Planting a Tulpa Seed and How to Listen to It

[Ayre]

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.

[Drakaina]

@J.Iscariot

*applauds*

I really liked your post. Preservation of terminology and meaning is something that's very important to me, especially in communities that are based a subjective experience/phenomena.

 

One of the lines in the guide that sent up a red flag for me is this one.

 

...created by the host for various reasons that become indistinguishable from a separate being over time.

 

"becomes indistinguishable from a separate being". This implies that it is still (at least in part) the original being, which Tulpa are not by this part of the definition.

"In short, a tulpa is like a sentient person living in your head, separate from you."

 

...all experienced hosts agree on pointless semantics...

 

Because semantics aren't pointless. In a phenomena of subjective experiences like tulpamancy they're especially important. Physical things that we can touch and confirm can have terms used more fluidly because there's always a base to jump back to. Machintosh, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, they all come back to apple, which we can see, touch, and associate. Tulpa however cannot be touched, or seen, only experienced. So the terms and semantics about them need to be constant or the community and experience will degrade and become meaningless over time.

You see it in the tumblrkin community every day. It's the difference between identifying WITH something and identifying AS something. I have enough experience in this to know that if you allow terminology to dilute it will end badly for the whole community. I've said this before to Melian and I'll say it to you too Tulpa =/= Better. Thought forms can be tulpa-like, or soul bonds, or daemons, and be no less valid. Just different.

 

It's not elitist for someone to value and try to uphold the integrity of a terminology, concept, or the spirit behind a phenomena. I find that people only cry elitism when they feel they're not good enough, and Iscariot made it extremely clear many times in his post that this was not what he was saying, nor is it the case with tulpa-like beings.

 

Really this whole guide sounds much more like how to make a soul bond. It's only missing the backstory section. =/

---

Grammar and Spellchecks follow

 

[hidden]

Last line of II. Personality

Should be "so you should strive for..." not "but you should strive for".

 

also,

"A tulpa that is very proper and desires to seem intelligent..." you can probably just use the word "wants" here. Otherwise it's phrased "a tulpa that is very proper and has a desire to seem intelligent".

 

Contact.

Around the middle of the paragraph, "I take this rational even into my conversations..."

I think you mean rationale.

 

A couple sentences in paragraph 2 of this section.

"...there is a high likely hood that it is.."

It's "likelihood", not "likely hood"

 

Same Paragraph past the half way point.

"...then checking seeing if..." Just forgot the "to" here.

 

ii. Deviations

First sentence. "I’ve have a complete 180 "

Just a typo here, should be "I've had".

 

iii. Doubts

3rd sentence. "if I really could hear mine are pointless"

Just need a comma between "mine" and "are"

 

Same section, middle of the paragraph

" connection with my tulpa, and trough that I have gained "

Just a typo, should be "through" (also thank you from the bottom of my heart for not spelling it "thru")

[/hidden]

[Ayre]

In an attempt to keep this strictly about the guide, I'll drop all other points and let my guide speak for itself.

 

That is a pretty clear indication to parroting to me. Defining what a tulpa is going to be like, as in personality and trait lists, is nothing wrong. But what does set me back is the whole 'imagine how they're going to be and that's how they're gonna be'.

 

I will now quote directly from the guide:

 

"This established identity isn't the fully formed tulpa, but the basis of were the real tulpa comes from."

 

"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 "

 

"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"

 

"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." (Maybe I should define "tulpa seed" more explicitly.)

 

" If it fits, then there is a high likely hood 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."

 

"Guessing what they have said based on context and what you know about them, then checking seeing if you understood them correctly would be a good middle ground."

 

"You are talking to your tulpa and waiting for a response, and checking at first to see if you got it right."

