Ash

They/He || Adult || Pagan, Witch, Demonolator || Lithuanian-Irish in AU

[ashened-rose]

About "reality shifting"....

I think it's important we talk about Reality Shifting in-depth, as it's a really common topic in spiritual communities. I wanna discuss it from both a scientific and personal point of view, as someone who has tried it and suffers from Maladaptive Daydreaming and Depersonalisation-Derealisation Disorder.

First, some definitions so we're all on the same page:

Reality shifting

“refers to a practice where individuals attempt to shift their consciousness or awareness to alternate realities or “realms” through various techniques, often involving meditation, visualization, scripting and intense focus.” (Travers, 2024)

Maladaptive Daydreaming (MaDD)

“[C]haracterizes individuals who engage in vivid, fanciful daydreaming for hours on end, neglecting real-life relationships and responsibilities, resulting in clinical distress and functional impairment.” (Soffer-Dudek and Somer, 2018)

Depersonalisation-Derealisation Disorder (DPDR)

“a dissociative disorder characterized by enduring feelings of detachment from one's self and surroundings.” (Singh Wilkhoo et al., 2024)

Dissociation

“Dissociation is a disconnection between a person’s thoughts, memories, feelings, actions or sense of who [they are].” (Drescher, 2022). Keep in mind this is merely a symptom that is seen in a small range of disorders.

Reality shifting, as described above, has been linked to dissociation. This is due to the fact that the person becomes so deeply absorbed in the “alternate reality” (also known as DR/Desired Reality) that they start to dissociate from their own reality, similar to trauma responses seen in people with any of the dissociative disorders (DID/OSDD, DPDR and Dissociative Amnesia). Dissociation can lead to losing awareness of oneself and the world around them, whether short-term or long term. This can also cause a disconnection between oneself and their own memories and feelings.

Now, MaDD and reality shifting are both, by definition, almost the same. They have a lot of similarities, such as the vivid daydreams and being disconnected from reality. Many people online have spoken about how reality shifting has led to MaDD and almost constant dissociation. By continuously “shifting”, people train their brain to disconnect from the world around them, sometimes for hours on end. Sounds familiar, right? Now, for people who are predisposed to mental health conditions (even just Anxiety and Depressive Disorders), they are already at risk of developing other comorbid disorders, especially Dissociative ones, and partaking in reality shifting just makes this all the more likely.

Now, for my personal experiences. Content warning for brief discussions of death and illness. I started struggling from DPDR in 2021 during the pandemic. I had an uncle dying of bowel cancer and signs of my own chronic illnesses were becoming more apparent. Because of this stress, I went down a rabbit hole of existential thoughts such as “what happens when we die?” and “What is dying like?”. This led to nightly panic attacks, meltdowns, and further developed into DPDR after severe dissociative episodes. I already struggled with MaDD from a young age due to trauma I suffered growing up, and these dissociative episodes made it worse.

Skip forward to 2022, reality shifting is all the rage. Not doing any prior research, I decided to jump straight in. I was beginning to get my DPDR under control at this point, as well as my MaDD. After a few weeks, I noticed I was having more frequent DP episodes (loss of connection with my body and mind). My DR was the same as always, but the DP came back, and worse. I talked to some people who were also reality shifting and they had similar feelings of disconnection between either themselves, the world around them, or both.

Moving forward to joining pagan and witchcraft communities, I had the opportunity to learn even more about the problems of reality shifting. Speaking to other practitioners who at one point or another attempted to reality shift, I found out I was not alone. It’s a surprisingly common occurrence amongst more experienced practitioners to have done this practice at one point only to have worsening or developing mental health problems as a result.

The last thing I want to mention is WitchTok and how it’s played into this. As most people know, WitchTok is not a reliable source for witchcraft and paganism-related information. After people started to speak on their (sometimes traumatic) experiences with reality shifting, WitchTok continued to try and push this practice and still does now. None of the people who promote this practice bother to educate themselves or their audiences on the dangers of it, and thus continue to spread misinformation, even now. This is why it’s so important to not believe everything you see and hear, especially on websites like TikTok.

