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Understanding Dæmians and Dæmons.


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The dæmians community appeared after the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) was created. The books are science fantasies that create the idea that the soul can manifest itself into a form of an animal called a dæmon. It appears that a person known as Okibi created the first dæmon forum (date unkown), moving on and creating yourdaemons.proboards.com in 2004 before going and creating yet another forum http://daemonpage.com/forums, which leads to an error page. Pre-dating our community by at-least 8 years, the dæmians (a person who is aware of his/her daemon’s existence and communicates with them regularly) have been creating dæmons (very much like a tulpa, but more the 'soul' or 'conscience' of their human). It is very important to know that on these forums, there are many fundamentalists, which stick to the ideas presented in the His Dark Materials trilogy. These fundamentalists believe that dæmons cannot settle (have the permanent form) of a human or anime character, and that the settled form must always reflect the persons personality, as the dæmon is really your soul/inner-self. It seems that these set in stone ideas are starting to change.

 

Now when looking at how the dæmians started making their dæmons, it seems that it all started by them looking into the work of Carl Jung. Finding many different names for dæmons such as imaginary friends and animus/anima. They consider dæmons to be a real part of their psyche that are serving as a conscience and a method of analysing themselves. The whole point of dæmons taking an animal form (which they believe represent their inner-self) is so they can learn about their own personalities and grow. They do not believe in the metaphysical much at all and rather look at it as a real aspect of their mind that psychologists recognize. Most of their understandings of the phenomena come from the work of Carl Jung, whom believed that we had a suppressed self that manifested in our unconscious, and that talking and listening to that shadow will allow us to grow. More and more members of their community are using Active imagination to get in touch with that shadow.

 

Active imagination the process of thinking that uses imagination as a tool of understanding. Active imagination is found in various religious and spiritual traditions. Between 1913 and 1916, Carl Jung used active imagination as a meditation technique to create separate entities. Using this technique, one can visualize their unconscious issues by letting them act themselves with visualization. The key process of active imagination is to not exert any influence over mental images as they appear. For example, if you were to see a scene in-front of you, the key is to observe what you can see and look for changes, but you must also interact with the images as if they were real. There are some dangers with this method, as it may carry a person too far away from reality.

 

When creating a dæmon, they start to listen out for that tiny voice inside their head that comments on their actions, such as “that wasn’t a good idea” when you do something stupid. Once they pick out that voice, they start talking back to it. Eventually that voice will start talking back. Once they have done that, they will assign a form to the voice that represents them and then start projecting it. The form will change until finally settling as something that they believe represents them.

 

So there you have it, just a few things about the dæmon community. Their goals to try use dæmons and active imagination to better themselves is commendable and perhaps we should take a page from their books and start using our tulpa as a tool to improve ourselves. If you want to have a greater understanding of them, I suggest you check out http://yourdaemons.proboards.com/ and take a look at the dæmon only area!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughtform#Modern_perspective

 

'I say 'soul making' Soul as distinguished from an Intelligence- There may be intelligences or sparks of divinity in millions- but they are not souls until they acquire identities, till each one is personality itself'

-John Keats, 1819

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Guest Albatross_

Good summary, Bio. I should have guessed they were based off His Dark Materials.

 

 

His Dark Materials was a really, really weird series, by the way.

 

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That trilogy was what drew me to tulpas actually. When I saw the threads and started to understand it wasn't just people trying to make ponies into real life but was a psychological thing--I immediately thought of having my little animal companion and always related to that book.

 

I had no idea there was a community based around it. If I had known I probably would have started on Jaden years ago, I've always loved the idea and was drawn to it.

 

It would be interesting to communicate some with anyone in the daemon community. Share our individual psychological findings and what not.

 

 

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One of my main reasons for creating a tulpa was/is for self improvement.

There is definitely more reason than that; I'm not being selfish about this. (With the reasons I'm making one, anyway)

"If this can be avoided, it should. If it can't, then it would be better if it could be. If it happened and you're thinking back to it, try and think back further. Try not to avoid it with your mind. If any of this is possible, it may be helpful. If not, it won't be."

 

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I believe that Dæmons are also minds in the same way tulpae (and probably soulbound's companions) are. We are just calling them differently because we came from different communities and places and so we have a different perspective on this. Too bad their community seems nearly dead, so we won't be able to get more people here, but even then we can potentially learn from them.

 

The whole point of dæmons taking an animal form (which they believe represent their inner-self) is so they can learn about their own personalities and grow.

Can you explain how does an animal form make them able to learn about themselves, while others don't? I think the reason why they chose the form is because of the trilogy, not because the form matters in some way.

 

Their goals to try use dæmons and active imagination to better themselves is commendable and perhaps we should take a page from their books and start using our tulpa as a tool to improve ourselves.

Some of us already do them for this reason afaik.

 

If you want to have a greater understanding of them, I suggest you check out http://yourdaemons.proboards.com/ and take a look at the dæmon only area!

