You Are A Channel: The Connections Between Mysticism, Neurodivergence, & Chronic Illness

The Moon Studio’s popular class on channeling and newsletter creation,
Clear Channels, is in 10 days. If you want to start a newsletter here, or for your business or practice, this is the weekend retreat for you. Enrollment closes next Wednesday at noon, and you can sign up here.

+++++

When I was a child, my imaginary friends whispered to me as I rode across a wooden bridge in the park near my home. Not more than 10 years old and enjoying the freedom of a windy bicycle ride alone, I felt a different kind of energy in the wooded shawl the tall trees provided, and other voices—from other realms—flowed forth as I spent hours on the pathway between my home and natural spaces.

Later, as an adult giving readings, angels and ancestors began appearing as I read Tarot cards for clients. These invisible beings would share exact memories or prescriptions from beyond, even though they were right there with us. Once, a client’s dead family member followed me into the bathroom after our reading was over. I had to make a deal: I would let my client know a few more messages from them, but after that, I was to be left alone.

My deceased grandmother, who is also one of my guides, reported that no one in the family visited her grave since the funeral. She was disappointed and felt forgotten. I checked about this with my mother, who confirmed that this was true. A cemetary visit was made the next time I went home. My grandmother let me know she was pleased.

Last night, I practiced telepathy with my partner. I made him guess the restaurant I was thinking of, and he guessed correctly, in less than 45 seconds. Last month, God gave me a message to tell my partner to go to the casino. He did, and won $2,000 cash in 4 hours.

As an intuitive, queer woman, who also happens to have psychic abilities, I’ve long been fascinated about why the experiences like the ones I just shared happen often enough for me, but not for the majority of the population.

More perplexing is why there is a stigma around them. Wouldn’t it be a bonus to be able to access ancestors and angels? Wouldn’t the ability to talk to your beloved dead, or those of your friends, be something most folks would want? Wouldn’t you want to have access to God/Spirit/The Universe/Your Guides/Higher Self to make life easier, more abundant, and more fun?

Last month, for my Mystic Vision class, I did a ton of research on the true lives of famous mystics. I uncovered some interesting patterns: many saints, seers, oracles, and gifted channels had chronic illness or disabilities, and had they been alive now, many certainly would have been labeled as “neurodivergent,” or “disabled.”

There was Moses, who received the 10 commandments, with his speech impediment, who had to have his brother and sister speak on his behalf. Saint Teresa of Avila, the famous woman who opened monasteries and devoted herself to the messages of God, suffered from migraines, paralysis, and was even bedridden for three years. Joan of Arc reported visions from as early as age 12, and in modern times might have been diagnosed with disabilities ranging from epilepsy to schizophrenia. On and on the list went: history is full of visionaries who also were frequently sidelined with mysterious, serious illnesses and disabilities. Many of these visionaries, where their unique gifts and ways of creating, would also be labeled “neurodivergent” or “neurocomplex”

Why is there such a strong correlation between mysticism, neurodivergence, and disabilities?

Of course a divergent mind would be the kind to receive messages from other realms.

Those who suffer from chronic pain or illness must find ways to access imagination and clear thought not to mention, open their hearts wide to self-compassion, in the midst of material crisis. We know that there is more to reality than the material world.

And course those with disabilities would be highly adaptive and inventive, having to survive in a world not made for them. Of course we’d have to turn to spaces and realms that offered more support, more affirmation, more guidance, than the often cruel world of the everyday.

Divergent brains have enhanced pattern recognition abilities.
Our brains run on different frequency levels and it can be easier to access different levels of sensory input and sensations.
The experience of chronic pain and serious illness requires a type of physical transcendence that might also be training our consciousness to be able to access, and traverse other realms.

The long hours that we spend alone, doubled over in pain, or simply unable to move from our beds, create the solitude necessary to receive information from beyond or above. Those with highly sensitive nervous systems would be more susceptible to inflammation and disease, as we are the canaries in the coal mine of a deeply unwell society.

In the workshop, I went into more detail about the lives of two of my favorite mystics, which I’ll introduce now.

Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen, iconic German abbess, was active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, healer, medical writer and practitioner during the High Middle Ages. Bingen created (channeled) her own language, was the first woman to put to paper the experience of a woman’s orgasm, wrote many books, lectured widely across Europe, and is regarded as one of the founders of scientific history.

