{"id":27303,"date":"2022-10-01T01:10:19","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T05:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=27303"},"modified":"2022-09-28T21:38:58","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T01:38:58","slug":"focus-pocus-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2022\/10\/01\/focus-pocus-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus Pocus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Working With the Gods When You Have ADHD<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Athena<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

I recently took Jack Grayle\u2019s online course Godsong<\/a>, which is a year-long study of Homer\u2019s the Iliad and the Odyssey and the spiritual takeaways that can still be made in today\u2019s world (and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is into mythology and\/or classical literature!). One of my key learnings from this course, and particularly from the Odyssey, is how powerful the goddess Athena can be as an ally to those who have ADHD, like myself.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, Athena is a great shapeshifter who takes on the form of birds and humans as a method of persuasion and she always takes the form that will spark the most appropriate response from whomever she\u2019s trying to persuade. In other words, she alters her appearance and behavior to get her goals accomplished. Those of us with ADHD do something similar when we mask, or hide our neurodivergent traits and struggles from other people. Though, we aren\u2019t masking to persuade others, we are more looking to get our needs met. Athena is chameleon-like as she moves through the Iliad and Odyssey, and I feel like I have been very chameleon-like in my own life, but instead of doing such purposefully and strategically, I did it unintentionally and as a response to trauma. While I don\u2019t want to intentionally mask on purpose because of how draining it is to be anything other than my authentic self, I do recognize my ability to adapt to different situations and understand the perspectives of different people, which I feel is very Athena-like.<\/p>\n

But what if we did want to present ourselves in a different way to help get our needs met? Then we can call upon Athena to pour grace and courage upon us! These moments when we are intentionally and strategically presenting a version of ourselves can be anything from giving a presentation at work to dealing with the chaos and overwhelm that is just inherent with existing in 2022. We don\u2019t have to abandon ourselves and our authenticity, we can stand firm and strong in who we are; these aspects of strength exist in every single one of us. We can then ask Athena to pour some grace and courage on top of what we already have to give us an extra boost. Below are some examples from the Odyssey when Athena poured some grace and courage on someone to help them out to use as inspiration:<\/p>\n