[Revised] Observations From Parallel Processing Claims

[Ranger]

December 2, 2025 Edit:

 

I nuked the original content of this post because it was really bad. A lot of the things I said were anti-big system and anti-traumagenic, but one part in particular was so blatant I decided to just delete the whole thing.

 

I have a revised version on my Tumblr blog. There, I not only produce a better draft and add content, I also go into what changes I made and why.

I'm motivated to change this post not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because I have linked this post before and to several people (yikes), and people who don't know me may stumble across this anyway.

I'm sorry for what I said in the past, it was wrong.

Edited December 2, 2025 by Ranger

[Abvieon]

Quote

I'm not sure if parallel processing is equally as controversial or less controversial in the broader plural community.

It definitely is not as controversial as it is here. It's incredibly common for DID and OSDD systems to talk about living parallel lives in the mindscape (these communities typically call it an inner world) vs the front. It is treated as a normal thing in these communities, not a rarity or a special skill. Thank you for mentioning the broader plural community, as a lot can be gained from looking to them about this topic. Same goes for almost any plural topic, I've learned so much from broadening my focus beyond tulpamancy.

 

When non-tulpa systems talk about parallel processing in the inner world, they often describe it as being in a different "mode" of consciousness, one step away from being unconscious if you were to put these different "modes" on a scale from most conscious to least conscious. There is fronting (controlling the body and being the most "mentally dominant") below that is being co-conscious, which is being fully active and present and having the ability to communicate with the fronter, but not controlling the body. Below that is a state of observation, which is being present and aware of the outside world but not thinking quite as much, moreso just listening and taking in your surroundings. Below that is being in the headspace, which is being disconnected from the outside world but still not quite dormant. Below that is being dormant. Note that not every system experiences it this way, but this experience is common. Here's a good video on it: https://youtu.be/QOjCjtOXIlA

 

36 minutes ago, Ranger said:

Most of the people I heard from report their inner world being autonomous or operating on its own.

I believe this is actually an important key for achieving parallel processing in the mindscape. It is not perfect multitasking and in order for system members to split their focus in this way, they need to rely on some unconscious processes. By that I mean that the unconscious has partially taken charge over the mindscape's existence and consistency rather than it relying entirely on your own conscious awareness and intentions. Most of those who do this type of parallel processing have their mindscape "burnt into memory", so they can just jump in without much effort trying to remember and visualize everything. This way, there will be more "processing power" left over to split your focus from the fronter's focus. Fewer resources will be allocated to those in a "far back" mental position, so unconscious processes must make up for that lack of abundant resources.

 

45 minutes ago, Ranger said:

Once in the inner world, you're bound by the rules of the inner world.

This ties into my idea about parallel processing relying on unconscious functions. The mindscape will be operating mostly automatically, so it will be more difficult to control and bend to your will.

 

47 minutes ago, Ranger said:

Some systems describe going to their inner world to be a dream like state and they can't recall exactly what they did there.

This is because they are in a different "mode" of consciousness, as mentioned before. It is more automatic and dreamlike, because of largely relying on unconscious processes. It is sometimes difficult to clearly carry memories between different states of consciousness, just like when you wake up from a dream and it quickly starts to slip away, despite knowing that it was very vivid and eventful.

 

58 minutes ago, Ranger said:

Tulpas and non-traumatic headmates seem to be more prone to acting out, being dramatic, or being hostile in a parallel setting.

This is because they are in a different state of consciousness than what they would normally occupy, so they are not entirely like their normal self. They act more automatically, which can lead to more hasty and out of character behavior. Chances are that in dreams you don't always act like you would in your waking life, I know this is the case for me.

 

I think so many are lead to believe that all parallel processing is impossible or a confabulation because they assume people are claiming perfect multitasking where each headmate is thinking and operating at equal capacity, when in reality it is more like moving into a different "level" of consciousness (that works differently from normal awareness) in order to split your focus away from the fronter's focus. Trying to split focus while assuming the same "level" of consciousness would be very difficult. It's no wonder this topic is so controversial, I rarely see different modes/levels of consciousness mentioned in tulpa communities, it's assumed that there is a strict binary of being either present or dormant and that's it - when in reality it's so much more complex than that.

[neo]

1 hour ago, Abvieon said:

Below that is a state of observation, which is being present and aware of the outside world but not thinking quite as much, moreso just listening and taking in your surroundings.

That specific state of awareness can be induced by using theta frequency strobe lights.

there was a topic about this on here==> https://tulpanetwork.com/network/1/eye-bo-the-ocular-fitness-program!/

But it seems like the resource links were deleted recently. (I still have some of the files if anybody wants it)
I used the theta frequency and after like 10 minutes that state just sets in. But it doesn't last very long it's a little hard to maintain. But it is quite an unmistakable  experience. Just now reading this I went "oh shit that's what that was".
But if you have a good memory of the experience it's easier to slip back into it faster every time I use the theta frequency. It works quite well but I can only do it consistently if I use the video, I haven't really tried to do it without it since I didn't think there was any use for it. 
I don't know if you can use it to slip in deeper levels of awareness either, but it does makes imposition lighter and more "automatic" so to say.

 

1 hour ago, Abvieon said:

Below that is being in the headspace, which is being disconnected from the outside world but still not quite dormant.

I have a question about the awareness part, like, is the person aware of both states at once and time passes second by second simultaneously or do they just compensate by making up what has been happening for the time passed instantly the next time they reach that state?
Because it's one thing to be in that state of awareness, that part I know what it's like, but to be like that and also do other stuff regularly it's something I can't quite understand how to do.

Edited March 1, 2021 by neo