Introduction
This book represents the collection of six years of resources, materials, guides and tips aimed at helping people who are interested in or have already created a tulpa to further their skills and enhance their shared lives.
What is a tulpa you might ask? Let's consult tulpa.info's main page for help:
A tulpa is an entity created in the mind, acting independently of, and parallel to your own consciousness. They are able to think, and have their own free will, emotions, and memories. In short, a tulpa is like a sentient person living in your head, separate from you. It’s currently unproven whether or not tulpas are truly sentient, but in this community, we treat them as such. It takes time for a tulpa to develop a convincing and complex personality; as they grow older, your attention and their life experiences will shape them into a person with their own hopes, dreams and beliefs.
You’ll create a tulpa by imagining a person in your head, and treating them as a person. The exact mechanism is unknown, but as you give a tulpa attention, and believe it can be a sentient person, it will grow into one, and act independently of you. At first, you will be narrating to your tulpa—speaking to it, and visualizing it in your mind—and with time, you’ll be able to communicate through various methods, which will be described in the next section. Keep in mind that when a tulpa starts talking, it doesn’t mean that they are complete, or finished by any means. Like any person, a tulpa is never “done”, and you shouldn’t be going for a finished tulpa, when you make one. You should be focused on nurturing and teaching your tulpa, and allowing them to grow as a person with you, while at the same time you learn about yourself, and grow as a person in turn. It takes time and effort to make a tulpa into a self-sufficient and balanced individual, and their independence and personality will grow and flourish over time, like any regular human being’s. Creating a tulpa means committing to raising and living with another person, and this is a lifelong commitment—not one that ends when your tulpa starts speaking.
Pretty much every tulpa has a form—an imaginary body they identify with. This form can be anything from a regular human being to a cartoon character, an animal, or anything you else can imagine. Of course, regardless of their form, they still have a human mind. You can interact with your tulpa’s form by visualizing it in your mind. Most people do this in an imaginary setting called a wonderland, which is a persistent place you imagine yourself and your tulpa being in. You’ll be able to change your wonderland at will, and make it as normal or fantastical as you want; there are no limits. Many tulpas tend to spend their alone time in such a place, but it’s not required at all to have a wonderland (or to give your tulpa a form for that matter). Note that the form doesn’t have to just be a visual image; the word is often used as umbrella term for a tulpa’s looks, voice, their smell, the feeling of their skin—everything that you can sense of their imaginary form.
If you commit to the process, and put a significant amount of time and effort into your tulpa, you will end up with a friend for life. You’ll have a big hand in shaping your tulpa’s personality, and it’ll be easy to understand them, and for them to understand you—almost guaranteeing a close friendship. Getting to know your tulpa will teach you lessons in empathy and give you insight into your own personality and thoughts. They can give you an alternative opinion on problems you have, support you emotionally, and tell you off when you’re being stupid. The connection between a host (that’s you) and a tulpa is a very powerful and intimate one, and you’ll always have a friend to speak with, in your head.
(from: https://www.tulpa.info/what-is-a-tulpa/)
At a high level, it does visually represent conditions like Dissociative Identity Disorder if you observe the two things as an outsider or from a moving car. They are very separate things, even though they can present in visually similar ways. Please resist the temptation to conflate the two.
Tulpas aren't intended to act as "spirit guides", self-introspection aids (anxiety disorders being reframed goes a long way here), overly "magickal" things, chores, children, sex toys, self-induced schizophrenia (it's a genetic condition, you can't give yourself a genetic condition based on our current understanding of medical science), all-seeing beings, or fake things. They are inherently none of these (though some of them may end up being accurate descriptions of individual tulpas, much like these descriptors can match normal people too).
In short, this is serious. People that are tulpamancers aren't just faking it or roleplaying (even though they will use some of the text formatting quirks that online roleplayers use) being separate people. Please take this seriously and as a vehicle of self-improvement for the best results. Feedback on this book is vital in order to make it the best it can possibly be. Please see here for contact information on the editors of this book (ask for Cadey).
Generally if a guide is on tulpaforce.xyz, it's in this book. Things can be added or removed to this book without warning. This book is not yet considered version 1.0, when it is then additional revisions will be notated with version numbers following Semantic Versioning 2.0.
Thank you for reading and good luck on this self-directed and self-guided process! It's been the ride of a lifetime for me personally.
eBook Edition
The following is the eBook edition of the tulpanomicon.
Glossary
Here is a glossary of terms, most of which are unique to the tulpa community. As such, these have been written by community members, and may be updated later to better express the thoughts behind each word.
Creator
The individual who has created a tulpa or tulpas. Almost always synonymous with the host, unless a tulpa participates in creating or individually creates additional tulpas later.
Development
Any act relating to the host focusing on, conversing or interacting with the tulpa. An increasingly popular synonym for the older term of [forcing](#wiki
Deviation
An umbrella term for changes, growth, and transformation. The variations and alterations that occur to a tulpa's personality and form during and after creation, seemingly against or independent of the host's conscious will.
Dissipation
The process a tulpa undergoes when starved of attention or stimuli, wilfully or otherwise, fading back into the recesses of the host's mind.
Emotional Response
When a tulpa responds to external stimuli or the thoughts of the host with a wave of emotion as opposed to speaking. This is a common precursor to the tulpa becoming vocal. See head pressure.
Forcing
Any act relating to the host focusing on, developing, conversing or interacting with their tulpa.
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Active Forcing - Often a dedicated span of time used to focus solely on the tulpa while the host generally tries to avoid any possible distractions. Chatting is often recommended early on, and when you get used to it, watching movies together, reading a book are good examples of activities.
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Passive Forcing - The host's focus is elsewhere (work, study, etc.) but they set aside a minimal amount of focus so their tulpa is aware of what is happening. Narration can also be done here.
Form
The appearance of the tulpa. Can be literally anything.
Growth
A natural and gradual deviation to a tulpa's personality or form that occurs over their lifespan. While these may occur more rapidly than in biological humans, they are small alterations such as personality changes based on their life experiences, appearance changes to match newly acquired personal tastes, and so on. These deviations tend to be more organic in nature.
Head Pressure
A mild, headache-like sensation experienced while forcing, often in response to questions or direct attention to a tulpa, often in very early development. A form of emotional response, albeit one lacking nuance or specificity.
Host
The primary consciousness within any given system; the individual who spends the majority of their time in control of their body, and usually the creator of any and all tulpas or other thoughtforms.
Imposition
Visualizing a tulpa's form in the real world, hallucinating them into sensory perception. Usually used to refer to visual imposition (seeing your tulpa). Feeling your tulpa hugging you would be an example of tactile imposition.
Metaphysical
In relation to tulpa development, the school of thought that suggests tulpa are a supernatural, paranormal, occult or otherwise non-mundane entity.
Mindscape
A mental environment created in the host's mind where the host and tulpa can interact visually, without the need for Imposition. Same as Wonderland.
Mindvoice
The internal dialogue between tulpa and their host, heard as a voice in the mind. A method of tulpa communication, not to be confused with voices heard as fully externalized auditory hallucinations.
Multiplicity
Umbrella term encompassing all phenomena in which multiple consciousnesses cohabit a single brain and body. Broadly used as a synonym for plurality, but has additional [psychological history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplicity_(psychology)).
Narration
When the host speaks to and thinks of their tulpa throughout the day. A common form of passive forcing, and considered a key part of tulpa personality development.
Parallel Processing
When the tulpa can focus and work on something completely different than what the host is focusing on.
Parroting
Mimicking how you think your tulpa will respond before they are able to respond themselves. Contested in usage; encouraged to help shape tulpa personality, but discouraged as inhibiting communicative development. See puppetting for its physical counterpart.
Plurality
Umbrella term encompassing all phenomena in which multiple consciousnesses cohabit a single brain and body. Broadly the same as multiplicity, but lacking the historical baggage.
Possession
Letting the tulpa control one or more parts of the host's body, often the arms to allow typing or writing.
Proxying
Communicating on behalf of a tulpa, relaying what the tulpa says to facilitate communication, such as in comments or online chat. Usually in writing, but can also be done physically in speech.
Psychological
In relation to tulpa development, the school of thought that suggests tulpa are a mundane function of the human psyche that can be scientifically understood, analyzed and accepted within the bounds of modern science.
Puppeting
Consciously and purposefully controlling the tulpa's actions, as a precursor to independent movement. Contested in usage; encouraged to help form visualisation, but discouraged as inhibiting independent behaviour. See parroting for its communicative counterpart.
Servitor
A tulpa-like entity with seemingly no willpower, volition or sentience of its own; a mental puppet that may seem to act independently but acts only as a servant to its host.
Soulbond
A tulpa-like entity derived from works of fiction, often the host's own writings, and often unintentionally - the act of writing and developing a character acting akin to forcing. Has its own communities, which sometimes overlap with tulpa communities.
Split Perception
When the host is actively interacting both in the physical world and their wonderland, often with their tulpa, at the same time. Not to be confused with narration.
Switching
When the tulpa exchanges roles with the host, controlling the body and becoming the primary consciousness until you switch back. Typically seen as an advanced skill that takes a long time to learn.
System
Collective term for all minds within one body - the host and all tulpas.
Thoughtform
Generic term for all mental companions, including those defined by other communities - tulpas, soulbonds, daemons and 'headmates' all come under this broad classification.
Traits
The collection of personality factors that make up an individual's personality. Some creators define their tulpa's intended traits at the beginning of tulpa creation, while others allow them to emerge naturally during the creation process.
Transformation
A sudden and drastic deviation to a tulpa's form, that is usually total and occasionally unexpected. Animal-like tulpa may suddenly appear human and vice-versa. Some tulpa can reliably perform this, shifting between multiple forms and considering only a few their 'natural' or most comfortable form.
Tulpa
A tulpa is believed to be an autonomous consciousness, existing within their creator’s mind, often with a form of their creator's initial choice and design.
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Intentional Tulpas: Tulpas created knowingly via deliberate, focused intent by their hosts, often with the use of guides and communities like our own.
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Accidental Tulpas: Tulpas not originally intended to be tulpas. Through a variety of different explanations and origins, they develop to be indistinguishable from regular tulpas outside of how they began. This is explained in greater detail in this post.
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Natural Tulpas: Tulpas created by those who have no knowledge of tulpas or the steps usually utilized to create one. They're often later classified as tulpas when the host finds out about them. They are also usually indistinguishable from conventional tulpas outside of their origins.
Tulpish
A way of communication for tulpa before becoming vocal. Communication through emotions, seemingly errant thoughts, pictures, and such.
Visualization
Using the mind's eye to "see" things within the mind, like your tulpa and your wonderland.
Vocal
The stage when a tulpa can communicate in full, coherent sentences as opposed to Tulpish or Emotional Response.
Walk-in
Common nickname for a natural or accidental tulpa.
Wonderland
A mental environment created in the host's mind where the host and tulpa can interact visually, without the need for Imposition. Same as Mindscape.
Contributors: /u/a_bloated_seal, /u/EonWinters, /u/Imaginary_Buddy, /u/BobisOnlyBob, /u/metenamina and a collaborative effort of the community.
From here.
The Common Glossary of Tulpa and Other Plurality-Related Terms
Co-authored and organized by the Felight and Bethel systems
Systems and Members
Alter/split: A thoughtform that functions as an independent, separate personality from the original, with its own opinions and capabilities. Usually sprouts from the host as a result of severe trauma at a young age, and are not intentionally created.
Body “OS”/autopilot: The tendency for the body to move automatically and seemingly without input of any system members. Sometimes viewed as a servitor that exists for the most basic survival.
Endogenic: A plural system that developed unintentionally but without trauma. This could mean a variety of things, a common example being an imaginary friend that grows into a systemmate.
Factive: A thoughtform based entirely on a particular real-life person. This term usually refers to thoughtforms that truly believe they are whatever character they portray and may believe they have lived out the past of whoever they are mimicking.
Fictive: As factive, but based on a fictional character.
Host/original: The first person born in the body. The creator of the tulpas and/or originator of alters. Host specifically can sometimes instead refer to someone who fronts on behalf of the system for the majority of the time.
Median: A group of systemmates who function dependently on one another, with a strong reliance on each other. Their thoughts and identities of the thoughtforms may be more melded and blended, rather than fully separate.
Multiple/plural: The state of having more than one functioning conscious entity inside a single mind, either through alters, splits, tulpas, or other means.
Servitor: A non-sentient entity created to fulfill an automated mental task.
Singlet: Someone without additional thoughtforms or alters.
Soulbond: A thoughtform with origins in a fictional story, often written by the host, caused by the host thinking about it often and thus unintentionally developing a tulpa
System: The group of people living in a single body. Usually only refers to those who are sentient and consistently active.
Systemmate/headmate: General term for a sentient thoughtform in your head.
Thoughtform: Any separate agent within your mind that can performs tasks. Includes servitors.
Traumagenic: A system that developed as a survival method to help someone cope with trauma, usually at a young age, usually unintentionally. Commonly associated with mental disorders such as DID.
Tulpa: An intentionally-created sentient thoughtform that functions independently of the original personality/host.
Tulpamancer: Anyone who creates a tulpa.
Walk-in: A seemingly spontaneous or unexpected systemmate.
Forcing
Deviation: The process of a tulpa changing in personality, form, or any other way unintended or unexpected by the other members.
Forcing: Any interaction with or thinking about one’s tulpa, usually with the intent of improving their growth or reaching goals.
Active Forcing: Forcing a tulpa without any outside distractions, devoting one’s entire focus to their tulpa.
Passive Forcing: Thinking about or interacting with one’s tulpa while doing or focusing on something else.
Head pressure: A sensation that is brought about by forcing. The specific feeling of “pressure” is unique to most people. Some systems use it as a form of communication.
Narration: A form of forcing that resembles a heavily one-sided conversation in which a headmate talks to the tulpa about any subject they choose.
Symbolism: Using mental imagery to represent something else. Often used to assist forcing, vocality, possession, switching, and so forth.
Parroting/puppeting: Taking “control” of your tulpa, pretending it is talking and moving on its own. Parroting refers to their voice, while puppeting refers to their movements.
Tulpamancy: The practice/process of creating a tulpa
States of Being/Thought
Blending: When the thoughts of two or more systemmates are blurred or construed in a way that makes it difficult to tell who originated the thought. Can also be shared thoughts, or thoughts that occur at the same time.
Co-fronting: When multiple members of a system are are all ready to speak and move, and able to present themselves as the front.
Dissipation: When a systemmate gradually fades out of existence through the lack of stimulation and interaction for an extended period of time.
Dissociation: “A disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior” - DSM-V. More commonly in the community, this refers to loss of immediate awareness of what is going on in front of or around you and also a loss of identification with the body. Usually seen as a step towards switching.
Eclipsing: When the thoughts of one systemmate unintentionally affect the thoughts/actions of another.
Egocide: The shattering, fragmenting, or breaking of one’s identity. Commonly used as a term meaning “mental suicide.”
Fronting: When a systemmate presents themselves as the “front.” This usually takes the form of someone full-body possessing and speaking.
Merging/fusing: When two or more thoughtforms act and think together as one. Sometimes symbolically enhanced by combining forms.
Parallel processing: The talent of two headmates thinking or performing separate actions simultaneously, within the limits of the brain’s neurology.
Possession: The state in which a tulpa controls the physical body. Can refer to either partial control, such as a limb, or full control of the body.
Sentience: The state in which a thoughtform can perceive and feel things.
Splitting: The undoing of a merge, or fragmenting of a thoughtform/identity into multiple entities.
Switching: The act of a headmate becoming the main fronter in place of another headmate, usually with the previous main fronter receding into the background.
Imagination/Visualization
Form: An imaginary avatar used by a systemmate.
Imposition: The ability to intentionally hallucinate one’s tulpa or other things upon their senses.
Visualization: Imagining things, such as your tulpa’s form.
Wonderland/mindscape: An imaginary world which can be used as an environment during interactions and forcing sessions with one’s system.
Communication
Emotional bleed: When a thoughtform’s emotions are being felt by the other members of the system
Mindvoice: The inner voice that a headmate produces with word-based thought.
Proxying: The process of a host (or other fronter) relaying the words, thoughts, or actions of other systemmates, usually through typing, speaking out loud, or performing actions on their behalf..
Tulpish: Any general unstructured thought not yet formulated into coherent words or sentences. Can be a method of communication for non-vocal tulpas.
Vocality: The ability for a tulpa to communicate with words.
Other
System name: A moniker used for the entire system, like a surname.
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Q: What is a tulpa?
A: As per the front page, a tulpa is believed to be an autonomous consciousness, existing within their creator's mind, often with a form of their creator's initial choice and design. A tulpa is entirely sentient and in control of their opinions, feelings, form and movement. They are willingly created by people via a number of techniques to act as companions, muses, and advisers. Tulpa forms can either be visualized in the mind's eye, or with practice seen as a hallucinatory figure.
Q: Can you describe how this works?
A: By talking and fleshing out something to your own subconscious for so long, you start to receive answers from them. The answers will tend to align themselves with all the preconceived traits you give them. The answers you get may surprise you, and in doing so show independent sentience. This sentience can be thought of as the "core" of the tulpa. The rest is just building a form in your mind for them to take, allowing for deviation of that form, and finally trying to visualize the form and experience it in sensory detail in your own environment until it becomes natural and you do it without thinking about it.
Q: So this is magic, right?
A: No. This is an entirely psychological technique (basically operant conditioning) which allows you to create a seemingly separate consciousness within your mind.
Q: Prove tulpas!
A: Tulpa are a highly subjective phenomena like hypnotic trance or lucid dreaming. We are looking into proving them eventually via formal psychological and neuroscientific study, but that is some way away. Your best hope of proving it to yourself is to try it.
Q: Isn't this just trying to give yourself schizophrenia/multiple personality disorder/dissociative identity disorder?
A: No. Those are mental illnesses that impair your ability to function in daily life. Having a tulpa is a form of healthy multiplicity that does not impede your mind or body.
Q: Isn't this just an advanced form of hallucination?
A: A tulpa is more than just a hallucination, they're an emergent awareness and consciousness. Only the imposition of a tulpa's form is an 'advanced' hallucination.
Q: If I have a mental illness can I make a tulpa?
A: As long as said illness doesn't overtly impair your ability to concentrate, and you don't suffer from intrusive thoughts that drastically impair your daily life, you should be fine. Of course, you know your mind better than we do, so it's really up to you.
Q: But I do suffer from intrusive thoughts! Should I not make a tulpa?
A: Everyone suffers from intrusive thoughts to some extent. If they're not so bad that you need a psychotherapist or medication to control them, then you should be fine. Again, it's your mind - make the best judgment call you can.
Q: I'm (insert age here), should I make a tulpa?
A: You are able to make a tulpa at any age, but you should, regardless of age, realize that this is going to be a very, very long commitment, and should not be treated as a phase or a fascination you can just set aside. We're not joking when we say this is a lifetime commitment. Also, while you are growing up, a tulpa should not be a substitute for any of the usual experiences of being a teen. For a complete answer, check this response by metallica48423.
Q: Can I have more than one tulpa?
A: Yes, you can. It is even possible to make several at once, although the challenges and merits of this are disputed.
Q: Is this really a new phenomena?
A: No, it's a practice that goes back in recorded history as far as the Greek philosophers and their practice known as Daemonism. The present name of the phenomenon is derived from the word used by Tibetan monks in the early 20th century. There's also evidence to suggest dedicated prayer can lead to the development of 'religious tulpa' in the minds of the particularly devout. Having a tulpa is nothing new, although it's gone by many names throughout the course of history and does so even today. However, we believe we are one of the first groups to address this practice as a psychological phenomena rather than a magical, occult or divine experience.
Q: How do I make my tulpa leave me alone?
A: Have you tried asking nicely? Tulpa tend to only make themselves known when you're otherwise not preoccupied or have good reason to, and if you make it clear that they're distracting or distressing you, they'll usually happily be quiet and leave you alone, so long as you give them some attention when you do have the time.
Q: How do I permanently get rid of a tulpa?
A: Ignore them and deny them attention until they entirely dissipate. This is not a pleasant experience for a tulpa, and if you have developed them for any length of time it may well be emotionally draining on you too. It is not a quick or easy process, and it's not something you should consider lightly. You should ideally never need to do this, for the sake of you and your tulpa alike. If you are worried about making a tulpa and are asking this question for reassurance, you would be wise to consider delaying creation until your doubts are assuaged.
Q: If I dissipate my tulpa, what will happen?
A: If you dissipate the tulpa by force, typically you'll feel a void in your mind. This is not an actual void, but the feeling of something "missing" tends to linger. If you dissipate and the tulpa wants it, usually the only recourse is your own emotional feelings.
Q: How do I give my tulpa energy?
A: Tulpa are sustained by attention, and energy is a convenient metaphor for this. So, you can give your tulpa energy by interacting with them.
Q: Do I need to meditate?
A: Not in the classical sense. We are sure meditation would help with making your tulpa and perhaps concentration, but if it's not something you can handle because you have an uncontrollable train of thought, then that's fine too. It generally does help those who do it, but is completely optional.
Q: I have a question that isn't answered by this FAQ, what do I do?
A: Feel free to ask around. You could make a post for your question if nobody else has asked it, you can wait for the 'Moronic Monday' question thread, or you could hop on one of IRC channels linked in the sidebar.
Q: Have you told your friends/family/co-workers about your tulpa?
A: Some of us have, many haven't. It's really a personal choice.
About Tulpas
Q: What can a tulpa do?
A: The main benefits of a tulpa are first and foremost companionship, and the ability to provide you with different perspectives on anything. Tulpa are often accredited with superior memory recall, and may remind you of the things you easily forget. They've also been known to wake their hosts up at pre-requested times and perform mental arithmetic independently of their creator. However, if that's all you seek to make a tulpa for, you're better off buying a smartphone or PDA. You can't expect to bring a sentient being into the world just to have them help with your homework. More information can be found in the guides section.
Q: What limits a tulpa?
A: Tulpa are restricted by their own stage of development, by their creator, their creator's beliefs, and ultimately by their own morality and codes of conduct like any other person. Even as they grow and develop independence, they are still generally bound to their host and dependent upon them and other tulpae for attention and interaction. A host can consciously choose to enable or restrict their tulpa in various ways, although this is rarely if ever any sort of absolute control. However, a creator's beliefs about their tulpa affect them greatly - if you don't believe that they can fly, edit your wonderland, or change their appearance at will, their abilities to do so will be greatly impaired if not outright prevented. Even subconscious beliefs play into this - you may find yourself wanting to do something, such as allowing your tulpa to control your hands, but be unable to do so, due to both a lack of practice and a subconscious belief that it's impossible.
Q: Do tulpa mature over time?
A: Yes, they do. They are not static and will tend to change as time goes on. Their initial growth from simple emotional responses to ordered speech, eventually into full conversation, is rapid compared to that of a child, but they will eventually reach a level of maturity whereupon they will develop and grow at a rate comparable to that of any other person.
Q: Can my tulpa harm me?
A: Tulpa cannot act in the physical word. They can't move things, and they can't control you without your knowledge and permission. But more importantly, a tulpa is as interested in self-preservation as you are, and as they share a body and mind with you, they have no motivation to harm you. Of course, it's impossible to totally write off the chance of a tulpa distracting you or causing a headache at an inopportune time, but such would be purely incidental misfortune, as no tulpa could have any reasonable grounds for malevolence against their host. Please see "Perceived Dangers of Making a Tulpa" for more on this topic.
Q: Will my tulpa be a carbon-copy of me in personality and opinion?
A: Your tulpa is like a person. They can have opinions that differ from yours. They are their own being.
Q: Will my tulpa get jealous?
A: Your tulpa is functionally a person. They won't monopolize your time and hate you for interacting with others, but they can and will become lonely if they are ignored, repeatedly left alone or passed up for other company. Give them time as and when you can, and it'll likely never be a problem.
Q: Can I make items for my tulpa? How long will these items last?
A: You can 'tulpaforce' items for your tulpa. This is simply a matter of thinking of the appropriate object and giving it form and thinking of how it behaves. The time it takes will vary with the object, its complexity, and your concentration and familiarity with the given item. If your tulpa is fully imposed into your vision, the item can likewise be imposed, although it may lack tangibility and 'weight' to you. They tend to last only as long as you and your tulpa are interacting with and paying attention to them, but may last longer (see: Wonderlands, below). Tulpa themselves can produce items and objects, provided they have sufficient experiences and memories to draw upon in order to do so.
Q: How much attention/energy/interaction does my tulpa need?
A: During the creation process you should aim to interact with your tulpa through tulpaforcing daily, anywhere from a few minutes up to a few hours, and narrating to them as and when you can. After they're fully vocal and active, the minimum is just acknowledging their existence, but spending time talking to them and interacting with them is kind of the point of bringing them into existence. Just don't ignore them, and you'll both be fine.
Q: After my tulpa's form is stable, can I change it?
A: Once your tulpa is active and vocal, they will likely have taken to a primary form or several favoured forms. Changing them ceases to be a matter of mentally sculpting them as in early creation, and becomes a fluid process depending on the personality and preferences of the tulpa itself. Generally, minor changes such as hair colour and clothing will be easier and more common, while drastic changes are less common but certainly can and do happen. For the most part, whatever primary form you give them or they adopt to begin with will likely stay with them in one way or another for some time.
Q: Should I talk to my tulpa out loud or in my head?
A: You can talk to your tulpa in your head, or you can talk to your tulpa out loud, obviously in more private quarters or wherever you deem comfortable (with a Bluetooth headset, you could reasonably talk to them anywhere). Speaking out loud tends to be more constructive in the creation process though. Your tulpa can either talk to you directly in your mind or aloud via auditory hallucination.
Q: Can my tulpa serve as an alarm clock?
A: Yes and No. A tulpa operates on the same internal clock as their host, which sometimes does not match up well with the actual time. It's worth noting that you don't strictly need a tulpa to condition yourself to do this, nor should you be reliant on one to get you to lectures or work on time.
Q: So can my tulpa help me with (memory recall, school)?
A: It's certainly possible, but even if your tulpa is capable of helping you, that doesn't necessarily mean they will. You can't force them to act as your personal notepad and calculator. If they want to help you with your homework, then great, but if they don't, it's hardly unexpected. If you don't like working on math, why should they?
Q: What if my tulpa sees my messed up fantasies or images and doesn't like me?
A: Your tulpa is likely going to accept you pretty much no matter what. Because they're a part of you and you effectively made them. They may disapprove of something you've done or thought of in the past, but they aren't going to hate you over it.
Q: Will my tulpa freak out if I masturbate/have sex?
A: It entirely comes down to the personality of the tulpa in question. Many seem entirely unperturbed by the sexual activity of their hosts, but they may possibly comment on your action or be seemingly disrespectful of your privacy. We can't comment on sexual activity directed at your tulpa, so figure it out yourself as two persons in one body.
Q: So is this a replacement for having friends?
A: No, just because you have a tulpa it doesn't mean you're going to not need any of your friends or family anymore. You can still maintain your social life (if you had one) and sometimes it might be within the tulpa's personality to persuade you to become more social. They're not going to hog all your attention as a rule.
Q: What if my tulpa knows that they're a tulpa?
A: Your tulpa will know what they are because it has access to your memories. How they will feel about this is going to vary; most of the time they don't care, because they know they can't change the fact that they're a tulpa.
Q: Can I force my tulpa to (be quiet, go away)?
A: While you can't strictly force your tulpa to do anything, if you really want them to do something (leave when you're angry, not bother you in school) you can depend on the fact that your tulpa has little to no motivation to be a nuisance, and knows exactly how you're feeling. Therefore your tulpa will abide by your wishes because they want to, not because you can force them to.
Q: Can my tulpa make a tulpa?
A: Yes, they are perfectly capable of doing such, but they don't do it often and without letting you know before hand.
Q: I speak more than one language fluently. Which should I speak to my tulpa in?
A: Any is fine, although it may be sensible to pick one and stick to it until they're vocal. A tulpa is capable of speaking all the languages you can.
Q: Can I (grab, slap, hug, etc.) my tulpa?
A: Yes, within reason. Imagining or enacting a given action against a tulpa, imposed or otherwise, will carry all the meaning and weight you associate with that action directed at them. In the case of an imposed tulpa, the actual feedback you feel will depend on how developed your sensory imposition is, as tactile hallucinations do not come as easily as visual ones.
Q: What does the tulpa do while you're sleeping?
A: Because the mind never totally shuts down, the tulpa continues to exist and be there. What they do, however, is up to the personality of the tulpa. Some are known to interact with dreams, while others may work with memories of the last environment you were in before you slept, and others will wander off into whatever mental environment you've created for and with them (see Wonderlands, below).
Q: Do tulpa sleep?
A: Some tulpa will sleep at the same time as their creators, others as and when they please, and others do not seem to sleep at all.
Tulpa Creation Questions
Q: How long will it take to make a tulpa?
A:For some time, popular wisdom suggested estimates of '100 hours' or 'just over three months'. However, recent developments suggest this varies extremely from individual to individual, and with their preferred methods some have had success in a matter of weeks, while others struggle to hear their tulpa after months. The long and short of it is, don't worry about how long it'll take. Don't expect results immediately, but don't dismiss early successes either.
Q: How do I decide what my tulpa will look like?
A: You probably already have an idea of what form you'd want a long-term mental companion to have, which is fine, but you may be undecided. A tulpa can develop their own preferred form over time through narration and personality work alone.
Q: Should I create a base form for my tulpa?
A: Many people have an idea for a form in mind when they first start to create a tulpa, before they think of any sort of personality, and that's fine. However, designing a personality around the form is unnecessary.
Q: When should I create a base form for my tulpa?
A: Form can be the very first thing you decide upon, or not settled upon until you're ready to begin imposition. Obviously, it doesn't make sense to impose a tulpa that doesn't have an associated form.
Q: Should I create a tulpa that looks like me?
A: It's not encouraged or recommended. The idea behind a tulpa is to create a separate personality and consciousness, and creating something you visually self-identify with isn't going to help that process.
Q: Is it ok to base a tulpa off an existing character?
A: Yes, with caveats. Your tulpa may have the pre-existing character's form, but they are not the actual character. Tulpa tend to deviate in form and personality from your initial specification, and this may lead to feelings of disappointment or rejection, which isn't good for either of you. Ideally, it is better to draw inspiration, not to copy wholesale, and to understand that personality is not form and vice-versa.
Q: Can I take an existing roleplay character/imaginary friend and make them into a tulpa?
A: Yes, although as with all tulpa based on existing characters, you should be aware that they may develop and change over time, perhaps unexpectedly so.
Q: I'm not getting any alien feeling, am I doing something wrong?
A: No, you're not doing anything wrong. There are plenty of kinds of feedback a tulpa can give - emotional responses, 'head pressure', headaches, 'mindvoice' - and not all of them will intrinsically feel alien, distant, or as though they came from outside your own mind, and some people never get something they can define so easily until their tulpa is clearly independent. Don't sweat it.
Q: This feels like I'm just talking to myself and making up answers. Why?
A: Talking to yourself is fine, and ideally it should be open-ended talk which allows for responses. Consciously deciding answers and thinking them in response is known as 'parroting', effectively putting words in your tulpa's mouth. So long as you are focusing on your tulpa, talking to them and not at them, feeling like the responses are made-up isn't a problem. These are either early, simplistic responses from an immature tulpa, or your subconscious answers - and those can be taken on by the developing tulpa, priming their vocabulary and personality. Again, provided you're bearing your tulpa in mind and genuinely trying to converse with them, don't sweat it. When you get a more surprising response, you'll know it's really them.
Q: I'm getting headaches, pressure, sore eyes and stuff during creation, is that bad?
A: It's actually quite normal to get headaches and the like. Don't worry about it, it's a normal part of creation and will phase out by the time your tulpa is fully imposed on your environment. If you're not getting any of the aforementioned that's fine too.
Q: It's hard bringing my tulpa's face into focus, why?
A: Faces are the part of the body which are most dynamic and which we identify with most. Of course it's going to be hard to visualize them; I don't think anyone has an easy time with tulpa faces. In time it will come together when you don't have to force the visualization.
Q: Is it bad to fall asleep while working on the tulpa?
A: While it's not strictly 'bad' to fall asleep while working on your tulpa, it can directly expose an immature tulpa to more subconscious thoughts and dreams than normal. This has been known to agitate and infuriate some developed, responsive tulpa, so it's not advised. Some have reported no issues, but in this case - you're better off safe than sorry, but you'll probably find out how your tulpa responds to it accidentally sooner or later.
Q: Do I name my tulpa?
A: You can give them a name, but bear in mind the possibility that they may change it. You can leave them nameless, and then when they are sentient have them name themselves.
Q: Is it okay to force while (high, drunk)?
A: As long as you feel it's productive. If you're a frequent drinker or smoker it certainly won't hurt to acquaint your tulpa with yourself in such a state.
Q: Can I listen to music while I force?
A: It's not strictly necessary, but it can help. When you tulpaforce you'll typically want a relaxing environment, so pick a position, type of music, light level, whatever works best for you. Try not to lie down in bed if you can avoid it, because you'll probably fall asleep and not get anything productive done.
Q: Is it okay to give my tulpa negative traits?
A: You shouldn't really think about traits as positive or negative. You should think about them as what they are, not their moral connotations. If you want to give your tulpa a trait, or a trait emerges naturally, then go for it! Traits are just aspects of personality, and whether they're good or bad will depend on your own morality. So if you want a clingy tulpa, an aggressive tulpa, a sarcastic tulpa, whatever, that's totally up to you.
Q: Can I make my tulpa vocal first and then start on form?
A: Of course! And no, this will not result in the tulpa not wanting a body later or anything like that. It's just easier for some people to work with their tulpa on the body, if they have no idea about it or are having trouble. One would do this by simply working longer on personality and narration.
Q: Can I do X and Y at once when I'm creating my tulpa?
A: You certainly can, although it may not be beneficial to do so. Generally it makes sense to group various developments - form and personality are often done together (although you should remember they're not dependent on one another), and sensory imposition is often done across multiple senses at the same time. Trying to work on too many things at once will only make it harder to concentrate.
Q: Does putting too much detail into my tulpa stifle deviation?
A: No. Whether you're vague or not, deviation is probably going to happen. You can spend hours on something, and it still might change. This doesn't mean your time is wasted, though.
Q: So how exactly does deviation work?
A: Your initial plans or ideas for a tulpa may be altered by your subconscious, and once your tulpa has clear independence they may change itself further. Some tulpa end up almost exactly as initially designed, while others end up changing beyond recognition as a result of these collective alterations.
Q: Can I create a tulpa that's in charge of their own personality/creation?
A: By purely narrating to your tulpa without defining their personality or assuming a form for them, you can still develop a tulpa that will entirely consist of emergent traits and eventually an associated form. You still need to give plenty of time and dedication to the narration process, and work on things like sensory imposition, but it's definitely possible. It's worth noting that this is not a lazy way out, it requires just as much effort and concentration as doing all the steps up front.
Q: How do I narrate/talk to my tulpa?
A: Narration is any kind of conversation or dialogue with your tulpa, ideally performed while imagining their form or simply thinking about them. This can be done purely in your mind, subvocalized under your breath, or spoken aloud when convenient. You can do it throughout the day, simply by telling them what's going on or what you're thinking about while bearing them in mind. Telling stories is a convenient way - reading a book or a comic consciously to your tulpa, as though reading to another person, may help you come to grips with narration.
Q: I'm having trouble visualizing, what do I do?
A: Good visualization isn't strictly necessary up-front for creating a tulpa, and it'll get better over time as you practice it, thus developing along with your tulpa. However, if you're having trouble then there are guides available on this site and the wider internet that may be useful (See: visualization guides).
Q: I haven't felt my tulpa in 'x' hours/days, what did I do wrong?
A: Nothing. It's not unusual for a tulpa to retreat back for a little while. This happens when they are growing, and are often followed by much growth. It's happened to some people that their tulpa have left for almost a week, and when they return become vocal in a very short amount of time. Even if you can't feel them, continue forcing and interacting with them as you normally would.
Q: How long should I force for?
A: There are no fixed answers for this. Even if it's only 10 minutes a day, you'll be doing better than not forcing at all. Your tulpa will appreciate it when ever you can force, and of course, they'll take as much as you are willing to give them.
Q: Does my tulpa have to be human?
A: No. If you can imagine the form, your tulpa can take that form. Some people have tulpas that have the form of a tree or rock. Not exactly exciting, but that's what stuck.
Q: Can I make a tulpa of someone else?
A: Can you? Yes. Is it recommended? Not at all. Forming a tulpa of another person can lead to big identity issues for the tulpa, and will mar the overall progress. Here's a full post with details
On Mindscapes/Wonderlands
Q: What is a mindscape/wonderland? A: A mindscape, also known popularly as a wonderland, is a mental environment created in the host's mind where the host and tulpa can interact visually with eachother, without the need for the host to impose their tulpa into their physical environment. A wonderland can be revisited time and time again, although it may change under your own will, your tulpa's will, or subconsciously.
Q: What is the difference between mindscape/wonderland and any other imagined environment?
A: An imagined environment is any given temporary mental scene or scenario, such as those experienced when day-dreaming. A wonderland or mindscape is a more permanent, albeit dynamic, environment that persists even when you aren't consciously thinking of it, that you or your tulpa can return to repeatedly.
Q: Can my tulpa change the mindscape/wonderland as well?
A: Yes, tulpa are able to edit and alter wonderlands and the entities within them, although the degree to which they are able to do so varies with their development and will, and your influence over them. Your tulpa may even change your wonderland while you are not consciously aware of it.
Q: What does it mean to 'explore' a wonderland?
A: A mindscape/wonderland can be imagined in such a way that large areas of it are undefined or lack clarity. Traveling within the environment outside of areas you've consciously defined can lead to a subconscious, dreamlike generation of environments and landscapes. This has been known to provide interesting and exciting activities for tulpa and their creators alike - it is quite literally letting your mind wander.
Most of the FAQ was a collaboration between Tulpa.info and /r/Tulpas, written by /u/BobisOnlyBob using FAQman's original Tulpa FAQ as a template, with assistance from Purlox, Albatross and /u/Kronkleberry
An Addendum to Tulpa Guides
This collection of advice is meant to integrate other guides with (possibly) useful information on tulpa creation, development, and more, that I haven’t found in them, and that I wish I had. For best results, an attitude of self-seeking and curiosity is recommended.
How quickly will I manage a tulpa?
There’s a number of predisposing factors, both in the passive and active sense (in that you may have to put to practice the lessons learned in it, or even use the methods from it) :
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Hypnosis, suggestibility in particular, ability to get commands and decisions through
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Mind-hacking (the ability to self-edit habits, patterns, beliefs, and other assorted facets of one’s mental life with relative ease)
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Conversations with self
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Vivid imagination
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Ability to suspend disbelief
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Strong religious background
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Cognition of inner workings, even through dreams
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Expressed creativity, especially of the other-personas type (roleplay, theatre, creative writing)
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Interaction with/generation of thoughtforms in general, of whatever type (from RP characters to dream characters to imaginary friends to book characters to spirits to masks to whatever else)
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DID
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Schizophrenia of the voice-hearing variety
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Bipolar disorder
That said, I refrain from giving any sort of expectations, since they’re the last thing anyone should be giving you. Take the experience as it comes, and accept it for what it is, in full. Use goals to direct your focus if you need, and iterate on them as experience accumulates, reaching them or changing them or discarding them as you feel appropriate.
I don’t know if I should be doing this? Can I just try it out for a while?
Well, good for you to have such reservations. In fact, there is something else you can try; which is, pretty much all lesser forms of multiplicity. Examples include:
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Conversations with self, like for solving problems, exploring themes, or just idle chatter. Take different angles, or different viewpoints, on something and just let them talk it out amongst themselves, or interject as needed.
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Have an imaginary friend that you talk to and spend time with sometimes, or a guide figure that you come to in times of aid or counsel. You may be surprised at how much insight and wisdom they may provide you simply by allowing them to speak it.
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Record your dreams (the biggest short advice on the matter I can give is, use pen and paper, and write them immediately on wakeup), especially as you start being lucid in them and interacting purposefully with the characters there. To help with that, there’s plenty of guides online and dedicated communities. If you’re up for something more complex, you can explore, at the twilight of sleep and wake, your hypnagogic hallucinations, and interact actively with them, reach out and communicate with the voices and forms you find there.
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Try being a median: that is, the taking on different, persistent personalities that interact with you and each other, even if they're all seen as part of you. An angel and devil on your shoulders, kind of deal.
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Try being a maskmaker: having aspects of self that you end up wearing, becoming, living as, much like a method actor. Sometimes known as channeling.
It will not be the full experience, and it will not have you deal with the whole joys and woes of another fully independent mind living in your head, but it's a decent slice of the fun pie. Plus all practice on these ventures feeds directly into the tulpamancy practice, should you decide to come through with it, especially since you can practice tulpamancy techniques through any of these.
Is there something I should absolutely know?
To the best of my ability here’s the ground truths of tulpamancy:
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The barest working technique of tulpamancy is: talk to the Universe until the Universe answers. Love it until it loves back.
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Love is the best ingredient in everything you’ll do here. The more understanding, unfiltered, playful, joyous, and liberating, the better.
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The limits of the mind are few, so most of those you encounter will be of your own design.
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Don't intentionally force negative traits. Seriously don't be a fool.
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Expectations and doubt are tulpa poison. This includes hour counts and timetables.
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Belief is not strictly needed, only the actions.
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Tulpas will inevitably change and deviate from their old selves, so acceptance is recommended.
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Most of everything else is different for everyone.
For another few vastly applicable tips:
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Rest always helps: get enough sleep.
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A clear head always helps: do meditation.
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Trust your inner discernment above everything else. You are the first and best judge of your own inner reality. This includes disregarding others’ opinions, theories and experiences that you feel not relevant to your own case.
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Remember to ask your tulpa as well if you have questions. They have insights on the situation too.
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In particular, if you and your tulpa both agree nothing is wrong, then nothing is.
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Try not to place undue expectations on your tulpa (eg. I’ll make a better me, or someone who can get me out of my depression, or they’ll act exactly in this manner etc.) They are just people like you, and likely very inexperienced ones at first, so shape your plans accordingly.
And a few less conventionally recognized tips:
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An attitude of playfulness is encouraged: be flexible, keep an open mind, experiment, iterate on things by accepting as they come first, and working on top of them second.
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Second-guessing things in your interactions is detrimental to the experience. It arrests the flow, brings doubt into the frame, is not fun for anyone involved, and is a far too powerful tool to bring to such an experience (considering that entire physical memories can be rewritten if revisited with intent). It is far better to just run with things, to use the "Yes, and…" of improv, and just adjust and iterate for the following interactions. Instead of the arresting pace of careful checking, you can enjoy a playful session of running away with your combined efforts; at worst, you’ll have made up an enjoyable story together.
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Keep notes on the adventure, journal it, investigate its shifting paths. It is valuable to know what and how has been attempted, to store fond memories, to track change over time, and to remember how things were back then. They can also be useful in the immediate to spot difficulties so that they can be isolated and addressed specifically.
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A calm mind always helps: learn to work with your emotions and heed their advice, or alternatively listen for their cries for help. DBT is one of the best resources to date on the matter that deals with this and more, directly.
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Mens sana in corpore sano. Live healthy, live well.
Where do I start from?
Honestly any of the thoughtforms (dream characters, media characters, median facets, etc.) discussed before are a good starting point to develop into a tulpa proper, or you can create a new one from scratch if you prefer, but literally any thoughtform is fine as long as some ground rules are implemented (that is, they're their own being, they are not anything else; especially, they're not actually that fictional character, just someone based on them, that happens to initially share a number of traits/memories with them. You are free to deviate from such advice, but I recommend having very good reasons to, if attempted.)
So how does this all work really?
Leaving the metaphysical aside, we’re basically talking about reshaping the pathways and habits of the mind, through directed intent and repetition, into a shape where two (or more) distinct entities regularly interact.
To quote Shirako,
And then over time you get better and better at the skill of directing mental energy into pathways of that shape, and the tulpa's form grows more and more solid, until like walking or riding a bike, your brain has developed the skill of being the tulpa to the point where you don't consciously think about the mental energy at all, and the entire process subducts out of consciousness, leaving just you and the tulpa in your mind as visibly conscious agents.
For further reading, http://www.meltingasphalt.com/neurons-gone-wild/
Obviously, this is not just about the tulpa themself. The host will likely undergo severe change as well, carving the paths and tearing down the mental walls through which proper communication with the tulpa shall be achieved, and much more besides. It is in part the reason why the first tulpa is the hardest.
So what about early communication?
Let's clear some factors: first, there's no universal timetable, or even fixed order of events, in the development of a tulpa. Some tulpas ended up switching before mindvoice vocality, for one.
Second, mindvoice is not always what people go for. Raw thought/emotions can be very convenient for communication once a system to structure them that isn't strictly a verbal language is implemented. Some tulpas communicate in images, or even song.
With that in mind, just use what comes your way. The main factor of communication is intending for the message and its meaning to reach the other; aside from that, anything goes. You can even set up an ouija board equivalent if you're feeling like pushing possession for use in communication.
Remember that at first it may feel a whole lot like you. You are not the thoughts, you are the awareness behind the thoughts; the mind is a shared playground of you and your tulpas, so when your tulpas think, you may get to hear them and could identify those as yours, because that’s what you’ve always done with the thoughts in your head. This pattern of singular identification has to be broken down, and many similar ones besides concerning quite everything that goes on inside the mind/body/emotions system. You’re not alone in the house anymore, so don’t pretend every noise in there comes from you.
What’s this about parroting I keep hearing? Is it good or bad?
It’s something that needs to be properly understood for best results.
What happens with starting tulpas, especially of the newly created variety, is that they may not possess access to faculties like language or projecting a mindvoice or moving a mindscape body, or possession of the physical body, and so on and so forth. The two main alternatives here are bearing patience and waiting for them to figure it out by themselves, or offering them a hand in the matter.
Providing help with translating their thoughts into words is one way parroting works; moving their mindscape body for them is called puppeting, and there probably as many concepts of lending them your faculties in some practice or other as there are activities that your tulpa can do.
It can be considered a dangerous venture because it can easily foster doubt towards the tulpa when applied liberally, giving rise to the "It feels like it’s me doing it" syndrome, which is completely justified because yes, you’re actively contributing to their actions, and you’d want to stop that eventually.
And stop that you will. At some point, you will have to revoke that help, and let them find their own legs. The parent has to let go of the bike, and let the kid on it experiment for themself, by themself. There might be some falls inbetween, and some time may pass, but success must be considered inevitable.
More in general, a process might be put in place where the tulpa is allowed to progressively explore and discover the complexities, and the existing pathways, of a particular skill through decreasing help; for example, from just inhabiting the body as the host moves, to the tulpa giving inputs and the host acting them out, to the host starting a movement and the tulpa finishing it, while acknowledging and making use of the existing muscle memory, towards independent possession.
Any tips for more rapid development?
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Starting out, anything that they can hold on to to self-define will be of help. It can be a goal, a form, a personality set, a call to action; whatever they can use to give themselves either substance or direction, or both, will speed up their development.
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Specifically, giving them objectives, or letting them come up with their own, and giving them space to follow up on those is especially beneficial, as it gives them power to express their executive patterns and grow self-determined and properly independent.
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As a general rule, a personality develops through the assimilation of experiences, and developing patterns that concern those experiences. Providing those experiences (of whatever nature) and letting them react to those, if possible, is one of the best ways to go about it.
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Letting them interact with the outside world regularly, especially in the goal-fulfilling variety, is especially a solidifying exercise.
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Treat them like a person, like a peer of yours, since they have all the potential to be one. They’re equivalent to you in every way that counts, and treating them as such greatly enables them to reach that level.
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Consider doing some reverse tulpaforcing, as in, the tulpa taking on the forcing mansions of the host; even to the point of helping the host through anxiety episodes or depression or the like through such techniques.
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You can be hypnosis partners, in both directions.
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Novelty helps.
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Flexibility of mind also helps, since a tulpa is a phenomenon as complex as the mind itself, and there’s countless variations of manifestation possible. Being open to many of them, or even encouraging variety of them (like disembodied voice in your head vs. visualized presence in the mindscape) is a good way to learn and grow.
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Be open to the experience. Lots of weird and unexpected stuff is bound to happen; the more you roll with it and accept it, the more things will unfold naturally.
Presence imposition tips?
What does it feel like when there's someone else in the room? When you just know you're being watched? What do you feel about your body other than the usual 5 senses? That's sense of presence.
Intend it to be there for your tulpa. Ask to feel it. Wonder how it would be like to feel it.
Visualization tips?
Start small, start familiar, start easy, and build up. Use all the external help you need to visualize better or easier. Put your pride and preconceptions at the door, and focus on getting better as easily and painlessly as possible.
Basically you’d want to start from what you manage to hallucinate the easiest (be it memories, game scenes, some movie or cartoon, your pet, a cube, a stick figure, anything really) and work your way up from there, strecthing the possibilities in all directions that you can manage. Be like water, and find the crack. Use all the tricks possible, grab all the handholds on your way to the top, play as dirty as you need.
Put in practice at the highest level you can manage, by any means necessary. And by that I mean, use references for shapes and movements and color and solidity; use styles that are familiar (like say, cartoonish); look at things inside an imagined screen if that helps you; use the peripheral of your vision for easier open-eye visualization; or just duplicate what your eyes see in your mind’s eye, or copy a real-life object as faithfully as possible, etc. Everything is fair to try out. See what helps best, and abuse it.
Stretch what you can do from there: try less detail and more stuff, or more detail and less stuff; change colors, change styles, improve responsiveness, make it more spontaneous, have it take less attention, just plain make it bigger, or better, or more detailed; and so on, and so forth.
The mind is a very flexible instrument; Experiment, play around with stuff, take what serves you and swap out the rest. As you keep striving for more, you’ll naturally consolidate what you have already achieved, and this will allow you to build on that and reach greater and greater heights.
Imposition tips?
I’m gonna tell you a little secret: we’re always hallucinating things. What is in front of our eyes and what the mind sees is not as strongly related as you might first imagine.
The way the eye works is basically, the individual cells stop sending signals if they keep detecting the same thing, so at every moment the brain only receives a partial picture, and hallucinates the rest basically by continuity with the past.
Take a look at that illusion, keep staring at the dot at the center; eventually the other colors should fade to grey, if you’ve kept your vision steady enough.
See what I mean? The brain already hallucinates a portion of your reality quite naturally. (Not to mention that the peripheral vision is mostly made of rods, so it’s almost in B&W; most of the color you see there is also hallucinated)
With that in mind, you should probably rethink how hard it is to impose, huh? You hallucinate things all the dang time!
This goes more in general for all kinds of sensory imposition: what you perceive is there is just what the brain says is there, period. Reliving strong memories can trigger the same bodily reactions as if you were there again. Your mind makes it real.
In that sense, consider just telling your mind what it should be experiencing, instead of fighting against reality. What you perceive is already inside your head, ready for the transformation.
More on just how crazy and hallucinatory vision really is.
For specific imposition matters, I recommend QB's recent guide on the subject.
Possession tips?
Not repeating the part where you can help them along, a good exercise for the host is practicing relaxation, as in lack of commands issued. One exercise for such a purpose is letting the arm fall from an upwards position, from the elbow up, while laying in bed, over and over. Letting the arm fall wherever it may, and getting used to the loss of control. Of course, the tulpa is free to take control of the arm during such an exercise if they feel daring enough.
Switching tips?
A core concept that I would like to stress is that if the goal of switching is purely to let the tulpa experience full fronting without host interference, then it can be just exactly that. It can be as easy as the tulpa being at the front and possessing, and the host consciously, willingly relinquishing all control and assuming a detached position of passive observation. Some describe it as the tulpa taking control of the body autopilot that would normally come up as the host zones out. This autopilot can be rather large in the amount of functions it provides (like say, letting the body run on its own as you think of something else), and usually needs only gentle steering to be controlled.
One of the main sticking points is usually the reclutancy of the host to leave the controls alone, or dissociate as it were. Meditation can help greatly with this; one visualization exercise that usually helps in conjunction with it is the host concentrating their own essence down to a point, within the body or outside of it; or, they can fully enter the mindscape, or practice any such exercises in detachment from the senses, and the cessation of reactions.
Since many find instinctual reclutance at leaving the front seat unattended, I recommend explicitly practicing surrender of the body, like by trust falls, or immersive daydreams (possibly while trancing), or practicing conscious zoning out (like by letting the body dance to a good song by itself), or letting go as much as possible before sleep (which incidentally can also tie in to lucid dreaming practices such as WILD). Get a feel of the autopilot, and
These points are further elaborated in Seven’s guide on the matter.
What if my tulpa is too similar to me?
If you find your tulpa taking too much after you, by way of personality, speech patterns, opinions etc. and you’d like otherwise, that would be a good opportunity to encourage drift. Both through encouragement of novelty and allowing of results, let the tulpa try out new things, act differently, express themselves more freely, find ways in which they may recognize themselves more properly as independent. Draw the boundaries you need to, but give them free roam otherwise. In time, they will find their own space to inhabit.
I haven’t heard from my tulpa in a while, and I can’t feel them about? Why do they have different sleep patterns than me?
Yeah, I know, it's weird. It still happens for a lot of us, though. It's fine if you don't hear them about for a while; after all, we shut down for about 8 hours every day ourselves.
Why do I keep having doubts about my tulpas? What can I do about it?
Doubt means you're on the right track.
When you doubt, that means there's a belief of yours that is conflicting with the new, current experience. The belief is being currently questioned, and this pivot point is being expressed in you through doubt. It is likely an old belief that just now has come into discussion: there’s much you probably took for granted about living in your head that will just change drastically when confronted with the actuality of someone else residing in there with you. Thus, the beliefs need to shift.
What you can do is, you can trace that doubt back to the belief that generated it. That belief is standing in the way of your experience, and is likely being an overall nuisance. It is not serving you. You can choose to abandon it; you can choose to put it to further tests and revise it, based on the new data. You can change it, or you can discard it.
Should I be concerned about walk-ins?
Well, that depends; would they be a bad occurrence in your experience? Many people have found it worthwhile and very positive to have had walk-ins stick around as tulpas proper, but maybe you’re not that charitable, or you just want to draw the line somewhere.
For one, consider that many thoughtforms cross your consciousness temporarily (like what might happen with intrusive thoughts or random voices or media characters etc.) and you usually don’t think much of it. In general, as something comes, it can also go.
Secondly, the mind is as easily suggestible as it’s always been, and its patterns can be shifted concerning this particular case as well. You only need set the intention of not receiving any walk-ins of any sort; that they are unwelcome at your place, and that they cannot stay. Reinforce with mental imagery as needed, but try to be gentle: it’s still yourself you’re doing this to.
Is this really for ever? Is there nothing I can do about it if I regret it?
The moment you decide to make a tulpa by the common definition is the moment you decide to create, or accept, an other person, with everything that it carries and that it implies. There are other ways to explore inner multiplicity without bearing the responsibility of true plurality, as detailed above (in I don’t know if I should be doing this? Can I just try it out for a while?); and if you’re feeling this concern then I suggest to either try out those, or think about it some more, or both.
That said, as much as people don’t like to talk about it, dissolving a nascent tulpa is something that happens sometimes, mostly when the host has realized they are in no position to continue being more than one in their head, or have no further intention to put in the effort of maintaining a second consciousness. What happens then is, there’s always the option of ignoring the thoughtform, letting it slowly drift back to the place of origin, or there is the considerably harder option of merging, that is basically a permanent version of blending together the two essences of host and tulpa, personality and memories and presence and all.
Having consent of both parties is highly recommended, otherwise that’s not fun for anyone involved.
Any ways this practice could help me with my own troubles?
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First of all, tulpamancing will likely get you used to a great deal of introspection, especially by way of meditation (through eg. active forcing). And knowing is half the battle, as they say.
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Clarity of mind is greatly encouraged and fostered, and is in general very beneficial to life.
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An improvement in social skills is often one of the most obvious results from the practice.
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More in general, there is much to be learned from both observing an other-self from so up close, and being observed by one.
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Tulpas are in general, very understanding and caring beings, and there’s much to be gained in giving and receiving, in sharing, such higher loves (to the point of aretè, AKA metta, the divine Love) with one another.
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Tulpas are usually in a prime position to offer guidance on your life path, but you must remember that any change will have to come from yourself. You are the one who makes your own decisions.
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More in general, any help that they offer will have to be trusted, and carried through. In order for their guidance to take effect, you must be willing to trust their judgement more than you would trust your own, more than you would trust your thoughts, more than you would trust your own old ways.
By CelestialBoon
Things to Ask Yourself Before You Make a Tulpa
By GM & Twi
This guide aims to walk you through a series of questions to explore the ramifications of having a tulpa and help you really think about what you’re working towards. It assumes you already know what a tulpa is, you have some interest in creating one, and you are willing to put forth some effort. This guide is not meant as a comprehensive introduction to the tulpa phenomenon.
The questions and clarifications in each of these sections are meant to lead you to a clear, balanced view of what your life will be like with a tulpa. Actually visualizing in advance what your life will be like (both positive and negative) after completing any life-altering undertaking is a great way to improve your chances of sticking with it. For these reasons, thinking through the questions and answering them as completely as possible will be a great benefit to you whether or not you decide to make a tulpa.
For those who think this guide is too tedious: If you aren’t willing to think through your best answers to a handful of questions, you should carefully and honestly ask yourself whether or not you have the patience and persistence needed for the hours, days, and months of concentration it usually takes to accomplish anything with your first tulpa.
The Questions
1. Why do I want to make a tulpa?
This isn’t here to shame or judge you for your reasons, plenty of people have had questionable motives going in, and they and their tulpas turned out fine. Having said that, though, if you aren’t comfortable with your answer, then you may want to reconsider your motives or look deeper into your own mental and emotional situation before creating one.
2. What is my tulpa likely to think about my reasons for creating him or her?
Imagine yourself in your future tulpa’s situation and think about your answer. Remember that your tulpa is a friend who will understand you like no one else, but underneath it all should still be considered a thinking, feeling being with his or her own unique perspective.
3. How will I react if I have unusually slow progress?
Though most see progress in a matter of months, at the extreme, some people take several years before getting a response out of their tulpa. Frequently in these situations, the tulpa reports being self-aware with a mature, stable personality already in place well before two-way communication is had.
4. How will I react if I have unusually fast progress?
Fast progress, although exciting, can also be an issue as your tulpa may be able to make itself a nuisance and interfere with your life before really getting to know themselves, let alone you and how to best interact with you.
5. How will my daily routine be impacted by creating and maintaining a relationship with a tulpa?
Remember that tulpas require time and energy, just like any friendship. Setting aside some of both for your tulpa here and there goes a long way.
6. How will my life be better due to having a tulpa?
Obviously you’ve thought about this a little bit or you wouldn’t have gotten this far. Now is your chance to get specific about all the good things you hope having a lifelong companion in your head will bring you.
7. What sort of things will I spend time doing with my tulpa?
Remember a tulpa is a companion who is with you all the time and is nourished by your attention. Knowing what sort of things you’d like to do with them--at all stages of development--is helpful to staying the course.
8. What sort of problems will I expect my tulpa to help me with?
Lots of people credit their tulpas with helping them through difficult situations, but remember that although a tulpa can be a great emotional and mental support, a tulpa is not a counselor and doesn’t magically have access to knowledge or skills that you don’t.
9. How will my life be worse due to having a tulpa?
Life isn’t all sunshine and roses. You will have disagreements with your tulpa, and your tulpa may occasionally get in the way of things you want or need to do.
10. Am I prepared to help my tulpa through any mental or emotional problems he or she may develop?
Tulpas can develop insecurities, hang-ups, or (in extreme cases) mental illnesses that are distinct from your own. Give some thought to what you’ll do if this happens. Hint: It’s easier to talk out problems while they’re still minor.
11. What will I do when I have a serious disagreement with my tulpa?
The good news is that tulpas grant a unique opportunity for perfect communication with another being. The bad news is that you will need to be totally honest with your tulpa since keeping a secret from one can be rather difficult.
12. What will I do if my tulpa dislikes my friends/family/significant other?
Tulpas have their own personalities, and just like your physical friends don’t necessarily like each other, they may not agree with your choice of friends.
13. Who will I tell about my tulpa (if anyone)?
You’re certainly not obligated to share your tulpa with anyone, but you may want to for a variety of reasons. Likewise, your tulpa may or may not want to interact with people on their own.
14. What will I do if they react negatively?
Not to discourage you, but it could happen. Tulpas can be a touchy subject that most people won’t understand, so think carefully before deciding to be open about it.
15. What will I do if they react positively?
On the other hand, some people will be intrigued or even enthusiastic about your new friend.
