The Wheel of Life

The wheel of life is a wonderful tool for self-discovery. It can be used during the Flowering Tree exercise but it stands alone as a way to gain a better understanding of our life. The positive and negative uses of the male and female energies will give us an example of behaviors that we may have seen illustrated by others or in our own behavior. Remember, we all hold male and female inside ourselves. Women will be capable of both positive and negative uses of male energy and visa versa. Familiarity with the behaviors associated with the directions on the wheel will make it easier to recognize negativity when we see it. When we know someone is using negative energy we can either try to help them, if they are receptive, or avoid them in order to protect ourselves. Helping a person who is using negative energy is demonstrated by simply showing them love, listening to them and asking questions that will lead them to discover more about how they feel and finding better ways to express themselves. It does not entail telling them how to live their life. If we recognize this negative behavior in our own actions we have taken the first step in moving towards using energy in a more positive fashion. It is wise to think about one's behavior often, especially if one is unaccustomed to the practice.

South - Perspective

The attributes of the south include the emotions, the heart, water, plants, and children.

Our personal beliefs are also represented by the south. As we grow we develop into the people our caregivers want us to become. We have changed for the sake of our very survival. This often creates pain. We can use the South to focus on changing our personal belief about who we really are, not simply on what others have wanted us to be. Instead of seeing ourselves as the victim, we can choose to see ourselves as the hero or heroine in the story of our life or as an agent of spirit in the world. As Charles Dickens wrote in the beginning of David Copperfield, “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” The choice is ours. We can use our emotions, let the tears flow and cleanse ourselves with them, allowing us to celebrate our individuality.

Negative use of Female Energy in the South

This often manifests itself as the helpless victim needing to be rescued like a character in a movie. This helplessness is often viewed as a desirable feminine attribute and can be seen in a woman who believes that she is incapable of living by herself and that she is lost when she is alone.

Positive use of Female Energy in the South

This is characterized by one who is not afraid to be humble and is willing to be vulnerable. They chose pleasure and knowledge over pain and ignorance. They use the positive energy to align with nature and its cycles and are grounded in such a way that they can not be thrown off balance.

The goal is to choose pleasure and knowledge over pain and ignorance, even if it means being vulnerable. We should not be afraid to be sensitive, gentle and tender. This will give us the ability to align and connect with the Earth, the four directions, and all plant and animal worlds, creating a centering balance that cannot be disturbed.

Negative use of Male Energy in the South

This is characterized by the macho male who needs to always be in control of every situation. It is seen in persons filled with their own self-importance. This energy is good for fighting in armies and aggressive business practices if one must, but it uses emotions to battle for control.

Positive use of Male Energy in the South

This is characterized by one who can help others when asked and touch the world around as well as himself, with beauty. It is comprised of total compassion, a sense of justice, and is able to see the truth in multiple perspectives. One is not dictated by emotions and is able to persevere.

Southwest - Interpretation

The southwest attributes are concerned with how things are deciphered and interpreted. We should think more of things happening for us rather than simply to us. We decide what meaning to place on what has happened in our lives. One must be willing to seek out new experiences and not become complacent. If we do not practice this, our growth will stagnate. If we do not seek new stimuli we cannot challenge our interpretation and beliefs. Growth is impossible without new stimuli.

Negative use of Female Energy in the Southwest

This is characterized by the ones who believe that being a woman means one must be weak, lost, and forever destined to be the victim of abuse by men, women, society or circumstances. Because they see no other way, they allow such abuse to continue. They are afraid to seek change.

Positive use of Female Energy in the Southwest

This is characterized by those who enjoy exploring new ideas and activities, possessing what Zen masters call “a beginners mind”. They are able to see multiple views of how everything is, how it could be, and hold no expectations. They are not afraid to utilize their resource circle or expand it. They are not afraid to do necessary tasks themselves or to delegate authority when necessary.

Negative use of Male Energy in the Southwest

This is characterized by the emotional and physical manipulator who believes the only way to succeed in life is to use or diminish others. They can be successful executives and are often the protagonists in our television and movie shows. But they can often be vindictive and brutal, wife-beaters and rapists.

Positive use of Male Energy in the Southwest

Here are those who know it is necessary to take responsibility for their own lives. They can recognize their motives and their mistakes. They will learn from their experiences and eventually allow their reflections to become the catalyst for change.

