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WHEEL OF LIFE Individuals . Couples . Families

The Wheel of Life is Tibetan for the Wheel of becoming. This mandala represents samsara, which in Tibetan Buddhism is "the continuous cycle of birth, life, and death from which one liberates oneself through enlightenment".(1)

I use this wheel in my practice as a way to assess how well one is taking care of themself as an individual and/or their relationship in five major aspects of life: Physically, Emotionally, Mentally, Spiritually, and Socially.

The theories of the Wheel of Life allow each individual to identify and understand how they take care of themselves in each major aspect of life. Once this is clear, they can identify what has caused them to neglect themselves in these areas, and set short and long-term goals in order to make desired shifts. The goal is to get very specific with desires, goals, and strengths - and to practice them in logical and simple ways.

Soon this assessment will be available for you to take on your online!

INDIVIDUAL'S WHEEL OF LIFE*:
How well do I take care of myself in these five aspects of life?

PHYSICALLY

- Diet: What types of food do you eat? Do you know what's good for your body & what's not?
- Exercise: How much exercise per week? What type of exercise?
- Sleep/Rest: How much sleep do you get each night? Do you allow yourself time to rest & relax? - Alcohol/Drugs: How much? How does it affect you?
- Supplements: What, if any, do you take? Do you know what your body needs?
- Physical affection: do I receive any physical affection (hugs, kisses, touch, etc)
- Safety: do I know how to protect myself and keep myself safe from harm?

EMOTIONALLY

- Acknowledging your feelings when they come up an allowing yourself to feel them
- Knowing how to take care of your feelings
- Knowing your issues & having compassion with yourself
- Being able to nurture yourself when you are in a negative space
- Knowing your "little boy/little girl" & being able to nurture yourself when you're in that space
- Being able to give time to take care of yourself
- Being able to be there for others, without personalizing
- Feeling comfortable with your emotions (and others)
- Do you have unresolved emotional issues?

MENTALLY

- Decision-making, problem solving, judgment & insight.
- Finances/financial decision-making, how you take care of finances, bills, planning, & overall situation
- Knowing the difference between right & wrong (Integrity)
- What you do to stimulate your mind (music you listen to, museums, reading)
- What you do for employment (is it mentally fulfilling?)
- Organization

SPIRITUALLY

- How you connect with your inner self (deeper than the surface; self exploration)
- What daily exercises, regimens, rituals, etc. you do in order to connect with yourself (i.e. grounding, yoga, meditation, journaling, counseling)
- How do you explore with yourself ultimate questions of about life, morals, values, choices, purpose, higher power, inner wholeness, etc.?
- Do you trust yourself? Others? In the unfolding of life
- Do you live with awareness and consciousness of your thoughts, emotions, needs, and actions?

SOCIALLY

- What do you do to socialize? Is it fulfilling?
- Who do you socialize with? Are they supportive & aligned with your ideas of life and living
- Is it out of desire or obligation?
- What do you do? Drink? Smoke? Drugs?
- How is your relationship with your family?
- What unresolved issues do you have with your family from your past?


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COUPLE' S WHEEL OF LIFE*:
How well do we (as a couple) take care of the relationship in these five aspects of life?

I created the Couple's Wheel of Life, which asks, "How well do we take care of our relationship in each of the five major aspects of life?" It is my personal and professional experience that as a couple practices each of these intimacies they reach stages of enlightenment - together.

PHYSICALLY

- Diet: How do you eat together? Are you conscious of your diets/know what are good for the other? Allergies?
- Exercise: Do you exercise together?
- Sleep/Rest: How do you sleep together? Comfortable?
- Sexual Intimacy: How is your sex life & intimacy? Are you open - do you ask know what the other enjoys?
- Alcohol/Drugs: How much? How does it affect you?
- Physical intimacy: Affection. Do you take time to physically connect throughout the day? Kissing? Hugging? Touching?

EMOTIONALLY

- Acknowledging each other's feelings & allowing each other to feel them without taking it personally
- Letting the other person vent, without taking it personally
- Knowing each other's issues & having compassion versus personalizing it
- Comforting each other when one is in a negative space
- Recognizing your partner's in a vulnerable space & being able to comfort & nurture them at that time
- Being able to give time & space to each other when it's needed
- Taking moments for Emotional Intimacy: talking and sharing about your feelings & thoughts; sharing vulnerability

MENTALLY

- Decision making, judgment, & insight together
- Problem-solving, conflict resolution, & communication together
- Finances/financial decision-making - how the two of you take care of finances, bills, planning, & overall situation
- Parenting
- Awareness and consideration of each other's strengths & weaknesses
- What you do together to stimulate your minds (music, art, museums, etc)
- Taking moments for Mental Intimacy: having mentally stimulating/philosophical conversations

SPIRITUALLY

- How you connect to each other's inner selves on a deeper level (deeper than the surface)
- What you do as a couple to explore your relationship on a deeper level (yoga, meditation, counseling, workshops, religion, nature, etc.)
- General trust in life
- Overall trust in each other and the relationship
- Overall trust in the conflicts & imbalances
- How do you explore with each other ultimate questions of about life, morals, values, choices, purpose, higher power, inner wholeness, nature, religion, etc.? (Spiritual Intimacy)

SOCIALLY

- What do the two of you do to socialize? Is it fulfilling? Is it out of desire or obligation?
- Are you supportive of each other's families?
- Do you trust and respect in each other's friendships?
- Who do you socialize with? Are they supportive & aligned with your ideas of life and living?
- What do you do? Is it healthy for you? Drink? Smoke? Drugs?
- Social intimacy: How do you socialize with each other? Do you take time out to be with each other? Dates? Playing and flirting with each other?

*Descriptions for the Wheel of Life © 2006 Aimee L. Zakrewski

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FAMILIES' S WHEEL OF LIFE:
How well do we take care of our family based on these five aspects of life?

Creating this wheel allows each family member, as well as the whole family to see where they hold their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the family. Not only do you each get to share your views, but you also get to see your individual role in the family.

Based on what we discover, we can work as a team to see what parts need more nurturing, and what the family and individual strengths are.

MORE COMING SOON!

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(1) *Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavacakra