Reality Shifting, from the Perspective of an (ex??) Reality Shifter

[@annybarrakudda4172]

Your video got me thinking. The section about you trying your hardest to shift resonated deeply with me, with my experience in non-denominational churches. There was a time where I was trying so hard, every night, sometimes during the day, to pray and to pray hard enough to have visions and talk to god. It seemed like everyone was doing it, and although there were a lot of people not experiencing it, there was a feeling that it was your fault that god didnt talk back to you. My journey in believing or not believing in god hinged a lot on these vague dreams I had, and I spent months or years not being sure what I believed in, if what had happened to me was real or not. It seems very similar to your experience with mini-shifting, with so much hope that finally it worked. I ended up having "visions" about vague shadows of a person, a three-headed dog and a woman whose head always went through the roof no matter where we were. Although a difference was that I felt guilty for the visions that did not fit with the churches' interpretation of god (more figures than the trinity, especially the three-headed dog). Just to say: your comparison to christianity makes so much sense. I fully believe that reality-shifting should be considered a religion (a canon of rules and sets of morals, dynamics of believing, guilt, a very specific world view...)

[@PGOuma]

OMG yeah "You didn't pray enough or hard enough" or "You didn't believe enough" All of that is why I'm a Deist now because I don't see God really interacting with the world, and if He does... He sure has favorites...

[@annekegardina]

absolutely, I definitely also experienced some of that going to church, though thankfully not too much. But the parallels between the experience of being within the reality shifting community and the experience of being a christian are super strong. even though theyre really different, theyre also very similar, and I feel like thats not talked about enough

[@Hai_Im_Kazzy]

I find it really weird how Christianity can be accepted without proof but reality shifting can’t

[@nagyuz]

because some people like to suffer

[@VelvetHeartie]

Not shifting is not your falt. At this point,as someone who has done very extensive research and who has talked to many people who have and haven’t shifted I’ve realized that its relatively random if you do or do not shift. Genuinely its about what your subconscious believes and truly wants for you, because you don’t have conscious awareness of your subconscious its hard to know how you will shift personally or to know what you believe. I figured that usually what gets people the closest is a PERSISTENT belief and the acceptance of doubts. knowing that if you have a strong and persistent expectation, belief and emotions that align with your goal then it will eventually manifest. Reality is your playground.

[@sambadivilshit]

True

[@ijai303]

Thank you so much for your honesty. Actually I was avoiding clicking on this video bc I expected it will be all negative about reality shifting, and I didn’t want to be exposed to that. But actually this video is totally opposite and accepting towards people who are still in the community, which is very respectful.

[@annekegardina]

yw! i am never ever going to speak negitavely about reality shifters, partially because i still kind of am one, but mostly becasue the belief in it is so valid!!

[@maibv.]

I avoided this video like the plague, thinking it would be just another bashing video, but I’m really glad I watched it. The way you speak is so eloquent, and it opens up a line of communication about reality shifting for people who are observing it from the outside. Reality shifting is an abstract thing that leaves a lot to be desired. Most videos from big KZbinrs that claim to do a “deep” dive into reality shifting are honestly just following trends for clicks and views. And even if they try to be neutral on the subject, their commentary often comes across as one-sided with a backhanded compliment to reality shifting. That being said, we live in a world where the law of polarity exists. There will always be people who agree and disagree on all sorts of things, and that’s okay. What’s not okay is when people ignorantly call reality shifting “psychosis.” It devalues the actual definition of psychosis and the experiences of those who genuinely suffer from it. And “lucid dreaming” isn’t comparable to what shifting actually is-just like lucid dreaming isn’t the same as astral projection. They might be under the same umbrella, but they are definitely not the same thing. Calling shifting “lucid dreaming” is an underhanded way to undermine the validity of what shifters experience. Anyway, I really resonated with some of the things you said in the video, especially about mental health and the complicated relationship with reality shifting. My relationship with shifting has been a roller coaster, but it’s honestly the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s given me more positive reinforcements than anything else in the world. I don’t think I could have powered through my life without reality shifting. I’m in a good mental place because of it. I haven’t shifted yet in the four years I’ve known about it; but like any solo journey, it takes time to figure out what works for you. Fortunately, my relationship with reality shifting isn’t rocky anymore. Like anything in life, the meaning you give to something is what you’ll get back. I believe reality shifting is what you make of it. At the end of the day, your truth lies within you. Others’ truths will be theirs. Opinions will always be opinions, just like how theories and advice will always be subjective. Even what we state as facts will always be ever-changing, especially when we discover more about the world and the universe. All that we know as it is, will probably never be as it once was told to us. We’re always learning and discovering. But that doesn’t take away from what we often believe to be true. So, all in all, don’t listen to strangers on the internet just to make a small part of their truths your own. There’s so much noise online that you have to be selective about what you want to listen to. Don't take advice from people who are not where you want to be, and only take advice from someone who's been where you want to go. There’s no such thing as failure; there’s only progress.