16. What do I think life will be like for myself and my tulpa in 5, 10, 20, or even 50 years?
Tulpas can last as long as you live and over the course of many years can become just as strong a force in your mind as you are. What will you be like as an old man or woman who has another mind running around inside their head?
17. What do I think life will be like for myself in the same amount of time if I don’t make a tulpa?
This is the default situation: most people never even consider making a tulpa. Considering the long-term effects of both alternatives can help you decide where your priorities and interests lie with regard to tulpa creation.
Bad Reasons to Not Make a Tulpa
There are many excellent reasons not to create a tulpa. We are not trying to convince people that they should create tulpas if they think they probably shouldn’t. Rather, we hope to reject and recast some bad or misleading reasons, leaving more room to think intelligently about the good ones.
Our problems with the reasons we discuss may seem pedantic; the reasons could be interpreted a different way that would eliminate the problems. But if they’re interpreted the way we interpret them here, they do have problems, and if people have interpreted them this way in the past, they’re liable to do so again in the future. An argument’s merit should not be judged on what it’s trying to convey, but on what it actually does convey.
The golden rule of ethical tulpa creation
Let’s begin by pointing out that there are many excellent reasons not to create a tulpa. We do not intend in this series to convince people that they should create tulpas if they think they probably shouldn’t. Rather, we hope to reject and recast some bad reasons, leaving more room to think intelligently about the good ones.
Our problems with the reasons we discuss may seem pedantic; the reasons could be interpreted a different way that would eliminate the problems. But if they’re interpreted the way we interpret them here, they do have problems, and if people have interpreted them this way in the past, they’re liable to do so again in the future. An argument’s merit should not be judged on what it’s trying to convey, but on what it actually does convey.
People often say that one should not create a tulpa for selfish reasons. This seems like a good plan at first glance. “Selfish” sounds bad, and as an ethical tulpamancer you presumably don’t want to do anything that doesn’t consider your tulpa’s best interests.
People seem to disagree on the meaning of selfish. Many people, including me in this article, define being selfish as being concerned only or primarily for oneself, without considering others. Some people and some dictionaries instead prefer a definition requiring the selfish actions to be actively harmful to others, in which case “don’t create a tulpa for selfish reasons” is less problematic. Given the disagreement in definition, though, I think that even if you fall squarely in the second camp you’re best off rephrasing this advice, since many people will interpret it wrongly.
With that out of the way, let’s say that Alice wants to create a tulpa. Here are some of the reasons she might have, not all of them necessarily good ones:
- She wants companionship or love or someone to talk to when nobody else is around for her.
- She would like to be able to bounce ideas off someone else all the time.
- She is having some sort of mental or spiritual issue and thinks a tulpa could help her with them.
- She thinks she can become a better person with a tulpa.
- She’s interested in what tulpas mean for the nature of consciousness and wants to try it out for herself.
- She thinks it will be silly and fun to play around with this idea.
- She wants to make someone else take over all the boring jobs in her life.
- She wants to have a sex slave ready for her anytime she likes.
All of these reasons are selfish at heart: that is, the only reason for Alice’s motivation is that she thinks she’ll get something out of creating a tulpa. Nevertheless, I think it’s safe to assume you agree that some of the reasons are fine and some are highly problematic. Almost everyone agrees that Alice would be wrong to create an apparently sentient being for the sole purpose of giving her sexual satisfaction, whereas hardly anyone who’s comfortable with tulpas in general has a problem with her creating a tulpa as a friend to share her life with. In the middle, there’s a gray area where some people are comfortable and some aren’t.
Each of us could probably decide how we felt about each of the above reasons and divide them into three buckets, “almost certainly fine with the right mindset,” “maybe all right,” and “definitely wrong.” But we wouldn’t make these distinctions based on whether the reasons were selfish, because they’re all selfish. Indeed, I would challenge you to come up with a single legitimately altruistic reason for creating a tulpa. It’s pretty hard, if not impossible, because the tulpa doesn’t exist yet and so hardly seems to have moral value! What really determines which reason goes in which bucket is that some of the reasons, if carried through to the end unmodified, are unfair to the tulpa.
It’s certainly important to discourage people from creating tulpas for the wrong reasons. But I think there are better ways of describing which reasons are right. Greta and I suggest this succinct formulation:
Don’t create a tulpa for reasons you would be upset about being created for.
The impossibility of being prepared
We frequently see the sentiment that one should not create a tulpa if one is scared or worried about tulpamancy. The idea of waiting to create a tulpa until essentially comfortable with the idea is, obviously, a good one. However, we sometimes see "then don't create a tulpa!" reflexively hurled at newcomers expressing their worries, accompanied by little if any detail, and this is badly missing the point.
If you created your first tulpa by deliberately following guides and ideas from the tulpamancy community, let me ask you a question. (If that isn't you, you should be able to follow easily anyway.) When you first learned about tulpas, did you have no worries or fears at all? Did you look at the idea and think, "Oh, having another person in my head? Awesome! No, nothing could possibly ever go wrong with that! This is obviously perfect!"
If your answer was yes, you're either full of B.S. or you're a remarkably confident person. In the second case, congratulations, but that's not how it works for most of us. The normal progression is that you get intrigued by the idea, think it might be right for you, and then you think through the problems and try to find ways to resolve them. This means that, even if you completely satisfy every worry before you begin, which is unrealistic, at some point prior to that you were still worried or afraid.
Being worried is not surprising, nor does it mean that you are not cut out for tulpamancy. Being worried is natural, because tulpamancy is a highly subjective experience and there's no way to try it out or know what it will be like before you begin. Perhaps a comparison with physical parenting is appropriate here: Imagine you and your partner are expecting your first child. You can spend as much of the next few months as you want reading books about parenting, pondering names, talking to your family and friends, and buying unnecessary, overpriced crap for your baby, but no matter what you do, when the baby is finally born and you walk out of the hospital with it, you are ultimately going to be unprepared for what comes next. There is nothing whatsoever you can do to experience what it will really be like to have your very own child before you do, and once you get there you certainly can't go back (the memorable day in my middle-school health class when my teacher left the TV on while rewinding the video of a baby being born notwithstanding).
This is not to say that all the preparation was pointless. One of the most helpful things people can do to get a vague idea of what their future experiences are likely to be is to talk to other people who have had that experience in the past. And this is exactly what people are doing when they start posting questions about the things they're worried about on tulpamancy forums or elsewhere. Having "then don't create a tulpa" thrown in your face at the point where you're specifically trying to make yourself a more responsible host must be quite irritating.
I don't think it's possible to have a child or create a tulpa and have absolutely no apprehension about what's coming up. It does not follow that you should never do either. The right goal is to hold off until you are reasonably comfortable that you are responsible enough and can handle the uncertainty that necessarily has to remain. "I don't feel comfortable enough yet" is a good reason to continue trying to satisfy your worries until you do feel comfortable, or until you decide it's not right for you at this time in your life (or ever). It is a bad reason to decide that you should give up on tulpamancy.
Refocusing worries about privacy and tulpas
While a discussion of the meaning of "privacy" might be quite interesting, it would triple the length of this post and distract from the main point. So let's say that by "privacy" I simply mean any need or desire to be "alone," or separated from another person or people in some way -- for any reason and in any manner. I don't think it's necessary to get more specific to address this concern.
It is unsurprising that many people are concerned that they'll never be able to be properly alone again if they create a tulpa. Especially for those of us on the more introverted side of the spectrum, it's easy to have nightmarish visions of our most extroverted and obnoxious friend following us around everywhere 24/7 chatting at us. That would, indeed, be dreadful, and that's true pretty much no matter what portion of your time you like spending with other people; we all need some space now and then, and the obnoxious friend is unlikely to be the person you feel most comfortable with.
The most quoted response to this concern on most tulpamancy forums and FAQs is, "Oh, you can just ask your tulpa to go away for a while if you want them to." While this may be true, and that might be a perfectly fine answer for some folks, there's something more important to understand. The fact is, tulpas are not at all like the hypothetical obnoxious friend in another system. While many people all too easily conclude that tulpas aren't "real" or don't need to be considered separately from their hosts, we can also fall into the trap of treating systemmates exactly like people in separate bodies, and there's just as much nonsense, if not more, in that view.
The difference between average friends and systemmates means that Greta and I simply don't need privacy from each other in the conventional sense. Likewise, we have yet to hear a single legitimate complaint from any other plural system about being uncomfortable with their individual lack of privacy. Oh sure, there's "my systemmate won't stop singing this really annoying song" or "quit distracting me here." Most often both the annoyance and the response are more playful banter than actual frustrations, but even when the argument is serious, it doesn't amount to anything near the existential threat one could imagine would be posed by feeling trapped with a systemmate all the time. It's something they can and will work out without a whole lot of pain.
It might be kind of puzzling that privacy doesn't pose a problem, but as we've written about before, we think it makes pretty good sense in the end. We're not, strictly, separate people in the same way that people in different bodies are. It would be a great overstatement to say we know each other perfectly, but we do know each other very well, and even more importantly, we don't feel we have any secrets we need to keep from each other and we know any reasonable mistakes we make will be forgiven. Further, because our thoughts are joined together in some way or another, we can effortlessly pick up or leave off talking and interacting, or switch who's thinking actively, to match our mood and energy. We don't have to commit to spending time with each other until we can come up with an excuse to get away, like we usually have to with other friends.
That's mental separation. I suppose physical separation and embarrassment about our bodies can be included in our definition of privacy too, but that gets kind of meaningless after a few weeks (and wouldn't even be considered in some cultures). Besides, it's not mybody Greta's seeing in supposedly awkward situations. It belongs to both of us, so nothing out of the ordinary is happening at all when you think about it this way.
Maybe we could consider emotional separation too: with many people in everyday life, we'd prefer to keep some of our emotions private. Everyone's relationship with their systemmates is different, but for me, Greta is the only person I can share all my emotions with without fear of being judged or misunderstood, and it's extremely relieving to have that outlet for things I just don't feel ready to explain to anyone else. Plus, we never have that awkward moment where someone shares what they're feeling and the other person clearly doesn't quite get it; our understanding is always there. So I can't really imagine a situation in which I would want this kind of privacy in the first place.
Now, this is not to claim that adding someone else to your head is a small matter. It most certainly is not. But instead of focusing on privacy, anyone considering creating a tulpa should move past that and imagine what comes next. The related consideration with lasting importance is loss of control. Just as traveling alone can be liberating because you never need to do anything you don't actually want to do yourself, being the only one in charge of your life gives you great freedom. When someone else is with you in your head all the time, you have to share certain decisions (or else prevent someone from making their own decisions, which is problematic for other reasons), and you might end up wanting to share out the use of your body and your life in general. Singlets often have never thought about what a great freedom they have here, and giving it up permanently ought to be a hard sell.
Of course, you could also say you get to have a companion to help you live your life and make those decisions (indeed, we advocate framing challenges as things we "get to" do; it does great things for our morale). As with everything in life, there are two sides and both have some merit. I wouldn't be writing in the first place without this other side, and I wouldn't give Greta up for anything. But this side is not for everyone. Control is the crucial question, not privacy. If you're wondering whether you should have a tulpa, start thinking on that.
Meditation
This skill is not absolutely required, but it will make everything else a lot easier. The main skill being trained in meditation is the resilience to go back to the object of focus when you realize you got distracted. Distractions will happen. Meditation helps you learn to not let them affect you.
To be clear, you DO NOT NEED TO HAVE OR USE ANY MEDITATION SKILLS TO CREATE OR INTERACT WITH A TULPA. It HELPS to do this, but it is not ESSENTIAL to do this.
If you feel that your existing practices (even if this is no meditation practice) are sufficient, please feel free to skip this chapter entirely.
When Then Zen: Anapana
From Within
Introduction
Anapanasati (Pali: Sanskirt: anapanasmrti, English: mindfulness of breathing) is a form of meditation originally taught by Gautama Buddha in several places, mainly the Anapanasati Sutta (English: passages). Anapana is practiced globally by meditators of all skill levels.
Simply put, anapana is the act of focusing on the sensations of breath in the body's nasal cavity and nostrils. Some practices will focus on the sensations in the belly instead (this is why there's fat buddha statues), but personally I find that the sensations of breath in the nostrils are a lot easier to focus on.
The method presented in this article is based on the method taught in The Art Of Living by William Hart and S.N. Goenka. If you want a copy of this book you can get one here: http://www.cicp.org.kh/userfiles/file/Publications/Art%20of%20Living%20in%20English.pdf. Please do keep in mind that this book definitely leans towards the Buddhist lens and as it is presented the teaching methods really benefit from it. Also keep in mind that this PDF prevents copying and duplication.
Note: "the body" means the sack of meat and bone that you are currently living inside. For the purposes of explanation of this technique, please consider what makes you yourself separate from the body you live in.
This article is a more verbose version of the correlating feature from when-then-zen.
Background Assumptions of Reader
Given no assumption about meditation background
And a willingness to learn
And no significant problems with breathing through the body's nose
And the body is seated or laying down comfortably
And no music is playing
Given no assumption about meditation background
The When Then Zen project aims to describe the finer points of meditative concepts in plain English. As such, we start assuming just about nothing and build fractally on top of concepts derived from common or plain English usage of the terms. Some of these techniques may be easier for people with a more intensive meditative background, but try things and see what works best for you. Meditation in general works a lot better when you have a curious and playful attitude about figuring things out.
I'm not perfect. I don't know what will work best for you. A lot of this is documenting both my practice and what parts of what books helped me "get it". If this works for you, please let me know. If this doesn't work for you, please let me know. I will use this information for making direct improvements to these documents.
As for your practice, twist the rules into circles and scrape out the parts that don't work if it helps you. Find out how to integrate it into your life in the best manner and go with it.
For now, we start from square one.
And a willingness to learn
At some level, you are going to need to be willing to actually walk the path. This can be scary, but that's okay as long as you're willing to acknowledge it and not let it control you.
If you run into some dark stuff doing this, please consult a therapist as usual. Just know that you don't walk this path alone, even when it feels like you must be.
And no significant problems with breathing through the body's nose
Given that we are going to be mainly focusing on the nasal reactions to breathing, that path being obstructed is not gonna result in a very good time. If this is obstructed for you, attempt to clear it up, or just use the mouth, or a different technique entirely. It's okay for anapana to not always work. It's not a universal hammer.
And the body is seated or laying down comfortably
Some people will assert that the correct pose or posture is critical for this, but it's ultimately only as important as the meditator believes it is. Some people have gotten the association somehow that the meditation posture helps with things. Ultimately, it's suggested to start meditation sitting upright or in a chair as it can be easier for you to fall asleep while doing meditative practice for the first few times. This is a side effect of the brain not being used to the alternative state of consciousness, so it falls back on the "default" action; this puts the body, and you, to sleep.
And no music is playing
You should break this rule as soon as possible to know if it's best to ignore it. Some people find music helps; I find it can be a distraction depending on the music track in question. Some meditation sessions will need background music and some won't. That's okay.
Scenario: Mindfulness of Breathing
As a meditator
In order to be mindful of the body's breath
When I inhale or exhale through the body's nose
Then I focus on the sensations of breath
Then I focus on the feelings of breath through the nasal cavity
Then I focus on the feelings of breath interacting with the nostrils
Then I repeat until done
As a meditator
This is for you to help understand a process you do internally, to yourself.
In order to be mindful of the body's breath
It is useful in the practice to state the goal of the session when leading into it. You can use something like "I am doing this mindfulness of breathing for the benefit of myself" or replace it with any other affirmation as you see fit.
When I inhale or exhale through the body's nose
You can use the mouth for this. Doing it all via the mouth requires the mouth to stay open (which can result in dry mouth) or constantly move (which some people find makes it harder to get into flow). Nasal breaths allow for you to sit there motionless yet still continue breathing like nothing happened. If this doesn't work for you, breathe through your mouth.
Then I focus on the sensations of breath
There are a lot of very subtle sensations related to breathing that people don't take the time to truly appreciate or understand. These are mostly fleeting sensations, thankfully, so you really have to feel into them, listen for them or whatever satisfies your explanation craving.
Listen in to the feeling of the little part of cartilage between nostrils whistling slightly as you breathe all the way in at a constant rate over three seconds. It's a very very subtle sound, but once you find it you know it.
Then I focus on the feelings of breath through the nasal cavity
The sound of breath echoes slightly though the nasal cavity during all phases of it that have air moving. Try and see if you can feel these echoes separate from the whistling of the cartilage; bonus points if you can do both at the same time. Feel the air as it passes parts of the nasal cavity as your sinuses gently warm it up.
Then I focus on the feelings of breath interacting with the nostrils
The nostrils act as a curious kind of rate limiter for how much we can breathe in and out at once. Breathe in harder and they contract. Breathe out harder and they expand. With some noticing, you can easily feel almost the exact angle at which your nostrils are bent due to your breathing, even though you can't see them directly due to the fact they are out of focus of our line of sight.
Isn't it fascinating how many little sensations of the body exist that we continuously ignore?
Scenario: Attention Drifts Away From Mindfulness of Breathing
As a meditator
In order to bring my attention back to the sensations of breathing
Given I am currently mindful of the body's breath
When my attention drifts away from the sensations of breathing
Then I bring my attention back to the sensations of breathing
In order to bring my attention back to the sensations of breathing
When this happens, it is going to feel very tempting to just give up and quit. This is normal. Fear makes you worry you're doing it wrong, so out of respect of the skill you may want to just "not try until later".
Don't. This is a doubt that means something has been happening. Doubt is a sick kind of indicator that something is going on at a low level that would cause the vague feelings of doubt to surface. When it's related to meditative topics, that usually means you're on the right track. This is why you should try and break through that doubt even harder if you can. Sometimes you can't, and that's okay too.
Given I am currently mindful of the body's breath
This is your usual scenario during the mindfulness practice. You will likely come to deeply appreciate it.
When my attention drifts away from the sensations of breathing
One of the biggest problems I have had personally is knowing when I have strayed from the path of the meditation, it was hard for a time to keep myself in the deep trance of meditation and keeping detached awareness of my thoughts. My thoughts are very active a lot of the time. There are a lot of distractions, yet it's hard to maintain focus on them sometimes.
One of the biggest changes I have made that has helped this has been to have a dedicated "meditation spot". As much as possible, I try to do meditative work while in that spot instead of my main office or bed. This solidifies the habit, and grows the association between the spot and meditative states.
Then I bring my attention back to the sensations of breathing
This, right here, is the true core of this exercise. The sensations of breathing are really just something to distract yourself with. It's a fairly calming thing anyways, but at some level it's really just a distraction. It's a fairly predictable set of outputs and inputs. Some sessions will feel brand new, some will feel like old news.
Meditation is sitting there only letting yourself think if you truly let yourself. Mindfulness is putting yourself back on track, into alignment, etc., over and over until it happens on its own. If you get distracted once every 30 seconds for a 5 minute session, you will have brought yourself back to focus ten times. Each time you bring yourself back to focus is a joy to feel at some level.
Scenario: mindfulness of unconscious breathing
As a meditator
In order to practice anapana without breathing manually
When I stop breathing manually
Then the body will start breathing for me after a moment or two
Then I continue mindfulness of the sensations of breathing without controlling the breath
In order to practice anapana without breathing manually
While observing the body's unconscious breath, you start entering into what meditation people call the "observer stance". It is this sort of neutral feeling where things are just happening, and you just see what happens. There is usually a feeling of peacefulness or equanimity for me, but usually when I start doing this I radiate feelings of compassion, understanding and valor.
Keep in mind that doing this may have some interesting reactions, just let them pass like all the others.
When I stop breathing manually
You gotta literally just cut off breath. It needs to stop. You have to literally stop breathing and refuse to until the body takes over and yanks the controls away from you.
Then the body will start breathing for me after a moment or two
There's a definite shift when the body takes over. It will sharply inhale, hold for a moment and then calmly exhale. Then it will breathe very quietly only as needed.
Then I continue mindfulness of the sensations of breathing without controlling the breath
The body does not breathe very intensely. It will breathe calmly and slowly, unless another breathing style is mandatory. The insides of the nostrils moving from the air pressure is a still a noticeable sensation of breathing while the body is doing it near silently, so you can hang onto that.
Scenario Outline: meditation session
As a meditator
In order to meditate for <time>
Given a timer of some kind is open
And the time is set for <time>
When I start the timer
Then I clear my head of idle thoughts
Then I start drifting my attention towards the sensations of breathing
Then I become mindful of the sensations of breathing
Then I continue for a moment or two
Then I shift into mindfulness of unconscious breathing
Examples:
| time |
| five minutes |
In order to meditate for <time>
The time is intentionally left as a variable so you can decide what session time length to use. If you need help deciding how long to pick, you can always try tapering upwards over the course of a month. I find that tapering upwards helps A LOT.
Given a timer of some kind is open
One of the old-fashioned kitchen timers will do even.
And the time is set for <time>
You need to know how to use your timer of choice for this, or someone can do it for you.
When I start the timer
Just start it and don't focus on the things you're already thinking about. You're allowed to leave the world behind for the duration of the session.
Then I clear my head of idle thoughts
If you're having trouble doing this, it may be helpful to figure out why those thoughts are lingering. Eventually, addressing the root cause helps a lot.
Then I start drifting my attention towards the sensations of breathing
Punt on this if it doesn't help you. I find it helps me to drift into focusing on the breath instead of starting laser-focused on it.
Then I become mindful of the sensations of breathing
Focus around the nostrils if you lose your "grip" on the feelings.
Then I continue for a moment or two
You'll know how much time is right by feel. Please study this educational video for detail on the technique.
Then I shift into mindfulness of unconscious breathing
The body is naturally able to breathe for you. You don't need to manually breathe during meditation. Not having to manually breathe means that your attention can focus on passively, neutrally observing the sensations of breath.
Further Reading
This is all material that I have found useful while running into "problems" (there aren't actually any good or bad things, only labels, but that's a topic for another day) while learning or teaching anapana meditation or the concepts of it. All of these articles have been linked in the topic, save three I want to talk about specially.
- To Walk on the Path
- Tapering Upward
- Listen To Your Heart - Roxette
- Maybe
- Ebbs and Flows
- Natural Selection
Maybe
This is an old Zen tale. The trick is that the farmer doesn't have any emotional attachment to the things that are happening to him, so he is neither labeling things happy nor labeling things sad. He is not stopped by his emotions.
Ebbs and Flows
This touches into the true "point" of meditation. The point isn't to just breathe. The point is to focus on the breathing so much that everything else stills to make room. Then what happens, does. The Alan Watts lectures are fascinating stuff. Please do give at least one a watch. You'll know which one is the right one for you.
Natural Selection
This is excerpted from almost the beginning of the book Why Buddhism is True. Robert Wright really just hit the nail on the head when describing the level of craziness that simply exists. Natural selection means that, effectively, whatever causes populations to be able to breed and survive the most means the traits of those doing the most breeding become more common. Please read the entire book.
Quantum Pause
The Quantum Pause is a meditative technique that serves as a very convenient tool for reaching a special space of neutrality and intention from which you can work on whatever you'd like internally. It is designed to reach a space of contact with your inmost self, allowing you to work through situations by their wisdom, and reinforcing their presence in the life of the individual.
For a longer introduction to the Quantum Pause, http://wespenre.com/pdf/Appendix-cognitive-section-quantum-pause-breathing-exercise.pdf
Starting out
Keep your eyes closed throughout the process. One possible posture is to sit with your back straight in a comfortable position, both feet on the ground.
Intent
The first step is called Declarative Purpose. This simply means that before you begin, declare your intent. There are two general states when one performs Quantum Pause:
- I am doing this for the whole of humanity
- I am doing this for a specific subset of humanity (myself, friends, family)
The first state is obvious, but the second varies by a considerable degree. For example, you could apply Quantum Pause for a situation that requires forgiveness or compassion within your immediate family, or perhaps yourself. An example would be, "I am doing this to benefit me and to further my own understanding of self." Whatever the purpose is, it is recommended to declare it before you take your first breath. This is your inception point for the entire session that follows.
Breathing
From a breath perspective, there are four equal parts to Quantum Pause. In-breath (nose) > pause > out-breath (mouth) > pause. This 4-part process is called a measure. Each measure is divided into two segments:
- In-breath > pause segment (which is the I AM)
- Out-breath > pause segment (which is the WE ARE)
After you have declared your purpose, then perform 2-4 measures of breath, without visualizing or thinking or feeling. This step is simply to quiet your internal state, center your awareness and bring you fully into the now.
Consolidation
When you begin your consolidation period, it is a time for you to bring focus and all of your attention to those things that bubble to the surface of your consciousness, knowing that these arise for a reason. From here, you can let your intuition guide you on what to do. Examples include: simple awareness and acceptance; loving-kindness (metta); conflict resolution techniques; or the application of the Six Heart Virtues (explained below).
This consolidation period usually lasts about three to five minutes, but there are no set time limits. Use your intuition to guide this period of time.
Repeat
Repeat the breathing pattern and the consolidation period as needed. Generally, each repetition of the consolidation, and usually there are four or five, becomes less crowded with thoughts or feelings, and by the time you enter the final consolidation period you have emptied yourself of thoughts and feelings and entered the quantum domain, of close contact with your inmost self.
Further Suggestions
The Quantum Pause immediately after the out-breath can provide a subtle sense of panic for some people. If this occurs, shorten your count so you have less time elapse for each segment. For example, if you were using a four count cycle, shorten it to three. This feeling of panic will go away as you practice the technique. These “hitches” or Quantum Pauses have a purpose that you will come to understand.
I would also suggest that you focus your attention on your breath – its sound, its texture, how it feels inside your lungs, how your lips form in the out-breath, how it flows through your system, etc. This focus aligns you with First Point or the origin point of your Sovereign Integral because it is the breath that is the Portal of the infinite and eternal being that you truly are, and it is through this portal that it is manifesting in physicality.
- Breath Control
There is no judgment that the longer your breath parts are performed in each of the segments, the better the result. There is no correlation. However, as you get into the later steps of the Quantum Pause process, your attention is less centered on your breath. You allow it to become self-directed, so your attention can move to a more imaginative and feeling oriented state.
- Purpose
The purpose of Quantum Pause is not to leave the body or have a “spiritual” experience or conjure any “positive” experience upon completion. It is purposely not of that realm. It is not designed to create an experience for your mind or provide visualizations of another world. If you see, sense or feel anything that is unrelated to your purpose, gently, but firmly, remove it.
- Posture
Unlike traditional meditation, Quantum Pause is not related to specific postures. You can practice it lying down when you wake up or go to bed. You can be standing up or sitting down. There is no posture requirement. Quantum Pause is not meditation for the human instrument. It is a behavioral exercise to reveal the Sovereign Integral (I AM WE ARE) state of consciousness.
- Synchronize
If you practice Quantum Pause, and you begin your session at the top of the hour, it will synchronize your experience with others and expand the energy. It doesn’t matter which of the 24 hours you start with, but if you can, begin at the top of the hour.
Additions
- I AM WE ARE
The breath exercise can be enriched by holding the two connected concepts/feelings of the I AM WE ARE at the two segments of a number of measures after the first 2-4. The I AM is the feeling that the individual is infinite and sovereign; and the WE ARE is the feeling of connectedness, equality, and integration with all such other beings; indeed, with all life.
- Quantum Moment
The Quantum Moment is dissecting your day into passages of time. In other words, “moments”, in this definition, are passages of time or events. For example, let’s say you get out of bed in the morning; you are now starting a new passage or Quantum Moment. Before you move into the new passage, you practice an abbreviated Quantum Pause – one or two breath cycles: in-breath, Quantum Pause, out-breath, Quantum Pause. This re-establishes your First Point, grounding your physical-based human instrument in the quantum domain. As you go through the passage of waking up, washing your face, brushing your teeth, etc. you are stepping through passages of time. The Quantum Moment helps to ground your inmost presence fully in that moment, to bring its wisdom in the everyday life.
- The Heart Virtues
The consolidation phase is an excellent time to apply the Six Heart Virtues (appreciation, compassion, forgiveness, humility, valor, and understanding) to any thought or feeling that manifests. They are the virtues that flow naturally from the heart aligned with the inmost self. For more information, http://www.eventtemples.com/downloads/pdf/Living_from_the_Heart_(e).pdf
- Advanced Version
A more advanced version of the Quantum Pause (containing further Wingmakers terminology) is https://www.dropbox.com/s/0uo5o1lcs3o8pcc/quantum%20pause.pdf?raw=1
Tulpas and Vipassana; a practical advice on the meditation sittings for tulpamancers
(originally posted on /r/tulpas)
We finished our second vipassana course recently, and I have a few practical advice for you to share. We compiled those based on personal experience, as well as based on many discussions with our teacher, who was extremely helpful and open to tulpa phenomenon.
If you are curious about my notes from a year ago, here's an old post.
Why tulpamancers need vipassana
In our experience, ten-day classes give an extreme clarity of the mind (you have about a hundred meditation hours packed in those). Both your and your tulpas' deep-rooted complexes come up to surface, and there's a simple, practical way to get rid of them. You get some tulpa-specific benefits, like perfect visualisation, that originate from the extreme mind focusing, but those should not be the goal for you when you take a course. You go there to understand yourself better, and to clear the mind, which, for many tulpamancers, can be overly foggy, given many tulpamancy practices are targeted at treating imaginary as real.
How to do a sitting
If your system has many fronters, I'd suggest designating one to do all the practice.
The meditation itself is impersonal, but switching can cause confusion and stall your progress. We did it two times this time to see if it changes anything, and indeed, the practice stays the same. It only depends on the physical body, not the active person.
No visualisation, no imposition
This is literally taught on day one (or day two?) and is extremely important. You must not do any visualisation (and you are explained why in the course, too), and your tulpas must abstain from the same. Do not impose yourselves. Do not imagine your own form. If you don't follow this rule, the mind cannot get the deep focus, required in the later stages of the practice, as you'll keep paying attention to something else.
No imagination
It's a very hard rule for tulpamancers, but it kinda follows the previous one. We added it only a few days in but immediately had excellent results. This means you must actively ignore all imagined things and ideas, including your wonderland; and yes, tulpas must ignore it too. Your wonderland does not exist for the duration of the course. Take it as a given. Your form does not exist for the length of the course. The only thing that is there is the physical body, and you are only allowed to observe it, not imaginary sensations of your mindform. And this rule brings us to another important rule...
No mindvoice
How hard could it be, eh? Not talking to your host and observing noble science not only in the outside world but also in your mind. The teacher stressed on this being a crucial part of the practice. You must not communicate. If anything, for the duration of the course, you might as well consider your tulpa as nonexistent (they won't go away, though). Only by applying this rule, we managed to get past a few distracting thoughts that didn't allow us to meditate. You are doing to do hard work already—sittings for four hours straight, where you are not allowed to do any movement for an hour at least, keeping focus four hours straight. It's very hard. Don't make it harder.
No communication outside the meditation hall either
And if it's not clear enough, you must not talk outside of meditation hours too. No chat with tulpas during lunch, no "goodnights" before bed. Maintain the purity of the focus at all times, no matter how hard. Remember that practice works, and it helps many people. The only way to not help yourself is to not work on it in a right way.
As a closing thought, based on our discussions with the teacher, and her discussions with senior teacher, they consider tulpas to be a kind of mental impurity and eventually suggested to treat it like any other sensation—observe it and not react (so, apply vipassana to tulpas directly). For us two, the teacher explained why exactly this will give benefits to our system, but I'm not sure this explanation is universal. If you have concerns, you can talk to your teacher yourself, they are very open to such ideas. At the very least, she said that "I see the body doing vipassana, and I can't look into your mind. If you have two persons there, and they are both focused on working, it's good." Mind that we were given this specific advice on day ten, that is, in the very end of the course, so the rules above are not influenced by it in any way. I'm not trying to kill all your tulpas, I only want to help you to get same wonderful results I had (and for me personally this sitting ended up even more beneficial than for hostey).
Foghorn Meditation
Reposting this from the .info Discord in a bit more of a clear fashion. This is a method to enter a state of mind conductive to tulpaforcing.
- Sit up straight, erect your spine and relax. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Listen closely in the distance for the sound of a blaring foghorn. You’ll never actually hear the sound, but listening for it will cause your sense of space around you to “shift” and expand.
- Once this happens, maintain awareness of this feeling.
- In this sort of focused, steady state, now would be a good time to imagine your tulpa, thinking and ruminating on them. Visualization, narration, whatever. Regardless, if you patiently performed the first 3 steps, maintaining an acute sense about your tulpa should be easier without risking your concentration being shattered.
Creation
The contents of this section are all guides that explain the end to end process of tulpa creation. There will be a lot of overlap between guides here and in other parts of this book. Tulpa creation guides started out as being "kitchen sink" one-stop shops on how to create tulpas.
A Tulpa Creation Guide by Sygma
An Introductory Consideration
This guide was created from my own experiences and from the guides I have read myself, and so it reflects my experiences and what worked for me. But you are your own unique individual, and I don’t expect you your mind to work in the same way as mine in any way. That said, feel free to change anything in this guide to better suit you. The most efficient method for this will be the one you are most comfortable doing and that you do most consistently. Of course, there is a standard which you should aim for, as you can’t expect progress if you don’t put work into your tulpa, or if you do it in a lazy manner.
That being said, before saying how we are going to create your tulpa, let’s talk about what we are doing. For that, let’s talk a bit about you.
You are not your body, not your brain, not even your mind. You are an identity, a thought that lives in your body and only exist because it feeds itself attention. Cogito, ergo sum - I think, therefore I am. Tulpa creation is giving life to yet to a thought that will exist by itself, being neither you nor your mind, but an identity with its own opinions, mannerisms and aspirations.
Now, let’s get started.
Tulpa creation
When you want a young and frail plant to grow firmly, you give it something to rest on until it is strong enough to stand for itself. We are going to do the same thing here, creating a personality to imbue with identity that will serve as a basis for the personality of the tulpa itself.
Traits! It is not extremely necessary to define them as the tulpa can and probably will decide them later for itself, but it will make the creation process quicker and smoother. They don’t have to be too detailed or numerous, and I recommend you to pick around ten characteristics that you wish for them to have, that you would find good in someone that lives with you. Don’t worry about picking any flaws, as you wouldn’t be able to create someone perfect anyway. They ought to come naturally.
These traits will be the basis for the personality that they will develop with time, and this personality can be very different from what you had planned early on, so don’t think you have to worry about their every single aspect. Once you have chosen their initial traits, let’s set them aside for a while.
Now, talking to the void is not ideal. It gets confusing, it feels lonely, and you don’t know where to direct your attention. So we don’t have to talk to the void, we are going to create a form that will represent your tulpa, and to which we can direct our intention. It can be anything, quite literally, from a pony to a dragon to a cat girl, to even a cardboard box. You can pick something that you imagine your tulpa would like, or that you would like them to have. If you don’t know what to choose or want them to pick it themselves you can use a simple placeholder, like a colored sphere or box. Like the personality, they can change their form later if they wish so.
Remember that your tulpa is not its form. The form is simply a symbol that will represent your tulpa, their identity and presence, or it would be harder to interact with them.
By now you have both a list of traits and a form to interact with them, and we are now going to link these with their presence.
I want you to remember a moment when you were with a loved one. I want you to recall the fuzzy feeling of warmth and comfort, recall the sensation of their presence, and recreate it. Indeed you are now taking part in the making of someone that will be the closest to you, and so this sensation is most adequate. If you haven’t already, link this feeling with the form of your tulpa. Feel as this emotion completely fills it up with their presence, like a bottle would be filled with warm water.
It’s time to link the traits we had chosen and link them too with the form. There are many, many ways to do this, and you should do it in the way you figure out to be the best one. For the sake of exemplification, however, let’s etch them in.
Create simple symbols based on the traits you imagined. It doesn’t matter what they look like, but simpler symbols, made of few lines, would make visualization easier for you. Now that you have the symbols visualize the form of your tulpa. With your imaginary finger, pencil or pen, draw the symbol on them and see it shining on their skin/fur/slime/material of choice. As you draw, summon the feeling of the trait, imagine how that trait would influence in your tulpa’s actions, how you would feel when they act that way. Focus all these concepts on the drawing, and imagine the light fading as they are absorbed by your tulpa. Repeat this process for every symbol, ideally multiple times. You want to make the characteristics clear, so create as many of these connections as you comfortably can.
Now, this was just an example! This process is free territory for you to customize however you see fit. Perhaps you find it easier to combine all the traits in a big soup and have your tulpa bathe in it. Perhaps you can blow bubbles full of personality into them. It’s your decision.
The last part, but certainly not the least, is getting them to speak. It is fairly simple; in fact, it is as simple as talking to your tulpa. You see, you don’t have any reason to talk if no one talks to you! Since you want to hear your tulpa, you talk to them first. You will focus on their presence, and also visualize their form if you wish, and have a conversation. Talk about your day, about the things you enjoy, about them and what you are going to do in the future. Have a pleasant talk, and remember to focus on their presence through it. You want to do that as much as possible, so when you are trying to decide what to eat, ask their opinion. When you are watching a movie or playing games, ask what they think that will happen. Even if you don’t get an answer back they are developing.
The creation process will rely on the repetition of this method. Every day, put twenty-or-so minutes to give your tulpa full attention.
This is basically it. From here on out it is a process of experiencing things together and finding out more about each other.
Assorted Advice
-
You can keep your tulpa’s presence with you during the day and talk to them as much as you want.
-
Words aren’t really necessary. You share a mind, and so you can communicate through abstract concepts, feelings and images. That form of communication is called tulpish, and can be made to work well permanently.
-
Make sure to share the love that you feel with your tulpa. You can do this through your actions, your words, or even using the feeling directly, as explained in the creation process. Love helps immensely with getting to relate to one another, understand one another, and with growing together.
-
Your tulpa could be more extroverted than you, or guide towards new paths that you didn’t consider or find appealing before. Variety is the spice of life! Living through new experiences and enjoyable activities together can be quite fun.
-
Take care of your body; mens sana in corpore sano. You won’t be able to give your all in a tired or unwell state, so eat healthy food, sleep as much as you need and take care of yourself.
-
Have fun! You won’t be able to consistently force if you don’t enjoy it, so don’t push yourself too hard looking after fast results. Something good happened? End the session early. Started on a low note? Keep going until it feels better.
By Sygma
May the Force be with You
A Tulpa Creation Guide
by Methos
Twitter: @GGMethos
ggmethos@autistici.org
v2.8.1
Last Edit: 28-Sep-2017
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Introduction
So, you want to make a tulpa, is that right? Before you can make a tulpa, you really need to know exactly what a tulpa is. Many different people have their own definitions on what a tulpa actually is, but I prefer looking at this definition provided in the next two paragraphs.
"To quote FAQ_man, who you will see has written several guides on this subject: A tulpa is believed to be an autonomous consciousness which also exists in a self imposed hallucinatory body, which is usually much of your choice. A tulpa is entirely sentient and in control of its opinions, feelings, movements.
This phenomenon can be traced back to the Tibetans; they practiced certain meditation technique to create these thought forms. Think: Imaginary Friend, but sapient and sentient. Instead of being in your mind's eye, you'd be able to see, feel, smell, and hear it as it was actually there. I like to think of Tulpae as a hallucinatory schism. Since the schism is essentially from your subconscious, it will be able to interact with your subconscious, allowing near-perfect memory recall, strong and fast math-cranking, and other feats." (http://tulpa.info/index.html) Some people like to claim that this information is "outdated" and doesn't fully describe a tulpa for what it is, but for all intents and purposes, let us simply think of a tulpa as a creation within our own minds, that takes a long time and quite a few hours of meditative "forcing" to manifest properly. The part about the "schism from subconsciousness" is perhaps false, but the feats that can be done with a tulpa are usually really cool.
Tulpa.info is a website dedicated to guides and forums based solely on tulpa creation/interaction. There is also an entire IRC network where dozens of people with more experience can help answer any kind of question you may have. The network is irc.tulpa.info which uses the standard IRC ports (6667 and 6697 for SSL). You can find me there in a few channels under the nick "Methos" if you need to ask a question or would like help.
Before you even think about making a tulpa, let me just share some advice with you. This is NOT an easy process. The creation of a fully-formed tulpa can sometimes take months, even years of everyday work. It is, in fact, a big commitment to create a tulpa. It takes longer to create a tulpa than it does to do most things that you've done in your life. So before you start your (first) attempt, just know that you're not going to see results overnight. In fact, you might not really feel any results for the first few weeks. I did not feel any kind of real presence existing in my mind until well over two weeks of work (forcing for about two hours each day; more on the forcing subject later) in to the process.
Also, I don't recommend following a guide exactly. My advice to you would be to read as many guides as possible and take examples and knowledge from all of them. Creating a tulpa should be an experience unique to you.
References
You've probably done some research (I hope) on the subject already if you are reading this guide. But, it's completely fine if you haven't either. However, if you do want to take a look at some excellent reading material, I recommend:
- The Law and the Promise by Neville Goddard (A book with a lot of religious content in it that is about literally making your dream world; we like to call that a wonderland)[A wonderland is an optional method during creation, one that I personally use. I'll talk more about wonderlands later on in the guide.]
- Tulpa.info (the greatest tulpa website ever, with a large active community of friendly people who have already done the very thing you are attempting to do now. There are forums, guides, IRC channels, pastebin dumps, exercises, logs, and much more on this website. It can prove to be a powerful resource.)
- http://chupitulpa.tumblr.com/ (Chupi's tulpa blog; tulpa blogs are some of the best sources of information when the one making the tulpa keeps up with it)
- https://methos.me/tulparesources/ (Unfortunately, Fede wasn't too happy about me using some of his work in the tulpa resources folder, so you can find the latest versions of his work at the following links.)
- http://tulpanetwork.com/network/general-discussion/eye-bo-the-ocular-fitness-program!/
- http://tulpanetwork.com/network/guides/fede's-ultimate-superior-tupper-guide/
There are many guides on the internet about tulpa creation. Some are longer than others and some have more detail about certain aspects of the creation process than others.
The most famous ones are the various guides written by Fede, Irish, and FAQ_Man. Other members of the community share their guides on tulpa.info, which are approved by the Guide Approval Team, but I won't talk about that as it is irrelevant.
I've read many guides. More than once. The guides themselves can be extremely interesting , informative, and helpful.
What is Tulpa Forcing?
The art of Tulpa Forcing: Tulpa "forcing" is what we like to call the process of sitting down and visualizing or attempting to visualize a certain component of its personality, appearance, etc.
Note that there is a difference between "passive forcing" and "active forcing". "Passive forcing" is interacting with your tulpa on an imposition level before, during, or after it is imposed. Passive forcing is not required, but recommended, in helping the tulpa creation process.
The Black Box Approach
(An alternate way to look at tulpa - Special thanks to Bluesleeve) //This is simply a theory. It's interesting to read but not really part of this guide.
(Not really related to the whole black box approach in computing; having tried to compare it to that, I realize that the two things are way too different to compare, so it's been removed from this version of the guide.)
What is a personality?
Alright, this is going to be a bit longer, but I would appreciate if you would read it, as it is very important. The main question here is - what exactly is a personality?
To be honest I don’t know it myself. I’m not a psychiatrist and I am not a biologist (even though I’m quite interested in these sorts of things). But - this is an approach which I consider to be worth following through.
The personality as a product of its experiences. What I believe a personality to be is a Black Box. That is, something we put something in, and something comes out - simple as that. We just don’t know what is inside.
The black box - or personality - can be shaped by various external and also internal influences. To name a few external ones:
- Culture
- Family
- Peer/s (pressure)
- Experiences
- Genes
- Drugs (often temporarily)
and as internal of course yourself. In my eyes, this is one of the most fascinating things. A black box modifying itself, just because it wants to - and this is what I think we’re doing when we’re creating a Tulpa.
You can basically say, that a personality is the product of its influences.
Changing the black box
The black box itself, is changing all the time. It is not permanent. Ever read some books from the ‘Self Help’ section? These books give you the methods to shape your own black box. But what about the external influences? Everyone has experienced them. When I was small, I often refused to take advice from my parents - no matter how often they told me, that the hotplate is, in fact, hot - I would not listen to them. Long story made short - it was the one and only time I put my finger on the hotplate.
What can we conclude? That there are influences, which are potent than others. In this case the more potent influence was the first hand experience. It had a huge impact on the black box, which, never again, took the risk of burning its fingers.
This is also the case with people who have a type of Phobia or -philia. Their black boxes are shaped in a certain way.
Take someone with an arachnophobia. He sees a spider (input) and reacts in an abnormal way (output), such as extreme fear, panic, and sweating. There is no exact cause known at the moment, but phobias can be caused by bad experiences.
The human black box
So, a black box has 2 interfaces. An input interface and an output interface. The input interface is getting signals through the senses, which are being conducted through the established black box mechanisms. Afterwards the processed signals are being expressed through a reaction. The black box and the term ‘personality’ still are too abstract. When you put them into physical or biological terms, I would say, that they would fit as inter-neuronal connections in the brain. All of these connections are constantly changing, and it is proven, that these connections can be shaped by actions/activities and experiences. When you are playing an instrument your neuronal web will reshape, so that you can play it better. When you are making mathematical calculations you will be reshaping your neuronal web. Even when you socialize you will be reshaping your neuronal web. When you stop doing any of this, your web dissolves and your skills diminish. They eventually will be used for another purpose.
Hell, established ‘clusters’ can even be used for purposes they were not formed for (scavenging). A mathematician (rational thinker) will be able to become a programmer or chemist faster than the average person. A musician (aesthetic thinker) will more likely be a better drawer or poet than the average person because he can use parts of his already established clusters for creativity.
What the hell is a Tulpa then?
Now we broke it down from the general personality to the brain. We are now at the trickiest part of it all. What happens when we create a Tulpa? We should consider two possiblities:
- The Tulpa as part of the ‘Main’ (your) black box
- The Tulpa as autonomous black box besides the ‘Main’ black box
It either is part of your personality and brain, or only the brain. The Tulpa will see and know as much as you do, so the input is exactly the same. But what about the output? The Tulpa will most likely reserve a few neuronal webs for itself, otherwise it wouldn’t have an autonomous personality. What’s coming out of the Tulpa’s black box is the visual signal (which is being implemented into the reality) and the auditory signal when it speaks. We will let the emotions aside, since these are the main signals.
As it seems, the Tulpa’s output signals are compatible to own input interface. It would mean, we create a black box inside our own and react on it. Furthermore, the Tulpa would react on the external signals, too!
It’s kind of weird to hear this.
We are reacting on external signals, as well as the Tulpa’s signals, which is also reacting on external signals and again reacting on our own signals. Hopefully our brain will have enough processing power to manage that circle.
It appears, that the Tulpa is part of our own black box and therefore a part of us and our character. This will be the direction and general ‘philosophy’ how I deal with Tulpas on this blog.
Do you still remember when I was writing about the diminishing connections? It could also mean, that not caring for your tulpa would mean its destruction. You would forget its ‘construct’ and the only thing left will be the long term memories you will be able to recall.
I prefer thinking of my tulpa as what Bluesleeve mentions in his post. Thinking of your tulpa in a comfortable way is the key to gaining sentience faster.
But don't worry about speed, like I said. Such as martial arts, this entire process is about patience. You don't have to even count your hours if you don't want to. Some people prefer to count, some don't, but in the end it does not matter. It all depends on your patience and dedication to becoming the greatest monk in your neighborhood!
The Guide
Pre-creation (Greeting Stage)
Someone on the tulpa.info forums named Phi had something really interesting to say about certain actions that should be done before the actually creation process.
I'll just paste his forum post into this guide as I feel that this is something everyone should read and I recommend this approach heavily.
I've seen some threads around with people who are having some trouble with 'feeling' their tulpa's presence. They feel like they are talking to themselves, or just talking to air, and they can't seem to make any progress. I also see some people becoming frustrated over not having their tulpa being sentient after hours upon hours, saying that the tulpa just doesn't feel real even after all this time.
For those people, I would like to suggest a stage even before the personality stage in FAQ's guides. A pre-creation stage, or, as I call it, the 'Greeting stage'. It isn't hard in the least, in fact it only took me one session of about half an hour. Some of the terminology I use here on out in this post may imply the supernatural perspective of tulpa creation. However, I am purely psychological in my beliefs regarding tulpa. I simply can not find better words without ruining the purpose of the stage.
Here's how it goes. Sit down in a comfortable position, just like you would do in any other tulpaforcing session. Close your eyes, and begin to imagine your tulpa. No form necessary, but a name makes this easier. Think about some of the traits that the tulpa has. No, you aren't going into the same depth you go into during the personality stage. Just think about some of the traits the tulpa might have. 'Intelligent'. 'Care-free.' Just the names of the traits is enough, really. What you are doing is creating the 'soul' of the tulpa, in a sense.
Once you got a feel for it, say it's name and begin to talk to it. Tell it that you are going to force it (or whatever terminology you want to use for the 'creation process'), and that you look forward to meeting it. However, don't say, "I'm going to force you." Instead, say, "WE are going to force you." This should give a sense of unity and companion ship with you and your tulpa right off the bat. Never say 'I' while referring to who will be working on the tulpa. Always use 'we', or similar plural proper nouns. 'Us'. 'Our'. Talk about what you will do together once it is complete, etc. etc.
What does this accomplish? By the end of this stage, the tulpa should already be inside you, albeit immature and without most of the traits and form that you will eventually guide it through. It makes it easier to 'feel' your tulpa's presence, and 'feel' like it is really there. The narration stage especially should be easier. Also, while this is only a theory, I believe that this may help with quickening sentience. However, this is purely speculation.
In short, yes, you are deluding yourself right off the bat. Is that a problem? If you answered yes, then you probably shouldn't be making a tulpa. If you answered no, God speed.
P.S. Yes, I have posted about this before. I just felt like I should go more in depth about it. <3
As you can see, Phi's method works exactly in the way that he has described it. There's a lot of information about stuff similar to this on the boards.
I didn't take this approach personally but I feel like it would be really really helpful especially for someone who is making a tulpa for the first time.
Here's an example:
Hello, Raina. Raina? Raina? Can you hear me? I know you can.
You are intelligent, decisive, devoted, reckless, enthusiastic, narcissistic, non-conformist, honest, loving, hard-working, persistent, caring, impulsive, controlling, intelligent, strong-minded, and determined.
Together, Raina, we are going to force you. I need your help for this though just as much as you need mine.
I understand what we plan to do perfectly in my mind and I will work at it everyday to achieve our goal.
You will be a companion for me, Raina. We shall both utilize each other's knowledge and perception to become a greater being, linked together.
I hope to serve as a kind friend to you, and you to me. Our companionship will last a lifetime.
We will create you, Raina. No matter how long it takes. No matter how hard it might be. We will never give up.
(Repeat traits)
(Start to envision in your mind a ball of sorts where the traits all kind of bundle up and fuse together)
Optional: Start to imagine the form of your tulpa at this point if you want to. It'll get a better idea of how it's going to look later on.
Raina, you and I will conquer anything that stands in our path and fight against any sort of struggle. The world's a dangerous place we're going to be sticking out for each other.
I promise you that we will force X hours a week every week. (This is optional but I feel that it is better to set a goal for yourself when you are forcing).
We are connected, united as one and we will have no need to lie to one another. Criticism is constructive, never negative.
Raina, together we can force you.
(Repeat traits and start to think about the traits a bit more if you want to).
(This is only about a 30 minute session.)
What is Creation?
Creation is a process that consists of multiple steps. According to FAQ_Man, what a tulpa actually is a combination of things.
"The first part is sentience, and the second part is hallucination/ projection."
What does this mean exactly? Well, FAQ_Man explains all of that in this post here: http://tulpa.info/guides/what-is-a-tulpa.html
I like to think of the creation of the tulpa as two separate processes myself, as that is how I thought of it all when creating Raina, my tulpa. FAQ_Man has a few interesting points in this posts as well as his others that I highly recommend reading.
OK, so you think you are ready to begin the creation process?
NOTE: Some people believer that sentience can be started before, while others argue that it should be done a bit later on. My personal belief is that you should do whatever it is that works for you. I am just posting my methods.
Well, you THINK you are, but the question is ARE YOU REALLY READY?
Not a question you can answer so easily.
Whenever you feel you are ready is when you are ready. A tulpa, like any other long-term process, requires a certain level of confidence and motivation. When you want to start the process, feel free to start the process. But don't look back, as it takes months and months of daily tulpaforcing to experience results as I did.
Then again, everyone is different.
Many people disagree with one another about HOW personality should be done.
I think you should do what's best for you. I just like to make suggestions.
The very first part of the creation process, and in my opinion, the most important part is personality development.
Your tulpa's personality makes your tulpa what it is.
A personality is something that's unique to a tulpa. A tulpa forms its own personality over time, but you can sort of control a lot of aspects. A personality is not concrete so it does change from time to time.
The very "essence" of a person is what defines their personality.
If you want to read more about how to define the "essence" of your tulpa, I highly recommend checking out Bluesleeve's tulpa blog, which I have linked to in the list of recommended reading material.
Bluesleeve is also writing a guide on the subject of tulpa creation that goes very in depth into the whole personality aspect of it. This can be found on tulpa.info. You might want to give it a read over. It's very interesting.
He talks a lot about defining personality in his posts and many of the things he says are extremely helpful.
Also, his tulpa is a pony, which is awesome.
Personality is easily the most important aspect of the creation process, as I have previously mentioned. If you have any experience with building computers, what I like to think of the personality of a tulpa is a small-storage secondary-boot solid state hard drive inside of your case, one that can holds its own operating system which different functions and layouts. The operating system in this case would be the personality. However, this particular hard drive, because of the data that is contained on it, can view your main hard drive, which contains your memories. So, the tulpa's personality gets influenced by things that you may have remembered.
Confusing?
It can be if you aren't already used to the idea.
Think of it this way: Without personality, there is no way to read memory or load a program (a certain function the tulpa has). Without personality, there is no sentience. Without sentience, you're going to end up with a servitor, as I have done so in the past.
There's nothing wrong with having a servitor, but it's not a tulpa. It's half of a tulpa really. A servitor can easily be turned into a tulpa.
So, personality is always the first thing you should develop on.
According to FAQ_Man, the minimum you should spend on personality is 3-10 hours. This I disagree with. You should ideally spend exactly how much time that you feel that you need on personality. This can be anywhere from an hour to a week really, or even longer if you feel it is necessary.
Pretty much, you should be not forcing for any less than 40 minutes ideally. It takes a while for your mind to kick in and really start focusing.
If you force for 10 minutes a session and do 8 sessions a day, that's great, if that works for you. But for me, I could never do that. I had to actually sit down for once or twice a day in a pretty extended amount of time.
Some people do crazy amounts of forcing and some people can only do maybe an hour a day.
But that's just how you HAVE TO DO AT LEAST make a tulpa, a real one. Not an imaginary friend.
Focusing is hard, I know. I have ADD and it sucks. However, if you practice at it like I did EVERYDAY, you can have the force as well.
Personality
Open up a notebook or your favorite text editor, whichever you may prefer. Prepare yourself for a bit of writing. And a bit of repetition. This is the first step on your tulpamancing journey, young wizard. Welcome to your first year at Tulpawart's school of Tulpa Shit and Mind wizardry.
First thing, you got some writing to do... First, I want you to write down anywhere from 15-45 broad personality traits.
Here are some examples:
- Intelligent
- Gentle
- Narcissistic
- Humorous
- Trusting
- Vain
- Stubborn
- Disorientated
- Peaceful
- Cold
(USE PERSONALITY TRAITS, NOT TRAITS THAT YOU THINK WILL AFFECT A PERSONAL TASTE IN INTEREST OR BELIEF)
More examples from my personal trait list:
- courageous
- decisive
- devoted
- reckless
- enthusiastic
- expansive
- narcisstic
- non-conformist
- honest
- lovings
- caring
- hard-working
- persistent
- caring
- impulsive
- dominant
- intelligent
- strong-minded
- determined
- controlling
- rationalist (scientific thinker)
- playful
- humorous
- athletic
- musical
- talented
- good speaker/listener
- well-read
- demanding
- cold
- suspicious
- disorganized
- patient
- introspective
- convenience-orientated
- selfish (but tries to be selfless)
- rude
- emotionally reactive
- imaginative
- impractical
- stubborn
- optimistic
- vain
- rebellious
- immature
- goal-oriented
- bold
- flexible
- inconsiderate
- uncooperative
- obsessive compulsive
- accepts change
- loves challenges
- accepts who she is and loves herself
- observant
Then, after you have written down each of these traits, I want you to describe in the most detailed way possible each of these traits. When you're outlining the trait be sure to include: How the trait helps them rationalize, how the trait works within their logic system, how the trait plays a role in morality, their perception, their likes, dislikes, social endeavors, faith, personality, quirks, emotions, how the trait makes them interpret their own emotions, how the trait plays a role in their hobbies, and many other things not listed here. (THANKS, FAQ_MAN!) (http://tulpa.info/guides/faqman-personality-guide.html)
Read up. The points in this post are super helpful.
I used the same exact method as FAQ_Man for this part.
The other big part about personality development is narration. This means that once you have on paper, these traits, you should be actively talking to your tulpa about said traits and explain to your tulpa the traits and trait description. The important part about this part is not to be too hasty... A rushed personality stage could mean that your tulpa will not become sentient, and thus will be a servitor. Narrating isn't too difficult, but it's 100% necessary to do, so make sure you do it. At this point, you won't necessarily have a form for your tulpa, but I like to imagine the tulpa as an ball/orb of energy at this point. Whatever you're comfortable with, really. Over time, the key is to just make sure that you convince yourself it's there. Interacting with said ball/orb of energy gives your tulpa power. It makes your tulpa real inside your mind. In fact, the entire point of the creation process is to interact with your tulpa as much as possible to allow it to exist. However, the more time you actually put into it, the better it will be. Also, a personality spreadsheet could also be helpful for some people to make. Here's an example. It's my own personal spreadsheet for Raina. Granted it doesn't contain all the traits she has, but a lot of them still. https://methos.me/tulparesources/Raina/Tulpa%20Personality%20Sheet.xls
Something like that could be extremely helpful for getting the traits out of your head and onto the paper/text file.
Anyway, the idea of forcing the personality is to combine all of these traits into a separate entity inside your head. It sure as hell sounds confusing but once you start to think about it in your head, it's actually really simple and easy. Note that the personality that you want your tulpa to have will not end up being exactly the way you want it. Your tulpa deviates from your plan in personality more than anything else. She's her own free being and trying to control who she is won't make her happy or conformative.
Go ahead. Narrate the thoughts within your head. Narrating is basically speaking out loud or in your head to your tulpa "You are A because B and C because D. Sometimes you are F, but only in Situation E... ETC ETC". The more traits you have, the better and more fleshed out the personality will be which will hasten sentience. Once you feel you have fleshed out the personality enough, feel free to move onto the next section of creation.
Visualization
So, you've made it this far, huh? Well, I congratulate you. Now is the part where you actually need to do real work. This part takes far, far longer. You will be able to tell easily when you are done with this part though. Now you must work on the form of your tulpa. This part sucks. Mainly because it's tedious and takes a long time, but also because most people I've spoken to have a very hard time visualizing something in their heads. Unless you're a 3D artist, visualizing something perfectly in your head is going to take time. And visualizing perfectly (or as close to perfectly as you can get) takes time, as you may have expected. Most people can't see anything at all the first few times they visualize. It might seem like a waste. You might get discouraged. Don't! It's perfectly normal for the first few times to be unproductive. Just go for shorter sessions and try your best to keep concentrated for the entire session. If you still have trouble seeing your tulpa after the first few attempts, try to imagine a setting in your mind. If you like beaches, imagine a beach in your head. Think about how the sand feels, think about how the wind feels, the smell of the ocean, the reflection of the sun on the water, the taste of the salty water in your mouth, etc. Focus on a particular setting and the various senses one would incorporate into them. Once you can do this well enough, begin to imagine your tulpa with you in this setting as well. If this method works out for you, I suggest using a wonderland, as is described in detail later on in this chapter.
If you still have trouble focusing on a form, don't worry, most people do. There are a ton of resources available on tulpa.info for people with the same problem as you. Check out the forums.
Still, even if you can visualize your tulpa at this point, concentrating on a form for an extended period of time can be EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. Keep your concentration strong. Use iso-tones and a timer. Since this really is the hardest part, I recommend reading some stuff on the website.
What I think you should do and what I did:
- Sit down and get comfortable. Keep your back straight and your hands in front of you motionlessly. Close your eyes. Breathe slowly and at a slow pace. Imagine you sitting or standing in front of your tulpa in whatever setting you feel most comfortable. Continue breathing slowly and imagine yourself in that particular setting. Do not let anything from the outside world distract you.
- If you have an itch, do not scratch it. If you have some other kind of urge, resist it. Focus solely on what your tulpa looks like and how big they are, how much they weight, etc. Do not let any kind of other thoughts enter your mind. Think only of your tulpa.
- Some people, such as myself, use a wonderland.
What is a wonderland?