 

I think you missed these parts of the guide. Where is the parroting? Where are you deliberately forcing your tulpa to talk? Because you assume, then check? And even if it was parroting, is opposing views between guides a bad thing? Also, 'imagine how they're going to be and that's how they're gonna be' in nowhere in my guide, it's not even implied. It's more 'imagine how they're going to be and that's how they might be unless they deviate'

 

Drakaina, thank you for the grammar and spelling corrections. These will be worked on when I get off of work later.

[J.Iscariot]

You see, even if you let your guide 'speak for you', it won't really make much of a difference. My point is that you are literally parroting tulpas into existence, you are trying to use deviations as something to take the reader's attention on so that they may not see that they are going deep into self-deception, something you promoted. Even then, regardless, I don't have one and one point only in this whole thing; to put it shortly and simply, you have a guide that promotes parroting, regardless of how well that can work out for people (and regardless of how much harm it can cause), the other guides, guides that served as the foundation for this community, oppose in ways that parroting as a 'main method' is discouraged. You think that self-deception is a viable technique, so be it, but how will that affect the reader? Again, you need to understand that people don't see those things. Someone hears about sentient imaginary friends, comes on tulpa.info and reads a guide that tells them that a tulpa is self-deception, that they should imagine what their tulpa is doing and plan out their every single action... how can anyone NOT think that this is fooling yourself until you forget that it's you and not an alien entity?

 

I will address every quote, and will numerate them accordingly.

 

1: That has little to do with the conception method as a whole, in my opinion. Again, a beginner will look into this and think 'oh, this is self-deception, turns out this phenomenon was a big internet joke' or something of the type. According to this quote, the basis of the tulpa comes from self-deception and controlled impressions and interpretations the host builds. At least, that's what your guide says.

 

2: That analogy has very little impact because size and quantity are not what we look at in a tree; to qualify a tree of being an apple tree, it needs to have apples. The main impression one can get is that 'okay, you're planting red apple seeds and you're going to mimick literally every single step of growth of that tree until it coooould deviate, possibly, but not assuredly'. I don't really understand the size/quantity thing, according to your method the size and quantity could deviate but just because it deviated with you doesn't mean it will deviate with everyone. Was this written out of thorough research or just personal experience?

 

3: I am speaking of the conception phase, not of the 'final' product. The 'final product' is an entirely different discussion, one we had in PM already, and this is not the place to have it. The personality will evolve because you seek its evolution, your brain is ready to storm those type of ideas since you're consciously looking out for them. You expect deviation, you get deviations. You expect head pressures, you get head pressures. The conception phase comes off as imagining someone talking in your mind, and considering that whatever they say or toss at you is legitimate. COMES OFF, I could be misinterpreting, but that is the impression an outsider MIGHT get. Because this is a guide for people who want to make tulpas, or seek other methods, or so I thought.

 

4: No idea what this has to do with my point.

 

5: How do you ask for clarification? Do you assume your tulpa is there since stage one? Not fully, but that's the impression I first got when I read your guide at first. How do you ask for clarification? Do you just imagine it and interpret what comes from your imagination as them? Is there a way to truly know? And is this not association of imagination in all its domain to tulpamancy directly? Which is something people might feel repulsed by, ultimately. Imagination has a lot of meanings but people tend to distance themselves from it when it comes to, y'know, live intelligent people in one's head. Being imagined is different from being truly alive. What about intrusive thoughts? Say I ask for a clarification and I get an intrusive thought, how do I know anything from anything???

 

6: So you're making a guess on what your tulpa said. How different would this guess come off to be from the supposed 'tulpa's clarification'? Moreover, are your guesses not forming the tulpa's character throughout imagination and false interpretation (or rather, an interpretation that is one-sided more than it is 'shared')? So logically speaking, whatever you assign to the tulpa as 'guesses' would be something that you 'force' in them (force as in tulpaforce), and there would be no practical way to clarify things from a young tulpa. I am not speaking of the 'product', why would I care about that when the guide is about how to create a tulpa under the form of self-deception? You need to understand the gravity of your words. Not because people will dislike them, but because there are a lot of people who come on this site to learn more about tulpas, and if a COMMUNITY SUPPORTED GUIDE tells them that this is a delusion, what reason do they have to stay? Do you think that they're going to share the same views you do? Assuredly not, perhaps they're not as experienced in this domain (no shit) so they'd take anything. Is that also not a step forward the community taking literally, literally all types of thoughtforms as tulpas? Preservation of terminology, as Drakaina said.

