Matthew Syed explores the fascinating phenomenon of reality shifting, where people claim to travel to different realities through mental techniques. While some dismiss it as fantasy, others find solace and empowerment in these experiences. Discover the psychology behind shifting, its potential benefits, and the intriguing question of whether our reality is truly as fixed as we think.
Have you ever imagined being transported to a different world, just through the power of your mind? An online community of ‘reality shifters’ claim they can do just that, with the help of some simple techniques. From joining the 19th-century English aristocracy to entering the fictional wizarding school Hogwarts, shifters say they can jump to any reality they choose.
But can it really be that simple? Matthew Syed explores why people believe these mental adventures are possible, and discovers that reality is actually stranger than we think. Here are a few of the fascinating things he learns…\When I woke up, I felt wind on my face and I remember thinking, ‘I didn't leave the window open. This is strange.’ In 2020, as Covid-19 swept the globe and people were confined to their homes, the trend took off on TikTok. That’s when Kristin, from Canada, discovered the phenomenon. She describes the first ‘shift’ she experienced, in a 19th-century British country mansion: “I laid down in my bed. I listened to some music. Calmed myself down. When I woke up, I felt wind on my face and I remember thinking, ‘I didn't leave the window open. This is strange.’ I got up from the bed that I was in and I remember just losing my mind – I was there.”\While millions of people worldwide have watched and shared content around reality shifting, far fewer claim to have actually managed it. A popular technique is to use ‘scripting’, where hopeful shifters write down a thorough description of the world they want to travel to. They then mentally rehearse those details before trying to make the leap. Kristin says: “I described each bedroom – what the theme would be, who would inhabit it, and what would be going on in there.” She then lay down and thought of all those things while repeating the phrase ‘I'm going to shift’. “I passed out doing that,” she says. Kristin claims that when she came round, she was in the world she had imagined. “It was the exact type of bed in the exact bedroom that I scripted… and then I found the servants and the butler that I had scripted and I was like, ‘Wow.’ I had actually made it.\Matthew Syed is sceptical about the paranormal implications of reality shifting. But there are other explanations for the experiences shifters have. Professor Emeritus Eli Somer from Haifa University in Israel is a clinical psychologist who’s researched the phenomenon. He compares reality shifting to a psychological condition called ‘maladaptive daydreaming’, in which people experience “spontaneously triggered, excessive, vivid daydreams that interfere with daily functioning”. The difference with shifting is that it’s more than daydreaming. People believe they’re genuinely transported to a parallel reality, and this is something they actively seek. Somer thinks the experience of reality shifting is brought on by a kind of self-hypnosis, “which creates this illusion of being in a different world.” Matthew Syed thinks that a “sense of control over the self, the narrative of their lives” is a key part of what makes the concept of reality shifting appeal to people. Professor Somer says shifting’s emergence during the pandemic wasn’t a coincidence. “What better way to feel free, when you're confined to your room, to create your freedom inside your mind.” Somer explains how shifting can help people by offering the chance to “rehearse new experiences of the self to create corrective emotional experiences that later help them”. He says others use reality shifting as “a way to relieve stress, to avoid difficult emotions. But like any form of avoidance, it can become harmful if it's the only way someone copes.” For Kristin, shifting gives her a chance to practice skills and build confidence. In her aristocratic world, she says, “I did learn how to manage people, and I did learn how to talk to people and be very diplomatic. I have used in day-to-day life here, and it's been very beneficial.”\Neuroscientist Professor Anil Seth from Sussex University believes our experience of reality is like a series of controlled hallucinations. It’s something that our brain creates based on the information it receives through the senses. “These electrical signals, they don't have colours, they don't have shapes, they're indirectly related to what's out there,” Seth explains. “The brain has to combine these ambiguous sensory signals with some sort of prior expectation about what's going on, and come up with a kind of best guess about what's out there… So we actively construct the worlds that we experience.” He says that evolution also shapes the way we perceive reality, so that it’s based on what’s most advantageous for our survival. “Very different species, from mosquitoes to mice to elephants, would have very different experiences of the same world. And for each species, the way they experience the world will be adaptive for them.” Reality shifters don’t believe it’s all in their minds
Science Technology REALITY SHIFTING MENTAL TECHNIQUES PARANORMAL PSYCHOLOGY DAYDREAMING SELF-HYPNOSIS NEUROSCIENCE CONSCIOUSNESS VIRTUAL REALITY
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