Reality Shifting
Has it ever occurred that the night before a big exam or important interview you dream about it? Have you gone to sleep thinking about these events? Or have you gone to sleep thinking about how the actual interview will go? Well, that is called lucid dreams. Lucid dreaming is a type of dream where the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. These dreams can become vivid in the sense that the dream is intense and feels very real. On the other hand, have you heard of shifting? Personally, I did not know what it was until my friend mentioned it and suddenly it was on my TikTok. The trend on TikTok began with people entering new realities. For example, people imagined of transporting themselves to Hogwarts.
At first, I thought lucid dreams and shifting were the same, but they are very different and have different purposes. Shifting is moving your consciousness from your current reality to your desired reality. Through certain techniques, meditation, and visualization you can shift to a parallel reality. Meditation and visualization will not automatically make you shift, but it is one step towards reaching your parallel reality. Individuals also write scripts, so it can be easier to visualize what their desired reality will look like or occur. The Hogwarts example, as mentioned before, became very popular on TikTok because the movie Harry Potter is very well known and liked by most individuals. My friend explained shifting as actually being in a different reality. She learned how to do this by watching how other people performed it on TikTok. Through practice she became better and learned that it worked best for her by preparing a script. Nonetheless, shifting may not work for everyone and its effects can be exaggerated.
However, on a fundamental level, lucid dreams are much different from reality shifting. Lucid dreaming occurs through consciously controlled dreams and individuals can experience any reality through a vivid environment. While shifting is changing the reality one dreams, lucid dreaming is to experience any reality without the use of meditation or visualization. Lucid dreams feel very real since it is based on your own imagination. I had heard of lucid dreams before, but never thought I had experienced it. Unintentionally, I have had lucid dreams. For example, before an exam I have intentionally thought about my exam and tried to picture what type of questions would be asked. The purpose of doing this was to be more prepared for the exam and to test whether I knew all the information.
I have never tried reality shifting, nor do I think that it will work. I believe that these instances can be over-exaggerated. Since I had never heard of this concept before, I believe that social platforms such as TikTok can elaborate and extend the truth. Although this may not be true for everyone, such as my friend. However, if you have tried it, let me know how it felt to switch realities in the comments.
