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Planting a Tulpa Seed and How to Listen to It


Ayre

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I. Foreword

 

__This guide mainly touches on the initial personality creation step of creating a full tulpa. The later sections fall more onto first contact and how I overcame doubts in regards to communication with my tulpa. Now, It's important to note that this guide comes from and builds upon the idea of a host producing an accidental tulpa from a created character from their own fiction writing, or role-playing character. This established identity isn't the fully formed tulpa, but the basis of were the real tulpa comes from. With this method, personality forcing is the foundation for a tulpa to grow into a full separate consciousness. The stronger the personality forcing, the stronger foundation. Know that others have reported successes without any personality forcing, but these people have used other methods entirely. I would like to encourage you to find the process that best suits you. I would recommend my guide to anyone that is better with words than they are with visual representation. This approach favors writing out and listing things over closing one's eyes and visualizing.

 

II. Personality

 

noun per·son·al·i·ty |pər-sə-ˈna-lə-tē

1. Psychology

____a.the sum total of the physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics of an individual.

____b.the organized pattern of behavioral characteristics of the individual.

2. the quality of being a person; existence as a self-conscious human being; personal identity.

 

__Given this definition, personality is probably the most important step in the creation process, because essentially the personality is your tulpa. Just like you, a tulpa will have their own personal identity. All you are doing here is planting a seed and nourishing it. You may not be able to control how many flowers are bloomed, or how big the apples are, but you have the choice of planting a tulip seed or an apple seed. This is where deviations come into play (for more on this refer to Section III-A-ii near the end of this guide). Essentially, you don't have control of the end product, but you can help steer it in a positive direction. With time, this starting personality will evolve into much more, but for now all we can do is create the seed and pour our love and attention into it so that it will grow into something amazing.

 

__It's probably a good idea to give your tulpa the best head-start that you can by being as thorough as possible when creating a foundational personality, or a tulpa seed. In fiction writing, without a well-developed personality a character is flat and uninspired. In fiction, round characters tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters. If you think of the characters you most love in fiction, they probably seem as real to you as people you know in real life. Now, obviously a tulpa is not just a character in a script, they seem to have a mind of their own, so you should strive for a round tulpa seed and not a flat one.

 

__A. Internal Personality

 

__Start off by brainstorming basic personality traits by either writing them out on a sheet of paper, or typing them out on a word document. Here is a very simple video on personality traits to give you some ideas, and a big list of personality traits. Something to consider is the overall mood of your tulpa seed. Many people have default states that they always seem to jump back into. I’m sure you know some people that always seem to find something to be mad about, or the perpetual victims, or the really happy, cup-is-half-full people. What is your tulpa’s default mood? This will affect their world views and personal philosophies. Some examples that I can think of include: cheery/sad, logical/emotional, determined/lazy, outgoing/shy, formal/laidback, patient/impatient.

is a good video on this (in terms of fiction writing) by Cy Porter.

 

____i. Intentions and Motivations

 

__The next thing to consider is your tulpa seed’s intentions, and motivations. Write out the answers to the following questions. Why do they do what they do? What do they strive for and/or want? Maybe they always want to do the right thing. Maybe they want people to think that they are smart/insightful. They could just want to have a good time and relax. Perhaps they want to make people laugh. They could just want to be accepted, or fit in. Maybe something selfish or even sinister. Who knows? It’s up to you to figure this out.

 

____ii. Persona

 

__This next step takes your tulpa seed to a new level, and makes it even more realistic. The answer to this question will probably take time, but it is worth considering in detail. How do they intentionally present themselves, and how would you expect others to view them versus how they want to be viewed? Everyone has a social mask or persona that they intentionally present to others. It doesn’t have to be a drastic difference from how they really are (they don’t have to be a sociopath), but it’s an important consideration to make.

is another video from Cy Porter on this subject.

