How Us Humans Can Bend Reality

Altered states of consciousness are closer than you think.

It might be time we rethink all our thinking.

Esteemed psychologist, Abraham Maslow once said, “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”

Also known as the Law of the Instrument or the Einstellung Effect — Maslow was referring to our inherent cognitive bias to always rely on using the same familiar tools to solve problems.

One of those overly used tools is none other than our minds.

Any obstacle life throws at us — whether a challenging work project, a negative emotion we experience, or a disagreement with our fellow humans, we try to remedy it by thinking. And when that doesn’t work, we double down with more thinking.

We allow the reptilian, rational, analytical left side of our brain to dominate our experience and ultimately dominate our lives.

How has that been working out for us these days?

You know what I’m talking about. It’s that part of us that can’t help but try to control and manipulate everything while ensuring our sense of self stays preserved.

Bingo, a.k.a. our ego.

And when we let it run the show, it creates a deeply mechanical state of being.

Accessing an altered state of being.

So all of this begs the following questions:

• What if we could get beyond the limitations of our minds and the use of conventional thinking to solve problems?
• What if we could access altered states of consciousness to deliberately shift our experience even for a brief moment which could open us up to answers that are way beyond our ego’s pay grade?
• What if we can zoom right past all the mental storytelling and live life freely and at ease?

The answer is we most certainly can.

Physiologically flip the script.

Consider the following scenarios:

Instead of waiting until after you get offered that new job to pump your fist and do your victory dance, why not bust a move before you even go on the interview?

Stand tall, bang your chest, and affirm “I got this” right before you turn on your Zoom camera or walk into the office.

Instead of nervously sitting obsessing about all the things that could go wrong before presenting that project to your colleagues or clients, visualize knocking their socks off.

Close your eyes, move into your body, and imagine how you would feel delivering a killer presentation.

Instead of resisting anxious feelings or uncomfortable situations by trying to run away from them — burying your head in your phone or reaching for something in the refrigerator, why not use your body’s natural ability to alleviate the stress?

Take a deep breath, put your hand on your heart, and listen to the gentle rhythms of coherence that your body can produce.

When most of us are in these situations though, we are too busy trapped in our minds that it will never occur to us to do any of this.

We’ll try to think our way to success, feeling better, or greater insight.

But as Einstein said:

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

However, by simply tapping into our physiology we can avail ourselves to a whole slew of possibilities our rational minds never saw coming.

Everything is a neurochemical event.

Any state of being we embody is simply a neurochemical event triggered by the chemicals produced in our brains and the corresponding reactions (emotions) they produce in the body.

Whether we’re feeling happy, angry, love, anxious, or any other emotion, they are all electrochemical cocktails comprised of their own unique mix of thoughts and feelings that we can serve up at any time.

This is how we as humans are able to bend reality.

By deliberately shifting our physiology, we enter into an altered state of consciousness — even if it’s only for a brief moment. And sometimes that’s all we need to loosen the ego’s grip over our experience.

The research and science behind this phenomenon of altered states is only getting more intense and it’s fascinating to learn how we can directly influence our experience.

For example, writing the first draft of this post took me all of 10 minutes because the words just came flowing out of me after I ran through the woods with my dog in the freezing cold then took a scalding hot shower.

Yes, seriously.

A sudden change in my physiology created a slight shift in my consciousness which took my rational mind (ego) out of the game. And boom inspiration on-demand.

Pour me another shot of that bartender.

All it takes is willingness, a little faith, and lots of practice.

Here are some well-researched techniques easy to get started with.

• Breathing and Breathwork Practices
• Creative Visualization
• Posture and Power Posing
• Focusing on your Heart (lookup Heart Coherence)
• Brainwaves (listening to binaural beats)
• Reciting Mantras

And a whole slew any number of other techniques and interventions.

We’ve only scratched the surface in realizing what we are capable of as a species and where our consciousness can take us. Human consciousness is shifting and I’m excited about the future.

Who’s with me?

Want to learn more about bending reality or think I’m flat-out delusional? Either way, the promise of altered states leaves us feeling (and believing) like we can experience a glimpse into something greater.

And isn’t that what life’s all about?

Let me know what you think in the comments!

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