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Exploring Spirituality; a personal reflection on ‘Letting go’
Marion McLaughlin, Aurora Consulting
Some months ago, Sofia from Scottish Ethnic Minority Autistics CIC and I joined Léon Van Ommen from Centre for Autism and Theology at University of Aberdeen and others from different faiths to discuss how to develop resources for Talking Mats to discuss religion, faith, and spirituality. It was a fascinating discussion that I really enjoyed. It was great to get a wee look at some of the proposed designs for reincarnation and feed into the finished product.
I completed a Mat on the Topic Spiritual practices with Margo. We went through each symbol individually and I was able to talking about what it meant to me as an Austistic Buddhist.
Some of the symbols were fairly straightforward and didn’t need much discussion, but I think some of my replies came as a bit of a surprise. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I liked just having some time to explore what my spiritual practices are and how important / useful they are to me.
One symbol in particular struck a note
Letting go
I’ve let go of a lot of things; the internal expectation to be non Autistic, to perform femininity, to be the kind of spouse and parent society expects, and more. It was incredibly freeing. I still practice this when interalised ableism pops up from time to time but societal expectations about who I should and shouldn’t be don’t come directly from be and I don’t need them. I acknowledge them and let them go. I’ll walk my own path.
Sometimes there are external things we need to let go of. We don’t need to be angry and upset all the time. We can forgive some tings – or not – and move on: When things are unintentional it can be easier, when the other person is genuinely trying, when it’s a one-off, low-level thing, when someone is out of character. I can treat people with the grace I hope to get back too in these instances.
But my strong Autistic need for justice can’t always let go. Sometimes I need closure to let go properly, I need a just resolution, especially if the incident I am expected to let go was intentional and damaging.
As a busy parent, small business owner, spouse, physically disabled Neurodivergent person there isn’t always a lot of time in my daily life for considering my spiritual needs, so having this opportunity was very meaningful. I would like to thank Léon and Margo for the opportunity to help explore this new Resource. It’s done me a world of good. I am off to have more of a thine about them.
If you are interested in this Resource we are running an Online Focused Foundation Training on the 11th September.
If you are already Foundation trained you can
