Using Human Design to Break Through Writing Blocks and Find Flow with Maha Mamish

Lisa Cooper Ellison [0:00]
Well, hello, Maha! Welcome to the Writing Your Resilience podcast. I am so excited about today’s conversation, and I can’t wait for listeners to hear what you have to say about something that is one of my new passions, which is human design.

Maha Mamish [0:16]
Thank you so much for having me. I feel privileged to be on with you.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [0:21]
I think my listeners are going to be really privileged to hear from you. And so, we’re going to take a deep dive—or, well, I guess I’m not going to say deep dive, because there is a super deep dive that we could take, like Mariana Trench deep dive into human design.

Maha Mamish [0:37]
We could spend a weekend doing a deep dive.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [0:41]
You’re right. So, we’ll probably swim along the surface of human design to give people a taste for it. But before we do that, I always like to allow my guests to share a little about themselves. So, what would you like us to know about you and the work you do in general, as well as the work you do with human design?

Maha Mamish [1:02]
Thank you. So just a little, I guess, just a little background, so you understand how I came to this. I come from the world of design and luxury interiors and art and that kind of world. But I had always, since a very young age, been interested in all sort of esoteric systems and frameworks, you know. And I became a Buddhist by the time I was 20—so a long, long journey of discovery of self later, maybe like a decade later, I decided to write a book about being an entrepreneur as a high creative, highly sensitive personality. And I found myself in a writing group of women, one of whom was Robin Wynn, who became my mentor, and I want to give her a shout-out on this, because she’s incredible, and has a direct two-generation lineage back to Ra Uru, who first channeled all of this knowledge. So, I was very lucky to study with and under her for several years. I had studied astrology for 10 years, and then when I discovered human design, it was kind of like astrology plus, plus, plus, plus, plus, and I was just innately magnetized towards it. So, you know, it’s been a journey now for these years, going deeply into it for myself, going to master certification, and integrating it into my coaching and my entrepreneurial support work, and occasionally working with people one-on-one. I don’t have tons of time to do that, but it’s always so fun. So that’s kind of my mini journey there. I don’t want to go too much into that. I’d rather talk about the human design. But if there’s anything that you think I should highlight about myself, please, by all means.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [2:46]
Well, first off, one of the things I didn’t know is that you studied Buddhism. So, I converted to Buddhism when I was eight, so this has been a piece of my life path. I love that heart connection between us. And what I am going to say is that you have this beautiful video on your website that succinctly shares your journey. And what I love about it, for listeners of this podcast, is that, number one, they’re going to get that broad overview of what you do in terms of your business, but also, you have this great way of telling your own story, and even though that story is very different from perhaps an author’s story, I want them to see how you’ve done this right—that arc of who you are, because I think that’s really helpful. Yeah, so human design is something that you do on the side, right? It’s not necessarily your primary work, and yet it is informing your work.

I’m going to share a little about how I came to human design, and then we’re going to talk about what in the world is human design, because that’s what this is all about today. So, I follow a bunch of different newsletters, and one is Mindy—and forgive me, Mindy, I’m forgetting your last name, but I will link to this in the show notes—but it’s Fairy Tale Social, and this is just about social media. This newsletter has a little bit of cheerleading, a little bit of strategy, and I generally skim it. But something said to me, “Read this post,” and this post was about how adding in her astrological chart, and her human design helped her plan for the next six months. And something said, “Read this post”—that was my introduction to human design, and I felt led to click on the link that she added to her post. I got my human design, and suddenly I started having all of these “ahas,” but also, I could see there were 1000 rabbit holes I could go down that would get me lost, which is what led me to you. So, let’s just start off by giving listeners a quick definition of what human design is.