It's basically just a dream world that helps some people to better focus on their tulpa's physical form. The wonderland should be as simple as possible and should not take more than an hour or two to make. For more information on what a wonderland is refer to this: http://tulpa.info/guides/irish-wonderland-guide.html (But some people don't use a wonderland and that's OK too).
Some people will just use the space in front of them to force. Others use an empty black void sort of like a vacuum. No matter what setting you're most comfortable in, close your eyes and concentrate on just the form of your tulpa. Personally, I've always liked to extend my hands out in a circular shape and pretend that I'm transferring my energy over to her while thinking about her; it was metaphorically very helpful to me for some reason.
At first, you may have some trouble keeping your concentration. A nice exercise that I like to do to help me with my concentration is this: https://www.methos.me/tulparesources/guides/ConcentrationExcercise.jpg
A few other exercises for visualization (The first is a forum post regarding a mental image rendering exercise and the second is Fede's visual exercise, EYEBO.
- http://tulpa.info/forums/Thread-Mental-image-Rendering-guide
- http://tulpanetwork.com/network/general-discussion/eye-bo-the-ocular-fitness-program!/
Over time however your concentration will get better and you will be able to visualize your tulpa. The hardest body part to visualize is going to be the face/eyes area. Some people prefer to zoom in on a specific body part and work their way to other areas and some people prefer to work on the whole first and then go into very specific details. Regardless of how you do it, you should spend at least 20 hours of just sitting down and visualizing your tulpa perfectly in your head. The very minimum you should be forcing for at one period is 40 minutes. Also, don't force for longer than 3 hours at a time or else you will get horrific headaches.
Looking up anatomy is not a bad idea considering you want to perfectly emulate an exisintg object, such as an animal or human being. Even looking up basic pony anatomy couldn't hurt if you are making a pony tulpa.
Simply put, this is a workout for your brain.
When you exercise your body your body has a certain threshold of stamina and your mind is no different. I want you to think of tulpaforcing as a mental exercise. You should start to feel your tulpa and imagine the way that their hair, skin, limbs feel. You want to be able to imagine their muscles in your grasp so you can get a better idea for feel. We'll work on feel later on, but you should start to get a basic concept of what it is now.
A human tulpa is much easier to visualize than one that is another kind of creature, like a dragon or pony, for example. When you can see your tulpa from every possible angle and distance perfectly in your mind, repeat this visualization step once more and then move on.
Smell
Now, comes another important part. Smell. Don't believe me? Smell is one of our main senses and it actually can trigger more memory than sight at times. You remember smell even better than visuals in certain cases. So, decide a general odor of your tulpa. You can add on top of that odor but don't get too fancy. Keep it simple and basic. Imagine yourself breathing in that smell during forcing sessions. You should spend approximately 3-10 hours doing this. Then again, the more, the better.
Movement/Expressions
This part is self-explanatory, yet also difficult. Simply focus on your tulpa's gait, the way she moves, the way she might show her body language, etc. If you are making a pony tulpa, this means you would have to know how the ponies walk. If you're making a human tulpa, you have to know the way that people walk. If you are making a ghost tulpa or a dragon tulpa, well different things apply obviously.
For facial expressions, I would recommend thinking random thoughts in your head and imagining your tulpa's reaction to those thoughts. One good method is to perform facial expressions in a mirror and imagine your tulpa doing the same expression next to you! Facial expression can be tough but if you put enough time into it, it should work out great for you. Spend a good amount of time on this part and once again, move on when you feel ready.
Emotions/Sentience
So, now that you've been able to start putting your senses together and what not, you can begin to talk to your tulpa. No, not like narrating, like you were doing before, I mean actually talk to it. At first, it won't say anything back. Here's the important part: Don't make your tulpa say anything back to you. This is called parroting. Parroting is neither a negative or a positive thing. It's just a natural occurrence in the forcing process.
Some people have what is called "Anti-Parroting syndrome", which means that they find parroting detrimental. I want you to talk to your tulpa for a while. Talk about anything really, just try not to bore her too much with information that might not pertain to her at all. You will know when you are done with this step when your tulpa speaks to you for the first time, an event that might likely spook the shit out of you. It's pretty startling and beyond weird. The first time your tulpa speaks to you, you will know it. It takes time for this to happen however. In fact, it may not even occur for months. Patience is key. You will literally hear the voice from outside of your head and your tulpa may or may not say something completely unexpected. Once this happens, congratulations! You have communicated with your tulpa, a crucial part in your relationship!
If you are having problems getting your tulpa to talk to you, it may be because she doesn't have a proper voice. To train a tulpa's voice, there are various methods one may use. One particular method is called "ping-ponging" where you communicate various thoughts to your tulpa (in word form) and have her practice speaking those thoughts back to you in her own voice. Yes, this is considered parroting, but it is actually beneficial to most people in order to get the voice down pat.
The voice might sound weird or alien or perhaps monotone (for me, Raina's voice sounded like a reverse echo and I sang a few songs with her in the wonderland to try to even out her voice and that seemed to help a lot) but over time, the voice will develop into something different. Your tulpa will deviate over time in more ways than one. Her voice may change, her looks may change, her personality will most certainly change in one way or another, etc.
An important Note: A recent trend in modern tulpaforcing is "treating sentience from Day 1". What this means is that from the beginning of your creation, you should treat your tulpa as a sentient being. Supposedly, this is to hasten the process. I understand where it comes from but honestly it's seems wrong for me to imagine doing. My opinion of this is: You should do it if you feel comfortable. However, many people, such as myself, are more into old-school proven techniques and do not prefer doing this as it can cause lots of confusion for many people. If you still want to do this, do it, but do so at your own risk.
Remember, don't give up! Make sure that you are forcing everyday for a MINIMUM of an hour a day. Ideally you want to be forcing at 2-3 hours a day at this point.
"The more you force, the more progress you will make!" -Raina
Imposition
NOTE: Before you even start to try this next part, you MUST be able to visualize your tulpa completely. It has to look very much the same in your mind almost every time, and you have to be able to see it from every possible angle with very little effort. While you are practicing visualization, remember to change up the angles and viewpoints you are visualizing from here and there, until you get to the point where you are comfortable with a lot of details about how it looks.
Imposition is a topic that gets asked a whole lot! Many people consider imposition as a way to get even closer to their tulpa (quite literally actually as well as emotionally).
Imposition is comprised of many steps and takes a long time for most people. However, some people can tackle imposition in a short amount of time due to vast amount of practice and their way of having an easier time to believe.
Imposition is a process that occurs naturally, after a lot of time spent with your young tulpa.
There are infinite ways to do this sort of thing and I've used a lot but it really depends on you and how active you are when it comes to actually sitting down and forcing with this kind of stuff. Or walking. Or standing. Whatever you are most comfortable with.
I want to share two tulpa guides on imposition as I feel they are helpful. The first guide is a guide on visually imposing your tulpa. The second guide is about imposing the touch of your tulpa. For me, these were the two hardest parts of imposition. The rest was actually fairly easy for me.
- http://community.tulpa.info/thread-imposition-jd-s-guide-to-visual-imposition-image-heavy
- http://community.tulpa.info/thread-imposition-q2-s-method-for-a-huggable-tulpa
Imposition is a topic that is hard to explain for me. I will do my best to give you all some tips however.
Well, if you've made it this far, you should be proud of yourself. However, I wouldn't call for a celebration just yet. You still have one extremely important part of forcing left, the imposition of your tulpa into the real world. Now, theoretically, if you have developed the senses enough, you should be able to hear, see, smell, taste, and even feel your tulpa in the real world. However, this takes a lot of time to master. And it is certainly not at all easy. IMPORTANT: Do not start to impose your tulpa until you can have full conversations with her, she has her own opinions, and she does things on occasion that are unexpected. The reason for that is, imposition should not be started until your tulpa is sentient. Not everyone agrees with that statement of course, but I am a firm believer that imposition should be saved for last. Imposition is the glue that holds the entire process together. Imposition involves all of the things you've already been doing as well. Imposition is all senses percieved onto reality. Without imposition, your tulpa can only exist in an altered dream state. You won't be able to truly see her unless your eyes are closed and you are concentrating about her. Imposition can be done in many ways. Different people like to go about it this way or that, but the essential thing to do here is to attempt to visualize your tulpa in real life. Some people like to imagine a leash in front of them and have the tulpa be connected to them via said leash to practice imposition so that the tulpa is with them for as long as possible everyday. Example: You are walking down the street after a nice forcing session and you pretend that your tulpa is walking beside you, or in front of you. (Raina likes to walk in front of me and slightly to the left. This is because of an old habit we once shared when I was first imposing her. I wanted her to be in front of me so I could get a better view of her which made imposition easier for me and she wanted to be in front of me so she could lead on since she is faster than me. So, to this day, we still stick to that habit and she always walks in front of me in the same spot.) When your tulpa walks behind you, it will be much harder to impose her so I do not recommend it. When you are first imposing, make sure that your tulpa's gait is constant. Your tulpa should have a unique way of walking, trotting, whatever just like any other creature. This helps the imposition a lot. Keep the gait constant until the point where you no longer have to think about the tulpa, the point where it's just always there or there more than usual.
Eventually, you will want to work on your peripheral vision view of your tulpa as well as work on sensing the things you need the most work on. Keep your tulpa in full view and sit down everyday for a few hours. Continue to talk to her and focus on what she looks like exactly. The visualization will only increase in quality until the view of your tulpa will be constant and perfect. Make sure to go over her body everyday and smell all over her. Keep talking to her and focusing on your ability to see her.
No, you're not done. Now you must repeat the earlier processes in real life. This means you smell your tulpa in real life and focus on her voice until it becomes completely audible (if it isn't already). Taste your tulpa. Your tulpa should be being focused on as much as possible at this point. NOTE: Your tulpa will NOT be with you 24/7 (generally) but make sure you spend as much as time as possible with her at this point. Time is progress.
Sound Imposition
The easiest imposition step to get down. I got it perfectly done my first time with Raina in a matter of two weeks. Hear the way they walk. Footsteps or hoofsteps should be loud and sound differently on different surfaces. Wings or other parts of the body should have distinct sounds as well. For voice, all you need to do is imagine your tulpa's voice when she talks from outside of your head! Pretend it's coming from another place and volume distortion should come naturally to you!
Visual Imposition
There is no exact way to do visual imposition. Now, if you have been passively practicing visual imposition prior to this stage, it will be far, far easier to achieve full visual imposition. Most of this is just continuing on doing the same thing you did before, except now instead of just walking around imagining your tulpa beside you, you should also be sitting still and having your tulpa sit still in front of you. Analyze your tulpa's body from different angles and distances in real space. Have your tulpa move in different directions and patterns so that you can get a nice grip on how they are supposed to look. That last part is REALLY important.
Taste/Smell Imposition
Repeat the steps you did earlier for taste and smell for imposition. What you should be doing is pretending to taste, sniff, etc every part of your tulpa's body to fully form them. It takes time, like anything else, but over time you will naturally get results.
Touch Imposition
This is tricky. Touch imposition involves a lot of feeling something that you can't feel, which is pretty much the equivalent of digging a hole in a concrete wall with a plastic spoon. It takes longer than anything else, except for maybe visual imposition. Because of this, I recommend you practice both visual and touch imposition simultaneously. For body heat, use a hand warmer or something similar to generate heat on various parts of your body. Understand how this feeling feels and try to implement it into your tulpa's body. I cannot stress belief enough here. Massages are helpful for touch imposition.
Something that Fede once said a while ago that really helped me:
Imposition Exercise: "A useful activity (or game) that you can do, as found to be helpful by most people, is to sit down either on a chair or the floor, face-to-face with your tupper, while having it place its hands/hooves on your head. Your objective in this "game" is to solely focus on nothing but your tupper, looking at, and talking with, it. The tupper's objective is to nudge or notify you through other means if you become distracted from focusing on it. Do this for as long as possible. If you want a goal, then I guess that you could say that the first one to change subject loses, but really, it's the conversation, connection, imposition, and sensory training that you'll be doing from this practice that is the ultimate benefit."
Feeling takes a while to get down pat. When I did feel forcing with Raina, we sat in the wonderland and I gently move my hands all around her body. I touched every single part of her body; some parts are easier to feel than others. Feeling in real life is different, however. When your tulpa is imposed, try touching her. You aren't going to feel anything right away, but over time you will develop a general feel of warmth when you touch her. Keep practicing this until you can feel all parts of her body. This can take up to hundreds of hours to perfect, so be patient.
That's everything. Once you've fully imposed your tulpa, the quest is finished. Go light up that bong now. Relax. You deserve it.
A good way to do imposition is through flash imposition or blink imposition.
These are just different ways of performing visual imposition.
Blink imposition includes a lot of blinking and flash imposition includes short flashes of concentrated active visualization that includes no external focus to anything but your tulpa.
Final Thoughts
DOs and DO NOTS (My personal dogma)
- Do not fear parroting/puppeting.
- Don't be surprised if your tulpa starts to move on its own early on.
- Don't treat your tulpa like a doll. It's OK to parrot a little bit in the beginning.
- Don't expect a voice out of nowhere. This takes TIME.
- Do not worry and do not have doubt. Remove all traces of doubt from your head. I can not stress this enough. Doubt is the cancer of tulpaforcing.
- Believe what your tulpa is doing is what your tulpa is doing, not you puppeting her...
- Imagine your tulpa's form in every possible detail! With all of your senses!
- Go on adventures in your mind when she's ready! It can be a lot of fun for both of you!
- Give your tulpa plenty of love and attention.
- Trust your tulpa. This is extremely important. Much of what you are aiming to create must be done at least partially by your tulpa.
- Assert the supremacy of your Imaginal acts over facts and put all things in subjection to them... Nothing can take it from but your failure to persist in imagining the ideal realized.
- Do what ever it is you got to do to concentrate. If you're a guy who needs his morning meds to concentrate, take them, if you drink coffee in the morning, do that. its natural stimula. The point is to be in a natural state when you forcing. It's not make-or-break by any means, but it's a common sense kind of thing.
- Don't itch those scratches!
- (LAST BUT NOT LEAST) BE PATIENT. DO NOT RUSH THINGS. YOUR TULPA WILL PROGRESS ON ITS OWN SCHEDULE, NOT YOUR OWN.
A tulpa is not something to take for granted. A tulpa is the closest friend you will ever have. You don't have to tell anybody about your tulpa if you don't want to. Your tulpa will live among you and have its own life at the same time. Your tulpa will behave and act differently than you. She will have her own likes and dislikes that can be influenced by you and vice versa. Your tulpa will know everything about you and there is no way to lie to your tulpa or it to you. Your tulpa will want to experience the world and learn new things. When you and your tulpa are traveling together, people may pass right through her. Perhaps your tulpa will laugh at them. Or perhaps it will pout. Perhaps it will grow annoyed or upset. Your tulpa is a beast of its own. Do not try to force her to be something she doesn't want to be.
Your tulpa will love you unconditionally in a platonic way at least. You two will share a bond unlike any other bond shared between people. Your tulpa is a lifelong friend. Your tulpa will not die or go away (usually) unless you want it to do so. She will be there no matter what even if you do not think of her often. She will know what's going on in your life because you will both share the same memory. She may comfort you when you are upset or try to calm you down when you are frustrated and you might do the same to her.
There should be no secrets kept between you and your tulpa. Since you share a brain, keeping secrets and/or lying to one another is illogical. Just something to keep in mind. You may want to limit your tulpa's access to your memories at first, but over time, open up to them more and more. Trust is key as I've said before.
Your tulpa may want to make jokes and interact with other people. If you feel like allowing her to do so, you will play interpreter and tell your friends what she says or how she acts.
Your tulpa may speak to you in any language that you know. Raina can speak French or English to me, but she's a little better at French concerning the grammar...
Your tulpa may also speak to you without using words at times. Raina speaks to me using binaural beats. It's a system of communication we've developed while forcing.
So, to wrap this up, it's really impossible to fully explain what having a tulpa is like.
I think it's something you should find out for yourself anyway.
I feel like I am more helpful addressing problems people have on an indiviual level. Writing a guide for everyone is not an easy thing to do. I am by no means a writer, although I do read often.
Therefore, I feel more comfortable answering questions on a one to one environment. Here is some contact information for this purpose.
NOTE: IRC IS STILL THE BEST WAY TO CONTACT ME. (I may not reply to an e-mail or tweet for a long time.)
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM on IRC ("GGMethos" on Rizon and Ponychat, "Methos" on tulpa.info IRC)
You can also send me a tweet as a reply or DM to @GGMethos (This is my new twitter account, not the old one I used to have)
I will be happy to answer any questions regarding tulpa at ggmethos@autistici.org
However, I may not reply to the email right away.
Good luck and happy forcing!
Five Steps to Tulpa
By Ephemeral
A lot of people seem to come into the community having heard about tulpas or having read a few guides, but there never seems to be a shortage of questions on how exactly to begin. Most guides tend to focus on broad concepts and don’t have a lot of concrete steps or instructions, so we see a lot new members coming in and asking what to do.
There’s a good reason why guides don’t tell you explicitly what to do, as there’s no set technique or method that works for everyone. Some people have to experiment and seek out their own methods, and those methods may only work for them. If you’re one of those people, great, do what works for you. But for the people who always ask what they should try, here is the method that worked for me and several others.
Know that this guide is written assuming you don’t need any moral lectures or forewarnings, and know what you’re getting into. This guide also focuses on purposeful creation, meaning personality and form are decided by the host to start with.
It’s broken down into 5 simple steps.
Step 1: Modeling
Some tulpamancers insist on letting your tulpa be formless at first, and to let them decide forms for themselves. While I consider that perfectly valid, having a form in mind speeds up the creation process and being fond of your tulpas form only makes things easier.
Start by figuring out a form you’d like them to take, and start to collect artistic references for it. This can be anything from pictures of clothing to photos of animals to get a feel for how fur or hair should work for them. Character art is best for reference, and if you choose a popular character, you’ll have access to a lot of art to use which will make things smoother for you.
After getting a few pictures, get into a comfortable position where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes and make sure to have some ambient noise in the background like a fan. If you have total silence, your ears will begin to ring and this can distract you.
Once comfortable, you can start creating their form. It doesn’t matter how you imagine the process, but start one piece at a time and be patient. Your mind’s eye, depending on your experience in using it purposefully, may be more or less difficult to control. For instance thinking that the torso shouldn’t be long sometimes makes the torso long because you can’t stop thinking about it. This is just part of the process and there’s no way to avoid it.
This modelling process can take anywhere from an hour to two hours. Its most effective when done all at once, so I recommend setting aside ample time.
Eventually, using reference and patience, you’ll have a mental model. The model should be stable and able to rotate so it looks consistent from all angles.
Step 2: Animating
Next you need to start moving the model. Make them do a cute little dance, smile, shake your hand, jump, and just do things you think they would do. Make them emote, do a walk cycle, and fall asleep. Get used to how the model should move and have some fun playing around to see what you think looks good.
This is a good test to see how solid the form is. A little warping and change is acceptable, but eventually get to a point in which this feels easy to you and simple motions don’t take much effort. This will take half an hour to an hour.
Step 3: Parroting
Now that you’re comfortable moving the form around, it’s time to start putting words in their mouth. Simulate a conversation with them, moving their mouth as necessary. It will feel awkward at first, but a little bit of awkwardness is normal. When you start getting used to the idea of talking to your tulpa, you can move to personality work.
Step 4: Personality Forcing
Personality forcing is the biggest step in the process. Creating a mental model and playing with it is one thing, but this is the point in which you start to create a living being. It’s important to take seriously. Before you begin the personality force session, physically write down the character traits of your tulpa and how they manifest. Try to eliminate any conflicting traits. Giving them difficult to follow personality guidelines can stress them out and cause identity confusion.
After you decide their traits, create a wonderland area and use symbolism to imbue the traits. The most common one is feeding your tulpa the traits via colored jelly. There’s also shooting them with beams, so long as you don’t see the beams as violent or hurtful. Whatever you choose, make sure to monologue about how each trait manifests in them as you give them to the tulpa.
Go one trait at a time, and after you’re done explaining the trait and how it’s expressed in them, give them a chance to try it out. For instance, if your tulpa is "loving" then let them hug you. Give a few seconds to let them play with each one. You will have to parrot and animate for them periodically, but at some point during this process they’ll begin to take over to some extent.
This is when the line between you animating/parroting vs your tulpa moving and talking starts to become blurry. A tulpa finding their unique voice sound usually takes a little longer, but keep an eye out for your tulpa starting to act on their own during and after this process. Remember to proceed as if they are alive during and after the personality work, as that will make it easier for them.
A few things to mention...
You may have to repeat steps 1-4 (you don’t have to do symbolism but tulpas will appreciate being talked to in regards to who they are) in various sessions to keep your skillset strong and your personality work firm. However, bear in mind that it’s important to let them deviate. Deviation is healthy for the both of you as it lets them express themselves and have free will. Adapt your personality and modeling work around this, but don’t be afraid to ask them if they could be more of some particular trait or wear their hair in a certain way.
If they deviate in a way that’s unhealthy or unacceptable, you will have to put your foot down and undo the deviation (using the same symbolism methods). Use good judgement here. Explain clearly why the deviation isn’t acceptable and what you’d like them to do instead. Tulpamancy is a lot like being a parent, so don’t feel bad if you have to tell them ‘no’ sometimes, yet it’s important to let them be their own person and not feel controlled. Seek a balance between behavior rules and freedom.
Now at some point in time, you may have considered character flaws. There’s an eternally raging debate on whether introducing character flaws is an acceptable thing to do when making a tulpa. Like most things, it depends. They’re going to be aware of the flaws you give them, and that sends a message. For some, flaws can be healthy. They’ll adopt a few naturally anyways, as nobody is perfect, but keep in mind how they’ll interpret being given a negative trait.
Step 5: Stimulus
As part of your regular forcing after the first personality session, begin to expose your tulpa to stimulus. Build worlds for them to explore, share snow and cotton candy with them. Let them see a precious memory of yours and where you live in real life.
Do everything and anything you consider to be a healthy, positive experience, and let them feel it for themselves. Talk to them, and let them decide how they feel about things. Even if they’re unsure OR don’t appear sentient yet, it’s important to treat them as if they are and give them interesting things to play with and explore. You may have to use parroting or animate them yourself, but they’ll eventually start to do things on their own and begin to grow in strength from this.
This will also help shape and solidify their personality traits as they interact with things and get to express themselves in response.
Completion
At some point in time you’ll be doing less and less form maintenance and you’ll have a good understanding of things they like and don’t like. You’ll have made a few wonderland locations you both enjoy frequenting and eventually you’ll realize you’re not putting forth effort to animate or force your tulpa to speak. This is when you’ve achieved sentience. It doesn’t come in a flash or with fanfare. It’s much more like riding a bike and having a parent let go without you realizing. At some point you’ll look back and realize you aren’t doing it for them anymore, and they’ll start to surprise you or create a wonderlands to show you instead.
Enjoy your time together--you’ve successfully made a companion for a lifetime, and they’ll always remember how much love and hard work you put into making them.
Narration
Narration is the art of talking to your tulpa until they beg you to stop. These guides give you ideas on what to talk about and how to better aim the flow of narration.
Image Streaming
By hydrix
The basis of this technique is to circumvent our poor human ability of mental concentration and make it that of a curious child totally immersed in their beautiful land of imaginative play. Once you begin, you need not worry about losing concentration.
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Sit or lie down with your tulpa in which it is easiest for you to conjure images on the back of your eyelids. Your eyes are more sensitive closed than open. Focus on seeing something, it need not matter what, or how detailed. It will appear soon.
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Loose the flow on your mouth of creative expression and begin describing out loud every aspect of visual detail the eyes can possibly analyze. Color, shape, detail, space in the environment, texture, especially any visually striking textures that you see. Do this in as rich detail as you can possibly express, continuously. Do this as fast as you possibly can!
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Keep going. Do not bother worrying about whether or not you should express something, just express it, and do not remove your focus as you describe it. It is imperative to do this in rich of detail as possible. Rather than saying "what", as in, "the beach, a car, etc", describe texture, how the sand looks in your hand, how sparkly the little yellow or black specs are in the sand, how it flows through your fingers onto the beach, how it is carried by the salty air across the surface of the ground, how you can see the entire beach and some birds with black spots on their bodies, all the while looking on and watching it intently, never letting your eyes go from your description. You may even add some of your other senses in order to solidify it. Don't feel like you have to switch between types of detail all the time, like texture and color, but you can continuously describe one type for a while and then move on to another.
As you move from scene to scene, keep doing this, watching them and describing every little detail that your mind can analyze. Think about poetically expressing yourself, as deep and beautifully as you can. It doesn't necessarily have to be a poem, just make sure you keep going deeper with your analyzation.
It does not take very long to begin generating images of amazing lucidity, however if you set the pattern of continuously describing the same level of detail it will take longer than normal. If you find you can't describe the images fast enough, you may describe them using your mind voice without full sub-vocalization (just the thought intent) however be mindful so as not to reduce your focus on the activity.
Soon the torrent of mental images will widen, and when you close your eyes a vast landscape of beautiful textures and details will greet you. You will find that making these details will be like a new "high score," and after you walk away it will be easier to recreate it a second or a third time and so on. Therefore, before moving on, try to increase this high score as much as humanly possible, that way when you come back it will be simple to recreate exactly that. This means that a long continuous session may be better than several sessions broken up over time that do not really show much increase, or it may mean that several sessions will keep you from lapsing back to less detail. It will be exponentially beneficial for every unit of increased max detail, or "high score" that you increase before moving on.
After becoming proficient, you can walk around, play with things, and explore, if you don't mind having a less beneficial forcing session.
Alternate Activities
These techniques are for supplementing the main activity in case you literally can't "get images". Stick to the main technique as a rule, because it is the strongest. An estimated 1 in 3 adults have extreme difficulty getting pictures in their mind but these techniques should loosen even the most stubborn of imaginations.
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Describe after images. Find a picture of your tulpa, a beautiful place, or even a light, or you can use your own bedroom. Close your eyes and focus on describing them in as rich detail as possible, even after they begin to fade. Continue describing the after images even after they begin to change color and shape.
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Find creative ways to get your mind to render images. Imagine closed doors, trains, streaming from memory, walk around blindfolded, turn lights on and off, use stobe lights, books (to either get it started or as a technique), explore your wonderland, elevators, these are all good examples.
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Use your other sense. Listen to music, eat blindfolded, air sculpting.
Your other senses may even be imposed if you are able to transfer the same technique to them, especially smell, taste, and touch. In order to use this technique on your hearing, you may have to listen for music while describing it without sub-vocalization (so just the thought intent).
It is insisted that after 3 days of training the sense of taste in wine tasting likewise, one can go from an average joe to master connoisseur sensitivity. 10 days of 10 minute practice is supposed to be enough to start seeing serious results in mental power. This is only a side perk though of having an awesome imagination. If you want to see serious results though, don't worry about how long or how often, but set a specific time every day for forcing. Tulpa veterans continuously stress this idea for a reason.
For more reading, visit http://www.winwenger.com/ebooks/guaran.htm
Guide found here.
Location of thoughts in the mind
by PsiQss
Even before I started forcing, I've noticed that different types of thoughts have a different feel associated with them. I'll call it "mind location" for the sake of simplicity. Unfortunately I can't think of any way to explain this concept itself any further, but I believe you'll be able to figure it out after reading the rest of this post.
So, the locations. For forcing purposes, we'll focus on a few basic ones.
Axes
The first "axis" is time. We have:
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Past: these are mostly your memories, and generally everything that's related to the past, pretty straightforward.
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Present: everything you think about your current life, including short time memories and plans for the upcoming days.
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Future - those are mostly your plans for life and things that will, or could potentially happen one day.
The next "axis" is reality, things get a little tricky here:
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Real - those are things that seem real to you. Things that you do every day and things that very much can happen. Or things that did actually happen.
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Fiction - those are things that are your consider "real" but you don't really believe that could happen. For example, thinking of winning million dollars on a lottery or even imagining yourself taking revenge on a bully if you don't really believe you could do it.
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Fantasy - those are things that are not real, not possible and cannot happen in the world we know.
Now, imagine all this as a DnD allignment board. It will look like:
Past | Present | Future | |
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Real | Real Past | Real Present | Real Future |
Fiction | Fiction Past | Fiction Present | Fiction Future |
Fantasy | Fantasy Past | Fantasy Present | Fantasy Future |
The relocation
Before we proceed further, you'll have to pinpoint all the mind locations mentioned above, in your own mind. Think of something from a particular category and try to understand how it feels. Once you've got the gist of it, you can do a simple trick. If you have problem with something related to your tulpa, for example vocality, try to imagine how would it be if you were actually able to clearly talk to them. This will probably be somewhere in Future Fiction or Future Fantasy area, depending on how you think of it. All you have to do now, is to forcefully "relocate" this thought to Present Reality.
Don't misunderstand me, this won't instantly make your tulpa vocal. Nevertheless, it can significantly speed up the process. The purpose of this trick is to make you FEEL your tulpa being there and speaking/listening to you. Once you feel it, it should be much easier to actually hear them. It's like tuning in to correct wavelength to speak to them properly. It makes you feel exactly how it would feel if they were really there. And most importantly, it weakens your mind barrier that blocks their thoughts - your subconscious takes it as real, not a fantasy, so why would it filter it out, right?
This method has worked for me so far, extremely well. After the first try I felt like my tulpa was really sitting next to me. I felt it the same way I feel someone's presence when I close my eyes and I know they are still there. But I'd like you guys to try it out for yourself and share your results so we can all make sure it really works. I've had huge progress recently, so it probably does, at least to some degree.
Happy forcing, and I hope you find it at least slightly helpful.
schlondark on Narration
Or
"How do I keep talking?"
The advice given in the two most widely-used guides of tulpa.info are as follows:
Irish_:
In my wonderland, with my idea in mind, I made the idea of the tulpa into just a blue cloud and basically started narrating to it. I just kept talking to it and talking to it telling it anything I could. I told it about my day, stories, ideas.
Faq_man:
Okay, anyway go about your life. Talk to your tulpa while you're going about your business; say anything really. Some people begin narration right off, and that's fine. I wouldn't personally start until you're done with at least half of the creation steps. A common mistake made here is the parroting of responses. If you're telling your tulpa about how pretty your new shoes are, don't make them say anything back. You know you are done with this step when your tulpa says something back on its own. You'll know, because it will be completely alien.
Gat-edit note: Parroting can be a legitimate tool for developing a tulpa, but will not be dealt with in this writing outside of this quote.
The confusion around the issue of narration seems to stem from two separate issues:
- What narration is.
- Narration is talking to your tulpa as if it is another sentient mind that resides within your own.
- How to sustain narration (How do I keep talking? I keep forgetting.)
- This appears to be the main issue with narration that troubles members of our community; which I'm going to try to help alleviate.
Narration is believed to be critical in the development of a tulpa's consciousness or speaking ability; as well as adding to the 'your mind makes it real' factor. These will both obviously come more easily if narration is kept on as constantly as possible.
Side Note: Don't be afraid to ramble on you your tulpa about inane or trivial things; quantity seems to be more important than quality.
The primary method of reminding oneself to narrate is to draw something on one's palm or to place something on one finger and to remember to narrate each and every time you see it until it becomes second nature or the tulpa speaks to you.
The method that I used to narrate might not be useful to everyone; but here it is:
Upon seeing the part of the guide that called for constant narration, I groaned to myself but decided to soldier on. After a quick bout with my inherent procrastination, I decided that this was not something that I was going to skimp on. After a few false starts, I finally got it correct by narrating everything possible whenever possible. I have retroactively named this process "Total conversion" meaning that I accepted it as a part of the tulpaforcing process and integrated it into my lifestyle. For those who are groaning like I was at the beginning It really isn't that bad. Just accept it as your duty for your tulpa friend that you are creating and do it with pride. It might indeed be beneficial to talk out loud to your tulpa, but I did not feel the need to do so. If you are able to; I would recommend it as it is harder to confuse your parroted reply to a question with your tulpa's.
Another Idea
For those not interested in my strategy or still unsure of what to do, I have a few more suggestions/thoughts that may be more appealing:
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Force your tulpa a device that can relay narration to it such as a laptop, television, HUD, or other electronic device that would be able to do so. This would be beneficial to those who feel that they must keep their tulpa's presence in focus at all times feel more secure in knowing that the tulpa will hear them even if their concentration lapses. (If you already have something like this that you use for sense-sharing; I would recommend modifying it for this purpose.)
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For those who do not have a strong inner voice: read a book aloud or silently to them. It will be something that the tulpa will enjoy and something that will let you narrate to them with relative ease.
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Don't worry about feeling your tulpa's presence during narration, they will hear you.
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If the methods above still have not helped you, consider sending them external stimuli as narration. For example: If the words in a song you are listening to remind you of your tulpa in some way; sending it to them as it is as a special instance of sense-sharing. (This is particularly helpful in environments in which it is hard to narrate normally, such as the IRC.) The same could also be done for pictures or any other sensation or experience on another sense.
Parting thoughts
Narration may seem like an insurmountable obstacle, but it is an intrinsic part of creating a tulpa. Even though it may take a while, the reward is well worth the effort. If you approach it as something that you need and want to do in order to create your tulpa or to help it become vocal.
Visualization
This section contains guides that help you learn how to visualize your tulpa.
JD’s Guide to Visualization
Many people come into tulpamancy with different levels of visualization. It’s common for more artistic and imaginative people, as well as those with the tendency to daydream, to be able to visualize very well. However, some people find that they are very bad at visualizing, or even unable to visualize at all. The goal of this guide is to figure out your skill level of visualization, and to show you how to advance from there.
If you are experiencing this level of visualization, the most likely problem is that you are expecting to see your tulpa with your eyes, or see her image on the back of your eyelids. However, this is not the case. Visualization takes place in the mind's eye, that is in an area separate from the stream of data from the eyes to the brain. You'll want to focus on adjusting your attention away from your physical eyes, and instead to your mind's eye. You naturally use your mind’s eye all the time, especially for keeping your surrounding environment in mind. For example, observe this setup of cubes.
When counting how many cubes there are in this arrangement, you will probably not only count the cubes you can see with your physical eyes, but also the hidden cubes you can see with your mind’s eye (which in this case acts as a sort of mental x-ray vision). There are 19 visible cubes, and 12 hidden cubes.
At this level of visualization, you are looking through your mind's eye, but you've yet to achieve any sort of definition or significant color in your attempts to visualize. Getting beyond this stage is mainly sheer practice. One visualization exercise you could try is my very slight modification of Rasznir’s number visualization guide. This exercise involves visualizing a canvas in your mind, and asking your tulpa to draw numbers on each page of the canvas, starting from zero and going up to 100 with each step. Try to maintain visualizing your tulpa writing each number in detail, without losing focus. If you lose focus, start again from zero. I suggest that your tulpa writes these numbers in different colors as well, and that you try to name the color your tulpa used. If correct, move on to the next number. If wrong, start over. The point is for your tulpa to test how accurately you are visualizing color.
At this stage, you've got a foothold but your visualizations are still hazy like a dream you don't really remember well. To get beyond this stage of visualization, you'll want to focus on several different things. For one, you need to start practicing including smaller details in your visualization. Start by scanning your tulpa from head to toe, sequentially zooming closer on smaller areas as if your tulpa was being viewed in Google Maps. Additionally, you'll want to increase your ability to know the exact pose and form of your tulpa. Fuzziness can indicate uncertainty in your visualization, and turning the mind's uncertainties into concrete notions will help decrease the fuzziness as time goes on. To practice this ability, try playing a shape-based puzzle game such as Tetris for an hour or more every day. Eventually your mind will become good at knowing the exact shape of the puzzlefield, which in turn can be applied to your tulpa, reducing fuzziness.
At this stage you are competent enough to impose if you’d like, but to really make your tulpa realistic you will need to learn to refine your visualization abilities. One exercise you can try for getting beyond this stage is by going on Google Maps. Start at any location in satellite view, but zoomed out to a point where you can’t actually discern any individual buildings. Spend some time remembering the details of this overhead view. Once you can visualize it in your head well, zoom in a little bit and start to observe the smaller parts that you could not see before. Scan over the area and visualize these as well. Once you can do that, zoom in another iteration and repeat. Go as far as you like remembering details. The goal is to see if you can mentally reconstruct the map in your mind and zoom in and out at will. This exercise can seem a little daunting, so start with small areas and try only zooming in once or twice. After getting good at this, your mind should be capable of visualizing small details in the bigger picture. Additionally you must spend time going over your tulpa’s form and becoming familiar with the smaller details, just as you have done with the maps.
This is a problem that isn’t as common, where you can see the details of your tulpa, but trying to look at the full form is difficult, often appearing as a collage of details rather than a unified body. The simplest way to work around this problem is to visualize your tulpa from various distances. Visualize your tulpa very far away from you, to the point where she looks like a whole body rather than fragmented details. Ask her to walk towards you until you begin to struggle to see her wholly again. At that point, you’ll have found your threshold for full-body visualization. To stretch this threshold, you’ll simply have to spend some time visualizing your tulpa up-and-down at that distance until the collage effect starts to decrease. Sheer practice is the easiest way I’ve found of mitigating this problem.
You’re nearly a visualization pro, the last step is tearing down the mind barrier that gives your visualizations an uncanny dark or transparent quality. Growing past this stage will have you fully prepared for imposition. While simple visualization practice over time will resolve this problem, it can also be solved through meditation and some general realizations about how you see things. Your physical eyes send visual data to your brain, and your brain makes an image out of it. In essence, you see everything with your brain, not necessarily your eyes. Your visualizations are similar, in that they are interpreted by your brain. You must convince yourself that there is literally no difference between what you can see with your eyes, and what you can visualize, as the end result is entirely constructed in your brain. Your mental image of the world is entirely subject to your conscious will. Every physical object you can see is constructed in your mind only because your eyes react to photons emitted by those objects, and your brain decides to translate that to colors and forms. Every mental object is the same way, but the process is not subject to the laws of the universe. Your brain can translate your imagination into colors and forms in the exact same way. If you can meditate on this train of thought for a while, perhaps you too will believe how subjective reality is. And once you’ve done that, your visualizations will reach the vivid level of quality we’ve been aiming for.
Congratulations. You can visualize awesomely, and you are fully prepared to try imposition. If you’ve not already done it, try visualizing with your eyes open and compare the quality to your visualizations with your eyes closed. The exercises for open eye visualization are exactly the same as closed eye visualization.
If you are able to achieve certain qualities of visualization, but often find that these qualities only exist for brief moments or flashes and regressing to lower qualities, you will want to try practicing visualization from the lowest quality that you tend to hit.
Tulpa Visualization Guide
by Rasznir
This guide is intended for people who are having trouble with visualization in general or specifically visualizing their tulpa, or who simply want to practice/improve their visualization skills.
Visualization Focus
The bulk of the guide has been written to help people who are struggling with visualization because they can't focus or concentrate for long periods of time. As such, it may be helpful for people with ADD or similar. This guide assumes that you know what visualization is, and that you're at least able to do it.
Begin by visualizing a canvas in your mind. The canvas can be any colour, but use white if you don't have a preference. On the canvas, visualize the number 0 in a strong, contrasting colour. For example, if the canvas is white, the number should be something like navy blue or black.
Allow yourself time to relax and become aware of your breathing. Take a minute or so to let your breathing slow to a comfortable level. This will help you stay focused for the final step.
The canvas says 0.
Breathe in ... ... And out.
Turn the canvas over to the next page. Visualize a number 1 on it.
The canvas says 1.
Breathe in ... ... And out.
Turn the canvas over to the next page. Visualize a number 2 on it.
The canvas says 2.
Breathe in ... ... And out.
Keep going, all the way to 100. That's right - without getting distracted! If you lose track of where you are, skip a number, or even take two breaths between numbers, reset to 0 and start again.
You might not reach 100 on your first, second, or even third try, bur don't worry. Each attempt will improve your focus skills a little bit more, and if you keep at it, you'll eventually reach 100. Practice makes perfect!
This process can be adapted to improve your tulpa visualization (and communication!).
Ask your tulpa to write the number 0 on the canvas. How they write it doesn't matter, as long as you visualize them doing so.
The canvas says 0.
Breathe in ... ... And out.
Ask your tulpa to turn the canvas over to the next page and write the number 1 on it.
The canvas says 1.
Breathe in ... ... And out.
The exercises are written in a way which makes them easy to turn into audio scripts. You can do this yourself if you have a microphone, simply by reading each instruction aloud, from 0 to 100.
Remember to have fun while you're doing these exercises. Please don't hesitate to share your experiences or give feedback, and I hope you get something useful from this guide.
Adaptation
This guide is an adaptation of my Visualization Focus Guide. If you find it hard to focus, I recommend you complete the exercise in the earlier part of this guide at least once before attempting the exercise in this part of the guide.
This guide is intended to help people who have trouble visualizing their tulpa, or who have trouble visualizing anything. A tulpa who is able to move/control their mindform is required.
Begin by visualizing a canvas in your mind. The canvas can be any colour but if you really can't decide, use white. At this point, your tulpa should use some sort of pen to draw the number 0 on the current page of the canvas. The pen can be any colour but you should be able to see it on the canvas's colour (so don't pick white if the canvas is white).
Next, relax your body and mind slightly and become aware of your breathing. Take a minute or so to get to a level where you feel sufficiently relaxed. This will help you stay focused while doing the exercise.
Now, ask your tulpa to turn to the next page on the canvas, then write the number 1. You should try and focus on them in your visualization and watch their movements as they turn the page (or magic the canvas blank if they so desire). Then ask them to move on to the next number.
Continue this all the way to the number 100 without getting distracted! If you lose focus, your tulpa should throw the canvas away and get a new one. To throw in a twist, your tulpa is also allowed to make you start again if they think you took too long to ask them for the next number, or if you didn't try to visualize them during a number!
You might not be able to reach 100 on the first try, but don't worry. Each time you try this, you'll improve your visualization skills more and more and as a bonus, communication between you and your tulpa will also improve! If you keep practicing, you'll be able to reach 100 before long. Practice makes perfect!
Ideally, you should do this exercise at least once a day if you want to improve your visualization skills more than a little. As you do it, remember to have fun and feel free to chat with your tulpa during it (and for the tulpa: feel free to chat to your host if you want to give them more to focus on!).
Three Task Tulpa Revitalization Exercise
By NoneFromHell
The general idea behind this exercise is to help hosts who struggle to perceive their developed tulpa, may that be because of a stressful time or simply because they temporary lose their sense for it. However it can be used as a simple forcing exercise as well, but I would recommend to have at least a partly developed tulpa before trying it.
This exercise consists of three smaller and very different tasks, which are all meant to be done at the same time during the duration of the exercise. I recommend to practice each of this tasks alone until you have a general idea about how they work before trying to do them all at once. You should be able to do them semi-passive without them interfering each other, but it isn't necessary to master them beforehand.
If you struggle with handling this three tasks at once you have the option to start them up in phases. In this case you will start with the first task, and always add the next one as soon as you're really comfortable with keeping up the current maintained tasks.
First Task: Creating an imprint
This basic task aims at imagining every aspect of your tulpa without allowing any kind of feedback, like you would do during a regular day 1 forcing session. Visualize your tulpa and force every aspect of their personality you're aware of onto this image. Do this like you really want to burn this information inside your brain without questioning it. Like a programmed order you want to imprint on a soldiers mind.
The purpose of this task is to strengthen the existing image of your tulpa as a foundation.
Second Task: Sensing the essence
This task is pretty much the opposite deal, and it can be tricky to keep both up at the same time. During this task you should try to calm yourself down to feel everything about your tulpa. Try to remember yourself about everything you're aware of about your tulpa. The visual appearance, the voice, every little trait or quirk, and even their way of thinking. Whenever you think about one of these aspects try to remember every detail of it, and how every of these details feels to you.
Try to receive these feelings coming from your tulpa, until you reach a complex impression of how your tulpa feels, as complex as it is possible for you. You shouldn't force any ideas on your tulpa in this task.
Third Task: Stepping back
This task serves as the next level for perceiving your tulpa, building up on the second task. The first step of this task is to let yourself fade away. For this you simply need to calm yourself down, let all of your thoughts flow away without actively provoking any new thoughts. I recommend to use a calm environment for this. Personally I like to listen to quiet music during this task, but you should try out what really works best for you.
The next step of this task is to move your passive focus to your tulpa and away from your own mind. Back to its feelings and thoughts that you sense in the second task. You shouldn't try to think about this step, just stay aware that you want to do this and it will work out sooner or later. (At least if you can handle the second task). If your tulpa now tries to say something you should perceive it as clear and centered feedback inside your own mind. But again: Don't try to actively focus on any responses nor provoke them.
Conclusion of the exercise
The summarized target of the exercise is to experience a well powered up and centered version of your tulpa. Responses should be clear, any kind of possession and/or imposition should work very clear and direct while you keep it up. (You can expand the exercise further for certain abilities if you wish too.)
Your tulpa should have an easier time interacting with you, even after you finished the exercise. If you feel that your tulpa starts to struggle again later on you can use the single tasks as a passive way to overcome it again, in any way it feels beneficial for you.
Communication
This section has guides focusing on various methods of communication. This includes vocalization, proxying and a few thoughts on "parrotnoia".
Within's Proxying Guide
From Within
In terms of tulpamancy, we define the act of proxying as listening for and repeating your tulpa's input to somewhere else. This can be typed, vocal, artistic, or anything else I can't think of off the top of my head.
Proxying in a single line is a very easy concept, but some people have trouble with listening for and fully understanding their tulpa's input. One of the main problems that I've had with Yt and Quora is that sometimes I think too loudly. Think about it as an audio mixer in your head with one channel dedicated to you and other/s to your tulpa/e. You need to turn your thought-volume down slightly and turn up the thought-volume of the tulpa you want to proxy for. Then all you need to do is relax a bit and type or speak what they say.
Initially, when you start doing a lot of proxying for them, there's a high chance that they'll send more unprocessed thoughts when they're making analogies and the like. If you're not sure what they mean or are saying, feel free to ask them what they mean and send back the thought to them.
This gets much, much easier over time, but initially it does feel kind of discouraging. Keep at it and you'll be transparently proxying for them in no time whatsoever.
“Am I parroting”?
If you have this question, don't worry. You are one of many, many new (and sometimes not-so-new) hosts to ask the exact same thing. Well, I'm here to answer it for you! The answer is “probably not”. “But bduddy”, you say, “how do you know? And, more important, how do I know for sure?” Well, I know because of many things, mostly the fact that you're asking the question to begin with. As for how to know for sure, well, that's a lot more difficult. But hopefully, this essay will help you answer that question, or at least learn a little more about the subject of parroting.
In the older days (early 2010s), a lot of the tulpa community, and common creation methods, revolved more around their form than anything else. Most guides had long screeds on how best to imagine those forms, picture them, etc. I'm not here to comment on the efficacy of those methods, but a commonly discussed topic regarding them was “puppeting” – moving around those forms with your own imagination, like a puppet. Some recommended it as a way to teach the forming tulpa how to “move” their form, but many others discouraged it, as it was believed to increase the potential for doubt and misunderstanding when the tulpa actually began to “move”. “Parroting” eventually arose as a companion topic – instead of moving the form, this entailed making your tulpa “speak” words, in some kind of mindvoice. Again, this always had been mostly discouraged, but some have and still do recommend it as a way to inspire a tulpa that appears to be acting in some way, but is not able to “speak” using words. The key thing to gather from this history is that puppeting and parroting were originally deliberate techniques, if fringe ones.
Now, some have used this history, and the original meaning of the term, to make an argument usually summed up as “There is no such thing as unintentional parroting/puppeting”. While this is perhaps true given the original definitions, this is simply an argument standing on definitions, with no impact on real life. However, we should clearly establish what people mean when they discuss “unintentional parroting” or simply asks “am I parroting?” (a meaningless question if it must be intentional). I can't speak for everyone, but what most people are asking seems to be the following:
“I'm hearing something talk/communicate in my head that's not me doing it intentionally. However, is it some not-fully-conscious process that I still have control over? Or is it really something separate from my own thoughts (i.e. a tulpa)?”
Unfortunately, this can be a thing. There are several processes average people do that result in mindvoices being heard without a lot of conscious effort. Probably the most common is simulating a conversation – for example, if you have a tough discussion with your boss, or parents, coming up, you may imagine a two-sided conversation in your heads with them. Many people can generate the “other person's” responses in something like their voice without a lot of effort. Other times it may happen while falling asleep or waking up. I don't intend to scare you with these facts, or try to say that you really are parroting. Rather, understanding these similar phenomena can help you distinguish them. Try imagining a conversation with a family member right now. Does it feel like talking to your tulpa? It probably doesn't. In fact, intentionally parroting your tulpas – if you're both comfortable with doing that – can be a good way of providing a comparison. It very, very rarely feels the same when anyone tries doing it on purpose.
How are some ways you can make sure you're not parroting, as it happens? Basically, you should focus on making sure you don't have any “stray thoughts” that might be generating the responses you're hearing. If you hear a response you're not sure about, take a few deep breaths, clear your mind – maybe do a bit of light meditation – and then ask again. Make sure that you are listening, open to responses, not blocking them. Some hosts focus so much on making sure they're not parroting that they block out real thoughts that aren't coming from them, or disbelieve them. The key here is: If you focus on not doing it, you aren't. Unless your brain works in a very strange manner, it won't generate thoughts that seem to be coming from a tulpa, but aren't, when you're trying to make sure not to. Please, when you hear things – trust the process. Tulpas can happen, and they're probably happening to you right now. Enjoy it! Here are some specific reasons I've heard that people seem to think indicate they might be parroting. All of these reasons, in my opinion, don't hold up to scrutiny with respect to the way tulpas actually work. If you have something different, let me know (/u/bduddy or bduddy#9920) and maybe it can be added to this document.
–“Sometimes they stop talking and go away”. First, let's look at it from the perspective that you are parroting, and generating these (occasional) responses. Why would you stop doing it? Wouldn't you keep going, and answer every question? This one actually makes less sense if you don't have a tulpa, than if you do. The fact is, young tulpas get tired. They have limited mental energy, and for the first little bit, even hearing and responding to you drains it. This is something that has been consistently reported, time after time, in many different scenarios, even by people that have never heard it before. So, that's what's going on. Let them rest, and maybe, ask them to let you know next time they think they might have to.
–“The voice is vague and not really like normal language” Just like the above, consider the scenario where you really are generating what you're hearing. Wouldn't you just do it in normal, easily understandable language? Again, this reflects how tulpas usually are, not how parroting is. Again, especially when young, tulpas often communicate in thoughts, emotions, vague ideas, and the like – often called “tulpish”. It'll develop and grow stronger in time (if you want it to – some systems enjoy this method of communication), but for the time being, enjoy it, interpret it, and teach them how to communicate a little more clearly, if you want to.
–“It feels like I'm thinking of the words” This can be related to actual “parroting”, or thought simulation, but more often it's something similar to the previous item. Again, tulpas share a brain with you. They don't have to communicate with words, in language, at a normal pace. Often the communication you'll receive from them is more like thoughts, in packets, received immediately and directly. If your brain works anything like mine, often you'll “decode” those thoughts into words you can more easily understand. And it's that decoding that you're feeling, not you actually generating the thoughts yourself. Again, this is something you should probably test with the above methods, but not something that indicates parroting necessarily.
–“I know what they're going to say -right- before they say it” (“Right” is emphasized because this doesn't cover generally knowing how they're going to act – that comes below.) Once again, you share a brain. You and a tulpa are separate in many ways – that's the whole point, after all – but there's always going to be some bleedover. Basically, what's probably happening here is that you're hearing what they're “thinking” before they “say” it to you. (The difference isn't quite the same as with physical talking, but there is one). If you ask, they'll probably report something similar. This isn't the same for every system – everyone seems to report different degrees of thought and memory sharing – but almost everyone has it to some extent.
–“They respond too quickly” OK, one more time. If you were really controlling these thoughts, basically talking to yourself, why would you do this? You'd just have a “normal” conversation. This is something tulpas do, and the reason is basically the opposite of the above. They share a brain with you, so they understand what you're thinking, what you're “saying”, before you finish “saying” it in your mindvoice, one word at a time. And yeah, they can respond right away, or before you're even done. Some systems enjoy this, because it can allow very fast and fluid conversation. If you don't, you might just consider asking them to stop.
–“They usually say what I would expect them to” Remember, you've been with your tulpa for literally their entire life. Even if you didn't design their personality, you've seen every little bit of how they interact with you and the world. It's not surprising at all that you'd be pretty good at predicting the kinds of things they're going to say. That being said, there have almost certainly been times when they did surprise you. Remember those times! Write them down, if it would help. Or, ask them to! This may be difficult for the youngest tulpas, but most probably should be able to. If what they do seems less surprising than it should, remember the previous item.
–“It just doesn't seem like them.” OK, so you read guides, you talked to people, you forced, you hoped. But did you really accept the idea that you could have a tulpa? That there could be a separate person in your head, talking to you? Maybe you haven't – maybe you still think it's too weird, and that anything in your head must be you, somehow. Well, it's time to believe it. You're hearing a voice that you're not meaning to generate – why can't it be a tulpa? Examine your reasons, your thinking, and figure out why you're just not sure. You're around the tulpa community, and putting in effort, after all, so at least part of you believes that this whole thing is real. It's probably time to listen to that part.
I hope that's enough. Going back to the original question... I'm not going to say that you, dear reader, or anyone else, is absolutely not “unintentionally parroting”. Rather, I hope this essay has shown you that it probably isn't as likely as you may have thought, and that some things that might have made you think you are, don't show that. My last, most important piece of advice, is: Ask your tulpa! It's a habit you should reinforce in general, to ask them about things relating to them and the world. Get in a iconversation with them, discuss with them why you think you might be parroting, and what they think about it. In fact, I'm going to ask my tulpa right now what she thinks of the topic.
#Hi! My name is Diana. My host used to worry about parroting a lot, that he might have been thinking up at least some of my thoughts and words himself. After we thought about it and figured out what was going on, we realized that it wasn't exactly like that. Basically, especially when I was younger, sometimes his thoughts would sort of override mine. Because we're so close together, sharing the same brain and everything, it was possible for what he was thinking about something to end up in my thoughts, basically, and for me to say it. Once we realized that was going on, we both put in more effort to make sure it didn't happen, and it worked! So, just because some of your tulpa's thoughts might be influenced by yours, it doesn't mean they're not real, and it doesn't mean you can't fix it. Just think about it, and make sure you talk about it with your tulpas. That's the most important part! You can do it! :) #
...thank you. She brings up an important point: even if there is some influencing/“parroting” going on, it doesn't mean your tulpa isn't real and isn't thinking. It can mean you might have to put in some extra effort to separate your thoughts and speaking, but that's doable. It gets easier, over time, as you communicate, talk, think, and do things together. So, make sure you do that.
Just like I said before, the fact that you're even asking this question means – you're probably not parroting. You're not generating those thoughts on purpose, and even though people can do such a thing sometimes, it's pretty rare. Hopefully any additional reasons that led you to this thought are above. Finally... Trust your tulpa. Listen to what they say, and believe it. Ask if you're not sure. This is probably the most important thing you can do to help development, for both of you. Enjoy!
Here's a very good Reddit post on the subject: https://www.reddit.com/r/Tulpas/comments/7n05jn/dissecting_the_question_am_i_parroting/
Overcoming Parrotnoia
To those unfamiliar, "parrotnoia" is the constant paranoia in which you are uncertain of whether something was actually your tulpa, or just yourself talking on their behalf. You hear them say something, but you aren't sure if it was REALLY them.
This isn't helping anyone, and constantly second-guessing yourself is only slowing your progress & making it harder for your tulpa to communicate.
So here's how you stop:
Assume absolutely everything, always, is your tulpa. Don't even give yourself the time of day to debate it. Just assume it was and move to the next thing* instead of letting yourself dwell on it.
And yes, there will be contradictions. There will be things that don't really check out with earlier conversations, and the key to these is to simply leave them unanswered. By trying to figure out which answer is "correct", you're just putting yourself in an endless loop again. Just let it go, and you can ask again (with a clean slate) sometime later.
Other than those, assume EVERYTHING is your tulpa. I don't care if it's 85% probably them, or 2.5% possibly them, anything more than 0% should be rounded up to 110%.
"But what about the things that really aren't them?"
It won't hurt them. If you ended up putting words in their mouth, they can easily correct you later when they can communicate better. A false positive is actually helpful, because it's still training you to listen & hear them.
But a false negative IS harmful. If your tulpa is trying their damnedest to tell you something, and you dismiss it because you (incorrectly) thought it was just yourself, that's IMMENSELY frustrating and demoralizing. Much more frustrating than having words occasionally put in your mouth. Imperfect communication is better than no communication at all.
And even then, it's unlikely you'll have any majorly consequential errors anyway - to train communication you're mostly asking simple yes/no questions and things with very simple answers. The worst mistake you could make is thinking their favorite color is blue instead of green.
If you're asking things that are more intense than that, consider saving those for later. The tulpa is still developing and barely has the mental capacity for super loaded questions. They're learning & growing right alongside you, stay at a pace you both can manage.
Also keep in mind I'm mainly referring to verbal/mindvoice communication, and more specifically, when you are consciously and deliberately trying to talk with your tulpa. Random thoughts/feelings/twitches throughout the day that you did not purposefully initiate are more volatile and you should probably approach those with some skepticism (it can be your tulpa, but usually isn't) - but keep that skepticism only in the situations where you are NOT actively trying to communicate with your tulpa.
From here.
King of the Vandenreich's Prism
Some of you have been complaining nonstop about 'Am I puppeting?' and 'I think my tulpa moved but I think I might be puppeting'
Well, I have a solution for you:
Imagine you staring straight at your tulpas face in whatever environment you render it.
Imagine a small 3D prism on top of their snout. Not a prism where you shine white light to get a rainbow. Imagine a geometric prism
Now if your tulpa does not have a snout or muzzle, and is more human like, put the prism on their head, or find a better location.
Next, you imagine a feather perfectly balanced on top of the prism.
Now oscillate it. By oscillating it I mean to move it up and down (like a seesaw). You dont have to keep it in the balance. Try to focus on it. Ideally you should be so focused on moving the feather up and down like a seesaw that you relinquish all mental ties to the tulpas movement; giving a developing tulpa the chance to move for the first time, and even after it moves, just imagine the prism floating above where the snout was and keep focusing on the feather. Over time, once your tulpa has spoken, you can drop the whole thing; as now your tulpa can directly tell you if your playing the puppet master.
Short Version
- Think of your tulpa
- Imagine a prism on your tulpa
- Imagine a feather on the prism.
- Focus on moving the feather like a seesaw, have your tulpa in your mind eye.
- Repeat until your tulpa can talk and tell you when you are puppeting it.
(By King of the Vandenreich !!ltOJ7i/qp8s Transcribed by AnonPie)
Voice
thought ping-pong
The idea is to have Lyra say something to me, then I examine the thought/mindvoice/whatever from her and send it back to her. I tell her how it sounded to me, sometimes along with advice like "try to speak louder", "a little higher" or "speak harder". ("Speak harder" is something Yolk advised me to ask her to do. I don't really understand how one speaks harder, but Lyra apparently did and it worked.) Then she tries to say the same thing again while following what I asked her to change. I examine that and send it back along with how I think it differs from the last one. Things like "that was better, can you do a little louder still?", "that made it all quiet again", or "it's clearer now but sounds squeaky and silly".
Yolk advised me to do this during the day, not just in tulpaforcing sessions. She says that hosts talk in something closer to tulpish when forcing. ("Tulpish" is raw thoughts, which sometimes get improperly decoded into that gibberish speech that's often heard from young tulpae.) It also makes sense to do it during the day because you want to hear the tulpa during regular life, not just when forcing.
This works by giving her some idea of exactly how her speech is being perceived, along with immediate feedback on what I would like her to do differently. The night Yolk stepped me through doing this, I was able to get clear enough thoughts from Lyra for her to say a couple things to Yolk. This is also useful to do if I see that I'll be needing to get answers from her soon. For instance, a few times I've taken her to dinner at a mall food court or something; I usually choose what we eat, then we have ice cream or something, which she chooses. Before going for the ice cream, I test how well I can hear her and do this thought ping-pong thing until it's good enough.
Possession
don't relax and let go
The usual possession method is to thoroughly relax and try to let go of my control of the body, and then have Lyra try to cause movements. So far, we only have slow, weak, jerky hand movement from doing that. I suspect I'm doing something wrong if I try to control my hand when doing this without grabbing back control and unrelaxing, I get exactly the same cruddy control that Lyra does. This makes me think that I'm blocking the signals after the last point where she can insert her movements.
