Focus wheels are an amazing tool from Abraham-Hicks
for focusing your intention & shifting your feeling state.
You get to choose your focus. This is one concrete way to do that, ideally at the first hint of uncertainty or the start of a day.


A focus wheel is a great way to meet and move out of resistance!

I make a lot of focus wheels. I especially like them as a first-thing-in-the-day kind of activity to choose my focus instead of letting my inbox, or something I'm unconsciously carrying around, or anything or anyone around me decide it for me. I also like focus wheels when I feel wobbly about something and want to land in a more solid place.

Make a focus wheel
  • when you notice you're holding something in a way you don't like
  • when something feels bad (stressful, painful, confusing)
  • when you catch thoughts or imaginings that vote for the opposite of what you want
  • when you want to reach for or accomplish something that feels a bit beyond you right now
  • at the beginning of the day or a task, to feel equipped to meet it with confidence and clarity
  • anytime you want to choose your focus!

There are two simple steps. Before you even begin, I invite you to pause a moment to ground yourself (just feel feet on ground and body on furniture) and locate the breath (just follow and feel a few breath cycles, or even one). As you make your focus wheel, stay aware of and connected to breath.

I offer here two versions of a focus wheel: the official version (as originally offered by Abraham-Hicks); and the warped-bubble version.

The Official Focus Wheel
Step #1: Write in the center of a page a statement of what you’re reaching toward, then draw a bubble around it. This is the hub of the wheel.
Step #2: Draw 12 spokes around the hub, then write in statements that serve as evidence of why you can truly believe and align with that center statement.

The Warped-Bubble Version
(This version is officially unofficial, and comes of my initial warped understanding of how to do a focus wheel, having heard the explanation with no visuals!)

Step #1: Write in the center of a page a statement of what you’re reaching toward, then draw a bubble around it.
Step #2: Write statements all around it  and circle those as you go, until you have 12 bubbles that fill the page with evidence of why you can truly believe and align with that center statement.
These will all be warped bubbles, perfectly imperfect.


Generating supportive, believable statements
(This applies to any version.)

Examples of text for center bubble in step #1:
  • The email to Xavier is actually no big deal.​
  • I’m ready to write up my online dating profile.
  • I’m in a great process with job hunting.
  • I'm experiencing personal growth as fun, juicy, life enhancing.
  • I’m getting more and more organized with this project.
  • My home feels better and better to be in.
  • Work keeps coming into better balance with all aspects of my life.
  • I’m finding the clothes I feel great in.
  • I’m happy with my progress with my exercise program.
  • I know how to talk to Y about better systems for both of us.
  • It’s time to book the flight to Dubai.

More on step #2:
Once you have the center statement that you wish to bring into full focus, take your time writing in one supportive, believable statement at a time. Don't strive for them. Let them come to you as you follow the breath. Just drop into your body, notice and breathe into what you feel, and hold the center statement, inviting the evidence to come in for why you can actually believe it and live into it.

Examples follow for center statement The email to Xavier is actually no big deal. Treat each bullet point as text you might fill in between spokes or as bubbles. The headings offer the sort of statements you can use as you play with focus wheels.

Go general: 
  • People do this all the time.
  • I write emails every day.
Evidence that you’re equipped:
  • I speak and write in English.
  • I have a functioning computer and solid email program.
  • I already basically know what I need to say.
Evidence you’ve done it before:
  • My email to Sally about the loan felt tricky but when I put aside what she’d think of me, it came out quickly and I didn’t end up editing much.
  • I put off writing my advisor forever about dropping the Oct paper, and when I finally did, it was just another email.
Evidence you’ve done something similar in other realms of life:
  • It felt like such a big deal to clear the downstairs closet and when I just showed up for it when I was in a good mood, I got through it so well I didn’t want to stop!
  • It wasn’t hard to help Mom with taxes when I just got willing to sit down and do it.
Resources you’ve got:
  • I can google sample emails about this topic.
  • I can look back at the email Rosario wrote me when she wanted my input on the ethics of her activism project.
Evidence it’s already in progress:
  • It’s actually begun in my draft box and I can take it from where it is now.
  • I’ve been writing it in my head for days.
  • There's a note next to my bed with a bit I didn't want to forget.
What you don't have to worry about:
  • I can't control their response and for now can let that go and just focus on composing my thoughts.
  • I can just draft it now and polish later. Getting my rough thoughts down will feel great.
A statement of strategy:
  • I’ll work on it in 15-minute chunks and keep coming back till it’s done.
  • I'll just spew out the obvious thoughts and then walk away to see what else wants to come in.
  • I can always run it by J.J. before I send it.
Anything that comes to mind: If it makes you feel like the thing you’re reaching for is doable, it gets to be on your focus wheel.
  • I’ll feel better when it’s over.
  • I’m going to do it first so I treat it like the priority it is.
  • I love the feeling of sending off a good email!
  • Xavier and I have a history of good communication, and this email will be more of that.


I LOVE FOCUS WHEELS BECAUSE THEY WORK.
If I'm feeling unclear, muddled, resistant, [whatever feels bad], or even a little bit unsure or distracted, a focus wheel brings me back into alignment and allows me to carry on with clarity, confidence, trust, and all kinds of other good stuff. At the risk of repeating myself: this is a fantastic morning tool that allows you to choose your own focus for the day.
For those who love visuals, focus wheels are explained below using illustrations.

focus wheel example
using visuals
(official version)

First, draw a circle around a statement in the center to make the hub of the wheel. Here, I've noticed I'm feeling nervous about being ready on time for the class I'm teaching, so I declare readiness ("I will be ready by class time") in the center of my focus wheel. That's the focus I want to hold, but I know I'm not quite there.
   Then, create 4 quadrants by extending lines from the hub to each corner of the page. Last, simply add 2 lines between each of those lines to create 3 roughly equal spaces in each quadrant. Now the spokes are in place, and your focus wheel is ready to fill in. Continuing with the example here, my task now is to write in 12 supportive, believable statements about the truth of this readiness declared.
I find it very helpful to drop into body and breath and allow the supportive, believable statements to come in (as opposed to forcing them in a tense way with a lot of THINKING). Once you've written in 12 such statements, you may feel very different. I always prefer how I feel after I've completed a focus wheel, even if I wasn't feeling particularly bad or negative before. At the very least, I've chosen my focus instead of letting something else choose it for me. What else could choose it? Anything from old stories of me as a teacher to a tired state that I unconsciously interpret as not being up for this. (And I don't need to know what's in the way to explore, using a focus wheel, the stance or vision I want to hold.)

focus wheel example
using visuals
(warped-bubble version)

The image below depicts a completed focus wheel in warped bubble format. Let's say you start out feeling unsure of your capacity to make friends or impatient about bringing your new intention for friendships into fruition. Thus, the center bubble declares, "I'm making new friends who are good matches for who I am now."
   Then, you write down all that comes to you that would support the truth of this statement. By the time all 12 bubbles are down and the page is full, you will typically FEEL different (better, more confident, more clear about the whole thing). And you probably actually believe your center bubble, or you're effectively scooching that way. Mentally, you're now pointed toward what you want, not what you don't want.

focus wheel instructions
for generating 12 statements
using visuals

The following diagram walks you through various kinds of statements you might create in support of your center statement. This information applies to any focus wheel, however you lay it out on paper. (There are a few more possible categories written up with bullet-point examples in the left column.)
Picture
Click on pic for info about coaching with me.

    Get my mailings when they first come out.
privacy policy                                  terms of service                                 protocol for free coaching consultation