#Neurodiversity and Being Wrong

Neuro-of the brain

Diversity-the state or fact of being diverse;difference,unlikeness

When I was a classroom teacher in the Atlanta area, I worked with at-risk children only. It is a culture foreign to anything I have ever experienced before-on the surface. Teaching Middle School students was a trial by fire for sure and I had a lot to learn very quickly. The biggest one was to get over the pity thing. The children didn’t need my pity, they needed my compassion and empathy. 

I was not brought up poor or Black or Hispanic, but I did grow up in chaos and drama-that much the children and I had in common, and once I realized we had something in common, everything shifted for me. I realized that my kids had no intelligence issues, despite the attitudes of the Principal of the school and the other General Education Teachers. My kids were and are Different Thinkers. 

It just burns my butt when I witness parents treating a Different Thinker like there is something wrong with them! I have had client families that I have fired. Despite all the good I’ve done, the parents just don’t get it. Yes we can, at times, have culture and language barriers, but that’s no real excuse because the kids translate when need be. The parents continue to believe that their child is wrong, is stupid-yes the mother called him that and when I confronted her she said, and I quote, “he knows what I mean-don’t act so stupid”. I suggested saying that rather than talking about “being”, but again deaf ears.

Culture can play a part, yes,but ignorance is Universal. We Different Thinkers exist in all Cultures, Times, and Places-we do. No matter how hard all you “normal” people try to make us “the same”, we will never be able to-we don’t work that way! A child who is more sensitive or more shy or more anything than you isn’t wrong, they are simply different from you! Yes, they may need a Speech Therapist or other assistance along the way, but for God’s sake honour that! If you can’t understand what your kid is feeling or thinking, at the very least work out a system with them!

Here’s an example of something I taught a Thinking Parent to do with  a Feeling Child. When this child is feeling uncomfortable, step one for them is to find their Mum and simply squeeze her hand. It’s just that simple! Then the Mum can put her arm around the kid, or at the very least, squeeze back for reassurance. There doesn’t need to be drama, there just needs to be compassion and a sense of safety.

I took the Myers-Briggs Types Test when I was 19 and it was a game-changer for me! We are all different! I learned from this simple but effective tool to understand other people who are different from me.

Here’s an example: If you are a computer person who is an Engineer, you will go about your Life differently that someone who is a Dancer or a Singer. You are two different types of people! Where a singer or actor may be very emotional and/or talk about their feelings a lot, an Engineer, will not. They just aren’t wired that that! It isn’t about anyone being wrong, it’s about acknowledging that we are different. Different isn’t wrong, it’s just different!

When a mother or a father is a Computer Engineer with an overly (to them) emotional child, they can look at the child as if something is wrong with them because the child doesn’t act like them. The same goes for someone like me who is all right-brain touchy-feely with a Math Kid!

If you want Peace in your home Life, you are going to have to accept that this wonderful child of yours isn’t wrong, they’re just different from you!

Love and Light to All of God’s Children-most especially the Different Ones!

Heather M. McCrae, MM MEd

ALL MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THE WEBSITE IS COPYRIGHT 2012 NEURODIVERSITY COACHING

#Neurodiversity and Cultivating Gentleness

Neuro-of the brain

Diversity-the state or fact of being diverse;difference,unlikeness

Boy, the crap is really hitting the fan isn’t it? Just when we think the World-no let me be very clear-the Human World-is going to turn the corner on DRAMA-DRAH MAH….and move towards Peace, some human does something ego-based and very low, and the apple cart is upset and we seem to have to start all over again from scratch.

World War 1 led to World War 2 which led to the Cold War which led to Vietnam which led to more Cold War which led to the War on Terror…..WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR…….et al…war

One of the statements I have heard made to me and within earshot and eyeshot is that Peace-real lasting True Peace-begins within. In my 20′s I was much too busy trying to find myself and recover from my traumatic childhood to take that in.

The problem is, many ,many ,many of us are far too busy to take this thought in. Activity suggests a Life filled with purpose (The Sound of Music? I think the Captain said it to the Baroness or vice-versa). And yet, look at all the activities going on around the Human World whose only noticeable purpose is chaos!

Yes, I am 48 years old. No, I don’t go clubbing and dancing..I never liked it. As someone with ADHD the noise and the lights are like WAY too much. I LOVE music, in my home, or in the car, blasting as I sing along-completely different. 

I celebrate with every 20 something who goes out clubbing and celebrates Life and has fun! I do! Go for it! 

So yeah, compared to some people I am old. O L D old! And yes, I have learned a thing or two. Like all of my True and closest friends, and just like you, yes you, I am a very stubborn person. Sometimes, no matter how hard someone may try to stop me or help me not experience something awful, my ego takes over and I act without thinking. 