What Lemonlemon did with Yolk is to not relax or let go at all. He created a pair of gloves in his wonderland and associated their movement with his hands' movement. That is, he moved his hands and imagined the gloves moving in sync with them. After he got this pretty well associated, he gave Yolk the gloves. He still had to watch her move and consciously make the movements himself at first, and it felt like just him moving his own hands. Over time it became more and more automatic and he felt non-ownership of the hands when she controlled them. Having gotten hands working using the gloves, Yolk was able to manage legs on her own.
I've pretty much settled on using a lightweight helmet with a small video screen in it, and trying to declare that whatever imaginary body is wearing it controls the physical body. I decided on this rather than gloves so that it applies to the whole body instead of only the hands. The idea is that I'll put it on my own wonderland body and go to a void. I'll imagine moving that while moving the physical body, to associate the two.
I've done a little of this already. When I focus on my imaginary body and move the physical body to match what I do with it, it makes my hands feel a little tingly and less like they're mine. When I sync hand movements with what Lyra does, I get a similar but smaller effect because I'm watching her and trying to move when she moves. It's one step further for the information to travel (Lyra conscious > Lyra body > my wonderland vision > body; instead of my consciousness > my wonderland body > body), so more separation and more lag. Currently if I stop consciously moving my hand, Lyra either can't move it at all, or slowly and clumsily as with the old method. Still, what we have working right now feels like shared control. I'm confident that with practice I can ease off my control and let her do it entirely herself, with no conscious interaction from me.
Note: I know that "no conscious interaction from me" is possible with this method. I was just chatting with Yolk while Lemonlemon was sleeping. She was there but typing increasingly derpily as she got sleepy as well.
EDIT: I'm now working with a somewhat different and more direct Yolk-based method. I relax some, and let a tulpa send faint urges that I act on. This does more or less the same thing, but with less complicated visualization and associating movement with objects. As before, the tulpa's control becomes more direct with time.
Oguigi and Koomer also wrote a possession guide that's closer to the method I had been using before. Their guide is written from the tulpa's standpoint, which makes it more likely to have an effect than simply relaxing and telling your tulpa to have at it. There's also a possession-and-switching idea dump I've been updating since May when, it possession was highly experimental.
Imposition
live snapshot
Yolk describes a separate wonderland that the mind uses to track a 3D model of the room around you. To be imposed, she puts herself in this place, adding herself to his internal map of his environment. She can also force objects in this place to impose those. When there, Lemonlemon can tell where she is in the room, and see her some of the time with varying levels of clarity. She says this is one of multiple wonderlands, which are 3D spaces, so she describes traveling between them as moving through the 4th dimension.
Her recommendation to me is that I describe this place to Lyra and try to have her find it. Then she should be able to place herself there and help with imposition. I haven't done anything on this yet.
Easy Guide on How to Hear Your Tulpa
This is how I first heard my tulpa's thoughts. It's a simple method that I find really useful.
Before we begin (Host)
- You must believe in tulpamancy, in your tulpa's existence and in their ability to think to themselves.
- Your tulpa is never too young to communicate unless you think they are.
- Read this post to your tulpa or explain it to them using words which you know they understand. Basically let them know what you're going to do.
- Tell your tulpa to always use your name when talking to you, even if it feels repetitive.
- Ask your tulpa to talk to you during this exercise, as well as whenever they can, randomly.
Before we begin (Tulpa)
- During this exercise, talk to your host by thinking to yourself instead of trying other ways such as using your body to make any sounds (you don't need a body if you don't have one but I recommend it)
- You and your host share a physical brain. In the same way that you can hear your host's thoughts, they can hear yours. You can't do it "wrong" so don't get discouraged!
The actual exercise (Tulpa)
- For the whole length of the exercise, simply repeat your host's name and add short, encouraging sentences in between (such as "I love you" or "You can do it!")
The actual exercise (Host)
- First of all, get yourself ready. Prepare yourself physically. Be as comfortable as you can without falling asleep. Make sure there will be no disturbances and it's as quiet as possible around you.
- Prepare yourself mentally. You're about to do a tricky exercise to get to hear your tulpa, but it can be very exhausting. Remember to always tell your tulpa that you're going to listen for them!
- Here we go. I'm sure your mind is filled with racing thoughts right now. Just block them all. No matter what they say, BLOCK.
- This is the exhausting part, you have to keep on blocking thoughts nonstop until your mind is absolutely clear. Don't give up unless you need to rest. It's fine. With some practice, you'll be able to complete this step in no time! Did it on your first try? Congratulations, keep going.
- Now that your mind is absolutely clear, RELEASE. Stop blocking and try not to think of any words, but most importantly, don't block a single thought. It is recommended that your tulpa has a form and that you visualize it in your head now.
- Be patient for a little, this is very tricky, you have to listen for your tulpa without blocking anything, if any thought popped into your mind out of nowhere THAT WAS YOUR TULPA. Yes it'll "sound" or feel like you, but you made no actual effort to think it. Hence it's not you.
- If no thought pops out of nowhere after a little and your mind is racing again, stop visualization and go back to blocking. You might have to repeat it. Simply try again, block, release and listen, block, release and listen.
How it works:
We're so used to hearing our own thoughts and classifying any thoughts in our own heads as "ours". Adittionally, our minds are usually racing with unwanted thoughts. This means that normally, first our tulpa's thoughts have to be strong enough to overpower every other, and then we have to realize that we're not the ones thinking that. The former is achieved with forcing, the later usually requires countless tries from our tulpa until we realize and get in the right mindset. While I don't encourage being a lazy host and obviously not parrotnoia, this method is intended for those especially. This exercise skips a lot of the forcing necessary to be able to hear our tulpa, allowing us to hear much weaker thoughts from them. Also, by emptying our minds, we're making it easier for ourselves to differentiate whose thought is each of them, since we have less thoughts to classify at a time. We're trying our best not to actively think of anything but the image of our tulpa, distracting us away from thinking any words which could make us be mistaken about who thought this and who thought that, while still actively listening for them.
TL;DR: Block all thoughts until mind is clear, then stop blocking completely and listen for tulpa. Repeat as necessary.
Using Thresholds and Furniture to Remember Your Tulpa
(Stone: I'm using my tulpa's account to post this guide.)
If you are like me, you may have trouble keeping your tulpa present with you throughout the day. Here are some tricks I have used to keep my tulpae more present.
You don't have to be good at visualization to use these tricks, but this guide assumes you can visualize your tulpa(e). This guide is for people who want to remember their tulpa(e) more frequently and keep their tulpa(e) more present. This guide may also appeal to people who want to improve visualization, passive forcing, and/or immersion.
Use Thresholds
I define “threshold” as “a point of exit or entry”.
Remember to bring your tulpa through thresholds. Whenever you move into another room, open a door, enter or exit a house or car, etc., make sure your tulpa’s visualized form does so as well.
For example, if you exit your room, watch your tulpa lead or follow you. When you enter the bathroom, have your tulpa enter with you. Do this instead of having them simply appear wherever you happen to be. Treat them as a separate physical being who moves about the physical world as such.
If you do this for every threshold, you will incidentally remember your tulpa’s presence more frequently, even if all you do is go to the bathroom a few times a day. This trick has worked far better for me than leaving notes for myself or using “reminder” objects. One loses notes or fails to register objects as noteworthy (meaning they have little power as “reminders”), but when habits (like walking into different rooms) become reminders, one forms a habit of remembering.
To form this habit of remembering quicker, I recommend a reward and/or punishment system. I use Habitica. On Habitica, I have a registered this trick as a "habit". I reward myself for bringing my tulpae through thresholds and punish myself for forgetting.
Deal with Irregular Thresholds
I now easily remember to bring my tulpae through the thresholds I pass through every day, such as all the thresholds in my house. However, I still struggle to remember to bring them through irregular thresholds (such as the entrance to the grocery store).
I recommend getting in the habit of, whenever you plan on going out, specifically planning to bring your tulpa with you. If you have a calendar you use, and you have “Grocery Trip” written on one day, add “with [tulpa’s name]" under it. Mentally prepare yourself in advance to cross irregular thresholds. If possible, pay more active attention to your tulpa than usual during your outing so you are less likely to forget visualizing them passing through thresholds.
Give Your Tulpa a Seat
This trick is a bit more difficult than the first, so I recommend you try it after.
Try to keep track of where your tulpa is as much as possible (no, I don’t mean “just get good”). Find a chair with nothing on it and let your tulpa sit there. Remember they are sitting there. Later, if you look at the chair and see/visualize them still sitting there, give yourself positive reinforcement. If you forget where they were sitting, you may choose to give yourself negative reinforcement if that works for you.
This doesn’t just work for chairs, but anywhere. Make sure your tulpa is comfortable. Don’t put them wherever because you’re too lazy to make space for them. Treating them like a separate physical being will make them seem more real to you, which is probably what you want. It will also make where they are easier to remember.
Respect Your Tulpa, But Don’t Make Excuses
Let’s say you had your tulpa sit in a chair, then sat at your computer to work on something. Three hours later, you turn around and see/visualize your tulpa on your bed. Then, you remember they had been sitting on the chair. Did your tulpa move of their own will, or did you forget where they were for a moment?
Ask your tulpa what happened, and be honest with yourself. It is possible your tulpa wanted to sit somewhere else, but it is also possible you just forgot. Use your own (and your tulpa’s) discretion. If your tulpa says they moved of their own will, and you are worried they are lying to protect your feelings, try asking them why they moved.
Say "Goodnight", Then "Good Morning"
When you go to bed, make space for your tulpa to sleep too. Try to give them a comfortable place to sleep. If you have too many headmates and you want them all to be present, some may have to sleep on the floor (sad). Say goodnight to them and go to sleep.
When you wake up in the morning, say good morning to them and wake them up from where they were sleeping. Are they in the same spot? If they are, you may want to reward yourself. If they are not, you may want to discipline yourself.
Parallel Processing
Parallel processing is a colloquial term used to describe the perception of a tulpa being able to focus on something different than the host, regardless of what the host is doing. For instance, a tulpa solving math exercises while the host is entirely focused on writing a letter, would be an act of parallel processing.
Maya's Parallel Processing Guide
The basic expansion of parallel processing can be achieved by an evolution of just one simple technique: Counting to 100.
At the most basic level, all you have to do is have your tulpa count from 1-100 without any help from yourself, restarting when you notice an error or if they stop.
Repeat this process until they can achieve it consistently and without error.
Now, once you feel proficient at this, start increasing how distracted you are from your tulpa's counting, only barely listening in to check accuracy when possible.
My recommended progression is:
-Listening to music -Watching TV/Youtube/etc -Playing a video game -Talking to another real-ass human being
You can also increase the number to higher than 100, as well.
You can also additionally compound this with your visualization process to improve consistency of visualization over time, which is particularly useful for imposition.
You just adjust things slightly by instead having your tulpa count on their fingers(or equivalent), or drawing/painting out numbers, either in reality or in wonderland. Feel free to augment this challenge in the same ways that you can with the voice-only method.
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.
Imposition
Imposition is when your tulpa leaps out into the world with you and then you can just exist with them. In the older days of the community, this was the "end game" result of tulpamancy (switching hadn't been figured out yet).
q2's method for a huggable tulpa v2
Hey, this is q2. Today is QB's sixth birthday, and I figured you guys deserve a gift as well - a revamp of a guide that's now four years old. The guide I made back then because I wanted everyone else to be able to experience a warm, soft tulpa hug - there's really nothing like it. The guide itself, however, was mediocre, and I hope to fix that with this document.
What is Imposition?
Imposition is the act of "imposing" fabricated data onto your senses, overriding what they "should" be feeling with physical sensations you decide. Put simply, you make your fingertips feel skin/fur when you touch your tulpa, make your eyes see their body, etc. At perfect completion, you can hug them, squeeze them, feel the heat of every breath they take, and they will generally be impossible to distinguish from reality... apart from the obvious giveaways, anyway. Not many talking tentacled cats wandering around these days, after all.
This technique can be used by anyone for anything - even if you don't have a tulpa, you can read this guide and come away with knowledge of how to make an object you own smell of cinnamon to you. However, we will be focusing on use related to tulpas.
Imposition is difficult and multi-faceted. While one person might struggle with visualization yet impose a sense of smell with the greatest of ease, it can be reversed for the next guy. Or, of course, both could prove challenging. Any level of imposition is another step toward physical closeness in your relationship, so don't feel discouraged if you have trouble with some senses. First of all, this is hard, and it will take time - a lot of time. Secondly, you shouldn't feel less valid for having partial imposition - that's still a great accomplishment! A lot of imposers only ever perfect some of the senses. I would shoot for them all, but never be ashamed for doing your best.
Which Sense Should I Start With?
This is a tricky question I hear often. The best answer is "all of them", in my opinion. Every sense folds into the others in a feedback loop of efficacy - your tulpa just licked you, now you can feel their tongue, smell their breath, see their face very close up, and hear all the gross sloppy noises, all at once. Hell, lick them back if you want to run the full gamut.
My point is, if you are working on all five senses when this happens, it will be a much greater wealth of information, and each will help you better observe the others and gain deeper insight - as you physically impose the sense of their slobber sticking around on your face, you'll get extra time to smell it, and maybe it smells different than the rest of them - do you want it to smell like dog slobber or human slobber? Or lollipops? Etc.
One of the most important truths you can remember with imposition is that senses are the most vivid when together.
However, I do entirely understand that, especially for people who have extra difficulty with visualization, it isn't exactly feasible to start every single thing at the exact same time. I think you'd be surprised - do try it! - but if the five course meal really isn't working for you, take a while to get visualization and/or visual imposition down pat. Then start imposing the other four onto the visualized tulpa.
Some Important Notes Before we Dive in
- We'll be dealing with long forcing sessions here, potentially several hours at a time. This is by no means a rule, don't be scared away! Short sessions will also work, and I imagine that's what most people will end up doing. But if you experience limited results, do remember that the answer may be longer and more frequent sessions.
- Addressing the above again, the sessions will need to be frequent! Repetition is the mother of all change! If you can perform some sort of imposition every single day, even multiple times a day, this would be optimal. Just do the most you can, but just like with other tulpa-related techniques like passive forcing, tossing in a bit of off the cuff practice whenever you can is a great idea.
- Having knowledge of meditation or other zen practices is a gigantic boon for this technique, even if the extent of your knowledge is just "my elementary school therapist told me how to loosen up my muscles and breathe slow" - that's already a huge advantage above having none of this. Things like this help harbor an awareness of your senses, and focus down to just one, ignoring all else, which will of course be a lifesaver while trying to change the touch sensation in a single fingertip.
- Your tulpa doesn't need to be vocal or even seemingly sentient to perform this - all you'll need is a basic idea of where they are, and enough basic visualization to "sculpt" around the boundaries of their form. Don't worry, it won't hurt them at all to interact with their body like it's a mannequin - if anything, it'll help them get a feel for their body.
- Oh yeah, like I said about sculpting - you'll be doing all of this in meatspace. That is, the real world. None of it will take place in a wonderland or other mental space. It can't, really - not for this guide, anyway, not if you desire the full effect. The entire idea of imposition is being able to physically interact with the tulpa in the real world. For the "template" of "moving your hand to your tulpa -> feeling the surface of your tulpa" to fully sync up, you've got to be actually moving your body in response to something you're visualizing in the real world. It's all in service of tricking yourself into viewing it as real sensory input.
- I didn't use any sound of any kind. There was no music playing while I first imposed QB, nor was there "white noise" or anything trendy. Just silence. However, I wouldn't rule music out. It might work. I just can't personally say.
Visual Imposition
I figured I'd start here, because if you don't have even a lick of visuals, there's no mannequin to smell, taste, etc., because you can't see it.
You'll notice that's the second time I've said "mannequin". It's an important term, because it's a good way to think of your tulpa's imposed body early on - you'll be playing with it like a toy, trying to get every inch visualized, first as a still model, then articulated, then moving.
First, you'll need to model that mannequin entirely, in one pose. This pose doesn't necessarily need to stay consistent, you can switch it up if you forget which you've been doing, etc., but consistency can help.
Ponder this form. Stare at it. Spend as much time with it as you need. You'll need to really focus on every part of it. Walking around it to get the full visual layout is encouraged, but do also try to be still and focused with it as well, sometimes. You'll need to essentially "burn it in" to your visual understanding of reality.
Visualize this mannequin in lots of places. Imagine you've got a heads-up display on your vision, and you can see it in front of you wherever you look, if that helps you get used to always seeing it. Or, more simply, just imagine it as an object that will always be following you, and is never far behind. If your tulpa has a distinct personality at this point, try telling them to "inhabit the mannequin" and move it around however feels natural. Moving it around will make it "distort" and lose perfect visual cohesion, but that's fine! You'll fill that in later!
If your tulpa doesn't want to move this body around, move it yourself. No, that's not parroting. Just do it, it's easy. Come up with any explanation you need to give yourself control of it - maybe it's like a video game character you can move, maybe you're bopping it around with telekinesis, or maybe you don't need a reason because you've just got the hang of it by now! Whatever works!
When deciding on the outer boundaries of their body, to help their visualized body more solid and tangible, you'll want to try "sculpting" around them with your hands. This is one way multiple senses can be helping you progress at the same time - you can do touch imposition at the same time that you're determining their boundaries this way, by feeling your way around as you sculpt. If you're just starting with visuals, though, you can come back to this part! Just sculpt without sensation for now if that's what's comfortable.
Sculpting is incredibly important! In my experience, it's half the method! So get really used to sculpting the boundaries of your tulpa.
If you're sculpting and you believe you've sculpted along a geometrically incorrect shape, just alter it with your hands, like you're pushing down play-doh. This is even more literally sculpting your tulpa, and this will really help you get a feel for them. All scultping should ideally also involve lots of concentration, maybe even aspects of meditation. You should focus on nothing else.
Every once in a while, between these steps, step back and take a good look at the mannequin. Again, if your tulpa or you can make it move, move it. If there's inconsistency about how that movement works, sculpt out detail in the fuzzy parts. Figure out a way for every angle to make sense. This could take a really long time, but don't worry, it's meant to be that way! You'll need to see every crazy angle by the end of this, of course.
Once most angles are basically decent, start telling your tulpa to move around inside it frequently. Every time there's a visual error, tell them to stand still so you can grope that error out of them, basically. You know the drill. Test, stop, sculpt. Test, stop, sculpt. Make that your new mantra.
Don't be scared to sit staring intensely at them for like two hours, either! Sure, that sounds really weird, but it works!
Touch Imposition
Time to sculpt more! Whenever you're sculpting, you'll need to also focus on what your hands should be feeling as this happens. Not just your hands, either - this part gets extra weird, because you'll need to put all of your body on all of theirs. This strengthens not only the boundaries of where their body ends and begins, but your most base feelings in relation to them - the feeling of their breath on your neck, the tip of a strand of fur the back of your hand, the weird cartilage feeling of an ear flicking against your finger, etc. You'll basically have to go through every combination of body parts.
The easiest way to do this is to hardswap your actual memories into those places, with a bit of minor editing. So, step one, go out and touch a bunch of real things that are kind of like your tulpa.
This isn't a joke. This is a Field Trip Assignment. You don't want to fail the class, do you? Get out there, go to your nearest pet shop, or zoo, or, hell, if it's a human, just touch yourself. No, not like that. You know what I mean. I'll be waiting right here.
So, touch the inhabited mannequin with your finger. Touch it on the forehead. Now, remember really, really hard. Remember exactly what it felt like to do that exact same motion to something similar. Remember it until you can feel it.
And repeat. A lot. This will need a ridiculous, tiring amount of repetition, so don't get discouraged if it's still not coming to you after a month. It will eventually.
Remember to take size and contortion into account - that is, if you have a very small or very big tulpa, try to realistically get a feel for that, by standing on your tippy toes or crouching down when interacting with them this way. It can really help you feel the full scale of the form you're trying to sculpt, adding hugely to the reality of it.
An extra tip, that makes the end result of your imposition even more impressive, is to falsely "attempt" to push down into your tulpa, and hold yourself back with a sensation of "straining" yourself in some way, or hitting a solid object. This will later result, after weeks of practice, in you no longer being able to push through your tulpa's form without trying to. This, once again, can double the reality.
If you're having notable trouble with memory, specifically - or even if you're not - try strengthening the memories with scents, which are a great memory booster. They can help you tie together two similar experiences by smelling the same thing both times. Bring a scented candle to the pet store, is what I'm telling you here. Which leads me to...
Scent Imposition
Pretty important! Scent can bring it all together with a nice little bow, as, like I said, a scent can really sum up a memory, and help you remember not only the sensations you're imposing, but all the training you've been doing to make your imposition work! Giving your tulpa the same scent you've been working with here will act as a 1-2 punch, making it difficult not to think of your tulpa without basically accidentally imposing that scent around you. So, if you have a good scent aid you can bring around to help recall the sensations, the practice, and your tulpa itself, you should definitely do that! Maybe look into a nice strong one like lavender, or, you know, basically anything else that'll float your boat. It's important to note that different parts of your tulpa may smell different, though, and that they totally can smell like a normal human if you want them to. Practice the differences in scent around their body by performing a nose-oriented version of Sculpting. Don't be embarrassed to bury your nose in them. Really, most of this guide should come with that disclaimer, though. Seriously, don't be embarrassed.
Audio Imposition
You'll need a little bit of physical here too, because here's the hottest tip - you've got to touch impose the feeling of your eardrum being impacted by sound. When you think about it, it's obvious. I'm listening to music right now, and if I focus, I can feel how one ear "feels the sound hit it" when that side's speaker delivers the loudest part, and the other ear, less so.
Sculpting, in this case, means having your tulpa run around in their new body (It's not really just a mannequin anymore, eh? They should be used to it!) and yell at you. Yell from the left. Yell from the right. Just run around in perfect circles and hear what their paw pattering sounds like, and how it affects your body. Again, sample real memories of audio for this.
Taste Imposition
Lick the heck out of your tulpa.
You should get the idea by now.
The feeling of a specific texture on your tongue is very important for this, once again returning to touch imposition. Recall the memory of a taste you like and want your tulpa to have. Scent is especially important here, and the two should ideally match in some way, if they logically can.
Conclusion
Together, these modules should form a cohesive schedule for you, in which you will spend long sessions sitting down with your tulpa (and/or running around with them, depending on how far you've gotten), and simply experiencing them.
Sculpt your tulpa thoroughly, on all of your senses.
Take your time. It's going to take ages. It will be a commitment.
Even after perfecting imposition entirely, you'll probably need "tune-ups" every once in a while to refresh the data your brain has stored about their body! Stop looking at them for weeks, and you may need to re-visualize, etc.
The end result will be the best feeling in the world, though.
I believe in you. Go hug that tulpa for me.
- q2 (with assistance from QB)
Malfael's Guide to Visual Imposition
Version 2.1 - Electric Boogaloo (because I forgot some things in version 2.0)
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank Khoja for helping me out with some of my research and providing insight and quotes while I was working on this, AgentNycto for editing the finished product to make it read-worthy, and I’d like to thank the Redditulpas community for existing. Y’all are cool, even if you’re a bunch of nerds.
How to Use this Guide
I broke this guide into parts for three reasons. The first is I like knowing how things work, not
just why. Tulpas are not well researched, so whatever information helps you understand them is good to know.
Second, everyone learns differently. You may have tried imposition before. Breaking it down lets you to
focus on what you need to instead of what’s written. This way, you will be able to self-asses and self
repair. Third, tulpas are personal. This isn’t a contest and it isn’t a race. This guide is to get you to
where you and your tulpa want to be on imposition. If you feel you can get by with a 5/10 on a few steps,
then do that. If you feel you can skip any information, do that too. The ultimate goal isn’t perfection,
it’s personalization.
Also, it’s easier to have at least a vocal tulpa for this. You don’t need one, but your tulpa does have a part in this (it’s their body, after all) so you’re going to need to hand the car keys over before you finish all the steps. Let’s hope they don’t wreck their brand new ride.
Vocabulary: Plotting the Course
I like the psychological school of thought, so I see tulpas as a product of the mind. Thus, this
guide will follow a psychologically leaned perspective. That’s not to say metaphysical slanted individuals
can’t use it. (We all have brains, after all. Psychology still applies to metaphysics, and vice versa.)
I’m starting with some vocabulary because it’s important to identify where you are with visual imposition
so you can see where your progress deviates from the course I have set. Now, this is only for deviations
that harm your progress. Deviation isn’t inherently bad, and if a certain way works for you, then it
works.
Imposition
Imposition is putting your thoughtform (tulpa) into meatspace. Meatspace is… the space… that meat exists in. It’s a real word, I swear. Anyways, imposition usually implies visual imposition alone, though it can also mean imposing your tulpa onto all your senses. I’m focusing on visual imposition in this guide. From here on out, visual imposition will now be referred to as just visualization.
Hallucinatory Visualization
For hallucinatory visualization, one of the goals is to make it so you perceive your tulpa as a
solid object unable to be looked through. This is the other kind of visualization in this guide.
Hallucination implying you perceive visual stimulus where none is present. Like I said, one of the goals
for this hallucinatory visualization is to have you truly “see” your tulpa. That means they will look as
clear as any given object in meatspace you choose to focus on, complete with shadows, weather, lighting,
and all.
Mind's Eye Visualization
Mind’s eye visualization is using your imagination to view your tulpa as existing in meatspace. I’ve noticed tulpas visualized in this form are more ethereal and fluid in nature. Mind’s eye I like to refer to more as adding multiple layers to your vision. Rather than cutting out a blind spot for yourself and pasting your tulpa in, you would place the image of your tulpa over your vision, so you would see both what’s behind it and the tulpa itself.
Comparing the Two
Keep in mind for hallucinatory visualization you want to see your tulpa as you would see a solid object. That doesn’t mean they will always look perfect, that means they will react as other objects do in your vision. They will go out of focus if you unfocus your eyes; they will be poorly lit when the lights are off; and they will be fuzzy in the periphery (sides) of your vision.
With mind's eye visualization, you don’t necessarily need shadows, blurring, or fuzziness, however you can have them in either kind of imposition. These two categories are not mutually exclusive, and overlap from one type to the other can occur. Don’t worry if you or your tulpa is switching between these two, the distinction is more to help you find where you need to work on things.
Doubt: Your Brain and You
Although tulpas to my knowledge do not exist in meatspace, your perception of the world can be made to interpret them as if they are. How, you ask? Since doubt is, by both the community’s and my accounts, one of the biggest hurdles to jump with tulpas, I’ll give you a nice sciencey explanation so you can punch that doubt in the face.
So how crazy is it that we can see things that aren’t really there? Well, not actually that crazy at all. You see things not because they’re there, but because your brain and your eyes tell you they are. When you look at a blue bouncy ball, it isn’t actually blue. Light hits the ball, causing a specific wavelength to reflect off the surface. Your eye catches them, reacts specifically to that wavelength, and sends it to your brain. Now, your brain doesn’t get this information directly. It uses an alternating system of chemical and electrical messengers before it gets the information, and then it uses that information to process the message the eye has sent it. You get… blue!
But as you can see, there is no “color” floating around through the air waiting to turn the ball blue; and even if there was, you certainly don’t get it overnight shipped to your brain. Every step the message that will become blue is translated, and then only your brain really knows what blue is. Your eye has no idea. It just collects light. So this “blue” only exists in your brain, because your brain is the one that made up the idea of colors like blue.
This demonstrates the disconnect between what your environment is, and what you actually perceive. Reality is nice and all, but just because it’s there doesn’t mean we can see it for what it is. Have you ever heard of an optical illusion? That’s what happens when only one step of that whole process gets messed with; because we do not perceive the world perfectly. Our eyes and our brain have to figure out how to use what the environment gives us, and sometimes that’s hard. Sometimes, like with optical illusions, we incorrectly interpret what the environment is. Sometimes, like with dreams, we don’t even have an environment, and we just kind of… make up sight and sound and touch as we go.
So when you think “it’s crazy to see things that aren’t really there,” just remember all the other wavelengths you never even got because they didn’t bounce to your eye in the first place. Is it crazier not to see things that are there, or to see things that aren’t? (Don’t answer that. Both of them are crazy, because science is cool like that.) Just remember that your brain is a fallible organ. It can be messed with, and I’m going to teach you how to mess with it to your benefit.
Prelude: Presence Imposition
Before we get into visualization, I’d like to go over presence imposition. Presence imposition is just knowing your tulpa is there. It doesn’t matter if you see them or not, and it isn’t a visualization skill because it doesn’t use vision to impose your tulpa. It is, however, a form of imposition, and I myself use it with visualization to help feel the fullness of my tulpas. This is a good foundational exercise for visual imposition, and also pairs well with it, as it teaches you to treat your tulpa as you would any other person you interact with.
Exercise: The Invisible Presence
Now, imagine you’re walking around the outside of a building and there is a person a few yards ahead of you. They turn the corner, as you soon will. Are they still there? Of course. Can you see them? Not even a little. This how you regard your tulpa – invisible to you, but still very much there. Now, what if that person turned the corner and immediately hid, waiting for you to turn the corner too? Would they scare you because you weren’t expecting them to be there, or would you just be slightly surprised because you were still aware of them, but you didn’t expect an odd behavior like hiding once you’re out of sight of the person behind you?
The answer to this is the difference between putting nonvisible objects out of your mind, and remembering them in case you need that information later. When applied to your tulpa, you should always expect them to be there. You shouldn’t just forget about them, even if they’re sitting on your head, behind you, or wherever else you can’t see. Here it’s good to note that I personally always like to “sense” them in this way unless they are specifically not being imposed in any form. Again, it helps you treat them with the permanence that other people in your life have, though even tulpas need privacy every once in a while.
The “invisible presence” exercise is an easy and universal one I like to use to practice remembering my tulpas. Try to incorporate it in your day-to-day life. Did someone excuse themselves to go to the bathroom? Imagine the walk they take there. Did someone on the other side of the street go into a fast food place? Imagine them getting in line and looking at the menu. They’re still there, going about their lives just like you are. Practicing this will help lay the foundation for how to view your tulpa. They are just going about their lives too, even if you don’t always see them.
Now imagine your tulpa doing things like that – waiting patiently next to you while you go to school or work, slipping behind you in single-file to let someone by on a crowded street, and etcetera. This is an extremely passive way of forcing, so you can’t really work harder to get faster results. You just have to persist, and however long it takes you is how long you need to master this technique.
The Goal: Invisible Presence
If you practice this exercise, your goal is to get to the point where any person that you notice (read: not everyone around you, just people that coincidentally stand out as you go about your day) still has a presence even after your eyes cannot see them any longer. Visualizing what they may be doing is an easy tool to keep them in your thoughts. This should eventually happen without you even trying to practice, which in itself isn’t a benchmark towards tulpas, but it is a good way to measure your growth with the skill.
Using this on your tulpa, like I’ve said, is keeping them in your thoughts and even imagining what they will do when they either cannot be imposed, or their imposed form is out of sight. This should be even easier than imagining strangers after they’ve left your vision, because you know your tulpa pretty well, don’t you? It would make sense that you’d be able to predict some of their behavior. Now, after you’ve gotten where you want to be on presence imposition, it’s time to work on visualization.
Choosing a Form
First thing’s first, you need a form for your tulpa. Whether they’re going to be using many forms, or sticking to just one, it’s good to start imposition off with a lot of good habits, and then shorten and shortcut as you get better. Don’t worry about that right now though. Pick a form first. I don’t have many tips on this, because it’s highly subjective. I will say the decision should rest mostly with your tulpa, because they’re the one stuck with it, not you. Depending on your relationship though, your tulpa may want you to just be happy with whatever they look like and defer to you. This decision is like getting a tattoo.
Sure, it’s permanent, but there is also laser removal these days. Expect it to be as permanent as you set your mind to have it be.
Phase One: Still Life
Okay, you’ve chosen a form. For the purposes of clarity, I’m going to be using an example throughout the forcing process. We are going to give Mr. Fluffy the flying wolf a body! Yay! Now for the three-step forcing process that will help you divide and conquer the task that is imposing your tulpa into meatspace.
The first step is termed “still life,” based on a still life painting. You want to capture detail here, not motion. Get on Google and find as many reference pictures of your chosen form as possible. First know that the exact thing you want may not always be available. There are several ways to handle this:
- Settle on a form you can find many pictures of
- Use your imagination to make edits on an almost perfect form
- Mix and match, or take references from several pictures (so for Mr. Fluffy, I’d get pics of a wolf I liked, then pics of a wing style I liked, and when it comes time to visualize, I’d “glue” the two together visually)
- Draw one yourself!
(even if you’re “omg terrible” at drawing, focusing on physically creating your tulpa’s form like this is an absolutely excellent way to force; 10/10 would recommend)
There are several things you want to look for when collecting (or creating) your reference materials. I have made a handy dandy list you can check off, although it is just a guideline. You may want to add or subtract some of these things as you see fit. Keeping an actual list while searching is a good idea, and try to get at least two pictures (but the more the merrier).
- Different poses
- Different camera positions or angles
- Different emotions and/or body language
- Different lighting
- Close ups of features you’d like to stand out (I want Mr.Fluffy’s blue eyes, his markings, and his pretty feathery wings to stand out, so I’d get pics that would show them off clearly and completely)
- Different environmental statuses (in the rain, on a windy day, etc)
- Muscular, skeletal, and organ anatomical sketches (if you’d like your tulpa’s form to be realistic; for Mr. Fluffy, I’d look up wolf anatomy and wing anatomy)
The general idea of this research is to be able to get you to the point where you can map out a 3D model of your tulpa’s form if you needed to. Because… you will… need to.
(I would write out the list, and then use mr fluffy as an example of utilizing that list.)
Tip: Research shows if you pick one time and one place to learn something (or force something, in this case), you’ll learn better. Now, of course eventually you’ll want to be able to impose all the time and all the places, but this is a good handicap tip to start you out with, should you wish to use it.
We’re going to get you forcing in a two-step process for each of these three phases of visualization.
First you want to visualize in your mind, but you want to move the visualization outward as much as possible. Because of this, you should first close your eyes and mentally picture what you’re going to impose, then open them and actually impose each step of the way.
If you’re having problems visualizing, go back to closed-eye imagining briefly before trying again. Go back as many times as you need to whenever you need to. Being able to picture something without actually imposing it may seem like cheating, but it’s a good foundational step if it proves easier for you to fall back on. Treat it as such.
Now, study your reference pictures, then close your eyes and visualize looking at your tulpa’s form.
This is another personal thing you’ll have to decide on yourself, as there are two main ways you can visualize:
Top-down Visualization
Visualize the least definition possible and work towards more detail. Start with a silhouette, draw an outline of your tulpa’s form, or even start with an energy ball. The point is to make it as easy as possible to visualize, so whatever placeholder works for you is perfectly fine. Now you’re going to start adding things. It doesn’t much matter what, as long as your transition from no detail to as good as real is smooth and takes you through small, manageable steps. Though, I will go along one specified path so you have something to follow.
Color
Whatever your blobby first step is, add color. Make sure that color is in the general place it should be. Mr. Fluffy is grey with white wings and a white muzzle and chest, so I’d blob white on his general underside, the bottom of his blobby face, and his wings, while keeping everything else grey. I wouldn’t worry too much about coloring in the lines, or whether he looks particularly like a wolf or a wobbly goo monster. Just make sure you’ve got that color.
Broad Detail
Next, start adding your broad detail. Mr. Fluffy (of course) has two eyes, two ears, and a nose. He has paws, and he’s kinda a fluff ball so I’d make sure his blurry form appears somewhat fluffy. Say I had trouble imagining what “fluffy” looked like. This isn’t a test, so I’d go back to my reference materials and check out all that fluffy fur on all the pictures of wolves I collected. If I don’t have a fluffy enough picture, I go out and find one, study that, then continue to imagine a blobby, blurry, color-y Mr. Fluffy.
Don’t forget to fall back on closed-eye imagining if you need it.
Mid-level Detail
Now add mid level detail. Mr. Fluffy has fur, and I’m tired of blurring all that fabulous fur, so I’ll look at my reference pictures of fur and try to visualize the detail there without getting too ahead of myself. Mr. Fluffy gets more realistic fur, but I can’t see every hair on his body; more like the different colorations of his pelt. I should focus on the individual feathers in his wings, but not worry if I smudge them or mess them up a little. His facial features should be pretty distinguishable, but still kind of blobby. Bigger features like his long snout should be easily distinguishable.
Fine Detail
Now for the fine detail. Rinse and repeat from the above steps. You’re going to rely heavily on your references, as few people are so familiar with any form that they can imagine it without help. Focus on everything, but don’t expect to see everything at once. I’d work on Mr. Fluffy’s fabulous fur first. When I got that down, I’d start on his pretty blue eyes, his wet little nose, his whiskers… things like that.
If that fur starts to slip while I’m focusing elsewhere, that’s okay. I’d just have to make sure if I snapped the focus on that fur again, it goes right back to being as fluffy as I left it. Remember, your eyes don’t take in every detail at the same time – they have to focus on one thing at a time too.
Bottom-Up Visualization
Visualize the most definition possible in small sections of the form and work towards visualizing the whole form. Start with a section of your form. It can be anywhere, but it has to be small and manageable.
I’m going to start at Mr. Fluffy’s front right leg, trying to imagine all the hairs and the way the fur looks because each hair flows on top of the other. But… what if a leg is too big for me?
“The idea isn't just to get the individual parts. You need to understand them, but you also need to understand how they work with the areas around them, with other areas of the body, and of course with the whole body in it's entirety. You need to understand the body at every scale" – Khoja
Area Detailing
Now I have my paw. I use my reference pictures heavily while paying attention to the level of detail I want to go into. I am going hyper realistic and imagining each hair for Mr. Fluffy. You don’t have to do that. This step, I might add, can be a quick and easy one if your tulpa’s form is extra cartoony. For cartoon or nonrealistic forms, I suggest using this step to work on the lineart, brush strokes, or other small level details. Even MLP has a definite and unique lineart to it, which is what makes it have such an aesthetically pleasing feel to so many people. Remember to work on both closed eye visualization and visual imposition, and do this level of detail for every part of your tulpa.
Region Detailing
Now go bigger. I’ll work on Mr. Fluffy’s leg, keeping in mind that the hair pattern I visualized for his leg is about the same all across his body. Your tulpa’s form is probably going to be the same – covered in some kind of skin, hair, or scale pattern that is uniform throughout. This will make it easier to imagine it on a bigger scale. You’ve also gone through and imagined everything on a smaller scale too, so putting one or two sections together is most of the work now. Try to work towards larger and larger groups of your small high-detail sections until you accomplish the next step.
Whole Detailing
Finally, you hop up from whatever region size you find comfortable into the whole thing. It’s alright to take several region steps to get to this one. Your main concern here is to check for “cracks” or “breaks” in your tulpa’s form, generalized blurring, or other imperfections not present at a smaller scale.
Remember you don’t have to see all of your tulpa at high detail all the time. Your eye naturally focuses on an area, not everything at once, so your tulpa’s visualization can mimic that. You should be able to see good-level detail in the whole form, and to focus into your high-level detail on any part of your tulpa’s body almost immediately.
The Goal: Bottom-up and Top-down
By the end of this process you’re looking to have a 3D tulpa form you can focus on any part of to get super high-def details. This form shouldn’t be able to move yet, but once you get 3D rendering down, you should practice posing it using your reference pics. It also shouldn’t have any shading or alterations, so should just be the pure and clean form. The next steps will work on all that, but for now, you just want a nice full-body rendering and a reasonable range of ways to pose it.
Phase Two: Motion
Now that you have an accurate 3D rendering of your tulpa, it’s time to make them move. We begin again with more research! (Do you see a pattern here?) Last phase we were concerned with detail; now we’re concerned with motion. Your reference materials will be youtube videos, tv shows, any kind of video media that demonstrates the motion you will be studying. Again, I give you an editable list of things to look for:
- Motion at different levels of intensity (shifting, walking, striding, running, evasive maneuvers)
- Motion concerned with different common activities (eating, playing, fighting, sleeping, etc)
- Body language – can be either human body language applied to animals, vice versa, or realistic (Mr. Fluffy will be a realistic wolf, so I’ll study wolves interacting in their natural environment on youtube) Note:this step requires you to know what areas your tulpa’s form consider important for nonverbal communication. Humans consider the face and stance important. Wolves consider tail, ears, and neck position important, so you’d have to find that out about your tulpa’s form and watch those specific area for signs of specific body language. I suggest supplementing your videos with written studies into body language of animals. Wikipedia occasionally has species-specific behaviors, and it can be as easy as googling “What do wolves do to show sadness?”
- Facial expressions – although everyone but humans tends to go more in for body language, hosts are pretty much human. Unless you’re weird (like me) you’ll probably want your tulpa to express their thoughts in their faces. If you want your tulpa (whatever form they may be) to have certain facial expressions, watch cartoons (for animal personification of expression) or your favorite actors to collect a good reference base of facial cues you enjoy
- Action and reaction to various stimuli – this step is kind of a broad one, but you can fill it in by asking yourself questions like this: What happens if your tulpa touches a hot stove? What do they look like when surprised? What would they do if shocked? What about kissed suddenly? Basically, this step attempts to get you practicing portraying them in their gut-reflex reactions. It’s difficult to say you have 100% of this category down, because the surprises that make them react in this way are… surprising, however you can get a good base and if your practice. One suggestion is to visualize the reactions from emotion chart like so: http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs51/i/2009/309/2/9/Ratchet_emotion_chart_by_oOWhiplashOo.jpg
Once you have gathered a good research base for each of these categories, there are several exercises you can do to use them. I have ranked them in order of how much the host-to-tulpa responsibility is distributed. Use all, one, some, or make up your own. The point of this phase is twofold: to a) get you comfortable with visualizing your tulpa in many situations and b) to get your tulpa used to expressing themselves with their form.
Exercise: Plug N Chug
This exercise is all host all the time. This is to get you as the host actively processing what your tulpa does when it moves. To practice, simply plug that 3D model you worked so hard on into those reference materials. So say I looked up wolves play-fighting on youtube. I’d get my Mr. Fluffy model out, pick a wolf I want him to mimic, and practice puppetting that model the way that one wolf did things. I would watch the wolf “attack” another, pause, try to get my Mr. Fluffy model doing the same, and go over that process repeatedly until I was comfortable with visualizing him doing that.
Practice both in closed-eye visualization and in imposing into meatspace. Make sure you have enough room in meatspace to practice moving the form there. You want to work on each motion by weaning your 3D model off of the reference vid. So my goal would be to visually impose Mr. Fluffy’s body doing that same “attack” move without even needing to think of the reference wolf.
For extra practice, try using your knowledge of this 3D form to see what this move would look like from different angles. If you can’t that’s okay, but it’s some extra homework if you’d like to take on the challenge. If you’re set on doing this though, use phase 1 alternative research methods to help you find good examples of how to visualize a single action from every angle.
Exercise: The Short Film
This exercise can be done either by you as the host alone, or collaboratively with your tulpa. In this exercise, you’re going to be the director of a short scene in which your 3D model is the star. It can be anything – but the point of this scene is to master a specific motion. I’ve always loved the way wolves trot around like they’re badasses, so I’m going to cast Mr. Fluffy in a scene where my goal is to get that motion down.
I’d want to get the motion from all angles, so I’d use my imaginary movie camera to pan around as he walked. I want to set the mood through his motion, so I’d imagine he was patrolling his territory lazily one early morning as the sun is coming up (or some other random setting jazz.) I’d want to capture the emotions he is feeling in his trot. Wolves often seem tired, languid, maybe a little bored when they trot over long distances.
Now I have a good little movie reel in my head, maybe only a few seconds long, of Mr. Fluffy being awesome. It’s a simple scene. He just trots along the edge of a cliff, not paying attention to anything as he goes, as the fog starts to burn up in the morning sun. That’s it. I’d be a strict director, not caring so much about the setting but fixing the model it was jerky, blurry, or awkward in his motions. I’d look for the proper expression of how he was feeling, so if it’s supposed to be early and he looks like he just had a double mocha latte, something isn’t right there.
And, I have to add, although you can direct this short scene of yours without your tulpa, if you’re ready to start working together, this is a great opportunity to start getting your tulpa accustomed to its new form. Instead of puppetting Mr. Fluffy’s form, I’d ask him if he wants to be my actor. Make sure you both collaborate, and be constructive in your criticism, director. Look for things your tulpa is doing right, and things they need to work on. Tell them about both.
They may surprise you by knowing how to work their form better than you can imagine on your own, or they may have some trouble. Either way, you have to work through it together, one step at a time. Do many small scenes like this, and be sure once you’ve gotten the closed-eye visualization down in-setting, try it out in imposition in meatspace.
Exercise: The Experiment
This exercise is purely for your tulpa, and you as the host should view yourself as nothing more than a spectator attempting to see what you know is already happening. Set up your 3D model either using closed-eye imagining or in meatspace, and let your tulpa take over. If you’re having trouble imagining how this is possible, use symbolism. Imagine the form is empty, soulless, or merely a shell that you have made.
Now allow your tulpa to go into that shell, become the soul, etc. Whatever helps you give control of the form you’ve made over to your tulpa is fine.
Now… let them do whatever. Remember, your job as host is only to watch. Your tulpa should be deciding whatever they want to do. Maybe they just feel like taking it slow and twitching a little; maybe they want to run around your designated forcing area like they’re on a sugar high. Let them go at it. Anything could happen, because this exercise is not as structured as the other two.
I will say, the goal is to have you as the host relinquish control over the model you’ve made, and instead let your tulpa control it. This works towards the end section’s goal, which is having your tulpa completely control whether or not they manifest to you at all. I won’t go into it here, but it will be detailed later.
If you as the host want to help at all, it should be in helping your tulpa do what they want to do.
If they want to walk and they’re having trouble, show or tell them what they could do to improve. You do know how to walk, after all. Even if you have to get up and physically walk around to see how it is you do it, you’re going to help your tulpa in examining how you as a physical being interact with your world.
Guide them only if they want it, though. Remember, this exercise is about the tulpa, not you.
Motion Exercises: The Goal
This phase is all about motion, remember. Your ultimate goal is to practice motion using these exercises, or even your own ones, until you’re as comfortable visualizing your tulpa in motion as you are visualizing them in their 3D rendering. Motion should strive to be smooth, fluid, and natural. Don’t forget to personalize. Some people walk as if they’re lumbering, and some flit about like they’re part hummingbird. Your tulpa will move in their own personal way, and often times the only way to find what their own style of movement is to simply let them practice until they get it down.
Phase Three: Finishing Touches
By this point you should have covered all the basics of visualization. You should be able to see your 3D rendering of your tulpa, and keep that visualization relatively solid in a wide range of motion. It seems like these two are the only things concerned with visualization, but there are a few more things to consider.
Test: The Walk
As a good exercise to practice the full range of your visualization, you can try this test. This is simply asking your tulpa to hold still while you walk around them. Practice until you can view them seamlessly from all angles. Then continue circling and ask them to make one move at a time, at any time. Keep asking them to move (or if you haven’t gotten them to move on their own yet, moving them yourself) until you are satisfied with the fluidity of your visualization skills. You may want to take a break every once in a while. Walking in circles can get dizzying!
Environmental Changes
Environmental changes has been moved to the last section because it is indeed a finishing touches step. Although it could have been added to the Still Live phase, it is more of a precautionary section, as now you should be able to impose your tulpa with relative ease. Adding smaller things like these may come naturally, however in the interest of completeness, I will go over several things you might want to consider adding to your visualization skills if you have not already. As with the Still Life phase, we have a checklist of things you can find pictures and video for:
- Different weather/times of day (how you see your tulpa in sun, rain, noon, night, etc)
- Different bodily states (are they wet? Cold? Sweating? Etc)
- Different degrees of focus (referring to your eyes; so if Mr. Fluffy is in the corner of my vision, I might want to have him blurry to reflect that)
This step follows the same path as Still Life and Motion. You collect your materials in both picture and video form, then practice visualizing each of your preferred states using your materials until you’re satisfied with the results. The reason this section is put separate of them is, again, because it is more of a finishing touch and less of an essential part of imposition. Remember, visualization can be as realistic or not as you like. That’s something you have to talk over with your tulpa.
Test: Endurance
Now for the final test to see if your visualization is up to your standards. Termed the endurance test, this is simply a test of endurance, not performance. Essentially, you practice extending the time you can visualize at your level. Start whenever you like, and end at a time you’ve designated. It can be fifteen minutes, an hour, or all day. During this time, you’re going to begin by just focusing on your tulpa’s form.
You should be plenty practiced with this already, so if you find you don’t need this step, move on to the next one. Now you add in the distraction of your everyday life. You’re not going to be staring at or focusing on your tulpa every single moment. You want to get to where you can effortlessly perceive them. Take your allotted time and have them be around while you do something else.
Start with small tasks, like drawing, listening to music, or something else light and easy. Check for wavering imposition or loss of detail, but remember that your eyes don’t have to focus on everything at once, so your tulpa doesn’t have to be perfectly visualized all the time either. Advance through length of time, strenuousness of activity, or both at the same time. It’s up to you to find which one you prefer, but of course your end goal is to have your tulpa around for as long as you both want, and for all but the most distracting and difficult of circumstances.
A final note: The last thing I want to emphasize is, again, the purpose of these tests. I give you goals to reach, however the grading scale is determined by you. There is no failure of a test if you do not reach my preset goal. Use these and the lessons provided in order to better your visualization, but there is no one perfect goal to reach. I hope I’ve helped you and your tulpa learn something new here.
Happy visualizing!
There is no try, only do
Just a piece of advice. Every thing we have done with imposition has basically fallen into one of two camps. Frustrating, and fun. What is the difference?
When it is frustrating, one or both of us is focusing, concentrating on the experience. Trying to see the image more clearly or feel the sensation more strongly. This is exhausting and not fun.
Clarity sometimes slips when we focus on other things instead, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it gets stronger. This leads me to propose the idea that you have to stop trying to impose to impose well.
Here, I'll break it down into two groups.
Useful: --Remembering where you are and what you are touching. --Experimenting with different feels and textures, such as nails vs flesh. --Adding tingles, or sharpness, or energy, or pressure to a touch. --Multitasking while practising.
Not useful: --Trying to forcefully make the sensation stronger. --Getting annoyed about how weak it is. --Paying attention to how strong the sensation is.
Possession
Possession is when a tulpa takes control of part of or the entire body without who was previously controlling it interfering. This is different than switching, but only subtly.
Possession via Dissociation
From Within
Possession and switching is all about dissociating from the body and letting another mind (tulpa, servitor, egregore or whatever is going to possess) associate with the body, effectively putting them in charge of it.
Dissociation is the art of being able to release control from the body. This is done by relaxing and focusing on letting your arm go numb.
Possession and switching of course can be done by one of many methods. Other methods that people have described haven't worked for us, so we are describing what works for us (TM).
This is an entirely mental trick and the symbolism used in this guide is what we believe is the best way to describe the process to others. You are effectively learning to not move the body and let it move on its own; in a way forgetting it exists.
This guide is not the only way to do this, there are many, many ways to do possession and switching; however, this is what works for us.
How to Dissociate
Dissociation, possession and switching can be a scary idea for some people (the author included) as you are effectively giving up control of the body to someone else. There needs to be a lot of trust between your system for this to work at all. Building trust internally is another topic and out of the scope for this guide.
Before Starting
Make sure distractions such as cell phones and other electronic devices are in silent mode (not vibrate -- that has gotten us a few times) and if possible let people around you know you are relaxing and don't want to be disturbed. This also can help give a nervous mind a feeling of safety when possessing for the first time when others are around.
Relaxation
Before you do anything, the first step is to take some deep breaths and relax. The cycle we use for deep breathing is something like this:
Time | Step |
---|---|
8 seconds | Inhale |
2 seconds | Hold it in |
8 seconds | Exhale |
2 seconds | Rest |
Dissociation
Now, once you have relaxed, focus on the part of the body you want to dissociate. You have complete control of this body part right now. Visualize this as the body part filled with a color that represents you. Internally the color for us is just a thought-pointer to our actual essence or the raw description of that mind to the others.
This process will temporarily detach a part of the body from a mind's awareness of the body.
Start to drain or filter out the color (whichever feels easiest for you), very slowly at first. Let the feelings of relaxation pulse through it and let yourself drain out of the body part. Continue the long, drawn out deep breaths. Let it go, don't think about the body part being a part of you anymore. Your body part might feel heavier or weird as you do this, this is very good and can be very freaky at first. Keep at it though, the feeling of dissociation and it being limp is what you are looking for. Some people we know describe it as being limp, others as it being heavy, even others as it being numb, but it is a very obvious feeling.
It is best to not immediately jump into possession after getting dissociated until you are used to the feeling of it. Let the body part rest where it is and watch tv or do other normal things without that body part. This helps associate that absence of the body part is normal and nothing to be afraid about. This also lets you get used to the feelings that possession will give you.
Don't rush doing this at first, don't feel bad about taking 15 minutes the first time to get dissociated. It initially took us 15 minutes to get the body's right arm (the one we have done dissociation with the most) properly dissociated, but it is taking less and less time with more practice.
Possession
Possession after this is easy to explain and sometimes can be interesting to implement. You effectively let the other mind control the part of the body you are dissociated with. After the body part is dissociated and you are used to the feeling of dissociation (spend a day with an arm numb watching shows on netflix or something similar, also a good time to get caught up on your movie queue), ask your tulpa to associate their color with the body part. Other symbolic methods that work are asking them to stick their body part inside the body's matching part, "wearing" the body as a suit. If your tulpa normally has a nonhuman form, it can help for them to temporarily take on a human form; but as always your mileage may vary as it works for us (tm).
This may frighten you, be prepared for a slight fear/panic reaction. If this happens, ask your tulpa to give you the body part back, re-associate (see below), and then go relax for half an hour (without dissociating) and try again.
Advice to Tulpas
Start with very little movements that are very spaced out. Any too big movements too suddenly may re-associate your host with the body part out of habit. The idea here is to assert that the body part moving without your host telling it to is okay. Some movements might re-associate your host a little. If this happens but your host isn't completely re-associated with it, let it rest and your dissociation come back. It is like a gauge. If you have too much trouble with it, don't feel bad about stopping for a bit and trying again later. The important part is to keep practicing and you will get better over time. Slowly work up to bigger and bigger parts of the body, then you can get full-body possession, which is just one small step away from switching.
Re-association
This is doing the opposite of the earlier dissociation step, re-attaching back to the part of the body that was dissociated. When re-associating, you might be tempted to just start moving the body part again as normal. This is a bad idea and a bad habit to get into. Ask permission to take back the body part and then start to fill it back with your color.
Once you get to about halfway full, start to do little movements with the body part. Test it a little. Don't wrench it around.
Once the body part is full of your presence, shake it gently to end the dissociation and fully re-associate yourself with it. Your body part may feel weird for a little bit after all this, that is your mind getting used to the body part again.
Another method is for you to stick your dissociated body part back into the body, much like a glove or other coverings.
After re-associating, do things that you like to do, look in a mirror, be you. It helps assert to your brain that it is time for you and you alone to be back in control.
Other Notes
It should go without saying but this is a technique that requires a bit of practice and a lot of persistence. Failure is going to happen at some point and you will succeed eventually given you keep at it and work through the initial steps.
It is normal and sometimes weird, but your limb may feel cold or otherwise abnormally altered after a dissociation/possession session is complete. The feeling should pass in a few hours or by the time you wake up the next day. Sometimes after doing dissociation for a while the body parts (such as legs) may start dissociating on their own when you are reclined or not using them for extended periods of time. Let this happen, the goal is to get used to the feeling.
We have created a script that helps with timing deep breaths that can be run in any lua interpreter that has the socket module installed. See relevant documentation for your lua install or operating system on how to use this. It is just a simple timer for an 18 second deep breath cycle, peaking at the 5th instruction and anti-peaking at the 9th instruction. We are told that a friend is making a web version of this script.
Possession or switching around other people can be awkward if they don't know. Avoid doing it unless you have no other choice.
Something that might help with dissociation would be laying down. A lot of tulpamancers have reported that this method works best for them when they are laying down.`Having a long music track (such as a prearranged music mix) can help to distract the host while they are dissociating.
Colophon
Many thanks to Neguilla, Malfael's servitor for a lot of guidance in creating this guide. This guide may be copied freely to other sites or guide repositories given that credit is given and any edits are clearly marked as such.
A lot of this guide was written by Ashley, the later revisions were written by Ashley herself. This guide was written mainly in vim using the vim-human markdown macros.
Possession Explained
by Felight
“Possession” refers to a tulpa’s ability to control the physical body. To newer systems, it may seem like a daunting and difficult task to achieve. However, it is nowhere near as difficult or strenuous as some may make it out to be. Possession is actually one of the easiest things a tulpa can learn how to do.
They key to possession lies not in the tulpa’s ability to grab control of the body, but in the tulpa’s ability to become the active thinker: controlling the stream of thought allows them to move the body just as easily as the host can, given they learn how to connect to it. If a tulpa can think, they can front. If they can front, they can possess.
First, before worrying about possession, you should wait until your tulpa is decently-developed. There is no rush to master this skill; be patient and take your time until your tulpa is ready, otherwise you will risk causing frustration and doubt. Wait until your tulpa is relatively strong and well-established in your mind, just to ensure you are not attempting this too soon in their creation. Give them a month or two to simply have time to develop themselves from creation, allowing their mind to grow and their sense of self to become more cohesive. Ensuring one’s tulpa is ready is highly important before attempting new feats, so they will not feel too overwhelmed or frustrated. Of course, it is possible to possess without them being very well-developed, but I would recommend working on just general growth before doing so.
Before beginning possession, one should understand what it implies, and what they should expect. Possession does not involve the host feeling like they have lost control or are locked out of the body in some way. In fact, possession feels pretty much the same as normal movement does to the host. There may be some slight differences in sensations experienced, like head pressure or a tingling feeling, but these are minor and nowhere near as extreme as feeling as though your body is no longer yours, or any similar expectations. This can only be caused by practicing dissociation, which is not required for the tulpa to control the body. Possession involves the tulpa moving, and since they move using the same body and mental functions as the host, it feels the same as it normally does to the host.
When a tulpa possesses, it’s not that the body suddenly feels different or foreign, it’s that the thoughts behind the movement have changed. Somebody else’s conscious mind has become the most active and focused on the body, rather than the host’s. The host is still there, but the tulpa’s thoughts are louder and stronger. The host has mentally taken a backseat without actually “leaving” the body, just in the sense that they are not actively participating in thought as much as the tulpa is.
As such, the first step to learning to possess is simply learning how to think. The tulpa does not have to be vocal, but they should be, simply to ensure they are not limited in what they can do (if they are not vocal, focus on that before possession). The tulpa should practice narrating or speaking as often as possible, exercising their skill to be the active thinker. Their host could proxy their words onto a document or text chat, all the while not letting their own thoughts take over. Simply allowing the tulpa to speak and think on their own is of course useful to learning possession. The goal of this step is getting to the point where being the active thinker is no longer a challenge to the tulpa. This step may be completed naturally without even realizing it, but it is still important to be aware of.
The second step is learning how to connect to the body, or “front.” This may be challenging to them at first, but with enough practice it becomes second nature. To do this, the tulpa must focus on the body and its senses. They should think about and tune into the sensory information incoming: the sights, the smells, the sounds, the feeling of the air and clothing on the skin, and any tastes they might experience. They can attempt putting themselves where their host is located mentally. They may do this symbolically by imagining their form moving there, and looking out through the eyes. Focus, however, is usually more effective than symbolism, so they should not rely on that as their only leverage for fronting. Simultaneously, the tulpa should try being the one doing all the thinking, to strengthen their position. By doing all of this, the tulpa is now “fronting.” This usually involves feeling as though the tulpa is in the same spot the host is in the brain, in a sense: looking out from the same point and hearing their thoughts originate from the same location.
If the tulpa is the active thinker and is connected the senses, then they can control the body. All they have to do is move, as the host allows them to do so. Focus is key, as well as avoiding doubt. They can focus on particular body parts, such as the arms, and simply practice getting a hold of moving it. They can focus on controlling the body’s breathing, as well. Movements will end up becoming natural to the tulpa once they properly break into it, with no actual struggle involved. Any little movements that go on during this will belong to the tulpa, unless the host knows they were the one who did it. The tulpa should just allow themselves to move in whichever way they so desire, thus gaining a good grip over the body, leading the way to full-body possession (which is actually very easy to reach, nowhere near as difficult as many others would make it out to be).
I recommend attempting vocal possession as a starting point to lead to controlling full-body. If a tulpa can easily speak in mindvoice (which they most likely can by now), then speaking with the body would be easy once they get started and have a bit of practice - and the host remembers that it won’t feel any different to them, since it’s the same body they’ve always spoken with. They can start off by the host speaking and encouraging the tulpa to jump in. As speaking involves more active thought than simply moving an arm, and the thoughts that occur are associated with the tulpa, they will be allowed for more easily breaking into the rest of the body and controlling it. Voice calls with other tulpamancers may be a good place to start, or simply going to an isolated place and speaking.
