Autism: Unexpected Scientific Discoveries And the Metaphysics Behind Them

An article on the Discover web site and the publisher's print magazine revealed that the traditional views of autism as a genetic disorder originating in the brain are changing. New discoveries reveal that autism is possibly a neuroinflammatory disorder that is also linked to the immune system and "the gut".

Autism, as you may have heard, is on the rise at an alarming rate. So are many other disorders, including those no one knows about until commercials for the wonder drugs that manage those disorders are aired on television. Is it a coincidence that we are plagued with so many diseases and disorders? No. As we continue to pollute our bodies (and the planet) with increasingly toxic food, air, water, politics, cultural habits, etc, I hardly see the great mystery behind our exploding health crisis. In a piece I posted some years ago on our country's Disorder Disorder - the disorder of having many disorders - I touched on the need for us to start addressing the larger health issues (including emotional and spiritual health issues) that surely underly our crises.

Interestingly, the new findings on autism may open that door. From a physical perspective, pieces of the autism puzzle could open the health industry's eyes to the interconnectedness of seemingly unrelated disorders and potentially (fingers crossed) take the world down a new path and approach to medicine. The link betwee
"the gut" and autism in terms of Energy Medicine is a very interesting and revealing bit of information. The subtle or spiritual anatomy of the gut is involved with the processing of emotion. Metaphysically speaking, in a society where members have become largely disengaged from one another at the spiritual and emotional levels, and in which attention is frequently focused on the negative and the destructive (which often makes people want to disengage), it does not surprise me that a condition like autism would manifest and be on the rise at this particular point in time.

Look at this summary of the behavioral characteristics of autistic disorder from the Cambridge Center of Behavioral Studies web site:

1. significant difficulties with social interactions – does not pay attention to other people; does not play with other children; does not reciprocate

2. significant difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication – grabs what is wanted or leads to get what is wanted; copies or parrots words (echolalia); if has words, does not converse

3. significant difficulties in the development of play – uses only parts of toys; lines up or stacks objects; no imaginative play

4. highly restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior and interests. May talk continuously about one topic or repeat the same questions; may spin and stare at objects; may flap fingers or pieces of string; mouth or hit self

5. highly resistant to even slight changes in routines

If you read that summary with your spiritual eyes, do you not see in it a description of how our society behaves? I certainly do.