My @girlgodbooks workbook depathologises and normalises meeting our spiritual needs in an inclusive, creative and grounded way.

In helping us recognise our interdependence and interconnectedness with all living beings and the earth that supports them, it fosters the creation of a humane and humanitarian humanity.

Excerpts of the workbook can be read on @girlgodbooks' Patreon page & it is available to purchase now from @girlgodbooks’ website and online stores.

Art pic 1 Lauren Raine and Pic 2 Kat Shaw via Girl God Books.

🎃 Halloween at York St John University 🎭

I had the absolute pleasure of spending Halloween at York St John University with Dr. Morag Galloway and her incredible Musical Theatre undergraduate students. Together, we explored intuition, embodiment, and energy medicine practices — supporting students in developing mastery over performance anxiety and deepening their connection to presence.

I facilitated practices to help them:
✨ Connect to the “I” and the “We” simultaneously
✨ Hold and share personal power within creative spaces
✨ Stay tuned in to their unique bodyminds, inner guidance and wisdom
✨ Understand and work with their nervous systems
...and so much more!

It was such a powerful and inspiring day — being in an educational environment that truly values creativity, wellbeing, and holistic learning. I’m deeply impressed by York St. John University & its commitment to being a progressive and inclusive space. 

Obviously, I can't share photos of the students so this post includes a picture of the the venue. We worked predominantly with our most essential instruments — body, mind, energy, and voice — allowing the practice to stay individually relevant, deeply embodied and authentic.

Making Love with the Divine

"Making Love with the Divine invites us to explore our experiences of the erotic current that animates our bodies and our lives. A current whose natural flow and vitality is often stifled, distorted and shamed within patriarchal culture.

This book seeks to open up the conversation by asking us how we experience our own sexuality and eroticism, and how this flow of aliveness can be a portal to feeling the divinity inside of us, and beyond us.

Based on her research and clear devotion to this path, Kay Louise Aldred has created a supportive year-long workbook that provides a practical framework for anyone who feels a call towards liberating their body and deepening relationship with their sacred erotic aliveness."

-Carly Mountain, Sex and Relationship Therapist and author of Descent & Rising.



I published this book in January 2023 with @girlgodbooks (available via their website or all major online retailers). In writing it, I came face-to-face with just how deeply disconnected — and even phobic — we are, as a society, from our bodies. Across all settings.



Now, another of my works is coming of age. I can feel it. It's ready to support the vision and building of a new era — new culture, new systems, new norms.

I'm deeply grateful to @carly_mountain for her beautiful endorsement and the powerful work she herself brings into the world.



CLICK HERE

Somatic Shamanism

“Where our minds are vexed by modernity, with even our wilder hopes limited by reason and logic, our creaturely bodies house and animate our strangest imaginations. We live all possibilities out loud through our bodies. We speak through our skin. We wield the intelligence of the flesh, our “fleshy knowings” as Kay Louise Aldred describes them. Move through this workbook like a prayer; it’s a beautiful and timely achievement.”

-Danielle Dulsky, Founder of The Hag School



I feel like the content of this workbook, which I authored and published (via @girlgodbooks, which is available from their website or online stores) in June 2023, is finally coming of age.

Grateful for this beautiful endorsement that the book received: 'we speak through our skin ... we wield the intelligence of our flesh"

#IfeelthereforeIam

#educateevolveembody #bodymind #diversity #spirituality #depathologise #rehumanise #thinksystemically



CLICK HERE

​Our bodies — the sacred site.

In and through them, we become conscious,

and consciousness expresses, feels, and re-members itself.

This is where life experiences life.

Bodies matter. Bodies know. Listen to bodies.

Restore the balance. Heal the split. Re-member wholeness #bodymind #bodymindspirit



*******



The Erotic

Fast forward a decade...

11 years ago, after I pushed boundaries as an undergraduate, writing about #neardeathexperiences and the survival of #consciousness, at Master’s level, I chose to explore another taboo: the #erotic



Theology and the erotic — lifeforce, intuition, creativity — remain uneasy companions. Even now.



But imagine the world we could live in if theology, religion and the institutions shaped by them truly embraced the erotic as sacred, rather than suppressing it.



As I wrote ...

"This lifeforce is fluid, dynamic, transforming. It is not settled but is continuously revealed.

The erotic in the imagination leads to further creative imaginings. In love, there is no possession or control or wanting to change the other. There is an encouragement of retention and relationship with differences.

The erotic is revelation from bodily knowing and a cultivation of mutuality and justice"



Imagine this valued. Imagine this as sacred.



Nearly two decades on…

It’s been almost 20 years since that work, and lived, direct experience has become my greatest teacher—surpassing academia as my primary way of learning and making meaning.



*******



Waiting

I’ve written books, edited anthologies, and shared what I’ve learned with others.

But now, I feel the quiet pull again — to return.

To research.

To contribute. To understand on a deeper level.