 

____iii. Flaws

 

__This step in personality development may be a difficult one to create, if you choose to include it. Creating flaws is not necessarily essential, but worth considering. Everyone has flaws, whether they admit it or not. This is what makes people real and relatable. I don’t have a ton on this, but consider creating some character flaws in your tulpa seed. These don’t have to be huge, but they might make them seem more realistic and relateable off the bat. They can vary from being a little self-centered or inconsiderate to hating puppies. Try to think of a few and write these down, and make sure these traits are things that you can live with. After all, you will be around this person constantly and for a long time to come, so use your best judgment.

 

__B. External Personality

 

____i. Physical Form

 

__Now that the internal part of your tulpa seed’s personality has been solidified, you should consider the physical expressions of its personality. Try to answer this simple question in as much detail as you can: What would people notice first about your tulpa if they could see them? Write a list of everything you can think of. Think of their species, their build, height, weight, complexion, Hair style/color, etc. What style of clothes do they prefer to wear? Formal, casual, all black or pink, maybe even extravagant like Lady Gaga or Gene Simmons, or possibly none at all. How do they walk or stand? Maybe they walk tall/stand straight, slumped over, they could have a limp, or walk bow legged. Your imagination is the limit.

 

____ii. Voice

 

__So you know what your tulpa seed acts like and looks like, but how do they sound? Voice is an important part of anyone’s personality. How does their voice sound exactly? Think of the pitch, timbre, inflection, and volume. If you need help deciding feel free to take ideas from television, radio, or even real life. If your tulpa has an accent that is foreign for you, youtube has plenty of guides for knowing how other cultures speak. This link may help you if you decide to go down this path. It’s also important to think about how much they talk. Are they talkative, or do they only speak when they feel that they need to. Also, think of the word choice they would likely make. A tulpa that is very proper and desires to seem intelligent would most likely not cuss like a sailor or make racial slurs. Just use common sense here, and it should come fairly easily.

 

III. Interaction

 

__After you have figured out the previous information about your tulpa you are finally ready for the fun part, interacting with them. Have you have ever planned out a conversation, or argument in your head with someone that you know very well? Then you have already had a very similar experience to having a tulpa. Where does the other person’s words come from? Well, from you, but not exactly. You know this person and their personality. The words will likely be how you imagine they would react to something that is going on, or something that you have said. You know them so well that you don’t have to think about what to make them say, they just talk. Tulpas interact with their host in much the same way. After you know your tulpa’s basic personality, temperament, and overall character traits, everything else becomes easier. Once you have this down, the next part should be somewhat simple. Although, this is what trips most people up the most.

 

__A. Contact

 

__How do you talk to them? How do you know it’s really them? Over time I have learned what it's like when she talks, but this is abstract and makes sense only to her and me, eventually you will find what works through trial and error. However, the following may help you in the early stages if you don't mind walking off the beaten path for a bit.

 

__You should know your tulpa's starting personality exceptionally well at this point. When attempting to get a response think about what has been said and if it fits into what you already know about your tulpa seed. If it fits, then there is a high likelihood that it is your tulpa, but even so it might be a good idea to ask for clarification at first to be sure. If the response does not fit, then ask for clarification to be sure. Always be mindful of deviations. In essence, you should treat your tulpa like you would treat anyone in life that you are having a hard time understanding. Shaking your head yes constantly will get you nowhere, and just saying "what" over and over could get tiresome. Guessing what they have said based on context and what you know about them, then checking to see if you understood them correctly would be a good middle ground. Essentially, you are sensing the intent of your tulpa and the personality that you have been cultivating, not forcing them to respond to you or just ignoring them. You are talking to your tulpa and waiting for a response, and checking at first to see if you got it right.

 

__How do you check this? Head pressures seemed to work well for us. These feel almost like non-painful headaches, or a strange compression inside your head. You can ask them to send this signal if you understood them correctly, we even got to the point of her sending them to different parts of the head for yes and no answers. At first, It does take some time and concentration to feel these, but you should know it when it does happen. Others have used transferred emotions/feelings, or even imagined pictures to communicate outside of mind voice, or simple thoughts. You'll find what works best for you eventually.

