How to help an aspie reach deeper levels of relaxation & inner awareness than they can on their own? Give them a role model who can do just that that they can connect to! So I've been watching Iron Fist the new Marvel Netflix series, and one thing I've thought is; 'Marvel have done it again, given me the right thing at the right time', honestly they are so on my wave length! I have been using meditation for over a month to try to get better control of things, I've tried various things over the years which I'll probably do a post for on it's own, but it's really been helping along with yoga, changing my diet and using things like bineural beats. I've seen a lot of stuff on the internet about how people have 'cured' their children's autism with clean diet and stuff like spiritual healing, and I just wanted to add that that is NOT what I'm doing, because autism cannot be cured any more than an allistic ('normal', neurotypical person) can be cured of being 'normal' (what is normal anyway if we're all unique and different?!). I've said it many times; autism is NOT a disease and people need to stop looking at it like that, stop trying to find a cure and making autistics hate everything about ourselves or the world for trying to change us, it's so dangerous and distructive. Instead you need to start actually helping that person be the best version of themselves. That is what I am doing. I'm working with my brain, not against it; to heal the negativity, the mental blocks, anxiety and pain. Letting go of all the things that have been holding me back, which by the way have been put on me by all the neurotypicals in my life that have wanted to change me or told me I wasn't right. This new approach has helped me get control of my life again, get in touch with my intuition and natural abilities, it's helped when I've been too ill and low on energy to do anything else, it's helped me sleep, and when things have gotten too much. It's not instantly fixed everything, stress from my environment is still a problem, but these things help ease me through the rough patches. Now when I'm close to sensory overload or meltdown, or getting too worked up & stressed I go into my safe space with my earplugs, a stim (stress) toy and a candle and I meditate, so I can go inside myself, calm my mind and block everything else out. No medication, doctors, therapy or intervention, just me getting back in touch with who I am! THIS is what parents and caregivers of autistics should be doing to help us, it's a hell of a lot easier, cheaper, safer and so much more affective than any medical alternative. So back to Iron Fist; I didn't know much about Danny Rand before, other than from a couple of comics and cartoons, this version of him is going to be different from those portrayals (I respect purists because I am one for many things), but this series is just beautifully done and is helping me even more in my quest for self discovery, improvement and healing. Danny's character is very like mine so I felt an instant connection with him, and the spiritual side of things has been right and in line with everything I've been doing as well. He is a survivor and a warrior, but at the same time he's at peace with and loves everything and everyone. He has a childlike joy, innocence and energy and is trusting and genuine which can make him seem naïve but he constantly subverts everyone's expectations of what he can do, who and what he is; there's his outward appearance, and something very different and unexpected hidden inside. When I find a character like this, or one that is going through something similar to me, or who fit me & my character (could be from anything, or even a real person), I start to feel like I am them, so I'm not just going on the journey with them while watching them, I become them. I'll have to go deeper into this another time, but it's connected with special interests, echolalia and mimicking (it's like studying a character/person and subconscious 'method' acting). And so with this character in my head, along with the stuff I've already been doing, the last few days I've been able to reach new levels of calm and serenity while meditating, resting or going to bed. I've been able to help heal my mind by becoming other characters before, when I put on their mindset and become them I can do anything; from helping myself through PTSD, severe anxiety and abuse from my past, to giving me strength to be able to get through very difficult situations, I just put on a character that best fits the circumstances. My cosplaying has done the same thing; allowed me to become a character so I can safely explore and improve a different aspect of myself. So on that note, another thing we aspies/autistics need is to be able to indulge in our interests, because through them we learn how to live and deal with a world that wasn't made for us, and to teach and guide ourselves on the path that only we can discover and choose to take. For those who are there to care for us you can either support & guide us on this journey or leave us alone, cause either way we can't be stopped from taking this voyage of self discovery!