Our human world is filled with people like me who are still acting without thinking! Oh yes, we feel things. And by God we will act on those feelings! 

You know what guys? I have DONE THAT! And honestly, all the stuff they tell you in ALANON is true-feelings are not facts! They just aren’t!

What is going on in the Middle East is an expression of intense repressed anger that has been building for centuries! The West has cultivated and encouraged terrorists for our own selfish gain and then turned on them and killed them like they were expendable tissues or cock roaches. This is not opinion, it is fact.

And yet…..despite all of this intense and justified anger and all the acts of terrorism and all the violence and all the senseless endless noise and iPods and iPads filled with earplugs that kids are trying to tune out all this endless mindless stuff……………………

The Earth keeps turning! The sun rises and sets. The moon waxes and wanes. And more and more and more and more people are slowly, and gently coming home to themselves. More and more people are doing yoga, gardening, spending time in Nature, quitting mind-numbing corporate jobs and starting over from a gentler place! 

And not just old farts like me! Young farts, teen farts, all us farts are starting over! All it takes is that one moment-either when you are brought to your knees by crisis or when you are in a profound state of Peace newly discovered-when you realize you just don’t have to buy into the noise and hype anymore.

One of the many gifts I have received since coming home to Canada, my Home and Native Land, is the gift of a slower pace of living. 

When I first came home, I thought I would lose my mind for the seemingly mind-numblingly slow rate at which my Life was moving. I hated it until I finally accepted it. 

Acceptance has meant that things move in pace with the Earth, not my ADHD-wired brain! Gentleness has washed over me in waves and has brought me to my knees in gratitude for the miracles that took place over the last 35 years that brought me home. 

Practicing gentleness means that I don’t assume someone is an asshole. Gentleness means I am patient with my Life Process, with my friends and with my family. I forgive myself and others easily and quickly and honestly. I take my time and choose my clients with care. I advocate for myself gently, even when my ego is screaming in my head begging me to react or jump on an email sent by a supportive friend. My ego wants to make, create and perpetuate DRAH MAH! it does. 

Because I am in Initiate in the Modern Mystery School, I have tools and I also have the awareness and responsibility to use those tools to keep my mind gentle. It really does all begin with what we think.

When we think fear-based thoughts, our actions are fear-based and thus people respond to us fearfully. It really is that simple. What’s hard is to un-learn fear-based and pathology-based thinking. When you are used to looking at or looking for what’s wrong, it takes real discipline and practice to focus on what’s right. 

Are you ready to see what’s Real and True and Honest and get off all the meds and live in Peace? Then start looking at what’s going right! Just start there. Start today. Every moment from now on, ask yourself what is working. Your Life will never be the same. Mine isn’t, thank God!

Love and Light to All of God’s Children-All of them-not just the ones the I Like, but most especially the ones I don’t!

Heather M. McCrae, MM MEd

ALL MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THE WEBSITE IS COPYRIGHT 2012 NEURODIVERSITY COACHING

Inclusion Teaming is an educational program that provides students, with and without social skill challenges, communication skill they can use for a lifetime—for future success in any field!

We are experiencing difficulty getting the word out to families of high school youth with high functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome.

Our program is FREE and takes place at Yale New Haven/St. Raphael Hospital. It begins on Thursday, September 27th.

http://inclusionteaming.blogspot.ca/

#Neurodiversity, ADHD and Patience

Neuro-of the brain

Diversity-the state or fact of being diverse;difference,unlikeness

Ok, stop laughing! LOL! Putting ADHD and patience in the same sentence is indeed an oxymoron! The whole diagnosis of ADHD is about inattentive behaviours based in an inability to be still and patient. I know, because I have ADHD.

When someone like me grows up in drama, trauma, chaos and violence, not only do we take it all in, we take it all in! We absorb all that stuff because we have no filters. We become the chaos and the trauma and it is the beginning of that intense internal dialogue that shapes itself into the headnoise.

Living in the Autism Spectrum means that everything is an intense experience-whatever or whoever it is, we have intense experiences beyond what other people have. If you look up the annals of History, you will find that some of the most amazing people in the world were and are in the Autism Spectrum! We are the Writers,Scientists, Artists, Composers, Musicians, Actors, and Others that shape societies! We can’t help it! We hear, see and know the Music of the Universe and we want to express it! We have to! 

