Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Druid in the City: Sneezing Through Meditation, or How I Keep Trying

Druid in the City: Sneezing Through Meditation, or How I Keep Trying

Last updated on: April 19, 2019 at 11:13 pm by Victoria S.

Druid in the City: Sneezing Through Meditation, or How I Keep Trying 2019-04-19T23:13:51+00:00 Victoria S.

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s allergy season, and I can tell. I’m taking allergy medication, but the sneezes still get me. Today, as I sit trying to get some sort of meditation practice going, was one of those times. I settled down, cross-legged on my bed, earbuds in my ears, and tapped the play button on the meditation.

“Take a deep breath, and let your eyes drift shut …” comes the soft voice piped into my ears. I breathe in, and my nose starts to tickle. No. I breathe out through my mouth just in case. I breathe in again, and… “Achoooo!” There goes the calm. A few sneezes later, I settle back in and try again. This time, I get through 10 minutes without another sneeze.

This feels like my meditation practice. I try to get it going, and something comes up to break the rhythm. Then I try again – maybe this time it works, or perhaps not.

Meditation, photo by Helena Cuerva via Pixabay.

My teachers all tell me that I need to meditate. The Witchcraft and Druidry classes both say the same thing – meditation will help you with your focus, with your spirituality. The teachers in my work leadership and productivity classes say that meditation will help me be more productive, that it’ll help me focus.

Right.

I’ve tried Buddhist Zen meditation. I have attempted active meditations. I’ve tried a series of apps and guided meditations. They all work for a while. Well, except the zen meditation – I never got into the whole idea of not thinking and letting thoughts just flow out of my brain.

My most recent endeavor is mindfulness meditation. It seems to be the latest craze, but at least it doesn’t require me not to think or to ignore the thoughts in my head! There are several apps out there. Some mostly paid, some have more free content, some have enough free content for you to meditate every day.

SQUIRREL! Photo by Joe Breuer via Pixabay.

So far, they have all been pleasant enough voices, with good enough guided meditations. I’ve been working on it for three months now. I still have a dist … squirrel! … distraction issue but I at least notice when I’m distracted now. My practice is far from daily, and I’m not sure if the benefits are worth the effort. I know that everyone says that they do, but everyone isn’t me.

I know some great, spiritual people who don’t meditate. Some don’t meditate due to time and crazy work hours and commutes, some don’t meditate because they find it very difficult and there are better ways for them to connect.

It does make me think why I am trying to meditate. Admittedly, this current round of meditation is for a class, but what about when that’s done? Does it make sense to continue to carve the time out of my already busy day? I never remember on weekends, so that doesn’t really count anyway.

I can lose myself in my sewing, or music and interrupt negative thought patterns or improve my mood there. I can feel connected to the spiritual world by standing on my patio, feeling the sun and enjoying the breeze. Is that enough? Do I really need to do this meditation?

Greeting the sun, photo by Pexels via Pixabay.

Earlier this year, John Beckett wrote a blog post on meditation. In that post, Beckett talks about the different kinds of meditation that he practices. We’ve already discussed mindfulness meditation, and how I’m not a huge fan, but Beckett also discusses some other options that might work better.

The only one of the meditation types that I haven’t tried is contemplation meditation. Hmm … a meditation where the point is to think? That might work for me. I also forgot that walking or communing with nature can be a form of meditation.

Maybe there are some kinds of meditation that will work for me. Perhaps I can get the benefits of focus and reduced blood pressure if I just think a little creatively.

– – – – –

Since I’m new here, I should also introduce myself. My name is Victoria S, and I am a druid.

One of the more challenging questions I get when people find out that I’m a druid is, “What is Druidry?” Well, a druid is me, engaging in the world – both the physical and non-physical – doing what I can to do the job I love, to maintain the family I cherish, to engage with the community that supports me, and to be part of this world.

I am a practical Druid who struggles with balancing an urban life and a spiritual life. I spend about three hours a day in transit, work eight hours a day, and try to find time to balance all of my interests, studies, and spirituality. I grapple with meditation and finding time to keep up a daily practice. There are days where I stand on the platform waiting for the train and gaze at the sunrise, or at the moon still in the sky in awe. There are days where I drag my feet as I walk home from the station, ignoring the world around me because I am so weary. There are weekends where I stare thoughtlessly at the TV or a computer game, weekends where I am fascinated by the social interactions online, and weekends where I sit out on my patio and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin as I welcome in the blessings of the universe.

Moon and clouds, photo by jrperes via Pixabay.

Most days are somewhere in between – days where I have the energy and focus to type up a blog post on the train home or find five or ten minutes to meditate or say a prayer at my altar. There is always more that I want to do, more that I feel I should do. Some days I don’t feel like a Druid, some days I barely feel human.

I am a member of two of the largest Druidry organizations – Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) and the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD). These two organizations have different definitions of what a druid is. ADF is more of a practical focus, and is a registered Church in the US, while OBOD is more of a spiritual practice that is focused on your internal growth and how that is reflected in the world. I find that the two focuses balance very well in my psyche.

All of the different Druid groups – and there are many – have some things that are different and some things that are in common. In a fairly broad generalization, druids focus on community, working with the world around us, and service. Not every Druid does all of these things, but the traditions that I know encourage these things to different degrees.

My Druidry is about helping out in little ways, bringing a little hope and compassion where I can, doing what I can to support those who reach out and those who stand on the front lines. Druidry, to me, is about engaging in a way that makes sense to your circumstances.

I invite you to join me on this irregular journey as we explore what it means to be a Druid in the modern world.

Previous Post

April 17, 2019

Grace Notes: Compassion Fatigue

Next Post

April 18, 2019 3 Pagans & A Cat: You Are Witch Enough

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Lakeside Hearth Adventures in Wortcunning Alone In Her Presence Arts, Crafts & Cooking Birthing Hereditary Witchcraft Book of Blackbirds Book Reviews Born-Again Witch Cauldron, Sword, Spear, & Stone Cermony and Liturgy Columns Community Dandelion Seeds Dear Jasmine Druid Thoughts Editor's Picks Everyday Pagan Family & Household Practice Family Traditions Full Frontal Magic Gateway Goddess Guest Articles Happily Heathen Health and Wellness Hearth of Hellenism Heathen Woman Hills of the Horizon History Holidays Horse Goddesses Interfaith Interviews Irish-American Witchcraft Jewish Witch Lamp & Labyrinth Letters from Midgard Literature, Media, Film, Music Loop of Brighid Love, Sex & Relationships Magic or Magick Making Light Naturalistic Traditions Nature News Outside The Circle Pantheisticon Politics Prayers, Poems, Blessings & Stories Queer Femme Mystic Queer of Swords Recipes Ritual and Practice Science and Research Seekers and Guides Seeking the Grail Socially Responsible Magic Spear of Athena Star Made Witch Syncretic Electric Technology The Blooming Staff The Busy Witch The Cartomancer The Crow's Nest The Dance of Pagan Recovery The Hearth of Hellenism The Lady's Quill The Other Side of the Hedge The Path of She The Rantin' Raven The Witches Next Door The Zen Pagan Theology, Ethics, Philosophy Tree City Witch Urban Earthwitch Wayfaring Woman Witch on Fire Wyrd Words

Select a Month January 2026 March 2025 December 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Gospel begins "In the beginning was the Word"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Matthew Mark Luke John