Reality Shifting

About

Reality Shifting, also referred to as Dimensional Jumping, refers to a practice in which one purposefully imagines themself as part of another plane of reality in a meditative state akin to a lucid dream. In 2020, the practice grew popular after it trended on TikTok, where many users claimed to be reality shifting into Hogwarts, the fictional school from the Harry Potter universe. The practice has been described as a form of spirituality.

History

The history of how the practice of reality shifting came into being is murky. The subreddit /r/DimensionalJumping^[1] launched on July 13th, 2014 before being archived by moderators. The subreddit /r/DimensionJumping^[2] launched on September 29th, 2016, and remains active. There, users have referred to the works of author Neville Goddard, who wrote on self-help and mysticism,^[3] as influential to the practice.

Speaking to i-D^[4] in 2020, therapist Grace Warwick explained that reality shifting is a "transliminal experience" similar to what one feels before falling asleep or just after waking. By listening to repetitive music or counting backwards from 100, practicers can induce a transliminal state and imagine a vivid reality of their own. Those practicing reality shifting claim that they are going to one of the infinite number of universes theorized by quantum mechanics.

Online Presence

There are communities for Reality Shifters on Amino Apps^[5] and Reddit,^[2] but the most notable online community of reality shifters is on TikTok. The popularity of the trend on TikTok led to multiple YouTube videos centered around the topic, from instructional videos to reactions. On October 23rd, 2020 YouTuber Kristeau posted an instructional video for reality shifting, gaining over 1.2 million views (shown below, left). On April 10th, 2021, TheOdd1sOut posted a reaction to the trend, gaining over 11 million views (shown below, right).

TikTok Surge

On TikTok, the trend grew popular and gained a large amount of attention, particularly as many users there were attempting to reality shift to Hogwarts and date Draco Malfoy. On TikTok, users encouraged others to create a script before reality shifting in order to make sure one had the experience they'd hoped for.^[4] The trend started gaining popularity in September of 2020, as users posted instructional videos on how to shift. For example, a September 8th video by by user beashifting has gained over 3,200 likes (shown below, left). On September 28th, user addictedtoshifting made a video detailing embarrassing experiences they'd had shifting to Hogwarts, gaining over 245,000 likes (shown below, right).

As of June 8th, 2021, there have been 1.5 billion videos added under TikTok's #shiftingrealities tag.^[6]

Related Memes

Grabovoi Cheat Codes

Grabovoi Cheat Codes or Universe Cheat Codes refers to a pseudoscientific theory which implies that vocalizing or writing down certain number sequences will result in various benefits such as material wealth, beauty or increase entrepreneurship abilities manifesting in a person's life, similar to how cheat codes function in video games. Created by Soviet-Russian pseudoscientist and convicted con artist Grigory Grabovoi in the 1990s, the practice gained viral popularity on TikTok in March 2021, particularly among users interested in manifestation, reality shifting and other pseudoscientific topics.

Search Interest

External References