UPGRADE 101: From 3D to 5D — One Woman's Radical Consciousness Shift

What does it look like when someone actually shifts dimensions? Not in theory, but in real time — crying, laughing, feeling energy shoot through their body while doing sacred ceremony on a Croatian mountaintop?

The latest episode of UPGRADE 101 with Diane Leilani Cline captures exactly that. Recorded live during a Sedona retreat, this conversation with guest Brittany offers a rare, grounded look at what the 'path of awakening' actually feels like when you're living it.

What Happens When You Stop Carrying Your Growth and Start Being It?

Brittany didn't start out chasing mystical experiences. Her journey began with physical fitness — losing 50 pounds in six months and pulling herself out of a hole. "I got sick of my own stuff," she explains. But as her outsides changed, she realized: "If my insides don't change, my new outsides won't stick."

That realization led her from a five-minute morning meditation practice to her first wellness retreat with Leilani in 2019. "I had no idea about anything," Brittany laughs. "I was just like, I'm treating myself. Happy birthday to me. And I found my fairy godmother guru."

Fast forward to a recent Croatia retreat, and Brittany experienced what Leilani calls a "5D consciousness" shift. During a meditation at a church on Markoska mountain, Brittany had a vision of holding a large bubble — like a snow globe. Then she heard spirit say: "You know, carry you live."

"I wasn't supposed to be carrying all of these things that I'm learning, this life that I'm building," Brittany recalls. "I'm supposed to be inside the bubble... I popped into the bubble and I was like, oh my gosh, it's so cool in here."

Watch the full episode to hear Brittany describe the emotional waves of this experience — and what happened when she returned to her hospital job as an X-ray tech, feeling "too big" for her body.

How Do You Actually Navigate Between Dimensions?

Leilani breaks down the concept of dimensions in refreshingly practical terms. "We could think of these dimensions as possible realities," she explains. Third dimension is everything you see with your eyes. Fourth and fifth dimensions offer expanded perspectives and choice points.

"When you launch from fourth dimension to fifth dimension, it's like boom — so many of the things you were worried about, you just don't even care about anymore because now you're in this different reality," Leilani says.

But here's the key: "We do have to dance back to 3D and 4D. The computer doesn't work, maybe the washing machine doesn't work and the car doesn't work. So you have to delve into that 3D reality."

The difference? Daily meditation creates what Leilani calls a "higher platform." "Why do I walk to the top of the mountain? Because the view is better."

Brittany offers a powerful question she now asks herself: "Is this worth my peace?" She pauses. "My peace is my number one priority and my most prized possession."

The episode includes a practical body-wisdom exercise viewers can try at home — asking yes/no questions while standing with eyes closed and noticing whether your body leans forward or back. "The smarter you are, the harder it is to trust the intuition," Leilani notes. "We've relied on our program systems... but moving forward in an authentic way" requires reconnecting with the body's wisdom.

What Makes Retreat Immersion Different From Weekly Classes?

Leilani, who has given 162 retreats globally, is clear about why immersion matters: "You could go to one meditation class at home a week and one yoga class a week. But until you commit to come into immersion and do this 10 hours a day... that's when you can really launch to the next level."

Brittany, who has now attended eight retreats, confirms the impact: "Once I started talking about a certain subject, all these people that I knew for a long time were like, yeah, me too. And I'm like, I just started a trend."

The episode features live retreat participants sharing their experiences — from Bear Mountain ceremonies to Thunder Mountain journeys to the "violet flame of transmutation." One participant describes the retreat as "a sacred space to find my own spirituality." Another notes simply: "I don't remember that I had a job. I'm just so at ease within my own skin."

The conversation touches on Leilani's own awakening at age 28 — hearing a voice during a moment of domestic violence say, "If you don't leave, he will kill you someday." She shares this not for shock value, but to illustrate that awakening happens through many frequencies: "So many people these days don't need the shock. They don't need trauma... it's just this knowingness that something else is available."

Throughout the episode, Leilani guides viewers through actual practices — a third-eye activation meditation with specific finger placement and two-part breathing, an opening Aum chant, and grounding exercises. "We love you to be able to think of these Upgrade 101 series as sacred time for yourself," she offers.

The episode closes with Leilani encouraging viewers to watch a second time: "This is a very fluid timeline we're working with. Through your enhanced consciousness, you will hear things" differently after practicing.

For Brittany, the transformation is ongoing. When asked about returning to work after the Croatia experience, she describes "light shooting out of my eyes" and navigating conversations about regulating her nervous system with her boss. "I witness some of these newer, truer conversations that I'm having now... I'm a bit more unbothered expressing my authentic self."

Which might be the whole point of awakening — not transcending daily life, but bringing that expanded consciousness into it. As Brittany puts it: "Life gets to be easy because I make the tough choice of showing up in discipline, in devotion in the morning. But then the rest of life is just alignment."

▶ Watch the full episode on humankind →