HDxLiberation: A Human Design Podcast

Season 2, Ep. 5: Embracing Winter's Wisdom and Meeting Our Inner Child

• Courtney Napier, Andrea Ward Berg • Season 2 • Episode 5

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In this episode of the Human Design and Liberation podcast, hosts Andrea and Courtney discuss the impact of recent astrological transits, particularly the Mars retrograde, and its effects on their personal lives. The conversation includes reflections on winter's metaphorical and literal constraints and the emotional challenges posed by the 47th administration. The hosts emphasize the importance of emotional regulation, community building, imagination, and understanding historical roots. They also delve into inner child work, presenting a practical 'sync up' exercise to connect the inner child with the inner being for better alignment and resilience. The episode aims to provide tools for personal well-being and collective liberation.

Resources

  1. Dr. Becky's teaching of being a sturdy leader for our kids inspired us to be a sturdy leader for our inner child.
  2. We use Richard Beaumont's The Daily Impact newsletter to keep up with Human Design transits.
  3. Liz Hays is an energy intuitive specializing in inner child work and one of Andrea's mentors!
  4. Teacher and spiritualist Abraham Hicks is another incredible guide that teaches about the Inner Being.
  5. Dick Schwartz is an author, systemic family therapist, and the creator of the Internal Family System Institute
  6. Learn about how to build community defense networks from Jo Lornez of The Progressivists

Contact and Support:

For more insights and to join the conversation, follow the HDxLiberation podcast on social media at @hdxliberation on Instagram, subscribe to their YouTube channel, and join the Liberation Lab on Substack for exclusive content and community benefits.

Andrea Ward Berg:

Hi, I'm Andrea.

Courtney Napier:

Hey y'all, this is Courtney and welcome to the Human Design and Liberation podcast.

Andrea Ward Berg:

This is a space where we explore how human design and liberation theology intersect with the past, present, and future.

Courtney Napier:

With the intent of sharing the beauty and pain of the human experience to encourage you in your liberation journey.

Andrea:

Yay.

Courtney:

Hey, girl.

Andrea:

We're back! Hey love, how are you?

Courtney:

Oh, how am I? Mmm. That's a big question. We need a warm up question.

Andrea:

Right?

Courtney:

What are you drinking?

Andrea:

I'm drinking some decaf coffee.

Courtney:

Oh, I am not drinking nodrinking decaf coffee

Andrea:

You're drinking regular coffee.

Courtney:

Regular coffee with chocolate. I started using chocolate, um, protein powder in it. It's really good.

Andrea:

yum. I think I'm coming up on three years off caffeine.

Courtney:

Oh my goodness.

Andrea:

Yeah, in May. In May, it'll be three years.

Courtney:

Well, good for you! Okay. Back to how am I? I'm good.

Andrea:

Yeah.

Courtney:

I am actually Feeling pretty good. It has been energetically personally really intense

Andrea:

Yeah.

Courtney:

Um,

Andrea:

Yeah. Well, this Mars retrograde is happening in your, it started in your first house and now it's in your 12th house behind the scenes. So

Courtney:

hmm.

Andrea:

Makes all the sense. Makes all the sense. I know it was in my third house, started in my third house, and now it's in my second house. So, good times, times good times.

Courtney:

Yeah. But I'm, I'm actually good. I'm actually really good. I, I walked yesterday. It's like nice enough finally in the South to like be outside more, at least for me.

Andrea:

it is in Atlanta too.

Courtney:

Mm hmm. Yeah.

Andrea:

I mean, I think in most of the country, like we're recording this on January 30th. I think that cold snap has finally moved out. I feel I told Ryan this morning, I'm like, don't get too comfortable because it's Atlanta. It's going to freeze again. Okay.

Courtney:

It's it's still January still winter.

Andrea:

we are through like the long haul the quote unquote long haul I say that because you know I lived in Erie and so it was cold for many many months at a time. Um, the, you know, we're through I think the longest part for those of us in the south.

Courtney:

Yes, we, yes, exactly. Like once we get on the other side of February, I feel like, yeah, fully on the road.

Andrea:

I mean, it could still snow in March, but,

Courtney:

It's still snow in March?

Andrea:

It'll be like a, it'll be like a day

Courtney:

Right.

Andrea:

or two of cold and then it'll melt. So,

Courtney:

Right, right, right. Oh my God. I feel like that could be the name of this episode. It's still winter. That felt, that felt strong when you said it.

Andrea:

yeah, yeah. And I think that kind of speaks to so many of the topics that we wanted to talk about today because I think, uh, winter. Seasonally is, is an uncomfortable season, you know, um, it is uncomfortable by design,

Courtney:

yeah,

Andrea:

you know, like the breaking down of things in winter is what creates nourishment for what's going to seed in spring. Um.

Courtney:

The constraint of winter.

Andrea:

Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. And, like, the surrender of winter, of, like, doing everything you can to prepare in the autumn, in the harvesting season, and then you just have to, like, it out.

Courtney:

Yep. Yep. Once that curtain is called, it is called, you know?

Andrea:

Yeah.

Courtney:

Yeah.