And……and…..if you think we are a pain in the ass, imagine being us for one day! I have a running joke with my friend Wendy who is one of the most compassionate, insightful and brilliant people I know! She is one of my most trusted friends because no matter how impatient or noisy or restless I get, she has the most loving and humorous way of talking me down from the top of the tree where I try to perch for a better view of what is coming.

When my mother died three months shy of my twentieth birthday, I saw, immediately how the Universe intervened on my behalf to give me the people, places and things I needed to move my Life forward, heal and release the past. I have a very clear list on my Oscar Acceptance Speech, which I recite in prayer and meditation at least three times a week. 

Because of the combination of ADHD and childhood violence and trauma I experienced, I have had to learn how to trust-me, my Life process, my ability to draw to me what I need, and to trust God. When you are abused as a child, trust goes out the window immediately and is replaced with many different kinds of coping mechanisms designed to help you survive normally unthinkable circumstances-none of which is very helpful when the past is over and here you are in the present trying to make a life for yourself.

 I didn’t sleep well last night-at all. I am inches away from having some people, places and things in my Life I have waited years for! Most of that waiting was about undoing internal mental damage and healing destroyed self-worth. You only draw to you what you think you are worthy of, so if you think you are a piece of shit (and how could not if you were told that in a myriad of different ways as a child?), then you just keep attracting shitty nouns-people places and things-that reaffirm that.

As an initiate in the Modern Mystery School, I have tools that I never had before that keep me on an even keel, even when my negative ego wants to stir up shit. I pray, I meditate and I surrender to the Flow that I have practiced successfully trusting. Because of the many classes I have taken, most especially Universal Kabbalah, my very wounded ideas about God and Jesus have been healed in ways I could no more express in words than fly to the moon! 

Probably the most important thing I am able to practice successfully today is directing my will.  I am able to choose like never before. When your head lives in total chaos, it is very hard to believe you have choices because all you see and hear is noise 24/7. All you know is chaos and that is reflected in your Life.

Today, even after not sleeping well, I can direct myself to sit and blog, coffee in hand, get dressed, “move about the cabin” and not buy into despair and worry about the nouns not coming true. I have faith in myself and the nouns in my Life as never before. So these people, places and things I am waiting for, even when I get restless, frustrated and impatient, are worth the wait, so I stay busy. My friend Judith told me once that “waiting is active movement”. For someone with a creative mind, what that means is that I keep busy-i have more than one balloon in the air so while one thing may have to sit and incubate, I have three other things I can rotate my focus on so I can stay out of trouble.

Love and Light to all God’s impatient people!

Heather M. McCrae, MM MEd

ALL MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THE WEBSITE IS COPYRIGHT 2012 NEURODIVERSITY COACHING

Neuro-of the brain

Diversity-the state or fact of being diverse;difference,unlikeness 

It is very difficult for someone who is not on the Spectrum to understand just how sensitive we folks with ADHD/Aspergers/Autism are. We each have different Super Powers. Some of us are Genius Math People, or Artists, or Singers, Teachers, Chefs, etc. and some of us are High Intuitives.

One of my least favourite words is crazy. Yes, it’s a wonderful Patsy Cline song, true, but there are times when that word gets stuck in my bean and I can’t let it go.

For centuries, women like me have been described as everything from being crazy, to being a witch, a sorceress, a nut ball, you name it.

I live in the Autism Mind Family and for most of my Life, I had no clue I was Neurodiverse, I only knew that wherever I went, and whoever I was with, I felt like an outsider and like I never quite fit in anywhere. I was too loud, too much, too emotional, too needy, too fat, too smart, too ugly..too too…..

It is very difficult for someone who is not on the Spectrum to understand just how sensitive we folks with ADHD/Aspergers/Autism are. We each have different Super Powers. Some of us are Genius Math people, or artists, or singers, Chefs, etc. and some of us are High Intuitives.

We hear everything!  We do! What makes it so difficult to discern in our heads, which act as lightning rods of information, is whether or not what we are hearing is our own noise and insecurity, or what’s going on out in the world. As I have described in Workshops, having ADHD is like being a radio with several stations going on all at once. I hear music, conversations, nonsense rhymes, you name it, I hear it or feel it. 

My friend Wendy Walker calls hearing and knowing things Extended Sensory Perception. An example of this would be, for instance, making a bed and then suddenly realizing you’re hearing a conversation that isn’t in the other room, but is actually about 1500 miles away in another state, but because the conversation is about you, you pick up on it. Yes, I said that-out loud. This actually happened to me about 20 years ago and I know the event to be true because I picked up the phone and called one of the people I thought I heard talking, and they verified the conversation.

