52 Gate of Stillness

52 Gate of Stillness

Jun 29, 2023

We’ve been deep in the energy of Gate 52, The energy to be still, to concentrate. Also known as the gate of the Buddha, the couch potato energy to be locked in focus.

The Gate of Stillness is the energy of inaction. Of staying still as it waits for the right time, outlet to focus and release Root pressure build up, in order to create a new pattern for the collective.

From Sacral to Root Center

Starting in the Sacral— the hub for vital life force, reproduction, sustainability and sexuality. 9 Gate of Focus, is the life force energy response on what details to focus and sort through.

Reaching towards the Root—the center for life fuel, momentum adrenaline, stress & pressure. Where the 52 Gate of Stillness, provides the energy to be still, to concentrate.

Together they form the 9-52 Channel of Concentration

Gate 52 is under constant pressure to focus, to find something to funnel the fuel to concentrate on. It’s the temporary and self-imposed inaction for the benefit of assessment. It’s being still enough to know where to direct it’s attention next. It’s a creative energy, it searches for a meaningful focus.

Yet Gate 52 without the 9 might not always know where, when or even what details or activity to channel that energy towards.

 

Shadow Expressions

It might feel like a paralyzing tension that slowly builds up which can lead to restlessness, jumping from one thing to another. Learning to recognize this tension, release judgement + guilt so you can allow yourself to be still without making any stories about procrastinating or losing momentum. How do you surrender to your stillness?

Learning to notice the pressure build up along with the stories of how you react is perhaps one of the most important aspects in working with this gate. Gate 52 demands, requires stillness but if there are other parts of your design that are threatened, triggered by this stillness, it might make it harder to hold + process this energy.

In the Shadow Expressions, it can show up as a restless, reactive even impulsive energy trying to get rid of the pressure or feeling stuck, aimless, guilt ridden couch potato vibes. Moving from a place of fear instead of the guidance of your strategy and authority.

What is your relationship to stress and pressure? What are the stories you tell yourself when you’re feeling pulled to pause?

 

Collective Understanding Circuit

As part of the formatting channel for the Collective Understanding Circuit, this is about supporting the collective through logic + pattern recognition. In order to handle the details, the depths of what needs to be created, what can be improved, we need stillness. We need to be able to slow down, discern & focus when required to do so.

This is also part of a Generated Channel, being guided by the Sacral’s response through Gate 9 on what details to focus on so the 52 can zoom in, grounds into those details. If you don’t have Gate 9 active, you might feel pulled to many directions.

Let your S&A guide you. Is your Root defined? Is it undefined? What about your Sacral? How do you respond and hold pressure?

 

Wisdom of Gate of Stillness

The Wisdom of Gate 52 is found in the pause, in slowing down. Specially in a society that is constantly rushing, the gate of stillness is a quiet revolution against a world that never wants to stop.

This gate guides, forces us to confront what’s present—which is only possible when we’re still enough to notice. One of Strala Yoga’s principles is “Slow down so you can respond”. Slow down enough to create the space to notice how we are, to discern and ground back into our bodies, our needs and truth.

Staying still, not taking action might be the complete opposite of what we’re “taught” but it’s also the very remedy to the unsustainable hustle culture. Success, satisfaction, peace, surprise is found when we’re connected + honouring our personal rhythms and patterns. Sometimes, less is more.

“I create calm. When I choose to center myself, I create calm for me and the world around me.” — Tara Stiles, Strala Yoga

“The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.” — Moliere

“Because we humans cannot see the details of the journey ahead, we have to trust in the direction that our intention takes, even if it does not make sense to us at the time. This is the power of Restraint — to allow your life to unfold without urgent demand.”— Richard Rudd

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Lao Tzu

 

Lesson of Gate 52

One of the lessons from this gate shows up in trust. In our capacity to deal with what this stillness might stir up and in trusting our personal timing, in where this pause is guiding us even when we don’t know the details or how something will end up.

“The 52nd Gift, you may divine, is a Gift that concerns human organisations. At its deepest level, it contains the seed that will one day bring all human beings into a perfect organisational unity. For now, this Gift concerns our own trust in life. To begin anything, you must first have a clear intention. The more selfless your intention, the more power it will have. If you begin with the right intention, then everything will follow, but you must resist the temptation to interfere with the process out of fear. The intention is the seed, and the seed contains all the necessary ingredients and properties that will be needed in the journey ahead. The seed even contains the specific fragrances that will attract the right allies at the right times. It is also true to say that the greater the power, the longer it takes to germinate.” — Richard Rudd

I see this energy show up in meditation practices, in life drawing, wild life photographers / documentaries where they’re just witnessing, patiently watching what’s happening in front of them. Your inaction, your stillness is your superpower. It has the potential to ground others to the present + stay focused.

What does inaction trigger in you? What are some stories that is stopping you from embracing your stillness? How can you support yourself and surrender? What if the pause, is your momentum building up?

 

Gate 52 Keynotes

 

Share your reflections:

Do you have Gate 52 active or know somebody who does? Would love to hear your reflections, simply comment below to share.

Exploring Further

And if you’re looking for some additional support in synthesizing the elements of your Human Design chart, book a 1:1 session or package here. Or want to learn more about the gates and centers, check out Coming Home.

 

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Comments

  1. Niya says:

    hello. i have gate 52. and i have been really at
    see-saw with this since throughout high-school and not being out of it. i do not have gate 9 to complete it so it is harder for me with the different parts of design. i have received judgement from others and possible guilt. it isn’t such a good feeling. i just started early adulthood and i’m not feeling so optimistic. i have actually picked up that i have watched in-life painting movies and shows before and lately. which is pretty cool and i guess i should trying doing that. all of how the energy shows up. Thank you so much for this!

  2. Niya says:

    And i also have the same quote from Lao Tzu (from a teabag message) where i can see it in time of need.

    • Jessica Lock says:

      Hi Niya, thank you so much for sharing!

      Something I want to emphasize is that even if you don’t have Gate 9, the energy of the 52 will still get what it needs and express itself through other parts of your design.

      Let your strategy and authority guide you, if that feels like too mental at times, tune your attention to your body. A guided meditation, a body scan, breathing exercises. In between that space, that’s when we get to hear ourselves, our inspiration and guidance.

      The more ease you’re able to be in this space, the more it’ll open up.

      But I can also imagine the possible challenges, I don’t know what are the other parts of your design but let’s say a manifesting generator with the 34-20 Channel, who’s a split and also has gate 52 this combination of energies might feel at odds at time on what to focus on. But sometimes just recognizing the tension paves the way to more clarity eventually. If guilt and judgement becomes too loud, how can you redirect this energy in other ways? Trust in the wisdom of your body’s guidance. Don’t let the external noises take over, how can you release those?

      I love that the quote from Lao Tzu made it’s way to you <3 May it remind you of the gifts of your stillness

  3. Kay says:

    This resonated with me but I still lack clarity. As a 4/6 splenic projector, i crave action (perhaps that’s a shadow) but am torn to take any action in fear of regretting an impulse decision. After 4 years of contemplating a business pivot, i finally dove in and made an investment to pivot. Now that I’m gearing up to start a project with a hired team, im panicked and feel like my vision is lost. I’m not sure how to navigate this as my right angle cross is 52/17.

    • Jessica Lock says:

      Hi Kay,

      Thank you for sharing! I feel you, there’s nothing wrong with craving action but sometimes other parts of our design or conditioning can feed into our fears making it hard to move forward.

      I think one of the most important lessons, specially as a splenic projector is learning to connect and hold our fears. Yes, our splenic authority is about intuition but it’s also intertwined with our fears. There is so much depth in the language of how our fears talk to us and bring our subconscious stories to the surface.

      How is your splenic authority activated? What are the fears and shadow frequencies of those gates?

      How can you hold your fear and also ground into yourself and initial vision? (and also being open to it changing!) As a fellow 4/6 I’ve found that having a community, a few friends that I can deeply trust and share whatever I’m feeling pulled to externalize has helped me build a foundation to navigate my relationship to myself and build trust. Before you’re able to give to others, you need to be able to fill your cup.

      Ultimately, it’s not about not feeling any fear, but building our capacity to navigate those fears so they don’t paralyze us from doing the things we’re being pulled to.

      Please let me know if you have any more questions or reflections!