Samatha meditation, practiced in the Therevada tradition of Buddhism, has become a regular activity for me which helps me cope with and understand life’s up and downs. I am not a ‘Buddhist’ in the sense of the term, as this would be to ‘attach’ me to its beliefs, rather, I ‘take refuge in the Buddha’, stepping back from the flow.

As a person with Asperger’s Syndrome, I have experienced much difficulties with issues such as anxiety and stress as well as having been through depression. To help with such issues, I feel it helps to undertake an activity that involves ‘stepping back’ from the flow, helping me to concentrate my mental energy and thought, so that I am able to reflect on my life effectively.

A quality that meditation, if applied effectively with the right effort, can help one develop is ‘mindfulness’, a state of mind where one is aware of their thoughts, including how different thoughts arise, providing for flexible, non-judgemental thought. Like many people with Asperger’s Syndrome, flexible thought still takes me some effort, but bringing the qualities I experience during meditation practice into daily life is often helpful for this.

To help bring these qualities into everyday life beyond practice, I have been on extended stays in monasteries and meditation retreats and I have also completed an eight-week Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, which involves meditation and yoga movements. The MSBR practice helps me to become more 'in tune' with the present moment, rather than regretting the past or worrying too much about the future, which helps reinforce self-esteem.  To listen to a podcast I gave for The Secular Buddhist about my experiences of mindfulness practice and the positive aspects of Asperger's Syndrome click the following link:

I feel that meditation and MBSR practice has enabled me to develop an awareness of my thoughts in relation to my surroundings, while allowing me to remain a person with Asperger’s Syndrome, rather than a cure. To read an article I wrote about how the eight-week MBSR course helped me, follow the link below:

JKP Blog, How meditation can help people with Asperger's Syndrome release tension and recognise body language

 If you feel meditation may be of help to you in this and similar ways, you can find out about classes in your area via the Samatha Trust website.