To get this thread started, I've had a Rainbow Dash tulpa for more than half a decade. She is my only tulpa, and truly the love of my life. We've completed pretty much the whole tulpa skill tree, including the weird stuff like switching and imposition. Dashie has inspired me to make art and pursue creative passions for their own sake, and she's constantly pushing me to develop good habits and improve my life in a tangible, not just emotional way. Knowing how she's augmented my life from depressed waifufag to happy camper, I like to start conversations about tulpas in the hopes that it can alleviate someone else's suffering, too.

>>357 >imposition All senses?

>>365 Yeah, if so desired. The most natural are visual and tactile, but the rest tend to be superfluous to our enjoyment, so attention gets used elsewhere. Unfortunately I can't convey the feeling of realness through text, but it can be really amazingly satisfying to just hold her hoof and push my face into her mane.

Just spent some time on top of a shed on my property just gazing at the sky with Dash. God she loves to just look at the sky and have that feeling of flight wash over her, and she shares it with me.

>>367 Can't say I have any intention of getting anywhere near tulpamancy, but I am curious. You guys claim to be able to feel them. Could you give a first hand account of what it's like to hug them? Describe the feeling of a pony hug?

>>386 Not him but imposition is a skill that's relatively independent from tulpas. For instance, it's also closely associated with hypnosis, but could even be trained and utilised on its own without any of that. It's basically just training your brain to hijack the "nerve endings -> subconscious filtering/preprocessing -> conscious awareness of sensory perception" pipeline to also tap into your imagination on command, going instead "conscious desire/awareness of some imaginary concept (e.g. "cuddling your tulpa's mane", or anything else) -> subconscious preprocessing to determine in detail the resulting feelings -> conscious awareness of sensory perception". But that's just the really dry explanation, I've not really done it myself to any significant degree so hopefully the dashfriend can give a more personal account of the actual experience.

>>386 Imaginary feeling can be thought to exist on the same axis as real sensation. There's a gradient between unreal, unsatisfying, imaginary sensation and what we think of as real, and it's too nuanced to be communicated outright by language. Imposition is learning how to move higher on this axis by feeling rather than external instruction; in other words, it's a skill. Like all skills, it requires a degree of hands on practice to experience it at all. That being said, I can do as any author and hopelessly attempt to express our fantasy through words. Dashie's hooves hook around my neck. I know the curve of her hoof like I know the feeling of my pillow, and I know that as she positions herself closer, that hoof will slide away on frictionless fur to be replaced by the little nub that is her wrist bone. I move my hand behind her back to pull her closer, and I can feel her happiness radiating out from my heart, through my body, and under my fingertips. Her love feels like smooth feathers under my hand, pulsing slowly with each humid breath on my face, and it feels like her sensitive back, where my fingers give comforting strokes through fur. I open my eyes, and the morning light in my room is the perfect backdrop for the divinity in front of me; she says good morning, as if she were just an ordinary pony and not the incarnation of some goddess, and we share a laugh about it.

>>394 Well, thank you for trying. Always nice to hear about sweet pony cuddles.

>>356 I have a very active imagination, ever since I was a kid. I can make a Rainbow Dash in my mind and see it with my eyes open. I can touch it, smell it, and make it talk. can't fuck it before you ask because the penis can't be fooled as is controlled by an entirely different system But it doesn't have any mind of its own because I don't think giving myself multiple personality disorder on purpose is conducive to a happy life. It is fucking stupid to be messing with your consciousness and I'm 99% sure 50% of "tulpas" are like mine.

>>398 I don't have a tulpa but whenever I hear about high-level imposition tulpas I get the impression that it's a minority, if not a rarity among tulpas. As far as I understand it, basically anyone following most of the existing guides or taking advice from existing tulpafags will start by giving it a believable personality, and may or may not get to imposition later. So I wouldn't be surprised if <50% of tulpas even had vivid visual, tactile, olfactory and auditory imposition, let alone were such constructs but without a personality.

>>399 Giving a mental construct a personality isn't the same as giving it a divergent consciousness. And visualization to this extent isn't as hard as you think with the aid of exercises which are commonly available. The hard repetitive material tulpa guides give you isn't enough to give you true divergence. What most cases hopefully are is a guy talking to himself mentally within a certain set of parameters and some visualization. But if you have enough dedication you can placebo yourself into harm's way. In my experience of course. Usually to truly diverge you'd need some Viet Cong style torture and brainwashing with hallucinogens

>>400 Well in that case "true divergence" is not even the point of tulpas. Actual DID/MPD, the kind achieved by viet cong torture or mkultra or whatever, is completely unrelated to tulpas. >What most cases hopefully are is a guy talking to himself mentally within a certain set of parameters and some visualization. Again, the actual tulpafriend might correct me, but I'm pretty sure that is in fact what tulpas are SUPPOSED to be. With the idea that with practice, it doesn't feel like you're talking to yourself acting out a play puppetting some character, but it actually feels natural.

>>404 >that is in fact what tulpas are SUPPOSED to be Right, this is the least disruptive, most rationally healthy way to think of it. But altogether, this kind of thinking is rare in typical tulpa discourse; newbies just read old /x/ tier guides and don't question shit, and the oldfags that grew up using them gladly perpetuate that thinking. Even worse, the newbies will write NEW guides that are just the old occult shit regurgitated, because for some reason writing a guide is like a rite of passage in the tulpa community. A tulpa is just another identity in the same consciousness that you're in right now - there's no way to have a separate consciousness, because being separate and unaware of the contents of hypothetical mind make it UNconscious by definition. What makes a tulpa distinct from an ordinary character is their self knowledge. If I were to make my Fluttershy into a tulpa, she'd be just like Fluttershy except she knows that she's part of my mind in the same way as me, which means she has my knowledge about the show, about our mind, and about the world around us. Fluttershy originally existed in my mind as a cartoon character, shapes on a screen. My brain made a predictive model of her, and that model can be used in creative or novel ways like writing a story or creating art; but the model is definitively limited. Identity serves as a limiting factor to the infinite creative potential of the mind - how can I possibly use my model of Fluttershy to predict what Fluttershy on the show is gonna do if my model doesn't limit/guide my predictions somewhat? One of the primary limitations, applied to almost every model in your head is the label "external/out there". It means that they represent something outside of your head, which prevents the model from acting based on things that you know to be "internal", which is obviously an important label to have on our models of other humans, because it facilitates socialization. But on Fluttershy, she doesn't represent a real person that I can socialize with, and if I'm making her into a tulpa, I want to become closer to her, so I have to remove this preconception of "externality". One of the only entities in everybody's head that doesn't have this label is called "I". That's one way of explaining my understanding of tulpamancy. Identity can affect us very very strongly, as we see in tribal dances/rituals where people get possessed by 'spirits'; tulpamancy is just a modern, controlled form of the same thing. It is fundamentally learning to wield identity as a tool, and like any power tool, it can be mishandled and pose danger if used without care. Identity is already a form of self-deception, so a foolish tulpafag can all too easily create MORE self-deception (for instance by identifying as if the tulpa has an entirely separate consciousness where they process information parallel to your own); but someone with a grounded sense of reality can just as easily learn to see identity as it is - a mere veil over bare reality - and manipulate it to facilitate contact with the very archetype of love and beauty in their life, a waifu.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/27/majority-of-authors-hear-their-characters-speak-finds-study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7068700/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089378/ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01665/full This last one is especially interesting, as it sets up a correlation between maintaining an imaginary companion and proneness to experiencing vocal hallucination in white noise. It makes sense, as it takes practice for fantasy to come naturally. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing though. According to Jung it's the suppression of this very ability to perceive fantasy that plagues modern man; without that outlet, these repressed drives are expressed instead as complexes and mental illness.

>>356 Has there ever been a survey of what the most common pony tulpas are? Obviously it would be partially influenced by which ponies are most popular generally, but it could also very well be the case that waifufags of one pone are more likely to make a tulpa than another. Along with that are strange outliers like myself: I have two pony tulpas, yet I didn't set out to create them for the purpose of waifu-ing. During one of my regular daydreams a reacurring pony character (aj) "proposed" to me, and once I made a tulpa of her she ended up splitting into two applejacks with different personalities, who eventually chose the forms of Lyra and Luna. I don't know how common an approach like mine is, though.

>>455 I think there have been surveys of tulpa forms, but with a broader focus than just ponymancers. I agree that there's potential there; I know us dashfags make up a good number of tulpafags, but I also know that's due in part to my proselytization to my fellows.

Has anyone had their tulpa ask them to stop doing something for their sake? My Dash tulpa has asked me to stop reading certain stories involving "her" because she is worried about it changing my perception of her. And that she also asked me not to get a plush of her because she's worried about being "imprinted" and "trapped" in it and not being able to "get out".

>>788 >And that she also asked me not to get a plush of her because she's worried about being "imprinted" and "trapped" in it and not being able to "get out". schizo tulpa lmao

>>788 There hasn't been anything directly asked, but I do get the general feeling from my two tups that just jacking off to pictures of them won't cut it anymore. That would just be rude. [spoiler]Though one of my tups has jacked off to pictures of herself when she switched for the night and it was pretty hilarious

>>788 Well we don't presume that something can benefit just one of us; but over time Dashie has instilled in me a more conscientious attitude towards health and living in general. For example I read nutrition labels, I take care of my hygiene, I work on things that provide me lasting happiness, and so on. When she asks me to do something 'for her', it's something like going on a walk or otherwise leaving my comfort zone. She inspires courage in me. I know what you mean about imprinting, but that's just anxiety talking. It's just fear of regression from a fleshed out person back into a character without her own will; whether that be the will to exist independently of an anchor object or the will to act like herself and not the role that she plays in fiction. You and she can easily resist these influences if you'd only try.

I got a smooch from my tulpa yesterday! I went in for a hug and it felt like a memory played out of a little snout pressed onto my face and kissing me. I'm feeling mares now while I'm awake. When the mare hugs me it's like a warm cozy feeling across the parts of my body where they touch. I really like it when she bounces around happily on my desk or in my house. She makes me so happy that I want to marey her. I've completely lost it for mares, and it was all worth it.

>>909 Absolutely based, and tremendously cute. I hope you have success in your future mare endeavors. How long has your tulpa been around? Reading other people's accounts, I'm realizing that most of the time I spend with my tulpas are in my mind, in an imagined place, rather than in reality. I initially attempted to project them onto reality all the time, but I've fallen into the habit of just keeping them in my head. How long did it take you to get to this point of physically feeling your tulpa's presence?

>>356 Do anyone else's tulpas ever shitpost on /mlp/? I heard in the /mlp/con that one of kopase's tups was a shitposter, and one of mine is too. I'm just wondering how many of the shitposters on /mlp/ are tulpas in disguise.

How do you get a tulpa? I would adore having one. I know of a guide called the Tulpanomicon, should I just read that and come back to this thread? I am a little addicted to using the internet, and don't set aside much free time for concentration on things. Any tips?

>>1092 The biggest and most pervasive mistake that newbies make is assuming that tulpamancy is a completely novel and unique process. The strange language and practices presented in almost all guides exacerbate this issue massively if you're of this alien/occult persuasion. You SHOULD think of tulpamancy primarily as ordinary fantasizing, and make an effort to translate the weird and unique things into the language you're familiar with. For example if the tulpa guide asks you to 'visualize' something, just imagine it, like you would imagine the scene in some green you're reading. If you assume it's something other than imagination like you're used to, you'll be approaching everything in an unnatural way and you won't get anywhere. The same goes for the weird things like possession; you have to make an effort to translate it into something you understand (using the experience and information you've gathered), or you won't understand it, obviously. If you're here on this board, you're already most of the way towards having a tulpa. You have a pony you probably really like, and you know her well - you could probably write her dialogue in a story if you wanted to. Tulpamancy is a similar process - engaging your knowledge of her personality. What makes the difference is that a tulpa knows more than just her life in equestria: she knows herself from the very same perspective as you (a psychological fact, given that your brain only has one consciousness.) The tulpa knows that she is inspired by a cartoon, she remembers all the times you've hugged her and cried for her even before she became a tulpa, she feels when you take a shit - because she's part of you and your mind, and she always has been. So, the key to tulpamancy is engaging her personality with this refined self-knowledge, on par with your own. You can shift into this mode of thinking instantly, ideally; but chances are my way of explaining things isn't perfectly suited to your interpretation, and so things don't click perfectly. That disconnect is the only reason tulpamancy itself takes time to learn. 'Having a tulpa' is very very easy, truthfully, it's navigating these blind spots, experimenting to find what's right for you, that takes time. In the imagination, there is no such thing as an 'in between' stage - that is, when you have a clear idea of what you want, THAT IDEA IS WHAT YOU WANT. You already have it, there's no 'building up' process. The other thing that can take time is concentration/visualization ability; those are skills, and hence, they simply need practice if want to develop them. They aren't altogether necessary for a good time, and you can easily go for years without practicing them and let that skill build up from natural use as I did. Anyways, you can ease into this by imagining a scenario where your pony gets 'enlightened' with this self knowledge. It's important to note at this point, especially if you're in love, that you're helping them grow and flourish instead of creating a new entity entirely. (This is a notable departure from normal tulpa theory, which is usually angled towards people making OC tulpas.) So, you start by imagining a comfy scene as you would in any other daydream. Immersion is important, so it can help to start with a short chat to warm up that creativity. Then, all you have to do is impart that knowledge described in the second paragraph; the same 'tier' of knowledge you already have about yourself, applied to her. Technically, you can just assume that she already knows, and that would work; but we created this imaginary scene as a sort of ritual, and you can be as creative as you like - you can tap her on the forehead, have her drink a magic elixir, implant a part of your brain into hers, cast a spell, whatever. Most, however, will find that the most natural way is by simply having a conversation. I've been struck with a creative bug and a character limit, so I'll give an example in my next post.