So there you have it-bat shit crazy, right? I hear things. Sometimes I am right on the money, which helps me to express deeper compassion for someone in a time of great need, or it lets me know that someone I love very much does indeed feel the same way about me, and it is a great comfort.

And sometimes, it’s just noise my head makes and I am wrong. What I am hearing is just ego. That’s when I feel crazy! 

In reality, every Super Power has a shadow side. Being Highly intuitive means you have days when you don’t feel grounded and sane-at all. You get caught up in what you feel, or someone says something to you that you can’t get out of your head and you latch onto it like glue!  I was referred to as “crazy” the other day by a friend who was describing a mutual friend’s affection for me. This other person who is as “left brain” as I am “right brain” was simply trying to understand me. And my negative ego leaped at the chance to make me wrong, so I spent the weekend with the word “crazy”. 

As my friends and I say each day to anyone who will hear, words have power-they do! Thoughts have power-you are really going to have to trust me on that! The way my “Spidey Senses” work for me is that if someone is thinking about me, I get a feeling in my heart or my gut, and then my head creates words. This is either a fun thing or a very uncomfortable thing. It is not intentional eavesdropping, and sometimes when their thoughts about me have passed, I somehow end up staying with them past the conversation or thought about me and I have to consciously remove myself by thinking about something else or literally saying to myself either out loud or in my head “none of my business”.  And sometimes I pick up on something going right or wrong with someone I care about and I call them. 

What I have been writing about we all have the ability to tap into. Wendy has described this intuitive gift as an extension of a feeling or a knowing-that’s all it is. It’s an extension. We all have loved ones and Women’s Intuition isn’t new. There are millions of us out there who do not discuss just how much we actually hear and know. 

I guess I am letting the cat out of the bag for myself as a way of trying to comfort both me and the other millions like me who do feel crazy sometimes. All it takes is a word to send us out in the ozone, and it takes a lot longer to land again. When you spend most of your Life feeling like an outcast, it takes a tremendous amount of courage to really allow yourself to be see, to be open, and to be vulnerable to other people. Love is the scariest thing of all for folks like me on the Spectrum!

Some of us can’t handle the intensity of being touched, others of us crave it like oxygen! Some of us get freaked out by the thought of sexual intimacy, and others of us feel like we invented it! Some of us are in Theatre and Film and flaunt what we have with pride and truth and some of us hide in the shadows anxiously waiting for permission to come out and play. 

My facebook feed is ripe with supportive statements and posts by and for the Neurodiverse-I designed it that way. I want anyone who comes to my door to know that without question, they are accepted-unconditionally. I don’t judge people, I judge their ideas about people.  We each have Gifts and Abilities that can make us seem bat shit crazy-every one of us. Some of us are more “out there” or “in there” than others, but we all have something we bring to the table. Being able to see, hear and know, is a Super Power that I have had my whole life and it is a part of what makes me who and what I am. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And yes, it means, sometimes I spend a day feeling ungrounded and crazy, but then, I nurture my insecure gawky inner-teen, get a good night’s sleep and I am right as rain and ready to begin anew, offering my Gifts to the Universe in Service to the Light. What’s your Super Power?

Love and Light to all of God’s Children. I’m listening-are you?

Heather M. McCrae, MM MEd

ALL MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THE WEBSITE IS COPYRIGHT 2012 NEURODIVERSITY COACHING

The Fractal Patterns of Neurodiversity

by Kimberly Burnham

Just noticing the pattern, the way in which we are similar and are connected can bring healing, strengthen the function of your brain, help you to be more adaptable. This all makes breakfast more fun in the morning. 

Many of the patterns in the natural world are fractal in nature. Fractals are a mathematical description of a rough, uneven shape. An oak tree has a fractal shape with a self similar branching pattern. One of the characteristics of fractal patterns that the big thing is like the small thing only bigger. A tree for example has a trunk with branches. Each branch with its own branches is like the trunk only smaller. Even tiny leaves have a trunk like vein that branches. The vein in the leaf is like the tree trunk only much, much smaller.

Often your eyes relax when you notice this natural pattern and the similarity of shapes, whether it is a bright red maple tree in the fall or a tall blue spruce or an oak tree seedling. And when we are relaxed, our blood flows through our fractal branching blood vessels bringing nourishing oxygen and nutrients to our fractal patterned  brain. There is scientific research that suggests we heal faster, with less pain in a hospital room with window that looks out over a natural scene with fractal shaped popular trees, red tulips, blades of blue green grass with fractal shaped mountain ranges, puffy white clouds or a jagged shoreline in the distance.

Try this Fractal Tree Vision exercise outside in a place that has trees, when you have a chance. Or you can at each step close your eyes and do this as a visualization, imagining a huge beautiful tree. The healing properties of noticing the natural patterns seems to work even when you are looking at a painting of a tree or natural landscape. 

