Spotlight: Neurodivergent Mysticism

Kai Solana-Reeves was diagnosed with ADHD and autism in their late twenties, after years of feeling like meditation was something their brain could not do. The diagnosis did not fix everything. But it reframed everything — including their understanding of mystical experience.

The Reframe

Standard contemplative instruction assumes a neurotypical baseline: "Sit still. Focus on the breath. When the mind wanders, bring it back." For a neurodivergent mind, these instructions can feel like asking someone to see without eyes.

Cross argues that the problem is not the neurodivergent mind. The problem is the instruction set. Mystical experience — the direct perception of something larger than the self — does not require stillness. It requires attention. And attention takes different forms in different brains.

"My ADHD did not prevent me from encountering the sacred. It showed me a different door."

Practical Alternatives

The book offers concrete practices designed for neurodivergent seekers: movement-based meditation, sensory-rich contemplation, pattern-recognition prayer, and what Cross calls "hyperfocus devotion" — the state where deep interest becomes indistinguishable from worship.