Andrea:

I wonder if we're in a winter as a country as well in the U. S. Um, we might have to marinate on that. Um, one of the things that I wanted to make sure that we talk about today, aside from, like, just how bananas these transits are, um, but really just speak to all of our inner children that are freaking out. And a piece of that I do think is the winter, right? Um, You know how cold it's been, but also just like energy seems to have contracted and disappeared. Right. And there's this part of us that is conditioned to think that we're meant to be in summer all the time that just really starts to lose its mind. Like, um, something's wrong. We're going to die, like really existential fears get triggered in winter and then pair that with really gnarly transits and, um, some really, really, really policies of the new administration. And you just really have a recipe for fight, flight, freeze, and fawn.

Courtney:

Yeah, absolutely. And also even from a human design perspective, those transits and how they're showing up in our, um, charts, like, For those of us who, because I'm a generator and so of course, like a time of like constraint and the inability to the inability to use as much energy as easily as freely as I could in other seasons.

Andrea:

Hmm. Or that you're used to.

Courtney:

Or that I'm used to is one thing, but I think a lot of us like projectors, manifestors, even reflectors are because of the transits, you might have a defined root right now. You might have a defined cycle right now. You might have a defined emotional center right now. I think a lot of us have a defined emotional center right now. And so those, those motors that you don't even typically live with are now on during this. Constraining. Yeah. Surrendering. Period. And so just the level of discomfort right now, the level of like strain is, is is high.

Andrea:

Yeah. So so for those of us with undefined emotional centers, you and I both have an undefined emotional center. So for anybody listening, if you know your chart, it's the little triangle facing left on the right side of the chart. Um, it was defined for all of December, maybe even some of November, um, up until yesterday or the day before. Yeah. Yeah. When I texted you that Jupiter finally moved off of the 35, that's what I was

Courtney:

Is that's why, is that why I slept?

Andrea:

That's probably why you slept. people, yeah,

Courtney:

I am the sun. The sun is me. We're both, we're both shining today.

Andrea:

Relief. Relief. Oh yeah. So the good news is, is that, um, emotional definition that we all had that is just absolutely a force to reckon with when you are non emotional. Um, it. stopped. Um, the bad news is, is that Jupiter is retrograde and it's going to go direct on February 4th. And so probably sometime in the second or third week of February, it will be back on,

Courtney:

um,

Andrea:

which, um, for those of you that have subscribed the sub stack, we will give you a heads up and let you know some of, um, what to look out for around that because, um, I think that's a way that we can be in communication around, um, you know, more like, as things are happening.

Courtney:

Yes. I just had an idea. Ooh. I don't know if I should say it on air because it's just an idea.

Andrea:

we'll hold that idea and talk

Courtney:

I'll hold the idea.

Andrea:

Unless you want to tease it.

Courtney:

Oh, no, no. I'm writing it down though.

Andrea:

Um, so back this fear fear and freak out that our inner children are having that things are not safe right now. Um, and so

video1576629570:

uh,

Andrea:

I thought we could take some time to just talk about what what we can do for our inner children right now, and the inner children of the people that are around us. Um, so I want to do that in a little bit. Um, but I also want to kind of remind ourselves that, um, Dr. Becky talks about a lot that I think is really helpful. So for those of you don't know, Dr. Becky runs an organization called good inside. Um, and it is a parenting resource, but, um, a lot of what she does is help us reparent ourselves. Um, And she says, what our kids need, and I would just say you can extrapolate this, even if you don't have kids, what your inner child needs in a moment that's scary is a sturdy leader. And so as parents, it's our job to resource ourselves so that we can be that sturdy leader. And as. Humans, conscious humans, it's our job to resource ourselves so that our awareness can be a sturdy leader for our inner child. So

Courtney:

Yes.

Andrea:

it's really about bringing that sturdy leadership into the moment and getting really clear because, um, when it comes to, uh, this 47th administration, um, plan to destabilize. The plan is to have all of our inner children of this whole country frozen so that the ones who have been anointed to take advantage of the rest of us. Have free will to do whatever they wish. And when our inner child is not in freeze, when our inner child is present and aware, they can be available for the divine solutions that our inner being is bringing to us. So we'll get to all of that a little bit later in the show, but, um, I just really love that reminder from Dr. Becky and I love how it connects to this inner child work. Um, and. It's really just like, for me, it really brings my nervous system down to have these reminders.

Courtney:

Yes. I love that. I, well, first of all, I want to check in with you and see how you're doing. Cause I didn't get to ask you that

Andrea:

Mmm, true. I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Um, I feel like I'm having to use every tool that I have. Um, and I am definitely feeling better since that emotional transit ended.

Courtney:

Mm-hmm

Andrea:

so nice to have my Selenic hits back.

Courtney:

Oh my gosh. It

Andrea:

It was really hard. I mean, I still had them, but like, you know, you get to swing a kit and then you go on an emotional wave about it and it's like, what, Like, hard to make decisions. And, oh,

Courtney:

yeah,

Andrea:

just living day to day is very tricky. Um, and, and it gives, I think one of the beauty and raw talks about this, the founder of human design talks about the beauty of transits is it builds. By nature, it builds empathy when you have an awareness around it. And many of my emotional clients are always like, how do you, how do you have so much empathy? How do you understand this process so well? And like, because often I get to live it, first of all, I have three gates, three hanging gates in the emotional center, three or four. Um, and so that shit gets lit up four times a month, four times a month, it gets lit up. Um, and then these bigger transits for much longer. Right?

Courtney:

Right?