 

____i. Individuality

 

__This method assumes that because you already have an idea of the character (or personal identity) of your tulpa, that you will be able to sense and infer what they are trying to say. This will start out feeling just like having that imaginary conversation I described in the introduction to this section (III. Interaction), only with the ability to stop and check if you understood. Eventually this form of communication becomes easier and clearer the less you worry about parroting or puppeting. Please keep in mind that what I have mentioned here is not a very commonly held practice in this community at this time, and many hosts seek out other means of early communications. This is just one path you have to choose from, and what ended up working for me in the end. In my personal experience, the only reason I could not talk to my tulpa sooner was because I was too worried, and blocked out everything that I thought might have been me. My tulpa was able to talk from pretty early on, I was just too naive to simply relax and listen.

 

____ii. Deviations

 

__Deviations do happen to most tulpas to some extent; I’ve had a complete 180 on how I thought my tulpa looked, and even a change in her gender. You might ask yourself, why put all of this effort and time into personality forcing if they might just decide to change parts of it later on? Personality forcing is also about feeding your tulpa with as much attention as possible. Tulpas thrive off of attention, and grow stronger the more you give them, and the more you interact with them. These thoughts are not wasted if deviations happen, it's just part of the long and complex journey of tulpa creation. All of your twists and turns along the way accumulate into the vibrant and unique life-form that we know as a tulpa, and bring you two closer together. Just be flexible and prepared for change.

 

____iii. Doubts

 

__These are inevitable, and important to face head on. I have given you some ways that I have rationalized and dealt with my doubts. I've realized that doubts about what a tulpa is, or if I really could hear mine, are pointless in the end. They separate a tulpa and host, and that is the opposite of what we are all trying to accomplish. I take the road of just enjoying the time that I have with my tulpa, and knowing that not everything in life is knowable; I chalk this up as one of the unanswerable aspects of life. This reasoning may not work for you, and that is understandable. It wouldn't have worked for me at first, I let doubts cripple my connection with my tulpa, and through that I have gained my own perspective on it. You will have doubts, it will not be easy to overcome them. New doubts will rise and you will have to work on them, too. This is the cycle that tends to happen. In the end, I think this is what separates a successful host/tulpa relationship and the ones who walk away forever; learning to keep going even through uncertainty.

 

IV. Closing

 

__I would like to say that you should not take anything too seriously in life, even tulpa creation. Have fun with this, and follow what you think is right. Find your own path, your own method, and enjoy the process as much as you enjoy the end product. And please do not use a tulpa as a replacement for a social life, friends, or lovers. A tulpa is a tulpa, not like anything or anyone else you’ve experienced. They are their own special beings that are always there for you. They can help you through your worst problems and share your greatest joys. Hell, maybe I’m just bat-shit crazy, maybe we all are. All I know for sure is that I wouldn’t trade my tulpa for the world. So if you are new to creating a tulpa, hang in there. It will get easier, maybe even a little too easy. You’ll get there, you both will.

Host: Ayre

Tulpas: Coda and Segno

 

Shameless Progress Report Plug:

Ayre's Opus 1: Informal informative index of inhabitants in an invisible inner-world.

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I submitted a guide a few days ago, but thanks to the tips I have gotten from it this guide is completely different from it. Because of this I just make it into a new post. Please feel free to continue to give your opinions so I can continue to improve my guide.

 

Well this version a lot better than the last draft, seriously. There are only two bothering things left for me, and a personal opinion about a certain step.

 

1. You link to quite some external sources, especially on youtube, for detailed explainations on some of your points. I can see how this may be something useful, but your guide will lose some of its knowledge if a video gets taken down all of a sudden. It would be highly necessary to keep track of it. I think you did good with providing the basic information in textform as well, but maybe you should make sure that you still have said anything important yourself, just in case.

 

2. General structure: Right now you have one big text, and I see how it developed. You base everything about the development of the personality, which is fine. But I think the readability would increase if you could make sections and/or subsections using captions like "basic personality" or "intentions and motivations". You get the idea.

 

Other than that I'm fine with the state of your guide. It is an interesting point of view.

