Well, I just read a nearly 600-page book about… [checking my notes here] … how to summon your ideal life by shifting into different versions of yourself in parallel universes. Wait, huh?
The book is Parallel Universes of Self by Frederick Dodson. A unique and unusual mixture of new-age metaphysics, science fiction topics, and self-improvement advice. And it was a self-published title riddled with typos and grammatical mistakes. The cover is kind of cool, though. Check out those dolphins.
Taking ideas from quantum physics to support or explain new-age topics is known as quantum mysticism.
That said, that doesn’t mean some ideas or practices can’t be useful to a certain degree.
Dodson’s background is mysterious. He said he was born in 1974 and started “coaching” services in 1992, which means he was 18 years old at the time.
He lived in Germany for a while and became fluent in the language, eventually moving to New Zealand and then to Florida, USA. Likewise, he mentioned giving courses in English and his meditation/manifestation techniques. He occasionally runs his Reality Creation seminars.
He claims he has met outer-dimensional beings, aliens, and elves several times. And that he cured his own toothaches and broken bones almost immediately by practicing reality creation techniques. He has a lengthy chapter describing those events. One was where he took a world trip on a whim, going to Norway and then to Egypt and back home, where he claimed an alien woman visited him and explained she inspired the trip. See my reaction below.
This is very much a Law of Attraction book. Dodson repeatedly explains that “like attracts like”. The only thing holding you back is your own limiting beliefs. If you want something in life, you must first identify yourself as the person who can have it.
Dodson’s theory is that there are an infinite number of universes out there just like ours. That means there are an infinite version of you out there. Each universe plays out differently. In one universe you made choice A which led to one type of life, in another universe you made choice B, in yet another, you made choice C, and so on. In this model, you can have versions of yourself that have lives of unimaginable bliss or horror or mediocrity or anything in between.
Buckle up because here’s the plot twist. In Dodson’s method, you’re attempting to slowly shift yourself into a parallel, but similar, universe where you achieve your desires. Say you want a red Porsche. Dodson claims you can use his technique to shift into a parallel universe where you obtain one.
Dodson gives personal examples of how he desired to attend expensive conferences in Florida and Hawaii, but didn’t have the resources to go. By using his “reality creation” technique, odd coincidences started to occur where his clients were going to the same conferences and invited him as a guest AND they paid him for his consulting services (whatever that is).
Dodson’s main technique for reality creation is called PURE - Parallel Universe Reality Emulation.
You get yourself in a calm, meditative state. Then start to allow visions to come to you of your desired state.
I just signed up for Claude Pro for $20, and I asked it to read the book and describe the technique below. I’m impressed that it read a 14,000-line book and came up with this output within a couple of minutes. The italics below are AI. I read through it, and it’s accurate to what I read in the book.
Define a desired reality you want to experience. This could be something you want to be, do, or have.
Relax completely and withdraw attention from the outside world. Allow thoughts, judgments, expectations, etc. to fade away into a calm, neutral state of awareness.
Allow an image to appear representing the version of yourself already experiencing the desired reality. Receive this rather than actively visualizing.
Shift from looking at that image to looking at it - take on the embodied viewpoint of already being that person living that reality. Immerse yourself in it with full senses and emotion.
Over the next hours/days, simply rest in and enjoy that new viewpoint rather than affirming, visualizing more, etc. Allow life to unfold naturally.
So, in a nutshell, it involves getting into a relaxed, open state, envisioning the reality you want as already real, stepping into being that person, and then releasing active effort to let the new state integrate.
The key is to shift identity rather than just visualizing ideas. And not being attached to how/when the outer world will reflect the inner shift.
But it does raise one question. What about people with aphantasia? Could they still do PURE despite not being able to see images mentally? I don’t have this condition, but it made me wonder.
I asked Claude a follow-up question if Dodson recommends keeping the PURE experiences private:
The book doesn't explicitly prohibit talking about PURE experiences or reality shifts with others…I would infer that Dodson recommends keeping the reality creation process private in many cases to avoid others tampering with it via their doubts or limiting beliefs. Sharing is optional but risks making the "magic" rarer. The key is maintaining your own inner vibrational state rather than needing external confirmation.
Besides the PURE technique above, Dodson recommends at dozens of other practices amidst hundreds of pages of text. But he says the one above, PURE, is the only one needed, and the rest are supplements.
Again, I asked Claude Pro to go through and pick out a few techniques that Dodson especially suggested. (The italics below are AI.)
“Viewpointing” - This practice involves looking at objects or topics from different perspectives and shifting from looking "at" them to looking "as" them. The book says this allows one to loosen identification with a narrow viewpoint and open to being anything. Flexing this "shapeshifting" ability makes reality shifts easier.
Appreciation - Having an attitude of appreciation, admiration, and genuine positive interest is described as "the wand of the wizard" for reality creation. This state of high vibration can rapidly attract desirable changes. The key is appreciating for its own sake rather than as a tactic.
Following Excitement - Paying attention to what sparks joy and excitement, and actively moving in that direction by taking inspired action, aligns one with "the secret thread of higher self" that guides your soul's path. This turns life into an enjoyable unfolding rather than a struggle.
Scripting - Writing out alternate versions of your life story as if desires were already realized reinforces the identity shift and helps make the new reality more tangible. Physicalizing experience this way starts training your whole consciousness to resonate with that timeline.
My verdict? Man, this book badly needs a professional editor. You can tell it’s self-published. It’s overly long, not well organized, and filled with grammar and spelling mistakes. I could have just read this Reddit post in five minutes and have had the same takeaways. I hope AI gets good enough soon that you could throw a book like this at it and ask it to make a better version to read 😜.
Anyway, I think the book makes two important points:
Making your happiness dependent on your desires traps you from actual happiness.
"Wellbeing is not the goal, it is the starting point. This is yet another realization that could change everything in your life dramatically. It might be a concept you'd like to remind yourself every now and then. Your emotions are energy-in-motion. And since everything else in this Universe is energy too, your emotions interact with the whole universe."
It may sound cliché, but having peace in your inner world is what matters most. Making your peace dependent on something happening or occurring.
Again, I asked Claude AI to give me an interpretation in the italics below.
Dodson argues that you have to generate positive emotions like happiness, relaxation, enthusiasm first - before trying to "manifest" desires or use reality creation techniques.
Otherwise, operating from a state of lack or neediness actually blocks the natural flow and attraction process. You end up pushing too hard rather than allowing.
Dodson suggests first taking time to genuinely feel appreciation, joy, etc. on your own without any conditions. Reconnect to your natural wellbeing.
From that fuller state, you can then intend desires without contradicting vibes of lack/neediness. He emphasizes self-responsibility for your state rather than needing anything external first.
The essential starting point is feeling good independently - then you emit the energy frequency to start rapidly attracting.
Real changes (or “reality creation”) come from updating your own identity.
Dodson makes the analogy several times:
“A mirror (life) will not smile before you smile. Expecting circumstances to change before you change does not work.”
Author James Clear makes this same point in his blog post Identity-Based Habits: How to Actually Stick to Your Goals This Year.
The difference Dodson adds is the ways he suggests making those identity changes. Using PURE and the techniques described above could help make those identity changes you seek.
If you’re already doing mindfulness meditation practice regularly, you could incorporate PURE towards the end of your meditation.