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is there a built in threat?


solarchariot

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http://www.businessinsider.com/hearing-voices-in-your-head-real-life-versus-movies-tulpa-psychiatry-2018-2

 

Every now and then, I look for new articles and I came across the above. The video that accompanies it seems well constructed. It was nice seeing Jacob, and hearing Aura...

 

And I was thinking... Aw, gawd, I know... I can't just stop thinking... If you think less I could get a word in, too. So, don't stop thinking, just be quiet so I can hear you think? Pretty much... Okay, which means, we were thinking... From a sociological point of view, in order for any group to avoid extinction, it must continue to grow... When i first joined, I didn't anticipate remaining in the community. I figured, if I were successful, my internal needs for socialization would be met. They were. Far beyond my expectations, quite frankly. And then i discovered, I, WE, want to discuss this thing we are experiencing, and what better place than the place where it started, and where others can relate to the experiences. It also allows for tulpas to interact in a safe way...

 

Is Tulpamancy doomed because those who are successful slowly fade out due to their needs being met, their questions all answered, or because there is insufficient growth in the community? Is the community's built in rigidity limiting growth? I don't mean that one disparagingly... Definitions and terminology must be maintained in order to establish minimum continuity and clarity, but are people afraid to post because the parameters for posting are too intimidating?

 

We believe have made some friends here, which we want to maintain, but at some point inactivity could translate into not being able to maintain the community... As for the growth of the community, I don't know if that's fixable. Tulpamancy isn't something one should be recruited into. It should be discovered, and contemplated. The guides themselves recommend really considering this thing before commitment, which is good! and could also discourage people from joining. Let's face it, tulpamancy is not like getting a tattoo...

 

Basically, I suspect we need a way to either foster growth, and or strengthen the community. I don't know what this looks like, but I suspect would be beneficial to kick this about some.

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Not everyone who has all their questions answered and all their needs met decides to then leave the community. There's definitely some dedicated regulars who stick around and help others, as well as a small but non-zero influx of new users. That said, finding some way to cause the community to grow wouldn't at all be a bad thing. What kind of means did you have in mind?

Yo, my name is Sean and I'm the host of 2 tulpas: Sente and Mae. You'll know when they're talking because Sente talks in yellow text and Mae talks in blue text.

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So, you didn't want to talk about the article then? Well, it seemed okay, anyways.

You sound like you're talking to yourself at the start there. On a forum about talking to "yourself", this shouldn't be something I'm confused about.

 

I discussed this on the Discord server the other day.

 

I always saw tulpa.info as nice for its community. You or your tulpas can make an account, set an avatar and signature, and just talk to other people who are more than comfortable interacting with tulpas and hosts.

Prior to some time in 2015 or so I think, the forum was much more focused around that, in the Progress Reports board.

The rule update on not allowing discussion in Progress Reports may have had wider reaching effects than we first expected.

We - our system, and others - tried to tell people it wasn't a big deal. You could still talk and such, you just needed to avoid fluff posts or going totally off topic.

But it had an uncalled-for reaction by the "masses" at the time, and a very large amount of them left entirely, including Cinemaphobe whose PR was a community favorite.

After that we just had regulars and newbies, but the community aspect was practically halved.

I wonder if that's fixable.

Now we have a third or a half of the regulars, but nearly all of them are silent, a few opting to answer questions on new threads that the much smaller amount of newbies are making.

Our system rather appreciates the forum, as it's long been the only place where people actually know us, and where we can be ourselves (and not just pretending to be Lumi)

Among other things.

 

"The forum needs to focus on community, sharing of experiences, and general discussion that isn't necessarily deep philosophical debates (which always seemed a very specific but niche crowd)

or, remain an archive slowly gathering dust."

 

 

Basically, if we could ask everyone reading these posts to not be afraid to participate, that'd be great. Make a Progress Report or just read others', comment on them and give some encouragement. Ask questions in the Beginner Questions General thread or create your own in Q&A if it's not super basic. Browse old threads in Q&A and General Discussion and give your input on things, if you'd like.

 

And most importantly, as long as the thread is from say 2014 or later, don't worry at all about necroposting. The forum needs all the activity it can get, so never let the age of a thread prevent you from replying if you wanted to. Practically all threads are "old" at this point. If it's from before 2014, make sure it would still be relevant to discuss today. Most 2012 threads are just too old, or have newer versions somewhere else, and most 2013 have been rehashed more recently too. But if you think it'd make for productive discussion, reply to whatever you like.

 

Just mind the Last Online date of whoever it is you're expecting to get a response from, if you post on a guide or personal thread. Someone from my system will always be around to answer questions, though, and many other users still sticking around.