Wrapping up, I want to emphasize the importance of researching topics such as these on your own. Reality shifting has such deep connections with DPDR, MaDD and other mental health conditions, and it’s important to know the risks before even considering attempting such a dangerous practice. By educating ourselves and others on this, we can help create a more safe place for people and help those who may already be struggling with pre-existing mental conditions.

References

Drescher, J. (2022). What Are Dissociative Disorders? [online] Psychiatry.org. Available at: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/dissociative-disorders/what-are-dissociative-disorders.

Singh Wilkhoo, H., Islam, A., Reji, F., Sanghvi, L., Potdar, R. and Solanki, S. (2024). Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder: Etiological Mechanism, Diagnosis and Management. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.15190/d.2024.09.

Soffer-Dudek, N. and Somer, E. (2018). Trapped in a Daydream: Daily Elevations in Maladaptive Daydreaming Are Associated with Daily Psychopathological Symptoms. Frontiers in Psychiatry, [online] 9(194). doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00194.

Travers, M. (2024). A Psychologist Explains The Phenomenon Of ‘Reality Shifting’. Forbes. [online] 2 Jul. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2024/03/20/a-psychologist-explains-the-phenomenon-of-reality-shifting/.

[ashened-rose]

Explaining Pagan Morality Stances: darna

Darna is a Lithuanian word meaning 'harmony'. In Romuva, or Lithuanian Paganism, as well as our culture, darna is a key belief and an integral part to Lithuanian culture and community. So, let's break it all down. I'll also share some resources along the way for those who are interested in learning more in it. Keep in mind some sources will only be in Lithuanian. Let's go!

As mentioned before, darna means 'harmony'. For Lithuanian culture and society this means harmony with each other and with ourselves, this value follows us regardless of religion. To follow darna and achieve harmony with others, we do things such as being kind, open, helping others. Actions like these build connection with the people around you and will help you be harmonious with them. Being in harmony with yourself is quite similar, honestly. Be kind to yourself, keep yourself open to others' thoughts and feelings, and most importantly, stay in touch with yourself emotionally and physically.

Now, within Romuva, darna has another aspect to it, that being with the dievai ('gods'). Being in harmony with the dievai is quite easy since it simply involves worship and prayer to maintain a positive relationship with them. Respecting the dievai is of utmost importance, especially since many of them are all around us (Romuva is a mixture of animistic and anthropomorphistic when considering the dievai). By doing these simple things, you maintain darna with the dievai.

When all of these are combined together, it is believed that you are able to maintain a good life that is in-touch with the self and the dievai. All Lithuanians follow this belief, and even those who are not of our culture but are a part of Romuva do so as well. See below for more resources if you would like to learn more about darna.

Sources:

- LITHUANIAN DARNA CENTRAL VALUE OF THE BALTIC CULTURE - Tenets of Faith - Romuva - Revival of the ancient Baltic religions - Lithuanian Paganism Today

[ashened-rose]

Satanism: Is it really “devil worship”?

Over the past 150 or so years, religion has undergone a major transformation. Ancient religions like those of the ancient Egyptians were reconstructed and revived, religions like Judaism and Christianity began to see reforms or new sects come around, and new systems like Thelema and Satanism (in its many forms) came into existence. Satanism over this time has been questioned by people of all cultures and religions with baseless theories about people who are a part of these groups. Some believe it is “devil worship” or “worship of Satan”, however this cannot be further from the truth.

Firstly, what is Satanism? Well, it’s a very difficult thing to truly define. This is not due to lack of information or secrets only certain people can know, it is simply to do with how large and diverse Satanism is. Satanism is best defined as a group of philosophical and religious beliefs that use Satan as inspiration. There’s two main forms that you hear about, theistic Satanism and atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanism is the lesser commonly practiced of the two and revolves around entity work with demons, some see them as forms of Satan or that Satan is merely a title for this group of entities. Atheistic Satanism involves using Satan as a representation of rebellion and truth and involves heavy emphasis on worship of the self, with Satan being seen by some as a title for the person.