 

On a personal note I'm not very happy with your section about flaws. You're right, a realistic person has flaws and can't be all perfect, so you should allow your tulpa to have flaws. However, I don't think it is necessary to create your tulpa flawed on purpose, especially if it starts to go in a direction which will make life uncomfortable for your tulpa. Flaws can easily develop without you intentionally creating them. I created my tulpa to be resentful, which is something very harmless. Well if you feel it is a necessary step, you're free to keep your opinion about it, but I think it would be a good idea to point out that this step shouldn't be done without proper reflection about the consequences for the tulpa and yourself.

Tulpa: Alice

Form: Realistic Humanoid/Demonic Creation

She may or may not talk here, depends on her.

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Well I'll contribute in the only way I know how

 

 

You spelled "comprehensive" wrong in the thread title.

 

 

Also forcing flaws is stupid. Implying you could make a perfect person if you tried. They're basically human too, they'll develop the same flaws everyone else does. Mine did, and I always considered them perfect. Still do though.

Hi! I'm Lumi, host of Reisen, Tewi, Flandre and Lucilyn.

Everyone deserves to love and be loved. It's human nature.

My tulpas and I have a Q&A thread, which was the first (and largest) of its kind. Feel free to ask us about tulpamancy stuff there.

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Literally everything you wrote down in this post comes in contradiction with my own personal beliefs which is why I wrote this post in such a fashion, the way you put it, it's like a microwave tulpa; bam, you put a concept in the microwave, you wait a bit and you have it all ready and set. I believe that tulpas can't actually gain those sort of intentions and motivation aside from their own personal experience, tulpas aren't born all ready and set (sorry this isn't /r/plural or /r/tulpa where a lot of bullshit goes around truthfully) they need all the experience in life they can get. Secondly you're just advising parroting even more, how the hell do we know that it's the tulpa talking later on and not just us parroting since we'd have done it in the past, odds are that it's something we could get used to with time. Parroting to me is super useless and in no way have I ever planned what my tulpa said, yet you still advise to 'imagine' what people are going to do. If you come from other communities where they regard tulpas as part of your imagination, you shouldn't impose that on other people, I make a very strict differentiation between my tulpa and my imagination, both don't collide or even interact for that matter. I think your submission isn't all that fit because it is, to me, in a nutshell 'alright so you're going to write down how a character is going to be, then imagine how this character is going to interact lively with you and interpret every answer that comes from your imagination as their own, then bam, voila, you have a tulpa my friend', what sort of 'method' is that? That's parroting at its finest and trying to make it seem like it's not a bad thing (no I'm not going to stick to the bandwagon that parroting can be useful, I believe it's nothing but detrimental). The community as a whole seems to be against parroting, so making a guide about that isn't the wisest of choice. Reddit all over again

A wise man once said: 'Before judging a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? He's a mile away, and you've got new shoes.'

 

Graced are those who could avoid this phenomenon. This is perhaps the worst expression of evil in humanity's history, but who am I to judge?

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Well personally I strongly disagree with this guide, Melian. The ideas behind it are very similiar to the one Fede has about tulpas. My tulpa surprises me often, because she has quite some opinions I wouldn't expect from her, which is part of the whole experience for me. It is nothing we've studied in, and isn't based of how well I know her. She acts outside of my expectations. I would even say that my expectations are part of the problem, not the solution.

 

Anyway, from my objective position I have to underline that this is still a valid view on the phenomenon, and we're not to decide which beliefs regarding tulpamancy should be allowed to express, and which not; as long as they're based on the scientific approach. At least regarding everything in the guide section.

Tulpa: Alice

Form: Realistic Humanoid/Demonic Creation

She may or may not talk here, depends on her.

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Firstly echoing None, this is a textwall. You have paragraphs, which is good, but at that length you could do with higher-level structure.

 

 

Onto the content. This quote is the core of what I disagree with:

Personality is probably the most important step in the creation process. Much like in fiction writing, without a well-developed personality a character is flat and uninspired. [...] you should strive for a round tulpa and not a flat tulpa. You are creating a person, a character with emotions, drives, and ideas all of their own. How can those be fully developed without proper planning?

