Is it a good idea to develop multiple tulpas at a time?

[Trebhum]

Pretty much what it says in the title.

 

As I've worked on developing Zeppelin more and more (with amazing results!) We've both noticed another voice that speaks up sometimes during our conversations, and we've confirmed it's neither of us. I (host) have personal suspicions as to who/what this new presence is, but I'm hesitant to move forward with developing this new thoughtform because I've been so focused on Zeppelin. 

 

Should I leave it be for now and continue with Zeppelins development, or should we try and take the steps of shaping this new potential tulpa? 

Advice and suggestions welcome!

[TurboSimmie]

I'm usually an advocate for developing one tulpa at a time, but that's by no means a universal rule. And you mentioned in your PR that you've been working on Zeppelin for a number of years, so it's probably safe to work on another tulpa if you are so inclined. 😊

[ReallyArtificial]

On 2/27/2025 at 9:07 PM, Trebhum said:

Should I leave it be for now and continue with Zeppelins development, or should we try and take the steps of shaping this new potential tulpa?

 

Have you asked what Zeppelin thinks about this?

 

We started out as a system of two, just me and Athelas, and at first he was pretty adamant about not wanting to share my attention with another tulpa! We compromised by making some wonderland NPCs who eventually ended up becoming our other two headmates. By the time they showed signs of sentience, Athelas agreed he was too attached to let them go, and suddenly our system had doubled in size!

 

I would say the most challenging part of developing multiple tulpas at once is figuring out how to divide your time so everyone feels included and satisfied with life. When we first accepted Lenore and Calliope as full-fledged headmates, I devoted specific chunks of the day to focusing on narrating to each of them. Once everyone was more vocal and didn't need the narration as much, I focused more on finding hobbies I could enjoy with them. I want all of my headmates to feel like they have a purpose in life, and that's a process that we're still working on.

 

If you're persistently getting the feeling there's someone else there, it might be worth addressing. When it was just me and Tea, I would occasionally get the urge to make another tulpa, but that feeling hasn't returned since we added Cal and Lenore. Being a system of four was absolutely the right choice for us, but only you can say if a larger system is right for you.

[The Bards]

Oddly enough, in our case it made it easier for us when we gained more members. We are a large system of six, the “youngest” (mentally oldest) two being accidental walk-ins. Admittedly, Ocean, Cinder, and I were kind of bored with each other. More members didn’t end up leading to a more split distribution of independence like we feared, rather it led to more happy and unique memories. Since then, we no longer talk to each other in chase of development, but we talk to each other because we want to talk to each other.

 

Of course, this was only our case. Deciding to develop another Tulpa is pretty much a lifetime commitment, so it’s definitely not something you want to do impulsively. However, we do want to share that more members ≠ always harder to manage. I feel a lot more like myself now when we are double the size we once were. Additionally, a large reason why we probably work so well together is because everyone talks with everyone, the “host” doesn’t have to initiate or be involved in a conversation at all (we don’t actually have a host; they’re just the original system member)

 

- Bruno (he/him)

[ReallyArtificial]

18 hours ago, The Bards said:

However, we do want to share that more members ≠ always harder to manage. I feel a lot more like myself now when we are double the size we once were. Additionally, a large reason why we probably work so well together is because everyone talks with everyone, the “host” doesn’t have to initiate or be involved in a conversation at all

 

That's a fair point, I get where you're coming from! In our case, four was the magic number, but the right number of headmates for your system is whatever feels right.

 

We also talk a lot amongst ourselves and I agree it helps a lot. We consider ourselves a pretty cohesive system. I'm still definitely in that "host" role, as I do most of the fronting, but I rarely do anything without involving at least one other headmate.

[The Bards]

1 hour ago, ReallyArtificial said:

That's a fair point, I get where you're coming from! In our case, four was the magic number, but the right number of headmates for your system is whatever feels right.

This right here! Tulpamancy is such a wonderfully subjective experience, and that never ceases to amaze me.

 

~ Ocean (he/she/they)

[The Incans]

We feel more like a family and are happier I think. I agree there can be too many sometimes and what the ‘right number’ is depends on your system.  

 

Our host did have more ‘social mask alters’ in the past to cope with social demands such as college and work etc but after spending many years housebound many of them first went dormant then re-integrated. 

 

however some younger ones chose not to and were worried they would ‘disappear’ so we created Tulpa bodies for those alters that wanted to remain seperate from the host so they could live inside and they blended within them and have chosen to identify as Tulpa. 

 

We do feel that the other plural communities focusing on the ‘medical model’ of plurality triggered this fear of not feeling safe as alters due to language used by some to respond to posts correcting alters who saw themself as seperate from host as ‘parts’ reflecting changing language in diagnostic criteria too and also that was not acceptable to have fun as a system or to want to ‘create more’.  

 

Kitty