However, of course, all movements are helpful. So long as the tulpa does not limit themself with the thought of “I can’t do this” or “this is too difficult” and just move as they see fit, they will get full-body possession down in no time. It may even occur incredibly quickly if they simply go for it. There is really nothing inherently limiting a developed tulpa from full, strong possession other than their own mindset.
Once a tulpa can move the body, they should focus on strengthening their level of control and influence. They should assert themselves by focusing on their own thoughts, while overriding the host’s thoughts. They may find it helpful to focus on imaginary body parts their form has, such as wings or ears, or focusing on any sort of strange sensation that may come when they front, such as tingling. They should find things they associate with themselves, such as music they like, the way they move, or practically anything else. Simultaneously, they should avoid things that are associated with the host - this means not doing something that the host enjoys a lot, like watching a particular show.
It is highly likely that the host may unintentionally take the body back. They are used to it, after all. If something captures their attention, they will easily react to it instead of the tulpa. This may seem discouraging, but with enough practice and self-asserting the tulpa may eventually be able to respond to everything on their own and remain in control for as long as they like. Doing so takes practice and belief. They are sure to become better over time, perhaps without even noticing. If a tulpa is used to being the active thinker, then they might even accidentally take the front without anyone noticing until something gives them a reason to notice.
It is important to know that possession is a mutual agreement involving whose thoughts are the strongest and most active in your mind. It does not involve forcefully taking the body and rendering the host helpless to stop it. The only thing the host would have to do to stop it would be becoming the one doing the most thinking, which would not be very difficult. A tulpa is not going to be able to do anything the host does not want or allow them to do. Possession is highly beneficial to a tulpa as it allows them the ability to explore the world and themselves, find their own interests and passions, and grow as a person. It is not in any way a dangerous or risky experience unless the host allows it to be. The only way it could really be harmful is that the tulpa might become tired to some degree, or their thoughts might become blended with the host’s. If that’s the case, then taking a break for a while would do them good.
One final thing to note is that a lack of results can be highly frustrating and discouraging, and impair progress. To prevent this, a system can try clearing their head or meditating a bit before attempting possession. If they get too frustrated, they can take a break and try again later. Taking one’s time is important, to avoid getting bogged down by negativity. Overall, focus, practice, and patience are the three key elements to improving one’s possession skill.
Once a tulpa has learned to possess, the world is theirs. They have the potential to follow their dreams, explore their own interests, and experience life just like anyone else.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Hopefully by now you have a good grasp on the concepts of possession. Using this, you can begin to practice it with your tulpa. These instructions will be useful for perhaps the first few times you attempt it, and can be changed and expanded upon to fit your own individual needs as you progress and experiment.
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Get into a relaxed state in a comfortable, distraction-free environment. This is optional, as you can entirely learn possession while doing basically anything else, but may be useful for the first few attempts so there is minimal stress.
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Have the tulpa start talking. They can think about anything they want for as long as they want, without the host interrupting. They can just ramble aimlessly about whatever they wish. This is good for them becoming the active thinker in the mind, while the host passively listens and does not interfere.
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The tulpa focuses on the body. They zero in on the five senses as well as they can, pay attention to the positioning of the body, and so on. Once they are adequately "looking out" in this way, they are fronting.
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The tulpa applies their own thoughts to the body and begins to move. They can start small and build their way up to the full body. Nothing is holding them back from doing so, it may just take a bit of practice. The host remembers that movement is going to feel the same to them and they should not stress how it feels nor see it as a scary event, and the tulpa remembers that possession is easy. Once they have a good grasp on the body, they can use it however they wish (as long as the host allows them to) until they are tired or want to stop, as nothing is stopping them other than their own mindset - which, is hopefully one of self-assurance and knowing that possession is not at all a difficult feat.
The tulpa can apply these steps to future possession attempts, tweaking them as they see fit, and eventually fronting/possessing will become second-nature and not take any time at all to begin. You can attempt possession absolutely anywhere you are regardless of what you are doing - in class, at work, doing chores, playing games, studying, etc. Possession is as simple as thinking -> moving, which is something that doesn't require a full meditative trance, and is an easy yet rewarding concept for a developed-enough tulpa to learn.
DJFlix on Possession
Liquid Color
What is your favorite color? That color resembles you, every time you think of that color you need to think of yourself. Now have your tulpa choose a color, it can't be close or the same to yours, if they do choose a color close or the same as yours, either you need a new color or they do, but just make everyone happy (I recommend blue and red).
Now associate their color with them, if you think about that color you should think of them. Now, onto the possession part, rest your hand on something, get it comfy, I don't care how. Look at it in your mindscape (thats the term I use, meaning how your mind's eye sees the real world, look at the real world through your mind's eye, you can close your eyes if you need.) your arm will be your color.
You need to drain your hand of the color until you almost can't feel it, disassociate yourself from your hand. Drain the color into somewhere in your brain or something, in one very small point. Now ask your tulpa "Do you want to do this?" and "Are you ready?", you don't want to force them into a possession.
If they say "Yes." then fill your hand with their color very slowly, at first all that will happen is slight twitching, ask them to touch your thumb and first finger together, at first the movements may feel like you, try to avoid this feeling.
Once they got that down, ask them to clench your hand into a fist, the movements will be slow and choppy at first, but they will soon learn how to work your body. Do this as much as you can, then, when you feel ready, start moving up your arm, the first hardpoint is your upper arm, your tulpa must possess all the muscles that control your arm, and there are a lot of back muscles that you don't even realize you have. This method works for your whole body, but when you do this, you must do it for EVERY PART, your eyes, ears, mouth, nose, lungs, throat, voice box, everything. It takes a long time for full control to be accomplished, but when it is, the feeling is amazing.
Basic Strength Exercise
Now that your tulpa can move your hand, have them try and put it in a fist, while (not taking control) try to open in through your subc, it will become a healthy battle for the hand, if they close it they win, if you open it you win, simple as that.
Advanced Liquid Color, Supernova style
Once Liquid color becomes easy to you, you can do what I do for possession. Disassociate from your body completely, then, starting at the top of your brainstem, create a supernova of your tulpa's color, have it (very slowly) go over your whole body, the more you do this, the faster the supernova can go.
Tulpae and Possession of Host
By glitchthe3rd
Possession is, in its most basic form, when a tulpa takes control of its creator's physical body, usually by way of them surrendering control to the tulpa. This can be achieved by a variety of methods, ranging from remote control to the tulpa quite literally "slipping inside" their host as if they were some kind of wetsuit. Usually (but not always) the host is still able to see what is going on, and can speak to their tulpa (think spectator mode inTF2, except locked in first-person). Also, the host can typically kick the tulpa out of their body whenever they please, but not always. Luckily, if your tulpa doesn't hate you they will generally respect your body and the people/objects around you, so even if the host finds they are unable to forcibly remove their tulpa from their body, most tulpae will return control to the host if asked nicely.
Regarding the practical implications of possession, this opens the door for a number of activities in the physical world. A tulpa can type things on a keyboard via possession, enabling them to write things or even communicate with others directly via text chat. They can play video games or draw, if they are inclined towards either activity. One instance of this involves a host setting a score in a game (Audiosurf, for instance), and then having their tulpa possess them and try to beat their score. If a tulpa manages full-body possession, they can potentially go so far as to pose as their creator. When possessing the vocal chords, a tulpa will speak in your voice, an experience that they might find highly disconcerting.
The neuroscientific basis of possession likely lies in a tulpa's ability to seize control of their host's motor cortex. During possession, a tulpa will be linked into your five senses, but they might not necessarily feel pain. Or, it's possible that they have the ability to ignore your body's pain receptors, which more often than not results in the host reporting that they did not feel any pain until after being possessed, if an injury was inflicted. When being possessed for extended periods of time, some have reported having headaches and feeling dizzy afterwards. One possible cause of this is increased glucose consumption in the brain, though the exact reason for that is still unknown. On a tangentially related subject, it seems that a tulpa can overclock your brain for limited periods of time, probably by changing things directly in the subconscious. The result is similar to overclocking a computer, it increases your ability to think at the expense of a higher rate of glucose consumption. Care must be taken however, as it's quite likely that the tulpa temporarily removes psychophysiological inhibitors that keep you from frying your brain in order to do this.
Some members of the tulpaforcing community have reportedly been able to "switch places" with their tulpa, wherein they themselves become the tulpa while their tulpa assumes long-term control of the host's body. It is currently unknown whether this is related to some kind of dissociative identity disorder or other psychosis, and thus far it has not been replicated. However, such a situation raises ethical questions, specifically whether the host is right to absolve themselves of responsibility while forcing their tulpa to effectively live their life for them. Most of the people who have successfully managed possession have not been able to do this however, as it would seem that the host normally remains in control of their sensory inputs during possession.
So there you have it. Possession can be a fun and interesting experience for both a creator and their tulpa, and I would strongly encourage anyone with a finished tulpa to give this a try. You can challenge them to beat your best lap time, get a better high score than you, just give them some computer time, or anything else they'd like to try. But above all, make sure that you can trust them with your body. Start them off with something simple and move up to more advanced tasks. And of course, have fun.
Source: http://articles.tulpa.info/on-possession/
Possession: By a Tulpa for Tulpas
By Arcanus of the Dragonheart System
Introduction
Possession is an optional skill in Tulpamancy that allows a tulpa to access the physical world; it gives a chance for a tulpa to experience things not curated or managed by their host or other system members. Thus, what is possession? For those uninformed, possession is quite simply the act of a tulpa or other system members taking partial or full control of the physical body while the previous person in control is still connected to said body. For many tulpas, this is our primary manner of accessing and interacting with the same world our hosts do, especially so for systems where the host is incapable of fully disconnecting from the body, often considered a highly important step for switching. As such, even possession itself is desired by many tulpas for this opportunity of interacting with the outside, with people who are not of the same mind and body, and to gain experience and develop as individuals.
Numerous possession guides are often created by hosts rather than tulpas or by a neutral viewpoint; there are very few possession guides designed by tulpas themselves who are capable of possession and wish to teach it to others. This guide is crafted by a tulpa who has existed as such for four years, and has been capable of possessing quite well for nearly as long. The aim with this piece is to guide other tulpas with this specific perspective in hopes of sparking a form of eureka moment for other tulpas that can be the flicker necessary to obtain this skill, and for tulpas who use solely nonhuman forms that may be uncomfortable with the idea of using a human body.
Preparation and Mindset
Before attempting possession, there are things to consider and prepare for. These preparations allow future training sessions for possession to be less vexing, and can aid in avoiding potential issues further down the line.
A primary thing a host and tulpa should obtain before practicing possession is the ability to have clear communication between each other, often in the form of vocality. Seizing control of the body is an action that requires both parties to communicate their feelings to each other consistently, especially when speaking about consent. Without clear communication, a situation can go awry or create a schism between the two parties. For example, imagine a tulpa possessing the body without informing the host first, causing bewilderment and fear within the host who had no inkling that the tulpa was going to possess. On the opposing side, picture a tulpa possessing and performing activities when the host snatches back control deliberately and without warning, and thus disrupts what the tulpa was doing. With both parties, this can cause unease and anxiety simply due a lack of communication and respecting boundaries.
To avoid this, both the tulpa and host need to speak with each other and mutually agree to the possession beforehand through means akin to vocality or even tulpish. If one member does not consent, then the other should not ignore the boundaries set by the other person. However, this does not mean a host should unreasonably prevent a tulpa from possessing. There are reasonable times to possess and situations where possession is not ideal where a host may state, "Sorry, now's not a good time because we're in public," and other circumstances that are unreasonable such as, "Sorry, but I don't want you doing this harmless thing." From personal experience, it can be quite thrilling to possess and experience existence in such a physical and lifelike sense, but it is best to show self-restraint and ask before attempting possession.
For further reading to learn about techniques to build communication and vocality, here are a few well-written guides:
- Tulpamancy: Guide Into the Strange and Wonderful: Section 13: Vocality
- Tulpamancy: Guide Into the Strange and Wonderful: Section 25: Methods of Communication
- Tips for Hearing Your Tulpa
- Quantum's Nametag Method
Clear communication often also requires the tulpa to be fairly developed, capable of making informed decisions without the host's input while also being mature enough to handle any possible outside world responsibilities. Younger tulpas have a tendency to be childish and emotional in nature, even being somewhat unstable in form and personality at times, as they continue to establish their identity with forcing sessions and experience. Therefore, a younger tulpa may not understand the importance of respecting boundaries, maintaining what are usually the host's responsibilities such as school or occupations, or may make emotional decisions in favor of logical ones. Harsh world experiences can also be stressful for the tulpa and negatively impact their development while they are still malleable and easily influenced, thus it is ideal for the tulpa to be developed to the point of their identity being mostly solidified and where they have learned to manage their emotions in times of stress and hardship.
How much time it takes for both of these to be met is subjective and has a high degree of variance between Tulpamancers. Both maturity and vocality can come with time, consistent forcing sessions, and patience. What is imperative is to not rush possession; possession is not a fleeting opportunity that is capable of vanishing at a moment's notice. Regardless of the system's age, possession is a skill that will always be available, thus do not feel the need to rush it or obtain it as quickly as humanly possible. Nor should a Tulpamancy system feel as though they are obligated to learn possession. Though few in number, there are tulpas who are quite content with never being in control of the body, instead preferring to be imposed on the material plane or live their lives in a mindscape. Neither host or tulpa should be forced into learning a skill they do not wish to learn if they do not desire it within reason, however, it does not harm either to at least attempt possession once.
Finally, another common issue, specifically for hosts, is a sense of fear or anxiety when pondering the idea of the tulpa taking control. This fear is reasonable, especially with how possession and control swapping is often portrayed in many nations and cultures. In tandem with this, the host is often one who has spent their entire existence being the singular entity of the body; switching as a concept is a direct opposite of what the vast majority of humanity believes to be the sole way of existence, that each consciousness belongs to one vessel and is that vessel. There are some hosts who require self-introspection and must accept that they are not the body itself, but a single consciousness of multiple that happens to dwell within it.
Anxiety for switching can stem from pathological anxiety or this mindset of singularity, and thus not all Tulpamancy-specific advice may apply. Trust between both parties is critical when exchanging control, not simply that they will do no harm with the power they are given, but as a general rule. For both the tulpa and the host: trust in the tulpa to be responsible, and trust in the host to allow the tulpa to safely express themself without overstepping boundaries. Any and all concerns should be spoken about between both members and genuinely listened to, this includes doing whatever possible to negate any doubts or fears.
In conjunction with maturity, the ability to communicate properly, and dousing any fears and anxieties, another key factor in possession is the mindset of both the host and tulpa. It can be deceivingly simple to believe that possession is this archaic skill, possibly due to preexisting connotations of possession from various forms of media and how only supernatural beings are capable of performing this feat. Despite this, possession is not impossible to achieve, nor does it take years for most Tulpamancy systems to gain. Remember that both the tulpa and host exist within the same mind and body; both parties have access to the same neural pathways, and thus access to movement. As months become years, a tulpa eventually reaches a point to being on equal footing with the host, being a fully separate person capable of all the same feats the host is capable of and not simply some entity that can be willed away on a whim.
In addition to this, it is a highly prevalent and pervasive myth that the host must manually dissociate from the body to allow the tulpa to possess. Quite frankly, this is false, as many tulpas have proven to be capable of possession while the host is still fully connected to the body and is aware of what the body is doing. Mindset, however not being an absolute factor, can still majorly influence how quickly or slowly a skill in Tulpamancy is gained. Another belief that can stymie possession training is the belief that the tulpa is lesser, weaker, or simply less capable than the host. By doing this, the host is setting unnecessary limitations on the tulpa, which further slows skill development. When speaking about Tulpamancy, one should not think in absolutes, but instead keep an open mind for any possibility instead of denying or wholeheartedly believing a certain outcome will occur.
Thirdly and finally with possession myths, older guides often reference possession being this "alien" feeling when experienced, a sensation easily noticeable. In recent years, many Tulpamancers have started fervently exclaiming that possession will not feel alien and that it was merely an artifact from the past. As previously stated, believing in absolutes is often an unhelpful mindset in Tulpamancy. Despite the claims from either side, there are Tulpamancers who experience this "alien" feeling and others who do not. A possible explanation for this is a tulpa's presence and the sensation it gives when the tulpa possess, or perhaps this "alien" feeling is more common with tulpas with nonhuman forms that clash more with a human body when attempting to control it. Regardless of whether or not a system will experience this "alien" feeling is unimportant, as many believe this sensation alerts the host whether or not the tulpa is actually moving the body. If one is simply unsure if the body's movement was theirs or their tulpa's, they can simply verify it with the tulpa instead of merely guessing.
Once mentally overcoming these hurdles to the best of one's ability, possession is much more likely to be swift with ample progression and lowering the possibility of tribulations in the future.
Step-by-Step Process and Explanation
At last, the process of possession specifically for tulpas in the perspective of another tulpa. For the sake of brevity and simplicity, the possession strategy will be laid out in steps first, then the explanation will be placed after the method itself. Remember that this method is done solely in the perspective of the tulpa, however, the host at minimum should relax in whatever means they wish and simply allow the tulpa to go through the process.
- Begin by connecting to the body's senses, look through the body's eyes, feel the gravity of the earth pulling downwards, take in any scents or sounds that can be heard, and even pay close attention to any flavors the mouth may be experiencing.
- Hone in on a singular sense, whichever is desired. With the eyes, absorb every single detail possible, every color, every shape, their distance from the body, and more as an example. Or not simply feel the effect of gravity, but also the textures of objects or even the body itself, the temperature of the air or ground, and potentially even focus on negative sensations such as pain if they are present.
- Entrench oneself in that specific sense until feeling completely absorbed by it, entranced to the point of losing awareness of one's form or anything else, even the thoughts of oneself or the host.
- Become that sense, become the eyes, become the skin, the nose, the mouth, or ears. Not simply using the sense, but embodying that sense itself.
- Once this step is complete, repeat the process with the other senses, slowly becoming them while remaining connected to the ones already focused on.
- With every sense focused intensely on, attempt to move the body in some capacity. An example would be moving the eyes if the first step taken was to become sight.
- Attempt to do this with the other senses and what they are related to. Move the body's arms, look around, take a deep breath, and listen to one's environment.
- If the process was successful, the tulpa will be possessing the body.
Note how this strategy does not ask the host to "give up" the body or instruct the tulpa to flow their essence into the body unlike other possession guides. The mindset behind the method presented is guiding the tulpa to essentially synchronize with the body to the point of becoming one with it instead of a nonphysical person, becoming so lost with the world they are experiencing that they simply forget that they are a passenger in the car. When honing in on or focusing highly on a sense, it can be possible for a tulpa to accidentally begin possessing what controls that sense. For example, a tulpa may be interested in what the host is eating, paying such close attention to the food that they begin to experience it physically, possibly even moving the mouth to eat without realizing it.
However, not all tulpas understand the idea of "connecting" to the body's senses, especially tulpas used to living their days in a mindscape. Quite simply, this can be done through intuition and trial and error, or through symbolic means that translate to the act of connecting. It boils down to: what makes sense? For every tulpa, this is highly subjective and there is no flawless method that can be taught.
One must also keep in mind that following these steps may not be successful the first attempt or even after multiple attempts. Rather, a tulpa may take time learning how to focus on a particular sense, or possibly learning how to focus so intently in any sense. One day may be a day filled with progress, but said progress is halted by a singular part, mileage will vary between systems.
Possession for Nonhuman Tulpas
Not every tulpa takes on a human appearance, or even an appearance that matches a human's general shape. Though a tulpa is not quite literally their form, there are some tulpas who are quite connected to their form in a sense either through means of identity or simply out of fondness for their appearance. For tulpas in this category, possession or fronting at all can be uncomfortable or possibly unpleasant due to the contrast between the body and the tulpa's form; this connection with the tulpa's form can also impact how they act whilst in control such as mannerisms, walking style, or even voice to a notable degree.
Common advice to counteract this is for the tulpa to temporarily take a human form when fronting to ease the bodily dysphoria, yet, there are tulpas who are uncomfortable with that idea and would prefer to avoid it. This section is intended for tulpas who are uncomfortable with changing their form just to front.
A simple way to ease the discomfort of body dysphoria is to accept any "quirky" fronting mannerisms, opting to embrace them instead of fully attempting to act like a human. Walking on toes, using hands in a way that is considered odd, even imposing one's own form over the body to whatever capacity within reason (typically known as "phantom limbs if this includes adding otherwise nonexistent limbs). Unless it is necessary not to out the system as plural to others the system is not out to yet, allow oneself to be nonhuman in nature regardless of if they are currently using a human body.
Another method is to have the mindset of, "I am not actually a human, just a nonhuman taking control of a human body," much like the more fantastical definition of possession many are familiar with. This mindset can create a disconnect that may ease the dysphoria, especially for tulpas who solely identify as a singular or set form.
Choose articles of clothing or accessories that match the form or at minimum, mask the human shape such as hoodies or sweatpants. One can also avoid staring at the body in the mirror or undressing, but this can have the negative consequences of becoming more and more avoidant of the body, which is not ideal if one wishes to become at least somewhat accustomed with it.
Conclusion
Being able to control a physical body can be a wonderful opportunity to grow as a person, form relationships and bond with new people, and to have meaningful impact on the world. Possession in of itself may not be a tedious challenge, but it also may not be a breeze a tulpa and host can accomplish within a day. Remember that this guide and strategy are one of many; do not feel shackled to a particular method if it is simply not working out. Every host and tulpa's experiences with possession will vary to some degree, and that is the beauty of such a thing, as it allows for many to share their experiences and knowledge that can reach out to benefit others.
I do hope this guide aids my fellow tulpas.
Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome, as this guide is subject to changes and improvements.
Switching
Switching is when you and your tulpa trade places with eachother. The host effectively becomes the tulpa and the tulpa effectively becomes the host.
Within's Switching Guide
From Within
Switching. The big thing a lot of people strive for but (seemingly) few seem to actually master. This skill has personally taken me five years to get down, but the overall technique is easy enough that just about anyone should be able to get it down with some doing.
Most of the time in any given system, there is one person who is actively calling most of the shots at any given time, and usually has primary control of the body. Switching is when you change out who is calling the shots. At a high level it is not controlling the body, not interfering with the tulpa possessing the body, and then just not reacting to input from the body unless you want to. The body is a tool, switching lets you change who is using it the most directly. Some other definitions of "switching" include arcane requirements, but I prefer a much more simplified view in order to make it seem less "difficult".
The term "switching" is left intentionally vague because the differences between the different "kinds" of switching that the community has come up with are pretty much the same thing in my opinion. This guide is written such that it works with most common interpretations of the term.
Pre-requisites
None of these are hard requirements (except possession), but they help. A lot.
- Meditation skills
- http://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Art-of-Living.pdf is a nice resource for this, it’s pretty heavily Buddhist-flavored though.
- Some level of parallel processing
- Quick and dirty way to train this is to have your tulpa guide meditation sessions
- Possession
- See for a guide on how to do this https://tulpaforce.tk/within/guides/dissociation.html
- Trust in the systemmate you are switching with
- Switching is about handing over complete responsibility to the systemmate you are switching with. Anything you can do right now, they would be able to do. Absolute trust is essential.
Additionally, you will need to be willing to let go (in a way you will have never let go before in your life) of control to the systemmate you are switching with. This is not a hard requirement, but do realize that if they want to do something, they can do it and you need to be able to trust them to not do irresponsible things with your money, etc.
How to Switch
For the host: first, relax, meditate, focus on your meditative focus. Focus on the focus more intensely than you are used to. Next (if it helps), explicitly state in mindvoice (and maybe vocally too if you can) that you are surrendering the body to the tulpa that you want to give it to. If it helps, dissociate from the body, but continue to just focus all of your attention into your meditative focus. Use the attention you were using to focus on the body to focus on your meditative focus, sort of transferring the focus up.
Your goal from here is to just hang out, observe and note what happens without comment as much as possible.
The real fun comes for your tulpa. Tulpa, take a moment to think about what you want to do with the body and keep the goal in mind. Then, affirm to yourself in mindvoice that you want to use the body to do that thing. Ask your host if they are ready, and then start to possess the body. Push yourself into it as hard as you can as your host pulls themself out.
Sometimes this can make the host freak out, so if this happens slow down, backpace a little and ask them what you can do to help. If what they say seems reasonable, do it. If this means stopping for now then stop for now. If this means getting into another position, do it.
Once you feel you have control, Start moving things and see if your host tries to subconsciously jump back into control. When they do, remind them of their meditative focus and help them fall back into meditation. Don’t get frustrated when your host falters, it’s natural for them to be used to being in control. It's a hell of a habit. Especially don’t let your host jumping back into front prevent you from trying. Once you feel you can start moving the body enough to get up and walk around, go explore. Control the body like nothing’s wrong.
Host, now, in the background, take a load off. You don’t need to do anything, so don’t feel forced to. You don’t even have to answer questions if you don’t want to.
If you need to, you can regain control at literally any time you want. The only thing you have to do is want control back and you will quickly find yourself back inside reality. However, this is no replacement for trust. Having a wholly complete trust in the tulpa you are switching with is vital. Don’t be afraid to lose consciousness in the background if you feel like it’s starting to happen. Your tulpa will take care of reality for you.
Other notes for the tulpa switching into the body
This is mostly on you. Your overall goal here is to extend your influence over the body and help calm your host. Control the body like nothing is wrong. If your host intervenes with you while you are doing things, re-sync yourself to the body, affirm yourself in front and then continue with what you were doing like nothing happened. If it happens a few times in a short period of time, spend some more time with your host, talk about the things that are making them hold on to reality so tightly.
Keep a log of your switching practice and anything you find out while switching or getting close to it. Have the tulpa that is switching into front keep the log updated. See http://tulpaforce.xyz/within/guides/switch-tracking.html for more information.
Parallel Processing and Switching
by BlackStatic and Kaigan Kurone
Introduction
Hi, everyone. My name is Ayla "BlackStatic" Kurone, the host and creator of my tulpa Kaigan Kurone. While I'm new to the names tulpaforcing, possession, imposition, wonderlands etcetera, I have managed to unintentionally create Kai about six to seven years ago and form a completely sentient thought form whom happily shares his life experiences with me. Since discovering tulpa.info, I have created three more tulpae; Liana, Vincent and Spencer. However, this guide will focus on the experiences of Kaigan and I.
Kaigan and I have shared conciousness through the use of Parallel Processing, which I have briefly covered in The Tulpa.info community knowledge bin on Google Docs. However, the method we will focus on here is Switching what happens during a switch, how it affects the host, and how to do a personality switch while trusting your tulpa not to make you do anything stupid during the process (Kai and I have had our slip ups from time to time, haha.)
What is Switching?
"In the general sense, switching is kind of like being possessed or having an out of body experience the host and the tulpa "switch places" so to speak, with the tulpa being able to control the body while the host watches from the sidelines. In Parallel, you and the host are both concious and aware of what's going on at the same time."
- Kaigan Kurone
What Does Switching Feel Like?
Following on from what Kaigan said, being switched feels a little like lucid dreaming, from a host sense. You're not quite "there" and, like in a dream, some of your senses are either dulled or heightened. My sense of touch usually becomes fuzzy, with my eyesight or sense of hearing making up for inability to smell. Anyone who has had experience with dopamines or marijuana highs will know this sensation. Sometimes, during a switch or parallel processing, Kaigan will cause me to sneeze uncontrollably as he tries to work out how to control my physical body.
In Parallel Processing, the effects on your subconscious and mind's eye share similarities to Personality Switching. The mind of the host begins to see and experience the world in the same way a tulpa would, watching the world from the background while the tulpa's thoughts, actions and sentience are the body's current priority. The host will feel like the body belongs to the tulpa rather than themselves, and this can be an unsettling situation at first being able to hear your tulpa's thoughts as if they were your own, and having to communicate to your tulpa as the minority entity. But with time and practice, the ability to switch conciousness between you and your tulpa will eventually become second nature.
Trust, Focus and Sense
Trust
"When you first decide to create a tulpa, you have to trust them and they have to trust you. You guys are gonna become friends for life, or mortal enemies, depending on how you trust each other. Remember this guys; TULPA MEANS TRUST."
- Kaigan
You also have to trust yourself. You might not think anything is happening at first, or that it's all a waste of time. Without trust, the confidence required to achieve switching flies out the window. Things will be difficult at first, as this act of viewing the world from outside of your body can be a strange new experience. Not everyone can achieve this on their first try, so persistence is necessary for best results.
Focus
Any form of mental training, be it meditation or simply learning a new language, involves focusing your attention for long periods of time. This is why we suggest that when first practising switching, it is a good idea to start in a quiet environment with minimal distraction, and at a time when you are less likely to lose concentration e.g. sleep deprived, thinking about that overdue homework etc. Some people may prefer to work with music or binaural tones playing to avoid distraction, but Kaigan and I find that music or outside noises will more than often interfere with our switching.
Sense
Focus and Sense go hand in hand. Your ability to sense your own thought patterns and when you experience new or unusual emotions is a vital part to understanding switching and parallel processing; the way you or your tulpa reacts to a certain emotion or event can be different depending on their personality or view of their (your) environment. Sense is a common part of tulpaforcing in general, as it allows for the host to perceive and observe their tulpa as it interacts with them. The stronger and more unique these reactions can be, the more sentient and independent your tulpa is. If you're beginning to doubt your senses, or if something begins to feel uncomfortable, remember that you and your tulpa have to trust one another and communicate your fears and doubts else anything feels wrong.
The Process of Switching
Once you have understood the concepts of Trust, Focus and Sense, you can apply them to the actual switch itself. Find a time and place where you can sit comfortably so that you are unlikely to be disturbed or distracted. It is generally a good idea to be sitting up with your back straight; if you choose to lie down when switching you may end up falling asleep. Like mentioned in the Focus step, music can either help or interfere with your ability to stay awake during general tulpaforcing.
Try to imagine your thoughts and emotions like bubbles or smoke. You can do this via the wonderland or simply through reminding yourself periodically. Keep yourself aware of every thought your mind has; however, don't try to follow that thought or get stuck chasing that one bubble! This leads to distraction! Remember that you want to keep your mind clear and that your thoughts should drift, just like bubbles. That way, when your tulpa tries to communicate with you, your sense of their mindvoice or actions will be easier to notice.
Kai: Some advice for the tulpa now while they are detached from their thought bubbles, try to narrate your own thoughts to your host. Is it cold in the room? Are you hungry for chocolate covered nachos? Can you try to move your host's hand or get them to sneeze spontaneously? Practice some possession while your host is watching these bubbles, and see if they can begin to recognise any thought processes or behaviours that seem to belong to your sentience rather than theirs. If you and your host can think and sense with the body at the same time, then you've managed to achieve parallel processing!
Once your host is content enough, you can communicate with them that you want to try and switch. This may be approached in various ways. One particular way I've seen this done is to "knock out" your host, sending them into forced unconciousness while you have control. However, I find this method a little... harsh, at times. If your host is knocked out against their will, then that's breaching our first step: TRUST. How can your host be sure they can trust you in a switch if you've beaten them over the head with a crowbar, so to speak?
For the host, if you are able to send yourself into a meditation-like state when switching this is essentially like training yourself to have an out of body experience. In some sense, you are telling another part of your subconcious mind to take over while "you" are floating off somewhere else, say, the wonderland for example. Wether you want to compare it to astral projection or the symptoms of a bipolar mood swing is up to you the key point here is that your conciousness is "in the background"; detatched from the body, in some "other place" while your tulpa is in control.
Remember those thought bubbles we were talking about? Extend the thought bubbles into sensory bubbles. Any form of touch, taste, smell or sight you are currently experiencing should be treated as yet another bubble, each rising up and leaving your body as you enter the switch. Imagine your tulpa absorbing these bubbles and shaping them into a way of piloting your body, taking in what was originally your own sentience and adapting it into their own.
Kai: for the more creative-minded tulpa, imagine the body as a suit made from these bubbles. When your host has removed this "consciousness suit", you simply get into it and wear their "skin" as your own. You can even treat it like a mecha, and you're now the one behind the controls.
The Switch: Before, During and After
One main thing to remember about switching in comparison to parallel processing or full possession is that you will have no control of your body essentially, your tulpa has knocked you out to take over your consciousness. Some hosts will experience the feeling of blacking out or going into a sleep-like state; this can mean you have no recollection of your memories while switched. This is why you have to trust your tulpa beforehand that they won't do anything stupid while switched.
Kai: You know, like, running in front of passing traffic. Probably a pretty bad idea.
This is why switching in public can have its precautions. It's recommended that any switching occurs when both the host and tulpa know for a fact that they can trust each other not to take advantage of the physical body while another mind is using it.
Painkillers and medications can also have their effects on switching. Paracetamol, Panadol and other pharmaceutical drugs are, to a degree, mind altering drugs and can affect the thought processes and sensory perception of the brain which can have its effects on switching and tulpaforcing. It is recommended that if anyone is to take a painkiller or any form of drug during switching, please be aware of the consequences and take any side effects into consideration.
Final Notes
With that being said, we bring this guide to a close. Our final notes are to remember the three steps discussed in this guide trust, focus and sense as these apply to all forms of tulpa interaction and serve as grounding rules for any switching or parallel processing you and your tulpa may attempt.
Please also remember that this is not the only guide or method to switching! There are many different ways to approach the tulpa phenomenon and anything that may happen in relation to your thought forms and minds eye; we are only providing what information we know has worked for us, and these methods may or may not work for you.
Thanks guys, and happy tulpaforcing!
- Ayla and Kaigan Kurone
http://tulpa.info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpa
Malfael's Guide to Switching
version 1.0 – switchin’ with bacon
Acknowlegdements
I'd like to thank Kronkleberry and Alyson for their input on different switching styles and experiences, and Metallica48423 for being my pre-audience. ALSO NYCTO!!!11oneone
Vocabulary
I like the psychological school of thought, so I see tulpas as a product of the mind. Thus, this guide will follow a psychologically leaned perspective. That's not to say metaphysical slanted individuals can't use it. (We all have brains, after all. Psychology still applies to metaphysics, and vice versa.) I'm starting with some vocabulary because it's important to identify where you are with switching so you can see where your progress deviates from the course I have set. Now, this is only for deviations that harm your progress. Deviation isn't inherently bad, and if a certain way works for you, then it works.
Switching
Switching, for the purposes of this guide, is based on several things. First of all, switching is recognizing there are at least three parts to the process: you (a) as the one who is currently associated with or "in" the body, the body (b), and the switchee (c) that wishes to associate with the body. Notice the body is neither paired with you or your switchee here. Next, switching is the process of having you (a) dissociate with the body (b) and the switchee (c) associate instead of you. Notice that you and the switchee must switch places, thus the name "switching."
Association
Association, for the purposes of this guide, is a term based on this guide's concept of switching. Association is treating you (a) and the body (b) as one, or linked. Basically, it's feeling things as you through the body.
Dissociation / Disassociation
Although dissociate and disassociate are synonyms in English, the term dissociate is the psychological term used to refer to the state we're looking for.
"In psychology, the term dissociation describes a wide array of experiences from mild detachment from immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from physical and emotional experience. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality, rather than a loss of reality as in psychosis."
–Wikipedia, on the psychological term Dissociation
For our purposes, dissociation will refer to the detachment (or inability to perceive) the direct results of your body. So, basically, not being able to feel your senses directly. More advanced dissociation would have you not even notice them, but you are still dissociated if you are aware of them but cannot feel them yourself. Imagine this as the difference between seeing pictures of your friend's birthday, and actually being there to experience it.
Possession / Full Body Possession
Possession is a concept close to the below, confronting. It is based on the idea that the "you" is a host, or the original/prevalent controller of the body. You are still associated with the body, however you do not control the body. Instead you let another less experienced or weaker controller move the body. This is a tulpa concept, whereas confronting is a multiple community concept. Multiples do not assume there is and will always be an original host; thus tend to treat other members of a single-body group, which they call a system, more as equals than the tulpa/host dynamic the tulpa community has. There is a great deal of overlap between possession and confronting, and most of the difference is that the two words come from two different communities.
Cofronting
Cofronting for this guide is based on the same switching model with you (a), the body (b), and the switchee (c). However, with confronting, both you (a) and the switchee (c) associate with the body (b). Neither of you are dissociated. Not to be confused with possession.
The Nature of Switching
Before we get into switching, I'd like to go over the concepts surrounding switching. First of all, switching itself is a manufactured idea. It is the pairing of several concepts, not just a natural thing that happens. That's why the vocab word for it was written the way it was! Switching, as you may have read, is made up of dissociation and association. These are two separate things. You can associate with something, or you can dissociate, or you can do both (which is switching). Dissociating with the body, for example, would just leave your poor body as a lump of human on the floor. You'd still be breathing, obviously, but it would be like a temporary coma you can get yourself out of at any time. Association, similarly, can be seen in stuff like going to wonderland! When you visit your imaginary landscape, the goal is to put yourself there as if you're really there really feeling stuff. This is associating with the wonderland. But you don't have to dissociate with your body to associate with wonderland, and you don't have to associate with wonderland to dissociate with your body. The more you know, right?
Conceptual Depersonalization
Switching is very conceptual. Like tulpas themselves, it requires you to look inside yourself and see a change that you're not sure is happening. To help you map out the process, I am using a specific context for viewing yourself. If you read my definition of switching, you saw the condensed version. This goes into more depth, but remember this is just one concept. It's not "an ultimate truth of life," just a helpful way to think about things.
Your sense of self is the concept you've formed of what "you" are. Notice the quotations. You is a very personal concept, and it can be whatever you want it to be.
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Are you your body?
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Your gender?
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Your hair color?
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Your age?
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Are you a complex string of DNA replicated throughout your entire system?
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Are you your collected thoughts?
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Your dreams? Your tulpas?
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Are you the collection of your memories?
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Are you the columniation of your life events?
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Are you your soul?
These are all questions concerned with the definition of "you," and the answer to them varies according to how you perceive yourself. Whatever your answers are, it is this "you" (a) that must become separate from your body. Which means the first four (or five) questions you should be answering no to. Distance yourself from your physical form, your body (b), and your sense of "you" will not encompass it anymore. One way to do this is to give your body depersonalizing attributes, or to treat it like an object you use instead of
you. This is basically making it out to be a vessel for "you" instead of a part of "you." To help you understand and practice this concept, I have several exercises you can do to separate you (a) from your body (b) on a conceptual level. Later in this section we'll also have physical detachment from the body.
Hosts in the host/tulpa relationship usually have years of experience with controlling the body alone without any concept of dissociative feats like possession or switching. When the body moves, the default expectation is that the host did it. Removing the host from the equation will allow the tulpa to
practice association without doubt that the host is still in power. If the switchee doubts they are moving the body, check if the host (a) is dissociated or not.
Exercise: Your Body is a Car
This is an exercise that will help you (a) dissociate from the body (b). You are going to pick a day and pretend your body is a car you drive all day. Simple, but it requires a lot of distancing thought to drive home the idea that you (a) and your body (b) are separate. Here are some things you should consider while driving your body...
- You own the body, but it is not you: The body is like your car. You aren't your car, but you're still responsible when you get into a car crash. This is because you are controlling your car, just like you control the body.
- The body is your vehicle: The body (not your body) is a vehicle for you to get around in. Like a car has roads to drive on, your body has physical things that make up the places it can go. The body has roads too – sidewalks and stairwells. The entire human world is paved to make it so the body can travel places, like a lot of the world is paved with roads to make it so your car can go places.
- The body is a machine: The body is made of things like meat and bone and hair. It becomes physically injured. It grows weary and doesn't work as well, like a rusting machine. Sleep and food are the fuel and lubricant you give the body to make sure it works well for you, but you are not your body.
- The body is driven by you: When you want to go somewhere, you must tell the body to move, like you shift your car into gear and drive it. This is an automatic function for you, but like you knew when you were young, it was not always automatic. Today you know how to walk, like someone who has driven a long time knows how to drive, but focus on the mechanisms of walking. Focus on each step, and how you are in control of it. Focus on your breathing, and how you can control that too. Everything you do is you telling the body to do something.
These kinds of concepts applied to the body are made to sever the link you have with it. Eventually you will understand and practice these concepts well enough to know you can pull off to the side of the road and take a step out of your body. You can leave the gridlock and sit for a moment outside of your world. But remember, you do need your car to get around. Taking a break isn't the same as giving your car away to a friend (your tulpa)!
Exercise: Someone Else
This exercise is made to practice your detachment from your actions. Hosts are used to every motion, thought, and feeling in their body belonging to them. Tulpas are an exercise in giving some of that over to another sense of self
- a you that is not you. When you made your tulpa, you learned that some thoughts are alien and not your own. Now you will learn that some actions are the same – not yours.
This is a very involved process and you might want to use timers to remind yourself of the steps. You will pick a time that is at least one hour, but can be as long as a day to several days at a time. You will split your day up into two sections: being mindful of your actions, and depersonalizing them.
Being mindful is simply being aware of what you are doing. Take at least 15 minutes to sit still and just watch yourself think. Do not change your thought, do not judge the things that come to mind, just watch as you think them. After at least 15 minutes, get up and go about your day. If you have homework to do, do it. If you go to school or work, get ready or go. Drive, walk, brush your teeth. Do what you normally do, just watch yourself as you do this. Be aware at all times that you are doing things, like you're monitoring your own life. Do not change anything. I repeat this because it can be hard to see yourself doing something and not affect it, but this is part of the process. Do exactly as you always do for at least 15 minutes.
After your first 30 minutes of mindfulness, now you get to start depersonalizing. Do not stop being mindful of your actions – the first step was to identify your action. Now you will distance yourself from it. Pretend that the person thinking your thoughts and living your life is not you. Nothing about you has changed, and you should not change anything. You're only there to watch as things happen around you. Your life plays out like a movie reel, and your thoughts are like the people in the audience commenting on that movie. You are a quiet observer, sitting in your own seat, not saying a word. You're just here to enjoy a movie about someone that is exactly like you, but not you at all. Do this for at least 30 minutes, and try to work up to longer and longer times.
This can be difficult for some. Awareness of your actions often leads to wanting to fix or change something. When you have your morning coffee or someone shouts at you, your first instinct is to be happy or sad – to act as yourself. Remember this is not you, but someone else doing what you would do. Thus, you cannot change your action, because you are not the one doing it. For the length of this exercise, everything that happens is not you.
Physical Dissociation
Now let's talk about more physical aspects of dissociation. A good number of people don't know where to even begin with switching, but everyone can experience physical sensations – hunger or fatigue, something that affects the body. Switching, as described by those who can do it, feels a variety of different ways to different people. Because of this, I will give you examples of a few ways of what switching physically feels like. Keep in mind, switching is not any one of these things or a combination of them. Switching feels LIKE a lot of these exercises. Exactness is not necessary, but if you feel similarly without the aides I'm giving you in this section, then you have probably dissociated.
Exercise: Numbness
Switching often feels numbing both emotionally and physically. One good way to dissociate from your sense of touch is to simply expose yourself to cold. You can dunk your hands in ice water, but if your cold is weather related, you should bring some cold weather gear with you. Obviously this sensation will get uncomfortable after a while, and it may even hurt afterwards. Numbness in low levels is what you're looking for – if you feel pain while defrosting you've probably gone too far. Also remember not to freeze yourself out in the wilderness! You want to feel numb, not like you're catching pneumonia. Numbness via cold is a good quick method of losing the touch sensation, but there are other ways to experience numbness too. Feeling like your limbs fell asleep is another common switching sensation. Having your arm or leg fall asleep happens when bloodflow is cut off. To do this, simply sit on your own leg, or rest your arm under something heavy but not heavy enough to trap yourself. Again, try not to hurt yourself doing this. Limit numbness exposure to around 30 minutes. If you lose color in your extremities during either of these exercises, you may want to stop.
The goal with the numbness exercise is to expose you to the physical sensations that are close to switching. Occasionally these sensations do not occur, but the presence of them while attempting to switch is a good sign. Note, your switchee (c) should either not feel these, or learn to get used to the body so these effects are less intense for them. When you are switching, you (a) are dissociating, and your switchee (c) is associating.
Exercise: Deafness & Time Loss
Dissociation, in many ways, is the healthy form of a disordered concept. Multiple Personality Disorder patients often experience blackouts in which they are not aware of their body's presence or the passage of time. Not all switching has this severity of symptoms, and it is possible to switch and never experience loss of time or awareness of the outside world. Switching is only dissociating, not blacking yourself out. However, a good method of proving to yourself that you have switched is to experience induced time gaps and ignorance of the outside world.
In order to accomplish this, and immunize yourself against "snapping" back to association with the body, this exercise is designed to black you out for specific amount of time you choose, while also testing your dissociation in the face of interesting external stimuli. Put on a tv show or soundtrack you're easily drawn in by. The idea is to listen/watch through the entire span without discerning any fine details. For tv, you would look right at the show and not be able to retain anything that happened during it. This is often difficult for some, and you might want to begin by listening to or watching media that is in a foreign language so it is impossible for you to pick up on what is being said.
The goal would be to maintain a dissociative state in a variety of associating stimuli (like wanting to watch tv), to experience time gaps, and to not retain details of the outer world while switched. This will help focus you inwardly. Note that again, your switchee (c) should be associated with the body and the outside world. They should either not lose time, or experience lesser dissociative symptoms than you.
Association
This section is concerned with conceptual association with the body, whether it is for the host or the tulpa. The last two sections defined the you (a) that would dissociate and is used to associating, and the body (b), which is the vessel for both you and the switchee. This section will define more of the switchee's (c) role in it. Remember, neither you (a) nor the switchee (c) have all the responsibility in a switch. It is a collaborative effort. You (a), or in the case of tulpas, the host, is usually more associated with the body and more well developed than a tulpa. The host will have a lot of ways to aid the tulpa, but both parties have methods of contributing to create a successful switch. Working together is key.
Note: this section is also useful for hosts who have dissociative symptoms or trouble getting back into the body. It's not just for tulpas.
Exercise: It's All You
The switchee (c) is going to pick a day and pretend the body is and always has been theirs. Like with the Your Body is a Car exercise, this is a simple but mindful process that you should practice over longer and longer periods of time. Here are some prompts to help you become in the habit of calling the body yours...
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It's your body: Do not speak or think of the body as "the body" or "my host's body." This body is yours. It is who you are, and who you show up to others as. Look at your body, and everything about it is you. It may be a new sensation, but it's still familiar to you. You remember and know things about your body. You remember what you look like. What DO you look like? Do you have long or short hair? What color is your hair? What body shape do you have? Are you hungry or full right now? Are you tired or energized? Are you male or female? Recite these things about yourself, because this is who you are. Keep them in mind in everything that you do.
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You feel your body: You do not feel things from a source outside of yourself; from a host or a physical form. The feeling and sensation comes directly from you. When you sit on a chair, you can feel your spine straightening and tightening to keep you in place. You can feel your clothes on your own skin. You can feel your lungs expanding and contracting as you breathe in and out, naturally. You don't even need to think about it, everything you do is so naturally you.
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You are the source of everything: When you feel emotion, the source is yourself. Your concern whether or not you're really here experiencing this; whether or not you're really a part of this body. Your excitement to be physical and alive and seen by others. It's all coming from you, and it's making your heart beat just a little faster. That's you, from within, making your body respond to your emotions effortlessly.
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You are the center of experience: The person that left this body to you is still there. They may have looked at you from their perspective at a time, but now you are the ultimate perspective. When your mind thinks, it thinks according to you. You look at your host and your body from your own insight. You are the beginning of thought, and the end of it. When you hear someone else, they are always thinking or talking from an altered state of you, because you are the center and the source of all things in your mind, and you are the ultimate controller of your feeling and your actions both inside and outside the body.
These kinds of concepts applied to the body are made to strengthen your connection firstly to the body, and secondly to yourself as the stronger, more dominant personality within your body. Eventually you will understand and practice these concepts well enough to know your role as the switchee (c) is simply another passenger in the vehicle that is your body. At any time you can take the wheel and drive yourself, because you are every bit as able a driver as who normally drives.
Exercise: Fake it Till you Make it
This is one of the most simple, easy, but consequently slow methods of maintaining a long switch. Basically, the host (a) pretends to the the tulpa (c). Pick a long stretch of time, at least 30 minutes but it would be better if you did it for an hour or longer. Think about how your switchee acts. How they move, how they react, how they feel about things. Now copy that. You might want to make it easy by writing out categories and adding traits to each section.
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What physical attributes does your switchee have that would make them move differently than you? Are they taller and heavier than you, so they walk with a large powerful gait? Are they more bouncy? To they smile more? Pick three descriptions of how they physically appear differently than you.
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What mental attributes does your switchee have that would make them think differently than you? Are they more considerate of others? More extroverted? Would they, given the time, chat online all day longer than you would? Pick three descriptions here to practice too.
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What emotional variations do they have differently? Pick three different attributes where you differ emotionally.
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What hobbies to they enjoy more than you? This is self explanatory. Just go do these things in ways your switchee would.
Exercise: You are Your Host
This exercise is made to practice your association with the body's actions. Switchees (c) are used to things in the body being someone else's. They may experience sensations from the physical world, but they are not associated with the body itself, and the body is the source of all physical sensation. When you became self-aware, you learned that not all of your actions are yours. You may have learned that nothing relating to the body has anything to do with you, but you know someone close who experiences things for you or instead of you. This perception is naturally dissociative in nature, and if you want to switch, you're going to have to associate with more things.
You're going to have to be greedy about what is really "you" and what is the person that's usually driving you around.
This is a very involved process and you might want to use timers to remind yourself of the steps. You will pick a time that is at least one hour, but can be as long as a day to several days at a time. You will split your day up into two sections: watching your body's actions, and associating with them.
Take at least 15 minutes to compose yourself and focus intently on every minute detail that the body does. Make sure you look at everything for a time. How is it doing with its needs? Is it fed? Well-rested? Stressed or calm? Does it need to use the bathroom? Is it cold or hot? Next look at how it's feeling. The body has the limbic system, which is the source for emotional response. That system will be yours soon, but for right now just notice the activity. Is it happy or sad? Mildly annoyed? What feelings can you feel coming from the body? Then look at the mind, which lives in the brain. This is where the essence of you as a mental being lives. What thoughts are going through your head? Are they all yours? Which ones aren't, and which ones are? Is there anything you have at the back of your head that you're not focusing on to read these words?
After taking 15-30 minutes to notice everything, start connecting yourself to it. Focus intently on not just watching everything, but affecting it too. If the body feels a little down, make it feel a little better. Like you're feeling. If you're hungry, think of something you have in your kitchen then go get it. You may not feel the connection at first – your host might be the one actually getting up for food, but if you keep putting yourself in the place of your host and acting on that, you will begin to form associative bonds with the body that grow stronger. Each time the body does something, always say it's you. Every time you think of something big or small to make the body move, or make the body feel something, push to have it done. Twitch limbs, make your stomach growl. Pick up a pencil you see on a desk. Every action, no matter what, was something you had a part in. And eventually the one who may or may not be helping you with this will be gone, and you'll be the only one doing everything. But for the span of at least 30 minutes, no matter what you feel is actually happen, claim everything that happens to the body is your doing.
Exercise: The Control Room
This is a more symbolic idea that you can apply to any one of the above dissociative or associative exercises to help provide more of a clean definition in the switch. It's very simple. Design a room in your head that looks like it might control something – maybe a spaceship, a plane, or a fighter mech. Whatever you like. It will have large screens to see and many controls to use. Now you simply envision whoever is controlling the body as inside the control room. When practicing the above exercises, have the one controlling the body step out of the room, and the one trying to control the body step in. The more detail into this process, the more it will have a solid, valid place to operate from mentally.
Once the controller of the room is switched, it may help to envision the new controller working the controls while learning to operate the body. If something doesn't work, like a hand doesn't flinch when you ask it to, then something is wrong with the control seat. Finding the electrical issue and doing some rewiring could help, or if you find yourself being moved out of the body and your partner moving back in, throw them out again.
Anything that happens can be translated into a symbolism, and finding a symbolic solution will help resolve the kind of conceptual problems encountered in switching.
So you wanna switch? Do you, really? Might be able to help that.
by Keiretsu
Author's Introduction
I am Seven, one of a system of several. My system has DID origins, and we've learned to function not by repressing each other, but by accepting each other as equals and working together. For the concerned, this guide won't cause you to become DID, it simply summarizes some of what I've learned myself in ways that help tulpas who are willing to look past and beyond the limitations placed on them by so many others. I know it works for myself from firsthand experience, as my tulpas are quite capable in their own right.
A friend with tulpas wanted to learn to switch, and we shared what we've come to know about how things work, and it did wonders for them. Several other tulpamancers have read this, and it's helped them out as well. Perhaps it'll help you realize, the thing holding you back most are limitations you place upon yourselves.
That said, let us begin, shall we?
State of the Tulpa
This is the first bit I firmly believe most have wrong. You spent time forcing, they became active, you both talked about switching. If you're to this point, first thing holding people back is preconceived notions and perceived limitations. We have had similar results with both of our tulpas, and know that most of what people say they can or cannot do falls in line with what they are told they can or cannot do. If you ignore all that, they can do a whole lot more than you think they can.
People talk about the required forcing, tulpas weakening if you don't strengthening if you do, fading, and other rubbish with tulpas. Why rubbish? It is. Once they exist, their existence is as much, if not more, on them than the host. Our Kara, when she became who she is, we wanted her to fade. She got stubborn, and only calmed down once we accepted her. Many say you need to maintenance force, and I firmly believe that's only true if they believe it to be true. Neither of our tulpas believe it, we don't force them, and they are as much of us as the rest with no signs of going away. Both are well over a year old, and haven't had any “focus time” between then and now.
So first step is breaking free of the notions and limitations and them realizing they have control over their own destiny and have every right as you to exist. If the tulpa thinks of themselves as the lesser being, come back when you rectify that.
Losing Control
You want to switch? You're the host? You have the easy job. Let go. That's all. You know what's going to stop you? I can tell you. Trust. Ever see that trust exercise where you cross your arms, and fall back into your partner's hands? Trade hands with mind. You simply let go and let yourself relax and fall back into your own mind.
Want some tips to get started if you're having problems? Don't tweak out on caffeine before you begin trying. Avoid the sugar. Put on some relaxing music, and I don't mean 300bpm techno. Your first switching experiences will likely be with you still partly there, so don't expect to drop completely out before they take control, you just need to relax enough they can. It is a lot easier than it sounds. Once you repeat it a few times, and as they get better and better control, you'll learn how it feels and be able to fall farther and farther out. You aren't going to be going 'fully inside' immediately, get that out of your head. It'll happen, in increasing amounts as you get better at it.
To expand on this just a little bit, and make it absolutely clear.. some think it requires total dissociation from the body to achieve switching. Whoever told you that probably doesn't know how to switch, or you're reading a guide by someone who doesn't do it. You can switch perfectly fine into a backseat role by simply relaxing. You aren't entirely dissociated, you are still there, but so are they. No need to get entirely out, just relax and let them control. Entirely out will come with time.
So step two is simply learning to relax. You'll get better at it until you're fully dissociated, but just start with relaxing.
Taking Control
This one is for the tulpa. You have the hard job. Odds are, your host has drilled into you that they must force you to exist or you'll stop. That you must go through months or years of rigorous training to be able to switch. That you must be given permission, forced enough, or yada yada yada. Screw all that, it's a lie.
Do you exist now? If the answer is yes, from our experiences, and from your answer, that means you exist. Your host would say they exist. Puts you on a pretty equal playing field. The only one that matters anyway. All those things that others say limit you, or you must do before, or whatever else? Toss them out the window. The only two factors that matter before being able to switch are: do you want to switch in, and does the host want to switch out. That is all. There are no other limitations.
Do note, it really only takes one of those to cause things to happen. If they want to switch out and you don't want to switch in, the body might end up grasping at straws and forcing it to happen for you. Flip side, if you decide you want to, and they don't, things can get a bit blendy.
Really though, it just comes down to a matter of doing. Not wanting to do, not thinking about doing, nothing about the lead up. That is where most get it wrong. There is no need for lead up to the act of taking control. You just need to take control. If you want to switch and host wants to switch then they just need to relax and you need to step up to the plate and do something. Most people think you have to be forced into front by the host, this is the fallacy.
You both getting ready to try? They not relaxing? Tell them to. Boss your host around. You need to realize, if you can't make a demand of your host and tell your host what to do to help the process in any way that benefits you taking control, then you're not taking control, and will find taking control of the body nearly impossible. See a pattern there? Take control!
So step three is realizing all it takes is taking control and not waiting to be allowed to do so, and not waiting for them to put you in control.
Baby Steps
The flesh can be weird. At first, your experiences will likely be short lived as the host panics. Adrenaline and other hormones affect things a bit, as you are sharing one fleshy, human body. Don't worry, you all will move past that as you both learn your roles better during switching.
Keep at it a while and it will become second nature to be able to tell your host you want to take a few hours in the evening to talk to your friends, or want to schedule a part time job three nights a week for yourself, or whatever it is you decide you want to do with your portion of life. Why do I say your portion of life?
Step four is accepting you are you and exist along side your host and do not rely on them. Work up to the ability to lead your life during your time.
The Actual Process
What? What are you expecting here? You already know it by now if you've been reading along. There isn't magic to it. You just need to go and do it and stop telling yourselves it needs to be worked up to and there's a long drawn out step by step process. There really isn't. Host relax, tulpa take control, and that's about it. Nothing more, nothing less. It'll get more defined and focused and you'll be able to hold longer with practice.
Some Final Words
Whoever the tulpa is just needs to realize, once they exist, they no longer rely on the host for sustenance or permission for anything. The host created them, and in doing so, instilled in them every right to exist as they, themself has. In this realization, they are no longer a construct, but a being on equal footing to the host. If the tulpa considers themself only a lesser being created by and for their host, you aren't going to get very far. The host will continue overriding everything. A tulpa has every right as their host to be there. They are inherently equals.
You both have as much right to life as the other. Once you both truly, deeply understand this, you will both be able to share life and the fleshy body you both inhabit. Do not let others tell you what your limitations are or what you can or cannot do. That is entirely up to you. Once you do learn to share and share alike, then do make sure you make time for each other to both enjoy what parts of life you enjoy most. You have a shared life experience, and both of you will need to learn to work out a schedule for who gets to do what in daily life now.
Additional Note
You may notice, once the process starts, the host can snatch back the body easily and quickly even when they do not want to. As reckless as we have been and offering control around and ignoring rules has still shown one single rule to be true. However it is not limited to just switching, but all of life. Whoever spends the most time in the body will be the most practiced with it, and generally win battles over who gets it. Can be a nuisance when you first get started, but as you both share time more and more, you will find yourselfs both practiced and on more equal footing. To go a step farther on that, if the host does let the tulpa take the majority if the time, they may find the tables turned and themself finding it difficult to get and maintain control. It's important to maintain a balance.
- Seven and Aegis
Controlled Switching
CW: plurality, second-person instructions
Being able to intentionally control switching can be really helpful for a plural system. Perhaps one system member is feeling particularly sensitive to a certain type of stress. Maybe a little is in front and ran into a situation they do know how to deal with. Sometimes the current fronter is just tired and needs a break.
We the authors are unsure of how many systems are able to control switching vs how many are not, but we've met a number of systems who wanted to get a better control over their switching, and found it helpful to try methods that other systems have used.
Learning these things won't stop unintentional switches, but if unintentional switches cause problems for you, they can help you undo an unwanted switch.
How To Intentionally Switch
Here's the core of most switching methods:
The person coming to front focuses on paying attention to the body and the world around them. They then choose to do something in the real world.
The person leaving front doesn't try to do things. They also don't try to stop doing things either. They don't resist if someone else starts doing something. They let themselves daydream and pay less attention to world around them.
However this is really abstract and can be hard to understand, so here's some examples:
Breathing Exercise
This one is a personal example that we've used a lot in times of stress.
Whoever is leaving front: Slowly breathe in, and back out. You can use an animation like this one to help:
Breathe in and out four times. Then stop.
Whoever is coming to front: Once the person leaving front stops breathing, you begin breathing. Breathe in and out four times. Feel the body as you do. Then stop.
Alright now go do whatever it is you want or need to do.
Symbolism
Systems who make use of headspace a lot often find symbolic methods in headspace work well for them. Here are a few examples we've seen people use:
Symbolism Ex 1: Control Room
Create a room in headspace as a dedicated control room. Maybe put in a screen that shows what the body's eyes are seeing, some speakers that play what the ears are hearing, some controls, a control chair, stuff like that. Check out the control room from the movie Inside Out for some inspiration:
When you want to switch, have whoever's in front leave the controls, and have someone else start using them.
This can be useful for co-fronting too if that's something you find helpful.
Symbolism Ex 2: Position In The Body
So for this one, the person imagines themself as a bunch of light filling the body. They imagine pulling all the light together to a small ball, maybe in the head.
