Transcript - Exemplar Focus Wheel*

*The Focus Wheel is one of Abraham’s tools, from the book ‘Ask and It Is Given’ — Abraham-Hicks. 
The guidelines are my words to help clients to use it effectively.

Here is a focus wheel of mine on a task that I have mixed feelings about. The audio track will guide you in terms of the adjustments that I'm making. You'll hear the way the feelings evolve and the way I may make adjustments to the words that I'm going to use. I have slightly edited the transcript for clarity. I will follow the structure from the document: Focus Wheel Guidelines

I've chosen to do it this way rather than simply reading a script because I believe you will get more value from the live experience of it, as it were. If you can, do listen to the audio. There are TONS of statements here. Your wheels can be much shorter and simpler if you like. I would suggest you milk each one as far as you can. The more you appreciate the focus, the stronger the impact.

My topic is: the thought of compiling and publishing a simple ebook on Amazon, which at the moment feels definitely mixed. It's not completely overwhelming or negative when I think about it, but it's definitely mixed. 

There's plenty of worry and overwhelm in there, but I know that with a little bit of focused work - and a focus wheel is perfect for this - I can get it to feel quite different pretty easily and with just a few wheels. It will be SO worth doing! 

This exemplar will give you some statements that would be ideal for a similar situation - if you have a task that you have mixed feelings about. But you'll also see how I use the general suggested guidelines that I've offered so that you can relate this tool to any mixed bowl if you like - anything that is feeling a bit mixed when you think about it. 

So it can also work with relationships or feeling confident about some aspect of life or maybe even soothing the way that you think about something that's happened or something that is going to happen. 

Okay, let's get started. 

My topic is the book that I want to compile and publish. 

Step one:

The first guideline is 'Start with the desired beliefs, feelings or thoughts' in a circle in the centre of the wheel or the bottom of the page, if you're going to be writing from top to bottom. 

I want to feel confident and enthused about this. I want to feel like it's going to be fun, and I'm going to enjoy it and it'll be much easier than I think, and it will be really satisfying. These are the thoughts that I'm playing with before I create my target sentence. 

So my target sentence - I speak it like an affirmation - as if this is how I do feel/believe. It’s present tense; it's personal. And it's positive, completely positive. It's also a sentence that does not rely on any one outside of me or any circumstance outside of me to satisfy it. 

This is purely based on the way that I think/feel/believe. Let's mould this sentence a little bit, now to create a good one. 

I feel confident and enthused about this project. 

I can't wait to get started. 

It's going to be fun.

I don't feel that at the moment at all. Even articulating that sentence is a little bit tricky because it's activating some negative emotion, thoughts and beliefs because I'm not there yet. That's exactly how you want it to be. 

If it's totally devastating then stop. You probably need a different tool. There is another tool I would use for something that triggers a lot of negative emotion. 

I wouldn't advise that you use this tool on something difficult. Particularly when you're first starting this process, use the tool on simple topics. It might be 'I don't want to go shopping this afternoon. I'd really like to feel a bit better about that.' Experiment with really small things with no cost. 

Okay. I've got my target belief or feeling. 

Step two 

On the outside of the wheel if using a spiral, start writing in that spiral, winding the words round. Alternatively, write from the top of the page if you want to write downwards.

What we want now, are a few specific negative statements. This is where he we say it as it is. We don't hold back but we don't get embroiled in it either. 

My specific negative statements would be... 

I feel overwhelmed at the thought of doing this. It feels hard. It feels really challenging. I feel a bit of fear about it. I feel worried about it, I fee reluctance...it just feels like a huge undertaking. I feel alone as I think about doing this. 

Okay, that's enough. That's activated how I actually feel about it. It is quite specific. And I have mentioned my emotions, which is a very helpful thing at this point, as they are the key drivers. Sometimes emotions hide a bit underneath the storyline…

Step three: 

I need to make a general negative statement or two which will soften the negative focus…

I'm tired of struggling with this. I have been playing with this thought for a long time and it just wears me out because I don't like it. It hangs around and makes me feel bad. I am tired of feeling like this about this project. 

Step three is the general negative. 

Step four 

This is a general, soft, easy positive. It's like the turning of the puppy-mind's head.

I'd like to feel better. I believe it's possible to feel better about this. 

If I'm really feeling doubtful, I might say:

I'd LIKE to believe that it's possible to feel better about this. 

I'd love to imagine that I actually COULD say that centre statement about feeling really enthused - that I'd really like to do this.

I'd love to believe that I could actually talk myself into that place. 

Once we get into even the 'general positive' statements,, you want every statement to feel true. Really true, as you say it. But you don't now want any tail-enders. You don't want any negatives creeping in. You've allowed the negatives, you've acknowledged them, you've validated them, but now it's time to get really positive. 

But don't do it too fast. Don't take too big a step too soon. 

So I've done my general positive. 

I'd really like to believe that I could reach the point of wanting to do this, feeling enthused about it and feeling that it's going to be fun. 

Step five

Some more specific positive statements, very gently tiptoeing up on the stronger, more specific positives. We've got some sentence starters in my guidelines here, so I'm going to use them.

I'd really like to feel good about this.

I'd like to feel confident that I can absolutely do this and that I can enjoy every step of the way. 

I'd like to believe that I could talk myself into feeling really good about this. 

You can see that I'm repeating my sentences a little - that's fine. Doesn't matter. I'm taking a bit of time to choose the words that I want. Sometimes I'll change a word or two because it doesn't quite 'land'. That's exactly how it works. It's a feeling process. This is not an intellectual writing process. This is a - using words to access and mould emotion - process. 

