Exploring Neurodivergence: The Multisensory Person
“Everything shifts when these unseen sensory differences are finally recognized and spoken aloud. Once women realize the truth, they can leap light-years ahead in their lives.”
Last month I wrote an introductory piece about the emerging self-discovery of my neurodivergent mind. You can read it again here.
I have continued to explore this aspect of myself, and read some more on the topic too. Here is the next chapter of my thoughts and feelings about this inner quality which affects so much of my life (and might resonate with you too).
My dreams often give me great insight into myself, others and the world around me. I receive information this way - both from within and without. After initial wonderings into my neurodivergence, I had the following dream:
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Someone I knew from school tells me I need to talk to somebody, because I see the world differently. I am totally bewildered, asking, “Like what? Like what?” She tells me: “Like a kettle.” And she points to a scene ahead of me with water. She says, “Most people would see only a visual image, but you also see it with other senses.” I think to myself that this explains why I get overwhelmed easily with different senses, but in my head I’m still trying to figure out what it is or how I see the world differently. The feeling is overwhelming and bewildering.
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So in this dream I found my first clue, although of course you can see it’s still unclear to me. A colleague has used the term “multichannel” or “multisensory person”, and this seems to be an accurate description of this type of neurodivergence I have.
There’s also another element of this dream that I really like, which is this way of thinking about neurodivergence as seeing the world differently.
I see the world differently.
This is a core element of neurodiversity and neurodivergent minds. Not only do we all, as human beings, have different frameworks and filters such as country, culture, religion etc., but some people also have different perspectives hard-wired into their brains and bodies. The internal processing and digesting of the world. The angle of the eyes on the world. Neurodiversity.
I am so deeply affected by what I see - it goes beyond the visual, the analytical. If I had to explain it, I would say that what I see goes deeply into some place in my soul. It hits me like running full pelt into a wall mural. I see the picture, and I also feel the wall, taste the paint, absorb the energy that created the mural. I might even know what the painter ate for breakfast - it’s incredible how much information I receive with the seemingly simple act of ‘seeing’.
It’s absolutely fascinating - and mind-blowing! - despite the fact that I’ve delved into this field for almost 10 years now, and consider myself an experienced HSP!
In researching this term “multisensory person” I came across the work of Gary Zukav, admittedly for the first time, though he is a well-known speaker on matters of the soul and a frequent guest of Oprah Winfrey. He uses this term in his work regarding the human spiritual experience, rather than directly associating it with neurodiversity. However, his words resonate deeply with my own neurodivergent experience, which, as I mentioned in the last blog, connect me to something very spiritual indeed.
He says: “Multisensory perception is awareness from a soul level.” And this speaks to me in volumes.
I have more to explore in Gary’s work, but if you’d like to read further here is a link to an interview with him regarding multisensory perception.
Southbank art works. Melbourne. by Bernard Spragg. NZ
Above is Ophelia, with her eyes on the world - or on Melbourne, at least. She very clearly has a different perspective on the world, and yet she could never blend in looking like that. However, many people - including myself - struggle with feeling different or having a sense of not belonging, but wait a long time to discover their own neurodivergent traits.
In my research, I stumbled upon Jenara Nerenberg, author of Divergent Mind, who writes from a female perspective. She notes that many neurodivergent girls and women blend in and become very effective at ‘masking’. I don’t particularly like this term, but you get the idea.
Neurodivergence can go unnoticed, unrecognised, for years and even decades.
In Divergent Mind, Jenara focuses on 5 key ‘sensory processing differences’ including ADHD, SPD, autism/Asperger’s, HSP and synesthesia, although she acknowledges there are other aspects of mental and spiritual health which are not included in the book. What she underlines throughout the book is that the key commonality between all of these differences is sensitivity. Some have been pathologised more than others, some misunderstood, but what links all forms of neurodiversity is sensitivity.
Sensitivity. Here’s a quick breakdown of what it means to me: From the senses. Of the senses. From the extra senses. Through the body. In the body. Through the spirit. From Spirit. In the soul.
At its simplest, sensitivity is simply the experience of sensation. However, modern use of the word implies a greater sensitivity [than something/someone else]. In an earlier echo of Gary Zukav, an early 15th Century description from the Online Etymology Dictionary reads: "pertaining to the faculty of the soul that receives and analyzes sensory information.”
To me, this is beautiful. That there is a faculty of the soul that receives and seeks to understand sensory information - from wherever it comes, and from whatever neurodivergent perspective you happen to hold.
I love Jenara’s words when she says, “Neurodiversity is a paradigm shift that empowers women to come forward, be seen, better understand themselves, and proudly claim their identities.” If you are female and feel ‘different’ somehow, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book as a tool for education and empowerment.
The message is that if you feel different then you probably are. And it’s OK. There is information becoming more widely available and, when more of us can better understand ourselves, we can proudly claim our unique identities.
Curious about neurodivergence or exploring your own differences? Email bryony@creativesoultherapies.com