Maha Mamish [4:57]
Well, at the most fundamental basis level, it is an esoteric framework which came into being or into illumination in the 90s and was channeled by one individual who came to be known as Ra Uru. I believe he was Canadian and essentially channeled this body of knowledge over 11 days and then has shared this information with the world ever since. In the more conceptual sense, or I should say one more factual thing, it is an interweaving and full synthesis of five major existing esoteric systems. So, the I Ching, Western astrology, the Kabbalah, and numerology. So, there are these different sort of systems kind of woven into it. At the higher level, I would say in a sentence or two, it has been gifted to us to create a kind of science of differentiation. I use the word “science” very loosely there. We are all different and unique. No one of us is the same, like our fingerprints. We have lived for a very long time in a collective reality, a civilization-level reality, in which there are fixed norms and ideas around good/bad, these binary systems. We are way more complex than those binary systems. Yes, and this is about helping you understand, giving you essentially a map of your being, your blueprint—sometimes called the body graph. Through this, we’re able to connect with ourselves authentically, shed the layers of conditioning that might be there, and, you know, the trauma that always results from that, and get more in touch with our authentic self and live authentically, and learn to honor others living authentically. Yes, that’s also very important. So, I would say that’s what it is.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [7:00]
And I’m going to share some stories about how this has worked for me. But before we get into that, I want to talk about the types because I think of all the things that could be most useful—and there are 1000 things that could be useful—if you get your human design report and you begin to understand it. But could we just start with what are the main types, and what are some things that people can learn by understanding their type?

Maha Mamish [7:27]
The type is essentially like the basic energy of our aura. So, it’s not mental, it’s not physical, it’s basically like how our aura is designed to create and/or initiate new energy. Yeah. And there are about 12 or 13 layers that we look at in a single person, in a full human design, kind of looking at your whole three-dimensional, right, self. Or 5D, wherever we’re at this point. And type is just one of those. Some of the layers have a lot of stuff in them, even more than the type. So, understand that this is just one little bit, and it’s kind of like when you open the newspaper and you’re looking at your Astro reading, and you look at, you know, the pop psychology Sun chart thing. So, it’s so important to understand that you need to know about this in a deeper context, ultimately, but we have to walk through these things in simple, elemental steps. So, to answer your question, the five types are Generators, Manifestors, Manifesting Generators, Projectors, and Reflectors.

What each of these types essentially are—just, you know, popcorn-level—Generators, who are about a little under 40% of the population, are essentially responsive auras. So, one moves through and makes decisions and implements and creates and all these things as a result of an external individual or, you know, kind of message coming in. One responds to that or does not respond.

Manifestors are a much smaller percentage, or a little under 10% of the population, and they’re kind of like the CEO type, or when we think of that in the most sort of classic and traditional terms. So, it’s not the opposite of responsive, it’s directive. It doesn’t need to respond. A Manifestor doesn’t necessarily need to respond to the people around them in order to create. And it’s very much what we think of when we think of the word manifestation, just in kind of traditional societal terms. You know, it’s kind of like the CEO at the head of the table, like just kind of giving the orders and knowing bigger picture what needs to be done and implementing the energy to go out there and do it—not necessarily doing the work themselves, which is more of what the Generator does.

And then when you get a Manifesting Generator, some really interesting things happen. It’s a hybrid. It’s kind of a chimera, you know, kind of animal of these two things put together. And that’s about a little over 30% of the population. And Man-Gens, as they’re often called, are interesting because they have to follow the rules of both sides. Those are not necessarily the same thing. So, it’s both responsive and manifesting at the same time. And so, there’s a superpower of quickness and multitasking that comes with it, and there’s the ability to both respond to and ask and then kind of make it happen, whereas Generators need a lot more collaboration to make things happen. But, you know, they can also move too quickly, and there can be things that come with that.

So, Projectors are the fourth type. They’re about 20% of the population, and they’re unique. They are wired to be very different from really anything that we think of as how a normal person should be. You know, they have it tough in today’s world in that sense. In that, when we think about the three types I just described, those are kind of existing type persona archetypes, right? You get to a Projector. Projectors, they work in spurts, even more than the Manifestors. Manifestors also do that, but they work in spurts, really like they rest a lot more than they work, and they’re really wired more to be kind of wise advisors. And so, it’s not really about physical action or doing, nor is it about using the voice to make things happen. It’s very much… I mean, think about it like the wise monk at the top of the mountain that, you know, is kind of resting most of the day, but when it’s time to kind of come out and impact, there is so much wisdom, but they need to be invited. And so, it’s a very interesting type compared to the others.

