Special Interests as Spiritual Devotion: Deep Focus as Practice

BY NICOLE LAU

Autistic people often develop special interests—topics they study with intense focus, systematic depth, and unwavering dedication. You might spend hours researching crystal properties, memorizing every tarot card meaning, cataloging planetary aspects, or organizing your metaphysical book collection by publication date and color.

Neurotypical people call this "obsession" or "fixation." They suggest you should "broaden your interests" or "not get so focused on one thing."

But spiritual traditions have a different word for this: devotion. What you're doing—the deep study, the systematic organization, the complete absorption in a sacred topic—is exactly what monks, mystics, and devoted practitioners do. Your special interest isn't a symptom. It's a spiritual practice.

This article reframes autistic special interests as valid forms of spiritual devotion, explains why deep focus IS meditation, and shows you how your "obsessive" knowledge is actually mastery.

Understanding Autistic Special Interests

What They Are

Special interests are characterized by:

• Intense focus: You can engage for hours without boredom
• Deep knowledge: You learn everything about the topic, often exceeding expert level
• Systematic approach: You organize, categorize, and create systems
• Sustained engagement: Interest lasts months, years, or lifetime
• Joy and regulation: Engaging with the interest brings calm, happiness, and nervous system regulation

Why They're Pathologized

The medical model sees special interests as:

• "Restricted interests" (negative framing)
• "Obsessive" or "fixated" (pathological language)
• Something to reduce or redirect
• A symptom of autism, not a strength

This completely misses what's actually happening.

Special Interests as Spiritual Devotion

What Is Devotion?

In spiritual traditions, devotion (bhakti in Sanskrit) means:

• Complete absorption in the sacred
• Sustained focus on a spiritual topic or deity
• Deep study and systematic knowledge
• Joy and love in the practice
• Organizing one's life around the devotion

Sound familiar? This is exactly what you do with your special interests.

Historical Examples of Devotional Practice

• Medieval monks: Spent entire lives studying single religious texts, memorizing every word, creating illuminated manuscripts with obsessive detail
• Kabbalists: Devoted decades to studying Hebrew letters, numerical correspondences, and mystical systems
• Vedic scholars: Memorized thousands of verses, studied planetary movements, mastered complex astrological systems
• Alchemists: Cataloged substances, documented experiments, created elaborate symbolic systems

These weren't called "obsessions." They were called mastery, scholarship, and devotion.

Why Autistic Special Interests Are Spiritual Practice

1. Deep Focus = Meditation

When you're absorbed in your special interest, you enter a state of:

• Single-pointed concentration (the goal of meditation)
• Time distortion (transcending linear time)
• Ego dissolution (you forget yourself, become one with the topic)
• Present-moment awareness (completely here, now)

This IS meditation. You're just meditating on tarot instead of your breath.

2. Systematic Study = Sacred Scholarship

Your need to organize, categorize, and systematize isn't compulsion—it's how sacred knowledge has always been preserved:

• Creating correspondences (this crystal = this chakra = this planet)
• Building taxonomies (organizing tarot by suit, element, number)
• Documenting everything (grimoires, journals, databases)
• Finding patterns (the foundation of divination and magic)

You're doing the work of mystics and scholars.

3. Complete Absorption = Trance State

When you're deep in your special interest, you're in a trance—the same consciousness shamans, mystics, and magicians cultivate intentionally. You access it naturally through engagement with what you love.

4. Joy in Practice = Devotional Love

Devotion isn't grim duty—it's love. The joy you feel when engaging with your special interest? That's devotional love. You love this topic the way devotees love their chosen deity or path.

5. Sustained Engagement = Spiritual Discipline

Neurotypical people struggle to maintain spiritual practice. They start meditation, quit after a week. They buy tarot decks, never use them.

You? You've been studying the same topic for years, deepening constantly. This is discipline that spiritual teachers dream of cultivating.

Common Autistic Special Interests as Spiritual Paths

Crystals and Minerals

What you do: Collect, categorize, research properties, organize by color/type/chakra, memorize chemical compositions.

Spiritual equivalent: Crystal healing mastery, earth magic, elemental work, sacred geometry (crystal structures).

Your devotion: You're not "obsessed with rocks." You're a crystal keeper, a stone scholar, an earth mystic.

Tarot

What you do: Collect decks, memorize meanings, study symbolism, compare interpretations, organize by theme/artist/tradition.

Spiritual equivalent: Cartomancy mastery, symbolic literacy, archetypal study, divination practice.

Your devotion: You're not "fixated on cards." You're a tarot scholar, a reader, a keeper of symbolic wisdom.

Astrology

What you do: Calculate charts, memorize planetary positions, study aspects, track transits, organize by system (Vedic, Western, etc.).

Spiritual equivalent: Astrological mastery, cosmic timing, celestial magic, pattern recognition as divination.

Your devotion: You're not "obsessed with planets." You're an astrologer, a cosmic scholar, a reader of celestial patterns.