I recommend this board instead, it has more users, more active users, more posts etc. so better overall. (Yes I got the forum from your first link that you wrote and it actually works for me)

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Can you explain how does an animal form make them able to learn about themselves, while others don't? I think the reason why they chose the form is because of the trilogy, not because the form matters in some way.

 

From what I can see about the animals thing is that they assign different traits to different animals... I'd imagine as they go through their own forum and learn about what traits are assigned to different animals that their daemon will naturally shift over to something it finds represents itself better, but that's just a guess. The best example I can give you is this....

General owl traits, eh? Hmm. That seems rather difficult, as owls are such a diverse group. I will try to mention a few behaviours that the bulk of owls have and suggest a few interpretations as I go.

 

To my knowledge, all strictly nocturnal owls have asymmetrical hearing. That is, one ear is slightly higher set than the other. When a noise is heard, the owl is able to tell where the sound is coming from because of the time difference in which the sound is perceived in the left and right ear.

 

Due to the placement of the eyes, owls also have greater binocular vision than diurnal raptors. However, their eyesight is only slightly better than that of humans and most owls (e.g. great horned owls) have very poor depth perception and often have difficulty seeing what is directly in front of them (i.e. are far-sighted and may never actually see their own feet, for example). Owls also only see in black and white, whereas most raptors can see some colour and some species (e.g. Bateleur eagle) can see the full infrared spectrum.

 

Here are some information sources about owls/birds and their senses: [x] [x] [x] [x]

 

In my opinion, as a result of these adaptations, some general (nocturnal) owl traits would be:

- Literally, owl-souls may be very perceptive and acutely aware of their environment. They would be very observant people, who enjoy detail.

- Nocturnal owls may feel they have a definite comfort zone and are not jack-of-all-trades. They would be very specialised people, who find it difficult to adapt to new situations.

- Although owls enjoy detail and may be very observant, they are also birds and therefore pay attention to the "bigger picture" and may find that they easily miss something a more present-minded person would have noticed. Possibly an owl would be too caught up in their own environment, to consider how another person views it.

 

Owls are famous for their silent flight - there are tiny serrations on the leading edges of the flight feathers which help break up the flow of air over the wings, thereby reducing turbulence and the sound caused by turbulence. This is an adaptation that allows the owls to silently approach their prey and take it without a struggle. Owls may prefer the direct approach and possibly dislike excess or hassle. Owls are adapted for silence and may even come across as a little underhanded due to their you-never-see-me-coming approach.

 

I would say the bulk of owls are territorial and monogamous. Although many owls, such as burrowing owls, have been seen in polygamous situations. Some owls, such as great-horned, snowy and Ural owls, are extremely aggressive and would not be very conflict-avoidant. Some owls, such as long-eared owls (asio otus), gift food to potential mates in courtship rituals. Long-eared owls may also roost in communal roost of up to 20-30 birds - they are not as territorial as the "norm." Though they are not social, however, as the birds simply tolerate each other and to not part-take in any social activities (e.g. grooming, team hunting, etc). As far as I know, no owl is truly social or strongly hierarchical (i.e. no team work, no helpers at the nest, etc). Burrowing owls are possibly the most social owl.

 

Some owls would possibly be more expressive (or slightly manipulative? Emphasized by their camouflage) than others - owls with ear tuffs often flattened them when they feel threatened or use them to appear larger/more threatening. Owls like long-eared owls, for example, express emotion through body language; they adopt a long, slender posture when alarmed and "fluff out" when relaxed.

 

Many owls use pre-existing nests rather than make their own. This is one of the reasons as to way I often see owls as the less work-orientated raptor, as many other raptors (e.g. white-tailed eagles) make their own nests. Owls may cut-corners or possible settle for second best (I mean, nests are important to the birds for reproduction, so this is not a case of 'you cut-corners in things you deem unimportant"). There are exceptions to this in owls, however. Long-eared owls do not make their own nests and, like many owls, use old nests of corvids or other larger birds. Long-eared owls, snowy owls and many other owls also nest on the ground. Many owls re-use the same nest site every year, re-enforcing the territorial point and possibly suggesting that owls value familiarity or are simply too lazy to find another site. To back up the latter, in falconry owls are often considered too "lazy" to be hunting birds. They are difficult to train and are often described as "stupid," as they seem to forget everything they are taught soon after. To me (from working around captive owls), owls do not seem incredibly curious, but rather happy with what they have to work with and are uninterested in trying new methods. Migration may counter this suggestion.