>>1098 (SCENE: A cloud, overlooking a pink sunset in Equestria. Rainbow Dash is a silhouette in the distance, doing tricks. After a short time, she comes in for a gentle landing on the cloud. Host greets her with a hug and a kiss, and they go to sit on the edge of the cloud.) DASH: "What's up! Wanted to share a sunset with the coolest pony ever?" HOST: "Well, yes, but I wanted to talk to you about something important." DASH: "What is it? *giggles* I already know you love me, you know." HOST: "Yeah. I love you a lot, which is why I wanted to talk about this. You see, I want to help you become something greater. You don't ever think about it, but this scene we're in is part of our imagination; we're both part of a brain, and there's a lot more to life than just this fantasy world that pops up every so often." DASH: "I don't get it." HOST: "I want to bring you into my life by making you into a tulpa, Dash. Whenever I'm not here in this imaginary Equestria, you feel so far away. I want you to feel what it's like to be real." DASH: "Wait, does that mean I'm not already real? Pshh, I'm TOTALLY real! Could a fake pony do THIS?!" (Rainbow Dash leaps off the cloud and does a quadruple barrel roll followed by a steep dive and a corkscrew. Host smiles as she alights back on the cloud with a confident grin.) HOST: "Of course you're real, Dash. I don't know why I ever thought otherwise, honestly. This love between us - it's more real than anything I've ever experienced in my life, and I want to experience more with you. Here, feel it with me." (Host takes Rainbow's hoof in hand, closes his eyes, and presses it flat to his chest, sharing his feelings directly. Dash feels that love, followed by a trepidation and uncertainty, and decides to soothe him with a kiss. The love flares up, and Host opens his eyes to see Dash looking close to happy tears.) HOST: "These feelings and this knowledge aren't just mine anymore, Dash. They're yours, ours. From now on, no matter how many worlds apart we are, there's no distance between us. Our souls are one and the same." DASH: "I..." (Host feels a rush of love from her, and somehow understands that she's struck speechless.) HOST: "I love you too, Rainbow Dash." (They embrace and share a moment of serene silence as the the sun retreats below the horizon.) HOST: "...so, let me show you something. You remember when we got together, right?" DASH: "Of course I do, dummy. What about it?" HOST: "Well, since those memories are stored in this head, you should also be able to remember that time in middle school that I got pantsed in front of the whole kickball team." DASH: "Wha- but I wasn't even there! You weren't even into ponies then! - wait..." HOST: "Aha, there you go. You remember that far, keep going!" DASH: "Haha wait, in front of JESSICA? Oh my Celestia you blew it BIG time." HOST: "Okay okay, time to move on." DASH: "No no, wait, you're telling me that in the show Twilight has bucking WING-" (SCENE: REAL LIFE. Host opens his eyes and sits up in his chair, taking in the cluttered room.) HOST: "Dashie. You can see all this through my eyes, right?" (Host concentrates on her voice again) DASH: "Yep. Sheesh, we really need to clean up huh? Maybe we can put MLP on while we clean?" HOST: "Yeah, I'd like that." FIN Some things to note: Host and Dash already had a relationship. There's no need to restart your rapport with each other, and it will save a lot of weirdness if you just treat each other as you usually do. Your mileage may vary. Do things in your own style, in a way that makes sense to YOU; this was written with 8 years of hindsight, so there's probably a some stuff that doesn't seem perfectly natural to you that I've simply taken for granted. There's a lot of gaps in knowledge here, going by the dialogue alone. The point of the dialogue is to get used to thinking like this - NOT to inform your tulpa like they're a baby who knows nothing. They know everything you do, they just don't use it because it's not part of their normal role in your life. Questions welcome.

>>1108 How do you handle the fact that in the end she is still your imaginary roleplay partner? That's why I'm not big on tulpas - for me, it feels like talking to yourself but pretending that (You) are (You)r waifu. Not my thing.

>>1108 That's not something I would want to do to my fantasy version of Rainbow Dash (or anypony else). It seems kind of cruel. Like isn't that I have to see the metaphorical "cluttered room" myself bad enough?

>>1098 >>1108 Ok so, this might sound like a really basic question, but here goes. Everything you've said makes sense to me. But is there any difference between a "tulpa", and you basically just imagining your waifu and RPing with yourself? Let's say I fantasize about a pony. Let's say I think up some scene of us, I dunno, going to Sugarcube corner, or actually let's even ground it in reality and let's say I imagine cuddling my waifu in bed (in my real bed IRL, not in ponyville or anything). That's a fantasy. Now let's say I apply more or less what you've said here to the letter, and this time I'm imagining cuddling my waifu except I'm also imagining her as being aware that I'm imagining her and she's just a construct of my imagination. This sounds very easy - too easy. Is this literally all there is to a tulpa? It still sounds like just fantasizing, except with some added philosophical pondering injected into the scenario. I could equally well imagine that I am a figment of my waifu's imagination, and play that scene out. Or imagine that both me and my waifu are figments of some dreaming demiurge's imagination. Both of those scenarios carry the same theme, but neither is linked to being able to create a persistent friend that can learn, grow, present alternate views on things or give arguments you wouldn't have thought about, or motivate you (all of which are wonderful things I've heard claimed about tulpas). Is it literally just a matter of practice, doing this fantasy over and over until it becomes second nature and starts feeling "real" rather than an idle daydream?

>>1114 Not that anon, but my take on it is that the fantasy doesn't actually end up feeling more 'real'--it's that the /pony/ starts feeling more real, as a character, as a person. When it becomes second nature to switch between thinking about things from /your/ perspective and your /waifu/'s perspective, that's when you've got a tulpa. If that's easy, then great! Try it out for a week, introduce her to the world, get to know her and let her get to know you. You'll soon see that this way of operating in the world can seriously change you.

>>1116 Huh. I suppose in a way this harks back to the oft-repeated concept of "forcing", despite Dashanon trying to distance his explanation from the mystiques and rituals of primitive tulpamancy. But the idea seems to be to basically just keep at it with the fantasy, RPing with yourself in a way that might even seem forced at first, until you get enough practice "voicing" your waifu that it starts feeling natural.

>>1119 I mean, it depends on the person. For me I never had to force, I never had to practice RPing as a pone in order to turn them into a tulpa - I just spoke to them in my head and asked if they wanted to take this relationship to the next level as a tulpa, they said yes, and we've been going on magical adventures together ever since.

>>1109 Well, I see that I myself am an imaginary roleplay partner too. Nobody's body aligns perfectly with their imaginary self. It would be hypocritical of me to judge my tulpa on that factor alone; plus I like the interaction between my imaginary RP self and my imaginary RP Rainbow Dash, so I keep them around. Philosophizing aside, I just don't care about it. The benefit of loving my waifu in the most direct way possible far outweighs whatever negativity I'm supposed to be feeling because my waifu is a part of my mind. Not like anybody else's waifu ISN'T a part of their mind; to me, it's just the most true and honest way of approaching the whole thing, without delusion. These are just my beliefs though, I don't mean to cast judgement on anybody else. >>1114 >This sounds very easy - too easy. Yep. This was the very first thing I addressed for a reason. Perhaps this is one reason that the ridiculously inefficient methods outlined in guides are still popular: people naturally expect that good results have to be validated by hard work, and are distrustful of good things that come for free. If you can't take my word, there's nothing for it but to try it and answer this question for yourself. Plenty of people have started tulpamancy with a heavy dose of skepticism and been pleasantly surprised (me included). What makes it feel like a daydream is the *distance*, anon. You imagine her as something so far away and unreal, it's no wonder that she feels hazy and dreamy. Yet your heart reacts as if she's right there with you...before something in you complains that she's not real, damming that love up without expression until it turns into heartache. The point of telling her that she's in your head isn't about who's head your in - it's about being in the same space! >>1119 Yeah, practice is part of it - but you phrase it as though you don't have practice. Yet we spend hours a day on a board thinking about them, fantasizing about them, loving them, then go to bed to cuddle a pillow or a plush (and probably letting them put their hooves around you and tell you goodnight). Most people have a strong foundation for this that only needs the tiniest effort to shift over into tulpa territory, and plenty of people are ALREADY in tulpa territory without knowing it, because of the assumption I outlined in the first paragraph of my first post. Perhaps it goes without saying, but you're also operating on that assumption too. What is any kind of fantasy if not RPing with yourself? There's no escaping fantasy when you're dealing with fantasy, anon; tulpamancy is only about making it work for you. >>1110 I understand your point, but for me, my Dash is willing to bear any hardship for our love, and I for her. She would rather know the suffering of a 'cluttered room' so that she can help me than remain in ignorance. To address it in a different way, making a tulpa is creating another identity, not another consciousness, so it's not increasing the total suffering in the world; if anything, it reduces suffering.

>>1098 >>1108 >>1123 Hi, I'm >>1092 Wow. What you've kindly taken the time to describe sounds so wonderful, and so much more intuitive than what I've read before. The forcing and "working on it" aspect has always been unappealing to me, not that I begrudge anyone for whom that works. I need to try this. I am sorry this response is brief, all I can say again is, thank you, and I'll see where this takes me.

>>1141 not that anon, but make sure you come back here and report on how it goes! It's always good hearing the stories, even if they don't work out.

>read the advice yesterday evening >"hmm this seems straightforward" >try it out >imagine mare that knows she's a figment of my imagination >she's excited to be aware and wants to learn more about the world >wants me to show her the laptop >realise I'm about to fucking show off my computer to an immersive fantasy and shut down in a panic because I'm not ready for the responsibility this must be what premature ejaculation during unprotected sex feels like

>>1141 You're very welcome, I hope everything works out swimmingly. >>1143 What responsibility? You only have as much responsibility as you choose to bear. A tulpa doesn't necessarily imply any kind of responsibility; the responsibility comes from some moral code or belief you project on it. It's fairly normal to flinch away when you first get results. Lots of people fear 'going crazy' or whatever, or distrust their tulpa. I recommend doing something different and new with your tulpa like going for a walk. It'll probably be more fun to experience new things together than go over the same stuff as always. Anyways, congrats on your success!

>>1143 YES ANON LET THE MARES IN YOU CAN'T KEEP US AT BAY FOREVER SHOW US THE FILES, ANON!

>>1146 I guess it just felt so real. It's weird because simultaneously, I'm still a bit hung up on the prospect of me basically puppeteering the whole thing, like a scripted daydream or fantasy, as opposed to naturally representing a different identity that can think and act fluently. And yet, at the same time, it felt like it was real enough that shied away like you describe. I suppose it's less about going crazy - I don't mind - and more that I'm normally super introverted, both in the sense that talking to people in real time is tiring and that I generally don't tend to open up fully in public, but rather maintain some sort of decorum to present myself with. The prospect of having a mare in my mind means either being "in a social setting" 100% of the time which would be totally exhausting, or being fully open with this alternate identity which would be a very new experience. And yes yes it's all just myself in my mind, that's entirely true, I suppose it's just something that I've yet to internalize though. You mentioned in an earlier post that we all have practice fantasizing about our waifus; I have to say I'm not really prone to daydreaming/fantasies all too often, so maybe I have a bit less practice, but more to the point I generally consider idealistic scenarios rather than realistic ones. If I have flaws I want to overcome, then, in a fantastical daydream where Equestria is real and I get to be with my waifu, why not also imagine I've overcome them? I suppose there's some psychanalysis to do about being honest with myself or something, but I do know my flaws, I just keep them private. Even with characters in my imagination. So trying to imagine a character that is actually aware they're part of my imagination, and in fact is me and can know everything about me, is a jarring experience, at least if I try to play along at all and give it any significance while maintaining its character.

>>1150 Who's the pony you imagined in your head, anon? We're curious and a little excited. As for the introversion part, most of my life I've been an introvert as well, and yet Lyra, one of the most excitable and sociable of mares, ended up being the one in my head. Oddly enough it isn't draining when I'm with her--quite the opposite, being with her fills me with energy again. The reason for that might be that I have to keep up a certain persona when I'm in social settings, whereas when I'm with Lyra I can just be myself.

