If you’ve ever sat in a dark room after an intense conversation, completely absorbed in a flurry of connections your brain refuses to shut down, you might’ve experienced something close to what Stanislav Grof calls a “non-ordinary state of consciousness.”
These states—often induced through psychedelics, deep meditation, or practices like holotropic breathwork—are known for their potential to generate healing, insight, even spiritual awakening. Grof believed they weren’t pathological or escapist, but essential to the human experience—gateways to the deeper psyche or the transpersonal self.
But what if you didn’t need ayahuasca or a breathwork retreat to get there?
What if your brain, as-is, was already wired to dip into these altered states?
This question feels especially relevant for those of us wired neurodivergently—people with ADHD, Autism, or other atypical processing patterns that constantly throw us into unfamiliar terrain. There’s a growing understanding that these brains don’t just struggle with executive function or attention—they specialize in crossing thresholds.
When Everyday States Become Extraordinary
Let’s talk ADHD for a moment.
Hyperfocus—often seen as a symptom—isn’t just the ability to concentrate. It’s the immersion of self into a task to the point where time, hunger, and external awareness dissolve. Sound familiar? That’s textbook flow state. And according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (whose name deserves its own altered state just to pronounce), flow is one of the peak human experiences—one that elite athletes, artists, and mystics all aim for.
Autism, too, brings its own form of perceptual intensity. Many autistic folks describe profound empathy—not a lack of it—so strong it can feel like they’re absorbing the emotions of others. Sensory sensitivity, deep pattern recognition, and vivid internal imagery also show up, all of which overlap with qualities described in mystical traditions: heightened awareness, synesthetic perception, timelessness, and radical presence.
To be clear: I’m not saying being neurodivergent is the same as being in a trance state. But I am suggesting that neurodivergent minds are more likely to slip into what Western psychology would call “non-ordinary” terrain—and that’s not a flaw. That’s a feature.
Bridging Science and Spirit
Modern tools like psychedelics and breathwork give people access to temporary altered states. But for neurodivergent folks, these states can be part of daily life. The challenge is integration—not suppressing the mind’s intensity, but learning to ground it, interpret it, and share it in ways the world can understand.
And this, I believe, is where the mystical overlaps with the practical. You don’t need a guru or a psychonaut badge. You just need to start seeing your mind as a landscape worth exploring.
A Quick Signal from the Edge of Reality
I’ll end this with a teaser.
There’s a podcast I recently stumbled onto called The Telepathy Tapes. It’s not fiction. It’s not sci-fi. It’s real. And it opens up some uncomfortable, exhilarating questions about what’s actually possible—about human connection, consciousness, and reality itself.
I’m not going to spoil it. Just… go listen. If you’ve ever felt like your mind plays by different rules, this might make you feel a little less alone—and a lot more curious.
The Weird Is Sacred
We spend a lot of time trying to normalize neurodivergent brains. But maybe, just maybe, they’re not meant to be normalized. Maybe they’re meant to show us something.
Maybe the weirdness isn’t a detour—it’s the path.
