I have been studying religion, philosophy and psychology my entire life. I have spent years as a Zen Buddhist monk, a college professor, a truck driver, and a husband and father. Late in life, I realized that I am on the Autism spectrum. I started the Empyrean Project as a way to organize and share everything I have learned in a way that would be accessible and useful for the neurodivergent community.
Above all, I am a passionate advocate for mutual understanding between neurodivergent people and neurotypical people. Being a lifelong student and teacher of spirituality, meditation, and psychology, and also being on the spectrum myself, I have a unique perspective on how neurodivergent people experience religion and religious ideas. Mainstream religious institutions are not very welcoming to neurodivergent people, for various reasons. Yet there is wisdom and insight within the world’s religions that are not only helpful, but specifically aimed for people who think differently.
Asher Walden is the founder and director of the Empyrean Project, dedicated to exploring and teaching spiritual practices within the Neurodivergent community.
As an Autistic person, Asher was always interested in spirituality, but skeptical of religious beliefs and institutions. And yet religious traditions preserve generations of wisdom and insight into being human, being happy, and being authentic. The Empyrean Deck was created to capture and organize those key insights in way that Autistic people and other neurodiverse people can understand, appreciate, and put to use. It is intuitive, well-structured, and non-dogmatic.
Dr. Walden has studied (and published articles on) Christian theology, East Asian philosophy, and the philosophy of psychedelic experience. He devoted several years to intensive meditation practice as a Zen Buddhist monk before returning to school to finish his doctorate. He now focuses on the Empyrean Project and on promoting mutual understanding between neurodivergent and neurotypical people through giving talks and his Blog ‘Spirituality on the Spectrum.’
Why do people on the Spectrum approach and experience spirituality differently?
What do Autistic people wish that neurotypical people understood about them?
Why is the Empyrean Deck different from other oracle-style decks, such the Tarot?
How did you come to design the Empyrean Deck?
How is the deck used? What do you need to know in order to use it?
The Plunge with Garrett Hayes: Theology, Psychedelics and the Pursuit of a Meaningful Life
The Liminauts: Dr. Asher Walden on the seeker’s path, Zen, Christianity, and psychedelic realms
Laptop computer with microphone