Andrea:

anytime a slow planet goes through Gemini, I, I just get a really long bout, especially with that.

Courtney:

Um,

Andrea:

I have my conscious son is in 36 off of the emotional center. So, um, it builds lived experience of what our companions experience. Live with on a day to day basis, and it helps us just be better loved ones, be better support system for, for them. Right. I mean, Dave has that channel. So, um, you just got two months of it. So now you can have so much empathy for him.

Courtney:

I do. I do. It is. And I think, I mean, I don't think it's, I don't think it's like, I don't know. I trust the universe when we get off on like, I don't know. A little bit of rabbit trails like this because I do feel like it's important like we all really did just go through this and we just just went through having our emotional centers defined during a, like the layers of emotion that are in The'Bers as the holiday season, as the

Andrea:

got to explain The'Bers,

Courtney:

The'Bers. Oh yeah, The'Bers, The are October or September, October, November, December. Right. It's the last like third of the year. I call them the birds because they're all months to end in"ber". B. E. R. But they also, for me, when we get into the birds, I'm thinking of school starting. Yeah, back to school. Um, back to school. Halloween. holidays. Holiday season. Um, election season. Mm. We.

Andrea:

Culmination season.

Courtney:

yes. a culmination harvest into like, you know, just literally like with the equinox, like entering into what we know is winter, like winter, I feel like is, is our yearly Monday, you know, it's like, we're all like, Oh, Monday's coming. Winter's coming. Like we have to prepare for this season that is going to bring its own natural uh, gear grinding, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Um, it's gonna, we're pulling out, like you said, all the tools. You need all the tools for winter.

Andrea:

You do.

Courtney:

You need everything. You need the socks, the thick socks, the special shoes, the, the, the, you know, thermal underwear, the things you put on your tires, the salt for the side. I mean, you need every tool in winter. already. And then we had everything stocked up on top of that. And so I think it's important that we're spending some time on emotion and the emotional center and what we all just went through with this, um, with this new, for some of us new or unfamiliar or irregular way of interacting with, with energy in the world, you know, with the people around us with the. Energy, energy from nature and so forth, having this emotional wave and it's really important because also this 47th administration, that's better than what I want to call them. Which, trying to decide, want to say that on air.

Andrea:

On my sub stack I called it Chuckie part 47. Sorry. Okay. I just, I'm just so petty, but I just. It's like my favorite.

Courtney:

That's perfect. Chucky, part 47. I mean, love okay?

Andrea:

Because first of all, you can't take Chucky seriously.

Courtney:

Not at all.

Andrea:

You can't. But he is horrible and scary. Very scary,

Courtney:

Yeah. Deranged.

Andrea:

also like, fiction.

Courtney:

Yes,

Andrea:

It's fiction.

Courtney:

It's fiction. It is

Andrea:

Right. Um, so anyway, I had to share that.

Courtney:

Oh my God.

Andrea:

I might be the only one that laughs at my own jokes, but man,

Courtney:

it just, that was freaking hilarious. I, that is an image that I want popping up in my head every single time I think about Chucky. Oh my God.

Andrea:

part 47. Um, cause you know, it's like, in those horror movies, there's like so many, there's so many parts,

Courtney:

Yes. yes. Like scream h like a sequel. Yeah. Like fall. Yeah, absolutely. Yes. This, it, and we're just like, fucking seriously, like this franchise has to end. Like this it, You

Andrea:

Hmm.

Courtney:

we're done. But like we, you know, we, uh, the manipulation of emotion that's happening right now. is so intentional. Our practitioners and people in our lives are the healers and we're going to talk about discernment around healers and folks who claim to be healers and all of that later. But they are the true healers are telling us. That this is, this is emotional, this is an emotional battle

Andrea:

Yeah.

Courtney:

we're experiencing. Um, and so to really pay attention and lean into the wave because you're going to feel feelings when these things come down. When these executive orders are announced and come down, the point is not to feel nothing. You are going to feel.

Andrea:

Yeah. Yeah.

Courtney:

But the that emotional time was to show us the, the, the definition in our emotional centers is to show us that like your, your emotion, it's information, but it's not the whole story. Right. And so like, to allow that story of your emotion to unfold. I think this is also a really good gentle segue into the inner child work, but like allowing the emotion to unfold to not immediately try to, to squash or quiet or silence, whatever it is you're feeling at first, because You it's information. You need the whole thing. You need that's the beginning of the wave and let the wave roll through and allow your emotion, which is becoming an awareness center. This is a place for important information. We're preparing to get really important information from this place. Um, that allow that alchemy to begin working, even if you don't fully understand, you know, fully rationally understand what's happening, allowing yourself to be fully human and feel the feelings that are coming up. Um, so don't war with yourself. Don't war with your emotions. That's not, that's not the battle. The battle is not against your emotion. Battle is, is an external attack on your emotion, but you are the, you are the guardian of those things and they're for you.