Mythology and Deities

What you do: Research pantheons, memorize stories, compare versions, organize by culture/function/archetype.

Spiritual equivalent: Devotional polytheism, archetypal work, deity relationship, mythological scholarship.

Your devotion: You're not "fixated on myths." You're a mythologist, a devotee, a keeper of sacred stories.

Herbalism and Plants

What you do: Identify plants, memorize properties, organize by use/family/habitat, document everything.

Spiritual equivalent: Green witchcraft, plant spirit medicine, herbalism mastery, nature magic.

Your devotion: You're not "obsessed with plants." You're an herbalist, a green witch, a plant keeper.

Occult Systems (Kabbalah, Alchemy, Hermeticism)

What you do: Study correspondences, memorize symbols, organize complex systems, create charts and diagrams.

Spiritual equivalent: Esoteric mastery, mystical scholarship, hermetic practice.

Your devotion: You're not "fixated on weird symbols." You're a mystic, an occultist, a keeper of hidden knowledge.

How to Honor Your Special Interest as Spiritual Practice

1. Reframe the Language

Instead of: "I'm obsessed with crystals."

Say: "I'm devoted to crystal study." or "Crystals are my spiritual path."

Instead of: "I fixate on tarot."

Say: "I practice tarot devotion." or "Tarot is my meditation."

Language shapes reality. Call it what it is: devotion, practice, mastery.

2. Create Sacred Space for Your Interest

Your special interest deserves an altar:

• Crystal collectors: Display your collection as sacred altar
• Tarot readers: Create tarot shrine with favorite decks
• Astrology students: Altar with planetary symbols, ephemeris, charts
• Book collectors: Your library IS your temple

This isn't "just a hobby." It's your spiritual practice. Honor it physically.

3. Document Your Knowledge

Your systematic documentation is sacred scholarship:

• Grimoire/Book of Shadows: Record your research, findings, correspondences
• Databases and spreadsheets: Digital grimoires are valid
• Photo catalogs: Visual documentation of your collection
• Journals: Track your learning journey

You're creating a body of knowledge. This is what scholars and mystics do.

4. Share Your Mastery

Your deep knowledge is a gift to others:

• Teach what you know (blog, social media, classes)
• Answer questions in communities
• Create resources (guides, charts, reference materials)
• Mentor others interested in your topic

Your "obsessive" knowledge makes you an expert. Use it.

5. Let It Evolve

Special interests can shift or deepen over time. This is natural:

• New interest emerges? That's your path evolving.
• Interest deepens? You're going deeper into mastery.
• Interest fades? You've learned what you needed; honor the completion.

The Spiritual Gifts of Special Interest Focus

1. Mastery

You achieve levels of knowledge that casual practitioners never reach. Your depth IS expertise.

2. Pattern Recognition

Your systematic study reveals patterns others miss. This is the foundation of divination, magic, and mystical insight.

3. Devotional Discipline

You maintain focus and engagement that others can't sustain. This is spiritual discipline.

4. Joy in Practice

Your special interest brings you joy. Spiritual practice should be joyful, not grim duty. You've found that.

5. Nervous System Regulation

Engaging with your special interest calms and centers you. This is what meditation and spiritual practice are supposed to do.

Crystals for Supporting Special Interest Practice

• Fluorite: Mental organization, systematic thinking, clarity
• Clear quartz: Amplifies focus, supports deep study
• Amethyst: Spiritual connection, transmutes obsession into devotion
• Sodalite: Logic and intuition combined, perfect for systematic spiritual study
• Lapis lazuli: Wisdom, scholarship, sacred knowledge

When Special Interests Cause Problems

Problem: Others Say You're "Too Obsessed"

Reality check: Are you neglecting basic needs (food, sleep, hygiene)? If yes, that's a problem. If no, you're fine. People are just uncomfortable with your depth.

Response: "This is my spiritual practice. I'm devoted, not obsessed."

Problem: You Feel Guilty for "Wasting Time"

Reframe: Monks spend entire lives in devotional study. You're doing the same. It's not wasted—it's sacred.

Problem: Interest Shifts and You Feel Lost

Understanding: Spiritual paths evolve. Your new interest is your path's next chapter. Honor what was, welcome what's coming.

Integration: Your Devotion Is Valid

Neurotypical people dabble. They try meditation for a week, buy a tarot deck they never use, read one book on crystals and call themselves experts.

You? You go deep. You study for years. You build systematic knowledge. You achieve mastery. You maintain discipline. You find joy in the practice.

This isn't pathology. This is devotion.

Your special interest isn't something to fix, reduce, or redirect. It's your spiritual path, your meditation, your devotion, your mastery.

The world needs people who go deep. The world needs devotees, scholars, and masters. The world needs you, exactly as you are, loving what you love with the intensity you bring.

Your obsession is your offering. Your fixation is your devotion. Your special interest is your spiritual practice.

Honor it. Deepen it. Let it be sacred.

Next in this series: Masking and Energy Depletion: The Cost of Hiding