Hello, World!
Welcome to Autistic Spirituality.
Dearest Gentle Reader,
I'm so excited that you have found your way to this blog. My name is Andy Olson. I’ve been on a spiritual journey since 2016, and I’ve noticed something along the way. Most spiritual teachers and relationship experts are horrendous at explaining their concepts. They leave out huge points that are relevant, they use poetic, flowery language that sounds great but doesn’t provide any real insight, they try and approximate what they’re describing (it’s kind of like this and this, but not like that) instead of drilling down precisely into how to do something and why. This has been immensely frustrating for me. In my experience, all of these spiritual and relational concepts are 100% logical. It wasn’t until recently when I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism and ADHD that I realized what the problem was; most people have some degree of inherent natural understanding of feelings, love, relationships and social interactions. Because of this, I don't believe that these people have a thorough understanding of topics that they teach. This is when I realized that my neurodivergence was a gift. In my life, I’ve had to consciously learn how to act in social interactions, what to say and what not to say and when. I’ve had to learn and discern which feelings are mine, what to do about them, how to express them, and what to do with other people’s feelings. I’ve had to consciously learn what a boundary is. I’ve had to consciously learn how to act from love, how to recognize real love, how to give it, and how to abide with it. I’ve had to consciously learn what compassion is and how to give it to myself and others. I've had to learn how to be with myself, and others. For me, learning to be human has been like going to school instead of something that’s absorbed by osmosis. And that’s okay. It allows me to understand spiritual and relational concepts from a perspective that I haven't seen from the popular teachers or even my own religion.
Another frustration I’ve had over my journey has been the absence of visuals in the literature that exists today to describe psychological, spiritual and relational concepts. Since the beginning of my journey, I’ve taken notes that include illustrations of what I've learned. Drawings, Venn diagrams, virtuous and vicious cycles, and any other visual aid that I can think of will be central to my writing here.
Why am I creating this blog?
This blog feels like something that has been with me for years. I have ignored the urge to get this information out, but it just stays with me. It’s a step I need to take in order to move forward with my life. I’m not concerned with readership. I’m not planning for this to become anything big. Forgive the analogy, but this blog and the illustrations within it feel like they have been gestating inside of me. Time to get it out.
My commitments:
My writing will be 100% authentic. No LLMs, no stuffy formality, no artists to make my drawings pretty. (Sorry!)
I will never charge money for what I write.
I will never withhold any relevant information.
I will share my current experience and understanding of what I'm writing about.
I will only share things I have actually experienced and methods that actually work for me. If I throw out an untested theory, I will explicitly state that it is just a theory.
While I'm a very spiritual person, and I believe that the truth of life is inherently spiritual, all of the concepts I write about will be understandable regardless of what religion you belong to or if you don't believe in God at all. It doesn't matter.
While my intent is that all information is consumable for everyone, I will not censor my experience to make it more palatable.
I will maintain a ‘Definitions’ page to keep track of how I define words that I use differently from what is normally accepted.
What I cannot commit to:
I cannot commit to writing this blog for a certain period of time.
I cannot commit that my current experience and understanding of the topics I write about are the ultimate truth on the subject. While I believe what I'm writing about is valid from my current perspective, I've seen things from many perspectives in my life and I'm sure things will change as I learn and grow. If I'm still involved in the blog, I'll update it with the new perspectives.
I cannot promise that my jokes will be politically correct or even funny.
In summary, my goal is to provide a service that I wish I had on my journey. A fluff free, visual-centric, logical, straightforward explanation of a journey to spiritual and mental health.
With Love and Gratitude,
Andy
❤️