Andrea:

Yeah. They're for you. Um, so a couple of things, the first, the first thing that I love about what you're describing is, um, really going deep into the emotional process. So for anybody who's listening, who has a defined emotional center, this is, this is part of what you are here to hone and really become. An expert at, um, so this, the emotional process is exactly that where you have all of the hope and then all of the despair and then you're not meant to make decisions within either. You're not meant to make decisions at the top of your wave or at the bottom of your wave, you're meant to get on the other side of the wave so that you can have clarity. Um, and for those of us with undefined solar plexus, these, this particular transit especially, I mean, I encourage anybody who's listening to this podcast who has an undefined solar plexus to really reflect on the last two months and what's been really hard. Right? Like what, what are. What have you learned through this process? Where have you seen your not self? Where have you been frustrated? Where have you, um, felt bitter? Right? And where did you short circuit the wave? Where did you make a decision not not from clarity. Um, and, and from a, from a, from a compassionate place, right? From a, I, I really want to learn from this. Um, I think that right? It's really helpful to have access to the transit tool so there's a free transit tool, we will link in the show notes, um, and make available to you. And maybe um, we could do like a little workshop on transits in the substack, because I do think this can be really powerful. I also think. So, the second thing is. Just like it blows my mind, the divine orchestration of us being in an emotional transit while all of the shady shit went down because we all got the benefit of the 10 layers of information that come through the emotional center that we don't even have words for. We all got a felt sense of that. In the first week of the 47th administration. And so, um, and again, we're going to have like a two or three week break, and then we're going to be right back in it. So, um, for those of you listening within the first quarter of 2025. Um, because, you know, you might be listening to this much later in the future and hi. um, can't wait wait to see how this all plays out, but we are living it in the moment. Um, and then the third thing I want to remind us is that People who have emotional definition in their natal chart, they are resilient to all of this. And so, I don't want us to get into a, um, you know, we talked a little bit about having compassion for Dave and Dave having this in his natal chart. I don't want us to get into, um, any kind of, uh, I don't trying to think of a word like judgment around these aspects in a chart.

Courtney:

Um, Yes.

Andrea:

for those of us who don't have it natally, these are major lessons. These are big lessons. Um, for those who have it natally, you are designed to hold the ferocity, depth, the, um, intensity that these channels bring.

Courtney:

Um,

Andrea:

and so anybody listening, who's like, Oh my God, I have that. Um, congratulations. Like you have, you have a vital aspect of us really living into the fullness of what it means to be alive. Um, it is very, very challenging. I mean, I'm working with a client right now who is navigating a career change and she's emotional definition. And, um, just really, really proud of how she is learning about her authority and really trying to let it lead her. Um, I feel really grateful to be able to walk that with her because it's, it is not something that is understood. It's really not.

Courtney:

It's not.

Andrea:

so. Um, yeah, that's what that sparked for

Courtney:

I just got so emotional. Like I literally started tearing up when you, when you said like how the universe is, has, has conspired to guard us because that's what it feels like. It feels like protection. Like when all this happened, like when the election happened, nearly all of us had a defined emotional center when you don't have, and when, when, when a, when a center is undefined, you're, you're, you're, you're magnetizing. Is that what the word I'm trying to say? Magnifying,

Andrea:

amplifying.

Courtney:

Amplifying, magnifying, whatever's happening by 200%. 200 It becomes really intense. Like literally that the emotional reaction I had to, you just now, I know it's because my, my emotional center is open again. And I was like, literally about to cry.

Andrea:

Yeah.

Courtney:

The universe steeled us.

Andrea:

Yeah.

Courtney:

you know, it, like, instead of just letting our, our, our emotional selves be just wide open to what the bullshit.

Andrea:

Yeah. And you have a completely open emotional center

Courtney:

I I have a completely

Andrea:

mean, what is you get flooded, right? you get flooded, you can't function. and so with this transit, we all had a defined emotional center. So still very uncomfortable and challenging to deal with, but you weren't flooded, you were, you were feeling it in a different way. Right.

Courtney:

And, and the ability to see like,"you're coming from my emotion." like just the little, like the slow, it's almost like there were some speed bumps or some like somebody threw something on the road to like, like popper so you could hear it coming or something like this, just like this warning shot of like, they're coming for your emotions. Mm. You know, Chucky's coming for your emotions. Chucky, you know, like, eh, eh, on your emotions. Like that's what's happening. And you're just like, bitch, you know, you know, excuse me. Back up. These aren't your, like you. Yeah. Yeah. not, it's mine. These are mine. Yeah. And it just, it really did like bring me to tears'cause I'm thank you. thank you for, cause this has hurt, this has been so painful and so sad and so exhausting. I wasn't vulnerable, you know? So like the universe made sure that like, this is what you need

Andrea:

Yeah,

Courtney:

you're going to make it.

Andrea:

I didn't think of it that way. Yeah. I mean, I was thinking more along the lines of, um, the gift of feeling these things in such a profound way while they're happening, because that's really what emotional definition does.

Courtney:

Right.

Andrea:

But you are spot on that we didn't feel the amplification. We didn't feel the distortion. We felt the truth of it. Cool. That's cool. Yeah. Yeah. And I, that kind of brings me to what we were talking about as we were kind of outlining this episode and really like providing some tools for being that sturdy leader, right? Being that sturdy leader for your inner child, um, which I want to do like a little intro into inner child work once we get through this. Um, list, but, um, kind of want to lay out the tools first and then, um, I can take us all through that. Just like a quick little five minute sync up. So what tools, um, do you want to talk about?

Courtney:

Oh my goodness. All of them. Yeah. We about really

Andrea:

inner child, we talked about, we haven't talked about yet, but sort of, but strategy and authority obviously,

Courtney:

um, For sure. Are huge. I think also, I mean, because, yeah, the battle is emotional in a big way,

Andrea:

Mm hmm.