Other people have mentioned 'opinions' but I think that this is factually incorrect. Tulpas do not need personality forcing to develop personalities. They do not need detailed personality forcing to develop detailed personalities. This is borne out by the experience of everyone who did anything short of a hyper-detailed personality forcing, and all those who did none at all. For that reason, I think that this guide is misleading. You don't need this stuff, so don't scare people into thinking that they do.

 

 

The method itself, apart from that, I have less of an issue for that. If you did want to go for a detailed personality approach, you could do this, I think. I'm interested in your parroting rationale:

How do you talk to them? How do you know it’s really them? Simple, imagine you are talking to them and what they would say back. Many would call this puppeting, or not really the tulpa, but I feel that they are missing the point. At this stage, you should already know your tulpa so well that you know what they would say and do. If you know what they are truly like, then there should be no confusion. Everything you think might be your tulpa, really is your tulpa. After all, your tulpa is just a construction of your mind that you have created.

I don't think that it's about 'belief' and 'acceptance', Melian. The opposite; if the, I guess you'd call it, "character" that you've created in the preceding steps is your tulpa at that stage, then of course your extrapolations are their responses. If the idea is that the "character" has continuity one way or another with the eventually sentient tulpa, this makes sense to me.

 

But like Judas up there says, you don't really say that explicitly. In fact you don't say anything at all about what happens afterwards, and reading literally you really do seem to say that it's just parroting all the way and you're done. That, again, is a factual inaccuracy insofar as we have a definition for what a tulpa is. Anyway, you should clarify this section I guess, since between three people who commented on it you've got three different readings.

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So I’ve read everyone’s replies and you do make some good points.

 

Luminesce, good catch on the spelling mistake. Maybe I shouldn’t post when I’m drunk.

 

None and waffles, I guess it is a bit of a text wall. Essay format is great and all, but you’re right. A guide should be easier to refer a previous section or topic. I’ll reformat it.

 

As far as the flaws issue goes, I still think it’s important. I feel as long as you don’t create anything crazy here, like “severe bloodlust” or “enjoys ruining people’s lives,” they should be fine. My tulpa loves sweets a little too much, and she can be a little pushy at times, but I’ve had no more problems with her than any other person in the world.

 

J.Iscariot, these are just my personal views developed over years of creating/having a tulpa; you’re free to disagree. I do want to point out that this is more than parroting. Waffles hit the nail on the head, it’s creating the character or spirit of your tulpa.

 

Speaking of which, Waffles, good catch. There are indeed clarification issues with this point. I’ll be adding another paragraph to alleviate confusion.

 

EDIT: Oh I almost forgot. None, the links will be checked from time to time just in case. They are mainly just supplemental information. Most of the relevant points from these videos have been made. I might try to elaborate more just in case.

Host: Ayre

Tulpas: Coda and Segno

 

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No, I mean it, don't try to respond it doesn't matter and it won't help. The guides don't apply to me. None of them do. I have nothing to do with them.

 

I'm sorry you feel that way, and I will respond. I'm not sure what spurred this, but all this guide is supposed to do is help new people find their own path. No guide will likely agree with you 100%, this is the only one that agrees totally with me. Have you tried creating one?

 

EDIT: I just realized I left you out of my last comment. I wasn't trying to ignore you, I was just responding to criticisms about the guide, and your post had none. It wasn't meant to be personal. And for the record, you were also correct.

 

"This is the critical point. It comes down to belief and acceptance and being able to discern your tulpas intent."

Host: Ayre

Tulpas: Coda and Segno

 

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Greetings Ayre,

 

First things first, this version is much meatier and has more detail about what you do during the process, rather than falling completely on to common jargon. This I very much appreciate right off the bat. While I may not quite agree with this specific family of methods, I can surely see you put the legwork in to make this guide better, and you got points for that one.

 

I do still have niggles with your guide, and I will list them below:

 

- Flaws are not what makes a person well rounded. Rather, it's an outgrowth of something deeper: the ability for a person to choose, their will. That's what makes a person well rounded, flaws are just a symbol of that, and in this case a shortcut. Their flaws will be not only from what they themselves will choose, but from what flaws their host already has, as they will reflect the host in some way, iff only because they're spending a lot of time with their host.