[@annekegardina]

yes, 100 percent. This is so well said, like i feel like you took the blender of thoughts and feelings about reality shifting inside my brain and made it coherent.

[@Korrin69]

Used to dunk on reality shifting but this has opened my eyes, although I don’t believe in it I don’t believe you guys are crazy any more. Nice vid!

[@annekegardina]

thank you! I'm really glad my video helped change your perspective, that really means a lot to me.

[@PGOuma]

People never dog on mewing as hard as they do with reality shifting. Some forms of mewing or whatever the act of sharpening your jaw is called literally involves you breaking your jaw with a hammer... whereas reality shifting can be understood from an outsider's perspective as another form of daydreaming (I know it's more than just that, but that's how outsiders see it as) and yet... they call reality shifters "crazy" instead of someone literally breaking their jaw in hopes of getting a sharper jawline...

[@lauramitchell_]

or "lookmaxing" which is way more toxic than reality shifting

[@Cakezzer]

When you said that some people think that Reality Shifting preys on people with mental issues. I was doing just fine before I found out about reality shifting, and It has done nothing to me other than benefit me. I have been far more appreciative than ever before, and It's helping me take much more care of my mental and physical health, since I never really paid attention to those things. The reason I am trying to shift is to meet my favorite characters, not to excape.

[@annekegardina]

i completely agree!!! it helped me a LOT when it came to taking care of myself. i’m saying it can prey on people who have mental health issues, but i don’t think that is how we should characterise reality shifting!! i mentioned in my video how much reality shifting actually helped me in my journey to having a healthy mental health.

[@shizenkv]

my jaw dropped when i saw u didn't have more subs this is a god tier video pull

[@annekegardina]

ahhh thank you!!

[@MaireB_97]

Im so surprised that this video just came to my page because I do a lot of research on these things and believe in some but I love the fact that someone said this with a point of coming from a ex shifter. I still do shift and have had experiences but I 100% agree with the fact that doing this put me in such a better head space then before. I also was raised catholic and i’m not anymore but I always questioned how people can believe in there being a god and such but not reality shifting because for both you can’t really prove your experiences to anyone else. Anyways love this video!

[@soogynoodle]

Extradimensional video pull

[@Bugsinmystomach]

This is super insightful, Im shocked you don't have more followers. It's hard grappling with your beliefs and spirituality, especially when they shaped who you are but don't necessarily apply anymore. I loved this, I listened to it while I rode my horse lol.

[@annekegardina]

ahhh im so glad you enjoyed!! say hi to your horse for me

[@gizem_69]

I was worried that it didn't feel real, I thought it would feel like a dream, thank you, I'm very happy now and I'll start writing a new script right away!

[@ABoxOfCartonJuice]

The fellow ex reality shifters are getting fed today 😻

[@annekegardina]

🫶🫶🫶🫶

[@MimaSama-nd9cy]

