#understandingspellwork

Hello beautiful souls ✨

Here's a question that keeps witches and scientists up at night: Does belief actually create reality, or does it just change your perception of reality?

And here's the uncomfortable answer: Both. And the line between them is thinner than you think.

This is where psychology and metaphysics crash into each other—where provable science meets unprovable magic—and where your practice gets either very powerful or very delusional, depending on how you understand it.

Today we're exploring:

How your brain literally constructs your reality

The psychology of belief and expectation

Where magic enters the equation

How to use this knowledge without gaslighting yourself

The difference between "you create your reality" and toxic positive thinking

Let's dive into the mechanics of belief.

THE BRAIN AS REALITY GENERATOR

First, the uncomfortable truth: You've never experienced objective reality.

Everything you perceive is filtered through your nervous system, interpreted by your brain, and presented to your consciousness as "reality." But that presentation is:

Incomplete (you only perceive a tiny fraction of what exists)

Biased (your past experiences shape current interpretation)

Constructed (your brain fills in gaps, predicts, and smooths)

Delayed (you experience reality 80 milliseconds after it happens)

You don't see the world as it is. You see the world as your brain predicts it to be, then corrects for errors.

This isn't metaphysics. This is neuroscience.

THE PSYCHOLOGY: HOW BELIEF SHAPES EXPERIENCE

THE RETICULAR ACTIVATING SYSTEM (RAS)

Your RAS is a filter in your brainstem that determines what information reaches your conscious awareness.

Example: You decide you want a red car. Suddenly, you see red cars everywhere. They were always there—your RAS just started flagging them as "relevant."

In magic: You set an intention for abundance. Your RAS starts flagging opportunities, resources, and synchronicities you would have ignored before. The opportunities were there—you just didn't see them.

This is why "manifestation" often works: You're training your brain to notice what supports your goal.

CONFIRMATION BIAS

You seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms your existing beliefs.

Example: You believe you're unlucky. You notice every setback, forget every win, and interpret neutral events as proof of your bad luck.

Or: You believe magic works. You remember the spells that succeeded, minimize the failures, and interpret coincidences as validation.

This isn't necessarily bad. Confirmation bias is a tool. The question is: what are you using it to confirm?

THE PLACEBO EFFECT

Belief alone can produce measurable physical changes.

Medical examples:

Sugar pills reduce pain (if you believe they're painkillers)

Fake surgeries produce real healing (placebo effect up to 30-50% in some studies)

People told a substance will make them drunk show drunk behavior (even if it's non-alcoholic)

Your belief changes biochemistry. This is proven.

In magic: The spell's power isn't just in the herbs or words. It's in your certainty that it will work. Your belief triggers psychological and physiological changes that support the outcome.

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY

Your expectations about the future change your behavior in ways that make that future more likely.

Example: You believe you'll fail the interview. This makes you anxious. Your anxiety makes you perform poorly. You fail. "See? I knew it."

Or: You believe a spell will bring you love. This makes you more open, confident, and present. People respond to your energy. You meet someone. "See? The spell worked."

Did the spell work, or did your belief change your behavior?

Answer: Both. And that's the point.

THE METAPHYSICS: WHERE PSYCHOLOGY ISN'T ENOUGH

Psychology explains a lot. But it doesn't explain everything practitioners experience.

WHAT PSYCHOLOGY CAN'T EXPLAIN:

Precognition that's later verified You dream of an event in specific detail. Days later, it happens exactly as you saw it—including details you couldn't have known.

Non-local effects You do a spell for someone across the country. They report feeling it at the exact time you cast, without prior communication.

Divination accuracy beyond chance You consistently pull cards or receive messages that are too specific and accurate to be random or cold reading.

Physical phenomena Objects move. Temperatures shift. Electronics malfunction during ritual. Witnesses confirm what you experienced.

Information you couldn't have accessed Mediumship that provides verifiable information about deceased people you never met. Remote viewing that describes places you've never been.

This is where we enter contested territory. Science hasn't (yet) explained these experiences. That doesn't mean they're not real—it means our models are incomplete.

THE OVERLAP: WHERE PSYCHOLOGY BECOMES MAGIC

Here's where it gets interesting. What if the distinction between "psychological" and "metaphysical" is false?

What if belief is the mechanism through which consciousness shapes reality?