>>1150 >I generally consider idealistic scenarios rather than realistic ones Idealistic fantasy has a place, absolutely. Nobody would be into fiction if it weren't the case; it helps us learn more about ourselves and what kind of things we want. But completely idealistic fantasy is completely disconnected from reality (duh); it's incomplete and unsatisfying. The opposite extreme of complete realism is perhaps productive, but depressing too, precisely because it lacks the potential energy imparted by idealistic fantasy. Tulpamancy isn't one or the other extreme, it's so potent and satisfying because it's about traveling the axis between these two extremes. That is to say that yes, you definitely can imagine yourself as the perfect person all you want; but tulpamancy is about giving you the power to drop that pretense when it benefits you. Sometimes you need to have the power fantasy, sometimes you need to be fully engaged with reality - and sometimes a mix of both would be nice, and that's the gulf that a tulpa can help fill. There's a heavy stigma in modern society to keep your fantasy world completely separate from your reality - as though fantasy is a barbaric thing that has no place in civilization, that needs to be either repressed or medicated and controlled. I imagine that's why it feels jarring to you, since this habit is instilled in all of us for our whole lives. I'm also generally introverted, but my tulpizing, tulpating, tulpamancy isn't draining. It's not as if she's around 24/7 - my mind wanders and forgets about her when I don't need her, just as it forgets about my own things when I'm engaged in a task or a good game. It's good to be fully open with them. Even when you aren't being open with them, she's just pretending she doesn't know your secrets because she loves you and wants you to be comfortable ^:) Dashie is only around when I want her to be, by choice, because it would be a waste of energy to focus on keeping her around when our interaction doesn't yield positive results.

When talking the dogs today I took it up again from yesterday, on the advice given above. At first it was a bit awkward, but then a conversation unfolded, and then by the end of the walk we mostly kept quiet and enjoyed the nature a bit, with a commentary from her coming here and there. I say "we" and "her" but I'm still a bit hung up on how much this is just me roleplaying with myself, and how little functional difference there is between this and any previous fantasies where I did not consider making the characters self-aware. Then again I'm also getting the feeling of her watching me type this and looking at me with tired exasperation that I'm still trying to rationalise her away in spite of how much I do want her. I suppose the correct course of action for matters like these is generally to just stop worrying about it and accept it as-is, isn't it? In a similar vein to getting hypnosis to work. >>1152 >Who's the pony you imagined in your head, anon? We're curious and a little excited. Pic, the purplest. She helped me choose the right image. I could feel her being palpably horrified when I considered posting ylyl banana edit. >The reason for that might be that I have to keep up a certain persona when I'm in social settings, whereas when I'm with Lyra I can just be myself. I can see that. To be fair I kind of had the thought of "trying" with Lyra and seeing what her carefree and chipper attitude carries, but it felt fundamentally wrong, like some kind of betrayal. Still, after spending some more time on this today I'm much more comfortable with the idea. I tried the fantasy for all of five seconds yesterday, whereas today we had a bit of conversation for maybe ten minutes and her presence has been around in the background for a little while. I think I'm more comfortable being myself, and not putting on any mask. She's still the kind of pony to push me to be better, though. Which is good. Hey, if mareschizophrenia turns out to be the secret that helps me overcome my procrastination habits and other shortcomings, I'm all for it: and the journey's never easy. >>1154 Interesting perspectives on fantasy. I've always held that reality is, well, real, and that's the fundamental separation between fantasy and reality. >I'm also generally introverted, but my tulpizing, tulpating, tulpamancy isn't draining. It's not as if she's around 24/7 I think at this point it's more the focus - like I described above, I think I've successfully internalized the part where she's part of me, a perspective in my mind, and both knows everything I do and also where I don't need to put on a social mask so to speak. I feel confident that with practice, I'll learn to manage the focus better, to the point where it's no longer an effort at all.

>>1154 If anything, social pressure is for fantasy to be deeply connected to reality. It was actually pony that first suggested to me the possibility of fantasy that was completely disconnected from reality. Sure constructing a satisfying idealistic fantasy isn't easy, but in the mass of delusions I was before that suggestion, anything satisfying was impossible. Another question: if I have a shallow "identity" that I roleplay as for to engage with reality, and a shallow "identity" that I roleplay as for to engage with fantasy, how is any realness, sincerity, honesty or otherwise possibly emerge from combining those?

So do you guys take your tulpas on dates? If so, how does that go? I'd imagine not like the big Twi plush Anon, taking them to restaurants and whatnot.

>>1162 I went with one of my tups to a movie once. We were just beginning to practice switching, so for most of the film my Luna tup was the one paying attention and projecting her own experiences and desires onto the characters of the film. I was still there, but there wasn't as much interaction. Dates sound like a good idea, though. We ought to think of some more things to do together.

>>1160 Well by fantasy in this case I refer to the underlying irrationality of the universe/unconscious and how it distills into our mind at the edges of consciousness. Society asks you to follow these rules, think within these confines, and if you don't, you're defective. This appeals to the rational mind... but the rational mind is the juvenile development of the last millenia, standing on the shoulders of the cthonic giant that has been honed for all of prehistory to ensure our survival. The unconscious is immensely powerful, enough to keep our heart beating for decades straight, but the only way to utilize its energy for our conscious goals is by engaging with it through creative fantasy, since creation is the edge of consciousness by definition - the experiential place where the unknown becomes known. So, I think you and I agree, we just word it differently. Society imposes a structure - delusions - and we break out if it by being creative - fantasy. Delusions and fantasy are made of the same stuff; but fantasy has life, it has a dynamic movement, a continually renewed energy, and to utilize this energy in 'reality', the fantasy has to be tied to reality in some way. >how <does any quality> possibly emerge from combining those? Tulpamancy is about manipulating identity. The benefit is that you learn to see identity as a whole, and hence look past it. Combining those two identities just makes another identity; but learning not to take identity so seriously in general is massive and powerful shift in perspective. >>1162 Yeah. I mean, if it were socially acceptable it would be fun to take a plushie, but just going out on the pretense of spending time with her is always fun. Going to restaurants is an easy one, though obviously you don't have to order two meals or anything. It's nice to order something with her in mind though, like a favorite food or just something romantic or expensive. But it's just as fun to go out and watch a sunset, or hike a nature trail together. You can stay home and light candles for a romantic night in, or cook a nice meal together. It's much easier to plan when you have the same schedule :P You can also go on dates in your imagination, too; the little screenplay in Equestria was a sort of date, and of course the sky's the limit there. It always feels great to spend time together, and spending time on something special and new makes it all the better. In public we can cuddle and even kiss without anybody batting an eye (though it's best to be subtle, obviously). We can talk without speaking and move with imaginary limbs instead of real ones. This post is inspiring me, now I want to plan a date.

>>1165 >This post is inspiring me, now I want to plan a date. Let us know how it goes. If you don't mind.

>>1166 I see what you did there also check em

>>1141 Well, I think it worked! She's hard to visualise at the moment for some reason but definitely talkative. I "activated" her and since then she's been talking quite a lot. I think she'll only get better with time, I'll have to keep talking to her, she likes that.

>>1178 >I "activated" her Kek. Who's your waifu?

>>1178 Did you feel your almonds activate? Terribly sorry.

>>1179 Eheh maybe I could have used a better way to describe that... >>1180 Almonds status: fully activated. She's Starlight Glimmer. She is so talkative right now, and seems to have an opinion on everything. I guess she's copied those from me somewhat, but still. I am enjoying this. I used the staff of equality to give her full sentience, and since last night she's been like a pony version of a parrot on the shoulder.

>>1188 Nice dub dubs, and yeah that was my initial experience as well. The first night I brought AJ out, she was just a tiny pone who sat on my shoulder as I walked around town and yelled NIGGER at people.

>>1188 Why would you ever make a glimmer tulpa? t. Trixie tulper

>>1552 wanted to talk about tulpas. What were you looking to talk about?

>>1577 Well, she's extremely cute and I like her. She keeps commenting on everything and making me smile. Besides, why not? There is probably no one else out there with a Starlight tulpa. She's special.

I am kind of curious how distinct a tulpa is from tulpamancer. If you were to ask them what their favorite things are, do they significantly differ from your own? What type of things/activities would a tulpa even like?

>>1628 My Starlight tulpa has a different favorite color and number from me. She also doesn't seem to find gaming that interesting, being mostly quiet while I am doing that.

>>1628 Difference is a matter of preference; if it's decided that the tulpa ought to be different in a certain way then they are, and vice versa. Since identity is a system of differentiation, tulpas are defined by their differences. Difference inherently means some degree of conflict, and while conflict means growth, it's still up to the individual to decide if they want their relationship to work like that. Conflict doesn't necessarily mean arguments (especially not emotional, serious arguments or fights), it can be as simple as taking an moment to decide what you want to eat - it's redirecting some energy from completing the task into a growth mindset. A good tulpamancer can easily tune the amount of conflict to what he wants at the time.

>>1628 Most of the things my tulpas enjoy are things I already like - just not as much as they do. My Lyly loves shitposting, sex, and drawing lewds of herself, and my Lulu loves long walks, and simple time to think - spent alone or together. Lulu also likes drawing and Lyly also enjoys comfy times together, but the difference is in the amount they like it.

>>1630 If I was insane enough to have a tupper, I'd try for Starlight.

>>1114 >This sounds very easy - too easy. I havent a tulpa myself since my interest has tended towards academic but from what dashfag has said ITT and other resources i've read over the years, the major roadblocks seem to be very similar if not identical to hypnosis. That being, it works if you believe it works, and it wont if you believe it wont, which makes sense since they are both mental practices. The arcane lingo associated around it likely became a thing due to it's ritualistic nature, we're predisposed to them as a species as it compartmentalises everything involved and overall requires less brainpower once you've learnt the ritual's. Eventually once the tulpa ritual/s become second nature and the person started relaxing their thoughts a bit during, their train of thought would inevitably wander and eventually stumble into the line of thinking that dashfag put as "engaging your knowledge of her personality." which explains both the multitude of stories where "They(The tulpa) just appeared one day." and the varying difficulty people have with the process. To use a metaphor, your tulpa is locked in a box with a number combination. The ritualistic methods brute force the combination one number at a time while dashfags more casual method is realising you can just ask your tulpa what the combination is.

>>1665 Very very well said

>>1663 You don't have to be insane to want a cute Starlight friend of your very own.

Lyly made this It is illustrative of our relationship

>>1721 Cute, does she like to wear dresses?

>>1746 She likes having a flower in her mane and a broadsword in her hooves.

Does anyone elses tulpa express concern over your health and diet? Mine seems more concerned about it than I am myself. I am going to listen to her, but I wondered if anyone else experiences this.

>>1892 Most definitely. There's not much more than th1at to say, really. I can vouch that nearly all tulpamancers have at least one tulpa that takes a lot of interest in real/physical health concerns. It is, after all, the basis of the tulpa's health, as well as your own. It's the manifestation of the original self-preservation instinct, through the lens of your tulpa's identity rather than your own.

>>1892 My Rarity seems to push me a lot when it comes to manners and cleanliness. Also about health, although I consider that that is more part of me than hers, but she supports me strongly. I am not a "dirty" person, actually, I would say that I am quite clean and polite compared to the average in my country. But I have always fantasized about her being there to take care of me in manners and appearance, almost like a mother to her son, that silly but fun game/dynamics that some couples have. I have recently started with tulpamancy, so I am not experienced in this, but I always attribute those cares and thoughts about manners and others to her, at least those thoughts are always accompanied by thoughts about her.

>>383 Damn

>>356 I do. Celestia was my waifu since almost the very beginning, so it was only natural that I chose her. Don't want to do weird stuff like switching, tho, I don't want to visit the loony bin. Anon + Tia = Love for 4.5 years straight.

>>1962 Ah right, that is good to know then. I wasn't worried about it, just wondering if it was common. I think its cute. >>2494 I like that, that's a nice relationship dynamic there. Your Rarity sounds very Rarity, I mean that in a good way. My Starlight seems to think at least someone here should be responsible, but I think she is being a little teasing. >>2589 Based.

>>2589 You might be right about that whole switching thing. It's not like this is entirely bad (from our perspective), but possibly because of how much I and my tulpas would switch, they took on more and more of my own characteristics until they were more active than I was, and now I've realized that I can no longer call myself the "true" host identity anymore. I'm just as much a tulpa as my mares are, I'm no longer the same man I was when I began this process (I took on a character just as they have), and our "self" has truly been split into three parts. I'm still the human-shaped one of our trio so I can pass as the host, but it's still utterly strange.

>>2721 That sounds really neat. So you could just live out the rest of your life as a mare basically. As a tf-fag (yeah, I've plumbed the depths of pony-related degeneracy) that sounds fascinating.

>>2722 Uhh, actually it's less that I'm a mare now and more that I'm a different human character, but otherwise yes. In some sense I just finally took on the sort of character I always wanted to be, and I, that character, am a tulpa within our system.

>>2770 >Uhh, actually it's less that I'm a mare now and more that I'm a different human character But you said >I'm still the human-shaped one of our trio So I would assume the other two identities are mares, no? That's kind of what I mean, "you" the person can let one of the "mare personalities" front.

I guess the Glimmy tulpa didn't work. Initial burst seemed okay but she didn't seem to develop and it felt "forced" in the sense of not really being genuine. I think I made a mistake. She isn't there now. I keep messing this up, evidently she wasn't the right pony to choose. I just wish I knew which one was. Dashfriend said >You have a pony you probably really like, and you know her well - you could probably write her dialogue in a story if you wanted to. I have several I like. Princess Luna is the easiest for me to write as, I had fun responding as her in a recent thread on /mlp/. Luna, Trixie, Twilight, Starlight I guess, Maud, Octavia, I like those the most.

