I want to start immersive daydreaming again

[fennecfoxx]

Hey there. This is going to be a long post, and I apologize in advance, but this is something important to me, and context is necessary.

 

I used to daydream immersively from as early an age as I can remember, though I didn't know there was a name for it at the time. As a kid, I used to imagine stories until I fell asleep every night. Sometimes, I'd watch "movies" (self-contained imaginary stories), but more often, it'd be an "episode" of some long-running story. There was never any prior planning; I'd just start with a scenario and let my imagination run wild. "I work at a Pokemon Center" was one of my go-to prompts, and one such story grew into a months-long, multi-fandom, multi-genre epic with goodness knows how many disparate plot threads.

 

As a teenager, I pushed the boundaries on daydreaming. I realized my mind could simulate characters I knew well without my conscious control. I had daydream worlds that operated in real time where I'd hang out with my favorite characters. Instead of orchestrating stories, I let my imagination take the reins and just had fun spending time with fictional characters and living vicariously with them. (Now, things didn't happen when I was "away" unless I either decided they did or pushed characters to give me news, but I usually had some world at any given time that was time-synced with reality.)

 

Then, I came across the term "paracosm" and decided I wanted one. I had a few original characters living in an imaginary version of the next village from mine, so I made up a fictional place, and we went on a journey to "discover" it. At this time, I had the paracosm (real-time), an ongoing fandom world (real-time), and probably still the occasional narrative daydreaming.

 

Next, I discovered tulpa.info. The idea of having a sentient imaginary friend would have sounded too good to be true if it didn't seem to fit my experience so well. I'd known for some time I could surrender control to my imagination, but one of my original characters, Kayleigh (she says hi), went beyond that. I could not stop her. She'd break the fourth wall. She'd hop into daydreams where she didn't belong. She knew she and her "reality" were imaginary and basically went, "Cool, the sky's the limit," no matter how much I told her to behave. I don't remember if I ever tried to forcibly stop her from "hacking the Matrix" (as we called it), but the imaginary laws of imaginary reality certainly could not constrain her.

 

So, yeah. I told the folks on the #tulpa.info IRC channel about her and asked if she was a tulpa, and someone told me she was. Cool, but if tulpas are actual sentient beings, and they can be created accidentally through daydreaming, I don't want to end up with a head full of them. So, I shut down the paracosm, designed a wonderland for Kayleigh, Alex (who had "discovered" the paracosm with us), and I, and stopped daydreaming entirely outside of tulpamancy.

 

Over the next several months, our headscape population grew. A few of the "new" tulpas were characters "rescued" from the old paracosm, which we later made the mistake of reopening and relocating to. That brought our population up to 18 (I think), including myself but excluding NPCs, which I made a point of interacting with as little as possible. I did NOT want more tulpas.

 

This ended up being incredibly unhealthy, in part due to mental illness and social dysfunction within our system, and in part because we subscribed to the belief that tulpas are fully conscious and separate minds. This made being host to so many feel like a massive burden, which I secretly resented but couldn't morally escape, and it also fueled infighting. We had no sense of "common good".

 

In 2019(?), I convinced myself it was all a lie. I walked away from my tulpas. I longed to return to the good old days of daydreaming but didn't dare. I feared that my belief in my singlethood was fragile and that, should a figment of my imagination seem too autonomous, the seed of doubt would be planted, and then everything would inevitably come crashing down and I'd be right back where I was at the height of my "delusion".

 

I took up writing, and I gradually started daydreaming again in connection to that, but it didn't come close to the daydreaming of my past. I'd imagine scenes when brainstorming stories, or sometimes "deleted scenes" just for fun, but it was more a facet of my writing hobby than a hobby in its own right. I also had two rules I refused to break: no ongoing sagas, and absolutely no self-inserting. Imagining interactions between fictional characters is one thing, but interacting with them myself felt like playing with fire, and there was no way I was risking it.

 

Things are a bit different now. Kayleigh and Alex are back, but we don't have a wonderland. We are no longer under the illusion they have lives going on "behind the scenes", so there's no real need. We rarely have any kind of imaginary excursions. I've also tried here and there to make up stories while falling asleep, but I quickly end up getting bored. I think I'm too critical of my ideas and too used to AI doing half the work for me (AI roleplaying filled the void daydreaming used to fill, but it's unfortunately great for losing sleep instead of falling asleep).

 

I want to daydream like I used to again. I want to go on adventures and do fun things with my tulpas that we can't do in the real world. I want to be excited to go to bed so I can "watch the next episode" of some cringey, self-indulgent fanfiction.

