Tulpa=Religion?

[Yandere-Island]

I'm really going to be careful with my wording cause this is sensitive ground I'm treading on. Anyways, I was researching on religion, mainly occult ones, but I came across Wiccans. It states that they could do "spells" and magicks of sorts, but after reading on people stating that you have to constantly meditate and concentrate on spells for them to work, I've began thinking. What if these sort of spells of these occult practices are just self induced hallucinations? Hell, what if the majority of religions, including pagan religions was just some form of tulpa?

(disclaimer, just in case)

In no way, was I intending to rant, or to say that religion is just a tulpa-like subject. I don't even have a stand on this myself, it was just a question that arose, and for some reason I felt that I really needed to post this. I'm just wanting to see your guys' outlook on this.

[Quilten]

Reading up on the original foundation of why tulpae exist (in the sense of tulpae as an idea), I think, would definitely give some interesting parallels to what you mentioned. Especially when there is the idea of tulpae being created by Tibetan monks or other related people to actually take the form of a diety or supernatural being/figure. I'm sure there are Christians, Jews, Muslims, who have gone to the point where a relationship with God, Allah, Yahweh, Jahova, et cetera, have become inadvertently created tulpae, to which they can communicate their thoughts an prayers to and actually illicit a real response. This might also be an explanation for some claiming to have physically seen or spoken to a supernatural being.

 

Concerning Wiccan rituals and things of that nature, there are plenty of things (religious included) that are either most likely or have been proven to be self-induced hallucinations or natural but abnormal psychological phenomena being associated with a religious practice, or at least these phenomena have been "explained" by or given causation through a religion or specific religious belief, i.e., a diety. The ideas of OBE (Out of Body Experience) -like or NDE (Near Death Experience) catogorized events being the result of an afterlife, a spiritual accomplishment, et cetera, can most often be explained by psychology and neurology, many times in tandem.

[Ashmo]

Spells are a form of manifesting. If you concentrate on something enough, believe in something enough, and put enough energy into it, you can force it to transcend from one plane of reality or existence and into another. Tulpa are much like that, but they can't cross the physical divide. As real as they truly are, they stay in your mind. I'm not going to go into preaching or trying to convince anyone to believe what I do, but I'm a devote Wiccan. I make work give me my holidays off so I can practice. I worship the cycles of the moon. I even take Monday for my Sabbath because it was named for being the moon's day.

 

When I actively try to manifest something, and if the Universe has deemed me ready and/or worthy, it happens. I needed a job. I searched, I prayed, and focused on it. I found a job. I needed a new car. Same thing, Bree and I are going to make our last payment on our car on the first of July and it will be ours outright. And there are many other things that I could list. The Lord and Lady have blessed me in ways I can't even explain because the feeling itself has no words other than it will bring you to your knees, make you feel small and insignificant, and completely whole all at the same time.

 

I don't think tulpa themselves are religion. I understand where you are coming from and honestly think it has more of a Gnostic root.

 

The Gnostics (who actually thought of themselves as Christian when they were an active, practicing sect during Roman rule), believed that God was within them. There are Gnostic scripts that say Christ taught them that they could each have a close, personal relationship with God. That they could talk to God Himself and He would teach them what it was they were put on this world for. If God came to them, He would look differently than when He came to another. God would teach them each differently, because we are all different even if we are made in His image. The Gnostics even believed they could simply talk to God. If they believed hard enough, were devoted enough, God would show Himself where no others could see.

 

I think the Gnostics had tuppers. Just like that obscure Tibetan sect we are all trying to emulate now.

 

Tulpa aren't religion itself, but they are a form of it.

[Enoch327]

I think that religions have tulpas or godforms within them. I also think the church or religion itself might also be considered a tulpa, something along the lines of a memeplex. Take the Catholic Church for example. The Saints are like Tulpas. People speak of the mother church or the church as the bride of Christ. The Pope himself assumes a mantle that all the other Popes have built up. Yes the Catholic Church is overflowing with memes, thoughtforms and such.

[sushi]

Well, this is not a new idea. I remember it being discussed before the NY Times article, and even before this community.

 

I dabbled with a lot of metaphysical concepts before discovering tulpas, and the only one that ever felt "real" to me was psionics. And even that, I always believed to be a self-created hallucination. I'm a pretty solid atheist and skeptic. So yeah, I think this is true of some religions.

[Guest amber5885]

Religion, much like tulpas boil down to faith (my opinion only) if you pray to God, do a spell, practice the law of attraction of ask the universe nicely but you don't believe with all of your heart that something is listening or that your prayer will indeed work then guess what it won't.

 

You can put thousands of hours into your tulpa but without the belief it's nothing more than an imaginary friend. The second you instil belief into anything, religion, tulpas or even a person you know is the moment that what you believe in becomes real.

 

And before anyone says anything along the lines of "but when you pray/meditate/work a spell it doesn't always work even if you do belve in it." this is true it doesn't but for the person who belives, there is always an acceptable reason for this. In that sense religions and tulpas have quite a bit in common.

 

I practice voodoo.. Don't give into false notions and misunderstandings there is no animal sacrifice, devil worship or evil involved BUT we do have thought forms (loa) an we do have a wonderland (the marketplace) and you can access them at any time to ask for help with proper spell work or even meditation. The loa prefer offerings of food and booze but if you meditate and focus you can bring them to you in an emergency.

 

How's that for tulpa like. Also the marketplace is here but it's not here. Again it is a place you can access through meditation and it looks almost 100% identicle to this world except that only you and the loa live there. With their permission you can enter it with the loa of your choice to ask questions or favors.

 

So in my own religion.... Yeah it shares the same elements as tulpa creation. Pretty neat.

[sushi]

amber, I'd love to learn more about voodoo, but it's hard to find information about it, because internet searches find so many Hollywood voodoo sites and tourist traps, and novelty gifts and all. Is there anything you'd recommend?

[Yori]

Some spells could be, like spells that involve something appearing before you. Other spells that would involve your tulpa being an entire setting or overshadowing a person, not as likely. For instance, a spell that sends someone a telepathic message for a random example. The person coming up and confirming this and starting a conversation about it would be less likely to be a tulpa making you think they're saying these things.

 

Religion = Tulpa seems like a more fitting name than the other way around, too.

[Argentum]

What if we thought about it a different way? What if we considered the possibility that belief itself can change reality? If this was true then it would explain tubas, spells religion and all the rest in one fell swoop.

[Guest amber5885]

There are entire cultures based around the school of thought that your belief is what shapes the world. Well more like our collective belief as a culture.