How to handle showing up in different bodies
This is an article on bouncing around to different bodies and keeping things safe and fun while doing so! If you enjoy it, please check out my tip jar and my Patreon, which has some exclusive and early release material of this nature. Also, I post a lot of material to @badpsychicadvice and @timetravelerasfuck, as well as @imahypnotist.
Hey. So, there's a spectrum. On one end, this happens to you all the time, and you need some tips or just solidarity handling the situation, and on the other end, it never happens to you, and you want to know how you'd even end up in someone else's body in the first place. This is mostly for people on the "this happens to me" side of the spectrum. I'll have more material for people on the other side of the spectrum later. It's a spectrum, which you can move back and forth on at any time, and you can be unaware of previous out of (your own) body experiences. So even if this information isn't useful to you now, it might be useful for you in the future. And if you're the sort of person who needs to tag this with unreality then, I guess that's fine, but I'd consider it more multireality.
Anyway yeah so you showed up in someone else's body. What do you do? This may be your first or ninenieth time but in all those previous times maybe you just panicked and tried to blend in and not be seen. How do you take more initiative in the experience and control your life in this new body?
Maybe you are currently reading this article from a body you are new to. If so, hi. I hope you are doing well. Remember to hydrate a reasonable amount.
The best place to start is to understand the life of the person whose body you are inhabiting. You might have very different experiences, very different bodies, very different backgrounds and skills. You may or may not have an awareness of each other. First saying "hi" can be a little weird or can even be dangerous if the person you're body-sharing with is being watched a lot or just has a busy social life. So, you'll want to be sensitive to how they're doing in their life, which might take a bit of just sitting in the background and observing sometimes instead of coming all the way fully over.
When you start to get some control with your jumping-over to this new body, you can experiment and see if you can just thinly cast your consciousness over to them and see how they do day to day life things. You may also have dreams where you see their life and experience what they do. Use this information to understand the person you share a body with.
Share a body is used very intentionally. If you are ending up in someone else's body then they may also be ending up in yours, especially during the period when you are not in your body. It would be a good experiment to keep a journal around (that only your body can access) and see if they leave you any notes, or otherwise give them a way to exchange messages with you. Once you two can coordinate, it can get a lot easier to get interesting and fun things done when you're in their body.
It's really important to take care of any body you're living in, and this body is no exception. It is on loan and the person you borrowed it from will need it back. In the period when you might not be communicating much, caring for their body can be a way of showing your good will, which is pretty important, because they probably have your body when you don't. And you want them to take care of it! So try to set a good example. Do what hygeine and feeding routines seem appropriate and regular for that body, and if you can and it makes sense for the situation you're in, see if you can do something a little extra. Take a shower, clip nails, change into some fresh clothes, etc.
See, the self-care thing is very important because if you've landed in someone who has been dissociating a lot or has been depressed, they may need some help with self care. These are common factors in people who regularly body-swap or body-travel (astral project perhaps). Often several people will swap around when one person feels overwhelmed with something they can't handle just as another person is, perhaps, zoned out and wishing they had something to do. Suddenly each person is in a different situation and a different brain with different chemistry. It can be a little break, it can be a writing process, it can be an addiction, it can be a needed escape.
It is also, however, often a trying situation. So the self care can be vital to help keep up the person you're visiting. It can also carry over to you, since the two (or more) of you are having a parallel experience. The other person may get the notion to care for your body because they're picking up on your actions.
If they're at the library while you're visiting, check out some interesting books for them. If they're at a restaurant, order something that'll agree with their digestive system and stay within their budget. Make sure when you drive their vehicle (IT HAPPENS!) that you understand how it works and what all its functions (or lack thereof) are. And if you don't understand how to drive... don't drive! Or check in with the body and see what it thinks you should do.
So, the body you're in has a subconscious and also has opinions and, sort of, a whole life experience. Check in and see if the body has an opinion on the trouble you're having. See what would be normal to do if the original person whose body this is couldn't drive for a little bit. Maybe the body can ring the original owner back in and you can step out and let them live their life.
Which, by the way: you can leave! If you're really stuck just try taking a nap and see if you wake up back in your own body, which is pretty typical behavior. Try focusing on your original body and where it is, constructing the room around you and imagining it there. This is usually enough to start spiritually moving your consciousness back to your own body, and will probably transfer the original person back into their own body at the same time. If this doesn't work, just keep going and stay calm until eventually you end up in your body. Or seek out a shaman. There's no shame in consulting outside help.