 

I'm going to talk with my tulpas about this now, and I've also begun working through the trauma of "round 1" of tulpamancy with my therapist, but if anyone has any insights or advice that they can give, I'd appreciate it greatly.

[FiveFiction]

It’s your brain. You’re always in control. At any point it becomes too much to handle, back out without a care in the world. 
 

I recommend a short meditation sesh, only like 20 mins or so, to get relaxed and focused beforehand. It really is all just yourself exploring yourself. You have to choose how much you’re comfortable being connected/attached to it, and ‘set a rule’ with yourself that that will be the limit.

 

In my personal experience, there are certain locations I simply don’t go to in my paracosm anymore. Too much drama (mainly pain and guilt) I don’t need to re-kindle there. I still use a pseudo-wonderland for little things here and there, but very reigned-in and restricted compared to how I used to. Because I have my own personal rules and limits due to my past experiences.

 

Set rules for yourself. Have fun. It’s your own brain, anyways. If shit starts “happening against your will” just mentally smack it back into shape. It’s entirely within your control and sometimes you just have to pimp slap your brain.

Edited April 20 by FiveFiction

[ReallyArtificial]

On 4/20/2026 at 1:02 AM, fennecfoxx said:

I think I'm too critical of my ideas and too used to AI doing half the work for me

 

Have you ever tried image streaming? It's basically just verbally describing your mental imagery in as much detail as possible, so you're less focused on criticizing and more focused on experiencing. Linkzelda wrote a guide on it with some exercises that we found useful.

 

I would also suggest you consider making a simple wonderland. When we're doing a task that doesn't require our full attention, we often imagine ourselves doing a corresponding activity in a wonderland location. Running on the treadmill becomes dancing on a mountaintop in the moonlight, showering becomes a bubble bath in our hot spring. Maybe little "plotless" daydreams like that would be a good way to start easing back into the habit.

 

On 4/20/2026 at 1:02 AM, fennecfoxx said:

I'd just start with a scenario and let my imagination run wild. "I work at a Pokemon Center" was one of my go-to prompts

 

We love doing this kind of thing together! We'll pick a fictional universe and have a great time imagining our backstories, how we would meet and become friends, etc. I hope you all are able to get back to enjoying daydream adventures too.

[fennecfoxx]

Wow, I really made this thread and never replied. I have been keeping an eye on it and do appreciate the responses, though <3

 

On 4/20/2026 at 10:23 AM, FiveFiction said:

It’s your brain. You’re always in control. At any point it becomes too much to handle, back out without a care in the world. 

 

On 4/20/2026 at 10:23 AM, FiveFiction said:

Set rules for yourself. Have fun. It’s your own brain, anyways. If shit starts “happening against your will” just mentally smack it back into shape. It’s entirely within your control and sometimes you just have to pimp slap your brain.

 

Isn't it sad that we have to consciously remember this?

 

But yeah, I need that reality check sometimes just like I need to remember to have fun. Thanks for the meditation advice, as well.

 

I plan on moving beyond having a pseudo-wonderland and back to having a paracosm again (not the old one, god help me if I revive it again), but it's nice to know I'm not alone in dialing way back.

 

On 4/23/2026 at 9:02 PM, ReallyArtificial said:

Have you ever tried image streaming? It's basically just verbally describing your mental imagery in as much detail as possible, so you're less focused on criticizing and more focused on experiencing. Linkzelda wrote a guide on it with some exercises that we found useful.

 

I hadn't heard of it, but I gave it a try after you suggested it. The first few attempts were kinda weird and boring, but it was pretty cool once I got the hang of it! We ventured into a forest protected by guardian spirits (they let us pass) and found a waterfall in a scene that was so vivid I could actually smell the spray in the air. I decided to make a daily habit of it, but, like most things I decide to start, I didn't follow through. Oops. Still, it's a great exercise to have in my back pocket. Thanks!

 

On 4/23/2026 at 9:02 PM, ReallyArtificial said:

I would also suggest you consider making a simple wonderland. When we're doing a task that doesn't require our full attention, we often imagine ourselves doing a corresponding activity in a wonderland location. Running on the treadmill becomes dancing on a mountaintop in the moonlight, showering becomes a bubble bath in our hot spring. Maybe little "plotless" daydreams like that would be a good way to start easing back into the habit.

 

That's a great idea, thanks!

 

On 4/23/2026 at 9:02 PM, ReallyArtificial said:

We'll pick a fictional universe and have a great time imagining our backstories, how we would meet and become friends, etc. I hope you all are able to get back to enjoying daydream adventures too.

 

We're planning to do something along these lines soon. I'm gonna post in our PR about it.