10 fun facts about shifting from each state of consciousness
# MABA (Mind Awake Body Asleep)
MABA is the only state where both your critical mind and your subconscious are simultaneously accessible, making it uniquely powerful for shifting because intention and imagination are operating at full capacity at the same time.
The sleep paralysis that defines MABA isn’t dangerous. it’s the brain’s natural motor inhibition system firing to prevent you from acting out sleep. You’re borrowing it consciously, do not be afraid of it.
Most failed MABA shifts happen in the first 10 minutes of paralysis. Be patient and fully detach from CR sensory input.
MABA produces the strongest physical sensations during shifting (pressure waves, vibrations, and the sensation of being pulled)
The hypnagogic imagery that appears in MABA isn’t random noise. many shifters use it as raw material, essentially hijacking a forming dreamscape and redirecting it toward their DR instead of letting it go wherever the subconscious takes it.
Your hearing is the last sense to fully disconnect in MABA. Experienced shifters use this as an anchor rather than fighting it, letting CR sound fade naturally as DR sound replaces it.
MABA shifting and WILD lucid dreaming use identical mechanics. the only difference is destination. A WILD practitioner enters whatever dreamscape forms. A shifter directs the forming scene deliberately. The technique is the same.
First-time MABA shifts often feel incomplete. people report arriving in their DR but still faintly feeling their physical bed underneath them. This dual awareness fades with practice.
The theta brainwave state that defines MABA is the same state associated with peak creativity, deep hypnosis, and flow states. Some researchers consider it the most cognitively potent state the brain can occupy.
MABA is self-reinforcing, each successful session makes the next one easier because your brain builds a neurological pathway between deep relaxation and conscious awareness rather than defaulting to unconscious sleep.
# Waking State
Waking state shifting is considered the hardest but produces the most dramatic results when it works. a successful shift feels like the world literally replaced itself rather than a gradual immersion.
The Raven Method works from waking specifically because the starfish position with limbs separated mimics the sensory deprivation of MABA artificially. you’re trying to manually recreate the conditions your body would naturally reach in sleep onset.
Waking shifts are more common in people with highly active visual imagination — those who experience vivid mental imagery (aphantasia on the opposite end) report waking state success at significantly higher rates.
The biggest obstacle to waking state shifting is sensory competition.
Some of the earliest documented waking state shifts come from shamanic traditions, deliberate trance induction through drumming, breath work, and sensory overload or deprivation to overwhelm the brain’s CR anchoring.
Waking state shifting attempts that fail often produce something useful anyway, deep meditative states, hypnagogic imagery, or spontaneous creative downloads. The attempt itself moves consciousness along the spectrum regardless of whether a full shift occurs.
The body can show physical stress responses during a waking shift attempt (elevated heart rate, tingling, temperature changes)
Scripting is most critical for waking state shifting. Vague intention produces vague or no results.
Successful waking shifters often describe a specific moment of surrender rather than effort.
Waking state shifting attempts done consistently at the same time daily show faster progression.
# Astral Projection (AP)
AP is the only state where shifting requires no visualization at all for many people
The AP environment itself can be used as a shifting tool
AP shifts tend to feel more permanent than dream-based shifts
Emotional charge accelerates AP shifting dramatically. a neutral intention moves slowly, a deeply felt one moves instantly.
The silver cord is described as absent or invisible after a successful DR shift, which some interpret as evidence that the shift moved consciousness rather than just projecting it.
Many AP practitioners accidentally shift before they intend to, simply thinking about their DR while projected can initiate a transition
AP shifting can be initiated from outside your own projected body
Time distortion is more extreme in AP, meaning you can stay there as long as you need to learn how to shift
AP practitioners who shift report that returning to CR feels like a second shift
The vibrational stage of AP is reported as the single most reliable launch point for shifting
# Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is the most researched altered state on this list
Dream stabilization before shifting is non-negotiable. an unstabilized lucid dream collapses within seconds to minutes
Rather than abandoning the dream entirely, some shifters find a door or portal within the existing dreamscape and walk through it into their DR
Lucid dream shifts are the most likely to produce false awakenings. You think you’ve shifted or returned to CR but you’ve actually entered another dream layer. Reality checks remain essential.
The length of time you’ve been lucid before attempting a shift matters
Spinning in a lucid dream is one of the most effective shift triggers, the vestibular disorientation it produces destabilizes the current dreamscape without waking you.
Lucid dream shifting success correlates strongly with dream recall ability. Journal up people.
Calling out for your DR in a lucid dream works at a surprisingly high rate. The lucid dream state is highly responsive to verbal commands.
The moment of lucidity itself is a viable shift trigger.
Lucid dream shifts that fail often produce useful intermediate states. A failed shift from a lucid dream frequently lands in the void or a hypnagogic in-between space rather than CR, giving you another launch opportunity without having to start the whole process over.
Drum roll please, prepare for the elusive…
# Void State
The void is the only shifting state with zero sensory competition
Most people’s first void experience produces panic rather than a shift.
The void responds to feeling before visualization
Time in the void is completely untrackable. practitioners report that what felt like seconds was an hour.
The void state is where the boundary between shifting, AP, and deep meditation becomes completely blurred
Void state shifts tend to arrive with a physical sensation rather than a visual one.
The void amplifies intention more than any other state. A passing thought about your DR can initiate a shift you didn’t consciously decide to make.
Some practitioners use the void deliberately as a reset between a failed shift and a new attempt.
The void is described almost identically across shifting communities, AP communities, deep meditators, and NDE accounts.
Extended time in the void without shifting produces its own significant effects.
Enjoy.
Happy shifting.