1. Look around yourself. Notice the light. How bright is it? Notice the colors and shapes around you. This is the “before” measurement of how you feel in your skin and in your environment. Notice how you feel, how relaxed your head and shoulders are. Feel whether every part of your body is comfortable. Take a minute or two to check in with your body and emotions. Then take a minute or two with each of these steps.

2. Choose a tree for this exercises (real or imagined or a painting). Stand about 20 feet or seven meters from the tree. Notice the overall shape. Do you recognize the kind of tree it is? It doesn’t matter if you do. Are there any birds that you see or hear? Are there any crickets or bugs making sounds? Is there a wind blowing, moving the tree? Notice the overall color of the leaves and branches.

3. Walk a little closer, so that you are about 10 feet or three meters from the tree. What is different from this distance? Do you notice more detail in the roughness of the bark? Notice the angle at which the branches come off the central trunk. See how the leaves are not all the same color and that there are shades and variation in the leaves. Does your body feel different as you look at the tree from this distance?

4. Now go even closer so that you are about three feet or one meter from the tree. Anything new that you notice? Look at the detail in the textures, the edges, how one branch flows into another or how the color on one part of the leaf gradually changes hue. How do your eyes feel now about a meter from the tree?

5. Again even closer so your face is just a few centimeters or inches from the tree. Look at the ridges and swirls in the bark. Is the bark on the trunk different from the bark on the branches or is it a smaller version? Notice the texture of a leaf. Trace the edge with your fingers. Feel the bumpiness.

6. Then close your eyes and imagine you are looking through a microscope at the bark or leaf or fruit or blossoms of the tree. What details do you notice? How does the tree feel different to you? How do you feel different?

7.  Now reverse the process and back up so you are about three feet or one meter from the tree. What is different from when you were earlier this distance from the tree? Do you notice anything new? Is there a new smell in the air? What has changed?

8. Back up even farther, so you are about 10 feet or three meters from the tree. Do you get a different feeling from the tree? Does the energy around the tree, or around you feel different? Calmer? More charged? What feels different?

9. Now back to the starting place 20 feet or seven meters from the tree. Take a good look and notice the details, the variation in the shapes and colors of this individual tree. 

10. Finally, Look around yourself. Notice the light. How bright is it? Notice the colors and shapes around you. This is the “after” measurement. Notice where in your body you feel better. How relaxed are your head and shoulders. See whether every part of your body feels comfortable. Take a minute or two to check in with your physical self and your surroundings.

You have just experienced an individual tree, which is unique and yet has a pattern with the various parts of the tree, a smaller or bigger version of each other.

            With this exercise many people experience a sense of relaxation, improved eyesight and a greater sense of wellbeing. I would love to hear about your experience. You can contact me through my website: http://www.KimberlyBurnhamPhD.com . For a free 30 minute consultation opportunity check out my fund raising appeal at http://visualizehealth.net/SustainableAgriculture.php

About Kimberly Burnham 

Hey, Kimberly Burnham here. I help visionaries see the world (improve eyesight) in a more positive and hopeful way (increase insight and intuition). My process is backed up by my PhD in Integrative Medicine, my childhood as a global nomad, and my own vision recovery despite a genetic eye condition.

            I am passionate about helping people see, feel seen and glimpse ways to impact inner peace, outer harmony and abundance.

            Albert Camus, author of one of my favorite books, The Stranger wrote, “Life is a sum of all your choices.” Dr Wayne Dyer, put it in a more conscious way, “Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made.”

            More than nine million Americans over the age of 40 have macular degeneration. They are losing their vision, their ability to drive safely, watch transformational movies, and  to read inspirational works like my chapter, The Eyes Observing Your World in Christine Kloser’s Pebbles in the Pond, Transforming the World One Person at a Time. Their world is getting smaller. I understand.

            I show visionaries how to use fractals to improve their life in my 2011 messenger mini-book, Our Fractal Nature, a Journey of Self-Discovery and Connection. 

Neuro-of the brain

Diversity-the state or fact of being diverse;difference,unlikeness 

For parents-especially those who have kids with special needs, it is a daunting task indeed to consider getting help. It is only natural that you would want to go through an agency to be sure that you get the right Nanny. However, there are things you must know before you go down that road

Previous to being a Classroom Special Educator, I was a Nanny for 13 years-11 with the same family and we are very very close still. The three kids are all grown up and in their twenties and the youngest and I are still best friends-she is 24.