And then finally, you have Reflectors. I’m not going to talk too much about this, because I don’t think that I’m qualified to. It’s such a small percentage—less than 1% of the population. And I would say to the Reflectors out there, I’m sorry I’m not going to talk a lot about your type during this podcast, but I would be happy to pass you along to somebody who works regularly with Reflectors. What I know about it is, essentially, there’s such an openness—this is the easiest way to explain it. There’s such an openness in their energetic system that they have to work along the lunar cycles. No decisions can be made. There’s this very kind of language waiting through these lunar cycles as a sort of process of manifestation. And that’s really all I’m going to say there, because they are so unicorn unique.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [12:38]
Yeah, and because that’s the case, I am going to get a link from you. If someone is a reflector and like, “Oh my gosh, I feel shortchanged by this podcast episode,” if you’re not, there will be a link where you can learn more, and I will get that from Maha. So, I love this broad overview of what you shared. And so now I’m hoping that we can go a little deeper and make it more concrete by sharing our own experiences. I have a story to share from one of my clients where we did some of this work so that listeners can see how this applies to their lives. But before we get there, there’s something that I want to share. So, whenever we talk about these esoteric modalities, things that we might say fall under “Woo-woo,” right? Woo-woo can be discounted as not scientific, not legitimate, quote, unquote, “made up.” And so, what do we do with that? And so, I want to share something that was a huge aha for me.

So back in March, I was at the Psychotherapy Networkers conference, and I sat in this session with Dan Siegel, and he is a researcher in the field of psychology. He has done so much work around attachment and attachment styles and how they impact our personality. And the session that I went to was on the Enneagram. So, Enneagrams are obviously not the same, but there’s a lot of controversy around, “Are Enneagrams real? Do they exist? What should we do with them? Should we discount them? Is this not scientific?” And he had done this work around these nine different personality types that are impacted by our attachment wounds. What he found in his research is that it pretty much aligned with the Enneagram, with all these Enneagram types. And what was interesting is that the research he had done was being replicated by another hardcore, straightforward researcher at the exact same time. When I was listening to his talk and he was sharing the specifics, I was like, “OMG, this also aligns with human design.” So, I want to share that to say that there is a lot of legitimacy, and there is research—even if it’s not direct research on human design—that aligns with what we’re talking about.

And a friend of mine who is a super hardcore researcher, geeky type—I love you, Jess, I love you. You are a hardcore geeky researcher, and you totally embrace this. I was recently talking with her about it and introduced her to this, and she has been emailing me back and forth about, “Holy cow. I cannot believe how much this just illuminates things I either knew about myself or have been scratching my head about.” It just tells me so much. So that’s my little side story, but I want to talk about us, and I want to talk about one of my clients.

So, I am a generator, right? So, generators are the workhorses. We’re supposed to be out there doing the work. And how we think about our energy and how we make decisions is important. And so, one of the things that I learned as a person who is a generator is that I need to be responding to events in my environment, and I need to really be thinking about, “Okay, this input is coming in. Is this a yes for me, or is this a no?” Also, to really embrace the fact that I am a highly intuitive being, and there are other things in my human design chart that also point to that, that go beyond just this type. And so, we’re going to talk a little bit about that in terms of my chart, because you have had a chance to review my chart. But what I want to say about this is that, as a trauma survivor and as a person who has CPTSD, my default growing up was to deny who I am, to focus all my attention on other people, on what they wanted me to be, and on responding to their needs and being really—to be a mirror for others—and to not trust my own intuition or trust my own knowing around how I should manage my energy and the things that I have done or that I should do. And what I found is that, for me personally, understanding my human design has validated some things about myself that perhaps I knew but I discounted, or I didn’t embrace to the level that I needed. One of those is around rest, which I am working on, and it has helped me with my creativity to see, “Oh, this is how it works. This is what I need.” That collaborative part that you’re talking about—it’s like, “Oh yeah. All my life, I’ve been thinking I need collaboration,” and then feeling like, “Oh, you know, maybe I should do more on my own. Or why do I always feel like I want to?” This isn’t about getting permission, but like, bounce ideas off other people. Feed off that energy. And through our work, I’ve learned, like, “Oh, yeah, no, that’s just who you are. Embrace that, use that to your advantage.” And so, what would you like to say in response to that, and in response to what you know about me being a generator?

Maha Mamish [18:07]
Yeah, thanks. I mean, I had so many thoughts as you were talking, like I should have written them down. Well, first, I want to say something about the first thing you said, which is that, as you know, I had studied astrology deeply for over 10 years before I came into this too, and I was just one of those people. I’m sure there’s many of you out there just upset. I studied Kabbalah. I did, you know, I studied this. And so, Enneagram was obviously something that I had done. It was very true for me, everyone I’ve ever tested, you know, whatever. But what’s interesting about human design, since it has all these things woven in, is you can actually see it reflected both internally and then outward back, like if I go to an astrology chart and I look up somebody’s whatever, it’s all reflected back out this way and that way, even though they’re saying it in completely different ways. So, it’s really empowering to see just how connected this is to so many other things that people have, you know, the more there’s this sort of mirroring and mirroring and mirroring.

For me, we get closer and closer to that, like validation of observation and experimentation, so just to point to that. So, I think, going back to the type and the generator and all these things that you said, one thing that pinged for me as you were talking, that I would suss out is, I think what’s interesting about trauma and conditioning—and like, we all have trauma, right? Yes, and conditioning, and those things can be the same and related or separate. And in human design, something that I’ve noticed over time, and I’m in this camp as well, is often we respond to trauma and events that were out of kind of alignment for us by kind of swinging the pendulum to the other side, you know, kind of like that felt bad, that didn’t feel right, so I’m going to go to the opposite thing. And that’s what’s true for me. And sometimes that is, you know, valid and true, and yet, other times—and this is something I don’t think we really have a review process for in terms of the collective conscious—other times, it’s not necessarily that that was so wrong, and the opposite is so right. It’s that we were experiencing the wrong version of something that was right for us, and that is a very delicious thing to kind of get into in your life.

So, you even pointed it out, kind of like you were tending to everybody’s needs, you know. And I’m not necessarily going to put a truth onto your reality and your experience in your life, but if I were working with somebody, and that’s the story that came forth, well, how my mind would think about it is, “Well, I wonder, you know, all of this sort of over-giving, and not necessarily that the world is inherently kind of selfish and cruel, and we have to kind of cocoon ourselves and be in a protective stance and be hyper-independent, and you know, not that there’s anything wrong with being independent. I’m very independent. But I think right to realize, oh, it was just you didn’t know how to say yes or no.” Yeah. And how does any child really, unless they are mindfully nurtured to do so or shielded from any conditioning to just live their truth without interruption? But I think that’s a rare experience even today. So, it’s very interesting. That’s one of the things that’s very empowering about going back to your body graph, because how do you wade through, you know, the stuff that was right for me or wrong for me, or was kind of the right thing, but the wrong way? Or there are no models for this. There’s no models for such levels of hyper-differentiation between all of us. So, I think, yeah, that’s what came to mind when I thought about, like, your example as a generator, and hopefully, people out there can apply it to other potential kind of similar but different examples for them.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [22:00]
I love how you said that, and I think a lot of it is about balance. So where can you find your imbalances? And I think something that’s been really helpful for me is understanding—and correct me if I’m wrong, if I’m getting the language wrong—because there’s so much language here that we could talk about, and that’s my theme and my not-self theme. What I should be looking for as a generator is, where am I experiencing satisfaction, right? To move towards satisfaction, and then the not-self theme is frustration, right? And so, when I’m feeling frustrated—and this emotional state is going to be different based on your type, right? For me, it’s frustration. When I am experiencing frustration, that means I’m out of alignment. And so instead of looking at, “Oh, what am I doing wrong?” or pushing through it, it’s an opportunity to pause to say, “Okay, I’m frustrated. What is out of alignment?” Right? It’s not that anybody’s good or bad, but what’s out of alignment, and can I get really honest about what that is, and then create some sort of course correction so that I am giving myself permission to be in a state of satisfaction, right? Because that’s how I blossom.

Maha Mamish [23:11]
Totally. And I would add to that, and I’m sure you agree, it’s how can I course correct into greater satisfaction, or in certain situations in which we cannot, how can I accept the situation and the frustration that I’m having? So, like, for example, on a totally banal level, I might have had an absolutely draining day, and my energy type needs to rest, and I have to do X, Y, and Z for my two kids. Yes, you might be frustrated, and there might not be a course correction for you in the next hour or two hours, but it’s also like, “Oh, I’m frustrated because dot, dot, dot.” And you know what? I’m going to get there in 90 minutes, and I’m just going to accept that this is where I’m at right now. So I think it’s like all of that, you know, the more you can begin to just have awareness and mindfully decide either, how can I accept the situation so that I can move through, or how can I course correct, especially if it’s a major theme in your life, or things that you know are not working long term? How can you change it and take responsibility for yourself so that things can be different?

