Autism And Meditation

Spirituality
#1

Yes, I must go here after the events of the past few days.

I personally have Asperger’s Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder (as well as a fair bit of Depression)…but I digress.

This is going to be a pretty huge assumption here, but I can’t help playing ‘connect the neurones’ to try and figure this all out.

I just have a ‘theory’ that needs bearing out…a [I]few[/I] of them, actually.

When we think of Autism, we usually think of ‘vegetables’ rocking back and forth with the inability to communicate. That’s the most extreme case of it.

There are many forms of Autism which come under the blanket of ‘Broad Spectrum Autism’ of which, Asperger’s Disorder is one of these.

Now, I am going out on a limb here (and will watch it break) that many people on the Spiritual/Religious path all possess some form of Autism (either diagnosed or undiagnosed).

They may do this for many reasons:

  1. To have a relationship with about the only possible thing they can (besides themselves). I am not a psychopath, I am just Autistic. &

  2. To have a ‘fixational awareness’ on the above - hence why they do meditation and Yoga.

Now, in regards to #2…I am reaching out further on that limb to say that the degree of the Autism leads to the degree of focus of mind (face it, we’ve been doing that all our lives anyway) and the degree/severity/regularity of any ‘spiritual experience’ they may have.

The reason why we (Autistics) have to remain ‘externally focused’ is because of the constant sensory bombardment most of the time. There’s just no way we can filter all that out (nor can we filter what comes out from within us either) simply because we were born without the brain’s mechanism to do all this.

If I walk into a crowd, or hear a cacaphony of noise, too many lights or whatever, I freak out [I]totally[/I]. I have been known to cry, scream, just run away…whatever, because of it.

So, I get lost in the world of lay Quantum Physics (as we also usually do…nerdy things…), thinking that Boson Higgs = God and whatever.

I am just going off topic now, but I have put the argument out there and would like to receive your feedback. Thank you.

#2

Do serious emotional upsets or stress worsen the symptoms . . . my mind is whirling because what you have described sounds eerily similar to what I have been calling ‘brain trauma’.

Can you recommend any online resources where I can investigate more fully?

You’ve got my cradle rocking!

Brooke

PS I love your signature:p

#3

[QUOTE=Yogini Grace;81432]Do serious emotional upsets or stress worsen the symptoms . . . my mind is whirling because what you have described sounds eerily similar to what I have been calling ‘brain trauma’.

Can you recommend any online resources where I can investigate more fully?

You’ve got my cradle rocking!

Brooke

PS I love your signature:p[/QUOTE]

Thank you.

It worsens the symptoms, so you have to be aware of that and account for it.

I am just going by my own experiences with this and extrapolating those experiences psychologically.

Hmmm…online reading material…I will have to look for some now. lulz

http://www.jkp.com/blog/2011/01/art-chris-mitchell-aspergers-syndrome-and-mindfulness/

Try that for a starters.

You won’t find much about this anywhere though…I have charged headlong in to a very touchy subject, knowing what the consequences of doing so will be.

Aum Namah Shivaya

#4

Well whatever label I put on my difficulties it doesn’t change the expression of them. I think that my ‘project’ being awareness practice is definitely something I get fixated on and, mercifully, been of benefit.

Beleiving in a quantum universe and spirituality is antithetical to my early childhood education which was pragmatic, science etc. That is probably why Vipassana meditation reeled me in so easily. If I get interested in something I just can’t drag my mind away from it or supplant the thoughts with more practical matters. There is a man (scientist I think) named Rupert Sheldrake who has coined the term ‘morphic resonance’. When something occurs in nature it is much more probable that it will keep occuring. Since I heard it on the radio a few months ago I have been applying it to habits of thought.

I once asked one of my psychiatric nurses if she thought that people with mental/emotional illness are more drawn to spiritual practice than those that aren’t sick in some way. She said ‘no’ and that people who had spiritual beleifs before the development of illness did lean on their practice more strongly afterwards.

For myself it is largely a tussle between responsibility and control of oneself, and surrender to forces outside our ability to cognitively apprehend. This year I am allowing myself to[I] feel[/I] without becoming frightened of going manic. It’s a tough row to hoe, and if I hadn’t been practicing awareness for so long (my morphically resonant project) I would likely be in a very paranoid downward spiral and getting myself overstimulated on a regular basis. :wink:

Look Forward

Brooke

#5

[QUOTE=Yogini Grace;81439] That is probably why Vipassana meditation reeled me in so easily. If I get interested in something I just can’t drag my mind away from it or supplant the thoughts with more practical matters. [/QUOTE]
Thanks again, Brooke.

There’s something which relates to this:

…and now, I am going to turn this subject on its ear again:

So, now you can see my whole argument here.

My name, is Dianne by the way.

#6

Hm I admire your honesty and openness about this.
It seems you are carefully observing yourself, and I wish you all the best results for it in 2013 my friend.

Maybe you can turn this ‘observation’-thread into a direction.
You have laid down ‘why’-reasons behind the uncomfortable symptoms, but maybe it would be nice if you could also elaborate on your positive findings so far.
Did you find out any usefull tricks/techniques to control your skill of full-alert external senses?
And do you use internal or external techniques?
What could you advice to forum-newcomers who experience the same symptoms?
How can people only refer to the word ‘autistic’ during explanation, and not identifying themselves too much with it internally?
How do you deal/look at your internal semantics & associations concerning this skill?
Is it free from judgement?

Im not sorry for this battery of questions :slight_smile:

#7

Thank you, sqz. I will try and make use of this myself and give it some ‘direction’ as you said.

All the best for 2013 yourself and I appreciate your reply. I shall do this with more awareness and introspection now I have started on it.

I shall answer all your questions soon, but it’s something I need to think about and some I can’t find the answers for yet.

I know you are not sorry. lulz