I've spent a substantial amount of time in what I'd term "observation mode" over the past few months. My time in this space has led me to some interesting realizations, not least among them being the apparent fragility of what we'd term to be "consensus reality".
This is as much a new perspective for me as it isn't, as the reality of the situation is that I've been pondering stuff like this since I was a wee lad. We've had plenty of time to ourselves in the past couple of years, however, and that's given each of us a great many opportunities to contemplate what we perceive as our reality at any given moment. We like to think that reality is a profound, meaningful, steady thing unto itself, but it would seem that the mundane world is as subject to our perspective as anything else in the world is.
What we feel and think about a given thing largely contributes to our experience of that experience. How we interact with a given subject matter and opportunity is almost entirely a byproduct of our internal reality, making our experience of what we believe to be reality rather substantially subjective.
What this means, functionally, is that whatever beliefs we hold impacts what we perceive of a given situation. This directly & indirectly influences what we get out of any given interaction, since the mindset we hold within informs how we interact with environmental stimuli. Case in point, how many of y'all do the mental math around COVID infection rates each time you leave the house?
That's a simple enough example, but think about how this mental math and ongoing analysis has affected your interactions with other people? How close are you comfortable getting with someone you don't know? What about those you do know? The wider threat of a virus we can't see has fundamentally impacted the way in which we interact & engage with others, and these experiences are going to have a ripple effect which influences what the living generation does for the next 20+ years.
Now, the point of all this is to draw attention to just how much this newfound perspective has influenced consensus reality. If reality is a constantly determinable value which is affected by perspective, what happens when the general consensus around a given perspective changes? What we'd term to be "consensus reality" breaks down and social order is deeply impacted, in effect turning the world on its head to an extraordinary degree. In short, consensus reality is great until there's no consensus.
When that all breaks down and gives way, we are largely free to create whatever it is we wish provided its achievable within our current skill range. Contemplate and use this understanding, as magick has a profound capacity to impact our worldview and expectation directly influences what we feel empowered to create within our world. If you're self-limiting because of aged perspectives that no longer serve you, now's a fantastic time to tear those systems down and rebuild.
The world (and all experiences within it) is (are) what you make of it!
Blessings, folks!
-Chris