For parents-especially those who have kids with special needs, it is a daunting task indeed to consider getting help. It is only natural that you would want to go through an agency to be sure that you get the right Nanny. However, there are things you must know before you go down that road:

1. Agencies will charge you an outrageous sum of money
2. There is no guarantee that the Nanny you hire will be a good fit, despite the enormous sum of money you dish out to the agency despite any guarantees they may offer
3. The amount of pay your Nanny will actually receive as an employee of an agency is usually 50% or less than what the total amount is you are paying every month. I had this confirmed when I posed as a Nanny seeking a job online

The reason it is so important that you get that your Nanny is being ripped off, is that having done that work myself, I would not stay in a situation for very long where I was not getting paid

Nanny turn-over is an issue with any family, and there are things that you can do to retain the help you need and for everyone to be happy:

• As scary as this may sound, do the search online yourself! There are plenty of Nanny websites that you can register at for a very small fee that are safe and effective, and/or put an ad on Craig’s List or Kijiji
• Know what you want and need and stick to your guns-make a very detailed list ( as detailed as possible) of the qualities you require, the tasks needing to be completed by the Nanny and be willing to pay them to keep them
• Require a thorough background check. In Canada there is something called a “Vulnerable Sector Check” that is conducted by the RCMP for a fee of about $50, but it is very thorough and ensures that the candidate you are considering has no arrest record at all, or is in anway connected with abuse against children, those with special needs or the elderly ( the most vulnerable sectors in our society).
• Talk to your closest friends and get their input-have one of them interview with you and/or have them read over email responses

Despite the fears you may feel, it is really not that hard if you are organized, and you will feel infinitely better and will have saved yourself as much as thousands of dollars in fees by doing the work yourself. 

Most importantly, no matter how rushed you may feel, take your time and interview a lot of people to get a really clear picture of who is out there and who would be the best fit for you!

You will find a great fit if the pay you offer is fair, the hours are fair and you take your time looking.

Love and Light to you on your search! 

Heather M. McCrae, MM MEd

ALL MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THE WEBSITE IS COPYRIGHT 2012 NEURODIVERSITY COACHING

Neuro-of the brain

Diversity-the state or fact of being diverse;difference,unlikeness

Pathology- the science or the study of the origin, nature, and course of diseases.

“Why is it that someone must always be wrong? This is the question I am currently asking myself. Regardless of what anyone says, or studies have shown, change comes from within and ripples out. I have spent most of my Life with the misguided notion that I am not enough, handed a “pathology” from parents and a culture that had no idea what to do with someone like me.”

In order to shift out of looking at people who walk, talk, think, feel, smell, sound, touch, move differently that we do, we must unlearn the idea of pathology. For hundreds of years now, we have embraced the perspective of critical judgement towards anything that is not normal. This entire concept has done the human world so much more harm than good because it has separated and divided us in countless ways.

We see someone in a wheelchair and assume something is wrong with them. In the not too distant past, and sometimes still, women are seen as quite inferior to men. There are countless numbers of people around the world who believe that being Gay is a Pathology whose only solution is brainwashing and/or death to the Gay individual. This has also been a practice for centuries in many cultures towards people whose bodies were not the same as others in the group. The elderly had been sent away,or drowned, or killed, or left to freeze to death,  ”deformed” children burned alive,drowned, killed,women burned at the stake for being too intuitive, Gay people still harassed, dragged behind cars and trucks, beaten, hung,shot, black people enslaved,ans so much more unspeakable harm done until recently Jewish people forced to endure a Holocaust, Sikh people killed and harassed, Muslims killed and harassed……Native peoples having their lands taken over and viewed as savage by people who are supposedly “civilized”, non-Christians burned at the stake, tortured, forced into Holy War….

Why is it that someone must always be wrong? This is the question I am currently asking myself. Regardless of what anyone says, or studies have shown, change comes from within and ripples out. I have spent most of my Life with the misguided notion that I am not enough, handed a “pathology” from parents and a culture that had no idea what to do with someone like me.

I am as Neurodiverse as it gets! I am a Lesbian, Ordained Minister, Wiccan Priestess, adult living successfully with Depression and ADHD. I have had an abortion, spent one night in Jail due to a clerical error, have been homeless, and have made pretty much every mistake there is to make. I Live in a Glass House-and yet I see I am still throwing stones. 

Because of my education, I have come to believe, and wrongly, that if someone doesn’t do “it” ( replace the word with whatever fits at the time) the way I think they should, then they’re just wrong. 

I could apply this to parents who choose not to listen to me, despite what is clearly not helpful to their children, my ex for not being what I wanted, for the USA for being so filled with vitriol and an insane population of gun-toting lunatics.