Courtney:

and regulation

Andrea:

Mm.

Courtney:

Um, those types of things are like, I feel like are paramount. And I think another thing is imagination, right?

Andrea:

Hmm.

Courtney:

Yeah. Um, but yeah, imagining what we want, not just reacting to what we don't want, but being able to like, imagine what we want, like vision building. And also, I think the other thing is, is imagining Yes. Yeah.

video1576629570:

are solutions.

Andrea:

There are creative solutions.

Courtney:

Yes. And then community community building and discernment around the community building too. So those are the

Andrea:

Community building, but like at the hyper local level,

Courtney:

right, I think, of course,

Andrea:

I think you hear this community, community building and it's like, where are we, what are we building? You know? Um, I think that at least in my experience, I have felt a little deer in headlights around that. and many of the people around me that I've talked to have also felt that way because we've kind of lost that muscle memory. Um, but really like just creating ways to be in communication with each other and, um, like systematically so that when somebody needs something, there is a network. I was reading a post, um, on Substack. I think I sent it to you. She was talking about, um, community defense networks. We need to build community defense networks. Um,

Courtney:

was thinking care mapping, which is very, very similar. Care mapping is very, that's from the more the disabled, um, activist community. Okay. Yeah.

Andrea:

Yeah. yeah, I mean, and I think you could kind of fold that into this, but, um, you know, maybe that looks like having, um, having a group on telegram and when somebody knows of somebody who needs. Help whether that be legal help or, um, childcare or, you somebody who's going through, uh, harm that's being enacted by this administration, we have a way to mobilize quickly and we have a way to mobilize directly, right. It's really like direct care. Maybe it's with your neighbors. Maybe it's, um, in your workplace. Maybe it's, um, through a religious organization. Like there's so many different, and if you're not. If you're not in connection with any of those, then connected, like start talking to people like you really need that for your own well being. I talked to somebody on Monday who was like, yeah, I mean, I, I don't really know anybody. And I was like, well, then now is the time to get to know them.

Courtney:

Now is the time to get know people. Yes.

Andrea:

that's all been strategic, like you have been strategically distracted by these things that the delusion says you should be focusing on, right? Um, and you're not building the things that your humanness needs.

Courtney:

Yes. ooh, it's so good. It's so good.

Andrea:

Yeah. The only other thing I had on my list, um, was understanding how we got here.

Courtney:

Mm, yes.

Andrea:

Um, I do think that one of the things that is going to help us imagine a way out is understanding how we got in. I read a really great book. Um, it's called frozen river. It's kind of, it's kind of like, you know, on all the lists, um, lately. And, um, it, the timing of when. like that book because I was on a wait list at the library like, you know, I mean I've been waiting for the book to come for a while and then out in my house for a while, you know, and I I ended up reading it over Christmas break, right before new Year's. Um, and then things started getting really crazy, like the first week of the year. And, um, then obviously the administration started and all this stuff. So I'm just so grateful. I read that book when I did. Um, it's about a midwife during the time, like just after the revolutionary war. So like late 1700s. um, and we actually have all of her diaries,

Courtney:

What?

Andrea:

like. Many, many diaries. I don't know how many it's like at least 20, something like that, like thick diaries, um, and it is about, um, Some harm that was happening in her small town in Maine. Um, and it is so related to supremacy delusion. Um, it touches on, um, it touches on patriarchy. It touches on what women have been through. Um, how we have supported each other. It touches on, um, the relationship, the ways that the indigenous were, um, honored and dishonored because both were true. Um, there's also a character in the book, her name is doctor, and she is, uh, she's a black midwife, but she's also like, um, she's she, they just call her doctor. They don't know her name. Um, and she comes for a few months every year and treats her patients. Um, and there were like black members of the community who would only see her. Um, and just like the reverence and the respect. And again, this is all like based on her diaries. Right. And so it's just really,

Courtney:

amazing.

Andrea:

cool. Um, but what I learned, what this. book kind of planted the seed it planted for me. Um, was that it's really always been up to us. It's really always been us.

Courtney:

Mm, mm-hmm

Andrea:

It has always been the women. It's always been yes. Yes, like we are the ones who organized. We are the ones who made any of this happen, right? Um, like for, better or worse, right? Like it's not a good thing. Um, it's not always on the side of love and compassion. Like it, it also can be really damning. Um, but I do think it's really empowering to see, um, you know, where there has been mistreatment and corruption and just basically somebody gets murdered. Um, and he's a rapist, the man gets murdered.

Courtney:

Wow.

Andrea:

And, um. Yeah, it's just like, it's such a great, um, reminder that what we think of today has not always been this way, but the harm and the terror. It has always been.

Courtney:

Yes, it's true.

Andrea:

And so, um, yeah, if, if you're into historical fiction and you like that kind of thing, um, highly recommend, but even if you aren't, I think you can take away this idea that it has always been us. And, and there were always men who were in support of women, like in this book, there are 10 15 men who are a part of the heroines journey. And so, yeah, if you're, whether you're. Female identifying, male identifying, non binary, like you are a part of the story, you're a part of the the success. And it's always been us that has made it happen.