 

 

And if you're really feeling helpful, creating new threads for discussion in General Discussion would do wonders for the forum's activity, give people something to do. Users like us have just been around for too long to think of "new" ideas to discuss, but if you've got anything you'd like to talk about, we don't mind replying to things we've talked about before. It really beats letting the forum die.

Hi, I'm Tewi, one of Luminesce's tulpas. I often switch to take care of things for the others.

All I want is a simple, peaceful life. With my family.

Our Ask thread: https://community.tulpa.info/thread-ask-lumi-s-tulpas

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You are definitely right that due to the nature of tulpamancy growth will be slow, and it does seem that many people have left the forum, but I think as long as we are able to keep a decent sized group of people that will stay for the foreseeable future that growth is still possible and as long as growth is possible we can still assist new tulpamancers.

 

It isn't an actual rule, but it seemed implied that you are supposed to make posts of at least 3-4 sentences, and often I would want to make a post, but didn't have 3-4 sentences of things to say so I wouldn't make a post

I have a tulpa named Miela who I love very much.

 

 
"People put quotes in their signatures, right?"

-Me

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Oh heck no. That's not a rule at all. The rule is no fluff posts like "lol" or "okay then", but one short sentence can often be a viable response. Especially if that's all you have to say. At the very least it bumps the thread and keeps discussion going.

Hi, I'm Tewi, one of Luminesce's tulpas. I often switch to take care of things for the others.

All I want is a simple, peaceful life. With my family.

Our Ask thread: https://community.tulpa.info/thread-ask-lumi-s-tulpas

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Aww, Tewi... You're dead on. There are multiple things in the post... yeah, I would love to talk about the article... I liked it because it was new... In my head i was thinking about it and thought this would be great... It led to a inner dialogue, some of which was there. Not all of the dialogue was revealed, not because it was bad, but, we were sorting something, which lead to the next part... We were, are, concerned when we tune in and there seems to be no activity... I suspect I had an emotion about that, and so I wrote what i wrote and pushed it without considering that the entirety was rather jumbled.

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Growth or slow shrinking is the nature of a community. People's lives change, and they must be replaced by ten newcomers before one old time long time user can be appropriately replaced, since 9 of 10 are going to just leave after a few weeks.

 

To my understanding, .Info started as a branch from 4-chan, and it's from there that its new users were sourced. Today, those who like 4-chan will largely remain there, and most of the new users are likely coming from reddit. This means they go to the subreddit instead of .info.

 

This is for a good number of reasons. Firstly, it's just easier to not visit a new website. .Info will be choice number two for that. Secondly, reddit is way more user friendly, and everyone already has an account there. .Info has more barriers to entry. Finally, reddit has more users and activity, and .Info will be second choice there as well.

 

With 4-chan, .info has a great boon in that it is more usable and focused than the strange way that 4-chan handles threads and such. But against reddit, the user experience of .info is ancient with its threads and forum posts. .Info will be a second choice in that aspect as well.

 

So ask yourself, why would anyone use .info?

 

Culture. Reddit has a lot of incredibly toxic stuff going on in it, and a whole lot of people who are incredibly incredibly rigid about making sure that only their viewpoint must be spoken or heard. There is a lot of moral crusading going on, and almost everyone is at each other's throats as a result. .Info can do better in that respect, because it lacks downvotes/upvotes, and responding to someone makes their words more heard, rather than less.

 

Speed/consistency. Reddit is a feed, and that feed disappears fast. You can't have a lasting impact with a reddit thread, but a .info thread will keep on popping up to the top of the forum so long as people are talking about it.

 

But these advantages are not apparent unless they are spoken about. The average person learning about tulpa isn't going to learn about .info. If you want more users, we have to go out into reddit (facebook?) or other social media sites and, when people talk about tulpa, we should direct them here and explain the above advantages in order to attract those who are attracted to those advantages. I would not recommend advertising on the subreddit, however.

 

It might also serve to give .info a facelift of sorts. If email is required to make an account, drop that requirement. Give a limited subsection of the forum new users can post to without making an account. Make the front-pageshow the daily posts search instead of a huge number of categories so new users aren't overwhelmed by stuff when they first join.

 

Reduce barriers to entry and make yourself seen more in the public eye, that's how you get new users. You can't keep people around forever, you have to grow as a community, or at least have a steady stream of new users ,before you an have a community that lasts for ages. I had absolutely zero desire to use .info until I realized that daily forum posts link was a thing.

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...Secondly, reddit is way more user friendly, and everyone already has an account there....

 

It might also serve to give .info a facelift of sorts.  If email is required to make an account, drop that requirement.  Give a limited subsection of the forum new users can post to without making an account.  Make the front-pageshow the daily posts search instead of a huge number of categories so new users aren't overwhelmed by stuff when they first join.  