West - Imagination

The attributes of the West are the Earth, our physical body, introspection, and intuition. It is also the place of holding or transforming energies. The inner personas are in the West. If we do not communicate with them we run the risk of living in the past or being worried about the future while ignoring the present. This leaves us in the dark and we blame life and others for our reality rather than creating the new realities of which we dream. When male and female energies are balanced we are able to do as we say and be the example we wish to set for others.

Negative use of Female Energy in the West

In this case, there is a war between the male and female sides. It is personified by women who give their power away to men in order to survive. The male energy is blamed for everything that is wrong in order to avoid feeling guilty and ashamed for not honoring the feminine. The solution is for men to become more like nurturers and women to become more like braves.

Positive use of Female Energy in the West

One must use creativity to take control of needs and wants, remembering one must defend the dignity of both life and death. There is a difference between things we actually need for survival and those we simply want or desire. Priorities must be kept in order.

Negative use of Male Energy in the West

This is a driving need for material gain and success that overrides relationships and personal intimacy. This is characterized by the supreme manipulator and collector who mistakes these attributes for those befitting a warrior.

Positive use of Male Energy in the West

This is characterized primarily by sensitivity and respect for others and all life; secondly, by prioritizing, protecting loved ones, and providing for their needs; and thirdly, providing the wants of one's own self. It also provides the ability to maintain a stable environment in a chaotic situation.

Northwest - Planning

The Northwest is the place where we do our preparation and planning for the life we will lead. The Native American tradition teaches that we make an agreement before we are born as to what lessons we will learn in this life on our journey to enlightenment. These lessons are what will lead us to our true character or our sacred image. We do not remember the promises kept before our birth and often times the lessons come to us in ways that are, at first, unrecognizable. Positive use of this energy is attained by recognizing that the body is an image held by the mind. The more energy we have, the more we will be able to experience pleasure.

Negative use of Female energy in the Northwest

This manifests itself in one who believes that only through pain and suffering does one prove their worth. Pain teaches us to grow. If we do not use the stimulus of pain to get out of our uncomfortable situation, we do not grow. Some people hold on to their pain and do not use it to grow. This is characterized by one who feels they must trap, catch and keep what is needed in life. This person subjects themselves to pain to prove themselves to others.

Positive use of Female energy in the Northwest

This energy gives us the ability to know and understand body language, body image and rhythms when aligned with the cycles of the moon and sacred law. I will use the example of water and the moon to illustrate the cycles and patterns in our lives (water itself sits in the south, the direction of the emotions). The moon regulates more than just a woman's body cycles. It is known that emergency rooms are busier during full moons and that there are more police dispatches. The moon controls the tides, and we are two-thirds water. Full moons influence our emotions. It is only through our awareness of such natural factors that we can begin to focus on minimizing that influence. This awareness is the beginning of using female energy in the northwest positively.

Negative use of Male energy in the Northwest

This manifests itself as the rebel that fights authority at all costs. This energy produces death-defying scenarios in order to prove the male's assumed superiority to females. This can sometimes result in an obsession with body building, rough contact sports, and acts of physical daring and dexterity.

Positive use of Male Energy in the Northwest

This is characterized by the ability to allow the body to do what it knows how to do naturally without letting the mind interfere. Sometimes we use our mind to think too much when we should silence it and let instinct take over. Or this can be done by using one's mind to imagine the bodys' mastery before attempting a new feat. This is illustrated in the story of the swami who watched young men surfing for several weeks while never personally attempting to do so himself. Finally, the swami got into the water and was able to surf successfully after only a few attempts. The other experienced surfers were amazed to find he had never been in the ocean before. When asked how he was able to learn so quickly he replied that he had been studying the surfers from the shore and meditating on what it would be like to surf.

North - Intent

Our complete consciousness and flexibility give us the coordination needed to find our intent. Since life changes, we must be willing to change our opinions, philosophies and belief systems. If we are not flexible, we will not be able to move around the Wheel of Life and receive input from different viewpoints. We are constantly growing and learning and as we do so, our beliefs evolve. It is said that one should explore a minimum of nine perspectives on anything that requires a decision. One should choose the longest pleasure and the greatest learning. Understand the value of knowledge in all forms of self-expression.

Negative use of Female Energy in the North

If we are not receptive, we become inflexible, opinionated, and unwilling to see things from other perspectives. This results in tunnel vision and a lack of compassion as everything not in harmony with our own opinion is deemed wrong. This results in an abundance of unnecessary and unfair moral and ethical judgments.

