The Splenic Center is responsible for our surviving and thriving with a sense of well-being in the world. It manages our instinct, intuition and taste which are processes for discerning what is or isn't healthy for our survival. Its non-verbal recognition operates in the present moment, in the 'now.' This vital, spontaneous information is what we call intuition, gut instinct or a hunch; it allows us to make trustworthy spontaneous judgments/decisions. Moment-to-moment awareness, however, means that the Spleen never repeats its first alarm. If we do not pay close attention to those little alerts immediately, we will miss their warning which is always rooted in what is needed for survival right now.
Those with a defined Spleen Center as their Authority must listen to their intuition, do what it tells them to do, and not let their not-self or anyone else's mind distract them from following their own instincts, which are trustworthy and produce reliable results. They then remain alert and protected, feel good, and can enjoy the benefits of a strong immune system. They can project a state of well being that is envied by those with undefined Splenic Centers who do not consistently feel good. Living fully in the present moment with a care-free but prudent abandon is the by-product of a deep attunement with existence. It requires an ever-growing dependence on their vehicle's awareness, their body's intelligence, to guide them and protect them throughout their life, second by second by second.
The mind is not an authority, even though its loud, reasoned thinking can easily overwhelm the Spleen's subtle messaging system. When a person receives a sudden warning, there is no time and no way to figure out why the Splenic Center sent the message. Existential awareness cannot be rationalized; it must simply be trusted. Understanding the fuller perspective of an experience can only happen by looking back after the fact. And what is not correct for a person one moment, may be correct 30 minutes or a day later. For the Spleen, the present moment is all that matters, all it is aware of.
After years of letting the mind override the intuitive knowing and awareness of the Splenic Center, people can end up completely out of touch with their instincts, put their life at risk, and suffer unnecessary ill-health and unhappiness. They 'think' they dare not follow their body's intuitive intelligence, yet it can be disastrous for them not to.
Seven primal fears reside in the Splenic Center, and when the center is undefined, these fears are easily magnified. Those with undefined Spleens need to face each of their fears, one by one, in order to become fearless in a healthy way. This is how they develop awareness, and honor and learn from their fear rather than suppress it or pretend it's not there. Confronting and handling the fear makes them stronger and less frightened each time the fear returns. The result is a sense of well-being. If they are unable to do this, however, the conditioned not-self may become overwhelmed by the fears.
Those who are born with an undefined Splenic Center enter the world with a fundamental fear that they are not equipped to survive here on Earth. They are also open and sensitive to the lack of well-being in the world and interpret this personally. When people in their environment with defined Spleens condition them, they feel better and safer. They grow up unconsciously seeking and clinging to people with defined Spleens for the security and sense of well-being it seems to provide - regardless of what else comes with it. They typically end up holding on to what is not good for them, and this can lead to all sorts of unhealthy dependencies, especially in familial relationships, such as children with an undefined Spleen who have a Splenically defined parent. Even if the parent is abusive, these children will do everything they can to hold on to the parent simply to access the conditioning 'feel good' frequency of the defined Splenic Center. They will be terrified if sent to their room alone, and often feel rejected, abandoned and fearful that they cannot survive. This causes them to cling to the security of the parent even more, eventually creating an unhealthy dependency. Because of this early conditioning, the not-self minds of these children will convince them to hold on to what is not good for them as they mature.
At the adult level, those with an undefined Spleen who are in a relationship with a defined Spleen that is no longer healthy for them, will say things like: "It will be better tomorrow" or "Maybe the therapy will work" or "What about the children?" This is the dilemma for many battered women who go back to abusive spouses. The deep fears of survival, the attraction to be with a defined Spleen, can blind them to who is good for them and who isn't, or to when to hold on to a relationship and when to let go.
When an undefined Spleen is temporarily defined by a defined Spleen or passing transit connection, it can experience a deceptive sense of security. The mantra for someone with an undefined Splenic Center is 'never make a spontaneous decision.' Being spontaneous, except in potentially harmful or threatening situations, poses a risk to the undefined Spleen because it cannot trust the ever-changing impulse of the moment. The not-self of the undefined Spleen is attracted to spontaneity in an effort to feel good and make the fear disappear, but it usually comes with a high price.
When undefined Spleens are in the aura of a defined Spleen, they are naturally under pressure to be spontaneous. In most cases they are unaware this is happening, but what they end up doing is living the life of the person pressuring them. It is not their life, however, and it may not be safe for them. If they follow their Strategy and the guidance of their Authority, they avoid the temptation to be impulsive. Impulsive decisions made in the moment from a conditioned undefined Splenic Center may cause them to let go of beneficial things as well. "Oh, I don't need that (or them) anymore." Once the conditioning is broken, however, they realize they made a mistake and let go of something that really was good for them. Sudden decisions made without relying on one's consistent Authority can have long-term consequences.
People with a healthy orientation to their undefined Spleen can discern the difference between what is their own need to attend to, in terms of some aspect of their health, and what is a lack of well-being coming from the environment. When they are with unhealthy or deeply unhappy people and find themselves feeling ill, they understand that they are probably absorbing the other person's ill health or unhealthy vibrations. They can sense when someone or something is not good for them. They can be tuned into their instinctual and intuitive awareness, yet know this is not the authority for their decisions. They pay close attention to their health and nurture their body's resilience. They understand how important it is to face their fears, and how to deal with the fear of survival. They develop the wisdom to know how intuition works, who has it and who does not. Ultimately they can become highly intuitive themselves. Their undefined Spleen is never a reliable resource for making decisions, however, because it is very vulnerable to the conditioning in their environment. By entering into new relationships through their Strategy and Authority, they get the correct Splenic conditioning in their lives.
The wisdom that comes over time through the undefined Splenic Center allows many professional healers to bring great benefit to their patients. When they step into their client's aura, there is a spontaneous recognition, a sense of whether the person is healthy or ill, and what might be out of balance. Such intuitive empathy emerges as the undefined Spleen learns to distinguish between what it is filtering through from others, and what energies arc its own. Intuitive awareness or wisdom about someone else is available to the undefined Spleen only when it does not identify with what the other person is experiencing.
There is a healthy and natural level of fear in all of us. When children or adults with a completely open Splenic Center lose contact with the fears that keep them alive and healthy, they can become insecure and fearful of everything. They do not know what to be afraid of, and can also become fearless to the point that they do foolish, risky and unhealthy things.
The same wisdom of the undefined Spleen, described above, is enhanced by their complete openness to the full range of instinctual and intuitive intelligence vibrating through this center. This awareness includes the ways laws, values, and our entrepreneurial endeavors nurture, protect and ensure the survival of our offspring, thus promoting the growth of a healthy society.
The resources in the HDKB were pulled from several places, including The Definitive Book of Human Design by Lynda Bunnel, The Book of Destinies by Chetan Parkyn/Carola Eastwood, and various other source material recordings and PDF transcripts of Ra's lectures. If you find value in this content we suggest supporting the original creators.