Shifting has exploded on TikTok — and if you'd like to give it a go, you might decide that you need to write a script to make the experience easier. Here's how.
What Is Shifting About?
Reality shifting — usually simply called shifting — is a meditative state in which the "shifter" enters an alternate reality. Key terms to be familiar with include:
- Current Reality (CR). Also called, in other circles, "IRL" or "meatspace" — in other words, the physical world you live in.
- Desired Reality (DR). That's the place shifters are trying to get to. The Harry Potter universe and the MCU are examples of popular desired realities.
- The Waiting Room (WR) is also called the world between, among many other things. It's essentially a portal between your CR and DR.
- A script is a framework that shifters create to define what they'd like to experience in their DR.
- The method is the way to get to the DR — and there are many.
The ultimate goal of shifting is to experience a different reality in real time, and although every shifter has unique experiences, many describe it as feeling like "lucid dreaming on steroids". Scripting your shift gives you more control over what you may experience when you enter your DR, but you still won't totally be in charge.
Do You Need a Script for Shifting?
People who are trying to shift often write scripts. These are, in a sense, very much like affirmations or visualizations in meditation — they clarify the shifter's intentions, with the goal of creating a better and fuller DR experience. Scripts for shifting are written down, on physical paper or virtually.
You do not need a script for shifting. Some people shift without scripts, in which case the “script” still exists in your mind.
Why is scripting important for shifting? Would you go on holiday without a compass and map, without sunscreen, without a translation app, and without your favorite but holiday-appropriate clothes? If you're super adventurous, maybe, but most people would answer "of course not!". Shifting is the same. A script helps you prepare for the experience, which can only be a good thing.
What To Write In A Script For Shifting
If you're new to shifting, know that the scripts used in shifting aren't anything like a movie script. You are not outlining the plot. You're just determining the setting, and the more details you add, the more perfect your shifting experience may be.
Details many shifters include in their scripts for shifting to a DR include:
- Personal details — name, nickname, birth date, age, family history, and so on.
- Your personality. You don't have to be the same as in the CR. You might be brave, good at math, hilarious, what your hobbies are, or any number of other things. Consider what traits would work well in your DR.
- What you look like in the DR. That can be just like what you look like in the CR, or entirely different.
- Relationships in the DR. Who are your friends? Got any love interests? Any enemies?
- What do you do in the DR? Hogwarts is a popular DR, for instance. What house are you in? What are you good at?
- Helpful extras, like strength, perfect vision, powers, and details about the DR. Let's say everyone only speaks Japanese in your DR, but you don't. You've now either got a magic translation machine or everyone's learned English.
- Many shifters also specify that their body won't come to harm in the CR, and that anything they experience in the DR shouldn't cause them trauma in the CR.
DR Shifting Script Templates
Hoping to shift to your favorite fictional universe? Here's a look at ways in which you can structure scripts to popular DRs. We will only give you the questions, so you can fill in the answers yourself.
Shifting to Hogwarts: Questions for Your Script
- What Hogwarts House are you in?
- What's your backstory? Were your parents muggles or wizards?
- What's your favorite class and professor?
- Who are your friends? Who are your enemies?
- Do you like to play Quidditch? If so what position do you play?
- Who are you dating? Who is your crush?
- How do most people in Hogwarts see you? Popular? Clumsy? A nerd?
Shifting to the MCU: Questions for Your Script
- Name and nickname, date of birth, personality.
- What is your role? Your backstory?
- If you are a super-hero, what are your powers? Include a powerful healing factor, because you might get into a lot of fights!
- Are you a part of the Avengers?
- Who are your friends? Who's your love interest? Are you dating anyone?
- What are your flaws? You can definitely be too perfect, and risk boredom in your DR!
Shifting to any Anime: Questions for Your Script
Here, we'll take a slightly different approach and answer the questions rather than asking them — to show you how it's done.
- My name is Suki. I am slender and 5' 3''. I have crimson hair. I am 15 years old.
- I study at Six Dragons High School and I am good at chemistry, but my true love is literature. I am a bit of a nerd, but the cute, cool, kind that most of my classmates get on well with.
- My close friends are Fumiko, Rin, and Mirai. I am in love with Akari. She doesn't know it yet, but she also secretly has a crush on me.
- I live with my dad. He is cool but often away for work. That is just as well, because I am a Ninja and he doesn't know about it. Akari has powers as well and I secretly found out about them.
- Practical stuff — I wear a watch that shows what the time is in my CR. Time moves different here. Twenty minutes in the CR are a whole day in the DR. When I shift back, the DR hits a pause button. I get into fights, but I don't feel pain.
You get the idea — flesh it out from there. One extra detail we should mention is that your olfactory sense (sense of smell) is very powerful, and for this reason, shifters write details about the smells they experience in the DR into their scripts. Your classroom smells of peaches, for instance, or you smell the air just after it has rained.
Where To Write Your Shifting Script
Every shifter has to find their own unique way to write a script, but your options include:
- On paper in a cute journal.
- On your phone.
- Make a nice graphic that conveys the feeling of your DR, in Photoshop or Krita for instance.
- In a Word document or Google Docs, after which you can print it out.
- Make a vision board, which Pinterest can help you with. You can also try scrapbooking.
Tips On Writing A Good Script For Shifting
Still not sure how to write a shifting script?
Basically, you imagine everything you want to experience in your DR, and then you write that down, in as much detail as you can and want to. Then, imagine what you are like in the DR, in great detail. You do not have to be the same you are now, and should adapt your abilities and looks to fit in with the DR. Try sketching yourself.
After you finish doing that, you start thinking about practical matters. Does your DR pause when you're not there? Does your script include a dimension-shifting ability that lets others in your DR know why you won't be there sometimes?
After you try shifting, you will learn what else you should include in your scripts. Learn from previous experiences and include more details.
FAQs
Can you write your shifting script on your phone?
Yes, you can! Many people write shifting scripts on their phone. If you have a physical notebook, you can also add sketches, though, and that might make for a better experience.
Can you write realities that are fictional?
Shifting rose to popularity in the context of the Hogwarts universe, where it largely revolved around Draco Malfoy on TikTok. Other popular fictional universes are commonly DRs for shifters as well, including the MCU, anime, Game of Thrones, and Peter Pan. You can also write your own DR. In that case, why not try to write a novel to really build your world up?
How do you shift to reality fast?
You have to have patience. Most people wait until they are in a state close to sleep.
Is reality shifting safe?
Not everyone has the same opinions on the topic, but shifting appears to be mostly harmless, so long as you don't forget about the CR.
How long does it take to shift realities?
Some shifters claim to be able to shift in seconds, but the popular Raven Method relies on counting to 100, with affirmations in between. First time shifters may take half an hour or even more to even reach the "Waiting Room".
What are the methods for shifting?
There are more than we can tackle, but the Raven Method, Pillow Method, Rabbit Hole Method, and Heartbeat Method are among the most popular.