Alter Reality

Back when I was a kid, I played a computer game called, ‘Angband’. In it, you play a character who goes through a dungeon. You get strong, fight monsters, find treasure and items, and eventually fight ‘Morgoth’. Morgoth is the ultimate bad guy – a creation of J.R.R. Tolkien. He’s even badder than Sauron (from Lord of the Rings). The end goal is to kill Morgoth. But while playing, you can do a very interesting thing…

If you play as a Mage, you have the ability to cast a spell called, ‘Alter Reality’. It takes the entire dungeon level you are on and completely transforms it into something else. You’re still on the same level. But everything is changed. Hallways and rooms are in different locations. Items are moved around. The existing monsters are wiped away. It’s a completely new experience.

I’m going to share some ideas of reality with you now. The end goal is to get a better idea of what is driving you and perhaps find a way to make some shifts that will drive you more in the direction you are wanting to go.

What Is Reality?

I think of when I was first born and I don’t remember much until about three years of age. It is then I have a memory of being lifted out of a pool by someone – a pool where I was drowning. Who this mysterious savior is or why I was in the pool escapes me. This is an experience that began shaping my understanding of my existence. Memories and experience are a large player in what reality is.

I’ll share another example of how reality was formed for me at a young age. I was extremely shy when I was young. I’m sure many of you can recall sitting in classes in school and reading from a textbook around the room. As I sat in the room, I prayed that class time would finish before it came my turn to read. I felt like an iron snake was constricting my stomach when I had to read in front of the class.

It was so bad that in 7th grade, I was called on to read in front of the class. I wasn’t prepared for being called on. Since the teacher was randomly calling on people, I wasn’t bracing myself for the moment it would be my turn. When I heard my name I panicked. I began having a real panic attack. My heart began thumping rapidly. My breathing increased. I felt dizzy and afraid. After reading one sentence, I told the teacher I was going to throw up and promptly left the room…

This was a factor in my social experience growing up. Because I was so fearful of reading out loud, I was also fearful of communicating to groups of people – particularly girls. My reality was that school was a ‘prison’ of sorts where I just had to endure a grueling day of torture and make it to my safe haven, which was my house. There I could go up in my room and be safe from the groups of people at school.

What does this really mean? It means that something I believed along with experiences that reinforced that belief created a reality for me – one that was full of fear and being timid. I know there were people in my school who did not live in that same reality. They were comfortable around people, energetic, and extroverts. They thrived communicating with groups. At the time during school, I had no idea why all this was happening to me.

Think of your past memories and experiences. How are they forming what is real to you now?

Altering Reality

Even in my 20′s, I still struggled with reading in front of groups and being in social situations. I was ignorant to the tools and resources available in personal development to help overcome these. The Law Of Attraction was not in my vocabulary. Getting married did not solve my problem of reading out loud or being fearful of social situations. It wasn’t until my late 20′s and beginning my 30′s that changes started to occur.

I think carefully about where I am now and what I was like in the past. The distinction is important. I now LOVE speaking in social situations with groups of people. I don’t mind reading out loud anymore. That doesn’t mean I’ve completely removed the fear of reading out loud mind you. It’s still etched in my mind. I realize it is there. I accept that difficulty of it in my past. So whenever I have to read out loud now, I accept in myself the fear. I then say, “I have this fear inside of me. But it will not stop me. I will try anyway. If I have a panic attack and pass out, so be it.”

This was the shift for me. When I finally thought about my fears and accepted them – and then became willing to face them head on. This attitude toward the fear squelches it. Because of a willingness to acknowledge the fear, and then having the fear, conveying willingness to face it anyway, I know I am doing everything I can and am accepting of any resulting effect – even me passing out :) This has taken iron shackles which used to paralyze me in the past and removed them. In place of them are wings now. For I am no longer willing to be tied down by fear.

Altering reality is recognizing that everything in your life is a result of the neural-pathways formed in your brain that you interpret the world around you with. Think about it for a moment. Your reality is formed by what you perceive in your mind. One person sees a spider and freaks out. Another sees something to hold and study. Two different views of the same thing. This helps me understand the power of the Law Of Attraction and that thoughts really are things.

Change Your Perception

Now having heard me talk about my past, let’s look at your life. Take one thing that you are afraid of or struggle with. It might be money, it might be people. Whatever it is, examine what you are afraid of. Don’t try and hide the truth either. If you are afraid of getting fired from your job, state that clearly. If you are afraid of your spouse leaving you, state that clearly.

Now having stated that fear clearly, decide to face the fear completely. This may require you to talk about it openly. It may require you to become uncomfortable. In your mind, you can accept being fired, or being single from a partner leaving you because you are facing your fear and being accepting of whatever the result may be. This is a reality of freedom.

Some Final Questions

Here’s some final questions for you to examine your current perception on. Think carefully about your answers. If your answer is not going to take you where you want to go in your life, then you have a perfect candidate for altering reality with a choice to face your fear, rather than avoid it.

• Is the income you are making the best you can do?
• Are you in a relationship with someone who is everything you want?
• Do you wait for people to decide things for you?
• When an opportunity comes, do you go after it?
• Do you keep yourself physically active?
• Are the foods you are eating going to extend your life or shorten it?
• What do you think about working long hours?
• What are your thoughts about the government?
• What are your thoughts about why you are here on earth?
• Are you afraid to approach other people you are attracted to?

These are simply questions for you to think about and see where you are at. If an answer is not to your liking, you have the three step process now to better it. First, acknowledge that you are afraid and the situation is not favorable. Second, decide to start taking steps to face the fear or make the situation favorable. Third, accept the results of your best effort. This is how I overcame my social fears. An honest assessment followed by action to put myself in the situations where my fear would be faced. I wish you success as you improve the areas in your life that are not to your liking.

Remember

• Acknowledge your deepest fears and difficulties.
• Be willing to put yourself in situations to directly face your fears and difficulties.
• Completely accept the results of your best effort.