Philosophy:Reality shifting

Short description: Internet term

Reality shifting is a term that refers to the spiritual practice of "transferring" or "shifting" one's consciousness to an alternate reality, and/or the attempt to alter the reality one is experiencing and transcending one's physical confines to visit alternate universes. Reality shifting, also known as "shifting," is a form of manifestation rooted in Buddhism and Hinduism. It gained mainstream popularity on the internet in 2018. It was discussed on multiple social media platforms and was a popular trend in 2020 with over 2.1 billion views on one platform alone. Proponents believe the practice involves the exploration of deeper consciousness and claim to have experienced reality shifts.

Description

Individuals who participate in this practice, also known as "Shifters," often refer to a study studied by the CIA in the 1950s. A radio executive named Robert Monroe began researching how sound patterns impact consciousness. While experimenting with sleep-learning, Monroe has multiple out-of-body experiences and began researching human consciousness and altered states of consciousness.

The government took an interest in his research, resulting in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to start researching Monroe's "Gateway Process," also known as the "Gateway Experience." This concept included how one can create an altered state of consciousness. The techniques include, hypnosis, transcendental meditation, biofeedback, binaural sounds, affirmations and subliminals. A significant number of these techniques align with ones used by "Shifters" to attempt a reality shift. US Army Operational Group Commander charged Lieutenant Colonel Wayne M. McDonnell, who researched classical physics, quantum mechanics, and consciousness, concluded that these techniques not only alter consciousness but transcend spacetime. Since this study was completed in 1983, it is considered outdated and not based on current understandings of neuroscience.

Popularity

The origin of reality shifting is largely attributed to YouTube in 2018 but became more widespread in 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic. Practicioners believe that when they are “shifting," their consciousness "shifts" to another realm or reality. Since the Covid pandemic large communities have been made across multiple social media platforms dedicated to the concept of reality shifting. The social media platforms include Amino, TikTok, YouTube and Reddit. Videos under the hashtag "realityshifting" on TikTok have over 165 million views, and videos using the hashtag "shiftingrealities" have more than 1.7 billion. Reality shifting tutorials also exist on YouTube. There are content creators on these platforms that share their experiences and even create guides and tutorials on TikTok and YouTube.

Methods

There are many methods of reality shifting. They include, but are not limited to, relaxation, visualization, manifestation, affirmations. These methods are considered to be similar to meditation and self-hypnosis. Nicole Hernandez, a hypnotist stated that  "...shifting essentially taps into two techniques: lucid dreaming, associated with REM sleep, the fourth stage of the sleep cycle before waking up, and self-hypnosis, which shifters have rebranded into different methods." Although each method is a little different, they all involve the individual having intent, being relaxed, affirming oneself, and visualizing their desired reality, (DR.)

Firstly, one must create a script before they begin the process. This script refers to a list of specifics, about the reality you wish to "shift" to, what you want your life to look like, what you want to look like, who you want to meet, relationships and how long you want to be there. The more precise you make your script, the more likely you are to be successful in your shift. People often create something called a "time ratio," which refers to the ratio between the amount of time you wish to be in your "desired reality."  and the amount of time that passes in real life.

While there are different ways by which one can shift, it is important to be in a certain state of mind before one can begin the process. One must be half asleep or in a meditative state. It is said your body must be asleep while still remaining conscious. The beginning of the process mimics self-hypnosis. "Hypnotic inductions are simply a series of rituals, such as counting down from 10 to 1 and imagining walking downstairs," Hernandez explains. "These rituals act as suggestions that help [people] dissociate from the external world and associate with their imagination or inner world. Hypnotic inductions often help the [person] relax, leading them toward a hypnagogic state, the natural transitional state between wakefulness and sleeping. Within this state, you are fully conscious and therefore have control over the visualizations that a hypnotist would suggest."

The raven method is one of the most popular techniques to shift. It requires one to lie on your back in a starfish position and count down from 100 while imagining one's desired reality. Another popular method is the Alice in Wonderland method, which involves imagining oneself running after someone from their desired reality and jumping down a hole with them. It is said this one works best when one is trying to visit a specific character from a fictional universe.

Another one of the most popular methods is the Pillow method. This method is said to be the easiest for beginners. The process includes writing out a script and placing it underneath one's pillow while they sleep. When they wake up, they will be in their desired reality automatically.

Comparison

The concept of reality shifting is often compared to others such as lucid dreaming, and astral projection and there is overlap in the methods and outcomes of both. When one is lucid dreaming, dreams become vivid and extremely detailed. Having control over your actions in your dream and even retaining memories of the dream can feel like you have entered a different reality. However, lucid dreaming is a scientifically proven phenomenon while reality shifting is not. Astral projection is referred to as an intentional out-of-body experience. Astral projection is more closely related to reality shifting because they both consist of the belief that one can separate their consciousness from their physical body and transfer to another reality and realm. They also consist of the belief that you are traveling to and experiencing an alternate dimension. These two concepts are known as "transliminal experiences" which means that they both happen in a place between the conscious and the unconscious mind. As well as reality shifting, there is no known scientific evidence that astral projection exists as a phenomenon.

Religious views

Reality shifting is considered a spiritual practice for people seeking an out-of-body experience. Although not a well-known practice, it has gained enough popularity to be reviewed by religious scholars of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. As Christians avoid astral projection and transcendental meditation, they do not believe in and avoid reality shifting. They believe it is a "new age" practice that goes against the beliefs of Christianity.

In Islam, it is known that astral projection is not permitted. Reality shifting is debated, but overall known to go against the beliefs of Islam.

In Hinduism, a core belief is that a human being's basic nature is not confined to the body or the mind. The existence of multiple realities and realms is also a belief. Although shifters often cite Hinduism and ancient Hindu practices as evidence for the validity and efficacy of shifting, there is not a connection between reality shifting and Hinduism.

Astral projection is a part of Buddhism and is said to be a very powerful tool for spiritual development. However, reality shifting has not been a discussion among the Buddhist community.

See also

• Altered state of consciousness
• Astral projection
• Lucid dream
• Multiverse
• Quantum jump method
• Reincarnation
• Siddhi
• Tulpa
• Vision (spirituality)