Sickly since birth, Bingen also suffered from waves of physical illness throughout her life. She began seeing visions from God, which she called the umbra viventis lucis, or, the reflection of the living Light, around the age of 3. Hildegard wrote that she saw this living Light through the five senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.

Bingen was a polymath, with a steady stream of abilities that seemingly knew no bounds. While in the context of her time, a woman with her notoriety, freedom, and respect was rare, it makes more sense when thinking about her context and filters. Bingen was a devout woman of God, who went to live in a monastery at age 17, and as her entire body of work was devoted to her religion, there was most likely more acceptance had she been the village witch, living on the edge of the forest.

Regardless of the context, it is clear that her vast creative talent was linked to the gift of being able to channel and connect to source energy.

”I am the fiery life of the essence of God; I am the flame above the beauty in the fields; I shine in the waters; I burn in the sun, the moon, and the stars. And with the airy wind, I quicken all things vitally by an unseen, all-sustaining life.” —Hildegard of Bingen

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was a scientist, botanist, inventor, professor, painter, philanthropist, and environmental activist who earned multiple honorary doctorates in his lifetime, and died in 1943, in Tuskegee, AL. A devout Christian, Carver would most certainly not call himself a mystic, but after reading his work and life, it is clear that he was receiving messages, downloads, and insights from other realms.

Carver publicly shared that he received messages about his inventions from early morning walks in the woods, and through communing intimately with nature. He wrote: “All flowers talk to me and so do hundreds of living things in the woods. I learn what I know by watching and loving everything.”

And:

”When I was young, I said to God, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the univers.’ But God answered, ‘That knowledge is for me alone.’ So I said, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.’ Then God said, ‘Well George, that’s more nearly your size.’ And he told me.”

Carver, born enslaved, and then orphaned, was a sickly child, and not expected to live long. Thought to have tuberculous or another serious infections, Carver suffered from frequent chest congestion, loss of voice, and was frail in stature. His voice was high pitched, thought to be result of his infections, or perhaps polyps on his larynx. He ultimately died at the age of 78, sitting up in bed, painting a Christmas card which said: “Peace on earth and goodwill to all men.” He donated his life’s savings to charity, educational institutes, and his archive.

What I talked about in Mystic Vision was about how these folks’ gifts were encouraged and nurtured, especially because their mysticism was through the lens of religion. Both these mystics were anomalies in terms of their race and gender, and so lived through layers of hardships and discrimination. But, both of them were, in their own ways, highly supported and encouraged to explore their gifts. (Carver ended up being tutored by the person who “owned” him—yes I know, disgusting!—but oddly/ironically, these people recognized his intellect, taught him how to read, and encouraged his higher education. Bingen was nurtured and sequestered in a resourced monastery from a very young age.)

“When I touch that flower, I am not merely touching that flower. I am touching infinity. That little flower existed long before there were human beings on this earth. It will continue to exist for thousands, yes, millions of years to come.” —George Washington Carver

It is my belief that everyone is a channel. Everyone has the ability to channel, to connect to source, and in doing so, tap into a deep well of inspiration, talent, and information beyond what we can access on our own.

Yes, you might be neurocomplex, divergent, or suffer from illness or pain.

I don’t want to sugarcoat what it is like to live in a world not made for you, dealing with a healthcare system not designed to help you on top of debilitating pain and devastating symptoms—I would not wish what I have gone through on anyone. More days than not, it truly sucks.

However, when I take a non-dual approach, I have access to levels of understanding, patience, compassion, and gratitude that not everyone else gets to have, and I know that it is directly related to my physical pain and trials. While I cannot quantify what amount of my abilities are linked to my neurocomplexity, I also can’t be sure that if I was more normative, I would be able to hear the dead or practice telepathy with my partner. Groundbreaking studies and efforts around these connections will only continue to grow, with the popularity of The Telepathy Tapes being one indicator that the world is finally ready for paradigm shifts around consciousness.

And, do a little research on iconic saints, seers, and prophets, and you’ll find yourself in impressive company. Your divergence, divergence, or disabilities do not make you any less powerful, or unable to access your intuition or unique gifts. Try if you can release yourself from the internalized ableism and shame that stops you from swimming in the waters of an open channel.

Let this year be the year you invest in your channel, and bring forth what is yours to share.

Get the Mystic Vision workshop here.

Enroll in Clear Channels, where you’ll learn to use your gifts to create an awesome digital channel—a newsletter—here.

Listen to Hildegard of Bingen here, and check out George Washington Carvers’ work in an Los Angles exhibit here.