THE QUANTUM CONSCIOUSNESS HYPOTHESIS (Speculative but compelling)

Some interpretations of quantum mechanics suggest:

Consciousness collapses probability waves into concrete reality

Observation (which requires belief in what you're looking for) determines outcomes

The universe at quantum level is probabilistic until consciousness interacts with it

If this is true: Your belief doesn't just change your perception—it influences which version of reality becomes "real."

Your spell isn't just psychological reprogramming. It's your consciousness selecting from infinite possibilities and making one more probable.

Again: This is speculative. But the experiential results are consistent.

THE FIELD THEORY

Another model: Reality is a field of information/energy that responds to focused consciousness.

Your belief:

Generates coherent energy

Focuses that energy toward specific outcomes

Interfaces with the field in ways that increase probability of desired results

Think of it like:

Radio waves exist everywhere

Your belief is a tuner that locks onto specific frequencies

You don't create the signal, but you do determine what you receive

Whether this is metaphysics or advanced psychology doesn't matter as much as: it produces consistent results.

THE MECHANISM: HOW TO USE THIS KNOWLEDGE

If belief shapes reality (through psychology, metaphysics, or both), how do you work with this intentionally?

1. BELIEF MUST BE EMBODIED, NOT JUST INTELLECTUAL

Doesn't work: "I believe I'm abundant" (while feeling scarcity in your body, acting from lack, and obsessively checking your bank account)

Works: "I am abundant" (while feeling gratitude in your chest, acting generously, and trusting resources will appear when needed)

Your subconscious reads your actions and emotions, not your affirmations.

2. BELIEF REQUIRES CONGRUENCE

All parts of you must align:

Conscious mind: "I want this"

Subconscious: "I believe I can have this"

Actions: "I'm behaving as if this is already true"

Emotions: "I feel aligned with this outcome"

Incongruence kills magic. If one part doubts, the whole spell fractures.

3. BELIEF NEEDS EVIDENCE (EVEN IF YOU CREATE IT)

Your brain requires proof to maintain belief. Give it proof—even small proof.

Example: You're doing money magic. Find a penny. Frame it. "This is proof abundance flows to me." Your brain accepts this as evidence, strengthening belief.

You're not lying to yourself. You're training your RAS to notice what confirms the belief you're building.

4. BELIEF MUST BE SPECIFIC

Vague beliefs create vague results.

Not: "I believe in love"

Yes: "I believe I am worthy of a partnership with someone who communicates openly, shares my values, and wants to build something lasting"

Specificity gives your subconscious and the universe clear instructions.

5. BELIEF REQUIRES RELEASING ATTACHMENT TO HOW

Paradox: You must believe with certainty while releasing control over the method.

You believe: "I will find the right job" You release: "I don't know how, when, or where—but I trust it will happen"

Micromanaging the how = trying to control the universe with your conscious mind. That doesn't work.

Trusting the how = letting your subconscious and larger forces find paths you can't consciously see.

THE SHADOW SIDE: WHEN "YOU CREATE YOUR REALITY" BECOMES TOXIC

This philosophy gets weaponized. Let's address it.

TOXIC BELIEF #1: "If bad things happen to you, you attracted them."

No.

You don't "attract" trauma, abuse, illness, or systemic oppression through bad thoughts.

What you CAN control: Your response. Your resilience. Your meaning-making.

What you CAN'T control: Other people's choices. Random events. Structural inequalities.

Blaming victims for their circumstances is spiritual abuse, not wisdom.

TOXIC BELIEF #2: "Just think positive and everything will be fine."

No.

Positive thinking without action is delusion. Ignoring real problems doesn't make them disappear—it makes them worse.

Healthy belief: "I believe I can find a path through this difficulty" (then taking concrete action)

Toxic positivity: "Everything happens for a reason! Just be grateful!" (while ignoring legitimate suffering)

TOXIC BELIEF #3: "If your magic didn't work, you didn't believe hard enough."

No.

Sometimes:

Timing is wrong

Other forces are at play

The outcome you wanted wasn't actually in your best interest

The universe has a different plan

You need to address mundane factors first

Failed magic isn't always a belief problem. Sometimes it's information.

THE DIFFERENCE:

Empowering: "I can influence my reality through belief and action."

Toxic: "Everything in my life is my fault because I didn't manifest correctly."

See the difference? One acknowledges agency within limits. The other denies external factors and blames victims.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: BUILDING BELIEF FOR MAGIC

If belief is the engine of magic, how do you generate it—especially when you doubt?

METHOD 1: ACT AS IF

Fake it till you make it (but embodied).

