Abvieon’s Guide to Parallel Processing
The following is an excerpt from a tulpa creation guide I am currently writing. I have taken my section on parallel processing in that guide and put it into a separate document so I can send this to those who are looking for advice specifically on parallel processing.
Processing power and plurality
Although a tulpa is a separate consciousness, creating a tulpa will not increase your brain’s total “processing power”, or the resources used to think and process information. To put it simply, having a tulpa does not give your brain the processing power of two brains. This means that your brain’s existing processing power must be shared, divided and swapped between you and your tulpa.
How does processing power work when it comes to having more than one person in a head? There are three possible configurations - sharing, swapping, and dividing. I will walk you through a symbolic demonstration of how I believe each of these configurations work.
Imagine two small circles, one labeled “host” and the other labeled “tulpa”. Now, imagine a larger circle labeled “processing power.”
Sharing
In the first configuration, both the host and tulpa circles are inside of the processing power circle. This means that both the host and tulpa are conscious but are taking in the same information and sensory input. They are both focusing on the same thing. Each is aware of everything the other is aware of. Interactions between the tulpa and host in this state must be alternating - if they are having a conversation, they cannot speak at the exact same time and will instead take turns thinking and speaking. The one not doing the thinking or speaking at any given time will be doing nothing but observing.
Swapping
Either the host or tulpa circle is inside of the processing power circle and the other is outside of it. This means that one is conscious while the other is unconscious. This may happen if one becomes involved in a highly mentally intensive task, forcing them to take all of the processing power for themselves and leaving none left over for the other to use. If one has no processing power to use for themselves, not only do they lose the ability to think, but they also go unconscious.
Dividing
Now, imagine that the processing power circle has been split into two separate circles. The host circle is inside of one and the tulpa circle is inside of the other. Because the processing power circle was split rather than multiplied, each “half” of the circle is smaller than the original. This means that the host and tulpa each have a smaller pool of resources to work with than if they were in the sharing configuration. However, this configuration allows for the host and tulpa to each think about different things simultaneously, unlike in the sharing configuration. They will be focusing on separate things and may not be aware of everything the other is aware of.
Parallel processing
The “dividing” configuration described above is what is known as “parallel processing.” During parallel processing, the host and tulpa will be thinking about or focusing on different things at the same time, operating in parallel to one another. One example of such is when a host goes about their day while their tulpa occupies themselves with something else in the mindscape. Another example is when a tulpa has private thoughts of their own that the host cannot hear. Parallel processing is a skill that some systems exercise by default with hardly any effort, possessing a natural talent for it, while other systems may find it very difficult, needing to put in significant effort to achieve it.
Parallel processing is not to be confused with multitasking. Multitasking deals with a single consciousness while parallel processing deals with more than one consciousness. The word “multitasking” itself is a misnomer - a single consciousness is a single stream of awareness and experience, and therefore cannot have more than one focus at a time. A single consciousness can quickly switch between different focuses, which can give off a vague impression of doing more than one thing at a time, though that isn’t what is actually happening. This is what multitasking actually is. When a second stream of awareness and experience is present, that second consciousness can focus on something else at the same time.
Still, parallel processing is hardly a superpower of any sort - as mentioned before, this division does not give your brain any more resources to work with than it had prior to containing more than one consciousness. This means that it is very difficult, for some even impossible, for a host and tulpa to be involved in different highly mentally intensive activities simultaneously. For example, both doing different difficult math problems. However, it is more feasible for one to work on a math problem while the other does something far less intensive, such as taking a walk in the mindscape. The more processing power one is using, the less the other will have to work with. It is a balancing act.
Young or not yet well developed tulpas tend to have trouble with “grabbing” processing power for themselves, needing their host to be directly feeding them processing power in the form of attention in order to remain conscious. The moment their host directs their attention elsewhere, even if it is not to something mentally strenuous, the tulpa will go unconscious. This is a problem as it can easily lead to the tulpa spending large chunks of time not doing anything that could have better been used for any number of things, and does not allow for them to be self sufficient. In order to have this not happen, the tulpa must learn to either “latch onto” and share their host’s processing power without their host giving them attention, or learn to divide it. The former often happens naturally with nothing more than time and development, but the latter will often need to be actively pursued in order to achieve. Dividing processing power is typically more desirable than sharing it because the tulpa will not have to constantly watch whatever the host is doing or vice versa.
Learning to parallel process
In order to learn to parallel process, you must start small and work your way up. Certain things in parallel processing are more difficult than others - if you don’t have a natural affinity for parallel processing and try to jump straight into trying to go about your day while your tulpa does activities in the mindscape you will fail to do so, possibly frustrating yourself or leading yourself to believe that it is not possible for you to parallel process.