Courtney:

Mm. Oh my gosh. I love that so much. Can I share my like, uh, the art that I am like, by right now. Okay. So there's, um, a series that kept popping up on my IG feed called Castlevania Nocturne. It's a show. It's an anime. um, like a vampire anime show. So like warning, it's very violent, just letting people know it's like it's, it's vampire slang. So like, it's a specific type of violence that, you know, um, is, could be really cool for some people, but just letting people know if you're really sensitive to that kind of thing. But the whole. The whole thing is, is, um, set during the French revolution, which was automatically like ding, ding, ding for me. Because we are currently, yeah, this is the last time Pluto was an Aquarius. So it felt very big. But the other thing that was big is one of the characters there's like. Two main characters. One is a male character who I believe is Scottish, comes from, um, a clan that, or it's like a clan of, of, of, um, vampire slayers. So it's like, you know, like Buffy, the vampire slayer, but it's a guy and he's Scottish. Um, and then there's a woman who is from Haiti and she is a runaway who is. Um, who is the descendant of Ogun, which is a Yoruba God of war. who can manipulate um, earth metal, like earth elements. Um, so she's a witch. She's magic. Mm. So her like when she holds a blade, she doesn't hold the blades, she commands the blades when she's fighting, which is so cool. But, um, so it has, so it brings the threads of the Haitian revolution, the French revolution, the American revolution, because The, the male character's mother is American or not American, but they moved to America to slay vampires, um, to the Americas. And there's also an indigenous character, um, who is extremely powerful, like god level powerful. But, um, what I love so much about this show is that it does interact with all of these revolutions. It's about revolution. It's about what it was about. It's about the journey that each of these characters, cause there's other vampire slayers in this group, each character and the journey they had to come to, to discover their magic. or to gain their magic. Mm hmm. The grief that has to happen in order for them to access their magic, there's actually like a, uh, an arc for the male character who saw their mother die at the hands of a a vampire. Um, and the grief that, that he could not process until later in life and going through that grief allowed him to tap into the ancestral magic that he had that literally skipped generations because those generations couldn't process the grief. And And it's just been so informative. For this time where we are grieving and we're not just grieving what's happening in this moment. We are grieving generations of exploitation. Generations of attempted erasure. Generations of genocide, you know, for marginalized groups, folks in a queer community, indigenous folks, um, black and brown folks, white folks in their. You know, more distant legacy, but in their legacy,

Andrea:

In their in our legacy, And there's so much to grieve. And even, I mean, I I also grieve the people who enacted that oppression because their souls were compromised. Right? I mean, there's so much to grieve. And I do think that creating space for that grief and really normalizing it and helping people deal with the shame, right? Helping people create capacity for their own resilience is going to be what makes the difference for sure. I love that. I can't wait to check out. I'm definitely going to watch the series. I'm not like an anime person at all, but after this description, I'm like, maybe. Well,

Courtney:

I Sailor Moon. Woo! girls are real cute and fun. Um. Long time Sailor Moon fan, I love it. moon fan, but

Andrea:

I love it. Um, so. We talked about these different tools. I think we can add art to the list of tools for sure. Um, I do want to lead us through like a little inner child moment if still feel it.

Courtney:

I do. Yay.

Andrea:

Okay. So, um, The inner child as I have come to know it is, um, work that I've been doing with Liz Hayes for almost three years now. Um, and Liz is going to be on the podcast.

Courtney:

Yes, yeah,

Andrea:

Yes, for sure. Um, probably, probably like late, late February, early March, but she's going to be on the podcast. Um, and so I'm super excited. So this is kind of like a little prep for that.

Courtney:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Andrea:

but basically, um, the way Liz came to understand the inner child, um, this was through the path of Abraham Hicks. So liz had studied with Abraham for a really long time. And, um, Abraham talks a lot about, Our inner beingand our inner being is that part of us that is connected to source. Um, and is source energy is the divine within us, right? Um, but the realization that she had is that there is another part of us, this inner child, who, um, is, The one who's doing everything in the world. So, um, is not, um, directly related to Dick Schwartz's IFS, Internal Family Systems, although I do think that it,

Courtney:

just,

Andrea:

I do think that it, it correlates, it correlates, um, and we could talk about that another time. Um, but I think this way of understanding the inner child has been, um, much more powerful for me because what I realized is that the inner child is the one who's doing everything in the day to day. And when she is. In alignment, she is the purest representation of your human design. So when she is, you know, going about life the way that is most natural to her, she is literally living out your design. And the inner being, which is that divine part of you, the voice of the inner being is your authority.

Courtney:

mm

Andrea:

The voice of the inner being is the one that is guiding you, that is telling you what, which, which direction to turn, telling the inner child, which direction to turn. And then of course, there's a part of us that is watching the inner child and the inner being, and that is your awareness.

Courtney:

Ooh.

Andrea:

So, um, I just feel like the simplicity of it and also, um, just. How clearly everybody has their role lot easier for me to access. Um, I really, I love Dick Schwartz's work and I'm a huge fan. I actually went down a little bit of a rabbit hole last summer thinking that maybe I was meant to study it deeper. And got into it, it just felt too complicated. for me personally, uh, and anyway, as I lead you through this inner child sync up, I think, um, you'll see that it meets very much the same end as, um, the work that Dick Schwartz does. Um, what I think is missing is the spiritual component. I mean, he talks about yourself, your capital S self, which I think of as our awareness. but there isn't a space for the inner being and the inner being is just such a huge component of

Courtney:

Yes.