Example: You don't believe you're confident. Act as if you are. Walk like a confident person. Speak like a confident person. Over time, your brain accepts the evidence of your actions and belief follows.

In magic: Cast the spell as if you know it will work. Move, speak, and feel with absolute certainty. Your subconscious notices and aligns.

METHOD 2: START WITH SMALL, PROVABLE WINS

Build belief by proving to yourself magic works.

Example: Don't start with "manifest a new car." Start with "find a parking spot." Success builds confidence. Confidence builds belief. Belief builds bigger results.

Track your wins. Write them down. Your brain needs evidence.

METHOD 3: BORROW BELIEF FROM OTHERS

Can't believe in yourself yet? Believe in the practice. Believe in the tradition. Believe in other practitioners' successes.

Example: "I don't know if I'm powerful, but witches have been doing this for centuries. I trust the method even if I don't yet trust myself."

METHOD 4: USE ALTERED STATES

It's easier to believe in gnosis (altered consciousness) than in ordinary consciousness.

Use:

Breathwork to shift brainwaves

Drumming/dancing to enter trance

Meditation to quiet the skeptical mind

Ritual to signal "this is sacred time, different rules apply"

In altered states, belief becomes easier because your analytical mind steps aside.

METHOD 5: ELIMINATE CONTRADICTORY EVIDENCE

If you're trying to believe in abundance but drowning in debt, your brain won't accept it.

Address practical barriers:

Get your finances in order (or at least start)

Clean your space (disorder reinforces chaos)

End relationships that contradict your new belief

Stop consuming media that reinforces old patterns

You can't out-manifest your environment. Change both inner and outer reality simultaneously.

THE EXPERIMENTS: TEST THIS YOURSELF

Don't just take my word for it. Test how belief shapes your reality.

EXPERIMENT 1: THE PARKING SPOT TEST

Before you leave for somewhere popular, believe—with certainty—you'll find parking easily.

Hold that belief without anxiety or checking. Notice what happens. Track results over a month.

EXPERIMENT 2: THE SYNCHRONICITY TEST

Choose a symbol (feather, specific number, animal, color). Tell yourself "I'll see this today."

Go about your day without obsessively looking. Notice if it appears. How often? In what contexts?

EXPERIMENT 3: THE BELIEF SHIFT TEST

Pick one limiting belief. Example: "I'm bad at remembering names."

Flip it: "I'm great at remembering names."

Act as if this is true. Repeat it. Notice over weeks if your memory improves. Is it because you're trying harder, or because belief changed something deeper?

EXPERIMENT 4: THE SPELL TEST

Do the same spell twice:

Once with full belief, embodied certainty, ritual intensity

Once going through motions while doubting

Track which produces better results.

This is science. Hypothesis → Test → Observe → Conclude.

THE INTEGRATION: HOLDING BOTH TRUTHS

Here's where mature practice lives:

Truth 1: Belief shapes reality through psychological mechanisms (RAS, placebo, self-fulfilling prophecy, behavioral change).

Truth 2: Something beyond psychology also happens—whether you call it quantum consciousness, universal field, or magic.

You don't have to pick one.

Hold both. Use psychological understanding to work smarter. Trust metaphysical experience when psychology doesn't explain it.

The most powerful practitioners:

Understand the psychological mechanics

Don't reduce everything to psychology

Use belief intentionally as a tool

Don't gaslight themselves about what they experience

Balance healthy skepticism with open possibility

THE BOTTOM LINE

Does belief create reality?

Yes—through your perception, attention, behavior, and possibly through mechanisms we don't yet scientifically understand.

Does this mean everything in your life is your fault?

No. External factors exist. Trauma isn't attracted. Oppression isn't manifested. Bad things happen to people regardless of their thoughts.

Does this mean magic is "just psychology"?

No. Psychology explains some of it. But consistent experiences beyond psychological explanation suggest there's more happening.

What do you do with this information?

Use it. Build belief intentionally. Track results. Stay grounded in reality while remaining open to mystery. Don't weaponize this philosophy against yourself or others.

And most importantly:

Stop waiting for someone to prove magic is real. Test it yourself. Your experience is valid data.

YOUR TURN

Do you believe belief shapes reality?

Have you experienced results that psychology alone can't explain?

Where do you land on the spectrum between "it's all in your head" and "consciousness creates reality"?

Let's discuss. This is where philosophy meets practice.

Blessed be 🧠