Lisa Cooper Ellison [24:06]
I want to ask you about yourself. So that’s me. I’m a generator, and you said very quickly, like, “I am not.” So, I’m curious, and feel free to say “none,” yeah, because I think “none of your business” is an appropriate response to questions. What is your type?

Maha Mamish [24:43]
Well, anyone who sits with human design long enough would probably guess my type, right? Anyway, after 10 minutes, so there’s no keeping it secret. So, I’m a manifesting generator, and so I’m half-half—you have something else. Yes, my husband is the same. Do you know his authority? Is he sacral or emotional?

Lisa Cooper Ellison [24:53]
He is sacral.

Maha Mamish [24:54]
That’s good for you? I have an emotional authority. And it’s an interesting push-pull between that and the man-gen sort of thing. So, these complexities are, you know, very interesting to work with. And that’s, again, why I want to say about the chart: like, if you know enough about your astrology, this is a very easy comparative model in your mind. Like, you might be a Cancer, you know, but if you have an Aries moon, like, that’s a huge conditioning thing. And so, understanding that it’s the same in human design, that you’re having all these energies, some that are working very harmoniously and some that are rubbing up against each other. And yeah, but anyway, emotional manifesting generator to answer your question, technically.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [25:47]
So just so that we bring people into the conversation rather than leaving them out, I’m going to share something about my experience. So, my husband is a manifesting generator, and he has a sacral authority. What does that mean? It means that your yes and no comes from your gut, right? So that’s what you’re paying attention to. And if I get any of this wrong, Maha, please feel free to correct me.

Maha Mamish [26:11]
It is gut, but it’s body. Understand that it’s body because intuitive hit, which sometimes people define as gut, is actually splenic authority. It’s a body response level, like, like gut, as in, you can’t help it. It’s just automatic, kind of body thing.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [26:29]
So thank you for correcting me on that, and I love that you can translate everything for us. So, in our relationship, we both know that we operate in the same way, so that we can talk about, “Okay, well, what does that look like for you? What does that look like for me?” A way that we’re very different is in how we are in relationships. So, I am a single channel, and he is a split. So, what that means… And yeah, so you’re—

Maha Mamish [26:57]
I’m already laughing because I’m in the same dynamic in my own marriage. So, I’m just eager to see what you have to say about it.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [27:03]
So for people that know nothing, what this means—and again, Maha, correct me if I’m getting anything wrong—is that for me personally, there is this sense of completion inside myself, like I’m not necessarily looking for a relationship to complete me. I’m looking for a companion who can be with me, whereas my husband, based on his split, he’s looking for someone for completion, right? There’s a missing piece. And obviously, that missing piece, you know, part of the work of growth is to figure out, okay, well, how do you bridge that in your own self? But when you don’t have that, we tend to look for it outside ourselves, right? That sense of completion. And so, there’s a way that we’re hoping a relationship will complete us. So those are two very different ways of operating, not that one is better than the other, it’s just different ways of seeing relationships. And so there have been times where there’s been friction in our relationship because it’s like, I don’t need anyone else for that. I don’t need that, whereas he’s like, but I need that. And part of me wants you to need it too, and I don’t know if that’s matching what your experience is like, or if I’m getting anything wrong, or anything you’d like to add to that?

Maha Mamish [28:24]
I mean, thank you for that story. I think, again, I’m going to comment on it in this very singular way, knowing that it’s probably like a lot more sort of nuanced and, oh my gosh, yes, but at surface level, because that’s where we have to operate right now, I think, yes, it’s the same, it’s the opposite. I’m the split, and my husband’s a single, but the dynamic that is—that would not be an uncommon single-split dynamic, especially if you are completing his split, energetically, in terms of the gates, which I would be almost willing to bet money that you are. My husband connects my split in two different places, like at two different ways. By the way, all of my serious relationships in the past also—those people filled the split. And I only really figured that out after I learned about human design. So that’s a fun fact. You know, it essentially means—this is what the definition essentially means—because it can be interpersonal, or it can be not interpersonal, yes, but essentially what it is, is your body graph shows you the places where you are wired to just always be on and always operating in those places, whatever you’re doing and oriented to those things.

