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Mindful Mondays With Ashley Dupuy: Creative Alchemy | What We Make From What We Carry
Season 7, Ep. 47
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After several years in which illness and healing necessarily made her world smaller, Ashley is beginning to venture out again - and discovering how readily the outer world begins speaking to the inner one when we are available to encounter it.
In this episode, two recent experiences become unexpected lessons in transformation and creative expression.
At a natural soapmaking workshop led by her friend Tanya Anderson of Lovely Greens, Ashley learns how carefully measured oils and caustic soda undergo saponification to become something entirely new. The process offers a powerful metaphor for the difficult material of our own lives - but also raises an important distinction: harmful experiences do not deserve credit for the meaning we may eventually create from them. The alchemy belongs to us.
A week later, a visit to Lancaster Castle leads to an unforgettable encounter with sculptor Alan Ward inside his working studio. Among clay figures, stone carvings and hidden details known only to the artist, another insight emerges:
Not everything hidden is a mask. Some things are private because they are precious.
Ashley explores why authentic expression does not require complete exposure, what this means for neurodivergent unmasking, and how creativity can give form to experiences that do not always arrive through words.
Along the way, she considers the neuroscience of creative thought, the relationship between spontaneous imagination and conscious discernment, and the Neurodivergent Nuance of creativity when perfectionism, sensory needs or executive dysfunction make “just create” feel like another demand.
There is also a little Bite-Sized Buddhism, exploring karma not as cosmic reward or punishment, but as intentional participation in what becomes possible.
The episode closes with Sculpting the Clouds, a gentle guided visualisation in which each exhaled breath shapes the clouds overhead into small, temporary works of art - giving the inner world space to become visible without needing to be explained.
Find more of Ashley’s meditations, Yoga Nidras, nervous-system practices and Bedtime Alchemy sleep stories on Insight Timer:
https://insighttimer.com/AshleyDupuy
Discover more about Ashley’s work:
https://www.integrativeiom.co.uk
Our Sponsors:
🧘♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy & https://insighttimer.com/AshleyDupuy
🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com
🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.
🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com
🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com
🎙️ Executive Producers: Amy Burns, Anamaria B Call, Andrew Banner, Anna Goodson, Ashley Apelzin, Audrea Volker, Ben Coulson, Brian Churcek, Cappy Hamper, Carley Biblin, Charlene Deva, Chloe Cross, Clay Duhigg, Clayton Oliver, Danny Dunn, Daria Brown, David Garrido, Emily Burgess, Eric Crane, Erik Stenerud, Fiona Baker, Grace Norman, Helen Shaddock, Jaimie Collins, Jason Killian, Jen Unruh, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Tretter, Kathie Watson-Gray, Kenneth Knowles, Kira Cotter, Kristine Lang, Kyle Raney, Llew P Williams, Laura Alvarado, Laura De Vito, Laura Provonsha, Lily George, Nelly Darmi, Nigel Rogers, Rachel Miller, Tim Scott, Tyler Kunz, Victoria Steed, Yanina Wood.
🎧 Producers: AJ Knight, Bobby Simon, Da Kovac, Eleanor Collins, Emily Griffiths, Hannah Hughes, Jennifer Kemp, Jonas Fløde, Kate F, Katie N Benitez, Kendra Murphy, Lisa Dennys, Logan Wall, Louise Lomas, Melissa Nance, Nicola Owen, Rebecka Johansson, Sam Morris, Sarah Hannah Morris.
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