To give more. To reach more.

For more meaning to be revealed.

I’m patiently waiting for the next step to unfold --

as it always does. Unexpectedly.

With grace.

In its own time. The harder I push the longer it takes.



My life moves in spirals, in cycles --

always returning to the same truths, but each time with new depth, new awareness, new meaning.

And so I wait.

For life to reveal what’s next.



The absence of the erotic in my life is a signal that its recovery is on its way.

Neurodiverse Voices Podcast with Andreia Costa

Season 4 Episode 3



CLICK HERE





Can you believe that it’s almost November? Still trying to understand what happened this year!



The great news is that it’s almost time for a new episode of the NDV Podcast, with the amazing and very special @kaylouisealdred ! 🤗





From Diagnosis to Self-Compassion: Kay’s Story of Healing and Embodiment



Diagnosed as autistic at 47, @kaylouisealdred shares her powerful journey of late diagnosis, healing, and self-acceptance. 💜



I connected with Kay last Autumn, as I joined the Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach training that she leads at @ndconnectionuk. I’ve learnt so much from Kay during the training and she has become an inspiration since then.



We had a wonderful and insightful conversation with a focus on the importance of the connection between the mind and body, which we so often miss.

We talked about late diagnoses, menopause and neurodivergence, parenting and a lot more!



Thank you so much for being a guest on the NDV Podcast, Kay! It’s been an immense pleasure to interview, and I can’t wait for Saturday, 1st November to share your story! 🩵

Don’t miss it!



CLICK HERE

Call for Participants: Join the Neurodivergent Creative Research Community (NCRC), Exploring Regulation through Creative Practice & from a Neurodivergent Perspective


Are you a Neurodivergent adult who enjoys creative practices like art, writing, storytelling, or embodied movement? Are you interested in regulation, dysregulation, and how creativity can support wellbeing?


We’re inviting you to take part in a unique, paid research opportunity that values your lived experience and creative passions.


About the Project
Title: Building Neurodivergent-Affirming Cultures of Regulation: A Neurodivergent Perspective
Led by Dr Amy Skinner (York St John University, Institute for Social Justice) and Kay Louise Aldred (Neurodiverse Connection), this project will explore how regulation is experienced by Neurodivergent people, using creative and collaborative methods.
You'll be part of a co-researcher community, helping to shape a creative, co-produced output and published research.


Who Can Take Part?
We’re looking for Neurodivergent adults who:
Use or are curious about creativity to explore emotions, experiences, well-being and regulation
Are open to sharing ideas about how they experience regulation and dysregulation, and what regulated spaces look and feel like for them, and how they can be facilitated, in a supportive, collaborative environment


Identify as Neurodivergent (no formal diagnosis is needed to apply)


What's Involved?
Attend monthly creative sessions (online or hybrid options)
Sessions run from December 2025 to July 2026, on the second Thursday of each month (up to 2.5 hours each, with breaks)
Engage in creative workshops, short, recorded conversations, and photo sharing of your creative work
Take part in a supportive, imaginative, and respectful space
Participants will be paid £250 for their time and contributions.


How to Apply
We have an online information Teams meeting on Thursday, 9th October 2025, at 6 pm, which you can attend via this link: Join the meeting now, Meeting ID: 379 297 777 957 8, Passcode: sY6nQ7ts. To find out more about the project, or you can email us at [email protected] and ask any questions you have.


Send an email to [email protected] telling us why you're interested by 5 pm on Monday, 20th October 2025. Details of what to include in the email below.


We’ll select participants based on interest and creative fit – we aim for a mix of styles and perspectives


If selected, you'll be invited to an online information meeting on Teams on Thursday, 6th November at 6 pm, before confirming your place.


Your Wellbeing
Your well-being during the research process is important to us.
Share only what feels right for you
You can pause or skip activities at any time
We'll begin with creative work; body-based (somatic) practices will be introduced gently later
Full consent info will be provided before you join


Your Data and Privacy
Your personal data will be stored securely and used only for this project. You’ll be able to review and approve anything with your name or creative work before it's made public or archived.


Interested? Have Questions?
To apply or find out more, email us at [email protected] by 5 pm on Monday, 20th October 2025.


In the email, let us know:
About yourself – eg your location and experience
Why you're interested in being part of the project
Any creative practices you enjoy or want to explore


Let’s build something better spaces for regulation and creativity together by, with, and for the Neurodivergent community.

Bravo 👏👏👏 Dr Lorna Hamilton @drlornaham Dr Stephanie Petty & Jamie Williams & @yorkstjohn York St John University


I was delighted & proud to have played a small role in this project as part of the participatory action (coproduction) group.


A participatory action research project to advance neurodiversity affirming practice in university campuses and workplaces.


The project involves the co-design of flexible, accessible research methods with Neurodivergent students and employees (recognising autism, ADHD, and other Neurodivergences).