And, am I wrong for these beliefs? My great friend Laura Biering, told a group of us years ago  as we bravely embarked on a journey called “Love Your Body Live Your Life”, that “Nobody gets to be wrong, not even you”. At that time, I couldn’t even fathom that idea, so I pretty much ignored it and went on my way as best I could, but the thought was not wasted on me.

So the question remains, how, in the name of God, do I move forward in my Life, without anyone being wrong? I am so blessed to have pretty amazing people in my Life, including Coaches, Teachers, Leaders, Artists, Spiritual Leaders and Teachers. What I see reflected back to me over and over again, is exactly what Laura Biering said, all those years ago-nobody gets to be wrong, not even me. 

I do, of course, have some thoughts about it all. In order for me to really do my job as both a Spiritual Being seeking progress on my Journey, and The Neurodiversity Coach, I must start with forgiveness. I must begin by forgiving myself for buying into fear on all the levels I have experienced it: Global, National,Social, Communal, Familial, and personal. Only when I can forgive myself for buying into fear, can I shift my perception and thus my reality. 

When I take the responsibility required to forgive me, I can then honestly forgive everyone from my abusive father, to Mitt Romney! I can again suggest to myself that I pay attention to what I post online and ask time and time again if I am inviting others to lift themselves up, or am I aiding and abetting fear, separation and darkness?

Yes I re-post many many pictures of puppies and kitties on Facebook and will continue to do so. I will also re-post pictures and comments made by those moving bravely forward in support of the Light and seeking to end discrimination and fear. I feel good about my feed because it supports my journey and reflects my values.

When I hear about mass shootings, I think two things:

1. A community requires our collective prayers for healing at a time of great sadness
2. Someone believed what they had been told about themselves in a negative way, so much that what they reflected back to a culture was violence and hate.

Anyone, and I do mean anyone who commits violent crime, is a victim of their inner dialogue handed to them by others. Regardless of lawyer’s best attempts at the “insanity” plea, these people chose hate-they chose it. And, I empathize! I have hated myself too! Instead of looking that these very confused individuals with hate, which simply allows evil to win and yes, make no mistake, there is a devil, I simply choose not to refer to him in capital letters for a whole host of reasons, we must look at the larger picture in a very honest fashion.

I have stated countless times that bullies create bullies. Just like Love, hate can be generational. If we look at the misguided lives of serial killers, you can see a pattern passed down over and over again. Abuse, neglect, violence, bullying.

We must end generational hate, and support generational Love! The only way to shift out of pathology and shift into Neurodiversity, is to shift out of pathology and shift into Neurodiversity. 

Here are some possible steps to take:

• Start with completely embracing and accepting all of who you are-right now in this moment
• Forgive yourself for every negative thought, feeling and action
• If there are others you have harmed as a result of your thoughts and action, then make amends!
• Start looking for what is right in you and others, without ignoring reality or healthy boundaries
• Give yourself permission to make mistakes and accept the mistakes of others
• Respect yourself and Love yourself enough to gently and clearly walk away from the people, places and things that do not support your Light, your Values, and your Worth.

Begin with forgiveness. Just forgive it all and see what shifts for you!

Love and Light to all of God’s Children-especially those who don’t do it my way!

Heather M. McCrae, MM MEd

All material contained in the website is copyright 2012 Neurodiversity Coaching

Neuro-of the brain

Diversity-the state or fact of being 

diverse;difference,unlikeness

We all have issues-either physical, mental or emotional-all of

us! My question to you is, are you choosing to be sparkly and

be part of the #Neurodiversity Revolution, or are you going

with the “same old same old” and seeing yourself as crippled?

I remember when I was diagnosed with Depression and ADHD-it put all the pieces together; and it also gave my ego a free ride. A diagnosis is great if you are going to take the reigns, be responsible and get on with it, but for many of us who lived in chaos, and for parents who receive the “bad news” from the doctor about the baby or small child, the gray balloons come out and the pity party begins. 

We buy into the “pathology”, our self esteem goes out the window and we believe we are broken and wrong. Believe me I get it! What is so very important to me about the message that Neurodiversity is here to shout from the Mountaintops, is that “pathology” is an ego-based construct devised by well-meaning individuals over 200 years ago, for the sake of problem-solving. That’s all it was meant to do. 

If you buy into Neurodiversity, you accept that the very things that make you different are the very things you offer to the world as your Medicine and your Magick and your Gift.

There is nothing wrong with you! I have posted this Truth countless times, and if I could have it embedded into the Mind of everyone I would! However you showed up on the Planet Earth, is the way Your Higher Self chose in order for your to fulfill your Highest Potential!  

