How to be a "first-rate" Aspie

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I was in to Zen for a while. As I got deeper into it though, I found it wasn't very compatible with the Western mind. This is one point on which I agree with Jung.

As far as my living situation goes, I like to joke that this is as close to paradise as I hope to come for many years. It really is ideal for an aspie. Turn off all the appliances and it's so quiet that all I hear is the wind and blood rushing through my head.

I'd love to live in the woods or on the plains alone.

But I would get lonely after a while.

One reason I do like being a priest is that I can make a difference in people's lives. If I were isolated I couldn't do that. I do care about people. I just find social engagements difficult.

Not really Hebrew idioms, wozeree....I've been struggling with a book I want to write of the Song of Solomon. I taught a class 3 years ago, so I have all the notes. But I'm a pattern thinker so it's hard for me to translate my inner language into words. It's an area of interest but it's also very hard.

All I learned from Zen is "live in the moment," and "focus on breathing." The rest of it I found pretty much unhelpful. I live in the moment only one time a day: when I say Mass.

What I like about being out here on the prairie is that it is just as you describe Epicurus' garden. I have people when I want them, and none when I don't. I have also found a certain solace in being part of the cycle of nature--something it is difficult to feel a part of in a city.

I suspect that the big reason I'm not lonely is have a job I go to every day. When I retire, I may look at things differently, and that causes me some concern. Again, it is a matter of needing people even if dealing with them is very difficult.

I think the biggest I got from Zen meditation was while I never was able to slow down my thoughts--much less stop them--I did come to see them for what they are--as things that can't cause me harm unless I allow them to. As Suzuki said, we should view negative thoughts like big thunderheads sweeping across the prairie--things that will dissipate in their own due time.

If I may ask, what part of the country are you a priest in? What is your order?

It is a catch-22. If I was to act totally myself I would be to broke to afford even the basic things be totally myself. If I act NT but for a time I am compromising myself, if I act NT a lot I may get the material things to be myself but compromise a lot of myself and potentially ruin my mental health. And that describes the situation for most if not all of us.

This is not despite the way it sounds a self hate or I give up post. If you make the right choices you can substantially lesson the negatives and gain positives. The choices are difficult and full of potential surprises.

Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 07 Nov 2013, 4:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

Thank you for your responses. They are helping me a lot.

ASPartOfMe -- your situation is the one I relate to most. When I've tried to be NT in the past, I've discovered no one respects me. I just end up becoming an NT's conversational "satellite."

But I tried something new starting a month ago. When I'm quiet and stick to my scripts:

"Yes, I understand."
"I'm so sorry, you much feel terrible."
"That's a wonderful story."

....it seems that while people find me boring, they seem to respect me....

What do you think of that? I want feedback. I started this thread not because I have answers but because I need help and I want to be happy in an NT world.

How long can you keep doing that before you go bonkers? I mean, where your job is concerned, a script might not be a bad thing, people kind expect scripty stuff in those circumstances - but what about life?

Good question. I don't have the answer yet.

I don't mean to hijack the discussion, but I'm curious what made you want to become a priest? It certainly couldn't have been a felt fellowship with others...

God called me from the depths of my existence. I had to do it.

I'm trying to think up something snarky in response, as that is my way, but I'm coming up empty. Even as an atheist, I think that's beautiful. My compulsions usually just involve something going into or out of my body.