The very first thing you must do is split you and your tulpa’s observation, taking in different sensory input at the same time. This is the first step to break out of the standard “sharing” configuration, and is the very baseline of all parallel processing. You will not be able to do anything more advanced until you are able to do this. Observation and thinking are not the same thing - one can remain conscious and aware without thinking. Observation also uses up far less processing power than thinking does, meaning that it is easier for a host and tulpa to observe different things simultaneously than it is for them to think about different things simultaneously.
Splitting observation
You don't have another set of eyes on the back of your head, so the best way of doing this is by utilizing your mindscape. First, immerse yourself in the mindscape and make sure your tulpa is as well. Then, identify an object to look at, for example a tree. Now, identify another object - and this is important - have it be out of the field of vision of where your own object can be seen. Also make sure that it looks very different from the object you will be looking at. If you are going to be looking at a pine tree, have the other object be a deciduous tree.
Though not required, it is ideal for this activity that your mindscape is fleshed out and consistent. This means that objects, areas, rooms, etc. and their locations are generally the same and can be clearly recalled and visualised with little to no mental effort. If the layout of rooms or locations of objects in your mindscape are inconsistent or hard to remember, this activity will probably be harder.
Some tulpas by default see things via their host’s perspective in the mindscape even if they have a form of their own. If they do this, tell your tulpa to shift their perspective to their own form. Have them imagine that they are seeing out of their form’s eyes rather than yours.
Now, look at your object, and tell your tulpa to look at the other object. You might notice that your senses start to “overlap” - you might start seeing what you tulpa sees on top of what you are looking at, almost as if they are morphing together - if this happens, try to ignore what your tulpa is seeing. You can do this by focusing more heavily on your own object. Examine its smaller details, take note of its every little aspect. Fill your mind with observations of your object until everything else, anything you are not choosing to focus on, is pushed out of your awareness. Your tulpa should do the same. Try to keep this up for as long as you can. You and your tulpa may only be able to maintain this for seconds at a time at first, but if you continue to practice you will get better at it.
Splitting sensory input between you and your tulpa creates the capability for isolated experience within your system. Isolated experience is just what it sounds like - The tulpa being aware of things that the host is not aware of, or vise versa. This is what allows for parallel processing to be possible.
If you do not have a mindscape, have a very weak ability to visualize, or just can’t succeed at this for some reason, there is another option for training this skill that does not involve sensory imagination at all. There is a game made specifically for training and testing parallel processing. Click on the ‘instructions’ button when you open the game to see how it works.
Thought concealment
Once you have had some success with the previous exercise, you can move on to slightly harder things. This exercise does not deal with isolating sensory observation, it instead deals with isolating thought.
The idea here is to have your tulpa be able to have thoughts which you are not aware of, and for you to be able to have thoughts your tulpa is not aware of. You should start by forming a sort of divide between mindvoice vocalization directed at your tulpa and ordinary background thoughts within your mind. Recognize them as being different things. One is meant to be heard by your tulpa, the other not. You can use symbolism to form this distinction - “attach” a certain feeling or image to the thoughts you want your tulpa to be able to hear. Be consistent and do this every single time you talk to your tulpa, and keep it up for a long period of time - over time your mind will start to recognize your interactions with your tulpa as in some way being different from your ordinary thoughts. However, this does not automatically make it so your tulpa cannot hear certain thoughts of yours, it only establishes the necessary separation between what you do and do not want your tulpa to hear. You and your tulpa will need to do a bit more to actually hide certain thoughts.
Next, your tulpa will need to teach themselves to automatically ignore and block out any thoughts of yours that are not being “sent” along with the symbol you chose. They can start by consciously choosing to ignore any of said thoughts - as soon as they notice them, they should distract themselves with something else to avoid continued awareness of them. They should think of them as being insignificant, not worth paying attention to. If done consistently, over time this process of ignoring said thoughts will become automatic and unconscious. The thoughts you do not direct specifically at your tulpa will automatically avoid your tulpa’s awareness. Your tulpa won’t need to make an effort to ignore them any longer, as they won’t even enter your tulpa’s awareness in the first place. The process needed for your tulpa to be able to hide certain thoughts from you is the same as this, just with reversed roles.
I did not suggest that you instead associate a symbol with the thoughts you don’t want your tulpa to hear because it may be annoying and more difficult to have to associate a symbol with all of your personal thoughts - such thoughts are typically more free-flowing and less stringently directed than thoughts you would direct at your tulpa, so it would be more difficult to consistently associate a symbol with them.
