secret practices to bend reality
january 5, 2025These are some practices I use quite often for a variety of reasons. I don’t know where exactly they came from or when I began doing them, but they came to me and I treat them with respect and use them with great care. They can be very fun as much as they are capable of freeing the mind.
1. The Field of Atoms - visualization practice for neutralizing the mind, gaining clarity, boredom, understanding fundamental relationships
2. The Observer Without Context - state of mind practice for expanding perspective, becoming present, enduring painful or mundane experiences, releasing attachments, coming into patience
3. Angles of the Body - physical practice for many many uses
4. Language Selection - mental practice for altering perceptions of the world and feelings towards certain objects/activities/etc
1. The Field of Atoms
Extend your gaze to a broad view of what is in front of and around you. Settle into the space you’re in, then slowly deconstruct all you see down to the atomic level. All objects retain their shape, but are stripped of color, material, concept or meaning and become nothing but a cluster of atoms vibrating in a dark field. Sometimes it helps to add a grid into the visualization where all objects are suspended within. I typically see the atoms as tiny red-orange dots that have a slight glow. Moving objects, such as a car driving by or person walking, send a sort of rippling wave through the field of atoms it passes through in a similar pattern as the movement. Like the way a boat moves the water it crosses. Everything is just little atoms sticking into shapes! This practice is great for neutralizing the mind, gaining clarity, and understanding fundamental relationships between objects and movements. It’s also wonderful for when you’re bored, want to dissolve, or are in an ugly place.
2. The Silent Observer Who Was Given No Context
Pause. Breathe. You are now hosting a spectator within your mind and body. This spectator has no idea who you are, what your name is, where you live, or what you look like. They just spawned into your awareness at this moment with no context as to what is happening or where you were before this moment. They can’t hear your thoughts but they can feel everything you feel, both physically and emotionally. They see everything you see. They don’t know your face until you see it in a reflection, they only know what they can see of your body from your vision. They’re not clueless or stupid, they know about this world and what things are, but they’ve been temporarily plucked out of their world and placed into yours, powerless and silent. Although they have no control or context, they feel safe and curious, cozy even. It is like they are in a hyper realistic dream. All they can do is observe what you are currently experiencing. Now become this spectator. Rest in the state of powerless, thoughtless observation. This practice is great for expanding your perspective, becoming present in the moment, enduring painful or mundane experiences, releasing attachments, remembering the transient nature of life, escaping time, and embracing yourself and your journey. It’s also lovely when you’re bored, want to notice every small detail of a situation, and when you need to make a decision or humble yourself.
3. Finding Every Angle of the Body
This is basically asana yoga (asana = posture, pose) aka physical yoga. Except there is no flow, no instructions, no sequencing of postures. It is just a playful exploration within the asanas you’d see and think “yoga!” It is letting yourself roll around on the floor into whatever interesting positions you can find, and then exploring further into that position by adding small movements or playing with breath patterns. It’s getting into a lunge and feeling it from all angles, seeing if you can move your left pinky toe or balance with your heels raised and twist side to side at the same time. The weirder the better. Again there are no rules or instructions so I’ll not overexplain. This practice has innumerable benefits and uses. It builds mobility and strength, gives you a better understanding and command of movement, lets your body explore its mind and your mind explore its body. It opens possibilities you may have not realized exist before. I would add that a major part of this is the breath, and understanding how to use inhales, exhales, holds, and bandhas will elevate it to another universe. If you don’t have experience with breathwork, I highly recommend exploring it. Please do not doubt the power it holds and know it takes some time to realize.
4. Language Selection
This one is simple and powerful (most powerful things are quite simple). Selecting your words – in every instance that you employ them – with intention and understanding the long-term effects of certain wording. The words used in your thoughts, your speech, your writing, and your labeling are all equally important. I prefer brevity and concision, though I don’t believe it’s necessary for everyone to use language in such a manner. Diversity is also important for the survival and evolution of humanity. Many things in the world we know were named long before we ever had the chance to see them naked, and these names often guide our perception of the named things much further than we realize. The fun part about names is the ability we have to change them at will according to our own individual vocabulary preferences. That’s not a pen, it’s a communication device. Not a car, a space rover. Not food, it’s life energy. I don’t work at my job I serve the community at my job, I’m not a girl I’m a creature. See how that changes the way you experience the world around you? I also like to change the phrasing of “my (object)” to “the (object).” Instead of “my couch,” it’s “the couch.” Obviously this is not always practical for many conversations, but I find it nice when I’m speaking to myself or to someone who has the context necessary for it to make sense to them. Taking away the ownership reduces attachment and selfish control (an illusion) over an object. Maybe I wouldn’t want you to sleep on my couch, but I don’t care if you sleep on the couch. The bike was stolen, the hammock ripped, the coffee was cold. It doesn’t sting so much as “my” bike was stolen, “my” hammock ripped, “my” coffee was cold.
Hope this helps. I love you,
K