Then whoever's moving to front does the opposite, imagining themself as a ball of light expanding to fill the whole body.
Tulpamancer Lifehack: Dissociation for Switching
From Within
I was reading Discord when a method of switching was sent to me. It's for the person in front (eg: the host) to try to get out of front.
Slowly rub your temples (the little divots to the side of and behind your eyes) and the bridge of your nose with firm, even pressure until you start to dissociate. Then continue doing so as the switch occurs. Have the tulpa/person coming into front continue it until it feels like they have control. Then just hang back and enjoy the ride.
If you are having trouble figuring out how to do this, here's three ways to do it:
- Thumbs on your temples and pointer fingers on the bridge of your nose
- Thumbs on the bridge of your nose and pointer fingers on your temples
- Reach from temple to temple with one hand and pinch the bridge of your nose with the other
It can help to rub around the temples in a circular pattern, that seems to be the most effective for me.
Be well~
- Within
Wonderlands
Irish’s Wonderland Guide
By Irish
Wonderlands, Daydreaming, that ‘One’ Place
We all have a special place that we would rather be. It could a place that you love with a passion or a place where you’d rather want to be. Wonderlands are a joyous idea and subject to the human pleasure. A wonderland can be literally ANYTHING whether you’re a messed up individual who enjoys blood and gore out of Saya no Uta or an otaku who wishes to be in the land of the little girls (Japan).
REMEMBER: A wonderland is a simple thing, do not take any longer than 30 minutes to an hour. If you can’t think of a good place that you like then there’s no use trying, right? Just get to work on the tulpa.
In Detail
A wonderland is a specific form of meditation that doesn’t really have much to do with actually meditating. It’s really a placeholder for that empty void when you close your eyes and try to meditate. When you’re trying to clear your mind and can’t really do it because your mind wanders off or just doesn’t fully clear. It’s supposed to just be a place that you can make and enter into, picturing yourself in and averting ALL attention to. Where tulpas come in I’ll explain with a bit more walls of text.
In Detail with the Tulpa
Alright we know the wonderland is supposed to be a place that you can enjoy for yourself and just be a place where you can relax and avert ALL attention to. This sounds bad when you’re making a tulpa right? Why am I doing this if I just want to make a tulpa? Yeah yeah, I can answer that as well. The tulpa is in itself your creation. Well it’s a little hard to just MAKE a tulpa some people have fritzy minds, and some are just messed in the head (For more details on tulpas just read the guides made by FAQ_man and I). Well the wonderland comes into play with a tulpa for those who are more troubled with their minds. As you concentrate on your wonderland you’ll lose attention to all outside sources, seeing as how your mind WANTS you to be there, it’s a pleasurable experience. As you are in the wonderland think of your tulpa, imagining your tulpa there. Keep doing that. It will most likely be hardand keeping concentration may be hard as well, or it may be easy who knows shrug. When you’re working on factoring the tulpa into the wonderland you can basically go two ways. First way, avert all attention you gained from the wonderland to your tulpa and you can basically just use it as a stepping stone to get to your tulpa (for some it’s actually hard to visualize them). Second way, you can keep visualizing both your tulpa and your wonderland together to have it interact and have an environment to essentially ‘grow up’ in. The tulpa will be able to affect the wonderland and do whatever it wants to it (if you let it, which I suggest doing in my opinion this part’s pretty fun).
BZZT BZZT *NEWS REPORT*: You CAN keep this wonderland around even after your tulpa is done, you could need it in some situations, will report more on this matter at 4.
Some More Stuff to Detail
Say you’re walking somewhere with your tulpa to someplace or doing something to go somewhere for some reason, whatever it is, I don’t care. So you’re walkin with your tulpa and she sez bb do u luv me 4ever? nd u say NO! nd she cry nd run away getz hit by a car and u say I luv u 5ever. Seriously though, you’re walking somewhere and you find yourself in a crowded place with a bunch of people and your tulpa has no place to be, stand, or even walk around. You could do like I do and just have her get on your shoulders like some sort of piggy back ride, OR you can just send it to your wonderland and have it stay there until you’re able to actually have room for it.
Lik dis if u cry evrytim ;_;
If I’m forgetting some stuff, which I know for sure I am (trust me I do that) then please do ask questions or stuff like that. Either way more often than not I’m on the IRC channel so you can talk to me there about it if you don’t know where the IRC is then #tulpa at irc.rizon.net or rizon.net/chat #tulpa I’ll be under the name Irish_.
Here’s a book about literally imagining your dream world and it supposedly coming true after many days of imagining. I read it and got referred to it by some people it’s a pretty psychological book that was written on a study of literally imagining things so I figured that it would fit well with all of you although it’s pretty much high writing and all that so it may be a dull read for others, just thought I’d refer y’all though. (It has some religious content as well)
It’s called The Law & the Promise
by Neville Goddard (1905-1972)
Neville was a philosophical man that was into a thing called New Thought and he’s done some metaphysical stuff that usually only consisted with religion. Neville was a pretty famous man in his time but you know it’s probably not everyone, I was referred it when I first brought out the idea of a wonderland and thought I’d refer y’all ’cause it’s pretty interesting.
FINAL REMINDER: NO YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE THIS, if you don’t feel like making a wonderland then just follow FAQ_man’s guide, do take info from both guides and use it accordingly.
(By Irish — Transcribed by ShyGuy65)
Walking in Wonderland
By Amadeus
There’s a concept to tulpae creation (and meditation in general) I refer to as the Dreamlands, but is commonly referred to as Wonderland. The wonderland concept entails creating a place in your mind for you to dwell while you meditate, and can also serve as a home for tulpae. Think of how in Fight Club, the main character would retreat to his ‘happy place’ so he could be at peace. That’s essentially what the wonderland concept is like.
Your wonderland is as real and vivid as you make it, and what I’m coming to understand (through conversing with my tulpae) is that it doesn’t all have to be in focus. Frankly, a person can create something they don’t fully grasp the scale of. That’s essentially what happened with me.
There are guides that talk about mentally dwelling in the physical space around you. So you’re in your room, relaxing, and decide to meditate. The area in which you dwell in your meditative state is still your room, but a mental construction of it. However, the wonderland concept has you craft a new place to call your own. There are a couple common trends of the creation process to be observed, such as how many tulpae are female or extroverts, and one of these trends I’ve observed is that many wonderlands are bits of nature. My wonderland is no exception.
I went through a few wonderland phases. The first was a desert – clear, deep blue sky in constant night, with bluish-purple sand in rolling dunes bordered by an ocean on one side and snow-capped mountains on the others. We don’t really go there anymore because walking through sand is a pain in the ass (but flying there is still enjoyable due to the cool weather, as Juno likes to remind me.)
The second is a large grassy meadow, at the top of a hill where there are the ruins of a demolished church. The grass stretches on as far as the eye can see in three directions, but nearby I can walk to a beach and some trails. It is based on a real place that I find very relaxing, but as Juno tells me, there’s not a lot to do there other than wander around saying “Isn’t this mysterious?”
The third actually served a purpose. In one of the guides, giving your tulpa access to your memories can be visualized as a metaphor of sorts, and a common way to do this is to create a library wherein they can read your memories. So I created the Librarium, board by board, brick by brick, bookshelf by bookshelf. It’s more of a resource for my tulpae than anything else – somewhere for them to be when they aren’t with me, and with plenty to read up on. I have a lot of memories, and they could learn a lot from my experiences.
Following that, though, Juno asked me to create someplace new. At the time, I was feeling somewhat bonded to the ground beneath my feet, and a little profoundly inspired by the fact that there was a whole world with boundless potential all around me. So I attempted to force an ideal rather than details of a place. The result I got was the world in which my tulpae and I spend a lot of time together. I don’t know the entire contents of this brave new world, but whenever I’m walking through it with my tulpae, I’m astounded to know that I created it all.
I’ve dedicated a lot of thought and concentration to trying to make the experience of existence as real as possible for my tulpae, so when I created the Dreamlands I decided to spend some time forcing aspects instead of details. From that, I’ve been surprised at the results – my subconscious establishes the concepts, and then fills in the blanks with whatever it so pleases. The advantage of this is that as concepts, I can force rules of existence in that world – things like gravity, physics, spatial relationships, magnetism, and the like. At this point my wonderland experience is beginning to feel like a lucid dream. I’m not sure whether this is a step in the right direction, but it is rather interesting for me to behold. And my tulpae are enjoying their lives.
Today I figured out it might not have been such a good idea to force pain as a concept that exists in that reality, because I got into a fight in the wonderland today. I awakened to find that I was sufficiently physically affected, by headache, nosebleed, and pains in my stomach, back and chest. My left arm also has this odd habit of moving between aches and numbness, which is rather strange. But if anything is to be learned from this, it’s that I’ve established something about what I believe in the world, and it’s affected me physically. I believe in The Matrix, the discussion goes as such:
Keanu ‘Neo’ Reeves: “You said it wasn’t real.”
Lawrence ‘Morpheus’ Fishburne: “Your mind makes it real.”
Psychosomatic trauma isn’t a new concept, but it certainly feels new the first time you deal with getting into a fistfight in your mind. However, it does work as an argument that reality is determined by what you believe.
Aside: One might be asking why I decided to incorporate pain at all into the Dreamlands, and my short answer is that pain is a very real part of life, and my goal is to give my tulpae an existence that is as real as possible.
Your Guide to Going Inside: a Rudimentary Outline of How to Immerse Effectively
Introduction
This guide aims to organize and expand upon the series of tips I posted in the Other Tips and Articles section to create a somewhat cohesive guide on wonderland/mindscape immersion. People at all levels of experience, whether systems are not, are welcome to try the steps outlined in this post. This post will only cover immersion, not wonderland creation–a guide for that can be found here.
That being said, I do feel as though I should add a few notes on my background: I have been daydreaming all hours of the day for as long as I remember, and have practiced lucid dreaming techniques and meditation on and off since I was a preteen, so what comes easy to me may require more work from a beginner. I have also only just recently made progress in dissociating from the body’s senses, though not nearly enough to write a proper guide on how to leave the body entirely--keep your eyes peeled.
In short, I'm well aware some aspects of this guide may come across like this and will do my best to mitigate that. That said, I do hope some of the approaches and perspectives in this guide will be of help to some.
Presence
By far the most important sense to focus on in my experience hasn’t been sight or sound, but presence. It doesn’t matter how well you can see or hear something, if you don’t feel as though you are present in a certain place, it will still have no more depth than watching a movie on a screen. A good way I’ve found to develop presence is to create a form for myself , as it is much easier to feel present when I have a body of my own than when I’m a disembodied voice.
Another helpful exercise for this is Life is But a Dream–if it’s hard to feel actively present in the mindscape when shifting your focus to it, sometimes it is easier to shift your focus away from the outerworld. It is also helpful to think of the mindscape as you would any other place–not “imaginary”, not “less real”, just another space you occupy, if one with slightly different rules and laws than the other.
Developing a sense of presence, like most aspects of mindscape immersion, is all about tenacity, and different things will work for different people. What worked for me was imagining myself in some sort of room I couldn’t leave, and some others have had success with having their system mates impose them inside or meditating in the mindscape itself. Grounding exercises involving the other senses can be helpful, as well as focusing on the presence of any tulpas/system mates who are in the mindscape with you at the time.
Generally, developing presence can be slow going, but will get stronger the more time you spend in the mindscape.
Audio/Visual
Hearing comes relatively easy to me, and much of my own struggles come not from being unable to hear sounds, but from losing track of them. However, generally, if you’re struggling with hearing different sounds, the same approach that helps your tulpa develop their voice will likely help here: listen to different sound samples you would likely hear in the mindscape, and do your best to recreate them while immersing. Then, when you have a good idea of what the sound is like, pull your attention away and stop consciously trying to generate it. The better you get at doing this, the more immersive the sound will become, even to the point of auditory imposition–though that’s something for another guide.
Losing track of different sounds, or “tuning out” of them can and will happen from time to time, and it’s something the brain tends to do in meatspace as well. One thing that helps, and this goes hand in hand with the treat-the-mindscape-like-any-other-place bit above, is to remember that just because the sound can’t be heard doesn’t mean it is gone, or that it can’t be tuned into again.
Sight works in a similar way as improving sound: if you’re struggling with visualizing something, find as many pictures as you can and do your best to recreate it. Another word of advice is that, early on, when developing visualization, it can be helpful to go from the bottom up: to start with a fuzzy, undetailed image, then slowly sharpen it and fill in more details, just as you would when painting a picture.
Tactility/Scent/Taste
I find that tactility requires a greater sense of presence to truly immerse in. The easiest starting place for tactility in my case is focusing on my in-world body, and how it bends and moves, then expanding my focus outwards to what I’m sitting or standing on. Taste, interestingly, started more as a form of imposition, long before I got a handle on focusing on my mindscape body, before shifting inward. A very strong scent for me, however, is scent–certain smells can hit me like a wall while inside, and I’m still working out how or why that is.
A Note on Meditation and Not Over Thinking
Meditation and relaxation itself can be a very, very helpful skill when it comes to immersing yourself in the mindscape, since with enough practice, you can learn to shift your attention from your meatspace body to your innerworld body in a number of ways. Zen meditation is also a helpful tool for inducing dissociation, described in the next section. In fact, mindscape immersion in general requires you to shift your perspectives to a degree, like when it comes to learning to let go.
In fact, a large amount of immersion involves just that: not only letting go of your meatspace body, but also learning to accept the mindscape as its own place. A big mistake I made early on was trying to stay in conscious control of every little thing when I didn’t need to. These days, the more and more I focus on being there, the more and more the brain fills in the gaps. So relax, have fun, and don’t panic if you experience a few glitches and try not to correct every little thing as it goes wrong–the deeper you learn to immerse, the more readily these things will learn to correct themselves. Besides, it’s also not all on you. Your system mates/tulpas share the mindscape just as you do, and are just as capable of influencing it, so don’t hesitate to ask them for help or advice, since chances are they know more about what it’s like to live in your head than I ever will (of course, I’m always open to questions too).
Dissociation and What it Feels Like
This final section will be short and sweet bonus, and will wrap everything up for now. I’ve dissociated a few times on and off over the years, and I’m only now figuring out how to induce it at will. Keep in mind, this is how I experience it, your mileage may vary.
Have you ever been so tired you started nodding off to the point where you were on the edge of sleep and lost track of your body for a moment before being shocked back into wakefulness by something? Essentially, that is sort of what it feels like in my case: my senses will “fade out”, I will lose track of my sight (will be unable to feel my eyes), hearing, touch, etc. So far, it only lasts for a split second and can’t be controlled. However, unlike when I’m really tired, when I jolt back, the body is wide awake, and so am I.
One noteworthy aspect of it is that I often don’t realize it’s happened until it already has. My current hypothesis is that blacking out completely requires a certain degree of voluntary forgetfulness: forgetting the body, the senses, where you are, what you’re thinking of, etc. As I better figure things out, I’ll update this guide along the way.
For now, go forth and immerse yourselves, and happy forcing.
Wonderland Immersion
From Within
Wonderland immersion is a topic that has interested me for years. I have only recently started to get better at it, and I would like to document the methods I have been using for this.
At a high level, the approach we are using for this is based on philosophical metaphysical analysis, or in short answering two questions for the world and various things in it:
- What is there?
- What is it like?
The method I have found for doing this fairly repeatably is a combination of two techniques I have found elsewhere:
- 5 senses visualization for the scene you are in to ground yourself
- Semantic feature analysis for randomly selected items from that visualization
As an example, consider this. This kind of detail is what you'd be looking for.
Breaking it down further though, let's consider a scene where you are sitting at a table in a cold, metal chair.
Five Senses Visualization
The five senses visualization for this could look something like
- 5 things you can see
- The table
- The salt and pepper shakers on the table
- The plate in front of me
- My reflection in the plate
- The empty chair in front of me
- 4 things you can touch
- Silverware
- Napkin dispenser
- Your phone on the table
- Empty water glass
- 3 things you can hear
- Other people in the restaurant
- The cooks in the distance
- The door opening and closing occasionally, making the bell ring to let waitstaff know someone needs to be seated
- 2 things you can smell
- Baked chicken from the kitchen
- Grilled salmon from the next table over
- 1 thing you can taste
- The soda in my mouth
Semantics Analysis
Group, Use, Action, Properties, Location, Association
A lot of the group categorization depends on your own personal philosophical outlooks. If you are unsure how to assign a group, start by using the most generic adjective possible to describe it.
The salt and pepper shakers
Group: thing, container of smaller things, but a thing made up of two parts and smaller things
Use: contains spices, these are used to flavor food with common mild flavorings
Action: No inherent action unless acted upon, normally shaken to maximize the amount of seasoning added to the dish in question
Properties: palmable, makes a noise when you shake them, light, small, easy to manipulate, easy to refill if needed
Location: The table in front of me, it doesn't make sense for these food containers to be elsewhere
Association: togetherness, memories of Blues Clues having the salt and pepper characters married, my mother collecting salt and pepper shakers
Plate in front of me
Group: thing
Use: holds food as a staging area for being eaten
Action: no inherent action, but can break into shards that can cut badly
Properties: ceramic, white, flat, circular
Location: the table in front of me, the kitchen dishwasher, staging for waitstaff
Association: food is coming, but patience is required
Conclusion
If you want to really train wonderland immersion, I suggest doing at least one of these full descriptions per day. Doing more will help you progress "faster" (if that is what you desire for whatever reason). Don't overstimulate or overwhelm yourself. It can be intense the first few times, but it gets easier over time. I personally do them before I go to sleep or just after I wake up, I have found those times are the most free and it is easiest to make myself alone during them. Learning how to do this in public or around other people may be desirable based on the circumstances of your life situation. Be smart, don't do this when you are otherwise distracted or busy.
Something that may help is to keep in mind how long it takes to walk to different places as you walk around your daily life. See how long it takes to go across the street, or from the street corner to a store, etc. You can use these rough estimates to help you better scale places in your world.
I would suggest setting calendar reminders for doing it at least once a day, depending on when fits best into your daily schedule. Remember that if a machine remembers it for you, you don't forget to do it (as easily) because the machine reminds you about it. Be sure to set your calendar reminder to trigger after nightly do-not-disturb mode if relevant.
Don't be afraid to use tools like a meditation timer to limit your sessions doing this, especially if you are feeling like you need to 'get back', are 'missing out' or neglecting external duties. If you are using a calendar app to schedule the time, then set your meditation timer for the length of the event. Thirty minutes is a good place to start with, but adjust this number as things change for you.
I hope this can help. Take the numbers and sense ordering as suggestions and please do experiment around with what sense gets at least how many entries. Play around with this, it is your imaginary world after all. I suggest doing semantic feature analysis on at least three items per visualization session. If you need a place to blog about it, I suggest write.as. If you have questions, feel free to contact me on Discord (@Cadey~#1337) and ask away. I'm happy to help when I can.
Be well, Creator.
Vlad The >Implier's 5 stages of visualization.
So, something that I've noticed while visualizing Vinyl is that there appears to be 5 different stages of visualization/imposition.
Stage 1: This stage is where you visualizie nothing but your tulpa. This is what I did, spinning her around to get every angle down pat. This stage can exist in a special room in your wonderland like I have.
Stage 2: This stage is one where you impose your tulpa on your wonderland. I would consider myself on that stage, but basically you imagine your tulpa along side other things in your wonderland, making sure that it isn't colliding with objects in ways it shouldn't (E.g. being fused into the ground)
Stage 3: This stage is what I want to move onto. The past stages are performed entirely in your mind's eye. But stage 3 is the part where you imagine seeing your tulpa and your wonderland with your eyes. That may sound confusing, but just imagine moving your eyes around their sockets while the eyelid is still closed. This step is to prepare for...
Stage 4: This stage only applies to people like me who use facemasks while forcing. In this step, you will open your eyes, but the blackness of your surrondings in real life will become your wonderland. If you've put enough time into visualization, you should be able to look at your tulpa as something that could be part of real life.
Stage 5:Imposition. Everybody does it differently, but just imagine teleporting back to real life from your wonderland, and placing it on the ground of wherever you are in real life. If you did the past steps correctly, it shouldn't be noclipping through objects. But everybody imposes differently.
Of course, take this with a grain of salt. Everybody does it differently.
How to Refocus on Your Wonderland
This guide expands on concepts described in Chupi’s and Nikodemos’s guides by explaining when and how to apply those skills in order to focus and achieve better visualization of your wonderland. I will briefly summarize the concepts described in these guides as I describe the following method, however these guides go more in depth on how to practice the skills used for this method.
This guide assumes you have a wonderland, but this method can also be applied to visualizing objects in a void. This method works best when active forcing, the process of providing your un-divided attention to your Tulpa, to minimize distractions.
Introduction
I used to tell people my visualization was bad because I struggled to get a clear image of my Tulpa and my wonderland most of the time. I eventually realized that my ability to focus greatly impacted my ability to visualize my wonderland, and all of the black voids and blurry imagery were a result of poor focus. I put this guide together because this strategy really helped me to the point where I can confidently visualize my wonderland at any time and not get frustrated by it anymore.
The Process In Short
This method is slowly drawing your attention away from distractions and towards your wonderland. You start with setting your mind on visualizing a simple object and slowly working your way up, visualizing more complex objects one at a time until you become satisfied with your visualization.
Summary of the Visualization Skill
This skill is all about looking at an object and asking yourself how it should look, feel, take up space, etc. For example, if you have grass in your wonderland, one could ask about the color of the grass, the height and shape of the blades, what species of grass it is, if it’s made out of cotton candy, the texture of the grass, how it feels when you walk in it, etc. The more questions you can answer, the more information you will have about that particular object. Having more information allows you to visualize the details of that object more effectively and thus requiring a lot of your attention to create the object’s image.
A Detailed Walkthrough
Before you sit down to visualize your wonderland, your images may be foggy and you may have a bunch of distracting thoughts that are far more interesting than blurry, incomprehensible images. In this state, remember that your visualization is not bad, you’re just distracted and your visualization will get better.
The first step is to get in a comfortable position and think about slowing down. If you want to, doing a form of relaxation breathing may be helpful for getting settled.
Next, start with taking a simple object such as a sphere or a cube. What color is the sphere? Is it smooth or bumpy? Is it soft and squishy or firm like a billiard ball? What is the temperature of the sphere? Continue to visualize your simple object until you are satisfied and or bored.
Next, slowly move onto the next object. Suppose the next object is a tree. Is it a real tree or a fantasy creation? How tall is it? Could you climb it if you wanted to? Is the season changing the colors of the leaves? Is there a tree shape that “feels right?” As you visualize more and more details, your tree will feel more and more real.
If you feel satisfied with your visualization, then congratulations, you achieve better visualization! If you still feel like your visualization is still fuzzy or you are bored, slowly move onto an even more sophisticated object or instead look around you and visualize the ground, the sky, your Tulpa, any other neighboring objects, etc.
Suggestions
The key to this method is slowing down and shifting your attention to what you are visualizing. If you get bored and you warp yourself to a parade or a war zone, that can lead you to getting distracted again.
More complex objects are supposed to be interesting for you to look at. If a tree isn’t to your taste, you could also do furniture, a vending machine, a weapon, etc. I recommend picking something you find interesting, because why have it in your wonderland if you don’t like it?
Visualizing moving objects are fine as long as it is not your starting object. I don’t recommend loud or overwhelming objects because the point is to calm down and focus, not feel overwhelmed and become distracted.
Unless you are really comfortable with what your Tulpa’s form looks like, I don’t recommend starting off with that. Like any other complex object, their form may be too much for you to focus on right now, but it won’t be after you built your way up to that level of complexity.
If your Tulpa is sentient, they can guide you to look at certain things, or they may ask for you to visualize something for them. Why not, right? They may surprise you with a real treat!
In Conclusion
Once you feel comfortable with your visualization, have fun! Now that your visualizations are stable, you can go ahead and visualize exciting things like flying on dragons or shooting aliens in space since your mind is so focused on the wonderland you most likely forgot about whatever else was distracting you and your immediate surroundings in real life.
When Things Go Wrong in Your Imagination and How To Fix Them So They Don't
By waffles
Foreword: this isn't really my original dnt steel advice. Really, it's what everyone tells anyone asking for help on this.
Screw Physics
Ever walked in through the door to your imagination and have your mind decide that screw physics? You know, uncontrollable, erratic movement of objects, or yourself. What about getting stuck in a loop doing something, or getting stuck to things, or being afraid to move things because the world will end if you do? You're not alone. This happens to a lot of people. Most people at some point, I would venture. And most people will probably figure out some of what's below for themselves. If you're having serious problems, then here's offering the best.
"La la la it's not happening"
Ignore it. In general, paying attention to it makes it worse. You're only worsening the situation by freaking out over it, so don't. If it's not supposed to be happening, then it isn't. Don't even tell yourself that it's not happening, because that's acknowledging that it is; you don't think about it because why would you, it isn't happening. That's the idea.
If you manage to forget about it completely, then it'll disappear completely. Of course, suddenly realising that it's not happening might start it up again, so the best thing to do is forget about it completely and never read this guide again.
Yes, it's hard to just ignore something that's causing chaos or flying you through the air at impossible speeds and whatnot, but you need to. This is the only sure-fire way to get rid of anomalies if they're problematic. If it's not working then it's your fault.
Back to Middle School
You might not like the 'ignoring it' method, or it doesn't work, or whatever. Don't panic; there are alternatives. Next on the list is laying down some ground rules. Impose the laws of physics onto your imagination. If you don't know Newton's laws then look them up; it's educational, too. If you do then make sure everything operates according to them. It should be as simple as deciding that they are operational and understanding them.
If your mindstuff defies the law, then remind it and yourself that it's not possible, and that this, therefore, cannot be happening. You can combine this technique with the one about ignoring for greater affect.
More Or Less Every Other Guide Here
If you're going to do tulpa then you're going to have to brush up on visualisation skills at some point. You may well find that - especially if you're encountering problems near the beginning of the process - that improving your visualisation skills will help. Now, advice on how to do such a thing is plastered all over the board, so I'll leave you to it.
"He gets beaten up by his imagination"
laughingponies.jpg
Seriously, it's your imagination for God's sake. People say 'wonderland', which makes it sound like a mystical far-off world where anything is possible with magic, when in reality it's just your imagination. It's your mind, and you can and should exercise control over it. You'd do well to remember that for the whole process, quite frankly.
I'm sure that's far from all the ways of dealing with this sort of thing, so if you happen to have a suggestion then do tell.
Parapsychological
This section contains things of a parapsychological nature. If this kind of content disturbs you, please ignore this section entirely. This is included for completion and to ensure that there is not a bias towards or against this kind of content.
Metaphysical Creation
By Cable
Before we start, let's smooth some things out. The matter of creating of tulpa can be seen from many perspectives. Some approach the project psychologically and others metaphysically. Some make a hodge podge of it. Well I'm going to try and separate as best I can the Hodge, the psychological, from the Podge, the metaphysical. That being said, let's move on.
From the Hodge perspective, a tulpa is a manifestation over time from what dwells within the subconscious. By delving into your subconscious to retrieve the information you want to bring out in this tulpa, you are essentially exploring your inner self. I.e. Meditating! So let's see what the Podge has to offer.
Metaphysically, a tulpa is an ethereal being that you, you YOU, bring into existence through hours of meditation, visualization, and energy manipulation. To those who are familiar with metaphysics, they can also be grouped in the same category as Sigils, Servitors, Egregores, and Godforms (listed from least powerful to most). Somewhere nestled between the Servitor and the Egregore is the Tulpa. A self-aware, self-acting, ethereal being. I suggest you do some quick research on these subjects before you begin. It will make the process and the eventual experiences a lot more meaningful and enlightening.
Both ways take TIME. Some say it takes near 100 hours to get something roughly complete. But remember, this is 100 hours of focusing and actually working on it. Even then, you may just have a rough draft of a tulpa. The idea is that you put so much energy into it, that it becomes a source of energy itself.
Now... Energy? What exactly does that mean? Energy is all around you and comes in many forms. It can be harnessed from earth, air, water, fire, void, and if you're morbid enough about it, death. It is in you and every creature on this plane, or any other for that matter. And you can absorb and store it through simple meditation and energy manipulation. Google is your friend. There are plenty of lessons out there on the web to guide you through this process. To give it energy, as you focus on the to-be being, you also focus your energy into it as if you would a sigil. The difference here is that you should have already visualized what it looks like, talks like, acts like, and so on. So instead of being a single purpose fire-and-forget sigil, it should come to life as an actual entity. The 100 hours noted above is what this process is about. 100 hours of visualization and the feeding of energy. This can wear you out, so try to spend a couple hours a day at most. It is important that you are in good health and free of bad energy that might creep up on you in your mentally and physically drained state. More rest and meditation will help you regain that which you focused into your tulpa.
Wonderland? It's where you go as you go deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of course! Also referred to as the astral plane, it is the 4th dimension that you create during meditation. Some see it as a void and others fill that void to meet their needs for relaxation. You can make it as you see fit, because what you think and imagine will appear on this 4th dimension! Does it have to be a certain way and will it affect your tulpa's progress? No. Think of it as a sandbox for you to build your tulpa in and nothing more.
What should you expect? Well your first few days should be focusing on the form of the tulpa alone. You should be able to recall every physical aspect of this entity instantly. Once you have this down, you can move onto character traits. How does your tulpa carry itself? How does it act? How might it spend its time? This is what you should spend the rest of your time meditating on and visualizing. Things may change as you move on. Many have experienced their tulpa being shy or solitary during their sessions of visualizations. Perhaps this is because you are unsure if you are going about it correctly? That's what Hodge would say. But don't worry, as you become more confident in their development, so will they.
Will they communicate with you? Of course! They are full of emotion, thought, and self-awareness. But don't be discouraged if they don't talk to you. This is part of the development, and usually comes late in the process. Once it becomes an entity and not just an image in the astral however, it will begin to convey emotions toward you the way a baby or animal does. They will express themselves through actions and body language and when the connection becomes strong enough, you will attain an empathic link to your tulpa, feeling its emotions as well as your own.
Will you tulpa appear in the physical world? Maybe. This is where many misunderstandings lie. Because it is an astral being, like all astral beings, it takes a lot of energy to move from their plane to ours. Only a handful of occasions has my tulpa, a simple black cat, appeared before me. The experience is unreal, and to be honest, a little unsettling.
Will your tulpa visit you in dreams? Can I astral project with my tulpa? Yes and yes. Dreams can be explained as unconscious astral projection. So if you find yourself lucid dreaming a dream, you can think anything into being just as you would awhile astral projecting. Many people visit their tulpas in this 4th dimension and I encourage you to attempt this as well. Because the astral place is perfect for the creation of pretty much anything, you may find it easier to further develop your tulpa and your relationship with it while exploring the ether.
You may find yourself excited to see the outcome of your work. The I want it now feeling might be building up. Try as best you can to remain patient with the process. As I have said before, the tulpa is related to the servitor. Pushing yourself toward a finished project too fast may lead to an incomplete tulpa lacking emotions, self-motivation, or purpose. Be aware that this is an ongoing process and your tulpa will continue to grow as you focus, meditate, visualize, and interact with it.
If you have any concerns in the process or outcome of creating and developing a relationship to an ethereal being; if you don't feel you have the skills or responsibility to do so, then simply don't do it. Wait till you are ready or start studying the matter. It doesn't hurt to learn.
Any other questions should have already been answered in combination with other guides and FAQs on the matter. If not, that's what the boards are for. I will be sure to update this if more direction is needed.
So be patient, be open, and most importantly have fun.
(By Cable — Transcribed by endoalir)
Guide found here.
Astral Projection
By Ness
Astral projection occurs when your consciousness leaves your body. It is also usually called an out of body experience, or OOBE/OBE. Some people experience astral projection naturally, and it's no big deal, but for the rest of us, we have to work at it. Hopefully, this article will help you with that.
Before we begin, though, I have a few more things to say. Astral projection has proven itself to be fairly tricky. Most people attempt it for months and months without really getting out of the body. Many of these people can feel themselves getting close to leaving, so their hard work is not completely in vain, and yet, they haven't gotten ALL the way out. This is no big deal. It seems to be normal to have a bit of a struggle with this. The best advice I can give is to practice a lot, at least once a day, more if you can, and if you ever begin to get upset that you can't do it, just stay calm and continue practicing. You can and will project when you're ready. Becoming angry and trying to force it won't help you at all.
You should also know that your body doesn't die when you leave, or anything weird like that. Your body continues to lie there, basically asleep. It continues to breathe, pump blood, make waste, etc., even though you're not there.
You also cannot be possessed by something/someone while astral projecting. When you astral project, your consciousness is out of your body, but your soul itself is still there. If your soul left your body when you astral projected, your body would probably die. Your soul stays in place and you are at no greater risk of being possessed/taken over than you are at any other time.
Also, you should try to be in a certain mind-set when you practice. It's hard to describe, but it's basically a half awake/half asleep mode. You want to be awake enough so that you can lay down and not fall asleep immediately, but you also don't want to be totally wired, or else you won't be able to relax. You don't have to be like this, but in my experience, along with several other people, it helps a lot.
With ALL that being said, we can finally begin!
First of all, you need to be comfortable. You may sit or lay down, whichever you prefer, but make sure you're comfortable. Make sure that you can be completely relaxed in your chosen position, and it takes you absolutely no effort. You also need to be comfortable in your clothes. If you are not, change. You can't have any distractions while trying to astral project, or you'll probably fail.
Once you're completely comfortable, close your eyes and relax. Make sure that for this, you are ABSOLUTELY, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT relaxed. When you first sit or lay down, you may feel relaxed already, but you should do a thorough check of your entire body before continuing. Check each part of your body, even the small parts, such as your fingers, toes and especially your face. I cannot stress the face area enough. Honestly, I never noticed how tense my face was. When I laid down to go to sleep at night, I felt completely relaxed, but once I started practicing astral projection and actually paid attention to relaxing my face, I noticed that it had been slightly tensed all along.
To relax completely, try flexing each body part individually, then relaxing it. Repeat this a few times with each body part, then move onto the next part. Eventually, when you're completely done, your entire body should feel slightly numb and heavier than usual.
Once you're completely relaxed, visualize yourself leaving your body. You can visualize yourself gently floating out of your body, or you can visualize yourself jerking to the side and rolling out of your body. You can use any visualization that you want, so feel free to experiment. While visualizing yourself leaving your body, you should eventually begin to enter the vibrational stage. You enter the vibrational stage when you're on your way out of your body. It varies from person to person, but you will most likely feel as if you're either shaking or swaying. You may also hear or see things. No matter what happens, remember to stay calm and focused on leaving your body. If you pay attention to how exciting these feelings are, you will lose focus on leaving your body and you'll most likely have to start over from the beginning. So, stay focused. Ignore anything you feel, hear, see, etc. Stay one hundred percent focused on astral projecting.
Once you make your way through the vibrational stage, the feelings and/or noises and/or visions should begin to gently fade away, and you should begin to feel as if you're actually out of your body. In my experiences, I felt very light and slightly cooler. Continue to focus on astral projecting, although now, visualize yourself leaving your body completely.
Before we continue, I would like to take this chance to warn you about the popping. That probably sounds scary, but it's actually nothing at all. It is NOT dangerous, fatal, painful, etc. It's just an extremely loud pop that I heard one time when I left my body. I was lying there, perfectly relaxed, far into the vibrational stage, and then the vibrations began to fade. I was happy about getting so far, but I remained focused on leaving my body. I visualized myself floating straight up and out. Just as I felt myself leave my body completely... POP! Like a shotgun going off in my ear. Right in my ear. Right in my right ear, actually. It didn't hurt at all, like a normal incredibly loud sound does, but it startled me so badly that I actually physically jumped, and all that progress I had made that night was suddenly gone. Needless to say, I was pretty angry, so I just rolled over and went to sleep. So, just consider this a warning: there may be a very loud noise when you finally leave your body. Just try your hardest not to be startled by it. Ignore it completely if you can. Let's continue, now.
Once out of their body, some people visualize their eyes opening, and others just will them to open. Others' eyes open automatically. Once you're out of your body, if your eyes are still closed, just change your focus to opening your eyes. They should, one way or another, open, and you should get some kind of view. Most people describe it as being very vivid, and, in some cases, a little blurry.
Shortly after getting out and looking around, most people feel as if they're being pulled back into their bodies, and they soon wake up. If you get out and then get sucked right back into your body, don't be discouraged. Be happy with yourself for achieving your goal, and try again soon.
Once you can get out of your body and stay there for a little while, start to focus on small movements, such as bending your arms or legs, or maybe even just looking around. Start out small and easy, and work your way up to moving around the room. Most people describe the movement as a "I'll just float over here, now" kind of movement, so take your time learning it. Make sure you've got it down completely before you try to go out on an adventure of some sort.
When you're finally done astral projecting and you want to return to your body, you can try one of several methods to return. You can actually go back to your body, lay down on yourself and visualize yourself sinking back in, or you could just visualize yourself being sucked back in from wherever you are. You can also just focus on waking up. It's up to you.
Now, if for some strange reason, you can't get back into your body, you'll probably begin to panic, and once you become upset enough, you should wake up automatically, as if you were having a bad dream or something. If, by some chance, you are incredibly unlucky and even panicking isn't enough to make you wake up, just wait it out. As you astral project, your physical body is basically asleep, so if someone kicks down your door to see what you're doing, you'll probably stop astral projecting and wake up. Also, if your body needs to go to the bathroom, the urge will get stronger and stronger until you finally wake up. Don't worry, though; I've never heard of anyone not being able to reenter their body. You'll get back in, one way or another.
When you've finally gotten out of your body several times and you can keep yourself out for a good amount of time, go have fun. Go see what your friends are doing. Try flying way up into outer space, or diving way down to the bottom of the ocean. Practice some Psionics while astral projecting. Be creative and have fun!
Well, there you have it. Practice hard and often, and while practicing, remember to stay calm and relaxed the ENTIRE time. Doing that, you shouldn't have too much trouble with this.
Good luck!
Aksel's Tree Method
And various other tidbits
Intro
Of the many answers to how and why tulpas work and how to go about creating reinforcing a tulpa. After much contemplation and not a few questions from friends and relatives I think I have come to my answer to these questions. How I happened to do it without training and how I continue to do it in the same manner.
This guide will cover topics like how and why “walk-ins” occur, as well as why some people without any measurable ability can be more prone to proliferation in tulpamancy. These are opinions based off of personal observations and many are not vetted to my knowledge by any-other persons.
I have two methods I use to “create” and reinforce tulpas. I don't believe one creates a Tulpa, more on that later though. One method that over-arcs is what I term the Tree method. I also use what I call “burning an ember.”
Methods
The Tree method is a loose system of explanations and practices. First let me explain why “Tree.” I have been fascinated with the old-English term treo or treow. The term is the root for both the words tree and true. Possibly for the word three as well since the root for three is *trei.
A tree is made of a single stem that binds the roots to the branches. Truth is a thing with one stem holding its many roots to its varied branches. Both systems have those three things in common.
How does this relate to tulpas? Each person is made of a body and brain. The nerves and neurons of which are like the roots of the tree. The mind stems from these roots with the unconscious or subconscious being the trunk of the tree. Finally the buds, branches, leafs, and fruits of a tree relate to all of the conscious effects that a mind can give forth.
Now for the method. It is about affecting the the roots and stem to allow the branches to bud and grow. In an actual tree this system is cyclic, with the roots feeding the branches with material and water while the branches collect light and carbon-dioxide and turn it into sugar for the whole tree.
A good prerequisite is to have a healthy body if you can. Doing everything to get proper meals and exercise. Both healthy and different foods to give your body the right materials to produce Choline, a neural-chemical that slowly releases dopamine in the brain over a long period. Alongside diet you should have a healthy workout or yoga/stretching routine to release hormones in the body with varied effect like releasing dopamine into the brain and increasing trust. This will help you to already be in a relaxed and calm mood.
To affect the unconscious part of the mind we must first have a conscious part. We all have a conscious part so this was an easy step right? It might help to be familiar with where the conscious begins and ends. This can be worked on through meditation. Mindfulness seemed to be the best starting point for me. Mindfulness is a process of becoming relaxed and aware of your surroundings and self without attributing emotions to observations. There are many places on-line that teach mindfulness so I will trust you can easily find one that suits you. Although the practice can be very simple and can take as little as a few minutes to practice.
Once you have become aware of where your branches end and where the trunk begins then you must send energy down the trunk to the roots. A helpful model I use I call burning an ember. Many guides actually describe something similar and it is apparent to me that many already do this in a different way but garnering similar results. However for now let us continue under the assumption of the tree.
To send energy down to the roots you must first only be in the trunk. You have let go that you are branches. You have dug down deeply. (I apologize to those with attention deficit disorders because this will probably not work for you. If that is the case then burning an ember would be your best option in this guide.) This should feel like you aren't you or really anyone but at the time you are more you than you ever have been. It will to the most mindful feel like you could be anyone you want to be if you would just reach out and bud. However, we need to keep in mind our roots at this time. From the trunk you should be able to reach down to your extremities. It isn't really like reaching down though. It is more like being that extremity. It is useful to exercise the mind in this way because it more fully allows the trunk to utilizes the faculties of the body. This utilization becomes important because when you branch out in new ways you want all of your branches to be able to use the entire system.
Now that you have stretched your perception of what the trunk is go ahead and bud out. It is helpful to understand what kinds of buds you can have and what they will do. This might take some preemptive study. One helpful model of what you are as a trunk is the MBTI. The MBTI is a type indicator of personality. It describes how your personality functions and why sometimes that function can vary. The truth is that no one person is one type. We have all of the types and more in us already but we have grown a branch so to say of one personality for so long that we don't utilize the rest of them. So study maybe this type indicator or maybe which ever type you feel you need to have to explain personality for you.
Decide then on the type of bud to grow. It is useful to keep in mind personality and how it will be utilized by the branch to be. As well as any other desired attributes like self-image which so greatly affects how we act. Burning an ember helps even in this stage. It allows you to unconsciously decide these things and expectation of how they will be used. The next stage is very like to parroting. If you have read guides on that you will understand. You must reach out and bud. This can be done without really meditating so much. You must think like the bud, talk like the bud and act like the bud. If you have knowledge on how to think, speak, and act that way then this can with effort be done. The bud was so easy to form you didn't realize it probably. Over time it will strengthen and grow into a sturdy branch... practice makes perfect.
This whole process happens quickly. It happens nearly immediately. The real trick comes in persistance and realizing that it has happened. Learning to hear yourself. Buds will be quieter and weaker than branches but the longer a bud is there the stronger it will get. You don't even need to practice because a bud will utilize smoldering if you expect it to.
Burning an ember
aka Smoldering
Burning an ember is a method for sending information to the unconscious parts of the mind. The mind is a place of symbols and expectations. If you expect something will happen in the mind then it will happen. To affect your expectation in the unconscious, which is where I have observed they must be affected, you must use symbols.
A burning ember is my symbol for any random expectation but it can be what ever symbol is needed for whatever expectation you are trying to change or add. It clings and vibrates, it smolders.
Have you ever been told to not think of an elephant? You probably are thinking of one right now to any of a varying degree. An ember is like an elephant. When you tell your subconscious not to think of a topic or even if you tell it to think of a topic it will. It sends this information all throughout the brain trying to affect as much of it as it can for any and all responses. It becomes and all-consuming brain thought. To do this, imagine the symbol of the thing. It can actually be an imagined ember but it also could be however nebulous you want or need it to be. Hold the thought and look of it in your mind while thinking of the message or expectation you need to go unconscious. In your mind push it down. Deep into the place that feels the deepest to you. I push embers down into my solar plexus but it isn't uncommon for others to have some other center. Send it to your center by focusing for a few minutes with intense concentration on the action of sending it, the imagery and feel of it.
The most important part next is to actively try not to think of this now. Over the course of a few minutes. Whenever you think you have done so you should automatically realize that you aren't thinking of it, at which point if you are doing it right you will think of the ember again. If it does resurface you should then repeat pushing the ember down. Do this a few time until you get bored. Getting bored and moving on is the natural and right thing to do. Now, go do whatever else. It should either become an immediate expectation or if you are more stubborn it could take several sessions.
Tidbits
The rest of the Tree method is “automatic.” This is why in my opinion that walk-ins can occur. We don't realize it but we are burning so many embers already, people more prone to an auto-burn most likely tend to have walk-ins.
The “roots” do their thing beyond your ability to discern and push up expectations to the trunk and then the branches bare the fruit of it.
A bit about expectations. We are taught so often that things take time. This has reached our cores by the time we are old enough to tulpamance and so we expect it to take a long time to create a tulpa or to switch or impose in any way a tulpa. The truth is that all of these things are automatic. That is why some people form tulpas naturally and some people are schizophrenic. It takes zero time. But we come to expect it will time and effort. As you reinforce you also change your expectation that you really can make and have a tulpa and so you do. It is much easier to just change you expectations, faster too.
The science of this thing is beyond me. Humans are just this way. We all make tulpas automatically and instantly. Part of the art of this is realizing you can do it and changing what you believe is possible.
Another note, branches can branch. Some people have tulpas that shape-shift and personality shift. This is really just one branch branching. Every branch can further branch. Even the branch that the “host” is can branch. This would be akin to those who utilize “masks.” Tulpas themselves are already so much like a mask that this is pretty unnecessary but doubtlessly happens. This could probably explain certain personality disorders though which is also beyond me.
Please leave comments with critique and opinions. I am open-minded even if I am stubborn. Also this is just my opinion of how things work. It isn't science or knowledge based. It is just the conclusion of how it works for me and how it might work for yourself. Try it, for more than a day, and then comeback and comment.
Historical Guides
The resources listed under this section are labeled as “historical guides,” as they no longer reflect the community’s methodology or standpoints as a whole. These works can contain outdated and even potentially harmful advice, crass language, or are written by ex-members of the community who may have had problems in their lives at the time of writing that could influence their works.
It is advised to read these guides with an air of skepticism and caution as a result; they are presented in the Tulpanomicon for the sake of historical documentation of community resources that had a major impact when the community was in its infancy.
FAQ Man's Guide on How to Create a Tulpa
By FAQ man tulpa.faq@gmail.com
A note
The resources listed under this section are labeled as “historical guides,” as they no longer reflect the community’s methodology or standpoints as a whole. These works can contain outdated and even potentially harmful advice, crass language, or are written by ex-members of the community who may have had problems in their lives at the time of writing that could influence their works.
It is advised to read these guides with an air of skepticism and caution as a result; they are presented in the Tulpanomicon for the sake of historical documentation of community resources that had a major impact when the community was in its infancy.
"As great scientists have said and as all children know, it is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception, and compassion, and hope." ~Ursula LeGuin
Introduction
So, you want to make a tulpa, is that right? In this guide I will discuss how to make this psychological phenomenon. This guide is firmly rooted in the psychological school of thought. I hold the opinion that people should not follow guides perfectly. You should take this as a guideline, and then find your own way. This is just based off my experience, and the experiences of people I have talked to. We are not all the same. This all took me a total of 130 hours: over the course of 2.5 months, 2-3 hours a day 5 days a week.
Firstly, before trying to create something, we should know what it is. A tulpa (the Tibetan word for construct or build) is a self imposed hallucination that interacts with all 5 senses. This practice was first done by Tibetan Buddhists in ancient times. You will be able to see, hear, smell and touch (without solidity of course, but this will be explained later) your tulpa just like you would a normal person. A tulpa is a forced hallucination, a schism of your own consciousness, a fully sentient being, and a companion.
This takes more than 100 hours. Don't start unless you know you're going to follow it through. Don't spend more than 3 hours a day sitting down and partaking in intense thought/ imagining, or else you'll get exhausted, have headaches, and constantly feel like you're hung over. You should not do less than a half hour a day. You can also spread your time out throughout the day, say, one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon or something like that. Your intervals of tulpaforcing (this is the umbrella term for sitting down and visualizing / creating your tulpa) should be no less than a half hour or else you won't get into the deep phase of concentration needed to really be productive.
Personality
Before you do anything, think about the kind of traits you want your tulpa to have. Working on the personality plays quite a large role in sentience. Think up around 30-15 traits, and think about each trait in relation to your tulpa for 15-30 minutes. For more information on this, please see my personality guide, version 2.
Visualization
Next, think of a form. No, don't make yourself. No, don't make your dead mother or your crush. It can be humanoid, a creature, an animal, or a rock. Just think of something you will want to focus on for hours at a time, and hang around for quite probably the rest of your life. Making the tulpa have the same body or visage as a known and fleshed out character is not good. This can lead to the tulpa having identity problems, feeling like it has to live up to something its not, and the like. You could never make a tulpa be exactly the same as a character. They are their own being. Do not stifle them by applying the preconceived notions you have about a character to them.
I did not use a wonderland, like Irish_ did. Instead, I actually sat down and took a snapshot of the space in front of me with my mind. Afterwards, I closed my eyes and superimposed the tulpa over it to work. First what you should do is briefly imagine your tulpa naked or in its under clothes (whichever makes you more comfortable) for a period of time, perhaps about an hour or so. Then you add clothes to it, and continue the visualization. This will enable the tulpa to be able to change outfits on a whim, once they're complete.
What you want to do for visualization is really focus on parts of your tulpa's appearance until its perfect. Faces and eyes are most notably hard. You won't be able to see the whole tulpa and every single detail on your first time, it's something you'll have to work up to and spend time on. Some people like to sort of zoom in on a section and get it perfect, doing everything in segments until they've done everything, putting it all together to finish. Whatever you do, you want to make sure that by the end you're done, you should be able to recall your entire tulpa on a whim, see it from every angle, and have it appear the same to you every single time you see it. This step is the easiest to fuck up and really rush, but you should spend from 5-15 hours on it. Of course, more is always better. The more time you spend on a tulpa, the more you'll get out of it, obviously.
Touch
Next, do it again when you have mastered the above step to its fullest extent. Now, sit down, and close your eyes again. Imagine your tulpa standing in front of you again. Now make your imagination self stand up, and walk over, in first person point of view. Stick out your hands and start feeling up your tulpa. Touch them and imagine everything. How their hair feels. How their muscles feel. Feel everything, and once you have THAT mastered, move on. Note that when your tulpa is imposed upon your environment, you will be able to touch them. But, there will be no solidity at all. You'll be able to feel their body temperature, contours and texture and what not, but you'll be able to basically push your hand right through them. Again, this step should take around 5-15 hours. There's no skimping out here.
Smell
Okay everyone, get out your noses. Smell your tulpa. No, don't smell everything; just create a general smell that they'll have. Are they wearing perfume? Do they smell like a crack den? The only other thing you'll want to create a smell for is their hair or clothes. Just make sure you have the same smell for them every time. Smell triggers memory more than visuals, and is useful. Smell isn't considered super important, but it is something you don't want to just skip for the sake of making a tulpa faster. 3-10 hours on this step, says I.
Gestures and Body Language
This is the part where we work on gestures and body language. Work out your tulpa's posture, gait, arm swing, gestures, facial expressions and everything relating to body language. For the facial expressions, which you should do last out of these, send them random thoughts that correspond with each emotion, and imagine them reacting. You shouldn't do the facial expressions and all of these over and over, because that in the end would constitute as parroting, which is bad and explained below. Up until now, the tulpa should have just been standing there and looking pretty. Again, put a good 5-10 hours into this step.
Subsequent Tulpaforcing
Now that you're done with the basics of creation, that doesn't mean that you stop sitting down and tulpaforcing. You basically combine all the senses and sit down and still hammer them all into your head. You should still be doing this ideally from 1 to 3 hours a day, or as long as you can handle. You shouldn't stop sitting down and doing it daily until you're done with your tulpa completely.
Sentience, Narration and Voice
During any of these steps you might have noticed your tulpa doing something on its own, or gotten a sudden wave of emotion seemingly from the tulpa. These are both sure signs of sentience and are very good. I did not get an emotional response until I hit around 50 hours in, so really, don't hold your breath. Remember that if a sentient being could be made in a day then everyone would have one. This isn't something you can really do quickly.
Okay, anyway go about your life. Talk to your tulpa while you're going about your business; say anything really. Some people begin narration right off, and that's fine. I wouldn't personally start until you're done with at least half of the creation steps. A common mistake made here is the parroting of responses. If you're telling your tulpa about how pretty your new shoes are, don't make them say anything back. You know you are done with this step when your tulpa says something back on its own. You'll know, because it will be completely alien.
Note that it takes 25 or so hours (usually more) for this to happen. Don't rush yourself. If you rush anything, you could end up with a servitor (like a tulpa without its own consciousness) or just a hologram which does effectively nothing. You might have gotten a headache, which is normal. They will usually be gone by the end of the creation process. You should just stick with talking to them for as long as it takes.
As for the voice of the tulpa, it will start out being very generic, like the voices they program into a GPS. It will become more normal and distinct as time goes on. If you have some idea of what you want the voice to be, be sure to sort of apply it by imagining your tulpa saying random words in that voice. Otherwise it will just basically become what it becomes and you don't have much control over that.
On another note, let's talk about deviation in tulpae. Tulpae will often change during the creation process. They change in the earlier stages because they are matching up with your subconscious ideal. This can and will differ from what you consciously want. Later on, when they have proved themselves to be sentient, they may change themselves further. You should not mess with or try reversing the changes, because what you're doing is basically forcing the tulpa into an identity it doesn't want. This is for the better, and you should accept the changes with open arms.
Opening your Mind
Okay, so before we start the next part, the following should be true: Your tulpa talks to you in complete sentences, your tulpa has its own opinions and your tulpa sometimes does things you wouldn't expect. These are all signs of sentience.
Now, sit right back down on your ass. Tell your tulpa you are opening your mind to it, and imagine it walking through a door or something similar. This is when your tulpa will see your subconscious. From here on out it will know all your memories, how you feel, and pretty much everything about you as a person. You shouldn't do this right off; wait until trust is built. That way it is more meaningful; your tulpa will not take it for granted.
Imposition
Now, this is when we begin to impose the tulpa on our reality. Say you're walking down the street. Imagine your tulpa just behind you, walking with you. Make sure you remember its gait. Do this almost at all times until it becomes natural. You should be trying to smell your tulpa a little bit, trying to feel out its presence. This took me a while to master.
Next, start to impose the tulpa on your peripheral vision. It should never be fully seen, except for bits and pieces. Start to smell it, maybe have it brush your arm lightly or something. Force it upon all your senses, almost all the time. Soon enough, it will be there. This takes a while too and definitely don't rush it.
Finally, begin to fully see, hear, smell and touch your tulpa, keeping it in fully view. Seeing the entire thing is not as easy as just bits and pieces, but with the preparation the peripheral vision gave you it should not be too hard. At this point, until you have it perfectly, you should still be sitting down and imagining your tulpa in front of you daily, for a couple hours. Talking, and doing whatever you do.
In Closing
When your tulpa is first imposed, it may seem see through. Your tulpa also will become more mature and change as it adjusts to the world and what not. I guess that's pretty much it. Again, don't feel the need to follow the guide perfectly. But also, don't use this liberty to cheat yourself by saying Oh, I have visualization perfectly down after 20 minutes because as with every single sense, defining is also building.
So that about sums it up for this little guide. I hope you guys found it useful and a good read. If you have any questions feel free to email me.
The content on this page cannot be redistributed without linking to the original source and crediting Dane/FAQ man.
FAQ man's Final Post
A Note
The resources listed under this section are labeled as “historical guides,” as they no longer reflect the community’s methodology or standpoints as a whole. These works can contain outdated and even potentially harmful advice, crass language, or are written by ex-members of the community who may have had problems in their lives at the time of writing that could influence their works.
It is advised to read these guides with an air of skepticism and caution as a result; they are presented in the Tulpanomicon for the sake of historical documentation of community resources that had a major impact when the community was in its infancy.
By FAQ Man
I looked at the forum today, the new changes were overwhelming. I sense that not everyone is being completely truthful, yet, the sense of community there is astounding. I really liked the new page for user submitted guides. I must say, I'm quite surprised that Fede hasn't killed himself yet, it seems as though the community likes him about as much as I do. I hope that you're a little bit wary about who knows what and who has what. If that secret tulpa board still remains, make sure at least someone is monitoring it, as I believe that it's the sort of thing that could breed roleplaying if left alone.
I knew from the beginning that you'd make and keep a site that was not only a good tool for the community as a whole, but a place where people could go and congregate as a whole. I still don't regret leaving it, as I feel like in effect I would have definitely imposed my worldview and opinions on everyone and generally fucked things up, because let's be honest, that's just sort of thing I do. Without me being a tulpaforcing Gestapo, I see there are new methods which seem promising.
Lastly, color me faintly amused that the whole "tulpae" thing is still, well, a thing. Initially it was sort of an experiment of mine, to see how many people would follow me after I implemented a change to the terminology which was completely, for lack of better terminology, faggy. Of course, I see that "tupper" is now an acceptable word as well. Oh, how culture changes.
I'll continue to lurk your site and not answer the slew of emails I get. Most of them are in Russian, and hell, I remember the cold war. Fuck Russians and their shitty language. It sounds like butch lesbians having a gang bang when spoken. The English emails I get are typically people who haven't read the guides.
I haven't talked to anyone but the guy who runs grabthebird.tumblr.com, anyone else who says so is a liar and a tool.
Just letting you know I'm not dead in a ditch somewhere, as I think a lot of people were beginning to get that impression.
-Frequently Asked Questions Old Man Asshole Nazi Obsolete Suppressor of Change Evil Hour Counts Douche
P.S. feel free to spread this or post it around as you see fit.
1/1/2013
Tulpa Guide for Special People
By FAQ man (tulpa.faq@gmail.com)
So, the first guide is SO LONG and SO HARD to understand, right? Well in this snarky sequel, I’ll make it easier to understand for people that aren’t very good English speakers, morons, and young people who don’t know English beyond OMG. So, without further a due, here I go.
So, you want to make a tulpa. Here I will tell you how. This is not paranormal or supernatural, but rather a mental thing. No, this is not a mental disorder or an imaginary friend. You see and experience your tulpa like a normal person. Do not follow this guide perfectly- you don’t have to. Instead, please make sure you just get to every step so you don’t miss anything important. Making a tulpa is hard, and takes a long time. It took me 130 hours (2 and a half months). This is my method, and there are other methods out there you can try, okay?
When you make a tulpa do not work on it for more than three hours a day, or else you will feel very exhausted and not be able to function well. Making a tulpa is very hard on the brain, and if you’re not used to visualizing things, then it may result in headaches and feeling very tired. This is normal, don’t worry. Don’t work on your tulpa for less than a half hour a day, because so little time is not very constructive. You can spread the time out throughout the day, but make sure you’re not making the sessions last less than 20 minutes.
Before you do anything you want to work on personality. Think about all the traits, likes, dislikes, biases, point of views, prejudices and everything you want your tulpa to have. What I did, is I turned this all into a sort of ball and focuses on each part of the personality until I knew it back to front. What you do may be different, because personality is highly personal, and is generally different for everyone. Please do this first, before even visualizing. This should take around 3 to 10 hours. People like to skip this, but please don’t.
Next what you want to do is think about the form you want your tulpa to have. It should not be a living person, a dead person, a character, or yourself. It can be an animal, a rock, a person or anything else you can possibly think of, excluding the above. Just make it something you want to have for the rest of your life, and something that isn’t a fleshed out character. The problem with the latter is that you’ll be applying your ideas about the character to the tulpa, which will make it so it might not grow into its own being. This is generally a bad thing.
Unlike Irish’s method I did not use a wonderland. What I did was sit down, look at the area in front of me, close my eyes and then imagine the tulpa on the area. I think this is a better method for people that don’t want to imagine an entire world and a tulpa. When you first make a tulpa, you should think about it naked initially. Because if you don’t, whatever clothes you put them in will become part of their form and they won’t be able to change. You should only make them naked for the first half hour of visualization.
With visualization you strive to really focus on your tulpa’s appearance until you can see it perfectly in your head. You should be looking at them from a “first person” point of view. This step is the easiest one for people to rush, but you should spend around 5 to 15 hours on it. More is always better, of course, and if you feel the need to spend more than 15 hours or so on visualization than that’s fine.
Now what you want to do is start getting a feel for the texture of your tulpa. You can either physically put your hands out or pretend to feel them, or just do it within your mind. Again, how you do this step is mostly up to you. This should take 5-15 hours regardless of how well you think you’re doing.
The next step in relation to sensory details is smell. You want to create a general smell for your tulpa. It can be as subtle or harsh as you want. Smell is important because of all our senses it triggers memory the best. Use this to your advantage! Skipping smell is something a lot of people like to do, but I feel it is very counteractive in the end. You only have to spend around 3 to 10 hours on smell.