And when you’re single, you can operate in those places without anybody else. Yeah, like, does that mean that you can ultimately manifest in the world in these big ways? That depends on your type and your strategy and how you’re working with that, but you can live inside these places and feel whole essentially without, you know, anybody coming in or out. Split need that link filled in, because there are two different areas always on, but they’re not connected. And so, it’s like, I’ve got to be here, or I’ve got to be here, I’ve got to be here, or I’ve got to be here. I can’t be everywhere all at once. When another person comes in that fills in that connection point, they get to swim around in all their places all the time, and that’s the sense of completion. And so, I would say two quick things to that: A) He could experience the same thing, not with you. That would be one way to, like, if somebody came to me and said, “We’re always having these arguments because blah, blah, blah,” which I’m not saying you’re saying, like, if that had to happen, you know, it’d be like, “Okay, well, yes, she fills that for you.” But like, you can also get this filled, you know, elsewhere. The second thing I’d say is it would be interesting to look into your charts, see if there’s other things at play. Because generally, manifesting generators, one thing that they’re really good at is going off and doing their thing without anybody’s help. So, it’s an interesting dualism, a juxtaposition for him, of both being wired to just do, do, do, do, do, I don’t need your help. I’m super confident I can do eight things at once, all that, with, “Oh, I need another person to actually access it all” is a very interesting kind of coupling for him to work with.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [31:20]
And what I found is that I’ve been able to see, and he’s been able to see, like, you know, we think about that split. I think about this in terms of an electrical circuit. It’s almost like we need that extra wire to connect the two wires that are missing, or where we need that jump. And so what I’ve been able to see, and he’s been able to see how this plays out, say, at work or in, you know, friendships or other places, and how that can help him, but also how, you know, in my case, it’s like, oh, I’m a person who wants to give, give, give, sometimes over give totally. We know this, like smiling, you know, but yeah, he’s like, I don’t need your help. I don’t need your help. And so, us understanding these things about each other has created more harmony in our relationship, because we can accept, like, oh, yeah, that’s just your nature. That’s how you are. This is how I am. This is how we work together. So, what I would say, listeners, is that this can not only help you, it can help your relationships and it can help your creative process. And so that leads to a third story that I’d like to share, but I’m going to be quiet first to see if there’s anything you want to add before I get to that story.

Maha Mamish [32:31]
I want to add one quick thing to this, which is that that’s why human design is here. I mean, it’s wonderful that we get to personally, you know, kind of meet our true authenticity. Lord knows, most of us need that, but it was actually the guides imply that it was given to humanity to help raise our children differently, for us to accept other people. This is as much, if not more about learning to accept each other as it is learning to accept ourselves. Now, we all know, working in the world of the esoteric energy world, that that’s the formula—you have to do self before you do other. So, but the goal of human design is that, and I absolutely had the same experience in my husband, full truth, he’s a projector—whoa, manifesting generator with projector. And I spent a long time really getting very lost in a narrative that, you know, he wasn’t working hard enough inside the house, you know, these sorts of things before understanding, like, he literally does not have the same energetic imprint that I have, and quite different. So, we’ve had to do work around making sure that he gets the rest that he needs as a projector, because it is profound.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [33:44]
And I’m so glad that you said that he’s a projector. That’s going to relate directly to the story that I’m about to share, and how having this understanding is changing the way I’m coaching people. So, I’ll say first, you know, as you said, we start with ourselves, like, how do we help ourselves? How do we use this for our own awareness? And so, as I said earlier, one of the things I know about myself is I’m highly intuitive, and that goes beyond just the type. There’s a variety of different things that go on with that. And so, when I’ve been thinking about my yeses and nos, and how is that expanding in my own, you know, profession and what I do, one of the things that came into my awareness was the Akashic records. And in fact, that had been in my awareness before, but I had this internal, “Yes, now you need to study it,” right? And so that’s one more tool that I’m using to assist myself, assist my clients, think more broadly about the work that I do, but human design is also playing a role.

