Buy Local for the Out of world experiences
December 21, 2023I had a strange experience today…
I have been supporting a local food network using their online shop for many years for our weekly nourishment, socialising and volunteering with the team.
Today I finally walked into their new shopfront, a traditionally style corner store in a nearby rural town.
As I entered the beautifully designed and laid out shop, I had a weird sensation of having crossed some sort of threshold. My brain was confused for a few moments questioning – is this real? I scanned all the products on the shelves, products that I had previously only seen on screen?
Speaking to the helpful team, and finding a friend standing next to me at the counter, grounded me rapidly.
I later thought is this is a common experience? Do others feel this as we switch from virtual to real world experiences. I know the switch into virtual worlds engages many emotions and sensations making us believe in the mirage of VR, MR, or AR.
So I asked my family what word could be used to describe this sensation of dissonance, of believing a real world situation could be virtual: Their offers round the dinner table included:
- reality disassociation
- the opposite of Déjà Vu – Vu JàDé. (the favourite)
- disassembled reality confusion – DaRC
- cognitive dissonance.
Dejavu by ashlong (Creative Commons)
Clearly my family is way too educated in human psychology and kind enough to humour me sharing my weird experiences.
Check it out yourself at
By the way, just before this experience, I had tasted just a wee dram of locally made whiskey at the nearby markets which in hindsight might have set me up nicely for some reality craziness. 🙂