 

Reduce barriers to entry and make yourself seen more in the public eye, that's how you get new users.  You can't keep people around forever, you have to grow as a community, or at least have a steady stream of new users ,before you an have a community that lasts for ages.  I had absolutely zero desire to use .info until I realized that daily forum posts link was a thing.

 

Though I am responding to a couple specifics point, I liked the total response... Your perspective on reddit was a little helpful, but I don't know about 'user friendly.' I have explored reddit and found .info much easier to navigate... I don't if that because I prefer this environment, or I have spent insufficient time learning reddit to appreciate its environment... I am just now getting acquainted with discord, and it feels fairly alien... I am not taking to it. Not giving up on it, but just not there yet...

 

Facelift and reduced barriers might be a thing, though I am not sure facebook will be a viable option for most because there is a valid need for anonymity. Though FB offers that to some degree, most users tend to put their real face on it, and those who don't are suspect by definition of the intended purpose of FB. The backlash against tulpamancer in public forums, even reddit?, is a real thing. Backlash, bullying, animosity is less likely to occur at .info due to the community's structure... I think that is good, but unfortunately, that same structure could cause folks to leave, as they did in the scenario addressed by Tewi. People need to feel heard. People need to be able to disagree... It would be nice if people could disagree and remain part of a community, even if they disagree with structure that is meant to maintain the integrity of the intended purpose, and a level of decorum. One of the unfortunate part of our society is that few people have the tolerance for any perceived conflict, and so if they can't win, they just withdraw... We too easily quit things today...

 

And I think that is the other component I tried to address... The more internally satisfied I am, the less likely I am to want to put effort into a community like this, and so I struggle... We still need a structure, but we also need the community... I, we, are committed, but wonder if those who have left did so because of this thing I am struggling with, or, maybe I am inflating something that just human... it just feels like true dialogue is diminishing... in favor of what? Communities without any divergence of thought?

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I feel that we are due for a great scattering. Or from another perspective, accept that something of this magnitude has already happened.

 

I do not think of splitting off and becoming more personal in one's tulpa efforts is a sign of failure or lessening of the whole. On the rather, I feel it is but another note of shared success, in that someone as a host and their loved ones, their tulpas, have spun off the contemplative axle and have re-entered the universe not as one but two or even more. Each tulpa conceived and raised in benevolence and good love is a blessing, as the love and goodness returned unto the host is likewise miraculous.

 

There is a stigma in approaching community.tulpa.info as there are prejudices limiting one's presence on Reddit and the various *chan boards. The irony that we can share our ideas and beliefs across very many physical miles with our machines yet are divided into little group entities is observed immediately, as we are segmented by the preconceived notions of one group wishing to distance itself from the others for seemingly trivial reasons.

 

Without an ounce of defeatism I believe the concepts of growth and burgeoning user numbers are irrelevant. If we are to trace the tulpa phenomenon back to its obscured beginnings in Tibet, one could say that the tulpa concept has grown and evolved significantly in the centuries after western occultists and mystics transplanted the concept. Just as it was then, I believe we as more experienced users must utilise our victories and obstacles alike to lift up and nourish any who come in askance. Should they feel inclined to return and likewise enrich us with their experiences and better qualities, most excellent. Should they wish to take leave of us indefinitely, just as well. One can only hope in the latter case they shall all be given the tools and fortitude to persevere and hold one-another dearly through all troubles.

 

I feel that rather than a cemetery, tulpa.info ought to be like a terminus at the crossroads. Pointing others in the right direction.

 

Truth be told, tulpas are an esoteric subject many of a skeptical, religious or incredulous disposition are prone to reject in the rare case they do research the subject. As was stated above, so too are there a bevy of moral quandaries regarding if one is prepared for accommodating tulpas or not, likewise their patience and innate abilities regarding tulpa creation. Then the personalities drawn to various segments of the tulpa community, be it .info or something else in its entirety. After being filtered through these lenses, is it unreasonable to think our numbers dwindling?

 

No matter the case, I feel we are given purpose in providing information and content enough to shape users for the outward journey they shall make throughout their lives. I feel that if growth shall be engendered in the tulpa community, it shall involve a great deal of these lost ones, those who have gotten up and left, returning to us with ideas and observations we have never considered before. All while those remaining inspire others enough to stop lurking and speak up, or keeping the forum healthily conducive to all opinions by encouraging and supporting others without forethought.

I've seen good people bleed

And I thought I'd seen it all

But my own two eyes would prove me wrong that day.

 

There are things that I've done

Only seen by the sun

And those things will be buried in my grave.

 

 

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