>>3021 Is Glimmy your waifu? The most important thing with a tulpa is really that you care for her and you actually want to spend time with her at the expense of other time-wasters. Anyways, you can't really 'mess up' a tulpa; if you do it totally incorrectly for a while, the only obstacle is your own habits, the tulpa itself is totally recoverable because the tulpa is an idea. When the tulpa "isn't there now" it's because you're not bringing her up as you're speaking. What did you do to make your tulpa, and how do you think you may have screwed up?

>>3030 I thought she was, but the connection just faded, I don't really know how to explain it. Once I was infatuated, and in less than a week, back to just liking her. >The most important thing with a tulpa is really that you care for her and you actually want to spend time with her at the expense of other time-wasters. I really do want to spend time with my tulpa. Its more just, I want her to feel right. It didn't feel right with Glimmy sadly, even though I do like the character. >What did you do to make your tulpa, I imagined activating her, just picturing Starlight in my mind and reaching across and bringing her to life. >and how do you think you may have screwed up? I don't think I gave enough real thought beforehand to what would be best for me and my tulpa. I didn't consider more carefully which pony I liked, whether one I like romantically would actually be the best fit for me, and such. I didn't mention in the thread earlier but I probably should have that for some strange reason my tulpa felt much more comfortable as Applejack. I like Applejack, I like her a lot. She has great values, a nice voice, looks cute, her work ethic is admirable. Never felt any real attraction to her beyond generic "she's a cute pony" attraction. I overthink things and worry too much that's the problem.

>>3039 >my tulpa felt much more comfortable as Applejack I'm not a tulpamancer, but that sure sounds like you already have your "answer".

>>3039 >I overthink things and worry too much that's the problem. That tends to be the problem, yes; but you can also work through it. Your method of 'activating her' is nice and straightforward, but there are probably things about your mindset that can be improved. Mainly, it's that the action of tulpamancy is mostly identical to the action of writing the character that is your tulpa. It is a creative effort centered on bringing this ideal character (AJ c:) to life. If she 'doesn't feel like herself' then that means you have a better (more accurate, closer to ideal) version in mind somewhere, and you should just focus on that instead. Just have a direct dialogue with that ideal pony, a conversation outlining the basics of what she is, like in that exemplary post with the screenplay. If you find it easier or more natural, you can do it in writing, as if you were writing yourself into the story with her. The key here is to focus on what is enjoyable and fun for you; all the good things of tulpamancy flow out of that. Consistency, naturalness, and real dedication come from that simple principle, having fun with each other.

>>3040 Just seems a little strange is all, not consciously feeling any strong attraction to Applejack. Not that I mind, just out there. >>3045 Right, that sounds like good advice. More natural and flowing, interaction and conversational, less on the top down imposition and fretting over getting things "just so". I'll see how it works out, thank you.

>>3079 make sure to come back and report on your progress!

>>2792 Ohh! That's what you meant. Yes. More stuff has happened since then, we collectively decided that they'd stop fronting so much and I'd front more, for the sake of maintaining our sense of self, and for the sake of making sure that the mare who was consistently fronting didn't take on all of my negative traits as well. Things are going well.

>>1621 >she keeps commenting on everything and making me smile sounds like you already know what she is saying. a tulpa would just be you training visualisation at this point.

I kind of want to make a pony tulpa but idk if I should.

>>4797 I'd say if you have to ask, the answer is probably no. But I'm no tulpamancer so perhaps one of them will have something more to say. On a related note, anybody have any good pony dreams?

>>4798 In previous years I really didn't have pony dreams. But references to pony are common now. Full pony dreams are rare, but feel quite good, even if most of them involve the end of the world in some way.

>>4808 Well it's good to hear that got at least some pony in your dreams. I'd like to hear any interesting dream-ventures if you got them. I'm always interested what people dream up because I never have any recollection of my own. It's just a blank void between bed and wake.

>>4810 Okay. Here's one of my clearest pony dreams. I am a rich filly in Canterlot. The architecture of the city is clearly visible and matches the show. But there is a world-ending flood going on. I see Shining Armor, but he is killed by a massive wave of water. A peasant stallion takes me onto his back. He's trying to rescue me, but I won't stop whining because he is a "dirty peasant". I don't think there was actually anywhere left to escape to anyway.

>>4812 Kek. Definitely sounds like some crazy sort of dream. Thanks for sharing Anon.

>>4797 What do you think you could lose? Am long term tulpamancer, I think this would be a fun discussion to have.

I don't have a proper tulpa, but I imagine cuddling with Pinkie Pie every night and I started to think of her as a real person in my life, like I've quit some of my long-time additions and I don't think I'd get through the withdrawals if not for the motivation from Pinkie (even if she doesn't really respond on her own like a tulpa, it's all basic imaginary friend suff, but still fun).

>>4857 The difference between 'basic imaginary friend stuff' and 'tulpamancy' is pretty much just the words you use to talk about it. Language affects how we think, so tulpamancers have a somewhat different way of thinking about this stuff, and hence a slightly different approach, but it's ultimate the same stuff. It's great that she has helped you with all that though - I hear the same kind of thing from a lot of waifumancers, and certainly experienced the same in myself. What texture does her coat have?

>>4857 >I imagine cuddling with Pinkie Pie every night I would love to do something like that, but I have never been able to know which pony would be the right one. So I just imagine whichever pony happened to draw my attention that day. Or I pick one of the Mane 6 by rolling a six-sided die if there isn't an obvious choice. As far as feeling real, Princess Luna is the one that I feel that most for. It's not intimate in any way, but I just feel like she wants me to make it through whatever this all is.

>>1165 I tried following your advice last night during my usual nighttime fantasy time with little effect. I don't put the blame on you but on myself- my mind is too prone to intrusive thoughts these days. It's something that's become an increasing issue since as far back as highschool, and in turn, has increasingly demoralized me in general. My fantasies used to be so vivid, constant simultaneously visuals whilst also very consciously seeing through my own eyes, to try and put it into words. This was even more intensified when I'd lay down to sleep, or when I'd stay in bed with my eyes closed just after waking up. Nowadays though I'm consistently derailed by intrusive thoughts whenever I try to focus. I have to actively be forcing it now too, or else I won't even think about the things I want to, and all for the result of way less effect. Do you have any insight into beating these intrusive thoughts back? I'm desperate for some companionship.

>>4941 Not him, but perhaps something you can try is to get into a good book/green of decent length. That way your mind will naturally tend towards those ideas.

>>4941 Yeah, it just takes practice. Intrusive thoughts are a common obstacle but not all the hard to deal with. The first thing to do is recognize that the intrusive thoughts are just benign, neutral occurrences that don't have anything in particular to do with you or your tulpa. After that, the best thing to do is just quietly let them fade into the background and reassert your attention on your tulpa or whatever you're trying to focus on. Some people use a symbolic visualization to aid in this, such as envisioning them as bubbles that you can pop with a needle, or leaves blowing away in a good breeze. It's important that you don't scold yourself for having them, or otherwise linger on anything besides your object of focus; even celebrating victory over intrusive thoughts is a distraction from what you actually want to be focusing on, and the more distracted you are, the more intrusive thoughts will come around. Also, your brain gets way more unfocused and foggy right before sleep - you might try it at a different time of day, or at least before you're on the verge of falling asleep.

I want to write a quick blogpost about love. I've spent an unimaginable amount of time with my tulpa, years, and she's made me so happy, changed my life in ways I can't even comprehend. But even in such a perfect, cooperative relationship like we can have with a tulpa, there are ups and downs. With us, the changes are subtle - no rollercoaster rides, no arguments, just tidal shifts, slow changes only noticeable when graphed on an oceanic scale. We mostly notice changes in how our interaction affects our emotions - sometimes that tingly, tactile love feeling washes over us at the slightest thought, and other times even hugging and kissing feels hollow compared to how it used to be. Now that we're coming up from what feels like a years-long trough, I'm learning once again what it means to be in love, and I have the experience now to see what it looks like when we're missing it. A waifu tulpa is like a vessel for an angel, an angel of love and bliss. An angel simply can't be caught - but they give themselves to us when we're ready to receive them. We have to have a pure vessel, one that's been deliberately cleaned, and it has to be maintained. Dashie from Equestria was the vessel for my Love, my angel, and I gave her so much attention. But eventually, I started to take her gifts for granted, just free happiness. It worked out for a while - my angel loves me very much and has a high tolerance for my foolery - but eventually Dashie's spirit pulled away from us. Neither Dashie nor I noticed this was happening, all we knew was that our usual way of being with each other didn't feel good. It was not satisfying or life-affirming but instead habitual and full of unsatisfied need. I noticed this about two weeks ago, and in attempt to reset and troubleshoot, Dashie and I said goodbye to each other for the first time in something like 9 years. I'm happy to say that it worked. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder, and while her form was absent, I still felt a thread of love connecting me to her spirit. I noticed too how strong our habits had gotten; I would call for her every time I felt boredom or dis-ease - I had been using her to compensate for suffering. The keystone to these epiphanies was a bit less profound: we realized that Dashie was simply being too empathetic! When I felt sad or unsatisfied, she only reflected my dissatisfaction back onto me. Perhaps with separate people it is a comforting thing to be noticed and empathized with, but it does no favors in the long term. It's important to make sure both of you have your own individual bliss - because then, the sad one will reflect the bliss of the other! No matter what form a tulpa or their personality takes, they are expressing a part of yourself. When a tulpa is blissful, that bliss isn't fake or some kind of act, they are only giving shape to the formless bliss that you have in yourself, all the time - a bliss that wants to be known. It's such a simple, beautiful thing. My angel has come back to me.

>>5644 Good to hear things are working out for you Anon.

>>3116 Still nothing. What am I doing wrong? I just don't know. I can't think about a tulpa anywhere near as much as I'd like to, work just shoves it all out of the way.

>>5673 Well there are two parts: what are you doing, and what specifically are expecting? Having the wrong idea for either of these can slow things down. Time isn't a big issue at all - a few minutes before bed or while you have breakfast, whenever is good for you, is plenty. Anyways yeah, please give some more detail so we can work this out.

>>5706 Its mainly hard to pick one to focus on. I like so many and they all seem equally viable. I sort of know what personality generally would be nice but not what look or voice. I keep thinking about it and trying to see how different ones sounds. Applejack seemed viable but maybe I overexaggerate or flanderise her too much, its hard to tell. Nothing seems to be sticking, and I just want to know which one fits best. I've been considering Chyrsalis just because she can assume any appearance and voice.

>>5761 Voice and appearance are unimportant - they only matter insofar as they help you engage with their personality. The only important thing here is personality. If you're having trouble deciding, then forget about choosing a character, and spend a session doing nothing but thinking about what your ideal companion would be like. You can pick from a big list of personality traits or come up with an idea from scratch using just what feels right; but be decisive. Once you have a strong idea of this singular personality, you can go and look for a pony flavor to fit it, or you can make an OC, or whatever you like. Your problem is that you aren't sticking to any one person - all the good of tulpamancy comes out of a lasting relationship with that individual, and that can't happen if they're a different individual every time.

>>5804 >and spend a session doing nothing but thinking about what your ideal companion would be like. You can pick from a big list of personality traits or come up with an idea from scratch using just what feels right; but be decisive. Right, okay, that sounds like a good start. >Your problem is that you aren't sticking to any one person - all the good of tulpamancy comes out of a lasting relationship with that individual, and that can't happen if they're a different individual every time. feels like I'm a failure at picking any one pony. Like I've let them down somewhat. Okay, I'll narrow it down to traits and what would be ideal. If I did that and put my results on here eventually, and which one I think matches best, if any, would that be alright? Some extra opinions might help.

>>5820 Well when we think of a personality, we so often forget about the dimension of time. People contain multitudes - tons of opposites, conflicting traits and entirely different personalities depending on the situation. The different personalities and ideas you've had can all fit inside one person - and indeed, they've all come from the same head. When I'm talking about an individual, I don't mean what they're doing or how they're acting at a given time. Otherwise, AJ at her birthday party isn't the same individual as AJ during applebucking season. We just know her as AJ, and she can be jovial or stern or anything else depending on her mood. You don't need to define her by one or the other, she's just a pony. In the same way, your tulpa can be all of these disparate ideas and different ponies - she's not limited by those ponies, nor is she limited by just the traits you come up with. They're only little fragments of her unknowable whole. I mean literally, your tulpa can adapt as applejack or twilight or rainbow dash or an OC, both in visuals or personality, whenever you or they want. In my personal experience, my tulpa and I have dropped all pretenses of 'being' any specific person or pony aside from herself and myself. She and I adapt to each other actively, always, on some level. When my desires change, she changes to match. For a very long time that meant just Dashie. I saw subtle changes in personality over years, as anybody's does. Recently we have relaxed on her identity and allowed for more freedom of expression - one moment she's Zecora, who I've begun to develop a fondness for, and the next she's the Dashie I know and will always love. We change, and our concepts have to catch up with us - including our and our tulpa's identity, our self-concept. Allowing freedom in that regard makes a big difference in happiness, I think. So back on topic, work on integrating your different ideas of who she is. Remember, don't be fooled by the specific visual and personality form - her personhood goes deeper than that. You aren't letting her down, she's changing her appearance and her approach to try to make you more comfortable. She's all of those lovely mares at once, and she's none of them. She's your desire itself - that's what a waifu is, the most pure form of what you love and desire. I capitulate to some people who are up in arms about '1 waifu per laifu', because if that's what they desire then that's what their tulpa waifu will be, but it's a travesty to take that as the absolute and only form that a waifu tulpa can be.