And I’ll tell just the story about one of my clients. This person was feeling stuck, right? And a lot of people come to me, “I’m stuck. I want to get these projects done. I feel like I’m not working hard enough, or I don’t know how to get started, or I’m feeling bad that I should be in a different place than I am, or I should be working harder,” right? All the shoulds. This is a common theme. This person came to me with all the shoulds, and so in my very generator way, I was offering different strategies, right? I would offer different strategies, homework assignments. You could try this. You could do this. You know, a theme that often comes up is connection, right? “I’m not feeling connected to others. How can I be more connected? If I’m connected, will that increase my creativity?” So, I’m offering all these homework assignments and doing the things that I know, and saying, “Manifest the stuff,” right? Or “Generate the stuff. Go do these things every week.” This person, who is very dedicated, very sincere, very genuine, very hard worker, kept coming back saying, “I didn’t do your homework. I didn’t do your homework, and I’m feeling bad about it,” right? So, there were these different themes, and I was feeling stuck. I was like, “Gosh, you know, I’m using all my tools trying to figure this out. It’s not working. Let’s see what human design has to say, because maybe we’re working in the wrong way.”

So, I just said, “Let’s just go do a free human design report. Let’s just see if we’re looking at this problem from the correct angle.” Well, she did this, and lo and behold, she was a projector, and suddenly we started looking at it, and I started asking her different questions, right? Instead of going off and doing things or just paying attention to what’s in your environment, I said, “What have you been invited to? Where are the invitations in your life, and are you examining them to say what the YES and NO is?” When I asked that question, it led to a completely different conversation, a different way of looking at it, and I said, “Now, go off and learn more about yourself, right? Go get some more information on your human design, research this? Because obviously we’re just scratching the surface. This is just one question.” And she wrote to me three weeks later, “This has changed my life.” So, if you had some thoughts on this projector based on your experience with human design and living with a projector, what would you say?

Maha Mamish [37:20]
I would say, first, be patient. There’s a maturation sort of story with projectors, because you were usually not born a wise age. And, part of the projector role is really to kind of like, at least at the start of any endeavor, is really to allow the situation to really marinate, because projectors don’t need to do a lot. They actually don’t have to do the same amount that generators and man-gens at least have to do to get things done when they get there. It’s almost like concentrated impact, but it’s really about allowing themselves to be seen. And so, I would say before the invitation—which you’re right about—is, how can I put myself in situations to be seen? Not necessarily in some sort of very overt and extroverted and kind of manifester kind of way, but more like just allow myself to be observed and acknowledged as someone of value. And so, part of that is the patience. Is the waiting, waiting through the cycles of showing your value, right? That’s part of it, or thinking of creative ways to be observed and noticed in a kind of passive way. It’s a very delicate dance, and when you do that, then the impact is exponential.

I remember one woman in one of the, I think the first human design training, that elementary, kind of basic 101, training that I did, and there was a woman in there who, I think was like a coach and a writer, and she was a projector, and she came to class one day talking about how she had been recognized for some, like, women’s, like, awardee, whatever thing, and the post that happened where it was, like, photographs and content that had been, like, created by these people who were basically highlighting her did, like, 100 times better than, like, any of the last, you know, 50 posts that she had done, which was like, her, like, putting it out there, her putting up the content. Her being like, “Look at me, listen to me. Look at what I have to share.”

And then, like, there’s a similar example. I had a client, Joey, who was an industrial designer, trying to penetrate into the collectible art world, which is sort of like going from something a little more commercial to a little more like, “I’m a namesake artist, and this is my vision,” and he’s a projector. And when I worked with him, very much in the same way that we’re talking about, and, you know, he tried some things here and there, and then was invited to speak at, there’s a kind of like design conference that happens every year in the city, and he was invited to be on, like, basically do a, you know, kind of on the stage, kind of short talk. And it exploded. I mean, he is now this weekend, showing at the Oculus in downtown Manhattan, a show that, I mean, out of people, Oculus is, like, this hugely architecturally important building, big port, kind of, it’s what replaced one of the World Trade, you know, kind of towers. So, and then also giving this huge talk at this huge, you know, industry event, people flying from all over the country for it. And he’s doing, he’s on the main panel discussion. So, it’s sort of like, wait for the “Hey, come do this.” Wait for the “Would you like to?” And if that’s not happening, then the step before is you got to put yourself out there to be noticed, not necessarily demanding. So that’s what I would say, yeah.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [41:13]
So just show up places, see what happens. And what I would also say when it comes to your writing, because this was related to—and people might think, “Well, how does that show up in writing?” Okay, for me, I am going to complete things, and I am going to generate material by trying, right? Mine is very much trial and error. This has to do with other pieces. So draft, draft, draft, draft, draft, draft. That’s how I figure things out. That’s how I make sense. This person—and this is kind of related to an author that I know, Brett Anthony Johnston. He is an amazing fiction writer. He has an idea, and he does not write a word until it’s all figured out. Like he’s very, very patient. It could take 10 years to figure out a story, but when he writes it, it wins awards. I would imagine he might be a projector. I have no idea, could be, but I think that’s kind of, perhaps, another way to think about it, in terms of your creativity.