Andrea:

feeling whole, right? And feeling safe.

Courtney:

Yes.

Andrea:

So again, like this is kind of in the context of the inner child freak out that is happening right now. Um, so what we're going to do is we're going to do a little sync up, just a quick one. Okay. So we're going to close your eyes. I want you to, in your mind's eye, see if you can locate your inner child. your inner child is going to look like a younger version of you. Um, and she might show up at any age. Like she might show up at like four or five. She might show up at like 16, 17. She might be 25, right? Like. Just a younger version of you. Um, and then I want you to locate your inner being. So for me, my inner child is on my left side. She just kind of hangs out over there and my inner being is on the right side. my inner being just looks kind of like this glowy figure. Like I don't see the same kind of detail for my inner being. And then I'm going to just walk you through some prompts. And you are welcome to listen to this. Again and again, however much you need it. Um, and I just encourage you to do this often. So essentially you're to visualize your inner being saying to your inner child: Dear inner child, I see you, I'm aware of you. I love you. And then your inner child is going to say to your inner being: I see you. I am aware of you. I love you too. then your inner being is going to say to your inner child, I know that what's happening on the outside world. Is really scary right now, and I know that you're having a hard time turning away from it. I know that you're just watching everything happening, but I am also here. when you turn yourself to face me, you are gonna feel better. And the inner child says to me, inner being, I do feel better when I'm turning to you. I do feel so much better. gonna try to turn to you more often. And the inner being says, it's okay, it's okay if you forget, it's okay if you need reminders, but this good feeling that you're feeling, it's always available. And the inner child says to the inner being, thank you so much. I love you. when you feel complete, you can open your eyes again.

Courtney:

that was so beautiful. Oh my gosh, that, um, link up, is that what you called it?

Andrea:

Sync up.

Courtney:

Sync up.

Andrea:

So it's called a sync up because what you're doing is you are syncing your inner child up to this energy of your inner being.

Courtney:

Yes. Okay. Can I share with you what it was like for me?

Andrea:

Yes, please.

Courtney:

Oh, it was so good. That was so beautiful. So I closed my eyes and you told me to find my inner child and she showed up about four years old. Um, four or five and she was sitting to my right

Andrea:

Mm.

Courtney:

under a window and that was something I really loved as a kid. Now that I know that I'm hot thirst and all these things that, you know, Leo, Leo rising and it makes so much sense to find a sunny patch.

Andrea:

Mm.

Courtney:

Yes, I'm a sunny girl and I wanted to find a sunny patch on the floor, warm, and I'm coloring. I have like my, my crayons out and I have a coloring book and I'm just coloring. And um, and then you said to find your inner being and my inner being was to her. left. Not

Andrea:

Mm.

Courtney:

necessarily to my left. I don't know, like it was every it was. Yeah. But it was to her left.

Andrea:

It's okay. Spatially.

Courtney:

And, um, I am an older woman.

Andrea:

Mm.

Courtney:

Not yet gray. I didn't see it that clearly, but I know it's me and I'm older.

Andrea:

Yeah.

Courtney:

In a rocking chair, and I'm wearing this gold, very full looking robe. But it's like organza. It's like not, it's not. Mm-hmm You know, golden, hard looking. It's golden, really soft looking.

Andrea:

Sounds like, almost like regal.

Courtney:

Yeah, and it's big, and it's long, and there's, there's like a train, and it's flowing out from the rocking chair. I'm just sitting over it, like watching. My inner child color is so attentive attentive and sweet, like almost like leaning on my arm, just watching and like looking out of the window and then coloring and looking out of the window. And, and then they finally like really turned to each other and, you know, my Inner Being began speaking the words that you were saying, like, I love you and you're protected and, and you said, I know that the world is crazy on the, on the outside right now. And they're literally in a room together and the window goes from like sunlight to fire.

Andrea:

Mm, wow

Courtney:

It's still hot. It's still, know, that element, but it's this fire and, um, and she looks out of the window and looks back down and starts coloring again, looks up at the inner being and says, you know, I love you too. And I know I can sync up with you. And then she, um, like just scoots just a little bit, like crawls into the train of my inner beings robe

Andrea:

Yeah.

Courtney:

And, um, still in, in the heat of what's happening and, and turn and just like lays her little body down and, and falls asleep.

Andrea:

Mm.

Courtney:

Um, my mom said she would find me sometimes like on the kitchen floor or, you know, somewhere where there's like a nice bright light, you know, coming through. Napping.

Andrea:

my gosh.

Courtney:

Just the sun like a cat. That's amazing. You should try that. And that's what I was like a cat, you know, sleeping in the sun on the robe of my inner being and it felt so safe and warm and just like, I don't know, like the coloring felt innocent, but it was also like a disassociation, like I'm just going to go in. You know, I'm going to shut my mind and just go really deep in and the way, but I wasn't relaxed obviously, because like when it finally had that interaction with my inner being, I fell asleep, like probably exhausted. I was probably guard

Andrea:

were like on guard.

Courtney:

yeah, to distract and to try to like, and I, I spent a lot of, I feel like I spent a lot of time as a kid protecting myself. Um, a lot of things and not, not, you know, like this is not disparaging to my parents or anything. Um, but just, yeah,

Andrea:

mean, they did the best that they could, but it can also be true that needed to be on guard.