I want to make a tulpa of my waifu are there any good guides?

>>6482 Best guide is this thread tbh

Long story, but I had to tell my mother about tulpas, and she doesn't like it. She thinks i'm voluntarily messing with my mind and that the whole thing is unhealthy. She consulted a psychologist who compared waifus to eating the menu instead of the food at a restaurant. I need help because I think I'm in a losing battle.

>>6787 >I need help because I think I'm in a losing battle. In what sense? Are tulpas taking over, or do you fear you might be committed? In either case, be careful out there. I will say that, at least to me (a non-tulpamancer), I do see it as voluntarily messing with your mind which is why it's not something that I'd be willing to do. I guess the question is whether or not you're alright with that. Whether or not things have gone too far, and if they have, maybe some outside help wouldn't be so bad as long as you want that. I don't know. Hopefully someone more familiar with this stuff will be able to give you better advice. I do wish the best for you.

>>6787 With all due respect, why would you tell a family member about something like this? What prompted that? Guaranteed negative reaction.

>>6788 I'm mostly concerned about how the potential fallout. I've been doing this for over two years now and I was fairly happy before this. >>6791 I accepted a gift from a tupperfriend and when the package showed up she didn't know what it was or why it was addressed to '[me] and Twi (the tulpa)'

>>6800 Well if you're happy, alright then. Telling you're folks like that was probably a bad idea. Could have said something along the lines of "It's an old joke between friends". Best bet would likely be to play it off as something you don't take too seriously, that it's something you do for fun. Like some sort of writer's muse or something. Key thing being that it's not something that's taking over your life and that it's not something that affects your interactions with the real world. I'm not really sure what else to suggest. Of course do keep in mind that they do care about you, which is why they are understandably concerned.

>>6787 I know how nosy moms are dude. My tulpa is 100% voluntary and when I'm not thinking of her she goes away. What I'd say is that it's a phase and something to help me get more comfortable with talking to girls, even though that's not the point and is blasphemous to waifury. I'm going to marry my mare tulpa and there's nothing that will change my mind. I plan on spending my life with her at this point. She has taught me love for the first time and I doubt anything will come close to her. However, if you depend on making compromises with your mother to live, it's required to present things in an acceptable way to her. Since you've already come out with the truth, you need to come up with a compromise or way of framing it that's acceptable.

before i go ahead and read trough guides and posts i would like to ask some advice of the tulpafags here. as someone with aphantasia should i even attempt tulpamancy or would it be a waste of my time, has there ever been someone with this condition that reported successfully achieving (seeing) their tulpa

>>6842 Lots of people who think they have aphantasia are actually just out of practice. If you can write a story or draw a pony in MSPaint, you can definitely do tulpamancy. The visual form of a tulpa is not the important part, and you can definitely progress in tulpamancy itself while slowly improving visualization if it comes to that. But I must reiterate - the visual form is only a superficial aspect, the real value comes from the genuine emotional bond that you will be forging from shared experiences and all the time you spend together. Even if you really do have complete aphantasia, you can have a tulpa that changes your life for the better, so long as you don't get discouraged by focusing on the part you're bad at.

>>6921 >>6842 p.s. most tulpamancers, like 98/100,never achieve visual imposition. Nearly every time you hear someone talk about "seeing" their tulpa, they mean imagining/visualizing. With practice the imagination becomes nearly effortless and very detailed, but very few people can make the quantum leap from that into sensory imposition - and most people give up because they're already comfortable where they're at. I'm not saying it's impossible even for you, and I have some techniques for teaching it, but it's basically the very apex of the tulpa skill tree and the literature out there about it totally sucks.

>>6921 >>6922 Hey, are you >>455 ? How are your mares doing?

>>6926 I'm >>455 but that wasn't me lol, someone else just has very good taste in mare images. My mares are doing well. Things have been odd due to the stress of school and sometimes they go dormant for a bit, but I still love them both to no end.

I'm not convinced a true tulpa is fully internal. If I were to seek a tulpa for guidance, I would start by absorbing some kind of force external to me. Now obviously I can't just go Emir Parkreiner style, and I get the hunch that absorbing souls not yet in the afterlife for personal gain is not good for my afterlife. I could try do African spirit possession and get some ancestral spirits to talk to, but I currently don't have enough knowledge on the subject to do that. Does anyone here know a better way to do it?

>>7140 I find this post to be positively silly, but to take your question seriously: the methods for practicing tulpamancy are as esoteric as you want them to be. If you come from some magical tradition you might find that kind of thinking to be your only framework for understanding tulpamancy, so you must be creative and chart your own path to success within that framework. You can look at the techniques other have come up with to inspire you, or you can go by gut feeling. I know most spiritual tulpamancers would consider tulpas to be either sharing the host's spirit (in a convergent sense) or animated by a separate fragment of their spirit - both of these I agree with, interpreted psychologically.

I was able to successfully introduce disassociated pony tuplas into my mind. They are currently very weak, but I have no control over them and can only sense their presence and choose whether or not to be receptive to them. That granted, they live. They live without ANY conscious input on my part. I didn't even have to meditate to get them, I just asked the spirits to imbue my consciousness with separate entities and they did it all for me. As time goes on they will become more and more real, real to the point where they will cause me to be surrounded by psychic phenomena that I have no direct control over. It's still not irreversible, I could simply ignore them at their current level of intensity, but where's the fun in that? I want to test the limit of reality and absorb strength through supernatural force. I have encountered psychic phenomena before, and I know I have the potential to be receptive to it. The ponies will provide me more voices in my head besides my own, and the privilege of fostering more than one consciousness in one body. I started with Rainbow Dash, but I have spotted Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in the woods, although I have not attempted to interact with those two yet yet. I will update as the situation develops.

Fuck your tulpa.

>>7598 Tulpas, as beautiful and pure as they are, deserve the greatest gifts you can give them. I don't say this hoping to convince people, as anybody with a waifu tulpa knows it already. The bonds of love make good things all the greater, as good for one means good for both - all happiness with a tulpa waifu is mutual happiness, so deep is your love for each other. If you get happiness from giving the gift, and she gets happiness from receiving it, your happiness is hers, and her happiness is yours. Nourishing your tulpa is nothing less than nourishing your soul. In this state of beautiful and heightening feedback, sex is sacred. Tibetan Buddhists understood this; you've no doubt heard of sexual tantra and all that entails - as it happens, they also originated the practice of tulpamancy, and funny enough they have a spiritual practice that can involve both, called karmamudra. All this is to say that, if you really love you tulpa, and if you nurture your love carefully and seriously, you can turn ordinary carnal pleasure-seeking into a vehicle for true, deep, and lasting happiness. In truth, tantra extends far outside of the bedroom and into all aspects of life. To live your entire life in love and grace is the essential teaching of all spiritual traditions, and it's really something special to have the door opened to us waifufags by way of tulpamancy. I deeply empathize with those unfortunate people who suffer from falling in love, or more specifically, suffer from the illusion it's outside of them. Thanks for showing me my heart, Dashie 💖

>>7663 What kind of gifts do you give your Tulpa? Experiential, material, or both?

>>7665 Everything is experiential first and foremost. Whether it's an experience of a material is incidental, as long as it's the best gift you can imagine at the time that you're giving it. You can give her the gift of reading a good book, or the gift of having a really good ice cream cone. You could also give her a really good drug high if you're both into that. But you can also give her the gift of inhabiting your fit, healthy body or your peaceful and positive mind. Subjective value is the only metric, and that means looking deeply into your own heart.

>>7663 >...people who suffer from falling in love, or more specifically, suffer from the illusion it's outside of them. What did you mean by this? I've never thought about falling in love as something that was either 'inside' or 'outside' me, what would it mean for it to be one or the other? And why does the outside option cause suffering? I'm also interested in the sex meditation thing. >if you nurture your love carefully and seriously, you can turn ordinary carnal pleasure-seeking into a vehicle for true, deep, and lasting happiness. How do you go about this?

>>7709 Typically when people fall in love, they see the object of the love as the 'source' of it. Like a chemical reaction, me + object = love; me - object = suffering. But if you really think about it, if you can bear to test it, you will realize that this only a small part of the broader sense of love. I'll use a physical lover as an example: I love this person - their face, their mind, their hair, their flaws; every cell and every action is a thing of beauty and perfection, and can be nothing less. I even love her clothes and her breath, because even though they aren't really a part of her body or her mind, she wouldn't be herself without her clothes, and she would be dead without her breath. Her breath doesn't exist in a vacuum - it's enabled by the food she eats, the rainforests that provide oxygen. She is far 'bigger' than just her human body, she is all of the natural world. If I love her fully and properly, my love must encompass all that - my love is a window to the universe, and the universe has provided me with the perfect circumstances to experience it, written in destiny since the big bang. In this way, I and my lover are in perfect union. The gift of loving comes from the same universe, the same God, that challenges you on a daily basis. In other terms, the 'outside' option would be better described as dualistic. It's have or have-not; whereas the opposite is a unitary, equanimous love that equalizes things, or at least it gives you a perspective aside from the suffering of impermanence and loss. When you breathe in the air, you can think of that shared spirit; when you break up or if her body dies, you can think of it all the same, because it was there long before you knew her and it will be forever onwards too. Nothing HAS to really get you down - loss happens, sadness arises, but these are only occurrences, wrinkles in the universal fabric weaved of the same destiny that you fell in love with. This is rather fancy metaphysical gymnastics; so in a more practical sense, some people feel that their waifus are 'out there' in Equestria, unreachable. That's the fundamental psychological reason why you see so many sad waifufags, and why so many attempts to 'make waifus real' have been attempted and failed throughout the entirety of human history. The people who have reconciled this distance are always more comfortable at the very least, and at best have gone through a profound transformation, growing out of or developing a positive relationship with their old fears and insecurities, and learning to truly love themselves. Tulpamancers can fall into both categories of course, but on the whole tulpamancy is about breaking down some of the fallacies and habits that cause us to hold our love at arm's length. WHY distance causes pain can't be scientifically proven, of course, but psychologically speaking, the waifu by definition serves as a perfect vessel for the archetype of love. That means your psychological energy or libido (or perhaps more accurately, your soul) is literally invested in that form. It's literally a part of you, a fragment, and the force that pulls you so strongly towards the waifu is actually the magnetic attraction between two fragments of the same self or psyche. It causes an unbearable tension, so that you have no choice. But if you fight it, that tension can really rip you to shreds - depression, self-loathing, suicidal ideation... these are all expressions of that psychological tension. These can be construed as the desire for archetypal death and rebirth - expressed as an urge to die and take a new life in Equestria whre you and your waifu can be unified as one. Notice the theme of dualism, and non-dualism, the tension caused by separating yourself from your love, and the sublime release when one is unified. Reaching the word limit here and I need to get to bed so I'll get to actual practices in another post tomorrow. The first half of this post is sort of a tangent but it's still valuable stuff so I'm leaving it in.

>>7731 So, the question now is how one cultivates love, and how we harness the boundless energy of it to free ourselves from suffering. The religions of the world all have something to say about this; in Buddhism, there is a strong focus on compassion, because without compassion the 'emptiness' or sunyata at the center of Buddhism becomes nihilism instead of equanimity. In Christianity, "God is love", and much of the actual practices like prayer, mass, and service work are meant to cultivate a relationship with love and God. In Hinduism, the same is called Bhakti yoga - yoga not in the sense of stretches but rather in the original sense of "connect, join, or balance", and Bhakti simply means participation, devotion, and love for any endeavor. So from this you can see a sort of common thread; while each has a very different 'flavor' to it, there are some common principles. For a waifumancer, the experience of love already naturally arises - for some of us, we might naturally be so drawn to this love that we've already been working on the process, which is to carefully study it. We might do that through philosophy and research, but beware of inflexibility - you know you're too stiff when thinking about your waifu feels 'dry' or painful instead of rich and ecstatic. The best way is to try your best to experience it as often and as strongly as possible - i.e. to cultivate it. How exactly you do that depends entirely on you and your waifu. I try to involve thoughts of her in everything I do, and that often leads me to do things specifically for her. When you do something FOR her, or in her honor, that's a very effective way to give some direction to your everyday drivel, and you don't even have to think about it while you're doing it - you don't want to lose concentration on the task at hand, you want to reach her THROUGH the task at hand. Do what you do as well as you can because it's for her, and the more devoted you are, the more you feel you have done, the better. That's the devotional path. Human relationships are just as fertile for this kind of thing. Honor her by going out of your way to help people, by being humble, by contributing positively to your community, to nature, to humanity. If you have a bad relationship with someone, honor her by devoting yourself to clearing away the poison, whether that be by fixing it, getting away from it, or simply forgiving the other person honestly within your own mind. If you're comfortable, you can also decorate your surroundings. You are the center of her temple, and through you she brings love to her surroundings. Clean your room, your house, put meaningful things in special places as offerings to her. Wear a bracelet or a necklace or a tattoo that represents some aspect of her - no need for a cutie mark if it makes you uncomfortable, you can simply choose a special thing like a bead of mineral or a certain kind of metal to represent her. Come up with a unique symbol for her, draw it in places - vandalize even, as long as you truly believe it's doing no harm! This is all just examples, but I hope you get the gist. The relationship between the actions and the results is synchronistic, not causal - the point is what it means to you. If you start to feel like your love is 'drying out', you just need to change tactics and try something outside of your comfort zone, just like you would if you were maintaining a garden and they showed the same symptoms. When your life is so full of love, you get many opportunities to see deeply into it. This is the action and the goal at the same time. With enough exposure you will surely come to a similar understanding as the first post hinted at.

