​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.

​NDES and Consciousness

30 years ago, when I had just turned 21 years old, much to my Durham University lecturers’ bemusement (& quiet ridicule/dismissal) I handed in my undergraduate dissertation on #neardeathexperiences #NDES & the survival of #consciousness



These topics did not align with traditional academic theology. I was alone & a very young researcher. Alienated on many levels.



I got a First.



I would not have dared to disclose that I had personally experienced psychic, ESP or out-of-body experiences in an educational forum (or in any forum then) & so my sense & meaning making had to be done through academia.



As paradigms shift & collectively we begin to 'seek' - I'm feeling less alone & an experienced elder in explorations of what it means to be alive, be dead, be conscious, be human, to be bodymind & spirit (essence, soul, spark ... choose your word) to feel, to think, to sense, to know, to find meaning & purpose, to connect, to belong.



Super excited & really looking forward to this new season of @kydickens_pro @thetelepathytapes The CONSCIOUSNESS Channel



Also really looking forward to the @scimednet @aleftrust Beyond the Brain Conference which has a tribute to Dr Peter Fenwick who generously, alongside Paul Badham, gave time & telephone support to me as a young undergraduate & which also honours the 50th anniversary of Dr Raymond Moody's Life After Life book which I referenced in my dissertation despite the university objections!



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

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

"I am Priestess of the Mysteries of the Dark:

I walk with you into and through your shadow lands offering you a cloak of protection for the journey

I retrieve your blazing heart from the entombment of despair, pain and shame

I am Holy hell raiser

I am the one who watches and waits whilst you put on the armour of procrastination, bypassing, denial, gossip, projection, gossip, competition, neglect, and criticism until you realise it's too heavy to wear

I am protector of your maiden, mentor of your mother, fuel of your lover and trainer of your huntress

I am hermit and oracle, lone wolf, and guide of the pack

I am receiver and transmitter, reflective and invisible

I have no interest in small talk. I am she who sees. I am she who places the mirror in front of you until you see your truth and power. And own them. Fully. And embody them. Fully.

I am Mistress of the Goddess. The embodied expression of the gift of new beginnings through living death."



👆 This piece—Mysteries of the Dark—one of my attempts at creative writing, authored in 2021, remains one of the truest expressions of my inner world and its depths.



When it made it into the @girlgodbooks Warrior Queen Morrigan Anthology in 2021, the feeling of being able to share it publicly in a printed global publication was simultaneously exhilarating and connecting and terrifying and exposing.



CLICK HERE



Being part of a creative community, with so many other women from all over the world, exploring & sharing our inner worlds, outwardly, is incredibly nourishing, empowering & gives perspective & a sense of commonality in struggle & resistance.

May we remember the power of collective storytelling & art in all its forms.



May we find (& if there are none, create) spaces for this.

*

*

*

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#IfeelthereforeIam

As always really honoured to have two featured submissions in the latest @girlgodbooks anthology Sacred Breasts.



Thank you for including me again. This is the 15th Girl God Books anthology I've had published work in, and I'm truly grateful to be part of this creative community.



This inspirational anthology features artwork by @barbaraomearaart and many others.

In a culmination of wisdom, intuition, lived experiences, and the vast knowledge of contributing women writers, we hear their energetic voices through essays, prose, poetry, prayer/song, sacred ritual, and much more.



Packed with exhilarating, insightful, and honest writing from sisters, daughters, mothers, grandmothers, goddess mothers, lovers, friends, healing practitioners, therapists, wise and wild women - as we learn to celebrate our breasts.


CLICK HERE

During our week in Glastonbury through the end of September into October, I read some great books, but this one was transformative: Care Work. Dreaming Disability Justice ~Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarashina.



Here are some of the key extracts which resonated deeply, and my journalling in relation to them.



"If collective access is revolutionary love without charity, how do we learn to love each other?"



“Most folks I know come to activist spaces longing to heal, but our movements are often filled with more ableism and burnout than they are healing. We work and work from a place of crisis.

Healing is dismissed as irrelevant, reserved for folks with money, an individual responsibility, something you do on your own time.

Our movements are so burn-out paced, with little to no room for grief, anger, trauma, spirituality, disability, aging, parenting, or sickness, that many people leave them ..."



#thinksystemically :

Our movements, communities, and activism are perpetuating colonisation and extraction.



How can we centre interconnectedness and interdependence and create something new?



This book is giving words to everything I'm grappling with internally at the moment.



"It's not about self-care - it's about collective care.

Too often self-care in our organisational cultures gets translated to our individual responsibility to leave work early, go home - alone - and go take a bath, go to the gym, eat some food and go to sleep.

So we do all of that 'self-care' to return to organisational cultures where we reproduce the systems we are trying to break"



#thinksystemically :

#selfcare - a whole capitalist industry profiting from our burnout cycles



"When we do disability justice work, it becomes impossible to look at disability and not examine how colonialism created it.

It becomes a priority to look at Indigenous ways of perceiving and understanding disability ...

(and) ... a vision of liberation that understands that the state was built on racist, colonialist ableism and will not save us, because it was created to kill us.

... we move together, with no body left behind (@sinsinvalid)"



#thinksystemically :

Diagnose systems & cultures, attitudes & norms



Image above: Chalice Well, and image below: Star Child mandala.  

Both locations are in Glastonbury.

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.

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

"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