The findings informed a dynamic, inclusive model of belonging, emphasising priority actions for adjustments, universal design and representation.
Find out more by clicking here

Neurodiverse Connection (ndconnection.co.uk) exists to advocate, amplify, challenge, educate and promote & we were created to improve support and outcomes for Neurodivergent people.

I was delighted to represent the organisation & our mission on Friday, 19th Sept at NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (OH BRC) @nihr_research Neurodiversity Conference 2025 at @oxfordsbs @oxford_uni

Grateful to Andreia Santos (Neurodiverse Voices Podcast) for the invitation to attend.

As part of the invitation to be part of this event & I was invited to speak as Neurodiverse Connection Development Lead on two panels:

1. Lived Experience in Action: Neurodiversity & Research

2. Working Together: Researchers, Neurodivergent People, & Families in Mental Health Research

You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it" (saying attributed to Einstein)

At the event, I spoke about decolonising our bodyminds.

The key points I shared included:
Research, academia, and mental health services often take a capitalist, ableist, normative, and coloniser “observer” view. Even those of us who are Neurodivergent can be conditioned into these mindsets.

That’s why we need to neuroqueer our lens and decolonise our minds and approaches - shifting away from the medical model of “deficit and disorder” toward a depathologised understanding of bodymind diversity as natural human variation.

When we ground research in lived experience, we start to see how some “evidence-based” practices (like PBS) can actually harm —contributing to suicidality, masking, and loss of identity — because they were designed without acknowledging the embodied reality of living in oppressive systems. We can then ask, are they actually a coloniser tool?

We must question the very origins and purposes of psychiatry & psychology: do we want to keep perpetuating a system that pathologises survival responses (meltdown, shutdown, situational mutism, distress behaviours)? Or do we want to create something different, an alternative system that recognises these as adaptive responses to trauma, poverty, and systemic oppression?

Bodymind diversity is not an illness and does not require treatment. Instead, we need to diagnose systems, cultures, norms, and attitudes. We must rehumanise both care and research.

And importantly, researchers and practitioners themselves need bodymind & wellbeing support - so they can regulate, embody, and extend a truly humanised & relational approach in their work.

I also shared about our work on the Culture of Care with NCCMH @thercpsych & with FoNS @fonscharity, and our promotion of the SPACE Framework by Autistic Doctors International (Mary Doherty, Seb Shaw et al) - go to our website ndconnection.co.uk to find out more.

Change starts with re-imagining how we understand, research, and support human bodymind diversity and reduce human distress: #thinksystemically

#OHRCBDConference2025 #OHRCNDConf2025 #livedexperience #research #mentalheath #neurodiversity #oxford
 
Interconnectedness.

We all have strengths, and we all have support needs. For some of us, the contrast between them is more pronounced — and that’s okay.

The reason I was able to attend the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (OH BRC) @nihr_research conference in person on Friday was that, most of the time, I work remotely from home in a sensory-friendly, low-nervous-system-arousal environment that helps me manage my energy and avoid burnout.

Also, I am grateful for the support of my husband, who accompanied me on the trip. He planned our journey, drove, and supported me with some executive decisions, making it possible for me to conserve energy to show up and engage in a regulated way, accessing my full strengths.

This is part of what access and interdependence look like for me.
Remembering our interconnectedness means allowing people to be fully human — to have both strengths and support needs.

And if we were to create humane systems, cultures, and norms that support the needs of the most sensitive bodyminds (the 'canaries in the mines' Dr James Stacey alluded to) & built more processing space, and lower-sensory & nervous system arousal environments, everyone (every body) would benefit.

We all deserve environments that don't overwhelm our nervous systems & to create that, we need to #thinksystemically​

We need to slow down. Turn down.
Make space.
And feel.

​"Understanding nervous system regulation is foundational for creating Neurodivergent-affirming and trauma-informed approaches, both at an individual and organisational level.



Here are six ways how this understanding can contribute to more effective, inclusive, and long-lasting change.

1. Enhancing Self-Awareness and Regulation

2. Supporting Authentic Connection and Belonging

3. Creating Safe, Supportive Environments

4. Building Nervous System and Trauma-Informed Policies and Practices

5. Reducing Stigma and Promoting Inclusion and Equity

6. Driving Sustainable Change



The Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach is a holistic, Neurodivergent-friendly wellbeing curriculum that offers a reflective space, nervous system education, and practical strategies.



This programme is based on the concept of ‘experience to share’ and is designed to promote self-reflection and the wellbeing of participants, which they can then model and share with those they care for and support.



The only requirement is a willingness to self-reflect and a genuine interest in learning about embodiment and creative approaches."



Read the full blog here 👇

https://ndconnection.co.uk/blog/creating-neurodivergent-affirming-organisations



Find out more about the Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach Training here 👇

https://ndconnection.co.uk/ndwatraining



#educateevolveembody #bodymind #diversity #spirituality #depathologise #rehumanise