 

- A personality can work as a foundation, an anchor if you will, but it should be used as a start point, not the entire run. For something like this, freedom is required for them to grow and advance, and to have their own unique viewpoint. While it is debatable how much freedom is possible, the creation will certainly have some difficulty with it if the host is providing all of their words, deeds, and behavior.

 

- I cannot lie and say I am a proponent of puppeting, even though I know that there are those who consider it fully valid. At most, I see it as a way to further build foundation. But I do feel at some point, an attempt by the host to withdraw their expectations, and give their creation some room to breath on their own is necessary. I have heard details of others who's figure came alive after being imagined for a long time on their own. But in my case, using Kellogg as an example, she did not awake until I took a step back and let her move as she would. But this is more a general disagreement with the entire Puppet-based method group, than your guide in particular. Even if it's small, some freedom is necessary for things to really start moving.

 

- From your later post, you seem to be saying that there is more work to be done after you've puppeted enough. As waffles said, it does seem like your method is all puppeting all the time and nothing else, so that caused some confusion. Is there a point where you stop making responses for them? Is there a point where you sit silently in front of your creation, doing nothing, and see what they do? These sort of questions are important.

Sock Cottonwell's

Sketchbook, Journal, and Ask thread.

Peace

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"J.Iscariot, these are just my personal views developed over years of creating/having a tulpa; you’re free to disagree. I do want to point out that this is more than parroting. Waffles hit the nail on the head, it’s creating the character or spirit of your tulpa. "

 

The difference between your own personal views and how a guide is supposed to be written is that your personal views fuel the entire theory behind your guide. Parroting has proved to be shitty for some people and there's still the issue that you can't possibly know whether anybody is there or you're just deluding yourself into thinking that whatever you are imagining is your tulpa, I mean, say I make a tulpa using your method, how do I know that it is my tulpa and not me fooling myself? Guides don't work for everyone but the recommendation I found in your entire guide was one that a lot of people would openly oppose because it can very much be interpreted as self-deception. Plus, I also believe that tulpas develop their own characteristics with time, experience and overall what they witness on a daily basis and not just because you wrote down that they'd be this or that way, because then, there is no fuel for that sort of nature, there is absolutely nothing that tells them that they should be what they are aside from the fact that their host parroted for a long while and that with time it became second nature. Seeing what you posted in the past regarding how tulpamancy is imagination and a lie and self-deception and how tulpas aren't to be seen as real people, you clearly hold a different vision than most of the community, should a guide like that be actively promoted when most people would stand against it?

A wise man once said: 'Before judging a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? He's a mile away, and you've got new shoes.'

 

Graced are those who could avoid this phenomenon. This is perhaps the worst expression of evil in humanity's history, but who am I to judge?

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Sock, Thank you for your input. Flaws in my opinion are important. It may be a bit of a shortcut, but I feel like it strengthens the foundation and can make them even more different thank the host. I have added a section to the guide explaining that the personality you are creating is just a starting point and will grow from there. I'm not sure if your statement was made before or after the latest additions I've made. Finally, this isn't a guide saying to puppet your tulpa all the time. It's a guide saying not to worry if you are puppeting. You don't actually force them to say anything, that is the difference with my way and puppeting.

 

J.Iscariot, I cannot write a guide that works for everyone. I'm writing about what I know, and what I have seen. If I tried to write about a method that I have not done, or had experience with it would help no one. If this guide does not work for someone, then there is nothing I can do about that. Other methods did not work for me, it wasn't the guide's fault. Also, I never meant to imply that tulpas should not be considered people. My views on what I think they are, is a point for another thread.

 

Groovy, don't let anyone tell you what you do or do not have. You're just as valid as any other tulpa.

Host: Ayre

Tulpas: Coda and Segno

 

Shameless Progress Report Plug:

Ayre's Opus 1: Informal informative index of inhabitants in an invisible inner-world.

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