I'm not going to lie, this resonates with me and probably so many ex shifter (and even if they won't admit active shifters as well). For me, I genuinely don't know know if shifting realities is real but that's not the biggest gripe I have with shifting but it's more whether I even want to go. I believe that back then, we all wanted to go to these dangerous yet fun drs (like marvel, harry potter, jjk, bnha, percy jackson, twilight and more that I could name but I would be here for a millennium) because most of us were bored in quarantine and wanted to explore the daydreams that came from having to be stuck in our houses. But now that we're coming out of quarantine and seeing how fast the world is going, I feel like shifting while always in the back of my mind and I always will want to do but also somewhat of a burden. Whenever I go to bed I have the same daydreams but then I'll think about tomorrow or a few days in advance where I have something (exams, tests, days out with my friends or holidays) I just couldn't focus. I remember that during lockdown is was so...simple? I would have dreams about my reality, I even "shifted" to this weird reality during lockdown but nowadays it's just - nothing. I think for me and many others however, we enjoy creating ocs rather than actually living out the lives of said ocs. I use to have a lot of friends (or moots as we would call ourselves) on shiftok that were very into shifting into fighting Shonens (basically popular fighting animes that used to be marketed to boys but now is more unisex) and would create complex plots that would lead to loads of trauma. A lot would say they would just script trauma out, deal with it or go as far as going to a "Shifting Therapist Dr" and even though I didn't want to tell it to them I was so confused. Why would you do so much just to traumatize yourself and yeah you want to be with your favorite characters but can't you do that in a safe space? Cause if you've seen the shows that they were shifting to that would horribly traumatize anyone no matter how mentally stable they were and they also go on top by giving themselves even MORE TRAMUA for the "plot" (except it's not a plot you're literally living there). However like I said before, I didn't want to tell them and another thing is that shifting is starting to become cult-like. Like I understand everyone has different moral belief systems but damn, it feels like you have script everything and anything that breathes wrong out otherwise your the devil reincarnated. Where I am right now, I still want to shift but I would rather shift at a time I want to, I guess I also feel a lot of guilt for wasting like 2 years where I was in shifting circles but when it came to shifting I couldn't be asked. I also have mellowed down most of my drs, so yeah (sorry for the rant).

[@annekegardina]

don't apologize! I think that for some the creating ocs element was definitely a big part of it. For myself i know i really did want to go there and experience what i was scripting, but it was also just fun to think up really cool characters and imagine yourself as them. I totally relate to the trauma parts, because like... it was superrr common to script trauma into your drs. like from just past trauma like 'my whole family died five years ago' to stuff that was going to happen that would definitely give you trauma, like... idk why we did that, but I was guilty of it too. there was this one marvel dr that had SO MUCH trauma I scripted in for myself that I ended up scrapping it and turned it into a fanfiction idea instead. i could go into so much detail about the trauma I scripted for myself in my drs, and how super harmful it all was??? like if I actually ended up going there to experience it, how messed up I would be. yeah idk really but..

[@MimaSama-nd9cy]

@@annekegardina Yeah I think a lot of people we’re really good writers and focused on that more than the actually shifting (aka me lol). Even if shifting isn’t real, just talking about it and thinking about the moral implications is quite fun.

[@Turtlegreens123]

From what I’ve seen and research myself. Reality shifting is shifting your AWARENESS to another consciousness in another reality. There is the belief of infinite realities and the one where we perceive and can change reality. So little scientific theories are involved. Also seen ppl believe that all the fictional worlds we come up with are just subconscious knowledge about other of the infinite realities due to how much repetition and such goes on in our universes. This was a comment trying to explain it as well as possible I hope I did :)

[@Turtlegreens123]

You know kinda how every character you come up with, how they look, act and such, there is a person exactly like that out there bc we are literally billions of people and there has existed so many more and there will be even more existing

[@PGOuma]

I get the sexuality confusion part as I used to be a lesbian (and I'm not anymore since I transitioned 🤣) but I basically told myself that fictional men don't count because when I think of myself being with an irl man... that makes me wanna throw up 🤣🤣🤣

[@annekegardina]

no fr, like thinking about actually being with a man makes me feel slightly ill but that still didn't stop me from trying to shift so I could be with bucky barnes

[@PGOuma]

Fictional men (& women) & irl women>>>

[@Jillibe]

SHE'S BACK!!!! LET'S GOOOOO

[@annekegardina]

LETS GOOOOOOOO

[@thebubblyboredmushroom]

Thank you sooo much for this video, this is such an important and interesting point of view.

[@annekegardina]

ahhh yes im so glad you enjoyed it!!!

[@hunni2968]

@16:32 - 16:40 That sounds like dream incubation!

[@annekegardina]

im not familiar with that, what is it?

[@hunni2968]

@@annekegardina So, it is sort of like when your prime yourself to have a dream about something which may happen unintentionally when you are afraid of a thing happening in real life say going to school naked so of course you end up dreaming about it because it’s on your mind so often. I’m pretty sure there are some YT guided meditations that can be repurposed for dream incubation it’s more so guided meditations for having a lucid dream about something 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@beepy815]

this is a really good video !!