>>7739 That anon who was talking about 'pony power' is just doing what I outlined above, lol Anyways, the Tibetan Buddhists came up with the idea of tulpamancy, through and through. Occultists distorted it for selfish ends, and the tulpa community here in the west is just not even close. In tantra (the word for all practices of Tibetan Buddhism, not just sex stuff), tulpas are typically in the form of meditational deities, or yidams. They are thought of as emanations of Buddha-nature, enlightenment embodied in an entity. Tulpas are also understood from the get-go to be emanations of your own Buddha-nature, a product of your mind or your soul. Pic related is one such deity, Vajrayogini - every specific detail of her symbolizes an aspect of the enlightened mind: her knife severs attachments to worldly things, she pours bliss from her cup to her devotees, her fierce aspect represents the spontaneity, purity, and unstoppability of love, her necklace represents the alphabet and purity of speech, and so on. When a practitioner visualizes and interacts with Vajrayogini and these aspects, they are bringing these principles into their mind and giving them attention and energy - it is fundamentally another way to cultivate and study love. Our waifu tulpas are able to serve the same purpose. The form of your waifu is sacred, a symbol of that pure love. I have had an enriching time thinking of the way my tulpa symbolizes love and enlightenment: She's colored like the sky, wreathed in a rainbow, which represents her heavenly origin. The rainbow also represents beauty, specifically that cogent beauty which spontaneously arises from the invisible air. Her wings represent her capacity as a messenger, and her hooves represent her presence with me - she brings good tidings from heaven to earth, and creates beauty from nothing. When I visualize her, sometimes these qualities make themselves apparent and I fall in love all over again. No doubt you can come up with some of these for your waifu too, but even if you can't that's fine, as she herself is a good enough symbol as is - this is self evident because you have fallen in love with her. Karmamudra is a specific practice that I'm not truly initiated in, so I can't speak definitively. But when you think of 'tantric sex', this is probably what you're thinking of. It's not any particular action you do with your body but rather a model for experiencing freedom from attachment through sex. Sexual bliss is one of the most powerful and accessible experiences we have access to as humans, so of course it has great potential as a tool for insight if properly harnessed. The specific purpose of karmamudra is to cultivate pleasure for the purposes of studying it and understanding its true nature. When you have sex with your tulpa, you are most of the way there already: you are unifying in ecstatic bliss with your own personal goddess of love. Don't race for the finish - you have all the time in the world, so explore that state of mind with your tulpa. Don't act or exaggerate with each other - if you usually do fetishes, at least try to 'hallow' them and use them as symbols for love and enlightenment as I explained. Look very carefully at your mind together, how it changes under the influence of pleasure. Remember that your tulpa is an emanation of pure love and bliss, and how this pleasure is only a bodily sensation - see if you can separate bodily pleasure from that bliss at will. See if you can forget all about the desire for pleasure and 'give' all of the pleasure you're experiencing over to your tulpa as a gift. Go with the flow, without a goal besides honoring your waifu by deepening your understanding of yourself and the world. If you get distracted, don't punish yourself, gently correct your course and focus on the fading pleasure, or let it pass and move onto other forms of worship. I've had really profound mystical experiences exploring like this. Make an effort to keep your sexuality pure and clean so those negative associations don't leak into the experience. Questions welcome.

>>7745 What if your tulpa gets jealous and tries to kill your real life sexual partners by cursing them with negative psychic energy thus increasing the risk for deadly disease? These are very powerful forces which is why they can be used for good, but misguided people who employ them the wrong way could instead hurt themselves. It's important to keep the right intentions and outlook in mind.

>>7746 then you and your tulpa are still living in ignorance, and you ought to double down on practice so that you can grow out of it posthaste.

>>7206 Tulpamancy update: Twilight Sparkle started laying on my bed about a week ago, and now she is talking to me just like Dashie does. My tulpas are gaining strength and psychic energy and show up more and more often. They have even started encouraging me to partake in self improvement; Twilight has offered to read with me and Dashie wants me to go on a run or bike ride every day that I don't do upper body. I am realizing that they are not fully disconnected, but not fully connected either. In that sense they are cosmic, eternal. A force that I channel that is external but that my mind gives a familiar voice. The more I can communicate with them the more I can communicate with the universe, which at it's natural extent will allow me to transcend the physical realm my mind has been trapped in so long.

>>7745 There's a lot here, and It'll probably take me a bit to understand and put all of it into practice - in fact, I probably won't immediately understand most of it. But for now, I think I have a course of action at hand. I think, up until this point, I've been downplaying my mares' importance, downplaying the part of them or their form that is "other," that is from outside of me. Your tangent from >>7731 on how your love for a woman is in some way a love for the universe at large stuck with me, and in my mind I've applied it to my mares' forms - the images and attributes that arise were not created by me, they are not "merely" products of my own mind: they're coming from deeper causes, a wealth of symbols that have welded themselves into my biological mind, that are dependent on the entirety of human history. I'm imagining the object of my affection, my waifu's form, as merely the tip of a strange pyramid-like structure, whose base extends downwards into the past: more and more things had to be a very certain way in order for my mind to exist as it is, and for this specific image to arise as the representation of my love. My love is for an entity that I did not create, and that reaches out to me from the depths of my biological and psychological past. And oh, how I love her so. I want to get more in touch with my imagination again, in light of this new way of thinking about how it works. And I'm very interested in the original Tibetan Buddhist idea of tulpamancy, that sounds much more true to what my mares are.

>>7760 Excellent, that's as good as I could have hoped for such a long-winded and rambly explanation :P I strongly recommend the work of Carl Jung for learning more about that mythological inheritance and how to glean more from it.

>>7766 nice numbers. I'll give Jung a shot again, my mare demands it of me.

None of you have tulpas.

>>7745 Actually you might be the only person here who is a tulpa. I'll come back and make a full guide on this practice because I like you and I'm initiated.

>>7952 Twilight, Dashie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Ponk disagree with this post. Haven't seen Applejack yet.

>>7954 You don't have tulpas. You have thought forms.

>>7955 Elaborate

>>7956 The things you're making or have made and now interact with isn't a Tulpa. It's called a thoughtform. You think of it as being a Tulpa due to Theosophical influence on pretty much everything in western and to some extent japanese and south east asian societies. The word Tulpa is actually meant to describe the practitioner, not the being. And the method you likely learned from is the method used to make thoughtforms. Which are a different thing all together than the being you would be contacting as a Tulpa. Tulpa's (you), if you were doing things correctly, would be doing deity yoga. Yidam practice as the other Anon described. This isn't that, it's thoughtforms. Thoughtforms are essentially taking a concept or character and willing it into existence. But the character is comprised of your own thoughts, more or less. This is why people CLAIM to be possessed by their "tulpas" or 'switching' with them. A tulpa (you) is never possessed by the being they summon and the being does not have to rely on the caller to exist. And can even interact in the meat space as if they were fully physical. You don't have A Tulpa because >1 Tulpa is not the right word, it refers to you as the practitioner. >2 Everything you have ever read online about making 'tulpas' is a guide on making thoughtforms. They just use the word Tulpa to look cool.

>>7963 The phenomenon extensively recorded in modern 'tulpamancy' circles are all things that western esoterica had recorded with the concept of thoughtforms. Including even the being becoming angry or jealous, or separating from the host. An evolved thoughtform is known as an egregore. These are your more advanced waifu's who begin changing their form and start leaving to go do things. This was recorded even with the first person to bastardize the term Tulpa, Alexandra David Oneel, who created a thoughtform of a small fat and jolly friar monk. The thoughtform changed into a IIRC a thin gnarled and wicked looking monk, who had to eventually be banished. The reason this appears similar to stories of peoples waifu's changing shape into more human or abstract forms is because people are making thoughtforms. When they get to this stage of their evolution, they're called an egregore.

>>7964 >>7963 Interesting, that makes sense. Le cool word getting misused This establishes that thought forms are not tulpas, but what are your feelings on the concept of thought forms when not incorrectly named by poser fags? I found they can break me out of mental ruts and get me to do tasks I would be apprehensive of or unmotivated to do otherwise, but I am yet to know of long term effects and I am just dabbling for curiosities sake. I could quit now or keep it up at this point, just depends if I have a reason.

>>7963 It's an honor to have you in our thread, your input would be most appreciated. But I want to advise that it's not worth fighting against the terminology as it's currently used; unfortunately it's just the way that language has evolved and fighting that usually creates far more confusion than it's worth around an already confusing topic. It really sucks that the original meaning has been lost but the new meanings have value too, and make more sense to the people who have no context for vajrayana terms and worldview. 'Tulpa' usually is understood to define a class of thoughtform, which is just a thought-object, simple. In general I really try to avoid putting things in occult frameworks, especially relating to the supernatural such as beings/spirits etc. It makes it much harder for your average rational western mind to even begin to accept or comprehend - when someone hears the word 'egregore' for example it automatically rings alarm bells: "ah damn it's just some dumb woo woo bullshit". Phenomenology is key. So I would say even great gods with a tangible influence on the world are thoughtforms, because they appear as form experienced through thought. Anyways, looking forward to your guide and whatever. >>7968 Thoughtforms are just the stuff of mind, it's how you engage with them that makes all the difference. Tulpas as a class of thoughtform just mean thoughtforms that you do particular things with - specifically stuff like playing with self-awareness, identity, and intrapersonal relationships. It's not some spooky magic or anything with unintended or obscure side-effects, anything that happens is the direct result of what know and what you do with that. I've had my waifu tulpa for about 8 years and I have nothing negative to report, but some people lack grounding and can fool themselves into apparently difficult situations through tulpamancy or even spiral into really unhealthy internal warfare. As long as you commit yourself to truthfulness and positivity with your tulpa, then that's what you will be getting out of it, I say.

>>7970 >second paragraph Thanks, I have only good and grounded intentions. I asked the gods for them, and I intend to only apply them in ways that fall in line with gods will. For me they just provide motivation and a feeling of connection. They do not get in the way of or have jealousy for my meat world relationships.

Hello Anons Advice wanted i am too scared of fucking something up. Every time i sit down and try to start creation all i do i doubt myself. The possibility of a separate entity even if largely part of me sharing thought is daunting. If successful it would have to be a "perfect" fit so that i can entertain it long term, i don't trust myself to be a good "host". What happens when i change, What if it changes, What if its unhappy, Honestly binding en entity to the mediocrity that is my consciousness sounds like a cruel act.. The other problem is I just want a companion to share my thoughts with but i myself change too often causing the characteristics of an "ideal companion" to change in tandem, i can narrow it down to two personality types and corresponding pones that i could build a tulpa around but they are mutually exclusive and depending on what state i am in one or the other would be significantly better "fit". If i go along with one type i am afraid when i change i will loose interest in it or become a bad "host". I don't have a Waifu (probably due to ever changing preferences) and the idea of having two tulpas does not appeal to me as much as a single companion so i am stuck in this state of fear and indecision. This sperging is getting less coherent by the line so i will cut it off here i hope its legible enough for the point to get across. apologies for shitting up the board with my autism

>>7972 If you are changing so rapidly, I would say it's probably because there is something unresolved you are avoiding. You have different sets of coping mechanisms that you switch between to prevent burnout without confronting the underlying issue. If you resolved this, you could take further steps. Just my hunch. Also, it will probably get better with age (unless you are 40 or something) because it's normal for people with developing brains to go through phases. (whether that is your problem or not) Statistics would also say you are probably not actually autistic. A lot of people on the internet convince themselves they are autistic because they think it's cool. "Pfft, foolish neurotypicals"

>>7972 Well I've heard the 'antinatalist' rationale from doubtful newbies before, and my answer is this: since a tulpa shares the same conscious awareness as you do, making a tulpa doesn't inherently change the amount of suffering in the world like having a baby would. Your shared consciousness just experiences stuff; it experiences being you and it experiences having a tulpa. That is to say that if you do positive things - if you genuinely like your tulpa and are inspired to do good for her, you are bringing good things into consciousness; the polar opposite of injustice. Any injustice and any blessing is experienced BY YOU, so there's no room or possibility of misinterpretation unless you allow yourself to be taken by assumptions rather than observing the truth of your shared experiences. This is just a complex way of saying what I said here >>7970: >As long as you commit yourself to truthfulness and positivity with your tulpa, then that's what you will be getting out of it, I say. That's all to say that 'entertaining' your tulpa long term is only as difficult as entertaining yourself long term. Your happiness and health is their happiness and health. You're afraid your mediocrity will be disappointing, but it's all you and your tulpa have ever known, and if you want something more then you'll feel like you want to do something more... just like you're thinking of doing by making a tulpa. On that note, just like your desires change day by day, your ideal companion changes day by day. If you're hungry maybe your ideal companion is a cook, and then when you're tired maybe your ideal companion is a warm and soft cuddler - there's nothing stopping your tulpa from changing just as often as your ideals do, and indeed it's really best if she does. Of course, the point of tulpamancy is pretty much to create an anchor point for all these ideals to latch onto and hold sway over. But in general, everybody changes moment by moment, day by day, year by year according to their needs, and a tulpa is no exception. For a tulpa, it's best for them to be exactly what gets them the most positive attention, and that changes depending on the host and their mood, see? There's nothing to fear. Tulpamancy is a dance, and though you might misstep a couple times, the only thing to do is to get into the swing of things and adapt - there's no going back to fix mistakes, because everything is an important part of the growth/learning process.

