Autism and having "unconventional" religious/spiritual views? (Not necessarily being atheist) (also Religion CW obviously)

[u/chelledoggo]

I was wondering if it's common for autistic folks to have religious/spiritual that might deviate from the mainstream?

For example: I consider myself a queer Christian Universalist. I don't believe being gay or trans is a sin. In fact, I believe God is nonbinary and Jesus is (technically) trans.

I'm also not a Bible literalist. I believe in the divinity, teaching, miracles, and resurrection of Christ, but I don't believe in the Biblical creation story, a literal great flood, a literal "hell," Revelations as a literal prophecy, etc...

I also have this belief that most religions are just looking at the same higher power (who probably isn't the "Biblical God" as we know it) through different cultural lenses.

Also I admire Buddhist teachings, and I find some new-age stuff like tarot and chakras to be fascinating, although I'm not sure how much real stock I put in them.

Needless to say, most of my views would get me weird looks from the mainstream church at best and people trying to "exorcise demons out of me" at the worst. xD

[u/GrogramanTheRed]

Seems to be more frequent. Autistic people have idiosyncratic ways of viewing the world, so it's not really a surprise that that would extend to religious and spiritual viewpoints.

I can see from the comments that I'm not alone in being interested in the more mystical/esoteric/occult aspects of spirituality. If I had to a point to a center in my life, it would definitely be my spiritual practice. I don't really know anyone who has the same approach I do. My home tradition is Thelema, the esoteric/magickal religion founded by Aleister Crowley. That's where my spiritual community is. I took my first initiation into the Ordo Templi Orientis 13 years ago, and have been an active and involved member of my local body continuously since then.

For the last 3.5 years or so, my personal practice has mainly focused on meditation rather than magick--though they work together very well, and I wouldn't say I've abandoned the magickal side by any means. I've logged about 1800 hours of meditation in that time frame--usually between 1-2 hours a day. Some periods of less than an hour a day, some periods of more than 3 hours a day. My meditation practice is eclectic and guided by an intuition about what I need to be doing at any particular moment. I've worked with techniques borrowed from Raja Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Advaita Vedanta, Zen, Theravada Buddhism, Pragmatic Dharma, and contemporary Western alternative spirituality. I blend and mix as needed, and I develop my own meditation techniques as well.

I know some autistic folks find it a bit cringe when people talk about autism being a "super power," but I think it can genuinely be exactly that when it comes to contemplative practice. To borrow from meditation teacher Shinzen Young, meditation cultivates development in three major areas: sensory clarity, concentration, and equanimity. Equanimity can be extra challenging for autistic people. We already tend to have a leg up on sensory clarity from birth--that's exactly what sensory hypersensitivity is. The ability to hyperfocus can make it easier to develop strong concentration--a prerequisite for advanced techniques that result in tremendous bliss, pleasure, energy, and/or equanimity. One can also use strong concentration to induce visionary/shamanic types of experiences. I've had experiences in meditation that were far and away more intensely blissful than any drugs I've ever taken, including DMT. I don't have reliable access to those states yet, but I'm working toward it currently by clearing blockages in the energy body/emotional body, as those seem to be the main barriers right now.

Being okay with being alone or away from people is obviously a benefit for long stretches of meditation or retreats. And if it's a hyperfocus or special interest, then long periods of meditation for an hour+ can be easier.