Positive use of Female Energy in the North

It is only with the use of free will focused properly that we can allow the core personality to resurface. Only the core personality has the ability to see in all directions and to envision all possibilities. Only the core personality can develop solutions based on this vision.

Negative use of Male Energy in the North

This is characterized by those who determine what they will do according to the personality they were forced to adopt to satisfy the expectations of their caregivers. It manifests in dogmatic and inflexible opinions that hold steadfast to traditions, real or imagined

Positive use of Male Energy in the North

This manifests as one who is able to apply intent, focus, and a firm commitment to follow through to achieve their goals. This energy is able to use all resources without waste.

Northeast - Timing

It is in this directions that we use our focus to become free, autonomous individuals. All our decisions must honor this priority. This is where our Flowering Tree exercise can provide us the needed insight to discover on what we should be focusing at this point in time. Living this way will reduce our stress and increase our success. When the energies of the Northwest are unbalanced they can lead to fanaticism and even terrorism.

Negative use of Female Energy in the Northeast

This manifests itself as one who procrastinates and cannot make up his or her mind. It is an implosion of energies. One is overwhelmed and cannot focus. It results in the inability to be receptive and creative in finding solutions.

Positive use of Female Energy in the Northeast

This is characterized by those who are able to see an issue from every direction on the wheel and are capable of being creative in developing many possibilities. They are able to move decisively in whichever direction is needed.

Negative use of Male Energy in the Northeast

This is seen as one who tempts the laws of chance by irrational and unprepared responses. Even though old methods have not worked in the past, they are still employed because no thought has gone into changing them. This lends itself to rash decision making and obsessive-compulsive behavior.

Positive use of Male Energy in the Northeast

This results in an awareness of the directions in which the universal energies are flowing and an ability to move with them. It is a manifestation of minimal effort with maximum efficiency. It results in the ability to know when to act and when to walk away.

East - Self-Growth

This is the direction of recognizing our true selves. Actualizing the true self results in an increase of health, hope, harmony, humor and happiness. The negative uses of both male and female energies are a result of living our lives for others. Our self-esteem is dependent on the acceptance and approval of others. This may lead us to follow a path we may resent. A balance of the positive male and female energies leads us to freedom and autonomy.

Negative use of Female Energy in the East

This results in a denial of self-pleasure, creativity, and knowledge. Others will be blamed for this lack of pleasure but it is a result of the inability to be receptive and open to change. This does not allow the true self to shine.

Positive use of Female Energy in the East

This manifests itself as being receptive to new ideas as well as the ability to create new ideas of one's own, allowing one to develop into an enlightened individual.

Negative use of Male Energy in the East

This is characterized by one who is always looking for approval and recognition from others for their deeds. If no one is watching, their behavior can be quite different.

Positive use of Male Energy in the East

This results in one who is able to give pleasure and knowledge to the world freely, enjoying the pure joy and beauty of sharing without expectations of applause.

Southeast - Approache

In this direction, we decide which part of ourselves we will use to approach the situation. Will our choices be made by the part of us that cannot or will not see, called Shideh, the lower self, or will we use the part of us who has learned or is learning to see, the Hokkshideh, or the higher self. When both male and female negative energies are used it can result in phobias. A perfect balance of male and female positive energies results in illumination and enlightenment, open heart to heart communication, self-worth and an actualization of one's sacred dream.

Negative use of Female Energy in the Southeast

This is characterized by those who are always complaining about the condition of their life. These people are paralyzed by their own fear of what may befall them if they were to try to improve their situation.

Positive use of Female Energy in the Southeast

This results when persons are receptive to examining their life patterns and becoming self-aware. They use creativity and understanding to appreciate and accept themselves.

Negative use of Male Energy in the Southeast

This manifests as a low concept of the self which then relies on force to raise one's esteem. Others are used and abused to bring pleasure to the one using the negative male energy. This can even lead to sadomasochistic behavior with an obsessive-compulsive flair.

Positive use of Male Energy in the Southeast

This results in persons allowing themselves to find and experience pleasure in life. This affords the ability to love one's self, which in turn leads to one actually becoming the person one aspires to be. It allows one to be as close to perfection as is possible.

Learn more about the wheel of life and how it affects each of our stories in Stories Around the Wheel of Life. Positive and negative choices affect us first and foremost. When we are negative, we are negative to ourselves first. After time, these choices are then made apparent to others. If we can show ourselves unconditional love and make positive choices in the way we talk and relate to ourselves, we will then be able to share this positivity with others.