Are you aware of how and why you express your emotions the way that you do? How do we achieve emotional intelligence, or emotional evolution? Your Human Design gateways have the answers.

As the sun moves through the Human Design gateways, its energy is now going into gate 6, the last of the 8 hexagrams collectively known as “Uniformity.” In the traditional I-Ching, this gateway is called “Conflict/Friction.” However, I prefer to call it “Conflict Resolution.”

My concept of the 6 includes the possibility for emotional intelligence, and emotional evolution, because we find that this gateway is in the corner of the Emotional Center.

While the Emotional Center relates directly to many of the conflicts we encounter in life—war, fighting, domestic violence, addictions, autism, all kinds of breathing problems, digestive problems etc.—gate 6 controls the environment in which the whole emotional scene plays out. It tends to control how these conflicting emotions get to be expressed. And this is where it opens up the possibility for emotional evolution and resolution.

So, let’s see how this plays out line by line:

First Line: Negotiating

The first line here is called “Negotiating.” The easiest time to resolve a disagreement is before it begins, to stop and say, “do we really have to fight about this?” But, as we all know, emotions can be a bit tricky.

People who have a defined Emotional Center are always in this emotional wave. And those who have undefined Emotional Centers are subject to those people that have it defined, which means they are bombarded and overwhelmed by everybody else’s emotional stuff. So even if yours is undefined, you may be the one person who’s extraordinarily emotional all the time, just because you’re picking up everybody else’s emotional waves.

So, the key with the first line is to try to recognize a conflict before it begins. If there’s too much energy in the room, if a situation seems impossible to work out in the moment, it could be wise to wait. Biding your time is often the most intelligent way to negotiate a solution.

Second Line: Inner Harmony

The second line always has this natural, innocent quality about it. You can feel a bit out of your depth in emotionally charged situations, yet you can find resolution with or without confronting others.

In this innocent way, you might not really know what’s going on, but you get all these feelings running through you, all this emotional energy. But, trusting your natural sensitivity, you can achieve an inner harmony that facilitates resolutions.

That’s really the bottom line here: inner harmony. The moment we put our energy on the outside and try to relate to what it is that the world is apparently doing to us, we lose our balance. So, the key is in trusting your natural sensitivity to see you through.

Third Line: Reservations

The third is a bit touch and go. It says, “Can I really trust my feelings? Can I really get involved here or not?” It has reservations about how and when to engage.

With the third line, growth comes by sometimes playing a passive role in finding resolutions. Instead of jumping headfirst into the emotional mixer, let the answer come. Let the thing become relevant and clear before looking for a resolution.

Achieving emotional clarity comes by making and breaking commitments with alertness. Emotions can be like a whirlpool. You can get drawn in and caught up in highly emotional situations. So, when we’re talking about the emotional realm, it’s important to be very clear about which circumstances are the ones that really need your involvement. The third line is telling you to be aware of your Type and Authority. Just check in and ask yourself, “Do I need to be here for this? Do I really need to get drawn into this?”

Fourth Line: Peace

A naturally strong emotional presence promotes enduring resolutions. In this context of conflict resolution, the fourth line is all about peace. It says, “we can all be brothers and sisters here.”

If you have the 6 with the fourth line, it’s very easy for you to ride through emotional outbursts and upsets. There may be a fire at the time, but sooner or later you’ll see your way toward a resolution.

The fourth line brings peace. But peace for whom? That’s a potential hang-up for the fourth line. The fourth line has a tendency to throw a spanner in the works when it comes to emotional relationships and conflicts. It brings peace, but sometimes that peace is just for you, rather than peace for all parties involved. And in these cases, the only recourse is personal reform, looking within and figuring out why it is that you are uncomfortable with certain feelings and emotions.

Fifth Line: Being Diplomatic

The fifth line is the leadership line, the teacher line, the line of being diplomatic. If you’ve got the 6 with the fifth line, it’s easy for you to resolve everybody’s emotional upset.

Of course, you do this on your terms. You trust your Type and Authority before you get in the middle of a conflict. But, after doing so, you are able to combine emotional clarity with objectivity, and clearly see the benefit for everybody in finding peace, tranquility and concrete resolution.

The issue that fifth lines run into with this is that you’re brilliant at sorting out everybody else’s issues, but it might not always be right for you. People may project this role onto you, expecting you to always be there to clean up everybody’s emotional mess. But if you’re not getting the call to get involved from your Type and Authority, then it’s best to leave it alone.

Sixth Line: Being Contentious

I call the sixth line, “Being Contentious.” You have a capacity to win disputes and attract fresh ones.

The sixth line says, “I can win this situation. I can win this argument. It’s my way or the highway.” And in certain circumstances that works very well. But in other situations, not so much. You have a knack for resolving emotional upsets, whether that directly serves others or not. It has a way of shutting down the dispute. It’s going to fix the situation one way or the other, whether it works for you or not. Either way, the argument is over.

So, we see that out of the Human Design gateways, the 6 is really about controlling the emotional environment around us. But as the sun goes through this gateway, let’s be watchful of how we play with this energy that comes into our life. Can we actually start seeing our emotional intelligence rising? Do we have to be in conflict? Can we find resolution? Let’s see what happens.

To learn more about Human Design gateways, and to discover how your own Design informs and shapes your life, get your Free Human Design Report today.