice about it because I was unaware of it.
As an example, I have always been pretty competitive. Here is another excerpt from my own reading from Chetan " The fact that somebody caught a big fish and you caught one bigger, you know, just let them have it, let them have the record. You don't have to get involved in that stuff, because it'll always come back in your face in a way, having to prove things." I had already observed in my life that winning quite often didn’t offer much of a payoff in fact it often seemed that people resented it, but I felt compelled to do it. I still sometimes compete, but I usually do it with awareness, from having made the choice and from knowing that I don’t have to do it. The compulsion no longer owns me. Now there are many people who are here to compete. For them it is natural - a part of their design - but not for me.
So, this is a little bit of my own story with Human Design. It has provided, and continues to provide, an ongoing revelation into who and how I am, and into who and how others. Am I now perfect? No. Am I always in a state of complete happiness? No. Do I experience anxiety, stress, conflict? Yes. The difference is that now I KNOW what is going on. I understand it. I have a place to stand outside it all. I no longer become the anxiety, or the stress, or the conflict. And, I have some knowledge of what strategies I can use that will work best for me – because they ARE me