How To Meditate When Youre Neurodivergent

How to Meditate When You’re Neurodivergent

For those of you who may or may not know, I am autistic. Because of this, there are a few aspects of the witchcraft experience that can be, well, tricky for me.

When I started about 5-ish years ago, I figured that you had to do witchcraft exactly the way people told you. Some of the time, this wasn’t an issue. Other times, it was.

Because I was diagnosed at a young age, I have learned a lot about how to mask my symptoms. This meant that my craft was also very heavily centered around neurotypical approaches to the craft (rituals, spellwork, etc.). It was fine for a while. However, recently I have been slowly working on unmasking and getting a better sense as to how I truly function, and I’ve found that more neurodivergent ways of doing witchcraft actually work better for me!

Recently, there have been many posts circulating around that focus on how traditional meditation doesn’t work for all minds, and people sharing their own ways of mindfulness without sacrificing things their neurodivergent mind needs.

I figured I’d share some ways I’ve been practicing “new mindfulness” and how it’s been working for me, as well as other techniques I have seen that could help others.

1. Lots and lots of stimming

Meditation/mindfulness requires a certain amount of brain power. Not much, but enough. The traditional ways of meditation normally involve you “staying perfectly still” and “clearing your mind”. For me, they did work, to a point. But coming out of meditation didn’t always leave me relaxed or more aware. A lot of the time it felt exhausting, like I was holding my breath.

For me, stimming is almost equivalent to breathing. I do it constantly, and if I’m not doing it in some capacity, my brain goes beserk. Stimming helps me to focus on something. It keeps my brain occupied, that way I can do other things that require an x amount of brain power. Stimming also helps me deter any anxiety/panic attacks that may arise!

Something you can do, which I’ve been testing out, is doing very “intense” stimming exercises to help practice mindfulness. What I do is put on some noise cancelling headphones, cover myself in blankets, and do some sensory stimming. The only thing I can sense is what I am feeling, and I focus on that to a strong degree.

2. Hyperfocusing

This is kinda related to stimming, but this is a bit different, and more like how traditional mediation actually works. In normal mindfulness, you pick something to focus on, and then you focus on it. You’re not necessarily “clearing your mind”, you’re just finding something to fixate on, and letting thoughts go past you without paying attention to them.

Normally what I do is focus on a sound or sensation, since a lot of my stimming habits revolve around these two things. I’ll either put on some music or some form of white noise and just focus on it. Or, when I’m charging something during my meditation, I focus on how it feels.

However, don’t force yourself to focus on one thing! I know that sounds hypocritical, but if you make yourself hear your ceiling fan and only your ceiling fan, you’re not going to meditate well and you’ll end up not feeling great when you come out of the session. 

Instead, let your mind focus on something else. If your mind instead wants to focus on the traffic outside, let it. If your mind wants to focus on how the bed feels underneath you, let it. With practice, your mind will do these jumps less frequently, but jumping from one focus to another isn’t a bad thing, as a matter of fact it is 100% normal!

3. Movement

Contrary to popular belief, meditation doesn’t always have to be when you’re standing still. If it is easier to be calm while in motion, then do so! This can be something small as stimming to something big like going for a run. Ridding yourself of any internal or external distractions is key to successful meditation sessions. So, if motion helps you to focus and helps ease the mind, the motion you should do!

A lot of the times when I stim, I pace back and forth in one spot. I find that when I do that, I get a lot less brain fog. I can be more creative, think things through more efficiently, and help to fight back against any anxiety my brain tries to wrap me into. I end up focusing on one thing for long periods of time, which, in a way, is kinda like meditation if you think about it!

So, the takeaway…

When I’ve done some of these things stated above. I feel a lot more calm. Some of the grounding/charging exercises I did in the past would sometimes give me trouble. Now, I can do them a lot more easily I find I can practice my craft more effectively than before, meaning I can achieve better results in anything I do with it!

Am I telling you you should do exactly what I do to help you meditate? No, not in the slightest. However, it might give you some ideas as to how to better approach meditation and mindfulness. It may also help broaden your perspective a bit onto how meditation really works, and that’s there’s no “one size fits all” way of doing it either. 

Happy witchcrafting!

~Aspen~

heyyy i see u at red lobster 👍 lettsssss get bougjieeeeee

Ok

PROTECTION BASICS

A compiled list of protection correspondences I've gathered. As a baby witch it is recommended along with grounding and centering to learn how to protect yourself as part of your early learning.

Teas:

Ginseng

White

Burdock Root

White Peony

Waters:

Sea water

Herbs/Spices:

Peppermint

Cinnamon

Marjoram

Angelica

Pepper

Garlic

Basil

Mint

Bay

Aniseed

Cayenne

Carob

Sea Salt

Saw Palmetto

Clove

Dill

Flowers:

Foxglove

Hyacinth

Lilac

Lily

Marigold

Periwinkle

Primrose

Snapdragon

Yarrow

Lotus

Aloe

Nettle

Rose

Shells:

Coral

Pearl

Starfish

Auger shells

Fruits/Vegetables:

Cauliflower

Mushrooms

Pumpkin

Broccoli

Garlic

Onion

Blackberry

Lemon

Blueberry

Coconut

Lime

Mango

Papaya

Carrier Oils:

Almond

Castor

Coconut

Olive

Primrose

Rosehip

Sunflower

Essential Oils:

Chamomile

Eucalyptus

Jasmine

Lavender

Lime

Rose

Rosemary

Sandalwood

Salts:

Himalayan Pink Salt (relationships)

Red Salt (home)

Celtic Sea Salt

Black Salt

Stones/Crystals:

Amethyst

Apache Tears

Malachite

Obsidian

Day of the Week: Saturday

Be safe out there lovelies. Been seeing a lot of posts about inflicting curses and don't want my babies to get hurt. Love y'all

✨💛 The Blasian Witch💛✨

"Safe Abortion for All.

No Compromise - No Apology"

Print by Bum Lung Press

Hey everyone! I decided to try something new today! Tell me if y’all like it! I’m gonna start doing little messages for the collective along with my other readings ! Enjoy !!

Lucky number: 42

Color of the day: white

Theme of today: defiance/ rebellion/confidence

Yes or no decision: wait a bit and think this out a bit more. Don’t make any rash decisions.

You may have just met someone new and you’re feeling very sure about this person. This person gives you energy and you’re anxious for them to text/ call you. You want to be around this person,,, and I have a feeling this person wants to be around you too. They watch your every step.

Also, you’re stepping more into your power and gaining more confidence. It could be this new person giving you energy and cheering you on. You’re starting to let go of the things that need to be let go and you’re not looking back with bitterness, but you’re glad you had those memories. Though, you could still have some attachment to this (whatever it is). You’re in your empress energy (no matter your gender). You maybe be thinking of asking someone out,, and it looks like you should do it! Go for it. Also if this is not about relationships, it could be about work and getting a promotion or getting the recognition you deserve. Things are looking up!

Have a wonderful day or night! Please tell me if you enjoyed this! Also it’s ok if not everything or nothing resonated,,, this message is probably not for you!

Original thread:

https://mobile.twitter.com/DianaMiller5/status/1522278413096132609?cxt=HHwWgoC53deJnKAqAAAA

Note, I am finding these threads on the twitter feeds of ICU nurses who are now dreading the horrors that Roe falling will bring to their hospitals. This, on top of the horrors that they’ve seen and continue to see because of the pandemic. They were already exhausted and hanging by a thread.