Okay, so a few more specific positives…

Oh, I love the idea of feeling really enthused, it would be so good. It would be so good to take this topic and enjoy it. It would be so good to get my energy flowing so that it feels like something I really, really want to do. Wouldn't that be fantastic? Wouldn't it be great if I could talk myself into such a state of enthusiasm that wild horses wouldn't stop me from doing it? Wouldn't that be cool? Wouldn't that be just brilliant? I know that it is possible to change the way that I feel…

I'm going to add in some 'I know' statements now. 

I know I have changed my feelings on topics in the past. Definitely. I know that it's possible to feel differently on the same topic because I know that it's only about the thoughts that I think. I know that thoughts are the key here and I don't have to feel the emotion I'm searching for. I can just turn my focus towards the way I'd like to feel and that's enough. 

I love knowing that. I love knowing that it's just a case of turning my attention towards the way I want to think and feel and believe. And that does it, especially as I do this process again and again. And I like the fact that I already am enjoying the process. So I like the fact that I can take my mind where I want it to go, very gently, just at the pace that suits me. And it feels good every step of the way.  

I love the fact that I'm not trying to make myself get there. I'm not trying to push through or force myself to do something I don't feel ready to do yet. I love the fact that the only work I'm doing right now is the alignment work of getting myself to enjoy where I am and where I want to go and letting the momentum carry me forward. 

I can feel that I'm already doing something here I can feel that there is more ease for me as I'm considering this topic. I love the fact that I don't have to force that to be more. I'm just taking it one step at a time, guiding my mind in the direction I want to go. 

I love the thought of my mind being like a puppy and I can feel that my puppy has been running Amok on this subject for a while, which is understandable. I love the idea that it's not that I have to prevent it from ever going there again, it's simply that I know I can always call my puppy back. I can always guide it to a better feeling place and I'm doing that really well right now. 

You can see there are a lot of statements here, just about the process. It's very powerful to make statement upon statement about the process itself. Appreciate those thoughts and appreciate them some more. Remind yourself of the power that you have just by choosing a thought that turns your focus in the direction of what you want.

You don't have to force yourself to get there. It will happen by itself because you're directing your puppy and that's all you have to do. 

Step six 

A sentence or two to admire the view.  I have already started doing that to some extent.

I am feeling some ease on this subject because I just love stopping and doing this inner focusing to bring myself round to a place of feeling better. I love feeling better, and better and better. I know that the better it gets, the better it gets. I know that I've taken this topic that I've been avoiding, that has been bothering me, and now I’m getting to a place where I'm just starting to feel soothed. 

It's okay to be exactly where I am. It's okay. It's really okay. I love how soothed I feel when I say those words to myself it's okay. It's okay to be where I am. I'm doing just fine to be where I am. I know that I am making a really powerful course correction now by choosing to direct my mind to the places I want it to go. I I know I've done really well to do just this much today. How do I know? Because I'm feeling better! 

I'm feeling soothed on this topic of compiling a book. As I even say those words, they are not feeling as edgy now as they did when we started and that's enough. I'm not making myself do this task today. I'm not going to have to force myself through that. If I did have a deadline to work to I know that I could up the ante. I could work more more intensely and get myself feeling good. I know I can because I've done it before on other topics. 

I'm just doing great to be where I am right now. It is always so much easier than I think it's going to be. My puppy is very good at creating a mess that looks impossible to clear up - but it's not. It's always just a case of nice, warm soapy water and a LOT of love. I know that as I soothe myself and tell myself I'm doing well I AM doing well - I'm doing just great.

Step seven

Some encouragement to continue. 

I am really enjoying this practice. I love doing these focus wheels. I love knowing that this work is the most powerful work I can do because when I get myself feeling good on this topic, I will get into it. I will love the heck out of it and enjoy every moment of it. That's why I'm here. I'm here to enjoy what I do, not to do stuff and then collapse in relief at the thought that I've done it! I'm not doing life like that. I'm doing it for the joy and I love that. 

I love knowing that I can take any topic and I can bring myself into a place of more and more ease; more and more soothing... Then joy will come. Enthusiasm for the task itself will come. I'm already feeling much better. I want to do this again.  When I do this focus wheel on this topic, maybe three, four or five times I'm going to be in a whole different place as regards to the actual making of this book and I love that. 

Step eight 

More satisfaction. The appreciation of what I've just done. 

I do know I'm closer now to my desired feeling when I think about it... 'I'm enthused about the writing and the compiling of this book and I I know it's going to be fun.' Yes. I know I'm so much closer to that statement now than I was when I began. 

I'm not ‘there’ yet. And that's okay. 

I love that! I love that I'm not trying to MAKE myself feel that. I don't need to. I just head towards it and know that I'm on my way. That feels fantastic. 

I have taken this subject of compiling a book and getting it published, which has been bothering me and I'm now getting it into a place where it's starting to feel soothed. It's starting to feel more relaxed. I'm more easy about it. 

I've enjoyed what I've done with it today. I'm using it as my excuse to feel more powerful about the way I show up in the world. That's good. 

And gosh, in just a few focus wheels' time I can't wait to let people know how I feel about this topic and what I'm intending to do after I've worked on this emotional set-point just a little bit more. That's exciting! I feel enthused about that for sure. 

Good job! 

Hopefully you can see from the transcript and hear from the audio, the way this has unfolded in my mind. It will guide you a little in terms of how I use the wheel and how I help my clients do the same. 

Have a little go, if it appeals.

Follow the guidelines. If you’d like to see the guidelines, they’re here.
Dive in! Try it and see where the snags are. 

There's nothing going wrong if you try it and find it difficult.  Like with any new thing. It's just part of the learning process.  I'm here to help in any way I can. 

Get in touch if you'd like some suggestions for tailoring it to suit you. I'd be happy to help.