Meditation + Neurodivergence – What To Do When You Can’t Meditate

“Have you tried meditating?”

How many times have you heard it? How many times have you rolled your eyes? Neurotypical folks just don’t get it. Our brain’s don’t work like that; we can’t “just” meditate. That’s just not gonna happen for a neurodivergent person.

And yet, meditation is a vital spiritual and magical practice. It can bring you back to yourself when you feel all over the place. It can connect you to spiritual purpose. It can help build the focus and intention necessary for personal growth.

You see, I wasn’t always deeply intuitive. I credit meditation with helping me get in touch with my intuition and with my spiritual path. However, it was hard as fuck. I have hyperactive ADHD. It took years of practice and trial and error and experimentation to find meditation practices that work for me and support my spiritual growth.

But sometimes I just can’t fucking do it! I’m sure you’ve had that experience as well, especially if you have a neurodivergent brain. So what do you do when you WANT to meditate, but you just don’t have the spoons?

Here are my top tips for what do you do when you WANT to meditate, but you just don’t have the spoons:

• Use an app! There are so many great apps out there for helping you meditate. My go-to is the Oak app’s box breathing meditation I just can’t fucking focus but I KNOW I really need to meditate.
• Guided meditation is great. Sometimes you just need to shut off and let someone else guide you. For that purpose a guided meditation can be great! (Looking for a great guided meditation? Get your recording of my Rooting into Power meditation HERE!)
• Go for a walk. Leave your phone at home. Pairing movement with mindfulness has helped me so much in getting in touch with that quiet place where my intuition lives. But I know how my ADHD brain works and if I bring my phone with me I’ll be checking it, so I don’t even give myself the option!
• Ground. And finally, sometimes, you’re just not gonna have the spoons to be super aware and in tune and mindful. Sometimes the best you can do is get in touch with something that is. Luckily, we’ve got the earth. The earth’s capacity to absorb all the neurodivergent mental bullshit that rattles around my brain at times never ceases to amaze me. So, if this is you, plant your bare feet on solid ground (bonus points if it’s actual earth, but not required!), feel into that solid connection, and then let it grown, release all the blech into the ground. GROUND.

Start small and build up to bigger practices. Meditation is a SKILL. Practice and you’ll be hearing your intuition loud and clear, too!