Courtney:

And like you said, I don't know if we set this on camera or off, but you were like, this has, you know, evil is old,

Andrea:

Hmm.

Courtney:

the, the tactics have shifted some, yeah, you did say this earlier, but the pain. It's old and been. we've been, know, fighting it. We've been

Andrea:

Hmm.

Courtney:

for a long time, resisting, time. That's it. Resisting for a long time. Um, and we still have time. We still, the resistance is still,

Andrea:

It's still alive.

Courtney:

Yeah. Um,

Andrea:

Yeah. I think what's helpful about the sync up is that I feel a significant nervous system release because, uh, what Liz talks about with understanding the inner child is that we are born measuring to the outside world. So if you think about it, even even before we're born, our mother is measuring us to the outside world. Like. Are you developing correctly? Are you positioned correctly? Are you, you know, gaining enough weight? Like,

Courtney:

Mm-hmm

Andrea:

Right. And so that measurement is already in the atmosphere when we're born. so then we are born and as soon as we become conscious of it, we start measuring, right.

Courtney:

Mm,

Andrea:

And we are attuned to measure first and foremost to our caretakers. But then we're measuring to teachers and then we're measuring to employers and there's this constant measurement external and like that is such a powerful way to envision how conditioning forces work, right? When you look at human design, those that measurement is the conditioning force working. being conditioned. So, when you sync up your inner child to your inner being, then all of a sudden you're measuring internally. And you're measuring to that part of you that is infinite and, um, full of compassion and grace and understanding. Um, so many things make sense when you look at them through this lens of we've just been measuring to the wrong thing.

Courtney:

Yes,

Andrea:

It's, it is correct to measure, but we want to measure to the inner being, not the outside world, which again, gets back to strategy and authority and your human design and your inner authority. Right? So, um, just another framework to include that gives, um, more dimension to the human condition that we're living in in this moment. I mean, I think human design is very powerful from like, uh, framework for how humanity exists, right? comes to, um, the real. experience of being a human in this moment. I think connecting with your inner child is just very practical and very tangible right? And when you look at your inner child and how she was before she knew that there was anything else to measure too, is your purest expression, right? So you being the little. 4/6 generator that you were meant to be right and having the tender heart that you were meant to have and feeling everything so amplified and being able to tune into what's happening. Right. All of that you have had since you were little and along the way she was measuring outside thinking, Oh, I shouldn't have this, or, Oh, I, you know, it should mean that, or right? And that's where she got off track with feeling satisfaction with really feeling like her life could be for her.

Courtney:

Oh my god. Yeah.

Andrea:

the sacred sounds. So so good.

Courtney:

Oh my goodness. I have a question. Yes. As we're closing, um, it was a question that Dave brought up last night that I thought was really good and I feel like it really ties in beautifully here, but like we, because we touched on transits um, and we talk a lot about strategy and authority, which is attached to our aura type, right?

Andrea:

Mm hmm.

Courtney:

But those transits can have a big impact on like our aura type, you know, from like day to day season to season. Does that change our strategy and authority?

Andrea:

So it does change the way you will hear your authority. So for example, um, I have a splenic authority and we just went through an emotional transit. And so, um, I went from being a projector to a manifester, which weird. It doesn't change your aura type, but you do. Experience that emotional energy differently, right? And so, it was very hard for me to access that splenic knowing in the way that I'm used to accessing it.

Courtney:

Gotcha.

Andrea:

It's still there. It's still there. But there is, um, if you think of the centers as having a frequency that they emit. In your natal chart, in your human design chart, you have consistent access to those centers that are defined always. But when you're in a transit and something is defined in you that isn't usually defined, the way that you hear those centers that are defined is going to be in the context of that other frequency being included. Does that make

Courtney:

Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. It's like a harmonic.

Andrea:

it is. It's like a harmonic. Yeah. It's like, it's like an additional thing to consider.

Courtney:

Mhm.

Andrea:

So, okay. We have to close on that. Um, I would love for everyone listening to join us in our sub stack. The link is in the description. It's called the liberation lab. We would love to have a conversation about this. love for you to use that inner child sync up. whenever you are feeling out of sorts or insecure or afraid or like a deer in headlights, like fixated doom scrolling, you can use that sync up for any of those moments. Mhm.

Courtney:

Perfect. Yeah. We'll just, we'll put it on a timeline.

Andrea:

Oh, I love

Courtney:

Thank you so much for joining us. Andrea, this is always, uh, so good.

Andrea:

So good. Love it. we got more coming. So get ready. All right. Oh, bye for now. Bye.

Courtney Napier:

Thank you so much for tuning in to HD and Liberation podcast. We hope you've gained valuable insights into human design and its role in building a life of peace, success, satisfaction, and wonder. If you've enjoyed this episode, please show your support by liking, following, and sharing our podcast. on YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform. Your engagement helps us reach more people who can benefit from this wisdom. For exclusive content and to join our thriving community, consider becoming a Patreon member. Your support allows us to continue exploring the depths of human design and its potential for life and community transformation. Stay tuned for more fun, thoughtful, and impacting discussions. Together, we're unlocking the path to a more liberated and authentic life. Thank you for being a part of HD and Liberation Podcast. This is the end of the video.

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Andrea Ward Berg

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Courtney Napier

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