 

7: Little to do with my point that is solely about conception, so-called 'interaction' with a thoughtform whose responses are simulated from your side, at least, that's what it seems to be like.

 

The parroting is you imagining a tulpa, imagining its responses and letting your imagination rule out what the tulpa is. Not only that, but it is the strict imposition of those traits in a pseudo-realistic midst, being imagination. I'm speaking about conception and the 'interaction' part, at first, you're purely deluding yourself via imagining your tulpa's 'responses', those responses being something YOU imagine and not them. Not the product, the conception phase you spoke of in your guide at first.

 

Do you, uh, talk to someone and consider what they said, and think about whether it truly was them or if it was just your mind? If you have all that type of hesitance in your method, if you have all of this consideration and 'checking' (something other guides don't put an emphasis on because often hosts believe in their tulpas as more than self-willed delusions as you put it, aside from intrusive thoughts but thats another story), is that not a bit of an effort? I swear to the holy spirit that this could look, to any outsider, as pure, pure self-deception. You're not seeing it because it's working out for you, whether you are deluded or not is not something I would dare to define, but in the case you are... other people aren't. You're taking something that applies to you into a more or less 'universal' way of creating a tulpa, even though as Drakaina said, this method would be great for a soulbond minus backstory.

 

 

I addressed all of your points. I don't really understand why all of my points were dropped aside from you running to using parts of your guide, so I'd like for everyone to re-read them in order for them not to be buried down as I believe that they have somewhat of a point of view that makes sense and is important to keep in mind. It's not about what it is, it's about how outsiders may interpret it. I'm sorry to say this but it really looks like you put no effort in considering how this guide would be accepted, how people would welcome it and how it would affect new tulpamancers if it got accepted as an actual substantial guide. Especially considering the first draft of your guide that was admittedly inferior to this well-improved version, but still flawed in my regards. I think that there is absolutely nothing else for me to discuss if you just drop all of my points, as it is a discussion I would not like to have if my arguments fall on deaf ears. There is nothing left for me to discuss, I made my points time and again in the past and now.

 

 

I'm no GAT so whatever I say is just an opinion. But whether GAT members understand where I'm getting at or not is what matters. At least, to me, because this is, and excuse me but I really need to say this, a decline for all the efforts people put into making this a legit, nice community of people who stay away from intrusive thoughts and the likes.

[Guest Anonymous]

I do -gasp- see Iscariot's primary point he is trying to convey that this guide is a contradiction to most other guides with an emphasis on parroting early in the process of tulpa creation. I can see that such contradictions between guides could be confusing to new members even. I disagree with him that it should be discarded (if that is what Iscariot is saying) as a significant number of tulpamancers do in fact believe their tulpas are self deception and self delusion. Parroting becomes far less of an issue if your tulpa is considered to be self deception. In fact, it is pretty much irrelevant. All you are looking for is for the illusion to begin to take on a life of its own and apparently act independently of your imagination. Two polls on this forum taken a couple of years apart indicate that about 20% of tulpamancers hold this view or have experienced tulpas in their mind they consider to be self deception.

 

I think it is important to recognize this minority of tulpamancers who have this approach and guides like Ayre's guide here and Fede's guide do have their place. To avoid confusion, perhaps the board could explain somehow that these guides are a little different or an alternative approach or opinion on tulpamancy. Beginners should be allowed to know that there is not a single block of opinion and that they can take more than one approach to creating a tulpa.

 

That being said, I am not sure that Ayre's guide is saying it is going to create a self deception in the end, it is merely using active imagination parroting in the early stages of the process of tulpa creation.