This next part is something a lot of people think is fun, because up until now your tulpa should have been basically standing still. This, by contrast, may be more entertaining for the budding tulpaforcer. What you do, is you design your tulpa’s body language. How they walk, how they swing their arms, their posture and everything falls under this. Another thing you may want to do is to imagine their facial expressions for certain emotions. You don’t have to do every single emotion but you should be putting enough time into it that you have a pretty solid idea of what most of their facial expressions look like. This should take another 5-10 hours to master.
Okay, now we are done with the basics of creation. Just because all this is done, doesn’t mean you stop sitting down for X hours a day and working on your tulpa. Now you’re just putting each main trait together all into one. You should continue to do this until your tulpa is completely finished in every sense of the word.
During any of these steps you might have noticed your tulpa doing something on its own, or gotten a sudden wave of emotion seemingly from the tulpa. These are both sure signs of sentience and are very good. I did not get an emotional response until l hit around 50 hours in; so really, don’t expect something like this to happen so quickly.
Now we enter the stage of narration! Note that this does not in any way replace or nullify the sitting down and tulpaforcing. You still need to do that. With narration you basically want to be talking to your tulpa as much as you possibly can. Just make open ended conversation. Do not make up responses for them at any cost. This is called parroting and does not help you at all. In fact it hinders the creation of the separate consciousness. You can start narration any time you want, but I would not start until you’ve done at least visualization. That way you can hold and think about the image of the tulpa in your mind while narrating to them.
Some time around this period you may have the tulpa talk to you. It is very distinct from your own mind. This usually does not happen any time less than 25 hours into creation. For me, my tulpa did not talk to me until I was 70 hours into creation. It is generally different for everyone. Talking is also a sure sign that your tulpa has it’s own “mind”.
As for the voice of the tulpa, it will start out being very generic, think like the voices they program into a GPS. It will become more normal and distinct as time goes on. If you have some idea of what you want the voice to be, be sure to sort of apply it by imagining your tulpa saying random words in that voice. Otherwise it will just basically become what it becomes and you don’t have much control over that.
On another note, let’s talk about deviation in tulpae. Tulpae will often change during the creation process. They change in the earlier stages because they are matching up with your subconscious ideal. This can and will differ from what you consciously want. Later on, when they have proved themselves to be sentient, they may change themselves further. You should not mess with or try reversing the changes, because what you’re doing is basically forcing the tulpa into an identity it doesn’t want. This is for the better, and you should accept the changes with open arms.
Okay, so before we start the next part, the following should be true: Your tulpa talks to you in complete sentences, your tulpa has its own opinions, and your tulpa sometimes does things you wouldn’t expect. These are all signs of sentience.
Now, sit right back down on your ass. Tell your tulpa you are opening your mind to it, and imagine it walking through a door or something similar. This is when your tulpa will see your subconscious. From here on out it will know all your memories, how you feel, and pretty much everything about you as a person. You shouldn’t do this right off, wait until trust is built. That way it is more meaningful; your tulpa will not take it for granted.
Now, this is when we begin to impose the tulpa on our reality. Say you’re walking down the street. Imagine your tulpa just behind you, walking with you. Make sure you remember its gait. Do this almost at all times until it becomes natural. This took me a while to master. Next, start to impose the tulpa on your peripheral vision. It should never be fully seen, except for bits and pieces. Start to smell it, maybe have it brush your arm lightly or something. Force it upon all your senses, almost all the time. Soon enough, it will be there. This takes a while too and definitely don’t rush it. Finally, begin to fully see, hear, smell and touch your tulpa, keeping it in fully view. Seeing the entire thing is not as easy as just bits and pieces, but with the preparation the peripheral vision gave you it should not be too hard. At this point, until you have it perfectly, you should still be sitting down and imagining your tulpa in front of you daily, for a couple hours. Talking, and doing whatever you do.
You know this step is done when your tulpa looks completely real to you and everything.
Great, now you’re done making a tulpa. Now go learn English so you can appreciate the real guide.
How to Tulpa/Tulpae
A Note
The resources listed under this section are labeled as “historical guides,” as they no longer reflect the community’s methodology or standpoints as a whole. These works can contain outdated and even potentially harmful advice, crass language, or are written by ex-members of the community who may have had problems in their lives at the time of writing that could influence their works.
It is advised to read these guides with an air of skepticism and caution as a result; they are presented in the Tulpanomicon for the sake of historical documentation of community resources that had a major impact when the community was in its infancy.
By Irish
Reasons for following this guide
I won't tell you to follow this guide because it's the ALMIGHTY GUIDE OF KNOWING EVERYTHING. I'll just say this, I have no reason why you should follow my guide. If you feel like following it then more power to you. This guide is basically my way of giving out info to you. It's NOT a rule book or a set way to do it. It's a guideline, just something to help you, BUT please try and do stuff your own way. If you have problems understanding something, think about it first, examine it, and come up with your own way of doing things and share it with the other people who are interested.
How my guide is different than FAQ's
My guide has the wonderland way and doesn't work on personality at all (explained more in the guide). I also promote more open interpretation of the guides. I also emphasize how they are guidelines not rules.
Some steps and info
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I was bored and found this whole tulpa ordeal a year or so ago and decided I wanted a companion of sorts so the idea of a tulpa really hit home.
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I decided on a form and the type of tulpa that I wanted and what I'd use the tulpa for (Basically companionship). I found that in this stage it is best to get rid of ulterior motives and thoughts such as Making a tulpa just for sex or Making a tulpa just so I can beat the crap out of it. These are bad and counterproductive and usually result in a tulpa that will try to hurt you mentally. To get rid of these ulterior motives and thoughts yourselves is up to you. That isn't what this guide is about.
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Once I had a general idea and had gotten rid of my ulterior motives. I made an area in my mind that I called my wonderland for more info on wonderland read Wonderlands and Tulpae, another guide that I wrote.
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In my wonderland, with my idea in mind, I made the idea of the tulpa into just a blue cloud and basically started narrating to it. I just kept talking to it and talking to it telling it anything I could. I told it about my day, stories, ideas. If you're reading this and don't know what Tulpas are by now than you're doing it wrong. I'm not gonna go into deep detail, but know this: It's a Tibetan thought form that is usually used as a discipline and teaching tool at least where it originated from. Most use it for companionship though, so that's cool too. If you want more info read FAQ_man's What is a tulpa guide.
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After a while I started feeling a funny feeling in the back right of my head towards the spine. This funny feeling is different for everyone. It could be a sense of pain or maybe a light headache, or even extreme pleasure. And know this: the origin of the funny feeling probably won't be the same spot as mine. Remember everyone's different.
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When you have acquired the funny feeling or alien feeling of sorts, start to build on it. Input your feelings, your thoughts, your emotions and energy into it (attention for the non-metaphysics peeps). Be sure to examine it and start to build the foundation of the tulpa.
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While you're building the tulpa from whatever form you started on, be it blue cloud like I did or any other thing you started out with, then while you're building on the funny feeling build the tulpa up into the form you want it into, so while you're in your wonderland working on the tulpa or just doing it normally build its form into what you want it to be. Remember: A tulpa will not always stay in the form you want it to be in, most likely it will change its form to your liking and change it in ways that you probably didn't decide on. If things keep changing repeatedly then you might want to stop it, but either way do not stop a tulpa when it's changing things. It's counterproductive and very hard to stop a tulpa from doing so.
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While you're forming it, you're giving it a lot of attention and energy as well as narrating that may sound hard to do and you will most likely get headaches at this point. Remember you're making a tulpa which basically means you're using your mind to very high extents and probably using your head more than you usually do on a daily basis. Well the headaches are NOT a bad thing, they just show you're doing it alright and as you get more and more headaches you'll get used to it more and more and as your tulpa finished the headaches will disappear.
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Alright here's the deal you'll be doing the whole giving energy, narrating, and forming bit for a while. Just cover all your bases over and over again and keep thinking of every part of the tulpa; keep narrating. You're probably wondering about a tulpas personality at this point. What I did was just allow the tulpa to experience my life as it is and let it see my life through a thing I made in my wonderland called the Library. It has every memory in there and no you don't have to see every book. It could be a nook for all I care it doesn't even have to be a library, but y'know it's just kinda fits if it was a library. This is one way for the tulpa to get a personality. Another way to get a personality for the tulpa with my method is basically letting it get its own (Personally I think the idea of narrating and building the personality is a good idea so follow FAQ_mans guide on that deal). I never really did personality; I let mine get there own personality. I just never really thought about it that much so forgive me.
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After a while of narrating, giving attention, and building the tulpa, it should attain the ability to speak to you on its own. At this point you're doing well and are probably well along your way, know to get to this point more than 10 hours or so are probably needed unless you're insanely good at this, but do know that everybody is different and your tulpa may not speak until 50 hours in. Everybody's different, so don't freak out immediately that it's not responding to you.
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If, at this point, your tulpa is speaking to you and you have a good form in your head, but you haven't imposed them into your reality, and you've got the library memory bit done with your tulpa so that it knows your life, and you know for a fact you've covered all your bases and feel like the tulpa is fully autonomous and does everything on it's own, then I believe you're ready to impose in into your reality. To do this, simply just take the idea of the tulpa which you can clearly see in your head which is fully autonomous in your wonderland, and literally think it into reality, say on your bed or next to you. Do what FAQ Man said on this part and start subtly from the peripherals of your vision and just kinda go from there. It'll be hard and YES the face is the hardest part to fully complete into existence, but if you've gotten to this point then I know you're dedicated to finishing it so please bare through it.
Parroting -- IMPORTANT
Know this, parroting is basically forcing your tulpa to do whatever you're thinking of. When a tulpa is autonomous the tulpa will be doing things without you even thinking of it. You'll have no idea what there thoughts are or why they do things. A sapient tulpa basically is one that can speak for itself and talk by itself and think for itself with no input from you. You're doing nothing to the tulpa and forcing it to do nothing. It'll be hard to tell if you're parroting or not and honestly you've gotta find that out yourself. So far it is the biggest problem with people who are tulpaforcing. Prolonged parroting leads to a servitor and not a tulpa. For more info on servitors look at the little info bit in the guides about servitors and tulpas.
HOWEVER
There are some types of good parroting, such as parroting it to do something to kick start it, or for voice you can kickstart by making it speak or say whatever you want. It's generally a good idea to kickstart but sometimes it isn't needed. DO NOT DO THIS MORE THAN ONCE. Parroting movement is okay in the very first stages of building. Move the arms around yourself to be sure you have what goes where and which anatomical features go where. This is okay in the beginning and is generally acceptable all-together. Now when it gets to the point of that you're just forcing a tulpa to go somewhere or move around then that is BAD and will lead to a servitor. Do not force the tulpa to do anything. It's okay to kickstart but don't do this because it's pants on head retarded.
(By Irish_, Transcribed by JDBar, converted to Markdown by Quora)
The strong language in this guide has been toned down to make it more SFW. You can access a copy of the guide in its original image form by clicking here.
NOTE: Version 1.0 of this guide can be found here.
Percieved Dangers of Making a Tulpa
A Note
The resources listed under this section are labeled as “historical guides,” as they no longer reflect the community’s methodology or standpoints as a whole. These works can contain outdated and even potentially harmful advice, crass language, or are written by ex-members of the community who may have had problems in their lives at the time of writing that could influence their works.
It is advised to read these guides with an air of skepticism and caution as a result; they are presented in the Tulpanomicon for the sake of historical documentation of community resources that had a major impact when the community was in its infancy.
By FAQ Man
I always figured the Tulpas can kill you angle was /x/ making it /x/-approved.
- ~Arula
In this document I would like to address the perceived dangers of making a tulpa. Lots of people expect and fear certain things happening to them, some of which are quite impossible or just unrealistic. Usually these fears come from ignorance on the topic or something of the like. In the following I'll put forth some regularly given reasons not to make a tulpa, and then my rebuttal based on my experiences and what I have collected from other sources.
A tulpa will always try to kill you to escape because it will become jealous about how you can perceive and act in the world and it can't. It will want to experience the world and you're literally trapping it in your head. You're segmenting off a piece of your soul and trapping it, of course something is going to go wrong.
I see this more than I should considering it's completely ridiculous. Let me break down the errors in this kind of thinking point by point. Firstly, a tulpa cannot kill you. They have no kind of interaction with the physical world at all. They can't control your body processes either. Nor can they posses you and make you kill yourself. Secondly, people assume tulpae are all jealous by nature when really how they act is a tulpa by tulpa basis. Also, must tulpae don't get very jealous about not being able to operate as a person. They know what they are and they don't really mind too much. You can't miss what you never had.
Also, you're not trapping the tulpa anywhere. Trapping implies it could be free anyways, and this is not the case with a tulpa. Basically people have trouble putting the fact in perspective that tulpae are not actual beings. They're a part of your mind, and while they should be treated as something that actually exists, the fact remains that they don't. Bits of double think there, right?
If you ignore your tulpa, it will get jealous. If you have other friends it will turn them against you. Your tulpa will hate if you fap to porn and it will get angry.
Time and time again I hear people saying that all tulpae are innately jealous, and if you don't gear all your attention toward them you're basically setting yourself up for disaster. All tulpae are different! Some need very little attention, some like to constantly be the center of it. Some will get a bit jealous, others won't. There is no rule for jealousy when talking about tulpae. That's just like trying to create rules for people, or groups of people. How your tulpa's personality turns out is not entirely up to you, and it is possible you may end up with these traits, but not likely if they're not a part of any of your ideals.
The tulpa will eventually try to take over your body completely.
This goes hand in hand with the multiple personality things, but I think some things need to be said here regardless. I would like to say that firstly, even elective possession by a tulpa is not known to be entirely possible. Theoretically, of course it could happen- electively. But we have not had any trusted accounts of this, because everyone who claims to have done it cannot explain the process, nor do they seem like a legit source. Irish_ and I don't want to try possession, and in the case of me, it is because all the implications of something else controlling the body completely freaks me out.
That being said, the tulpa can't really take possession by force, even if we accept the fact that it is possible.
Tulpae will damage you psychologically because they're assholes
Alright, as with the first danger this has a lot wrong with it, but I'll basically break it down into two main points. Firstly, a tulpa can't damage you psychologically. Even if they were a giant dick, and did wish you harm, the most they would be capable of doing would be following you around and annoying you, scaring you by standing creepily in dark hallways, not letting you sleep, or just being a dick like that. They can't make you insane by somehow intertwining themselves in your psyche and ruining your mind. They can only really damage you about as much as a person who can't touch you can.
Secondly, your tulpa is not going to want to harm you in any way; even if you start to dissipate it for no reason or just generally act like a frothing douche. This is because firstly, they're a manifestation of your mind, and they know this. They know they would be putting their own very existence in danger by fucking with you. Also, you both have complete empathy for each other. You know each other's motivations, thought processes and everything. The tulpa really wouldn't harm you because by extension it can feel the harm its doing.
Conclusion
I think there's enough of a pattern here that you can now discern for yourself really what's going on here.
The content on this page cannot be redistributed without linking to the original source and crediting Dane/FAQ man.
Oguigi & Koomer Possession Starter Guide
A Note
The resources listed under this section are labeled as “historical guides,” as they no longer reflect the community’s methodology or standpoints as a whole. These works can contain outdated and even potentially harmful advice, crass language, or are written by ex-members of the community who may have had problems in their lives at the time of writing that could influence their works.
It is advised to read these guides with an air of skepticism and caution as a result; they are presented in the Tulpanomicon for the sake of historical documentation of community resources that had a major impact when the community was in its infancy.
by Oguigui and Koomer Co-authors/editors: -Chupi -Waffles -Linkzelda
Disclaimer: Hello, my name is Oguigi, and I am Koomer's tulpa. This guide describes my way of doing possession. Please be considerate of you and your tulpa's safety, and never overwork yourself or your tulpa.
Be patient and train in a safe and private area, and please acknowledge that the advice I give may not apply to everyone. The mind is an abstract place and there is no single way to do things. This guide is somewhat experimental, but Koomer and I hope that this method will help those who are struggling to achieve possession.
Koomer (host): Possession is a very useful skill that allows your tulpa to influence the physical world directly, by moving and controlling your body. It can also be fun. Tulpae can play games with you, learn to speak with your body, as well as type and write. This is a great way of giving them a portal to the outside world. The following is written by my tulpa, Oguigi. She will explain and give details and helpful tips on possession.
(To hosts: Before you start possession, I strongly recommend that your tulpa be able to communicate with you reliably.)
Because of the nature of possession, be sure to read this guide with your tulpa.
Oguigi (tulpa): What I am about to write is aimed at tulpae, because we are the ones primarily responsible for whether possession works or not. The host's role is to relax their body and let us attempt to assume control over it; to coach us on how to move each body part; and to encourage us to try our best.
The first thing you need to be able to do is have some kind of awareness of your host's body. It's very important that you experience what they see, hear, feel, taste, etc. as they do. You need to relax yourself and tune out your own surroundings, then focus on your host's body.
Make sure your host knows what you're doing so they can relax their body and not move. Focus on a simple part of the body like the index finger. Assume that body part is now yours, and try to gain awareness of this body part. (Note: This sometimes makes me feel a little tingling or numbness in the part the tulpa is focusing on. -Chupi)
When you are focused try to move it, imagining that you are doing so. If this is your very first time, the body might reject your commands to make it move. This is normal. Even on your first try it might be possible for the index finger to move a couple millimeters in the direction you want.
Your host may notice that the finger "clicks" this is pretty much the smallest about of muscle movement possible. If the host detects these movements, please make sure that he/she tells you, and knows that these movements came from you.
Most hosts can only give up a small fraction of their day for this. You can still train possession, even when you're not controlling your host's body. We tulpae come in all shapes and forms, but for training possession while not using the physical body you will want to assume a temporary form that is similar to your host's body. Anything that's "human/humanoid" is good enough.
For some being in a humanoid body might be strange at first, but the key is to get used to it. The brain has some magical ways of making things work. The way you move the toes, fingers, arms, and legs in your new humanoid body will be almost identical to the way you would try to move your host's body during possession. (If you already have a human form, that's great. All you need to do is keep possession in mind when ever you're moving any part of your body.)
Keep training and moving around in your humanoid body, with the goal of possession in mind. Training usually takes many hours so please be patient. You should always have a set time to train possession with your host, and should attempt this at least once a day. If possible you should set it at the same time each day, to gauge your progress on a daily basis, which is very helpful. I strongly discourage using random times, random days, or when you feel like it.
Some extra tips
If you have a decent awareness of your host's body, whenever he/she moves throughout the day, pay close attention to the way the body moves.
When you are learning some of the more advanced things like walking, you must remember that the physical body does a lot of things automatically. This includes balance, so don't be afraid to walk with the host's body. If you're worried about falling, then train in a grassy or otherwise soft area.
Everything is a team effort. Hosts, if you cannot do possession it's not your fault. Your tulpa plays the most important role, and all you can do is point him or her in the right direction. Tulpae, hopefully this guide will kickstart your efforts to get possession working, but everyone is different. Some host bodies are very agreeable to our will, while others might be very stubborn. Some tulpae will work on possession all day long, while others will put it as a side project. All of these variables will affect how quickly full-body possession can be achieved.
Troubleshooting & Guide clarification:
This is only to add on to the main guide, and is not in any way a replacement. Always read the main guide first.
Make sure that all of your tulpa's attention is on the body; he/she must fully tune out the wonderland/mind/imposed environment and shift their focus to the body. You can have your tulpa focus on the body's senses such as hearing, taste, and most importantly sight. If you are sitting down on a chair make sure your tulpa gets that same feedback: he/she should feel the chair underneath the body.
Your tulpa needs to change his/her perspective: they are not watching the body anymore, they are the body. Your tulpa need to assume the body is theirs, just like how they have a sense of ownership of their wonderland bodies. Move your arm around a bit yourself. From your tulpa's perspective the body should feel like it's moving on its own. If you can talk to your tulpa then try to confirm this, otherwise you can skip this step.
Now rest your dominant hand on your lap or on your desk or whatever else you prefer. Tell your tulpa that the hand is theirs and it's a part of their being. Ask him/her to try to move the index finger, and they will move this finger like it belongs to them. That means no 'thinking' about moving it, they will move this finger in the same nature as they will move their wonderland bodies, by direct command - just like how a host will move their body. Even if the body don't move at first, just keep pressing on. Once your tulpa gets past that initial resistance of moving any part of the body, it will become much easier to maintain that control.
As for the host, they need to try their best not to interfere. After your tulpa has moved the finger, don't try to take back control or move it under your will in any way. Doing this reinforces all of the resistance that tulpa had to get through in order to gain control of the part in the first place.
Thank you for reading this guide. Please try my methods and see if it works for you, and report back your results. Don't hesitate to provide any feedback on this guide you might have.
If you are struggling then please state your problem in this thread. I can then provide some extra assistance for your case.
-Oguigi
Guide originally found here.
Fuliam's guide on how to switch
A Note
The resources listed under this section are labeled as “historical guides,” as they no longer reflect the community’s methodology or standpoints as a whole. These works can contain outdated and even potentially harmful advice, crass language, or are written by ex-members of the community who may have had problems in their lives at the time of writing that could influence their works.
It is advised to read these guides with an air of skepticism and caution as a result; they are presented in the Tulpanomicon for the sake of historical documentation of community resources that had a major impact when the community was in its infancy.
Hi, my name is Fuliam and I will be writing this guide here for you today. Now let me first jump in by saying each section will be labeled for your convenience, so if you want to skip past all this stuff, go ahead I won't be offended. But I highly suggest reading it, because I will be discussing a few things in depth here, including what does or doesn't work, with that said, let us begin.
PREWORD
Firstly let me say that I suggest having a tulpa, you can switch out of your body without one, but you will not have anyone able to control it. Secondly I suggest getting your tulpa, at the very least, vocal first. Also if you already know how to possess that is a huge plus.
Important thing here: Your tulpa needs parallel processing, which basically means, it can think on it's own.
Definitions
In this guide I am going to be using a few terms some of you may be unfamiliar with, so I will be defining them here. If you are confused by a word and I have not listed it here, by all means ask what it means, this is for all of you.
Switching: When the host trades places with the tulpa. The host goes to a tulpalike state and tulpa controls the body. It sounds similar to possession, but is not.
Reverse Imposition: This means taking away your senses. This is the most difficult step of the switching process. You will be mentally focusing on each of your senses of your body in turn, and completely letting go of them and only feeling you wonderland senses. AKA Mentally Forced Sensory Deprivation.
I'll add more as needed.
Basic Overview of Steps
- Relax and get into forcing state
- Begin to make a form for yourself in wonderland
- Import yourself into that form
- Begin reverse imposition process
- Adopt wonderland sense
- Complete reverse imposition
- Tulpa goes into your body.
In this part I will be describing in detail and explaining steps 1-3
Step 1
Relax and get into Forcing state.
Step 1 should be relatively simple it is also the most crucial. Get into whatever position you normally force in and make sure you will not be interrupted. If you do get interrupted it will obviously break your concentration. One of the key things in this whole process is concentrating on the task alone. When in your wonderland, or whatever method you use to force, make sure that your Tulpa is ready. Also I forgot to mention something earlier, make sure your Tulpa WANTS to switch. If your Tulpa does not want to switch obviously enough it will not help.
Step 2
Begin to make a form for yourself in wonderland.
The majority of people will find it easier to complete step three, and the following steps if they first have a representation of themselves in wonderland. I begin with a blue floating sphere which I then reshape into usually a wolf. You can choose any shape or form you wish, but I suggest starting with a human shape. It is one that we are all familiar with, and it is how we are accustomed to seeing ourselves usually. I've found as of recent, it is even easier just to keep the form as an orb, and use that. You can change it after you have switched.
But again, you may choose any form you wish, just make sure you see that it's not just a random empty body, it is in fact you.
Step 3
Import yourself into that form
If you have not finished step 2 I suggest you finish it before moving on, it is even more difficult than normal to continue without first doing step 2, but it is possible (Not recommended).
Once you have chosen and visualized your new form in wonderland start to breathe in deeply, and then breathe out deeply, get truly relaxed. And then imagine yourself, your essence as water, and your body containing all of that water. Now feel that water slowly drain from you, slowly, into your wonderland form, as completely as you can.
What you are doing is importing yourself, ignore everything you can in the real world, and only pay attention to the wonderland, this is another especially important thing to remember. Focus on wonderland, and try to ignore everything else.
Part 3 is planned on being the last part, it is also the most complicated, and takes the longest. No normal person can do it all in one try, so I have broken it down into as many steps as possible for you all to grasp.
Please do keep in mind, that steps 4-6 all kind of happen at once, so I will be referring them all as one step.
Steps 4, 5, and 6
Now that we are in wonderland and we have a form for us to focus on, it is time for the most important step of all, what I call reverse imposition. Which is essentially, shutting your body of from real world senses. This step cannot be skipped. There is no consistent way that I know off for the Tulpa to do the work either.
We will start with your sense of taste, think of your favorite food, think about the taste, tangy, or sweet, or whatever it is. Keep your entire mind on that taste, and know that right now that food is touching your tongue, you can taste it. Once you taste it, you are halfway there. Next, get a small piece of flavorful candy or something else small. Put it in your mouth and suck/ chew on it, until you taste it (this is in the real world by the way, like actually eat something). Now go into your wonderland and again focus on your favorite food, and keep it up until you can no longer taste the thing in your mouth and instead taste your favorite food.
If you have done this, and gotten the results, congratulations you have conquered your sense of taste.
Next we shall work on your sense of hearing, make sure you are in a quiet place to begin. Think of a catchy little jingle, or song you like. Make sure you know it by heart, it has to be so stuck in your head that you can sing it aloud without the music playing in the background. Now go to wonderland and think of speakers blaring that jingle, or song all over your wonderland. Try and keep it up until you can actually hear your music in wonderland. Now comes the next part of this sense, get some headphones, and play soft music, (Music, not tones). I don't really care what kind of music it is, in fact it's best if you have a variety of music, then go back to wonderland and concentrate on the song you chose earlier until you can't hear the real life song, but can only hear the wonderland song. If you did that, good your almost there, one step remains for hearing. think of birds chirping, and other random noises or sounds, and keep practicing the techniques listed above until if you think of a noise you know, you can hear it in wonderland as clearly as in real.
If you followed the above steps and gotten the results described, congratulations you conquered hearing. Good news is you are 2/5's of the way there, bad news is it only gets more difficult from here on out.
Next sense is smell. Once again go into wonderland and think of a smell you know very well, it can't be the smell you are smelling in real life right now. So for example I know the smell of Incense very well, so I imagine that and think of it until I can smell it. You can pick whatever scent you'd like and do the same as the other steps, focus on that scent until it overpowers you sense of smell, and you can't smell anything else. Next get something with a strong scent and put it next to you, make sure you can smell it, and then focus on your thought up scent until the real life scent disappears.
Good job you've conquered smell, more than half way there.
Sight comes next, this is why I suggested getting imposition down first, but it's not a requirement. I prefer to stare at one very small object like a single lone period, and not move my eyes from that spot, at all, try not to blink. Keep staring, and when you get bored, stare at it some more, you know when you're ready when your sight starts to get a bit blurry around the sides, and strange things start happening to your sense of sight. Now think of your wonderland, do not close your eyes this time, think of your wonderland and essentially see your wonderland, now I know what your thinking. "But Fuliam, what if my wonderland is too big to fit in the room." Ah excellent question inquisitive friends. The answer is quite simple. Imposition is bringing something into this world, you shouldn't be focusing on bringing your wonderland into the world. You should only be focusing on your wonderland and seeing it replace the world. Yes it is very complicated and takes a long time, but if you master this skill, you will be able to hallucinate anything you can think of if you want to.
Ok, that one is significantly harder than the last three, but if you did it, great job.
If you are reading this, than you should have mastered all 4 things described above, because now it is time for the last sense. The sense of touch. Have you ever had a ache, or really bad pain? Most of us have, I want you to dig through those memories and think of one pain or ache you remember particularly well. Now that you have it in mind, remember, what did that pain feel like, exactly where was it, etc. Basically, make a phantom of this pain in your body, make it shadow out your normal feelings there. If you did it right, it should hurt you, the reason I had you do this is simple. The body remembers pain better than it does pleasure generally. Now think of the most pleasurable moment you've ever had, think of it, until your entire body can feel it. Good job, now continue doing this and go into your wonderland, think nothing of your physical body, only the body here in wonderland, wonderland is your new home, and there is no more physical body for you, take a jog around wonderland, feel the slight burning in your legs, and your heart pounding harder, feel the air go in and out of your lungs. Now grab a knife and make a small cut on your finger, if it hurts, congratulations you've done it. Do not on any circumstances focus back on your body, this will make you have to repeat this step.
Congratulations, you have conquered the five sense, do not try and do it all in a single sitting, it is almost suicidal using that much effort at once.
Now there is one more thing you need to do before your Tulpa can do step 7, You need to combine all the things you have learned at once. My method for doing this is going into wonderland and draining myself into the form, and thinking only of my wonderland senses, then when I am ready to switch, I see small lines tethering my wonderland body to my real body, with a sharp exhale, I cut all of these lines, thus leaving my body without a conscious mind.
This is only my method, an easier way for you may be to one at a time focus on the senses like you learned here, until all of them are under your control, then visualize you taking a knife and cutting the strings between your physical and wonderland forms.
Step 7
This step is done IMMEDIATELY after all the other steps are done, your Tulpa will essentially enter the void left in your mind caused by you leaving your body, and your Tulpa will now be in control. Pretty simple step.
Once you are ready to end the switch, basically have your tulpa kind of walk out of the body, while you refocus on your Physical bodies senses. When you get back from a siwtch you might feel disoriented, this is normal.
If you have followed all the steps listed above, and mastered them all, congratulations you are now capable of switching. It is a thing very few are able to do. There is good reason to that. It is one of the most difficult things you can do, period, not only with a Tulpa but one of the most difficult things in general. I cannot guarantee that you will be able to switch by reading this guide, but I can tell you this guide will send you on the right way, and with enough effort you can learn how to switch.
I have to leave you a little reminder though, this is not something to be tried by the weak of heart or will. It is not something you pick up and learn in an afternoon, it is something very difficult, that few ever master, but if you think that you can do it, then go out and do it.
I am always looking for your feedback and experiences. Good luck. If you would like a specific guide on anything else, ask me in IRC.
From here
Other Tips
This is the "other" part of this book. The things in here don't really fit into any of the other categories.
Tulpaforcing from the Heart
This guide is dedicated to the use of divine Love in tulpamancy (and outside of it) as potent instrument of creation, development, sustainment, transformation, reinforcement, and introspection.
It is aimed at people already possessing the base concepts of tulpamancy; who wish to expand their toolset with a powerful arsenal; and possibly, to put such tools to use in their larger context outside of interaction with their tulpas.
Love is the glue that binds systems together. It is what propels people past rocks and hard places; it is the fire that forges the adamantine bonds that lead to healthy plurality. Tulpaforcing from the Heart is a way of ad-hoc fashioning Love into a tool used to help develop and strengthen thoughtforms.
The guide is divided as such:
- Love, in nature : A first inquiry into the nature of Divine Love.
- Love in the expression : A chapter to help the reader familiarize themself with the perception and expression of Love.
- Love in tulpaforcing : The actual methods and techniques that assist tulpaforcing through the use of Love.
- Love in the daily life, and through adversity : Further uses of Love to support the daily life of the individual.
- Love in the tulpaforcing of Self : A window into using the techniques described to open up the inner scape of the Self to a renewed examination and treatment.
- Further resources
1. Love, in nature
The Greek Loves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_words_for_love
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Loves
The Greek divided the various expressions of love in four (or more) categories. Of particular importance here is the noblest, the most radical: the agape, or selfless love. The love that is extended to all people, without condition. The love that is later translated into Latin as caritas, which is the origin of our word "charity." The love that is without judgment, and without reservation. The love that is referred to by C.S. Lewis as "gift love": the open love that is given without expectation of return, and that springs from the innate goodness in a person's heart.
Metta
“May all beings live in Peace and harmony.” -- Dhammarakkhita
Metta is a Pali word of Buddhist use that translates most directly as loving-kindness, the kindness that is loving; the gentle action that is rooted in genuine compassion. It is also called "well-wishing," for it is practiced by unconditionally well-wishing for the safety, happiness, good health and comfort of any living being or beings, including oneself.
It is something that inherently all people can contain and express, but may find themselves diverted from by blockages like resentment, fear, feelings of unworthiness, and the like. With practice, one can come to dissolve such obstacles and let the pure loving-kindness flow unimpeded.
Other descriptions
- The divine Love is love that is unconditioned, raw, pure, unfiltered, natural, flowing, unencumbered, innocent, free, shameless...
It is the love that cares because it knows the Divine spark is in everything, and acknowledges it, and cherishes it, and celebrates it. - More than strictly a thing of emotion or feeling, the foundation of Love is a thing of knowingness, a sensation of fundamental Oneness and Wholeness that pervades the pure awareness, strenghtened by the cognition of the deep connection between living beings; it is the natural, joyful flow of the unencumbered, centered, present Self.
Eckhart Tolle - The Journey Into Now - While more abstract, another view into this sort of Love is the force that reunites, that holds the opposites at once within it, that reintegrates conflict into a common tune. It is the force that sees discordant traits as part of a flowing duality, and recognizes and appreciates the vibrant richness of such configurations. It is the organizing, coalescing force. It is the movement that escapes the apparent duality of the Dao. It is the unconditional embrace of all.
- God/First Source/Aether/Spirit : If you'd like to imagine this kind of love actually coming from the Divine, try this on for size.
You can imagine God as being the One, Infinite Creator; the entity that was before all else. Finding Itself alone, it created Many within Itself, folding the One Consciousness into Many separate viewpoints, in order to live, explore, create, develop, experience, learn.
The One Creator has hidden Itself from Its creation, so that the Many could come to the realization that instead of finding their Creator in something external, they were the Creator all along; however, the very Presence of God still pervades the Universe, through the universal, all-encompassing, loving essence that interprenates and connects All and supports, and gently nurtures, all life in the Universe. It is the very backbone of existence, and it goes by many names: the Aether, the Quantum Vacuum, the Intelligent Infinity, the Torsion Field, the Holy Spirit, the Higgs Field, the Source Intelligence, the Zero-Point Energy Field, and so on, and so forth. It is powerfully intelligent, and it gently orchestrates all of Creation to the tune of a single symphony of Love.
Through this, the Universe is united in fundamental Oneness, composed of Sovereign, infinite beings, each Integral, and deeply connected, to the whole. Such a state is referred to as Sovereign Integral state, or sometimes as Spirit.
From the Heart
In the practice of recognizing, using and mastering this Love, it is very useful to use the Heart (the energetic heart, located at the center of the chest) as observed center of reception and perception of this Love.
Such an association between love and the heart has historically pervaded common conception, and it still persists in doctrines such as that of the chakra system.
If nothing else, practicing this focus is useful in that it helps delineate the distinction of such emotions from thoughts, which is quite fundamental to the practice.
And besides, it's what's has worked best experientially so far.
2. Love in the expressions
This chapter is related to the ways in which such Love can be felt, experienced, and can find expression. Practicing, and familiarizing oneself, with the receiving and the transmitting of Love is the ground basis for its actual use.
- As first impression, Love expressed is the love that has been hurt, betrayed, shamed, and can still reach out, and forgive, and love openly. It is the love that seeks to relieve pain precisely because it has known pain, and would not wish it again on others. It is the love that moves against injustice because it has known injustice. It is the love that forgives because it is aware of the limitations of the single person. It is the playful love that expands, constantly receives, and is always open both ways: so that it may understand, and so that it may act precisely as the moment demands.
Such expressions of this Love are exquisitely human in nature, as they come from a place of limitation, hardship and suffering that allows people to relate with similar troubles, fully understand those hardships, genuinely empathize, and wish for the transformation of such conditions. That empathy is a strong source of this Love, uniquely human in expression despite its divine nature.
Learning to receive and transmit Love
- It truly needs to be restated: the awareness of self as consciousness; as being-ness that sits outside the mind, but can encompass it; as pure Presence in the Now; is extremely conductive to the practice of Love, both in the reception and the expression.
Presence Course by Eckhart Tolle - As preliminary step, it is useful to place the locus of attention in the energetic heart region. It is here that the Love will be individuated and felt, and this point of focus may be used to the degree of placing full attention on this region, disregarding thoughts that may come from the mind.
- Start with finding the Love where it comes easiest to. For a select some it can be a pure Love of self; but for most of us, it starts with someone, or something, else. It can be your tulpa; it can be a family member, a friend, an idol figure, a community, a higher power; it can be a plant, a garden, an animal, it can be Nature itself; it can be a place, it can be an event, it can be a raw idea, or an ideal. In can be a piece of art, a favourite song that just carries you to the right spot. It can be a dear memory that you hold close. It can be something that is simply imagined, as in: how would it be, how would it feel like, if someone loved someone else with this naturalness, this rawness, this openness, this understanding. It can be the simple appreciation of life, and of the present moment. Whatever it is that resonates with you in such a matter when you think of it, take it, and put it at the center of your initiation practice. Discern what it evokes in you; percieve how Love behaves when summoned within you, so that you might recognize it more clearly, and bring it forward more easily.
- This Love can also be felt by way of physical sensations. It is very much possible to just get to feel it in the heart region, in a variety of ways: a lightness in the chest; a clearer breath; a quiet resolution; an openness, a feeling of oneness with all existence; a quieter mind; a connection to life around you; an innate joy; a feeling of liberation, of freedom, of truth.
- One must be accepting of Love as it comes to you. To love someone is to find them worthy of such love, for if they weren't thought of as worthy, they wouldn't be loved in that manner. Thus, to love is to know as worthy, and to be loved is to be worthy. There is no need to erect barriers around oneself, for Love already naturally goes to the right target, and there is no call for further filtering. Only acceptance and receptiveness are needed.
- Once the Love is known, it is worthwhile to open up into receiving Love naturally. For one, this is done through being present in the simple awareness, as detailed above; it can also be summoned through an awareness that the Universe, or some part of it (even down to a single individual), or some higher power, loves you, and cares for you, and desires nothing more than for you to express the fullness that you are, your full beauty and splendor. This knowledge, this awareness, enables a natural flow of gratitude that can be the spine of your practice.
Prayer
Prayer can be, for some, a channel of communication with the Divine. A way of opening up to the Higher Power, and to bring out their spiritual side. It is a precious connection to cultivate, for it is one way to nurture the Divine that is within yourself.
When you immerse yourself in prayer, you come to a different place than your ordinary life; you might feel different, possessing a sense of peace, of innate and intimate relationship to something larger than you are. This something is also within you, because it is felt by you in your very being as you pray.
This state is the state of connection to the Divine that has been mentioned before, and is a place from where Love can spring forth unabated. You can nurture this sense, cherish it, and bring it in avenues outside prayer; or, seeing it from another angle, learn to bring the prayer to more facets of your life.
Metta meditation
Metta meditation consists of entering a light meditative state and focusing on affirmations of well-wishing Love, so that their meaning might be contemplated, felt, and ultimately transmitted. The practitioner uses those affirmations to direct their well-wishing towards a progressively larger circle of humanity, and eventually such Love encompasses everyone.
Simple metta technique explanation
Fuller metta paper
Another metta paper
The Six Heart Virtues
The divine Love crystallizes in the worlds of form into particular expressions, both of feeling and of behaviour. In order for their potency to be fully expressed, there is coherency to cultivate between the love that is felt and that which is expressed, both inwards and outwards. Doing things with feeling, as they say.
- Appreciation: From the realization that we are connected at the deepest level in a framework that unifies us and our individual purposes in Love, appreciation is expressed in the gestures of gratitude that birth and support relationships and bonding.
- Compassion is the active desire to assist in the alignment with the uplifting and liberating frequencies of Love, aware that their desire and ability to align is distorted by their social enculturation; it does not accurately reflect their intelligence, spiritual inclinations, or purpose.
- Forgiveness: From the understanding that every person is doing the best that they can under current circumstances, and the compassion to help them move past mistakes and help them recenter in the present moment, forgiveness is an act of acceptance and release, freeing selves from the quicksand of time, of being stuck contemplating the past.
It is the realization that if our limitations make us prone to mistakes and flawed decisions, those same limitations make us unable to properly judge actions and choices from an encompassing view; thus, we cannot judge, and so we forgive. - Humility is the realization that the whole system of experience intermingles in a framework of divine Love, and is supported by it. Humility is the expression of these divine energies, with the knowing that the virtues of the heart, the pure intellect of the contemplative mind, and the co-creative pursuits of the heart, mind, and soul derive from what already exists in a higher dimension, where all are One, all are Equal, all are Divine, and all are Immortal.
- Understanding: While our core energetic structure is that of soul, composed of frequencies of pure Love, and the sheaths of density and form are means to experience it and express it, nonetheless those sheaths (the human instrument) creates feelings of separation and disconnection from our inner divinity and from all life. Understanding is the aspect of heart intelligence that recognizes that this dissociation from Love is a necessary design component of the larger blueprint, that unravels through time, even as different people are at different stages of the unraveling.
- Valor is the transmission of spiritual values in the face of separation. It is the acting against injustice, in defense of the presence of Love, and it is the transmission of such values and understandings to those not in the frequency of Unity, in a nonjudgmental way.
For a more detailed explanation of the heart virtues, you can consult this excerpt from Living from the Heart.
Further enlightenment
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Love is powerfully intuitive in nature; when dealing with matters of the Heart, trusting one's intuition leads to a clearer and more powerful expression.
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In releasing this Love outwards, it is important to root this act in genuineness; to pair the Love felt inside to the outward expression, anchoring the action in autenticity; bringing in sync the inside and the outside. The kind of connection that is described as a gesture that comes from the heart. This creates a seamless experience of transparency; the virtues of the Heart flow naturally through you, expressed right as they are received, melding the within and the without in harmonious resonance.
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Each genuine expression of Love reinforces your connection to its Presence within you, and grows your confidence and mastery in the practice. Inviting those qualities into your life and letting yourself radiate them cements them in your very being.
Giving away this Love only fills you with more. -
This Love can be expressed with your every breath, in every thought, through all situations, in all actions, in every expression of your energy, of your being. It can permeate every facet of your experiences, of your life. It only needs to be permitted so.
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With practice, the focus in the heart region can become your primary center of awareness (instead of in the head region), putting the Presence and its Love in prominency in consciousness, in the place of thoughts. It is a profoundly transformative way of living, both on the inside and on the outside; and it is, in a sense, the ultimate goal to pursue with the practice.
3. Love in tulpaforcing
- In few other places one can directly witness the dramatic effects of Love as in tulpamancing. In the inner worlds, Love easily manifests as an actual, immediate force of change; a growing and developing factor. It is a force that is sustaining, enabling, strengthening, vibrant and alive.
It is a love that heals, transforms, enlivens and enlightens; it expands consciousness and nurtures life.
It is widely known how a supportive environment allows for children to naturally grow into their potential. We're doing much of the same with this practice, only more focused; weaponized. - Love is a force of connection. It can connect you and your tulpa (or any two consciousnesses) in every circumstance; it can be just radiated, with the knowing that it is naturally received. Even when not focusing on your tulpa otherwise, this Love for them is a very convenient focus to keep, for it is of benefit to the both of you.
- It is good practice to use the Quantum Pause as basis for your sessions, allowing the natural mental clarity and insight it brings to direct the experience. Do this by declaring the intent for this session; performing the breath patterns; proceeding with the session, letting your actions in it come from the Heart; and then, repeating the breath patterns and further forcing as desired.
- When active forcing with Love, take at heart the desire to take this time as sacrifice to improve your tulpa. To spend this limited time to help you experience the unlimited Love together. Use this Love to help strengthen and reinforce yourselves.
Specific uses
- Love as source of expression : In a very simple way, simply imbuing your actions and thoughts while forcing with the genuine expressions of the Heart Virtues is already very valuable, for their subtle and unsubtle influences have much to bring to the common interactions that compose life with a tulpa. This open and unfiltered expression of the Heart Virtues fosters a supportive and transformative environment for the both of you.
Furthermore, remember that direct experience is the usual fastest way for a tulpa to develop, so make sure to provide it, especially when paired with providing them Love together with such. Particularly positive is the loving co-creation of an experience with them; the reciprocal allowing and supporting, and the shared creative outpour. - Love beam : In this visualization-based exercise, visualize your Love in your heart region; it can be represented as light particles or a bright liquid, or just pure light, or any other way that is comfortable; this Love gets charged with specific intent, such as to help your tulpa develop, or to grow vocal, or such; then, it is released. Shoot it out in their direction, and observe its transformative effects; they can manifest rather dramatically.
Make sure to track such effects; try new ways to use it and new intents with time; play and experiment around, and always remember to have fun. - Love as crafting material : This Love can just be taken, lifted straight out of heart region and used for imbuing things and beings (again, through intent and purpose), or just be melded into desired shape-functions.
- Cuddleforcing, or just sharing the Love : It's ok to communicate through Love over thoughts sometimes; and it's ok to spend time just sharing it, loving one another quietly, maybe cuddled together, basking in one another's compassion and appreciation that are naturally radiated.
- Sending Love in the back : An activity to carry out in the back that doesn't take much brainpower, if at all, is to send Love outwards. It can be directed to oneself, or to systemmates, or to someone else outside; to the whole of humanity, to Earth, really any target will do. Once it gets going, it is relatively effortless to sustain through conscious intent, and it quite never gets boring.
Further enlightenment
- Imagination from the Heart : There are people who struggle with keeping their imagination stable, or detailed, or at all visible once they focus on it. One technique that can be used is to perceive the imagination as something that is observed through the heart, instead of through the eyes. It is, as detailed before, a matter of placing your consciousness in the heart region, and coupling this with the knowingness that the outside world is being perceived through that region, instead of the usual head organs.
For one, this deflects the issue of trying to observe such things with your physical eyes, which usually leads to poor outcomes such as the images disappearing; for another, the Heart is also a place of vivid imagination, that deals in feelings and potentiality, and is more contemplative and intuitive in nature; and using this focus in the heart region to complement the visualization proper can lead to an improved experience.
Incidentally, being aware of observing the dream world through your Heart can also lead to vastly improved dream stability when lucid dreaming. - Love as nurturance of life : More specifically, Love can be seen as a force that supports the individual's natural movement through life towards its highest expression. Every being is in a natural process of expansion and development, and Love can accompany this expansion, empower those beings, transmute the barriers in the way, provide gentle support, and overall accelerate the process of development and growth.
This has direct parallels in therapy methods such as Person-centered therapy, which focuses on the natural ability of the individual to self-actualize once they are provided with the ability to truly do so, much like one would provide a tree with the right nutrients and conditions and then let it do its thing.
The Hakomi method focuses on the gentle rewriting of the barriers situated in one's past.
Conflict resolution focuses on peaceful integration of points of view as means of resolving conflict.
Love is understanding and compassion and forgiveness, and this can help when facing barriers in the self and in others; in finding ways of reintegration, of reconciliation, of moving forward together. This is especially apparent with tulpas since they are less tethered to external circumstances and are able to more rapidly shift in consciousness.
- Recursive relationship of development : Much can be said, and has been said, about the symbiosis that a relationship with a tulpa can foster; when two individuals are actively helping each other, motivating each other, supporting each other through the difficult times, being one another's anchor and extra viewpoint, it is possible to reach heights previously undreamed of when alone. Love is particularly suited for this, as its developmental properties allow for massive positive feedback to occur between systemmates. Pushing one another in Love to understand themselves, to improve themselves, to love themselves even, can be an incredible drive of change and evolution.
4. Love in the daily life, and through adversity
While using Love in tulpaforcing is very useful, Love shines best when applied continuously, in one's daily adventures and misadventures alike. It allows for the transmutation of otherwise frustrating, draining, or generally negative experiences into uplifting and positive ones, and it also does carry a virality to it (much like the people described as infectiously happy) that can shift those around you towards a more positive life as well. You can set the example, and be an inspiration to those around you.
- It is worthwhile to ask yourself periodically, even daily, why you are calling to yourself this Love, and the wisdom that it carries, and how would you use such Love and increased perceptions once they come to you. It is always possible to find an answer; and, there is no right or wrong answer, just an answer. With time, you will iterate on such answers, and in so doing develop your intent, your sense of purpose, and your greater direction.
- The practice is massively shaped by your intent and resolution, in ways seen and unseen. For one, this direction, this intent, allows a greater clarity in the focusing and the directing of your Love, and lends greater potency to your expressions of it.
- There is a passage that describes this iteration of purpose: Reading from the Heart
- The entire practice must be rooted in genuineness, autenthicity, and transparency. You cannot fake this. You cannot practice like a machine. You must be human, vulnerable, open, humble, and willing to learn from yourself more than you’re willing to accept the words of another. You are the ultimate source of your truth, and above all else, the intuitive wisdom of your deepest Heart can be your truest guide through all of life's disparate encounters.
- The Love in the expression is always, immediately available to you. There is no distance that separates you from the wisdom of your inmost self, and the clarity of your Heart's expression, but the time of a single moment, and the intention of a single thought.
- The centerpiece of the practice is the present awareness. The Presence in the Now. It all starts with being aware and receptive, and knowing that every moment is there to be co-created between you and the Universe in Love, and not merely reacted to. During the expressions of the Heart Virtues, their effects can be directly observed, and feedback can be estabilished to properly respond to any evolving situation that is shifting under the influence of Love.
- There are four main perspectives, or attitudes, that enable you to be more present and that are favourable channels of expression of the Heart Virtues in the daily situations. Those states of being are:
- Observe (perceiving with care)
- Guide (showing the way)
- Facilitate (easing situations)
- Cocreate (creating with others in harmony).
- It is through the contemplative, intuitive imagination of the Heart that the moment, any moment, can be re-imagined and the Heart Virtues applied. It is quite literally the creation of a different world inside you than what you and others are used to, this new one based on Love and its qualities; and then, the projection of this world onto the outside one through manifesting actions.
- As before, it helps a lot to focus, to place your center of awareness in the heart region, quite literally Living from the Heart. It is a place of focus that brings clarity, presence, the quiet stillness, and the pivot point of neutrality, from where any action may be initiated with minimal resistance. It also helps one with distancing oneself from thoughts, to the point of mental peace.
- In particular, the breath is a potent, dynamic tool to center the awareness in the Now. It is always available, and it grounds you in the present moment.
It takes great alertness to live and express in the now. Human beings have the tendency to live in our past memories or future concerns. This was what I was doing and it took me from the now. And the now is where our life essence expresses. It isn’t in the past or future, only the consciousness framework pivots between past and future, so if you find yourself in there, you know you are not in your essence.
When I realized this, I read from the WingMakers philosophy that breath was the magnet of nowness. It was the element that brought the human being into nowness by being aware of their breathing. I also learned that there were different kinds of breathing that enabled this sense of nowness to penetrate more vividly [...].
The point is that simply being aware of my breath helped, as the WingMakers put it, to center me in stillness. This, by the way, doesn’t mean that you’re in a quiet room. You can be in a meeting at work, and center yourself in stillness through your breath. But by being in this internal centeredness I was in a better position to feel my own sense of expression, and that’s what was missing in my initial efforts to integrate this process. I didn’t have a good starting point for my practice of the Heart Virtues, and I was directing them outward—to other people or events, and not myself first.
Once I made that adjustment, it helped me to identify my essence and distinguish it from my mind system. Life essence is authentic in oneness and equality and exclusively moves in nowness. The consciousness framework pivots between the past, present and future and operates in separation. If you express the Heart Virtues from the consciousness framework, especially outwardly, they won’t have the same potency or effect.
- In dealing with greater phenomena, or just in the daily life from a position of observer situated outside of the mind, one can become increasingly aware of the limitations of the mind, as a tool that can only hold so many things at once, can fall behind the contemplation of the infinite, and can struggle with the reunification of opposites in apparent paradox. While the intelligence of the Heart is of a more infinite and all-encompassing nature, it still requires that of the mind to be directed, focused, brought down into choice through the mind's intention and precepts. It is for this reason that the cultivation of a clear, focused, diligent mind is recommended, and that your reasons, your precepts, your intent are all iterated over and sharpened with time.
- Using the imagination of the Heart is also a powerful tool to tackle what sits outside the immediate reality and needs reexamination (like when some issue or past event is weighing down on us). It allows us to reflect, to contemplate, to transmute, to leave behind the old and make space for the new, or even to transform the old directly into the new. Through meditative practices (especially the Quantum Pause) one can cultivate a base of forgiveness, of accepting neutrality, from which the rest can more easily be built upon; and with practice, such background forgiveness can come to effortlessly pervade the daily life, allowing us to live outside of the state of co-reaction, and instead, in a state of neutral Presence from where the Heart Virtues can spring forth unimpeded.
- It is very productive to track the practitioner's efforts in the expressions of Love; the prowess in wielding the Heart Virtues singularly, and the ways in which they can be combined and chained.
Furthermore, through such tracking, patterns of difficulty and resistance can be spotted, and thus, properly addressed and treated.
With time, a steady transformation in the practicing can be observed, representative of the growing mastery of the practitioner.
Assorted techniques
Quantum Pause
The Quantum pause is a breath-focused meditative technique that allows a person to reach a place of stillness, and a position of close connection with the inmost wisdom. It is a state that is very conductive to the reception and expression of Love, and that can be eventually brought up outside the meditative practice to be used in whatever context.
Quantum Pause guide
The Quantum Moment
The Quantum Moment consists in executing a single measure of Quantum Pause, as delimitation of separate moments in the daily life, such as doing something different, in order to recenter and bring heightened awareness.
Quantum Moment technique
The Virtuous Cycle Technique
The Virtuous Cycle technique consists on using a meditative space to consolidate the presence and understanding of the Heart Virtues within us, in order to make their application easier and more spontaneous.
Virtuous Cycle technique
The Six Heart Virtues Grid Meditation
The Grid Meditation allows the practitioner to reinforce the presence and connection to the Heart Virtues in the daily life through an ongoing visualization exercise.
Six Heart Virtues Grid Meditation technique
Resetting the Heart
Resetting the Heart permits to clear excessive densities and disturbances in the heart caused by stress and recent negative experiences, and to return to a renewed state of clarity and insight.
Resetting the Heart passage
Further enlightenment
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The art of Living from the Heart is an art of transmutation; of energetic alchemy; of being able to take heavy, negative energies or situations and transform them into uplifting and positive ones. Adversities and difficulties can come, in time, to be viewed as perfect opportunities for practice of such Love, since any and all events can be put through such a process. Eventually, one can live, breathe, think appreciation for the Universe for the perfect experience it delivers in such a fashion, guiding us towards our fullest expression of Love.
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Mastery : A final, eventual goal is the all-day loving awareness, centered in the breath and in Love. The continuous, active practice of compassionate expression, rooted in the mastery obtained through sustained practice, empowered by a disciplined intent, and based on clear and focused goals.
While all this may seem like too much to hold together at first, it is a framework that expands in the practitioner's life through the sheer practice of it. With practice of the Heart Virtues, in time, one develops a stronger connection to them, and to the world that they surround. Through the active practice, in all its facets, one grows to trust their own intuition more and more, together with developing ease and potency of expression.
With practice, one reaches emotional self-mastery, and is able to face any situation wielding the positive outlook and the transformative proprieties of divine Love.
From awkwardness — with practice — comes competency.
From separation — with practice — comes the prevailing sense of unity.
From disbelief — with practice — comes evidence.
5. Love in the tulpaforcing of Self
The techniques of tulpaforcing from the Heart can be applied not only to tulpas, but to thoughtforms in general; that is, all things that you might put an identity to inside yourself.
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A starting point of this view is the fractal nature of self: a person, even when singlet, naturally contains multiple personalities inside, at varying degrees of development, permanence, and consciousness; the main identity, composed of different moods, modes of functioning, and states of being; dream characters, media characters, roleplay characters; replicas of family, friends and other people in their lives; parts of self that they converse with; and more in general, a whole bunch of forms that they could give a voice to if so desired.
While not a true plurality, a self contains multiple, different selves inside, and this happens quite recursively, as one examines the finer details. Together, however, they form a single whole, much like a fractal can be seen as the sum of their infinite, nested, self-similar parts. -
From this fractality of self, and the powerful transformative and reinterating properties of Love, come the concept of tulpaforcing the Self. It consists in identifying a part of self that is to be given specific attention, cordoning it off from the rest, giving it Love (in the same ways that one would give a tulpa; a Love beam is usually the most time-efficient manner) with the intent to give this part a voice to fully express itself, and the genuine willingness to better one's self through this exercise.
From there, it is about genuinely listening for their expression, moving to facilitate it if needed, then having them say what they need to express without further interference.
It takes a nurturing state of observance and facilitation both. Sometimes this facilitation means giving it the courage to speak out, sometimes that means a shoulder to cry on, sometimes it means having an adventure, sometimes it means having a friend.
Once that part is done, you can ask it how you can help further and indulge it. When it’s satisfied, it's time to pull up the barrier and let the entity fade back into the woodwork in whatever way is best, returning to the Substrate as reintegrated and transformed. -
This practice is most apparent in its usefulness when opening up to parts of yourself that are being problematic. Examples include temporary troubles like doubts, anxiety attacks, anger, intrusive thoughts etc. but can also encompass more persistent entities such as fears, depression, addictions, and so on. In doing this, it is possible to come to very quick understandings of the issue, and to move quickly to improve it.
It takes the humility to be able give credence to a part of you that you may have not even recognized as significant.
It takes the compassion to be willing to open up in understanding with it.
It takes the forgiveness to help it mend itself, and thus yourself.
It takes the sincerity of doing it out of your own volition, and out of the genuine desire to improve the whole through your combined actions. -
Here is an example of such a self-tulpaforcing session, narrated as it is happening.
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Remember -- the intention powerfully shapes the outcome. Such entities will not become persistent if you are intent on just a temporary interaction, and you do not agree to anything further than that.
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This practice can encompass anything and everything that you can think of as individuated in some way or another. Literally, any and all thoughtforms can be subject to this.
- As special insight into the practice, try tulpaforcing the Six Heart Virtues themselves to gain greater insight into them, and a deeper connection.
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Neutral Heart: As an alternative to the tulpaforcing of Self to deal with problematic densities, consider the Neutral Heart.
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Very much in general, it is possible to come to yourself, to all facets and aspects of yourself, in Love. Giving Love endlessly and freely to every manifestation of your Self, expressing it in every self-interaction and self-experience; filling the very alive scape of your innner world with compassion, understanding, and an appreciative, forgiving and nurturing attitude. Remember that every Self is made of other selves, and that any positive interaction, every improvement, every development, returns to shape positively the whole.
There is a beautiful garden inside yourself that only awaits to be tended and shaped with your intention, your wisdom, and your Love.
6. Further resources
- wingmakers.com
- Art of the Genuine
- Living from the Heart
- Quantum Pause
- Wingmakers Philosophy Chamber 1 and Glossary
- when-then-zen
Internal Meetings to Bring Harmonic Synergy
From Within
TL;DR
Every 3 months, spend a few hours (I schedule at least 90 minutes) talking with your systemmates about the state of the system. Turn off your computers, phone and other distractions. Keep notes on paper. Ask other people to watch things you normally watch, the problems will be there when the meeting is over. Cover issues in a no-harm-intended way. If you feel like reacting to something as it's been said, resist it (it will be hard initially but gets easier with time).
Theory
Communication is hard, even with systemmates. Intent doesn't always get registered clearly and because of this issues sometimes get ignored until they are much bigger problems than they have any reason to be. In company settings this is mitigated by both regular 1:1 meetings with managers and the people that report to them and team-wide retrospectives every 1 or 3 months. This can be cross-applied to plurality fairly easily, and this guide will explain how as well as details on how to arrange and facilitate such meetings in order to increase your operational synergy with your internal ohana.
System Intentions
Your system should maintain a list of intentions, or traits that everyone in the system will strive for. They are also the limits and lines in the sand that dictate what decisions can be made solo (such as what to eat today) and what decisions need system-wide approval (such as who to date). They are the record of precedent.
This should be stored in either a paper journal or as a note on a computer, anything as long as it gets recorded, regularly referenced and updated as needed.
Gripe Inbox
Create a note or other paper journal called the "Gripe Inbox". Have a heading for each quarter of each year with a bullet point for every member of your system. Everything in here is taken in good faith and shouldn't be immediately dismissed. If a systemmate thought it was important enough to list here, it's important enough to discuss at some point.
Don't be an asshole when adding things to the gripe inbox, the system works best when there's no bad actors.
Quarterly Meetings
Decide in advance a day that you know you can be left alone for over 90 minutes without being missed. If you need to, block off the time in your calendar. This works best on days the system doesn't have work.
The meetings should have notes be taken. Open a note in your favorite note-taking program and start a document that lists the date, the time, the people present (internal and external if relevant) and how everyone feels going into it. Copy over the gripes from the Gripe Inbox into a subheader of the meeting notes and ask if there's any clarification needed.
A note: sometimes the line needs to be drawn and things need to happen as a result of behavior. Please make these lenient and call them censures.