[@ΝικολιναΛοριδα]

Hey ❤ I have been trying to shift for years I've tried all the methods I knew and even take breaks but nothing happens, I just wanna know if someone who is an expert can help me 😭

[@annekegardina]

im the same way! like i said in the video, i dont know if i believe in it anymore, but general advice is to focus more on the destination rather than the shifting part. idk if that makes sense. like stop worrying about how to shift and think about why you want to shift and all the fun things you'll do in your dr.

[@annekegardina]

lmao i know its easier said than done

[@Korrin69]

Although I also do have a question, do you think this is an escape mechanism to most people? Sorry if I sound insensitive, not trying to be. An ex friend of mine shifted a lot and he suffers with a lot of mental illnesses and trauma and a bad home life so I wonder if it’s linked to bad mental health and escapism. Also the outtakes are silly!

[@annekegardina]

I definitely think that some people use reality shifting as a form of escapism, and tbh that was also my reason for it sometimes. But I think it was also just as common, if not more common to try to reality shift just because you thought it would be super cool to be a marvel superhero. also thank you about the outtakes! I debated putting them in or not, so Im glad you like them!

[@BasuraVidz]

You should look up hyperphantasia. It's basically a healthy version of reality shifting.

[@derekchen1244]

Why did you stop reality shifting?

[@ninin117]

imo i dont think the comparison to christianity is appropriate. for one, people absolutely do criticize christianity in similar ways to reality shifting. for example, during sermons (especially in megachurches) many tactics are used to get people into a more emotional state; turning down the lights, no windows, closing eyes, dancing, and music among other things. people attribute that profound feeling they get during these sermons with god, but others point out that these feelings are similar to that of going to a concert in a similar environment. i also think theres some misunderstanding here about why people call reality-shifting psychosis. i dont personally agree with that take, but its not an empty accusation. people dont say christians are in psychosis because theres no basis for saying that. from the outside perspective, its reasonable to describe people truly believing they are somewhere, something or someone they're not as being in psychosis. /npa /gen

[@annekegardina]

well that’s the thing right? my point is that christianity is respected to the point where when someone says they literally saw their guardian angel or spoke with god, its believed/respected. that situation is very comparable to reality shifting because the only thing you have to go on of if it’s true or not is the word of the person who said it. i’ve had people tell me that they’ve actually seen their guardian angel just like i’ve had people tell me that they’ve actually shifted realities. i don’t really understand what the difference is in those two scenarios, but only one of them is then called crazy in popular culture/society in general. /npa

[@ninin117]

​@@annekegardina theres definitely something to be said about that, but i also think you underestimate how many people there are out there that roll their eyes at christians who say they've met god or something. most people aren't gonna say "thats stupid" to someone's face if they say something to that effect, but a good chunk of people are also thinking in the back of their minds that they're delusional. even so, im sure christians like that have also had the occasional unsavory comment. ultimately i agree its a double standard. im not defending it though, since i think its equally worthy of criticism. /npa

[@annybarrakudda4172]

Please tell me people are drafting these DRs into fanfiction!

[@PGOuma]

I have in a form of roleplaying on Character AI

[@annekegardina]

i know some def are, and tbh i started writing one of my drs into a fanfiction a few years ago when I realized it would be too traumatizing of an experience for me lol. Never finished it though, I got super discouraged by the lack of main character OCs on AO3

[@Jaesdaes]

Literally what happened with mine lmaooo 😂

[@NTJV]

I'm commenting after only watching half the video but what you describe as "reality shifting" does not line up with what I'm familiar with as "reality shifting". It sounds more like Amitabha visualization from pure land buddhism (a very westernized version of it as what your describing doesn't seem to have the goal of enlightenment). I'm uninformed when it comes to TikTok as I never downloaded that app but the community there seems to be misguided in their approach to a practice like the one you describe.