---

EDIT: Okay here a link to the most recent poll. https://community.tulpa.info/thread-sentience-are-tulpas-real-sentience-2015-poll I was incorrect on stating that it is about 20% who believe their tulpas to be imaginary. It is closer to 10% with another 25% indicating they were still unsure. Still, that is a significant number of people. We should not ignore that ten percent.

[J.Iscariot]

Thank you, Melian. You have a valid point; that we should not bar beginners from a certain belief. I would usually agree with you if the domain of tulpamancy was a bit wider. Upon looking at the definition posted on tulpa.info (and in this case, I am speaking of the definition given to beginners and not the, uh, multitude of other definitions the forumbase put in place with valid points), it says in shorter terms that a tulpa is an entity created in the host's mind that is capable of thinking and having their own emotions independently. That is what beginners will first see, and not what I am implying as we had this discussion in the past. With that given definition, we shouldn't tell beginners, rather, we should not inform them of methods that lead to the creation of an entity through willful self-delusion, because to THEM, it's completely different than how it sounds to US in the first place. I'm speaking on the entire community's scale, how things have always been, people would discourage parroting and encourage the 'traditional' methods. My point is not that a new guide promoting a different belief should be discarded, not at all, my point is that this guide opposes how this community functions and how it treats beginners.

 

What you did, Melian, was widen up a bit the definition of tulpamancy to include other type of thoughtforms. This widening did not happen on the universal scale of tulpamancy, but merely on the tolerance rate in this community, the forum. A lot of people only visit guides and the home site without joining the community, which is why we can never know how many tulpamancers there are out there. We should let beginners know, sure, but we shouldn't provide them with contradictory by nature information. Maybe you know, you think there is more than one approach, but they don't know. They could call parroted tulpas delusions without losing any sleep over that action, because to them, that's what it seems to be. If you guys want to be regarded like that, by all means..

 

It's not that tulpamancy is, by nature, a subjective practice. Just like any type of realities, as long as it is under people's judgements, it will be interpreted in a different manner, which constructs subjective reality.

 

Ayre literally said that they believe this is a willful self-deception in their guide. I am not judging anyone on their beliefs, but on the message delivered to outsiders. There is an entirely different discussion regarding parroting to be had, if people here can take it, that is, but this is not the place.

[Guest Anonymous]

Preservation of terminology and meaning is something that's very important to me, especially in communities that are based a subjective experience/phenomena.

 

One of the lines in the guide that sent up a red flag for me is this one.

 

 

"becomes indistinguishable from a separate being". This implies that it is still (at least in part) the original being, which Tulpa are not by this part of the definition.

"In short, a tulpa is like a sentient person living in your head, separate from you."

 

Is there really much difference between saying a tulpa is "like a sentient person" and a tulpa is "indistinguishable from a sentient person?" I think you are reading one thing into the wording of the official definition and others are reading something else. Our Tulpa Info definition of a tulpa is a little ambiguous and subject to interpretation.

 

My agenda to try to influence the tulpa community to be more inclusive and open minded about other types of thoughtforms has nothing to do with parroting being mentioned as a tulpa creation method. But I do admit and agree that the "consensus" of the tulpa community should be a factor in these kinds of discussions. The concern that the focus of tulpamancy practice will become diluted and confused is a valid one if we do not proceed with care. So again, I do see Iscariot's points.

[Ayre]

J.Iscariot, I'm not arguing with you any more. I've poured my heart and soul into this guide. All I've wanted to do is help people that were interested in tulpamancy, just like I was helped in the start.

 

"The actual differences between the host and the tulpa, or if a tulpa is truly a second mind is moot. That is to say that these are only debate topics, and hold no real weight on my relationship with my tulpa. She seems real to me, so I treat her as such; simple as that."

