About

My name is Devaki pronounced Deeva-key. I am a writer-philosopher, singer-songwriter, and autisitc elder sharing wisdom, insight, and lived experiences through an unconventional lens.

I am highly introverted and have always liked to spend most of my time on my own since childhood. I was often reminded by others that I did not fit into what they viewed as normal, and was made fun of and ridiculed for much of my childhood and adult life. My biggest challenge is living in a world that is very sensory triggering for me. As a result of decades of trying to hide my autistic traits, I have chosen to live a reclusive life with my spouse of 25 years, on my own terms.

I self-diagnosed as autistic in late 2021 at the age of 63. A year later in November 2022 at the age of 64, I was officially diagnosed with level 2 Autism, general and social anxiety, I am now 66. I am a gestalt language processor, and are selective mute in some situations. I also have complex trauma, IBS and fibromyalgia.

I do not identity, use or answer to titles such as Miss, Ms, Mrs, lady, madam or ma'am. I am non gender conforming, non-binary and autisitc, and see myself as a citizen of the world. I don't resonate with tribe consciousness as I do not need a tribe to live a meaningful life. I feel connected to humanity and embrace our shared humanity. I do not follow trends or buzz word labels thus I am a free spirit and follow only my own heart.

I was born in Wanganui, New Zealand and grew up in a trauma based household with a mentally and physically abusive mother. I now see my family in a different light since discovering I am autistic. Statistically autistic children seem to have at least one autistic parent and often other relatives. I believe both my parents and sibling were autisitc which explains a lot about my family life, and why no one twigged I was autistic.

I knew when I was nine years old that I wanted to be a nurse when I left school, and I did just that for the first 20 years of my working life. I felt compassion for those who were sick, and I wanted to help ease their suffering if I could. I faced an enormous number of sensory issues and overload working in a hospital environment without ever knowing this was due to being autistic.

When I was 26 years old, I lived through 3 life changing challenges in the same year, and as a result I had a major breakdown and became anorexic and suicidal. Through this process I went on to explore spirituality through Buddhism and other non-religious philosophies. I met my spiritual teacher in 1994 who had a significant impact on my life before their passing in 2002. I am still spiritual, but I do not belong to any organisation or spiritual group.

I first came to Australia in 1977. Many years later I moved back to New Zealand, and a few years later I moved back to Australia. I have lived in various Australian states and have resided in Canberra since 2017. During my return to New Zealand, I severely injured my back at work and sustained a cervical disc lesion which was to later end my 20-year nursing career. It was clear I would not be able to return to nursing, so I came back to Australia. In 1992, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia which I still live with today. In 1994 at 36 years old I started my own life mentoring business.

In January 1999, three weeks before my 41st birthday, I met the person I would marry and we married in December 2000. I started playing guitar and writing songs in 2000 at the age of 42 and went on to record two albums.