 

Many of the smaller owls have very high metabolisms for raptors. The barn owl, for example, has the highest rate of metabolism of all the owls in it's size range. A pair of barn owls may eat up to 1,000 rodents per year. In comparison, one snowy owl can consume 1,600 lemmings in a single year and they often weigh up to 3kg (female), far more than a barn owl. As a general measure, the higher the metabolism the more work the animal needs to do (i.e. to feed itself and maintain that metabolism). Owls such as burrowing owls and barn owls would again need to work harder to maintain their metabolisms. You could see this, then, as the high the metabolism, the more work-orientated the owl. In owls that do not build their own nests but have high metabolisms (e.g. burrowing owls) may be very self-absorbed when it comes to work. These owls could be more inclined to have a "me first" attitude towards life and work. They would work alone and on their own projects, rather than in a group and on something that would benefit many. These owls remind me of professors that lock themselves away to work on something "very important," but only really has relevance to themselves.

 

Owls, like most raptors, cannot let go of their prey once they have grasped it in their talons. This is one of the things I often use to suggest that birds of prey can come across as "intense," focused and passionate. Great-horned owls, also, have 200-300 pounds per sq. inch of crushing power in their talons. These are birds that find it very difficult to let go of their prey. Hunting methods vary among owls, but many use "sit-and-wait" tactics supplemented by active flight in search of prey. Owls are very patient and the larger owls would possibly be rather easy going. Great grey owls are the only owl (?) to "snow plunge" for prey - they use their size to "dive" through the snow after prey. Again, this could simply enforce the straightforwardness of owls. I mentioned that owls can be manipulative previously and I just now recall a hunting method in long-eared owls that could be considered manipulative, or simply opportunistic. Long-eared owls in Ireland have been observed taking migrant birds that have been disorientated at lighthouse/bright lights. Birdwatch Ireland mentions it briefly.

 

Oh and owls cannot turn their heads in a full 360, but can turn their heads about 270 degrees. Another interesting fact, barn owls were made into broth to cure whooping cough and their eggs were thought to improve eyesight when eaten daily for a year.

 

Variables to consider:

- Adaptability and range (e.g. barn owls and great-horned owls are among the most adaptive/widespread)

- Build own nest or use existing nest

- Diet

- Falconry (is the bird used in falconry? How do they act in captivity? [unhealthy traits])

- Habitat and habitat-specific adaptations (e.g. camouflage, water preservation, etc)

- Hunting methods ("sit-and-wait," active, quartering, etc)

- Migratory or sedentary (e.g. flammulated owls are the most migratory owls)

- Predation and competition

- Reproduction, clutch size and investment in offspring

- Sociability

- Territoriality

 

I am sorry that I do not have an awful lot of sources for this information, but most of it is coming from a resent day spent with a falconer who loved owls a little too much. I hope this is somewhat helpful? I think I may have rambled slightly, as it is late here. I think this would be easier if you had two species (e.g. tawny vs long-eared) or groups (e.g. diurnal vs nocturnal, typical vs barn) or a single trait you wanted to compare throughout the different species (e.g. nest building), then just generally saying "discuss owls." It would be difficult to write up something like The Sighthound Corner on strigiformes, as there are over 200 species of owl, in 27 genera. If you just ask everyone to discuss the owls they know about, we will have many notes on barn owls, but surely very little on the other species in comparison. Just a thought, 'course.

 

As you can see, they think that the deamons form is the visual representation of their traits and such. Also, it seems that the forum is working for me now, I was having connectivity issues yesterday, but much like the tulpa-only area on here, the deamon-only area is not visible on the forum you suggest... I think it's really neat to be able go through the daemon only area and look at what they talk about (they mostly talk about their hosts).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughtform#Modern_perspective

 

'I say 'soul making' Soul as distinguished from an Intelligence- There may be intelligences or sparks of divinity in millions- but they are not souls until they acquire identities, till each one is personality itself'

-John Keats, 1819

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I read a bit, but I still don't understand why they only limit themselves only to animals, because you could use similar symbolism logic on other beings as well.

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I read a bit, but I still don't understand why they only limit themselves only to animals, because you could use similar symbolism logic on other beings as well.

Wolfheart: well...they don't limit themselves, so much as we limit them. It's just more useful to have one animal as a metaphor for your personality.

Wolfheart: Really, they can be projected as whatever we want. But having more than one animal to "settle" as would kind of defeat the point of daemonism.

EurasierBoy: we should all just settle as stars

EurasierBoy: my form will be XTE J1810-197

EurasierBoy: yus.

Wolfheart: I'm liking this idea.

EurasierBoy: stars have plenty of varying personality. :B

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughtform#Modern_perspective

 

'I say 'soul making' Soul as distinguished from an Intelligence- There may be intelligences or sparks of divinity in millions- but they are not souls until they acquire identities, till each one is personality itself'

-John Keats, 1819

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I would have been wary of any community that bases their beliefs off of a work of fiction, but they seem to know what they're talking about. That excerpt on owls is really detailed, and pretty accurate. If they have a description like that for most other animals, I'd be impressed. I just wonder if everyone in the community is choosing only charismatic animals for themselves like wolves, snakes, or monkeys. I'd have so much more respect for guy who has a naked mole rat as a daemon.

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