I have EXTREME trouble with focusing and trancing, and this is affecting my self-esteem.

[Kunshire]

First of all, let me introduce my practices. I am a witch, son of Hekate, and currently on process of joining the Reclaiming tradition of witchcraft. One of the strongest driving forces of the practices on the tradition envolve something that i would directly translate to “earthing” – the most common way is to imagine roots coming out of your feet and pinching the Earth – after that, you imagine branches going out of your head and shooting through the Cosmos and the stars.

Another thing commonly done is trancing. All my teachers, mentors and even witches who are just learning can easily undergo a trance, leave it and say it was otherwordly. NO ONE seems to have a problem with it and this makes me mad at myself. While i can forget the material world for a while, i don’t know if what i have is exactly trancing, because i am most of the time completely conscious of my surroundings.

This also happens with every meditation – i simply can’t concentrate enough – and the earthing process i’ve mentioned, in which i cannot create a convincing enough image on my head for it to work. In my mind, the roots are always so dull and the branches are not extraordinary. I don’t know what, but it feels so… dull? I can’t focus quite right.

Well, i’ve tried to do earthing in all situations possible. Every day i try a bit and sometimes it works a little bit better. But i always prefer to simply lie down, talk with Hecate in the most honest way possible about my life, thank her and go to sleep. It works way better.

And i know – we are our own masters. I could simply ignore this and do something more viable. But that’s the thing – i don’t want to. I feel like i need to learn how to properly trance, and how to properly earth myself. My practices and preferences are highly connected to Gaia and some epythets of Hekate such as Chtonia and Ourania – so this translates to a connection with the Cosmos and the underworld.

Is anyone else like this? Am i the only one?

Discussion

[ToastyJunebugs]

I have ADHD and I took me a couple tries to do the first exercise in Mat Auryn’s ‘Psychic Witch’ of just counting backwards from 100 three times in a row without getting distracted. I’m going to try my first 5 min meditation session tonight after all the ‘distractions’ have gone to bed lol. Also, you have no proof that all those new people in your group went into trances successfully, they could be lying because they want to be accepted. You only have you. Don’t take other people’s landmarks as your own.

[plantinta]

I have issues with this as well, my mind is overactive, but I am slowly improving. Be patient with yourself

[Aiyokusama]

There is no one way to do anything. If something isn’t working, try something else. And above all, don’t pressure yourself as that will only make it more difficult. Your experience will be YOUR OWN, not according to how it should be because so-and-so says so.

[JenettSilver]

A lot of meditation resources assume either that you are strongly visual or that you are neurotypical. There are tools and techniques to help, but in both cases you may need a different route to having a good experience.

I really like Diana Paxson’s books *Trance-Portation* as a guide to meditation and trance work that works for a wider range of people. She taught it initially as a class a couple of times, then had people she knew teach classes using the material, so it’s got some great troubleshooting and tested “Ok, many people find this works, but if that’s not you, here’s some things to try.”

I have now gotten to the point I get visuals strongly in mediation, but it took me years (about 8) of regular practice, plus some video game playing to get that solid (my theory on that one was that video games with magic gave me somewhat simplified images to work with that were a better intermediary step from ‘stuff in my day to day life’ to ‘magical context’)

What worked for me a lot faster was hooking into other senses – for me, sound is easy, and so is information about the space around me (how far I am from things, how big they are comparatively, what the ground feels like under my feet, is there warm sun on my skin or a breeze). Visuals are hardest, and things like smell and taste and other environmental factors are somewhere in the middle.

The neurodiversity piece is more complicated to give advice for (because it depends a lot on your particular brain), but if you look for specific advice around ADHD and meditation, autism, etc. then you can find a lot on various related subreddits.

[redneckgymrat]

> One of the strongest driving forces of the practices on the tradition envolve something that i would directly translate to “earthing” –

One of the reasons you may be having trouble finding information is semantic, basic terminology. What you call earthing, is much more commonly called grounding on this sub and the majority of online witchy resources.

Searching for grounding techniques might turn up options you’ve not previously considered.

> Another thing commonly done is trancing. All my teachers, mentors and even witches who are just learning can easily undergo a trance,

As is true for everything in life, practice makes perfect. I’m certain that there are some who, on their very first try, trance easily and deeply.

But for the majority who practice it is a practiced skill, developed over time and with effort.

Today, and over the last few days, I know I’ve seen threads with the general topic of concentration and adhd. Minds wandering and so forth.

Even if you don’t have adhd, you’re still describing an inability to hold on to a singular thought over time.

A parallel topic which might also be useful to you is meditation. Again, meditation and ADHD will turn up on a very regular basis, not only on this forum but on many others as well.

It’s a lot more common than you imply.

> Every day i try a bit and sometimes it works a little bit better.

And there it is. Different phrase, same meaning. Practice makes perfect.

> But i always prefer to simply lie down, talk with Hecate in the most honest way possible about my life, thank her and go to sleep. It works way better.

And it sounds like you are already personalizing the approach, finding what works best for you. I was actually going to suggest that anyway, and there you go saying it yourself.

Here’s the thing. Too many people, in too many aspects of life including magic but certainly not limited to it, treat it like a checklist. We’ve even had people ask for shopping lists, literal shopping lists. What do I buy to get started?

It’s much more personal than that!

One thing I found to be useful, particularly for new practitioners, is to ask the reason for what they’re doing. Meditating is common, but why are you meditating? Earthing is common, but why are you earthing?

Instead of focusing solely on the process, focus on the end goal. What is it you’re actually trying to accomplish?

I did a quick Google search on The Reclaiming movement and it seems that it is basically Wiccan with a slant towards intersectional feminism and political advocacy? That’s a strange combination. But hey, whatever works for you.

Though thinking about it, IS it working for you? You said you’re having trouble with it, so it’s a valid question.

What is it that drew you to this particular practice and belief system? I mean, there are certainly plenty to choose from, so why this one?

Why is usually a good place to start, so let’s start there!

And we can work to figure this out, together.

[lptvorik]

How long have you been working at this? I feel that perhaps the folks around you are not giving enough credit to the fact that a strong meditation practice takes years if not decades to cultivate. There’s also a strong chance some of those people for whom this comes so naturally are having the same troubles you are, they just don’t feel comfortable admitting it.

I felt the same frustration when I first started my spiritual practice, but I’ve recently come to terms with the fact that ‘practice’ is an apt name–you have to work at it to get better, and the learning curve is slow and steady. Perhaps some people are born with an aptitude for entering trance-like states, but the vast majority of us have to put in some elbow grease and rebuild those neural pathways. That’s not a quick process.

Bottom line: just be patient with yourself and try not to look outward to measure your progress.