Doing two courses at the same time?

[Little Kingdoms]

Hi all, I'm looking for a bit of advice!  (Or enabling, lol)  I joined the OBOD a few years ago, but only got about halfway through the Bardic course before abandoning it due to personal stuff that was going on at the time.  My last few packets even went unopened.  I always felt bad about that, and the feeling that something was left unfinished.  

Last autumn though I felt an urge to start going through my coursework again.  But although the material was interesting I just couldn't get back in the groove.  I think I was rushing through the earlier stuff that I knew quite well in an effort to get "caught up" with myself.  That, and I'm not certain the OBOD really represents where I am in my spirituality at the moment.  Previously I was still closely tied to the Christian faith, and I didn't consider myself a Pagan even though I had some Pagan-y practices.  Now though I feel less tied to Christianity and more drawn to a polytheistic path.  I feel like the OBOD is a little too wide-reaching in its focus.

I'm thinking now of trying out the BDO's Bardic course.  I'd really like a chance to start afresh, and it seems like the BDO is a closer match to me right now.  But my practical side tells me it's silly to spend more money on a course when I already have one sitting in my lap!  I know that I don't need a course to study Druidry, but I enjoy having a focused course of study to follow.  Do you think doing two courses at the same time is too much of a commitment?  I really would like to at least finish the OBOD course.  Are there any practical issues I should think about before setting off on a new venture?  Thanks!

[Darkhawk]

Do you think doing two courses at the same time is too much of a commitment?  I really would like to at least finish the OBOD course.  Are there any practical issues I should think about before setting off on a new venture?  Thanks!

 
Too much of a commitment is not how I'd put it.

The problem with trying to conduct two courses of religious instruction simultaneously is fairly straightforward: any such course, properly designed and implemented, will be guiding the student to a particular apprehension of the worldview and perspectives of that religion.  This is something that I tend to believe can only be done well one thing at a time, because otherwise a person is being pulled back and forth between multiple courses and never manages the depth of focus required to master one.

I've done a lot of learning religions over the years, and while I am multiple-trad and do multiple things simultaneously, each one of them is something I learned, assimilated, and adopted on its own, focusing on how my existing worldview had to change to become also the other worldview.

[Sophia C]

I've done a lot of learning religions over the years, and while I am multiple-trad and do multiple things simultaneously, each one of them is something I learned, assimilated, and adopted on its own, focusing on how my existing worldview had to change to become also the other worldview.

While Darkhawk is absolutely right, I do think it's a bit different when you're talking about two druidry courses. If you're considering OBOD and the BDO, you're looking at two courses based in revival druidry. Their worldviews are unlikely to clash very much. They're similar enough that their initial courses are both called 'bardic grades', and both focus on similar topics. I was doing work with the BDO (although not their full course) while also doing the OBOD bardic grade, and didn't experience a clash of worldviews - the two courses enriched each other.

I'm currently working through the ADF dedicant path while also studying under a teacher who works in the Druid Network style (think animistic, experiential, modern British-style druidry - there isn't really a name for this style of druidry yet, but I think it will eventually be considered a separate approach from OBOD). I haven't experienced a major clash with those two, either, even though ADF is not revival druidry and there are some differences in how I go about things in each framework. I had a long discussion with the teacher before I signed up with her, trying to make sure that there wouldn't be any major contradictions.

All you can do is try it. I believe you can buy a sample of the BDO's materials without having to sign up for the full course. If you want to, give it a go - if you decide the course isn't for you, you won't have made too much of a commitment. (I always think people should do any 'try before you buy' offers that are available on teaching. It's very hard to tell whether a course or teacher is for you without doing some practical work with them.)

[Little Kingdoms]

..

Thank you both for your input!  I can definitely see Darkhawk's point; you are quite right that a person needs to focus during a course of religious study.  Naomi J, thank you too for your insight into the courses.  I suppose there will be a balancing act going on there--I can appreciate that there will be differences, even if the two aren't poles apart.  I could always put the OBOD course to the side for a time while I work on the BDO.  After all, it's not going anywhere!  Once I get more involved in the BDO I can decide on what degree the two overlap for me.  I can try the first lessons in the BDO and see how well I get on with it, so that's not a major commitment there.

[Keri]

I can appreciate that there will be differences, even if the two aren't poles apart.  I could always put the OBOD course to the side for a time while I work on the BDO.  

 
I'm doing both the OBOD and BDO courses. I started BDO about a month after OBOD. I find they are different, but complement each other very nicely. I feel I'm receiving a well rounded education and there really isn't much duplication in the two outside of the emphasis on Taliesen. Both are experiential, but those experiences differ greatly. And it's enough immersion to keep Druidy central in my life---I also added Emma Restall Orr's Perennial Druidry course available at no cost through the Druid Network a couple of months ago...and that's added another dimension that flows well with the other two.