Counting exercise
Once you have had some success with thought concealment, this next exercise becomes possible. What you will do here is have your tulpa count in private thoughts - thoughts you can’t hear - after which you will check on them to verify that they have actually been counting outside of your awareness.
First, find a timer, preferably a digital one. Your tulpa should become familiar with the pace of the timer, internalizing how long each second takes. This is the pace your tulpa should count at. If your tulpa counts too slow or too fast relative to the timer, it will be more difficult to see whether or not your tulpa did the exercise correctly.
Use the stopwatch mode on the timer. When you press start should be the moment your tulpa starts counting. Now, you need to put the timer somewhere you cannot see it. If it makes noise or ticks, put it somewhere you can’t hear it.
Now, go do something for a minute or two that does not require a great deal of mental effort. Maybe read some of a book you’re read before or go on a short walk. If you do not occupy yourself with something else while your tulpa counts you are at a greater risk of accidentally becoming aware of their thought process. But, it cannot be mentally strenuous, otherwise you risk stealing too much processing power from your tulpa, the processing power they need in order to count.
Now, go back to the timer - without looking at the face so you can’t see what number it is at - and press stop. Your tulpa should stop counting when you do this. Before looking at the number on the timer, ask your tulpa what number they counted to. Now, flip the timer around and see what it stopped at. If the number your tulpa counted to is very close to the number of seconds the timer was at, this means your tulpa was successfully able to count while you did something else at the same time. Counting may take very little mental effort, but it is a start. This skill can evolve into far more advanced things.
You can increase the difficulty of this exercise by increasing the amount of time your tulpa counts for or doing something more mentally strenuous while they count. Of course, you can also replace the counting with a more mentally strenuous activity. Once you are good enough at this, your tulpa will be able to do a wide variety of things outside of your awareness.
Self sufficiency
Forcing doesn’t have to last forever. You may not need to continue putting work into maintaining your tulpa and keeping them around, or at least anything that feels like work. It’s possible to stop forcing entirely but have your tulpa continue existing as they have been without in any way regressing or becoming less active. This is achieved by your tulpa becoming self-sufficient.
Self sufficiency is possible only when your tulpa is able to hold onto processing power for themselves without you giving it to them. They must be able to be conscious at their own discretion, not only when you are paying attention to them. As mentioned before, there are two different ways for your tulpa to do this- sharing your processing power or dividing it.
Because I already went over parallel processing, I’ll explain how your tulpa can share your processing power. The sharing of processing power is typically easier and more prone to occuring naturally than parallel processing is, but it is still helpful to know how to “brute force” it in case it doesn’t end up happening naturally as your tulpa develops.
When your tulpa shares your processing power, they will be sharing your experience at all times, staying with you throughout the day no matter what you are doing. Seeing what you are seeing, hearing what you are hearing, etc. This replaces the function that your forcing and attention previously had. They won’t need you to direct thoughts and stimuli towards them, because they will be automatically receiving it by themselves. Sharing processing power works best when your tulpa is aware of your physical body and its senses rather than the mindscape and their form within the mindscape. So, in order for your tulpa to do this they should first learn to be connected to your senses if that is not already a regular thing for them.
To start off, have a long active forcing session so your tulpa is as present and mentally active as possible. Then, start passive forcing immediately afterwards while you go and do something else. Maybe start out with something that isn’t very mentally demanding. At this point your tulpa should connect to your senses if they weren’t already. As you passive force, gradually start paying less and less attention to your tulpa. Space out your conversation so that wider gaps of time go in-between you talking to one another. It’s important that your tulpa do anything they can to stay awake and thinking during these gaps. If they have difficulty forming their own thoughts to keep themselves busy, they can resort to examining your physical environment, taking note of every detail. Or, they can just listen to your thoughts if you haven’t practiced thought concealment.
After awhile, stop talking to and paying attention to your tulpa entirely. If successful, your tulpa should still be conscious. In this state, a tulpa will be able to chime in and talk to you at any time without prompting. In a way they will be “lurking in the background,” present yet not always within your awareness. A tulpa who is proficient enough at this will be able to do this 24/7, minus when you are asleep, of course.
This should go without saying, but you should not use this as a way to entirely abandon your tulpa. It should only be used to reduce the workload of having a tulpa by mostly removing the maintenance aspect. Even if your tulpa is perfectly self sufficient, chances are they will still want to spend some of their time with you. It is important that you still acknowledge them and talk to them every once in awhile. This is especially true if you have just one tulpa, as your tulpa will need some socialization in their life in order to stay happy and mentally healthy.