[@annekegardina]

I was never involved in spirituality outside of TikTok and reality shifting, so I dont know whether what people say on there is accurate or not. Im just sharing what I experienced and learned through my time in that specific community. i am super interested in that though, how is reality shifting like amitabha visualization? Ive never heard of that

[@NTJV]

@@annekegardina I'm not a Buddhist but from what I think I remember about it you continuously say the buddhas name while meditating with the goal of enlightenment some monks/teachers also say that in the meditation you can go to a "pure land" or a heaven (alternate reality) where you can meditate even harder with less of our worlds distractions. some of these heavens have even been explored by monks/teachers that got good at going to them and what I know of atleast the few guys that have posted on imageboards describe the process of going to a heaven as being very similar to what you called reality shifting. I'm also confused on the process of reality shifting from what you describe, do you find a separate space and meditate while attempting it or do you actually just fall asleep? Also the form of "reality shifting" I'm aware of one of two things one of the explanations of the mandela effect which is more of a global rather than personal phenomena and the other form of reality shifting I was aware of was when that phenomena only applies to one person where it's as if they just suddenly realize theyre reality is no longer the same reality as the one they had lived their whole life which could be as subtle as a brand name being spelled slightly different or as extreme as you coming home to a family you never had but apparently have had for 10+ years. sorry for the long response the concept was kinda confusing and just want clarification mostly.

[@noway4435]

“The rules on tik tok are…” why would it matter what people on tik tok say? How does that realistically impact something happening In someone’s head

[@Ish_the_fish]

from my understanding, the “rules” (i’ll use the race change thing as an example) is more of a moral thing. In this CR, if a non poc were to say they want to be a poc in another reality, or even in this one, in a way it discredits the hardships of actually being that race. Its like saying that you want to be discriminated against as well, or you’re not “appreciative” over whatever privilege in terms of race that you have. I dont really think there is a clear boundary between what happens in somebody’s DR and the decisions they would make in regards to that, vs what happens in their CR and the things they would do in regards to that. Regardless, I do think that arguments like having “rules for shifting” get messy because of people who really do have good intentions behind whatever “rule” they are breaking. So, to answer your question, it doesn’t realistically impact anything, and really its just down to personal opinion. There are multiple shifting communities (online servers or groupchats etc.) who ban people who dont follow the set “shifting rules”, but there are also millions of other communities who do the same thing based on their majority’s opinion on things. So really, it should be a “to each their own” situation, but thats just not how society functions unfortunately.

[@derekchen1244]

Do you believe in reality shifting?

[@annekegardina]

its really complicated. i tried my best to explain in the video, but i think the best answer i can come up with is i don't know if i believe in it anymore.

[@shadw4701]

21:14 it is dreaming. Just not *LUCID* dreaming. It's a combination of multiple things. Mostly dream incubation (choosing what to dream about before going to sleep), persistent realms (dream worlds you return to), and vivid dreams (any dream as real or more real feeling than real life). And vivid dreams can accurately recreate any feeling. Temperature, humidity, tatse, tactile etc. Often times your senses are even enhanced. They're typically euphoric as well when they have a good story and/or love interest. Plus all the symptoms are just symptoms of falling asleep. It can also start from a misidentified pre-lucid dream. During this state is normally where you'd question if you're dreaming or awake but having a belief system can lead to drawing the wrong conclusions. Also lucid dreaming isn't linked with psychosis nor does it lead to confusion of reality. To be lucid is to have a clear headspace, you know if you're dreaming or awake, much more than the average person. And not all dreams include weird stuff happening or outlandish events that could never happen. Especially as you get older you'll notice your dreams basically being just like a regular day in your life. This is especially common in false awakenings. Your brain has your entire house mapped. If your subconscious wants to it can recreate your current environment. Reality tests aren't even 100% effective (plus they're often misinterpreted) And yes shifting as well as any religious or spiritual/ any other belief system can lead to psychosis in some people. In others shifting is likely to cause dissociation I'm sorry but the version of lucid dreaming the shifting community talks about is completely wrong. They're basically teaching the movie version. Also shifting has other problems like the butterfly effect. I'm not saying this to be a buzzkill just spreading information. This is all coming from a lifetime of experience of being an oneironaut as well

[@annekegardina]

thats the thing though, reality shifters believe that you actually go to another real universe. like thats the whole premise of it. for the lucid dreaming stuff, im not an expert on that, I just know what I've heard over the years of researching spirtuality in the hope to understand reality shifting better. the butterfly effect isn't an issue with reality shifting because you arent traveling around in time in this reality, its fully a whole different universe. I hope this made sense.. no hard feelings either, im just trying to share the shifter's side of things.

[@vinyxx]

AAAA