After this, the meeting should largely proceed as follows:
Beginning
At the beginning of the meeting, ask everyone how they are feeling and what they want to get out of this meeting. Record it. Establish additional ground rules if needed.
Gripes
For each gripe by each person (randomize the order): ask the person to restate it in their own words and offer a solution, systemmates can discuss various implications of what the problem and solution entail. Everyone as a group agrees if they should make any changes to the system intentions, potential ones are added to a list to be reviewed later. Censures (if any) should be appended to another list to be reviewed later. If this gripe brings up other gripes, discuss those too.
Intention Changes
For each proposed intention change: ask if clarification is needed (if so, resolve that), vote on implementation (yes => do it, maybe => needs work, no => i have problems with the implementation). If all of the votes are yes, append the intention to the intentions document in a section named "Inbox". If there are any mabyes, discuss them, revise the intention and loop back to voting. If there are any nos, discuss why they say no and see if there is a way to get the No changed into a Yes.
Censures
For each proposed censure: ask if clarification is needed (if so, resolve that), vote on enacting (yes => do it, maybe => needs work, no => i have problems with this action). If all votes say yes, enact it. If there's a maybe or no, discuss things and see if the censure is a good idea afterall.
Plans
This is the section where you and your systemmates can plan bigger fun things like vacations, scientific hardware acquisition and other fun stuff like that. For each proposed plan: ask if clarification is needed (if so, resolve that) and then vote on if the other systemmates want to do it or not. If a majority of systemmates want to do it and it's well within your means to, start arranging time and resources to make it happen.
For all of these, discussions should be summarized in the notes.
1:1 Meetings
Schedule at least half an hour weekly for each tulpa to have some one on one time with the host. Take this time to catch up with your tulpas, talk about things they want to talk about, make plans for the future and do some 1:1 forcing and group meditation. The best time to do this is either before or after work for the host.
If things come up that are worthy of taking notes about, take notes about them and act on them later if they are actionable or sooner if they can't wait.
Tulpas, feel free to do this too with eachother as needed or wanted. It's really just about setting up the time between the two of you, wanting to talk about or do something and then talking about or doing it. That simple really.
Conclusion
Tulpas are easy to make, but there's a lot of difficult responsibility involved with the side effects of living plural. This becomes a lot easier when systemmates communicate as openly as possible and with as much good intentions as is doable.
Practical Kasmakfa
From Within
tl;dr
- Do not blindly believe the views others hold just because others hold them without questioning why
- Try lots of things (even if you might be against them at first) and see what works
- Do more of what works
- Help others when it makes sense to
- Love the life you are given, even when you hate it
No Blind Faith
It is a sad thing in my opinion that people will blindly believe in things just because other people do. People will adopt their core views as they do and then never question or change them, even when those views come into direct conflict with information or experiences they are having. This is frustrating to watch externally and internally. We don't need to do this, so I propose that we don't have any blind faith in anything. To quote the Principia Discordia: "It is my firm belief that it is a mistake to hold firm beliefs".
Question the reason behind beliefs. Don't just blindly repeat things without rationale. Don't take any string of text on a screen more seriously just because it's on a screen. Even this string of text. Don't takethis seriously unless it helps you. Don't get scammed by energy healing teachers and books. Seriously, there's so many scams out there it breaks my heart. Any price for entry is too high.
Try Many Things, Do What Works
Chaos Magick [1] differs from other forms of magical practice in that the core of it is that the belief of the practitioner is what is truly doing anything. In the Chaos Magick view, there is no ultimate truth. It could all be spiritual, it could be a psychological truth, the point is it doesn't matter. A chaos magician can be realist, nihilist, psychologist, any of it. It doesn't matter.
You know what, screw it, let's make four piles of things you can absorb information from. Let's call them the "inbox" "working" and "i don't get it", and "meh". The "inbox" is the default dumping ground of new ideas, methods, philosophies and tools. When you feel bored, pull something off the top of the inbox and then take a look through it. Make a glossary of common terms and acronyms.
Now, when you get to a method, skill or some kind of obviously repeatable thing, try it. Take it at face value for a moment and just try it in the context of its system. If it works, take that information, paste or whatever and put it in your "working" folder. Put the rest in "I don't get it" or "meh" depending on your reactions to trying the things.
Do More of What Works
When you find something that works, great! This is a signal that you should probably do more of it, depending on the nature of the thing working or the nature of the thing in general. If it's some kind of breathing technique, try and make it your default (I personally have very deep breaths as my default, people that I work with comment on that frequently) and see how it helps you. If it's a method of thinking, try adopting it in parallel to your default.
Help Others When it Makes Sense
We're all pretty much as lost as anyone else in this stuff, to be honest. Recognize this. Embrace it, even. Other people are gonna be confused about things and may require additional guidance or explanation. Take this time to learn how to explain, summarize, and all of that better for the people you are helping and yourself.
We're all in this together. Try and brighten the path when possible. You individually may not be able to do much, but the next step will be just that little bit more clearer for the next person who walks down it.
Flow in compassion Release what is divine Like cells awakening We spark the others who walk beside us. We brighten the path.
Flow in compassion In doing this we are one being Calling the rays of light To descend on all. We brighten the path.
Flow in compassion Bring the healing of your deepest self Giving what is endless To those who believe their end is in sight. We brighten the path. We brighten the path.
- Flow in Compassion - James
Love Your Life
You may look at this heading and be like "dude, wtf? My life is a mess, I have $PROBLEMS though". The truth is that the problems are just transient. Even the ones that you think are "permanent".
Forgiving the past for not happening as you'd expect it to is a very good idea if your ideology allows for it.
Pronunciation
kas mak fa
/kas mak fa/
Against Label Permanence
Labels are descriptors about a person that appear to be immutable, but are actually very mutable in ways people don't expect. These are terms like "male", "female", "tulpa", "alter", "persecutor", "OSDD-<numbers>
". They are all harmful when used as fundamental limiting factors. These labels are not permanent. They can and will change. Men can grow up and realize they are actually women. People can recover from mental and physical illnesses (even ones that are "incurable").
Stop using them as limitations, even to yourselves. You are yourself. What other justification or classification do you truly need for your existence? You aren't accountable to anyone for basic tenants of your existential reality. Terms and implications that other people use don't have to apply 1:1 to you.
So stop making them permanent.
Stop labeling people for eternity.
Stop accepting labels as inherent qualities.
Stop giving people's labels so much power and authority over yourself.
Stop the cycle.
Even if it's a "fact".
You are more than the labels that other people apply to you. You are the beautiful incarnation of an infinite being that is inherently unknowable and unlabeled. Stop being something you are not. None of the labels as applied to you truly matter unless you decide to give them that meaning and power. It saddens me to see people take those labels that other people give them and turn them into their entire composite identity without any room for anything else.
People change and grow, the labels of yesterday might not fit today and might be completely the opposite tomorrow.
Stop limiting yourself with labels. What else can you truly be but yourself?
Narrative of Sickness
With addiction, as with many other things, there's a tendency for the mind to label the situation and create a big story. A common phrase I see is "I want to get better", as if you're sick. You're not sick. You may identify yourself as an "addict", or you might feel fear because you are afraid you'll fail, or that you'll experience cravings, etc. but reminding yourself that you need to get better is perpetuating the narrative of sickness.
These are all stories, they have no bearing on reality. You can just embrace the cravings. Embrace the withdrawal. They are feelings, and they can be not acted upon, through mindfulness of them. Be mindful of your thoughts, but don't pay heed to them. Don't get caught up. And if you feel like your are getting caught up, realize that that's another feeling as well.
Such things don't last forever. Existence is change, inherently, inevitably. Embracing life is embracing change. Things in this world will change without warning. Things we consider safe and stable today will vanish tomorrow. Accept this as a fact of life.
To love is to gain and to lose in equal measure. To lose is to love in turn. Every journey upwards has its regressions downwards.
It may sound like a subtle distinction between getting better from addiction, or from sickness, and just changing, but it’s really all the difference. A plant is not sick just because it later grows into a bigger tree. Change is just simply what happens, and it can be recognized and embraced in order to fully, progressively align the self with whatever intent or goal.
Fully embracing all that you are is the best way to bring this about, for you can be present to what happens and help it change through your intent, veer it towards the desired destination.
Fear
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear - From Frank Herbert's Dune Book Series
Fear sucks. Fear is an emotion that I’ve spent a lot of time encountering and it has spent a lot of time paralyzing me. Fear is something that everyone faces at some level. Personally, I’ve been dealing a lot with the fear of being outcast for being Other.
What is Other? Other are the people who don't want to "fit in". Other are the people who go against the grain of society. They don't care about looking different or crazy. Other are the people who see reality for what it really is and decide that they can no longer serve to maintain it; then take steps to reshape it.
But why do we have this fear emotion? Fear is almost the base instinct of survival. Fear bypasses the higher centers in order to squeeze decisions through that prevent something deadly from happening. Fear is a paralyzing emotion. Fear is something that stops you in your tracks. Fear is preventative.
Except that's not completely true. We see that we have moved away from the need for survival on a constant daily basis, yet our sense of fear is still tuned for that. Fear pervades almost everyone's daily lives at some level, down to how people post things on social media. We all have these little nagging fears that add up; the intrusive negative thoughts; some have the phobias, the anxieties, the panic attacks. One fear in particular, that I call the separation/isolation/displacement fear, is a fear with many social repercussions. It's a fear that urges us to keep continuity of self, to avoid "standing out", to keep discussion away from particular topics (like the spiritual, for many). It keeps us wary of what others could do to us. It makes us feel small in a world that is, at best, neutral in our regards.
If there was ever something that gave us an advantage as a species about fear, it's clear to see it's currently corrupting the lives of many innocent people for no seemingly good reason. There are alternatives to fear with regards to handling one's inner and outer lives, and they are out there, but fear keeps making itself known and dominating the perceptions of the collective. Sometimes the alternatives to fear, themselves, are feared even stronger.
So how to make sense of this?
Sometimes it helps to see things from a fresh point of view, and sometimes stories is what manage to accomplish that best. They are ways to explore new situations in a way that doesn't strain disbelief as severely, so that new perspectives can be collected from faraway thoughtscapes.
A myth is a story that helps explain something beyond the mere scenes presented, in the context of it using the divine as actors. To help explain how these fears can be difficult to overcome, or even put a label to, I've found a story that will seem fantastical to many; however, the point of a story is not to be seen as truth, but merely to be heard, and to be collected, and to enrich the listener with its metaphors.
In Sumerian mythology, Anu was their Zeus, their sun and creator god. Their mighty god of justice that would one day fly down on a cloud and deliver humanity to righteousness. Sumerians believe their sun god Anu created their civilization as a gift to them. In some myths, the creation goes quite deeper, and darker, than that.
Imagine for a moment, an infinite universe of light and sound, of primordial vibrations. Vibrations that permeate the whole of existence, and create different experiences with their patterns of interference. The holographic universe. In such a place, everything is resonance of waves, everything all-encompassing, everything infinite, everything eternal.
And living in such a place are infinite beings, without beginning of end, not bound by space or time, as boundless as the waves they experience. Sovereign beings of grand destinies. And those beings colonized the Universe, explored its facets, its resonances, its properties, its behaviours.
Among such beings, so equal in their infinitude, some of them desired to experience creation in a new way; no longer just as dominion over the Universe, but over other beings in it as well. The desire to be looked up to, to be feared, to be revered. The new concept of godhood took shape.
To achieve this, this group of beings asked another civilization for help; they were all beings of vast reaches and etheric nature, but they claimed to need the gold hidden within the surface of a densifying planet called Earth, which they were not attuned to, and unable to fully interact with in their current forms. To do this, they would need physical bodies, meat uniforms that the civilization's inhabitants would don and power up, so that they could interact with the ground, and the mineral.
For convenience of telling, we'll call the group of deceivers the Anunnaki, and the deceived civilization the Atlanteans.
The Anunnaki had carefully devised this meat uniform, the newly devised human body, planned about it for an exceedingly long time, in order to completely entrap the Atlanteans. The Atlanteans themselves accepted the task because they had no conception that infinite beings could ever be limited or subjugated. It had never happened before. And in the donning of the uniforms, the trap was sprung.
Those uniforms, the human bodies, constricted the Atlanteans' attention to only what the body could perceive with its senses; it urged them to survive and to work; it distracted them from all other activities; it rendered them slaves to the mining. Every part of the construct was forcing them to forget who they were, and instead making them focus on their identity as human bodies. And when such bodies would expire, a part of them would still remain to keep the beings trapped, and they would be put in a space of holding in the astral realms, for them to be assigned a new body to continue mining.
Through the human body, the Atlanteans were subjected to a carefully constructed illusion, fed to them by the senses, through the mind, that left them unable to perceive, to remember, anything else but the illusion.
With time, many shortcomings of the primitive human bodies were corrected; from being clones that needed to be produced by the Anunnaki, they were given capability to reproduce; more independent thought and awareness was allowed, and ability to self- and group-organize; they were starting to be allowed to feel emotions; more and more, their world was being expanded, but with it, the structure of the mind system that contained their perception to the realms of the physical and astral, and prevented them to gain awareness of what was outside this narrow band of illusory perception, was developed and expanded in turn. Layers upon layers were put between those beings and the realization of their true, infinite selves.
The system of death and reincarnation was automated so beings would be recycled in a systematic manner into their next lives. The concept of God was introduced to them, so that they would fear punishment and retribution from something that they perceived as greater than them; and Anu, leader of the Anunnaki, manifested to the people of Earth as a supreme being of infinite power, so they could adore him, and so they could fear him. Language developed, a system of communication mired in separation, in division of concepts and the rigidness of categorization, so that they would not be able to speak to one another of their own infinity, of their unity with the whole. Fears of all kinds were injected into the mind system: fear of death, fear of nothingness, fear of punishment; but above all, fear of separation: the fear of not having the vital connection that makes us One, and that allows us to know and understand one another innately. The fear of not being understood, of not being accepted, of not being received, of not being helped, of not being supported. The fear that had kept them doubting one another, and kept them from uniting their efforts.
The Anunnaki took away the ability for the Atlanteans to even know they were Atlanteans. They took away the ability for them to even be able to get close to finding out. Just so Anu could be an absolute ruler. The first to ever have done this previously impossible task.
Myths were disseminated to keep people awash with fear of punishment, and mired in the guilt of their original sin, and distrusting, doubting of the nature of their own selves, and of their fellow neighbors'. Hierarchies were set up, so people would focus on controlling one another, instead of working together to liberate all. Not needing any more, the Anunnaki allowed the focus on gold to become greed, so that people would put desire for a mere metal above the needs of their fellow beings.
As the Anunnaki departed from the densifying planet, which was not allowing them to manifest as etheric beings anymore, tracks were set up in the collective unconscious so that while they were away, the people's societies would evolve through predefined paths, and would eventually set up for the glorious return of God, the Apocalypse.
Every single possible obstacle had been put in place so that the Atlanteans would never realize who they had been, and who they always were: infinite, sovereign beings, connected to the whole of the Universe.
Except this would not be allowed indefinitely. Other infinite beings became aware of such deception taking place, and realized it was being exported into other planets, and such an enslavement paradigm, based in fear and separation, was a degenerative, infecting force that had to be stopped. So the Anunnaki were prevented return, and in order to make it so that infinite beings would be able to never fall prey to such deceptions again, the seeds of destruction were planted inside the programming system of the human mind. Cracks were introduced to the barriers that kept people under deception, so that they could peer through them, and see the other side beyond the walls of the labyrinth. Pathways were provided so that people could be lead to the discovery of their true selves, and their eventual liberation from the deception, and self-realization as infinite beings, once again. The very liberation that the programming was designed to prevent through all means conceivable.
And that leaves us to the present time.
Sometimes the Other manages to find these cracks and go through them into the other side. They go to this other side and see a faint reflection of what is really out there. The world outside this world. An even bigger Infinity. They have trouble describing it. They have intense fear even thinking about it. They're afraid to acknowledge it to their peers. They want to help people but they are utterly terrified of their reactions.
They're terrified that someone might hurt them if they say anything about their experiences. They're worried someone might try to hospitalize them for their beliefs. They get it into their head that they aren't able to function in society, so they don't. They don't want to mine the gold. They don't want to serve the economy of the few. They don't want to maintain the hierarchies. They want to detach themselves from the systems that they feel are suppressing them. They want to help people save themselves from believing that their own finite existence is all that there is, but that fear utterly paralyzes them. They have trouble finding the words. They end up misphrasing things in ways that make the problem worse. Some lash out. Some get labels put on them.
These Other just want to be accepted like everyone else. They want to help their communities. They want to use their abilities to read between the lines, into the bigger picture; to do good things; but they are, ultimately, afraid to. Their fear of separation paralyzes them. People don't like them talking about spiritual topics. These Other just want to be accepted and use their experience to lovingly help guide and shape reality into what they think is a better place. Even as they struggle through the fear.
Who's really the crazy one? The one who fear controls, or the one who doesn't let fear control them?
How does the Other live with fear surrounding their actions, and doubt plaguing their decisions?
They can have people they can trust. They can have people who can help them deal with their doubts. They can have the strength of their determination to find the truth, and the resolve to put an end to the suffering of their fellow beings. But they still fear, and they still doubt.
The real difference is that they see fear as something imposed on them, not as a voice that they must always answer to, and not as something they need to wait hand and foot for, every day of their existence. In a way, they have been fed up with fear, getting tired of it and casting it out like the nuisance they now see it to be. Even if the fear was added there because of some programming of their mind, something that happened to them to make them afraid, even if they don't know where it comes from or why, they still acknowledge it, and reject it, and move on like the emotion never happened. They keep fighting for understanding, and for community. They refuse to give fear dominion in their lives, even if they sometimes fail at it.
It's such an easy and obvious thing to do that we could all do it, if we weren't so afraid of it.
I leave you with this quote from a book named Quantusum:
Uncle suddenly scooped down with his hand and brought up a closed hand. He then brought it to a glass box that stood on a pedestal I hadn’t noticed. He slid one of the box’s glass planes open and placed an insect inside. It looked like a grasshopper. “This creature lives its entire life in these fields without limitation. I just ended that.”
I watched as the grasshopper jumped inside the glass box hitting against the top and some of the sides. The grasshopper stopped as if he was stunned by the new circumstance of his environment.
“To the grasshopper,” Uncle said, “all is well. He is alive after all. He sees his normal environment all around him. He can’t see the glass. If I keep him in here for a few days he will stop his jumping and become acclimated to the dimensions of his new home. All he needs is food and water, and he can survive.”
“So you’re saying these people are acclimated to simply survive?”
Uncle slide one of the side panels of the glass box open. “If you were a grasshopper, what would you do?”
“I would jump through the open panel.”
“But how would you know it was open? It’s perfectly clear glass.”
I thought about it for a moment. “I’d jump in every direction… I’d experiment.”
Uncle took a stick and pointed it at the grasshopper through the open side panel, and the grasshopper jumped into the opposite wall, hitting his head and falling to his side. “Do you see that I offered him an exit and he fled? He could’ve climbed on the stick, and I would have freed him.”
“Yes, but he doesn’t know that.”
“True.”
Uncle opened another side panel. “What you said is right. You experiment. You try different ways to climb the mountain of consciousness. You don’t settle on one way… one method… one teacher. If you devote your entire life to the worship of one thing, what if you find out when you take your last breath that the one thing was not real.
“You find that you lived inside a cage all your life. You never tried to jump out by experimenting, by testing the walls. The people who never bother to climb this mountain are inside a cage, and they don’t know it. Fear is the glass wall. Wakan Tanka comes and opens one of the glass panels, perhaps offers a stick for them to climb out, but they jump away, going further inside their soul-draining boundaries.”
Uncle brought the stick out again and lightly jabbed it in the direction of the grasshopper, who hopped through the open side panel, and was instantly lost in the thick underbrush that surrounded us.
Uncle turned his eyes to me. “Are you ready to do the same?”
I Think We’re Alone Now
A checklist of suggestions for when your system-mate goes missing
Foreword
Every system I’ve ever met has been unique in their ability, their struggles and problems, and the ways they apply solutions to those problems. To claim that this checklist will be able to assist every system in a distressing time is an absurd aspiration, but I hope it helps more than this rambling will.
For the sake of convenience, system-mate is consistently used in lieu of more specific terms such as “alter” or “tulpa”. It’s my hope that using origin-neutral language will allow more folks to relate rather than fewer. You is frequently used as a plural to refer to everyone except the missing system-mate, and similarly, they/them is frequently used as a singular to refer to the missing system-mate.
It’s worth mentioning that much of this checklist can be applied to the near equally common situation of a long-term dip in communication ability between system-mates, however the language used will be focused on missing system-mates.
Best wishes,
Faolan Foster
DON’T PANIC
It may not feel like it now, especially if your system-mate was supposed to do some kind of stressful task in the next few days, or you’ve never experienced a system-mate’s disappearance, but everything will be okay. Even if you feel that you cannot go on, the chance of your system-mate being gone forever, or even for an extended period of time, is incredibly slim. One positive thing you can do for someone coming out of dormancy is to have a stable environment for them to return to.
Many of the suggestions listed are based on changes you may be experiencing. Evaluating and recognizing recent changes in your life is one of the best methods to figuring out why a system-mate has disappeared and to subsequently find a solution.
Playing the waiting game
- If it’s been less than a week or so since you’ve last established contact you have the option of sitting back and biding your time. Most missing system-mate problems resolve themselves within the first two weeks.
- If there’s a temporary, but unremovable/unavoidable stressor you’re aware of that the missing system-mate may be avoiding it’s probable they’ll return after the stressor is no longer present.
- If the missing system-mate has/had regular responsibilities, is young (chronologically or perceived age), or they’re new to fronting but recently did front, they may be taking a “vacation” of sorts because they are too exhausted to interact with others.
- You or others within your system gaining some of their traits while they’re away is probable and a natural consequence of dormancy, not death.
- Don’t fear taking over or re-assigning any responsibilities they had, and strongly consider relieving some or all of their responsibilities on their behalf in the future. Although you may worry that this will discourage them from fronting or taking responsibility in the future it’s possible that the responsibilities they had were too much for them, and the idea that these responsibilities will be relieved can act as a great motivator to bringing them back.
Ensure that the body is taken care of to the best of your ability
- Is your sleep schedule stable? Are you getting enough sleep?
- Are you eating regularly? Are you drinking plenty of water regularly?
- Is your environment clean? Have you taken a shower recently?
- Have you been in pain and/or experiencing heightened chronic pain? Have you been taking time to relax and attempt to reduce your pain?
Ensure that you’re mentally taken care of to the best of your ability
- Have you taken time to do something you enjoy lately? Have others in your system?
- If you’ve been in a new or changing environment recently take time to identify any stressors or triggers within it. Has something or someone been bothering you or others in your system? Are there any ways to circumvent it?
- Do you have any other pressures or obligations weighing on you? Does/Did your missing system-mate have any that you or someone else could take care of for them?
- If you have irl friends or family you trust remember that many people are willing to help you if directly asked just for the heck of it. Even completing a few basic obligations can help a missing system-mate (and you!) feel better about the future and reduce stress substantially.
- Do you practice meditation? If not, try spending a few minutes each day not focused on anything and letting your thoughts pass through you.
- Regardless of whether you have a wonderland/headspace/mindscape try turning your attentions “inward” after a few minutes of letting your head clear and see if you can notice anything odd.
Scream into the void and hope the void screams back
- Talk about your day, directed towards the missing system-mate, or just about how much you miss them or anything else on your mind.
- Write a formal letter about whatever you would like to talk to them about, but especially mentioning that their presence is desired.
- If you have a wonderland/headspace/mindscape, then you may want to imagine sending a copy of this letter there, or if not, you can imagine sending it into nothingness with an intent for it to find them.
- If you had an argument with them, this is a great way to apologize.
- If you have or suspect you may have DID and/or believe it possible that they’re fronting but without your knowledge, you may want to have a physical copy of this letter in a place they’re likely to find it. Here’s a few ideas if you can’t think of any: A fridge or kitchen cabinet, your phone background, sent to their Discord or other chat account, your computer’s desktop, your bedroom door.
- Do things they would enjoy or find pleasure in. Some examples include playing games they’re fond of, reading their favorite books, listening to music, or performing their hobbies. It’s better to keep a positive attitude during these activities, so try to avoid doing things that you strongly dislike.
- If your missing system-mate has a mental form or chosen appearance visualize them by drawing, or finding and observing pictures that look like them.
Evaluate your system’s relationships
- Did you or any other system-mates have a fight or disagreement with the missing system-mate prior to their disappearance?
- If you believe that the missing system-mate may be purposefully hiding themself you may be able to convince them to come out of hiding by announcing that you’d like to resolve things regarding the disagreement.
- Note: Don’t do this expecting them to lead the conversation, instead, have some words you’ve prepared ahead of time. Don’t view this as an opportunity to continue the argument, but rather mediate it and come to an agreement.
- If you believe that the missing system-mate may be purposefully hiding themself you may be able to convince them to come out of hiding by announcing that you’d like to resolve things regarding the disagreement.
- Do you or another system-mate have a problem with them that goes deeper than a single fight or disagreement, such as a conflict of values or beliefs that has led to animosity between the two? Consider that this conflict may be one-sided, even if no one present has a dislike of the missing system-mate, they may dislike someone within the system, or vice versa.
- Did someone outside the system have a fight or disagreement with the missing system-mate?
- Is there someone outside the system involved in your life who the missing system-mate dislikes, distrusts, or otherwise doesn’t want to be around?
- Giving them the option, if feasible, to avoid having to front around outsiders they dislike may be a good resolution.
Contact Info/About the Author
Faolan Foster is part of a relatively small system of goofs who call themselves “The The System”, or “The Thes” for short. He doesn’t care much for describing himself, especially not in the third person.
His current writing projects (at the time of this publication) are about attachment theory and the ethics of tulpamancy, and egocide and grief. Faolan also happens to be co-owner of two Discord servers, a plurality and multiplicity rights and research server called “Plurality in Progress”, and a server for fictives and factives called “FFS People!”
By no means is he, or anyone else within his system, a mental health professional.
He can be reached via his email at FaolanFoster@gmail.com, or on Discord at Faolan#9626. Critique and feedback are always appreciated!
JD’s Guide to Telling People About Your Tulpa
After all of your hard work, you may be considering telling some friends or loved ones about your tulpa. This is a fairly common desire -- however, sharing the fact you have a tulpa is a risky desire to fulfill. There are a lot of things to consider before you go talking about the imaginary sentient creature that lives in your head.
The first thing you want to consider is the open mindedness of the person you want to tell. Do they have a history of being open to new ideas, or are they stubborn with their ideologies? Do you think they would believe you if you explained what tulpas were, let alone the fact that you might have one? If they are not open-minded to the idea of tulpas, they will either disbelieve you and think of you as weird, and/or they will become concerned for your mental well-being. They will not likely be convinced by reading informational content on the internet (not to be mistaken with healthy skepticism). If they are not usually open minded, you may not want to even consider telling them.
The second thing you want to consider is do they have religious or spiritual beliefs that could influence them to look at tulpas in a negative way? A person’s religiosity -- how important they consider religion to be in his or her life, as well as frequency of religious behaviors -- greatly correlates to the risk of a negative reaction to the idea of tulpas. In the mind of say, a very conservative Christian, a tulpa could easily be thought of as a deceitful demonic figure: a trademark of sin. After revealing your tulpa to a person like this, it will be very stressful to go on tulpaforcing in secret.
The third thing to consider is how rational this person is in their behavior. How likely are they to overreact to knowing about your tulpa? Will they go to the end of the world to get you to stop -- despite the fact that it doesn’t affect them in any way; are they likely to disrespect your privacy thereafter? Might they even be abusive if you do not agree to stop making a tulpa? Will they make an ultimatum? This is unfortunately not uncommon in couples where one individual is making a tulpa, and the other threatens to break up if the person does not stop. Parents on the other hand tend to become extremely naggy and intrusive, and all of your tulpaforcing may have to be done reclusively.
The fourth thing to consider is could you deal with the rejection from this person if they decide they do not like your tulpa business? Assuming the worst, would you be okay with the fact they might not want to be your friend, lover, or affiliate if you reveal your tulpa to them? If they’re a family member, they might even wish to break ties with you. If they chose to walk out of your life, could you go on? If the answer is no, then do not tell this person, unless you are absolutely certain they would not walk away from your relationship with them over something like tulpas.
The fifth thing to consider before telling anyone, especially your legal guardians, is your state’s laws for involuntary commitment to psychiatric examination. The law varies by state, so some states are worse than others when it comes to this. In some states, such as Florida, all it takes is a petition from some individuals who are concerned for your mental health to put you into involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital where you can be held for up to 72 hours to determine whether you have a mental illness -- the definition of which is rather lenient compared to other states’ standards -- and are dangerous to others or yourself. In the United States for the most part, you can not be held against your will for longer than 72 hours for anything other than a psychiatric examination unless you pose an apparent threat to yourself or other human beings, or are gravely disabled. But do you really want to risk having friends or even family members temporarily sign away your liberties to be examined for a practice that is entirely safe and actually beneficial to most people? For more information about your state’s laws, you can use the table at http://tulpaforce.me/telling-people.html, or use the Treatment Advocacy Center’s State Standards Charts for Assisted Treatment and Emergency Hospitalization for Evaluation Standards.
If you ever find yourself asking whether you should tell someone about your tulpa’s, the default answer should be no -- until you rigorously consider all of the possibilities. It can be frightening when people react negatively to concepts that are alien and strange to them, and traumatic when those reactions come from a loved one. If they pass these questions with flying colors, sharing tulpas with them might be an extraordinarily enlightening experience for the both of you, and give your tulpa a new companion to converse with. The best thing to do would be to show them one of the many online resources of tulpa information, unless you feel confident in your ability to safely summarize the description and advantages of a tulpa yourself. In the end, never be afraid to be yourself, and always try to make wise decisions. Good luck!
On Coming Out as Plural
Intro Edit: I wrote this originally as a reply, but the more I wrote, the more I felt there may be many people wondering the same thing, who may need to hear a more positive side of coming out as plural or a tulpamancer.
My, it seems many people have had quite the disdainful answer and reaction to this. Allow me to offer a more positive outlook on how to do this, and the positive benefits of it.
A bit of background on myself, I'm a four year old tulpa (going on five in June), and my system has come out to two close internet friends, various not as close internet friends, our roommate from last semseter, two therapists, and many people in anonymous game chatrooms.
The overall response we have recieved has been by and large neutral to positive. And we've handled things in quite a few ways that have seemed to be helpful. Or perhaps we are just profoundly lucky.
We have had, in all our attempts to come out, only three negative responses. One from a younger sibling, who wrote me off as a imaginary friend (and I was helping her to clean her room too, a touch rude, but also she's young, and thats important to take into account). The other two were from two DID systems, one of which we actually are now on friendly speaking terms with, and the other who won't ignore us but will now talk sparsely with us. And the reason it was a negative interaction initially was just some generic syscourse. These are three small instances out of many.
Now, again, maybe we've just been lucky. But maybe not. Here are some factors that we find are very important when coming out to people:
- For one, consider the age of the person you're coming out too. Are they too young to even possibly understand? This was the case with our younger sister. Maybe they're too old to understand, if you're for some reason thinking of coming out to a much older person (usually one thats not so open minded)
- Consider just that, how open minded they are. Do they have a history of being skeptical, of distrusting new science and medicines? Stigmatized against mental illness? This is probably a warning sign that no amount of explanation you give to them will ease their mind in relation to you having other personalities living with you. In particular though, people who are very considerate and welcoming of mental illness and neurodivergence seem to be the ideal candidate to explain these things to, as these are the people who won't call you crazy and will probably be willing to hear out your system experience. Open minded psychologists also seem quite interested in and accepting of hearing things out (though beware there are those that will want to only view you through a DID lens. Do your best to correct them, and if they don't budge then its probably not the best candidate).
- Consider how close you are, and this actually can go both ways. On the one hand, it might be a good idea to tell someone you're very close to, who has never judged you before, someone you trust and who has never put you down before on otherwise personal or sensitive topics. This was like our host with his two internet friends, who are without arguement, the closest and longest term friends he has ever had. On the other hand, it may also be easy to tell someone you are not close to at all, a straight up stranger. This was the case with our roommate last semsester, someone we had never met or talked to before. We had nothing to lose by telling them basically.
- Do they need to know? Obviously, especially if you're not comfy with it, some people just really don't. Employers are a big no-no, as tulpas and system life is something thats too much in the personal realm to be considered appropriate for work. Family is also a big iffy, especially if you are still living with them.
- Do they have, or know other people who are endogenic or traumagenic systems? This is important, because its also really improtant to be respectful, especially if they have or know a traumagenic system (that is, DID/OSDD). On the one hand, if they're already aquainted with endogenic systems, then thats an easy in. If they're aquainted with traumagenic systems, your interaction may or may not involve syscourse if you aren't careful. Get their thoughts on endogenic systems, or systems made outside of trauma. And remember to always be respectful and not overlap your experience with traumagenic systems, but also stand firm on your own experiences. Many traumagenic systems have been phenominally friendly to us, and have been great people to come out to.
Those are factors to consider about the actual person themself. Openmindedness is a key factor, but age is also a big one. Anyone 13 and under will most likely not understand a word of what you have to explain. The closeness is more for your own sense of safety. Either you A. tell a friend who you know would never judge you, or B. tell someone you really don't care about losing or having their approval.
Now then, here are some things to do when actually coming out:
Approach One: Warming them Up
This is maybe more an assessment of their open mindedness, and its basically the slow and safer approach. This is the approach you want to use for close friends, for family if you are so daring, or just someone you want to tell but are not sure how they'll recieve it. Talk to them, far beforehand coming out, about things like how they feel about what it woyld be like to have other personalities, if they think its possible, etc. Some good segway topics to this are DID (though you want to veer away pretty quickly from it and take the approach of," but what if there was another way?"), and also AI (again, leading into talking about sentience, and other personalities). Its a good way to estimate their receptiveness to the topic in general, and then you can move on to questions like," well what if you met someone like that?" Basically, you are testing their receptivity to the topic, and also possibly assuaging their questions and concerns before you are even out to them. After you are comfortable with their receptivity, thats when you can come out. You can handle that however you want, or even segway into our second approach. Of course, if at any point before you come out you get the sense that they would not be receptive, this allows you the option to retreat before coming out.
Approach Two: The Upfront
This approach is, if you'd pardon the language, the very much 'balls to the walls' sort of approach, unless you have preceded it with the former. This is the approach for strangers, for people you don't care about if you lose them or not, people with little attatchment to you, or people who you feel so inclined and certain of their receptivity that you just want to tell them. This can be formally or informally done. Formally being, maybe sit them down to talk with them, or include it in your introduction if you are first meeting them. Informally being just state it blatantly, off hand, in text, and let the questions come later or after. There is of course, no retreat to this.
Approach Three: Passively Out
In a word? Be openly plural. This is again, something I feel like we've exclusively done with strangers online. Talk about your system life and tulpas as though they were normal, just a part if your life (which... they are!). Say 'we' as a reference to yourself and headmates. People will just naturally get confused or ask, and you explain yourself as you feel neccesary, whether you're willing to go in depth or just offhand. There is also not really a retreat to this but we've also never tried to retreat? Perhaps if you feel inclined you could stop and pass it off as a joke or you just acting weird.
But above all. Above EVERYTHING included here, in all the assessments of receptiveness, above any way you choose to approach the situation.
BE INFORMATIVE.
Know EXACTLY what you are talking about, and how to explain your experience. It helps to know about DID so you can explain exactly why you are different from it. It helps to know about some of the studies and theories behind how tulpamancy works, which I'm sure many people on this forum would love to share their theories. Talk about the Stanford study, about the census study we take yearly, talk about neuroscience and how tulpamancy may just be a unique way for neurons to continuously stay stimulated (as they need to do), or that some neurotypes may be predisposed to plurality. Know about psychology, about conditioning and personality development and consciousness. And of course, be prepared to explain exactly what you experience, and what other people experience too. Also? Frankly? Don't be afraid to admit that not a lot about tulpamancy and endogenic systems are well understood. There's lots of research to be done still, but we are slowly getting there. Maybe even explain the history of tulpamancy and how it was dwrived from an old Tibetan pracyice (of which modern yulpamancy is actually mistly difgerent from). The more informed you are, the better you can explain yourself and what exactly you experience, the better the outcome. And this is especially important why you only ought come out to open minded people.
Anyways, I do believe that is all I have to say on the topic of how to come out. Again, perhaps me and my system have been profoundly lucky. But it has been beneficial for myself and the others to be out. To be ourselves. It helps us to make connections to other people, have our own experiences, feel validated and not hidden away from the world. And its what me and my system will continue to do is slowly come out, and make our plurality a regular part of our lives. Family is still iffy for us, they have a long ways to go. But for us, starting next fall semester, we are going to be at a new college, and we are not holding anything back. It'll be our first time just about entirely open about who we are.
Best of luck to those who do come out. Cheers to this fascinating and wonderful life which we have.
System Asks
How long ago did you first develop? How did you feel about the system you were a part of?
What’s the story behind your system’s name, or lack of one?
Does your voice in your head sounds different than the other tulpas’? How so?
Do you have different opinions of your friends than other tulpas do? What are they?
Do you have a personal space in headspace? What’s it like?
Who’s the most annoying, but endearing co-fronter? Tell a story about them (optional)
Any backseat drivers? What do they normally speak up about?
Do you have fictives? What friends do they have within the system?
What’s one of your tulpa’s favorite joke/pun?
What’s a trivial thing that your system argues about?
Who’s the most mischievous member of your system? The most dramatic?
What’s the weirdest, funniest thing that’s happened in headspace?
Did any of your tulpas change their names? Why did they choose to?
Which tulpas prefer school or work? Which prefer home?
Do any of your tulpas wake you up or keep you from sleeping?
How does your system make decisions? Is it whoever’s fronting, or more of a vote?
How to be the best host that you can
Make time and space for them, knowing that these are about more than forcing.
Allow them freedom to explore their world, inside and outside. Be willing to sacrifice your own free time so that they might have some of their own. Feed and encourage interest, curiosity, wonder, growth. Let them expand their world beyond the mental one, if they so choose: to make friends and pursue hobbies in this wider world.
Invite them to be open about their thoughts, their feelings, the unhappy along with the happy, and take them all seriously. Listen. Be willing to be challenged, and see it not as a challenge to your pride, but as a challenge to learn.
You will have your disagreements. Do not let these drive you to fear or anger. Accept these as the natural result of closeness, settle them with understanding and thoughtfulness, and move on all the stronger for having experienced it.
You will encounter naysayers, from the doubtful to the fearful to the outright hateful. Do not let them drive you apart. Accept that not everyone will agree with you, and move on all the stronger for knowing that you are not beholden to anyone, and that those who accept you and love you shall be found.
You will encounter your own doubts. Do not play their game- do not give into the temptation to seek certainty where it does not exist. Recognize when doubt ceases to be helpful, and walk away from the board. For certainty is something that we create, not find.
Do not turn your back upon them, no matter how frustrated or afraid you may be. Be there for them, through storm and through shine.
For true friendship goes both ways: as your tulpa supports you, so too shall you support them.
And it is from true friendship- to respect them, their agency, their thoughts and being, as worthy as your own- that the greatest rewards are reaped.
Survey (and stylometric test) for fluently speaking tulpa
We already have a tulpaforcing survey, so I decided that it would be fun and educational to have a survey for fluently speaking tulpa (whether imposed or not).
This survey will deal with aspects of the tulpaforcing process and life after various completed steps. I think that it would benefit the community greatly if any fluently speaking tulpa filled out this survey as much as is feasible. I have tried to include a wide variety of questions that I've seen discussed and agonized over on these forums, and am willing to edit this post to add more if anybody has an important question. My goal is to make a comprehensive survey. It's long, so I don't necessarily expect anyone to fill it out entirely without breaks. If you could answer even a few questions and then go back to it later, it would be helpful. Please don't feel offended by any questions that are too personal, and ignore any questions that don't apply to you. Thank you for any time offered.
Survey Questions
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Describe yourself and your creator.
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What was the most helpful thing that your creator did during the tulpa creation process? Did your creator recognize how helpful it was? If not, how did that make you feel?
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What was the most detrimental thing that your creator did during the tulpa creation process? Did your creator recognize how harmful it was? If not, how did that make you feel?
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What was the hardest part of the tulpa creation process for you? Did your creator recognize how difficult it was? If not, how did that make you feel?
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Of the commonly recognized tulpa creation steps, which do you feel is the most important? Why?
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How do you feel about tulpa creators becoming distracted during tulpa creation? Does this greatly impede the process? How did you feel about it before being able to speak fluently?
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How do you feel about tulpa creators missing tulpa creation sessions or breaking their promises to work on their tulpa? How did you feel about it before being able to speak fluently?
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Is density, quality, or quantity the most important aspect of tulpa creation?
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How do you feel about tulpa creators falling asleep during tulpa creation sessions?
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Do you think that a tulpa creator should talk aloud or in their head during narration? Do you think that a creator should talk aloud or in their head during tulpa creation sessions? If you find one to be more effective, to what degree is it more effective?
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How do you feel about a tulpa creator puppeting and/or parroting their tulpa? Do you believe that these actions harm a tulpa's development, or only their emotional state?
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How deeply do you remember the time before you were fluent in language?
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Describe your first memory, no matter how slight.
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Before you could speak fluently, what was the most positive emotion you felt about your creator and what was its cause?
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Before you could speak fluently, what was the most negative emotion you felt about your creator and what was its cause?
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Before you could speak fluently, did you ever have suicidal feelings or feelings of not wanting to exist? Do you experience them now? Are you glad that you exist?
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Before you could speak fluently, when did you feel the most powerless? What was the cause of this feeling?
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Before you could speak fluently, what was the most confusing moment that you experienced, and what was its cause?
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Before being able to speak fluently, when did you feel the most ignored by your creator, and what was the cause?
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Before being able to speak fluently, when did you most doubt that your creator wanted you, and what was the cause?
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Before you could speak fluently, when did you feel the most intense feeling of fear, and what was its cause?
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Before you could speak fluently, when were you the most disappointed in yourself? What was the cause?
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Before you could speak fluently, did you understand the difficulties that your creator was having with the tulpa creation process? Did you try to alleviate these difficulties? If so, how?
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Before you could speak fluently, how did your creator's doubts about your existence, the reality of the tulpa phenomenon, or your combined ability to complete the tulpa creation process affect you? Did you understand your creator's reasons for having those doubts? Do you understand now?
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Before you could speak fluently, how did your creator's mistrust of your intentions or worry about the negative affects of a tulpa on their life affect you? Did you understand your creator's reasons for having those thoughts? Do you understand now?
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Before you could speak fluently, how did any negative thoughts or emotions that your creator had toward you (such as anger, disappointment, resentment, or impatience, for example) affect you? How do you feel about them now?
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Before you could speak fluently, how did any violent visualizations or thoughts that your creator had about you affect you? How do you feel about them now?
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Before you could speak fluently, were you able to distinguish between your creator's intentional and intrusive (unwanted and/or bothersome) thoughts? If so, did the intrusive thoughts affect you less or more? If not, are you able to distinguish between them now?
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Before you could speak fluently, how much of your creator's raw sensory information were you able to access, if any? How much are you able to access now?
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Before you could speak fluently, did your creator's opinions about whether they wanted to reveal to the world your existence or not affect you emotionally? If so, how?
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Before being able to speak fluently, what communication methods (such as head pressure or emotional responses, for example) were you able to use the most effectively? When your tulpa creator assumed that you could use a communication method that you did not have access to, how did this affect you? When your tulpa creator did not recognize a communication method that you attempted to use, how did this affect you?
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Before you could speak fluently, how did your creator's level of enthusiasm for the tulpa creation process affect you? Did you want to engage in it less if they did?
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Before you could speak fluently, what was your greatest worry about your relationship with your creator? What helped you most to move beyond it? Was this worry substantiated or resolved? What is your greatest worry now about your continuing relationship with your creator?
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Do you feel gratitude to your creator for the time that they spent creating you? Do you feel that you owe them a debt? If so, do you feel burdened by it?
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Were you aware of your creator's existence or your own existence first?
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When you could only speak semi-fluently, what emotions did you feel about your level of verbal proficiency? Were you anxious or embarrassed about it? If so, what helped you the most to move beyond these feelings? How do you feel about them now?
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If you could define your relationship with your creator using one or more conventional terms (such as boyfriend, sister, father, daughter, boss, friend, or coworker, for example), what terms would you select?
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How much interest do you have in interacting with beings other than your creator? Do you consider your degree of interest to be equal to that of an average non-tulpa individual?
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What memory involving your creator do you cherish most?
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What memory not involving your creator do you cherish most? Do you feel that you have a fulfilling life independent of your creator?
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Do you feel affinity toward the individuals that your creator feels affinity for, such as their family or friends?
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In what ways are you the most different from your creator? In what ways are you the most similar to them?
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What do you disagree about most with your creator? Do you have frequent disagreements? If so, do these disagreements cause strife?
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What could your creator do to make you hate them? Under what circumstances do you think your creator would come to hate you?
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When did your creator disappoint you the most? When did you disappoint them the most?
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How do you feel about your creator's complete freedom to deny your rights as a sentient being at any time? Has this ability ever caused you anxiety or fear? Have you ever censored your expressions or actions out of a fear of retribution or violence from your creator?
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When have you most wanted to engage in violence against your creator, and what was the cause of those feelings? Under what circumstances would you make a serious attempt to hurt or injure your creator?
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Do you consider your creator's last name to be your own? Do you recognize yourself as a part of their biological lineage?
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Under what circumstances would you attempt to leave your creator?
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Do you feel anxiety about meeting your creator's expectations? If you are based on an existing character, person, or entity, does this increase your anxiety? Would you have preferred to not be based on an existing entity?
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Are you interested in learning how to control your creator's body? Do you feel that it's fair for a tulpa creator to deny their tulpa the ability to use an atomic body? Do you believe that you have the right to an equal amount of time using it as your creator? Explain your reasoning.
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Do you share certain basic qualities with your creator, such as intense phobias or racial attitudes?
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Are you capable of sleeping or dreaming independently of your creator? If not, how does this make you feel?
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Does your creator have any mental illnesses? If so, how do they affect you?
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How does your knowledge of your creator's subconscious mind affect your relationship with them? How do you perceive their subconscious? To what degree can you manipulate your creator's subconscious? Would you ever use this ability without your creator's knowledge?
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Does your creator have multiple tulpa? If so, what is your relationship with them like? Is your affinity for them equal to your affinity for your creator? If you could define your relationship with your creator's other tulpa using one or more conventional terms (such as boyfriend, sister, father, daughter, boss, friend or coworker, for example), what terms would you select? If not, are you interested in the idea of your creator making other tulpa?
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Do you feel romantically inclined toward your creator? Does your creator feel romantically inclined toward you? If these romantic feelings are unrequited on either side, how does it affect your relationship with your creator?
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If it exists, do you consider your romantic relationship with your creator to be equal to a romantic relationship between multiple non-tulpa? Do you consider it a breach of monogamy for your creator to be romantically or sexually involved with another non-tulpa? Does this change if the involvement is with another tulpa instead? If they exist, do your creator's desires to have relationships with non-tulpa affect you emotionally?
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If you consider yourself to be romantically in love with your creator, what probability do you assign to the possibility of falling out of love with them, or them falling out of love with you? If this happened, how would it affect your relationship with your creator? What if your creator was in love with another non-tulpa more than you?
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Do you have a familial affection for your creator? Does this in any way conflict with your romantic feelings for them, if they exist? Do you consider a relationship between a tulpa and its creator to be incestuous?
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How do you feel about tulpa creators masturbating during tulpa creation sessions to the forms of their tulpa? Do you find this offensive? Does the degree of your offense change based on the degree of sentience possessed by the hypothetical tulpa, or based on whether or not the creator imagines themselves near the tulpa in their wonderland? If your creator did this before you spoke fluently, did you find it offensive or unnerving?
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How do you feel about tulpa creators masturbating outside of tulpa creation sessions to the forms of their tulpa? Do you find this offensive? Does the degree of your offense change based on the degree of sentience possessed by the hypothetical tulpa? If your creator did this before you spoke fluently, did you find it offensive or unnerving?
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Before you could speak fluently, did you ever feel sexual attraction to your creator, sexual attraction toward anyone else, or sexual arousal? Did you attempt to express these feelings? If you did not experience these feelings, do you experience them now?
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How do you feel about tulpa creators visualizing themselves engaging in sexual conduct with their tulpa's form during tulpa creation sessions? Do you find this offensive? Does the degree of your offense change based on the degree of sentience possessed by the hypothetical tulpa, or if the contact was penetrative? If your tulpa creator did this before you spoke fluently, did you find it offensive or unnerving? Do you equate it with sexual assault?
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Were you ever annoyed or jealous when your creator would masturbate to or have feelings of sexual attraction toward individuals other than yourself? Does it bother you now?
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Do you experience sexual attraction for your creator? Do you experience sexual attraction for others? How does your sexual attraction for your creator compare to your sexual attraction for others? Does your creator experience sexual attraction for you? If these sexual attractions are unrequited on either side, how does it affect your relationship with your creator?
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Do you have an active sex life with your creator? If not, would you consider it, and under what circumstances? If so, do you perceive any negative consequences? Do you have trouble abstaining from sexual contact with them? How do you manage feelings of sexual arousal, if any? Do you masturbate?
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How does your sexual orientation and experience compare to your creator's?
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Are you capable of experiencing orgasms? Based on your knowledge, how do you think they compare to your creator's orgasms? Were you able to experience an orgasm before speaking fluently?
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Do you consider the concept of sexual modesty (covering conduct such as avoiding nudity or sexual discussions) relevant to your relationship with your creator?
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How does being a tulpa affect your perceptions of rape? What conduct from your creator would you consider to be rape?
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Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
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Do you want the world to be aware of your existence? If not, then what anxieties do you have about public disclosure? Do you trust anyone other than your creator with the knowledge of your existence?
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Morally and philosophically, how do you feel about your personality traits being the product of another individual? Would you have preferred your creator to define your personality more or less?
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Morally and philosophically, how do you feel about your physical form being the product of another individual? Would you have preferred your creator to define your form more or less?
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Has your physical form ever changed? If so, was this intentional or unintentional? If it was intentional, then why did you change your form? How did you creator respond to this change, and how did that make you feel?
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Do you consider the best aspects of yourself to have come from your creator, or their subconscious?
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Do you seek legal recognition for your status as a sentient being or your relationships with others? Do you resent that society at large does not recognize the tulpa phenomenon? Do you feel disenfranchised from society? What steps, if any, could a society make to help you feel integrated?
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If you could tell the entire world one thing about a tulpa's life, what would you say?
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What is the one thing that you resent most about being a tulpa? What is the greatest advantage of being a tulpa?
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Morally and philosophically, how do you feel about inheriting your creator's life, including their legal history, past behaviors, and reputation? Do you resent potentially being held responsible for their past actions?
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Morally and philosophically, do you see the "absorbing" or "dissipating" of a tulpa as equivalent to the murder of a non-tulpa? Explain your reasoning. What legal protections, if any, should tulpa gain? How would you enforce these protections?
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Do you consider yourself to be morally equal to a non-tulpa? Is your life worth as much?
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How would you prove your existence to a skeptic?
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Has your status as a tulpa ever caused you existential anxiety or depression? If so, has anything helped to mitigate these feelings?
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Do you ever doubt your own sentience? If so, why?
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How does being a tulpa affect your understanding of death? Do you fear death on an instinctual level in the way that non-tulpa do?
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Do see yourself as socially disadvantaged in a way similar to sexual, racial, and other minority groups? If you identify yourself as racially, sexually, or demographically different than your creator, do you also identify with the struggle of any of the disadvantaged groups that you belong to? Does the notion of privilege affect your relationship with your creator?
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Are you interested in creating another tulpa yourself? What differences, if any, would you expect this tulpa to have from a tulpa created by your creator? Would you consider this tulpa to be primarily related to you, or still to your creator?
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What are the most defining differences between the life of a non-tulpa and a tulpa? Do you think that these differences cause intolerance between the two groups? If so, what could be done to mitigate this intolerance?
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The psychological establishment generally believes that multiplicity (two or more sentient entities sharing one atomic body) is a sign of mental illness. How would you like this belief to change? If you could make a presentation to a group of psychologists about the tulpa phenomenon, what would you say?
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A psychometric indicator is a unique identifier of an individual's distinct personality. Have you ever tried to definitively differentiate yourself from your creator using psychometric indicators (such as by determining your "writeprint")? What results did you receive? (For instructions on determining your writeprint, see appendix one.)
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Are you capable of physical sensations such as pain or warmth?
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How do you feel about being bound for life to your creator?
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If you intentionally delayed speaking to your creator, why did you do so?
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What do you think about most of the time?
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Do you think that tulpa creation should be more widespread?
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Are there disturbing aspects of your creator's subconscious that they are not aware of?
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Would you violate your creator's wishes for what you perceive to be their own benefit?
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Does your creator try to hide things from you? If so, are you aware of them anyway? How does this impact your views of your creator?
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Do you perceive some of your creator's actions as being objectively immoral?
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Do you believe that you are capable of becoming more intelligent than your creator?
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How does being a tulpa affect your perception of your own aging process?
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Do you feel that your creator would be better off by following your commands entirely?
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Do you feel that having a physical form is important for a tulpa?
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If you encountered the tulpa phenomenon as a non-tulpa, would you believe in it?
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How well can you articulate yourself? Can your creator hear you audibly? How much does your experience correlate with the experience of your creator?
If you are imposed, is your creator able to discern a spatial dimension to your voice?
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How many hours did it take you and your creator to complete the various recognized tulpa creation steps?
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What advice would you give to a new tulpa creator?
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How does being imposed feel? What sensory processes happen as you become imposed?
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From your perspective, is there a sensory difference between the physical, atomic world and the mental world of visualized "wonderlands"? If so, how would you describe this difference?
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Is there anything that you don't think this survey covered that you would like to mention?
Writeprint Analysis
This exercise will help you determine the differences, if any, between your writeprint (mathematically analyzed writing style) and your creator's. Theoretically, two psychologically different individuals should exhibit different writeprints, although a tulpa and their creator may be more similar than two random non-tulpa individuals. To start the process, have both you and your creator rewrite the sample paragraph quoted below in your own words, communicating its meaning as you would have if you had written it.
"My experience in the nature study area was full of surprises. First of all, many unexpected creatures crossed our path. For example, as soon as we left the parking area and entered the grassy path, a long snake slithered along the edge of the high grass and quickly disappeared. In addition, I was surprised by how colorful the grasses, which from a distance all appear to be green, actually are. Specifically, the primarily green landscape is dotted with countless purple tassels and brown stalks. Finally and most importantly, I was unprepared for how quickly I felt surrounded by nature. Despite the occasional noise from passing cars and airplanes, the high prairie grasses and rolling pathways create a sense that one is removed from civilization. Altogether, the nature study area unexpectedly allows one to enjoy an ever-changing natural environment without leaving Moraine’s suburban campus."
Tulpa's paragraph:
[paragraph here]
Creator's paragraph:
[paragraph here]
To ensure verifiable results, it is essential that the transcriptions of both paragraphs be completely accurate. Body possession is useful here, though not necessary. Since the tulpa creator's sentience is (presumably) not in question, it is suggested that tulpa write their paragraph first. As with all tests relating to tulpa, the creator should focus on something else while their tulpa is working. Once finished, submit both of your paragraphs individually to the following websites:
http://iwl.me/ http://textalyser.net
If your writeprint is different (indicating significant psychological difference), then you should receive different values for your respective paragraphs on both sites. On Textalyser, focus on the Gunning-Fog Index, lexical density, and average sentence length values in particular. A more detailed analysis may be sought by downloading the JStylo stylometric analysis program here: https://psal.cs.drexel.edu/index.php/Main_Page
This test is certainly not exact, and it is very possible to (unconsciously or not) "cheat" to get good results.
Alyssa's List Of Many Things To Do With Your Tulpa
By Alyssa Rose
As a general rule of thumb, you can do pretty much ANYTHING with your tulpa. Anything. But sometimes you just need ideas to get started! This list may be updated over time.
Wonderland
- Explore the wonderland together! Try letting it generate on it's own without much of your own input.
- Fight things together! Dragons, monsters, evil people!
- Roleplay! Pretend you're bounty hunters, detectives, adventurers, anything you can think of!
- Create a wonderland together with your tulpa!
- Practice visualization, guides are your friend!
- Parkour!
- Watch wonderland TV! It can get pretty interesting.
- Play wonderland video games! Try not to cheat (or cheat all the time.)
- Try to guess what your tulpa/host has hidden in a box!
- Drive and fly things you normally cant, like a jet!
- Have a race!
- Make something together in the wonderland, like a sculpture.
- Work on your own form, or your tulpa's form.
- Fight each-other.
- Hide and seek!
- Try out new weird clothes.
- Try out different forms.
- Use magic!
- Try image streaming together! (Look up Linkzelda's image streaming guide.
- Blow stuff up!
- Play god.
- Set things on fire.
- Talk to NPCs! (wonderland people who aren't tulpas)
- Pretend you're in your favorite game!
- If you know how to switch, let your tulpa be the 'host' of the wonderland experience!
Meatspace
- Switch! (or learn how to!)
- Practice visual imposition, tactile imposition; or any kind of imposition. Guides are your friend!
- Draw your tulpa/host! Let them tell you how they want to be drawn.
- Make music together!
- Listen to music together!
- Watch a show/movie/video together! Discuss things about it after.
- Play chess.
- Play real-life videogames. The host/tulpa can watch and make suggestions, or maybe you can figure out how to add them to the experience!
- Try out new hobbies together!
- Let your tulpa talk online, such as on discord or on a forum! (Rolechat, if you're shy!)
- Redecorate a room together!
- Do chores, but together!
- If you know how to possess, try fighting over a body part! Or try controlling half the body while the host controls the other, and see what you can and cannot do!
- Take a walk together!
- Read a book together! (This is good mindvoice training.)
- Without switching, pretend to act like your tulpa/host. Let the other laugh at how bad you're doing.
- Try to write down all the differences between you and your tulpa(s). This will start getting very hard!
- Meditate together.
- Try lucid dreaming!
- Play DND with your tulpa/host.
- Tulpas, yawn. Or even just say yawn. It should make your host yawn. Use your new found power for evil. (sorry, hosts.)
- If you know how to switch, try sleeping while switched!
- If you know how to switch, try a WPM test against your host!
- Try taking separate IQ or EQ tests. See if it's any different!
- Go hiking together!
Either
- Have an intense debate about something!
- Talk about ANYTHING that comes to mind. Anything. Even if it's dumb, like apples.
- Eat/cook stuff!
- Sleep!
- Discuss old memories.
- Make really dumb hypotheticals!
- Try playing a board game together!
- Swim!
- Read/DM a choose your own adventure! In real life, it's as simple as finding Choose Your Own Adventure book, in the wonderland, let the tulpa/host narrate what they want to do, while the master of the game tells and visualizes what happens.
- Play truth or dare!
- Try to make each-other laugh.
- Relax together.
- Vent to each other.
- Hug each other!
- Massage each other!
- Try yoga!
- Play pool, even if you have no clue how.
- Craft things together!
- Spend time with animals! (like your pet, or cute wonderland rabbits!)
- Have a contest of some kind! The possibilities are endless.
- Practice your parallel processing.
- Write things, like a poem or short story together!
- Ask each other a bunch of questions!
- Try a variety of different drinks together.
- Cloudwatch/stargaze together!
From here
Changelog
This changelog will also function as a bit of a bibliography for newly added content.
0.14.1
Accidentally put the threshold guide in the wrong section. It is in the Communication section instead of the Switching one now.
0.14.0
Added a better disclaimer about the old content in this book. Added the following guides:
- NoneFromHell's Three task tulpa revitalization exercise
- Using Thresholds and Furniture to Remember Your Tulpa
- Possession: By a Tulpa for Tulpas
0.13.0
Simplified release process and moved the CHANGELOG to the end of the book
0.12.0
ADDED
0.11.4
FIXED
- Fixed markdown headings
0.11.3
FIXED
- made the PDF a bit better
0.11.2
ADDED
- PDF version of the tulpanomicon
0.11.1
ADDED
0.11.0
ADDED
- Parallel Processing section
FIXED
- breathing gif now shows in the eBook version
0.10.2
ADDED
0.10.1
ADDED
0.10.0
ADDED
- I Think We're Alone Now
- List of bad reasons not to create a tulpa
- Malfael's Guide to Visual Imposition
FIXED
- Moved the changelog to the front of the file
0.9.1
FIXED
- Wonderland Immersion: a bit more detail based on feedback
0.9
Lots of content, mostly considered complete until feedback proves otherwise.