 

There is a reason I wrote this. This is the point that I feel we are all missing about what ever you want to call whatever we have made in our heads. It's very easy to get swept up and passionate about something and someone we all care about this much. I would dare say that everyone here loves their tulpa(s), they wouldn't be able to be here if they weren't truly loved. We all would have abandoned them by now if we didn't care. When someone comes by with a different idea about this person you love that you might see as detrimental, it's easy to get swept up in emotions. I wouldn't consider myself very emotional in general, but I am right now.

 

I should have thought about my first draft more carefully, and how others would see it. I am sorry, and I meant no malice. I have spent many hours trying to explain my view points and why I don't think a self-delusion is a bad thing. I'm not trying to insult anyone's friends here. Maybe I'm just a relic of a different time. Things have clearly changed since I was here last. I had all these ideas for guides, for pointers, for posts. Maybe everything has already been said about tulpas. Maybe this community has outgrown me, or maybe I've outgrown it. I'm going to make one last update to my guide. I'm done after this. I need to re-evaluate some things for a little while.

[J.Iscariot]

I apologize for causing this distressful situation, but that's just what I think. I did not mean to cause an argument, and wish you luck in whatever it is you wish to do.

[Guest Anonymous]

"The actual differences between the host and the tulpa, or if a tulpa is truly a second mind is moot. That is to say that these are only debate topics, and hold no real weight on my relationship with my tulpa. She seems real to me, so I treat her as such; simple as that."

 

I have spent many hours trying to explain my view points and why I don't think a self-delusion is a bad thing. I'm not trying to insult anyone's friends here. Maybe I'm just a relic of a different time. Things have clearly changed since I was here last. I had all these ideas for guides, for pointers, for posts. Maybe everything has already been said about tulpas. Maybe this community has outgrown me, or maybe I've outgrown it. I'm going to make one last update to my guide. I'm done after this. I need to re-evaluate some things for a little while.

 

It would be unfortunate if you abandoned your plans to write from your perspective and experience. I don't like this pressure at all and the attempt to intimidate the minority view into silence. Your ideas are valid and perfectly fine. Your experience with your tulpa is valid and fine.

 

That is why I made this thread here -> https://community.tulpa.info/thread-the-consensus-on-tulpamancy

 

The idea was to try to help people realize that we can recognize that the larger consensus is that most tulpas are true independent sentient minds. That's great! There is nothing wrong with that. BUT it is not the only view. If roughly ten percent of tulpamancers feel their tulpas are apparent sentience (self delusion) and lets say there about 10,000 tulpas out there (probably way more than that) then at least 1000 are considered to be self delusion by their hosts! That is a lot of self delusion tulpas and tulpamancers!

 

I think this guide is fine and almost everyone seems to agree that it belongs on the forum. I see nothing wrong with it. I think that new people should be informed that not everyone agrees with tulpa sentience. It should be made clear, not hidden from them. Then they can see for themselves that self deception tulpas are a minority view. Then they will have the clear choice of which view point and approach to take.

 

I do agree with Iscariot that we cannot discount the main consensus of opinion. That view should be the one most promoted as the core practice because it is the majority view and the one most people feel comfortable with.

[Ayre]

Post has been updated.

 

"A. Contacts" has been changed, yet again. I have removed my views on what I believe tulpas to be, and tried to downplay any undertones of this. J.Iscariot, did point out a glaring flaw in this section. I had no recommendations of how to check to see if you understood your tulpa correctly. This has been added. I have also clearly stated both before and after the section about what I'll just call quasi-parroting that this is not common, or a widely practiced technique (this flows into the following section, i. Individuality).

 

Jean-luc recommended that I follow up on my piece about tulpas needing attention, and I have done this briefly in ii. Deviations.

 

Drakaina has pointed out grammatical and spelling errors that have now been fixed.

 

Thank you everyone for your ideas and contributions, this guide would not have made it as far without you. You may continue to voice your concerns and give criticisms/ideas, but they will not be added/considered nearly as often as they have been.