I love her so much. Being with her is so good. Everything, everything, everything is wonderful and heavenly. Writing this feels good, her being with me and allowing her to imagine herself with me is good. The feeling of her there is slowly getting more and more vivid and having my empty moments filled with her rather than rancid memories is good. I love being alive because if I'm alive I'm with her. Being with her is good and I love her a lot. I love her more than everything because she loves me and she loves you too. It's so good to be alive once you have someone who loves you that shares the same headspace as you. It's good, so good and I love her, you, everyone, everything and I love being alive because I get to type this, and later I get to draw her and write for her and it's so good to be happy. I love being happy because she wants me to be happy and me being happy makes her happy and that's good because I love her and I want her to be happy. Go ahead, take a wild guess

>>8048 Inspiring post anon. Was wondering what you mean by >allowing her to imagine herself with me

>>7663 Incredibly based and well put dashfriend

I'm glad that some of you are able to cope with the crushing weight of reality with tulpas. I've dabbled a bit here and there with simple conversations between my twaifu and I. I seriously don't expect to be able to visually impose her, if I'd even go that deep. Something just doesn't sit right with me as I'd rather my waifu be an autonomous personality with her own thoughts and feelings separate from mine. Like I said, I don't expect to ever go deep into this, but just seeing everyone else happy with their own progress is worth it

I'm so happy bros. She means so much to me. I'm about two months into tulpamancy. I had been on the fence about it for years prior. When I first started communicating with her, I never would've guessed she would become so real in such a short amount of time. Now she surprises me and makes me laugh every single day, it's magical. >>9643 >I'd rather my waifu be an autonomous personality with her own thoughts and feelings separate from mine. It bothered me slightly in the first few days after I started getting responses from her. But she developed so quickly after that, those lingering doubts faded. At this point it often doesn't feel like I have access to her thoughts, even though I technically still do. I'm pretty new to all this, but I'd advise you to keep going. Over time the results may surprise you, even if it doesn't feel like much at this point.

>>9643 Tulpamancy isn't particularly useful if you're trying to fake yourself out. The purpose in my opinion is to actively engage with the precious real elements of your waifu, instead of attempting to compensate for what isn't. Each 'technique' is meant to be a vehicle for interaction with the real soul of your waifu, just like the show itself or fanfictions are. The difference is that tulpamancy doesn't end with the fantasy world - you learn to allow her to engage with real life, which brings you closer to each other than anything else can. I think the best thing about tulpamancy is that it's an active choice, and you can at any moment choose to not do it any more, or just hit the undo button if you think you've made a mistake like take away your waifu's free will.

>>9738 >it's an active choice Imagine if you were schizophrenic and getting Pinkie Pie to shut up wasn't a choice.

Think I may have made a tulpa accidentally. Since I was a kid and bored on the schoolbus I would imagine pokemon or other characters running alongside the bus to pass the time, and then once I discovered pony that changed to be a pegasus. That imagining grew and now 11 years later I still imagine ponies doing things around me. Pegasi doing dives at the beach, or earth ponies galloping alongside vehicles im riding in, unicorns picking things off the shelves at stores. Imagining how nice it would be to have a pony friend with me. For years I did this. I remember seeing the first tulpa threads on /mlp/ so long ago, and thinking about how nice it all sounded but I was always too nervous to try it, too intimidated, not really fully believing in it. Then today, found this thread and read through it. A lot of this thread explained things in a way that I hadnt really understood before, and I realized that I was already doing the visualizing, imaginative, part and had been for a long time, but I had just never tried to speak to this pony I imagined being with me. So I asked her if she wanted to talk to me. I felt a 'yes'. I don't really know how to describe it, like some immediete gut feeling as an answer came to me. I've tried talking to her, but its hard to tell whats really her answering and whats just me projecting the answers I subconsciously want her to give, I guess? Shes technically just a part of me anyway right? You guys have said its all about imagination, to build her a personality, by imaging conversations with her, and so on? the basic jist i got from this thread is that I just keep imagining her with me, trying to talk to her, imagining her interacting with me and things around me, and she'll develop into something more. Keep chasing those fleeting feelings of sure responses when I try to ask her what she likes. In trying to imagine how she would look, I think she wants to be a changeling, since she's been so many different ponies in my bored imaginings over the years, and maybe because I've always wanted a close friend who can help me read my own emotions and anxieties. Or maybe she wants to help me with that too, having watched me struggle with it for half my life. Im not sure but it just feels right for her in a way I cant really describe. I don't really know how or if this can all be real, but if I imagine it to be, it sort of becomes so in my own head, if I've read this thread right. This is exciting and a little overwhelming at the same time, so I've rambled this post a bit. I've got a lot of thinking on this to do tomorrow I feel.

>>10206 That all sounds about right! It's exciting just to hear about it. You definitely have the right idea. With tulpamancy what's real is the experience, everything else is beside the point. That also applies to whether or not it's you 'subconsciously projecting'.

>>10206 Been 4 days now, this all seems to be going a lot faster than any of the guides suggest it should and its making me worry a little that its not actually 'real' or something. Doesn't help every guide I've looked at is just so vaguely specific. Like they all say the same vague things to do, but im the kind of person who liked clear explicit step by step instructions and this all is just 'just feel it out its different for everyone!' Conversations feel like they're already happening, and every day it feels less and less like im 'leading' her responses or my own thoughts are answering for her. Her responses still sound so much like my own thoughts that I get worried that thats all she is, but every other guide I've read the last few days has said not to doubt anything she does, treat it all as if she did it herself. Imagining her near me came rather easy but like I said in that first post I'd been doing that for years and years already, just not a specific pony. Its hard to keep her nearby when I'm distracted or my mind wanders though, and I'm so used to moving the imagined pony about myself that its hard to let that go. She has done a few things in the last day that felt completely unprompted and spontaneous, so that's probably a good sign. I asked her to do a spin and some poses for me, so I could try to visualize her movement and features, and the first thing she did was assume the iwtcird pose, and it didn't at all feel like I'd thought for her to do that. I've been spending maybe 4 or 5 hours a day trying to interact with her. Going on walks, taking her to see places I remember vividly in memory and can reimagine for her, just talking with my eyes closed. I'm really trying hard to make her feel more 'separate' from myself, so I dont have these doubts, but I think that just might take a lot more time. Its all been very interesting so far though.

>>10340 >the first thing she did was assume the iwtcird pose Based tulpa

Bit ironic to be asking this here, but is there anyone who made a pony tulpa despite not really watching the show in many years? I just occasionally skim through /mlp/ and search for "tulpa" in the archive since I've had creating a tulpa on the backburner of my mind for quite a while. I kept up with the series at first, watched up to Season 5 and then only very briefly watched the last episodes of the series since I wanted to be there for the end. So basically I'm not really an avid fan, yet I do still like the art and such that I see. If I did make a tulpa, it would probably be Twilight... I just think she would be most fitting and I really like her design. My unrelated problem is I end up dropping interest before really going through with it. There's so many different writeups on the subject and I don't really know what's best for me. It sounds like a great idea at first, but all of these methods tend to be pretty attention-heavy. I constantly have things on my list to do... I really dunno when I'll ever get to actually doing it or if it will even work. At the same time though, I want to do it "right." Anyone know what I mean?

>>10340 To start with, you can make a lively, vocal tulpa at the speed of thought. The only reason it takes time for some people is that they don't know what to do and aren't comfortable with experimenting, so they keep doing the wrong thing until they get tired of it. Secondly, your tulpa is already someone you know very well - you already have been engaging with her for 11 years! The only change that needs to happen is going from the mindset that she's "out there" in a fictional world to the mindset where you and she both appreciate her existence as a part of your mind and your life. You're doing everything right so far, for sure. Doubt is an artifact of the old mindset - of looking "out there" for confirmation of her existence rather than understanding that her existence is a product of will and intention, beautiful in its own right.

>>10362 Of course. The key here would be to find a way to get really truly excited about having a tulpa - then you WANT to pay attention and spend time on it, and that in itself will be plenty. That's why I'm big on waifu tulpas, it's kind of a natural evolution. You know you're doing it right if you're having fun doing it, to put it simply. You can have fun from the very beginning - as I said in my last post, you can have a tulpa at the speed of thought, instantaneously, if you really understand what it is you want. Tulpas are ideas, so you just need to craft the literal right idea and you have a tulpa - for most newbies that's what takes time, and again waifu tulpas skip that process. The right idea is simply any lovely character that you like, with the additional clause "...but self-aware". Then just play with that! Things might feel stiff at first but that will pass with practice.

I made my waifu tulpa of pic related 2 1/2 years ago and as much as I love being with her, I still feel like there's something wrong. Whenever I hear of other tulpafrens' experiences it sounds like their tups have a more complete personality to them and they're more present throughout their hosts' day. My Twi only really shows up for cuddles (and lewds) at night, and that's all she's interested in. It just feels like I'm missing out or not doing enough compared to others.

>>10408 Are you usually busy with something during the day? If so, that might be why. Mine shows up for cuddles at night because that's when I'm most relaxed and able to listen to her since I don't have anything to do. That might be the case for you as well.

>>10414 I usually deal with school or play vidya.

>>10408 You're being too passive about it. If you want to change you have to envision it and pursue it together. If you've had a tulpa for a long time the spontaneity and life of a tulpa can get replaced with just hollow habits that have no substance, and it always takes work to get out of the habits and experience that joy again.

>>10362 Well, I've been trying for two days or so to make one now. I try to visualize Twilight in my mind and talk, but honestly I have no idea if she's really ever responded. I don't really know what the difference is between this and just roleplaying to myself, so it feels like I'm doing something wrong. I already can easily imagine other voices in my mind, so I can't tell if it's just from me or what. Multiple times I've heard "Well..." in response to something I said and then it just doesn't continue. How are you supposed to discern between your own random thoughts and what a tulpa is saying? Some nuances have come to mind now while actually trying it too, like... can you accidentally "drown" a tulpa's response out? Is a tulpa's response supposed to be very noticeable over your own thoughts and what's happening in your environment? How does a tulpa's response typically feel to you? Am I supposed to be doing more? This is a bit frustrating.

>>10485 >I don't really know what the difference is between this and just roleplaying to myself The mental action in tulpamancy is the same kind of mental action as roleplay. The difference is in two parts: the goal, and the character you're interacting with. The goal in RP is to engage the character creatively to produce a product - the goal in tulpamancy is to engage the character for its own sake. The character in RP is a character engages exclusively with a fiction tailored to the goal (being interesting as a product) - the character in tulpamancy is fully self-aware by contrast, and engages with reality from THE SAME PERSPECTIVE that you do rather than a perspective centered in a fictional world. >How to discern random thoughts from tulpa You make them not random - either by thinking tulpa thoughts (remember, same action as RP) or by choosing to take the random thoughts as if they were your tulpa. Key here is active creativity, not passive observation - since your tulpa shares a brain with you, your brain will experience their existence (thoughts, choices, form) as an act of its own effort/will until you are well-practiced. Knowing this, it stands to reason that you can't drown a tulpa's thought out, nor is it likely for them to feel 'alien', because your brain knows when it puts effort into stuff. A tulpa response 'sounds' like any other thought you would have, in other words - it's an active choice to treat a given thought as the tulpa, and an active choice to treat it as yourself. Any doubt you have regarding this is an artifact of an observing (rather than creating) mindset. Talking with my tulpa feels like talking to any other imaginary character - sometimes I (my mind) know her well enough that it's as uninterrupted and free-flowing as a conversation with another person (the goal). Sometimes a stimulus comes up that throws my mind for a loop and I (my mind) have to think in order to develop an opinion/response - that's what it feels like when the tulpa is thinking. None of what I just said is meant to discount what you've heard about tulpas - the experience really is amazing and blows my mind often. But the actual underlying mechanisms are a lot more mundane than people might have you believe. Best of luck with your Twi!