Yes it’s true, you look/feel/sound/smell/act differently from other people. Why are you using that as an excuse to keep you from getting on with it?! 

Start with the basics. Do you have the basic things you need in your Life right now to eat, sleep, breathe, poop, pee, and get around? If not, get help and get on with it! If you do, then start exploring what you feel most passionate about-not from an angry place, but from a place of Joy! What turns you on? What fills you with Light?  What are you for?! 

We can all find something to be angry about, and that it is just one more ego distraction if it is all you focus on! Feeling anger about injustice is just noise if all your are going to do is sit around/lie around/walk or roll around/ feeling angry and fueling the anger in others. 

If, however, you use that anger to positively fuel your passion for Living and truly being of Service to others in a way that brings you Light and Peace, then feel the anger!

Whatever the thing is that makes you different is only a problem if you decide it is. When I see you, really see you in your chair, or with your canes, or with your facial or physical difference, I pay attention to how you hold yourself and your energy. Are you radiating Light? 

We all have issues-either physical, mental or emotional-all of us! My question to you is, are you choosing to be sparkly and be part of the #Neurodiversity Revolution, or are you going with the “same old same old” and seeing yourself as crippled?

To me, the only thing that cripples us is the hold that we allow our negative ego to have on us! I Respect and Love everyone including you!

I don’t care what you look like, smell like, sound like, feel like, think like, who you Love or how you get around! What I care most about is what you are bringing to the table and how much you are able to authentically Love and Accept who and what you are in every monment! You have nothing to fear but fear!

I Coach individuals in finding their unique place in the world-this is Niche Construction.  Look at what you feel passionate about and then give yourself permission to surround yourself with people who support you in your pursuit of your passion! Even if you need the physical assistance of another person, place or thing to breathe or function, you are still whole in and of yourself! You are! You are enough and thank God you showed up just when you did!  We have all been waiting for you and ready to hear what your Heart has to say! 

So get on with it!

Diversity-the state or fact of being 

diverse;difference,unlikeness  

This past week has been very full for me! I have made some major decisions, done some of my best work, and I am exhausted,yet exhilarated!

I have been so inspired by the attitudes of my fellow Canadians and our Olympic Athletes! Anyone who speaks about our team speaks with respect and talks over and over again about making gains and strides-incremental progress! One of the women swimmers was pleased to have moved their status from 7th to 5th. We have more Bronze Medals than anything else, and I don’t know anyone who isn’t really proud of our Canadian Athletes! This is what is so cool! We, as Canadians, are focused on progress, not perfection, and are supportive of the World Community and the achievements of others!

These are the things that make me so happy to be Canadian! We cheer individual achievements! What may be a minor victory for one person may be a personal best for another! Michael Phelps has his goals, and other athletes have theirs! That does not mean that anyone who isn’t him sucks!

As a Neurodiverse adult, I have had to learn to walk away from the pretty shiny distractions and work on incremental progress! There comes a time when you just can’t keep running away to join the Circus and you must stop, get grounded, make a plan and follow thr0ugh!  Anyone with ADHD can tell you this is so much easier said than done!  

However, Dreams have no value if you are unwilling to do the real honest work to achieve them!

When you have a head filled with dreams and hopes and inspiration, it takes practice to separate what is most useful from what is not. What is hardest most of the time is to say yes to this present moment and to remind yourself that the grass is the greenest it is going to be, right here and right now. 

This moment, this time and place is as good as it gets and it is all about my perception of it. If I think my Life sucks, then it does, and moving to a different town, country or hemisphere won’t change that if my attitude is the same! 

The best way I can make my Life the fabulous vision and dream I hold is to dig in, right here and right now, and plan. Planning, and then following through by taking incremental steps is the only path to the top! There is no such thing as instant success!  If anyone in your Life is throwing shiny objects at you and trying to seduce you into believing that the “thing” they are distracting you with is real, whether they mean to or not, they are lying to you! 

Whatever your personal dream is, go for it! But really, honestly go for it! Dig your feet in the earth, ground yourself, make a plan, and follow through! Don’t wait for the perfect thing or moment because it doesn’t exist! Anything, whether it is a work of art, a film, a book, a business, a piece of furniture, requires, your Love, your Passion and your meticulous attention to the details required to make your dream a reality!

Most of the athletes competing at the games were born with certain gifts, but these people have worked for years to get to these games! Michael Phelps is one of them! None of these men or women are instant successes! Success is the result of incremental steps!

So, what are you waiting for? Get to it! 

Light and Love to you!

Heather M. McCrae, MM MEd

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