Satanism in all its forms finds its origins from a mixture of locations, times and societies. The term “satan” is originally Hebrew and roughly translates to ‘adversary’ or ‘opposition’. This term was later used in Jewish and Christian mythology for the fallen angel as well as opposing forces in the Old Testament. In the Book of Samuel, David, who was a king of Judah and biblical Israel, is deemed as a ‘satan’ to the Philistines. Another example comes from the Book of Numbers as a verb when Yahweh sent an angel ‘to satan’ Balaam. Later on in writings such as the Book of Enoch, Satan becomes a canonical figure who was cast out of Heaven alongside his followers after rebelling against Yahweh; this was a reflection of Jewish beliefs prior to the New Testament. The New Testament incorporated these Jewish beliefs and thus the earliest forms of Satan as an entity, a fallen angel, a demon, were born. The concepts of “satan” and Satan both became the foundations of Atheistic Satanism.

Then, there’s Demonology (the study of demons) and Demonolatry (the worship of or working with demons) which trace even further back. Demons are considered malevolent entities, with the modern day word having origins in Daemons, which were more neutral supernatural entities. Ancient Mesopotamians believed in demons which resided in the underworld, or Kur, who would sometimes leave their realm to come and terrorise humans on Earth. There was poetry written in this time where a certain class of demons, known as galla, had actually dragged Dumuzid (consort of Inanna/Ishtar) into Kur. Chronologically speaking, Lucifer was next mentioned in Isaiah, and while he is now associated as another name for Satan, he was only mentioned in passing as a king of the Babylonians. Other demons in Jewish mysticism and mythology (such as Lillith and the Grigori) later came about in the medieval period with the rise of Kabbalah.

A majority of demons we see in modern times have come from later writings in Kabbalistic and Christian demonological writings, such as the Lesser Key of Solomon (Also known as Ars Goetia). For theistic Satanists, these types of texts can be the basis of demonolatry practices. Despite the common-use definition, (a)theistic Satanism is not worshipful. Worship implies submission, being a follower, which in the context of these religions is oxymoronic. For theistic Satanists, who typically believe in demons (not Satan, but under the title of it), it is a working, transactional relationship. Demons for most are forces that are used, they are malleable through magic and invocations.

Now, considering these points, what is Satanism at its core? What are considered Satanic views? Well, in detail this varies group-to-group. As a very general overview, however, Satanism emphasises the ideas of rebellion and individuality, for one to be one’s own god, to be satan. This group of religions and philosophies is also meant to be anti-dogmatic at its core, however in recent times this has been lost by many groups and people. Antony LeVay, the founder of the Church of Satan (CoS) and writer of The Satanic Bible (among many other texts), originally designed LeVayan Satanism (a form of atheistic Satanism) as an alternative to Christianity. It was an option for those that wished to go against dogma, societal standards, and to live outside of the herd. LeVayan Satanism’s philosophy was an inspiration for other forms of atheistic Satanism, such as The Satanic Temple (TST). Groups like these have helped to put Satanism in the spotlight, however TST is a well-known example of engaging in dogmatic practices (as well as strange relationships with financial transparency, but I digress) which goes against the foundational beliefs first established by LeVay.

Ultimately, it is extremely clear that Satanism in all forms is not “devil worship”, “demon work”, or any other strange label that conspiracists and ignorant people have put upon it. It is the anti-dogmatic belief in oneself being of importance, of being a higher power. It is to be the satan and to be Satan. Some may call on other forces, demons or Satans, to assist while others simply rely on the self. Such demons that are involved are viewed from a non-Christian lens and rather one of a person whose main pursuit is in interest of knowledge, indulgence and empowerment and those who rely on the self rely on the satan.

Originally posted on my blog: Satanism: Is it really "devil worship"?

[ashened-rose]

Pagan posts coming soon!

Some will be reposts from my blog (https://ashenedrose.blogspot.com) and some will be new! Go check out my blog, follow here and stay up to date with things

[ashened-rose]

yk that moment when you forget you made an account then discover it like 2 months later and think "oh shit. forgot i did that". yea i just had one of those moments.

also hi.

(dw i'll be making posts soon)

[ashened-rose]

so that was a fucking lie

[ashened-rose]

yk that moment when you forget you made an account then discover it like 2 months later and think "oh shit. forgot i did that". yea i just had one of those moments.

also hi.

(dw i'll be making posts soon)