I saw a boy do that once. It was amazingly weird. His face seemed to crack in places with thin lines of light all over his face. As he breathed, these cracks would widen then close. His mother wanted me to see it. Definately not human. he also had a fever
The only shifting I managed was upon thinking about the different ages our faces hold, when awake and asleep. I jokingly did a spell to shift younger by day. Nothing happened until two weeks later. I only noticed in the mirror one morning that I looked really young. At least 15 years, and it stayed for a further two months. That was a time when I was walking up and down a steep mountain face twice a day to catch water in the river below, carrying a five litre bottle back up in my rucksack for cooking and washing in my hermit cave on the top storey of this mound of rocks. Then was the fittest time of my life. My face went back to normal though when I returned to London. I was on the mountain for 6 months and the change happened within the fourth month. I was in a perpetual dream state, because life was unbound. I did whatever, and mostly meditated or watch the falcons hunting. Absolutely no modernity influence for 6 months. I was doing 15 hour meditations on my body energy system. Following the meridians, chakras, within organs and bones. I think that loosened my way of belief as well. So I suggest a serene or surreal atmostphere like `the playground of the gods`, Hampi, India, and a lifestyle where you control what you do for at least a few months, like backpacking with serious meditation or transformative intent.
The process of belief was in my hand then. How a thought made reality bend a little. I was taught many things and discovered much too. But it always took days before anything would happen. Except for the overlapping synchronicities, which is currently all I see these days, literally..
Thanks Lono, your experience has inspired me to push the boulder up the hill once again.
Though i think the sharpness of health effects a sharpened mind to sustain such changes via the will. Like an unfinished watercolour painting in a rain storm. But with sustained practice, habit takes over.
The shapeshifters I have met chose different volumes or mass as well as featues. Though a boy with pot holes on his face retained the pot holes. As I never actually saw them shift shape, they could even be holographics or visual illlusions by outsiders.