Maha Mamish [42:09]
I wrote down some notes because I knew you, I had a sense, you know, this would be something you would ask, like, I’ve done some examples, like, you know, how to use it in writing and creativity? Like, you know, how do you maximize productivity? So, like, I’m just going to give a couple examples here and there, because we can’t go through it all. But for example, if you’re a projector, you would want to, like, focus on fewer, more impactful writing projects, rather than trying to maintain a lot of high-volume output, because that’s just going to burn you out. I think for Manifestors, you know, you want to create, like, independent writing routines that don’t really rely on any external accountability, because that’s really not, you’re not going to respond to that. So, you know, we think about decision making, if you’re like, an emotional authority, you know you’re going to let projects marinate before, at least a few days before you commit to them or not, where someone with sacral authority, you know, you should be paying attention like we said to that, you know, kind of gut-level body response, and that means practicing being present in your body and doing somatic if you need it. So, like, it’s very independent, like, it’s very specific, but it’s absolutely possible to apply these, I mean, that’s what it’s for, you know, to apply these things to your process, yeah.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [43:13]
So, and also say, you know, if you are trying to put a writing group together, and you start asking people, perhaps, if they are Manifestors, and they’re like, “Yeah, that doesn’t speak to me,” don’t take it personally. It may just be that that is not a part of how they operate. Well, you and I could talk for the next 10 hours or 20 or 50 about this. I totally think, because there’s so many different levels, but we’re just going to skim the surface today, and then there will be links in the show notes if you want to learn more. And I know this is not your full-time job, right? You have this other job in the field of architecture and art design, but if people want to reach out to you, they’re looking for resources, what would be the best ways for them to connect with you or connect with a resource that could teach them more, since we don’t want to overwhelm you.

Maha Mamish [44:10]
Well, no, I think what I would say is two quick responses. So, if you want to get in touch with me, I’m not on Facebook. If you’re on Instagram, you can find me at mish mish M, I S, H, M, I, S, H, N, Y, C, that’s my new endeavor, but that’s where you’ll find me, and just DM me. You can also email me at mm@mahamamish.com M, A H, A M, A M, I, S, H, by all means, reach out to me. The second thing I was going to say is, like, if someone is interested in studying this and really getting more deep into it, I’d be happy to put you in touch with my mentor, who’s still running teaching circles for the time being, who’s Robin, Winn, W, I N, N, and I can put you in touch with her. And I don’t imagine that, you know, a troop of people are going to, you know, overwhelm me, but if for any reason someone came to me that, you know, like a reflector or, like, say, someone was like, “Look, I’m working through addiction.” Like, I know a whole circle of women working with this so I actually would say, reach out to me, because I know that, you know, I would put you in touch with this person if it’s this thing, or if it’s couples, you know, I probably put you in touch with Linda. Like, there are different places for me to kind of direct you. I’m happy to be the conduit for that, and I might be able to help you if it’s something else.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [45:28]
I love that. I love both that you have some opportunities to help people, but also that you know how to connect people with the right people, to help them with whatever the issue is. And I can just say, from having worked with you, Maha, that I am truly grateful for your insights, for the ways that you have helped me make sense of not just my human design, but my business and the ways that I am operating in the world. So, thank you so much for that work, and thank you so much for being here today on the podcast. It has been an absolute delight.

Maha Mamish [46:06]
I feel the same.

Maha Mamish [46:08]
And honestly, being and sitting with others in human design with this knowledge is as much a discovery and growth process for myself as it is for those who I sit with. So, it is always an honor on my end as well.