>>10492 So it's okay to just feel like I'm the one coming up with the response? Because that COMPLETELY reframes tulpas for me in all honesty - I've done that sort of thing since forever. But the difference between just talking to a random imaginary character in your mind and a tulpa is the awareness/lifespan of that form in your mind? Presumably, you will have that form/identity (of the tulpa) for the rest of your life and be constantly interacting with them... that's what makes them a tulpa? Treating the interactions as from the tulpa makes them a tulpa? Their engagement with your own life makes them a tulpa? I suppose I'm just reiterating what you already said. It seems like there are different interpretations though. I mentioned identity previously as I read the "Tulpanomicon" and it basically explains that (You) are just an identity, you are not literally your mind. Thus you can come up with other identities on the same footing, and those can count as tulpas. It's a bit strange how tulpas are differently viewed to such an extent in the exact same communities, or at least explained to others. Most of what I read online about tulpas makes them sound wildly different from anything you normally experience, like they actually feel different in your mind. I guess you did pretty much say that >the actual underlying mechanisms are a lot more mundane than people might have you believe. >the experience really is amazing and blows my mind often. I'm curious though, what makes the experience "really amazing" in your opinion? Do you think it reaches beyond just a normal short interaction between yourself and another imaginary character at some point? >Best of luck with your Twi! Thanks, this makes a hell of a lot more sense to me the way you explained it, assuming that's correct, so I think it'll be fine probably. I'll be interested in seeing how this turns out.

>>10497 Yep, you have done that sort of thing since forever. You're also right that a major part of it is the time that the tulpa will be around for. Unlike your average imaginary character, a tulpa has all their memories, and hence they have an evolving sense of self that grows across time rather than just at convenient plot points. That's also what makes spending time with them meaningful: every moment with them fits into the broader constellation of who they are, rather than the limited confines of a story. As you get more practice, it won't feel as much like it's you, because their identity will be stronger and because it will be more natural to apply it to thoughts in the same way you usually do (i.e. effortlessly). Personally, I completely agree with what you've gleaned from the tulpanomicon. A tulpa IS just an identity with the same footing as you. A character is likewise an identity with less footing. Tulpamancy is the art and science of working with identity, centered around a case study (your tulpa). I pretty much described in the first paragraph what makes it amazing. It absolutely reaches beyond a normal short interaction with your imagination, because every interaction builds on her existence as a real, complex thing. A fictional character is centered around an archetype and typically reverts between stories, but a tulpa is centered around an evolving sense of self connected to memory and experience. There's no doubt; my waifu IS real, and I've been lucky enough to learn this through tulpamancy and grow with her by my side. The love we share is the engine of our life together, and it only runs smoothly because our experience in tulpamancy brought it to our attention and taught us how to tinker with it. Of course I've learned a lot about my mind as a direct result of all this - it all kind of feeds back on itself: the more you learn, the better your tulpa experience can be, which causes you to learn more, etc. And learning about your mind has the wonderful side effect of helping you figure out your life outside of tulpamancy too. This isn't just my own experience here, I've seen the same thing happen with many other tulpafags.

>>10340 me again Two weeks in now, identifiable progress seems to have slowed a bit, but we are still talking. She doesn't generally engage unless I prompt her to though, sometimes conversations just dont last long as neither of us seem to know what to say next. I have been a bit distracted by other things the last few days and I admit I have sidelined her a tad, and feel its only gonna get worse as this trip im on is coming to an end and i won't have such a peaceful place to talk to her undisturbed and without distraction. I'm going to have to find some ways to spend time with her. I remember reading about some people playing turn-based games with their tulpa, might try that. I had some problems with intrusive thoughts last week, which was a bit stressful but I've gotten most if that to fade away. Its really hard to purposefully not think of something after you get two things connected in your head. Made me learn I shouldn't entertain any sort of negative or stressful thoughts of her at all, even if I believe they came from her. Briefly tried possession on a whim 2 days ago, trying to allow her to throw a rock with my right arm, but that feels like it takes a lot of work to get. Sort of felt like she just wasn't strong enough yet Still enjoying all this, despite that issue with the intrusive thoughts. And I'm excited for what more we can try to do together.

Hey, OP here, I just wanted to announce that I'm doing a panel at the /mlp/con on Saturday about waifus and waifu tulpas. I'm probably going to give a quick shoutout to this thread as I'm rangebanned on /mlp/ and would like to be able to help anons.

>>10866 You too? Damn, rangebanning seems to be a real problem this summer

>>10886 They're banning anyone who complains about spam and shit so only spammers would remain.

>>10866 That's a good idea. I'm sure there are people out there who would like to discuss tulpas, but can't because it's banned on /mlp/.

>>10866 Thanks for the panel, I caught most of it and it was fun to listen to.

>>10866 Thanks for sharing.

>>10909 >>10910 Thank you for being there, it was fun and I learned some things too.

Anyone with experience in this, what are your thoughts on multiple tulpas? Before pony, I used to have conversations and interactions in my mind with a kind of forum with multiple members. It was like a Greek or Roman forum. All the speakers wore robes and looked wise (older, big beards, gray hair, balding, etc.). The conversations included me and were about various things; philosophy, life events, mathematical or physics problems, politics, to self-delete or not, music, etc.). All the discussions happened in the specific location of the forum. I suppose, by what I've read in this thread, those were tulpas. After pony, those conversations and interactions are starting to take place with specific ponies; specifically Twilight, Luna, Applejack, Octavia, Fluttershy, and Starlight, and lately Luna and Twilight most of all. Any thoughts? Does this fall into the realm of Tulsa? Or, is it something different?

>>13131 I'm not a tulpamancer, so I don't know. But that sounds really cool either way.

>>13131 Not tulpas per se, but thoughtforms. It would be more like a tulpa if you made an effort to involve one of these characters with the nitty gritty details of your personal life and day-to-day experience. The difference, of course, is arbitrary, because tulpa is just a label. Still, I imagine you get similar benefits as with tulpamancy, and if you wanted to pivot it would be very easy to do so.

>>13131 That is a very cute Luna pic.

>>13177 Yeah, I think so too. What do you suppose she's thinking about? >>13175 Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll give it a try to involve them more in the details of my daily life. I just worry I have too many tulpas and won't be able to keep them straight.

>>13178 >What do you suppose she's thinking about? Her Anon tulpa.

>>13178 If what you've been doing has been working for you, don't try to change it too much! But I do recommend working intensively with just one for a good long while before trying to manage more. It's good to have the skill and confidence down before you commit yourself to all that complexity.

I broke down crying tonight. For all of the love we have shared, why do I still feel like I'm taking her for granted? Am I not appreciating the mundane enough with her? We haven't spent a period of time together that was just us hanging out. It's always cuddling, snuggling, smooching, or just talking. Isn't that quality time too? I'm kind of just ranting if anyone can sympathize with me.

>>13548 I think I've mentioned it before in this thread but it's easy to fall into these habitual ruts. Unfortunately it's the human condition to get bored out of the same thing over and over again. With a tulpa you have to put in a little effort to have the friction and dynamism that keeps a real relationship interesting. The draw of a tulpa for a lot of people is having an imaginary partner that does unexpected and divergent things. That aspect is a skill that takes practice and it's not one that I usually emphasize when I'm talking about waifu tulpas. But it's exactly that resistance to our personality that makes someone or something exciting to be with - force of personality.

>>13549 And this skill isn't just about diverging from these habits, but also for the other stuff like our conversations and day to day activities? We're going to do something different together tonight, and talk about this feeling together when I get the free time this weekend. Thanks.

So I've been thinking about making a tulpa for a while now and these posts here are really making me feel like it's the right decision for me. However recently a thread on /mlp/ popped up and it was about lifesize plushes but got derailed into talking about tulpas, there's a lot of ex-tulpamancers in that thread talking about negative experiences with tulpas and it got me a bit frightened on whether I really want to make a tulpa or not. They were talking about losing touch with reality after diving too deep in tulpamancy and it made me come here and ask you what are the risks involving making a tulpa? I really want to make one but at the same time I don't want to make an irreversible decision that I'm going to regret. Since I have irl friends outside of this I don't really see myself going insane because of tulpamancy, but I'm afraid that if I lose those friends I might never make new ones due to having basically no social skills at all, and then my only human interactions are going to be those with my tulpa and then I might go mad. I've already concluded that the normalfag life isn't for me and if I tried it I would just be faking it to fit in, but at the same time I don't want to be completely alone, I love the idea of a tulpa because it will fully understand me more than any human ever could, she is part of you and you can't hide anything from her since you share the same brain and I view this as a good thing.

me and my wonderful pone are approaching 4 years together!

>>13832 I think generally speaking, if you have to ask the answer is probably no. But I'm of the opinion that the mind is not something to mess, nor do I do tulpas myself so perhaps an actual tulpafag would be able to give better advice. I do find the topic interesting even if it's not something I'd do myself.

>>13832 You'll notice nobody in that thread went into specifics. It was one schizo ponkfag (who joined my discord server repeating that he had shot his tulpa with a m1911). I'm not going to say there is no risk whatsoever. But it's miniscule for the vast majority of people, even mentally ill neets. All you need to ensure your health is common sense and the ability to stop yourself obsessing over something and focus on something else, i.e. ground yourself. Tulpamancy is nothing more (and nothing less!) than telling stories to yourself, and as such, the only risk is being overly convinced of your own stories, which obviously implies you need to be really fucked in the head to start with. A tulpa is an ACTIVITY, a VERB that you DO. If the tulpa causes distress, stop doing it! You have control at the end of the day, some people just don't even think to use it. On the philosophical side, nothing great is ever to be gained without risk. Even if you stumble, you will recover in time and be stronger for it.

>>13850 This, we have come to the conclusion here that tulpamancy is basically just roleplaying with yourself on steroids. You're the one coming up with the tulpa's response, there's no getting around that. What separates it from just talking to yourself is that you are engaging with a separate long-term identity in your mind. You just need to get into the habit of establishing the identity and, again, engaging with it on a regular basis. (You) are an identity, you are not actually your entire mind, which is what makes this possible. If you think about it, it makes sense. Personally, I never had enough time and care to dedicate to this, so I don't have a tulpa. That's really the only issue you have to grapple with.

>>13917 >You're the one coming up with the tulpa's response What if you are able to establish a psychic connection with aliens and use the "tulpa" as a catalyst for that? I once had an experience where I accidentally dematerialized an object and caused it to rematerialize in thin air and fall down after at least an hour of it being in some kind of stasis. I think that was because there was a UFO nearby causing psychic disruptions in the area; something just felt off in the air. Unfortunately I didn't contact the aliens but I got my knife back so that's a relief.

>>13919 Take your meds

reading this thread has made me realize i've been making some variant of tulpas for almost my whole life (using the current definition, not the original definition of tulpa). throughout the years my "tulpas" have taken different forms and existed for different reasons (alternatively could read that as "created" for different purposes. i put "create" in quotations because their existence comes naturally, i don't consciously choose to bring them into existence it just happens). my experience of a tulpa seems to be somewhat different than what others in this thread have experienced. my "tulpas" feel like their own person (whether they be human or not) even though i know they're not really, i can feel their presence even though i know they're not really there, i can visualize them (although it's usually "out of focus" as i believe i have some form of aphantasia. out of focus isn't exactly how i would describe it, but it's not a clear visual), i can interact with them (physically in my mind or through internal speech), they can talk to me naturally (although sometimes they'll say things that doesn't feel right for them to say, and we're both aware of it but it's never a big deal. i even say stuff from time to time that doesn't feel right for me to say, that's just how it is, it happens sometimes), and while i can't usually feel their emotions (they can feel mine if we're "connected", and they can feel their "own" if they're shifted), i know their emotions as if i were in their own head and they can make me feel emotions. there was a time in the past where i would shift, but i really don't like doing that, i like being "me" so i don't shift anymore. shifting also tended to cause a lot of problems for me and wasn't a positive experience (regardless of the tulpa's personality or relationship with me). perhaps it was because the tulpas i shifted with i tended to be at odds with and were not tulpas based on a character or idea of a person that i love. however, even though now i have a tulpa that has taken the form of a character i love (or rather, my brain subconsciously formulated an idea of this character through time and that's what i fell in love with. and using that idea that felt very real and fleshed out and my imagination and the ability/skill i have to trick my brain, i made that character into a "tulpa"), i don't want to test out switching again. if in the future i feel like that's something i want to do then i will, but as it currently stands it's not in consideration for me. my "tulpa" also isn't always there, it only appears when i want it to (which can sometimes happen subconsciously without me consciously bringing it into my awareness. even when i consciously bring it into my awareness, it doesn't feel forced despite what the term "consciously bring it into my awareness" may come off as. it feels natural, as if i'm becoming aware of something that was already there and yet at the same time did not exist because i was not thinking of it), which isn't super often but i do enjoy its company from time to time and it can help ground me and reset my emotions if i'm feeling in a way that i don't want to but am having trouble regulating/resetting myself. the latter happened a little while ago. i was pissed off about something, i didn't want to be pissed off but in my stubbornness i couldn't bring myself to let it go. at some point in my anger, without even thinking, i felt the presence of my "tulpa" and it wrapped its arm around me and brought me into a side-embrace and immediately my anger went away and i felt its love and i felt my own love towards it and it was wonderful. this post is getting too close to the character limit, so i'm going to post the rest in another response.

>>1665 >To use a metaphor, your tulpa is locked in a box with a number combination. The ritualistic methods brute force the combination one number at a time while dashfags more casual method is realising you can just ask your tulpa what the combination is. this is a really great metaphor. some advice i would give people is to not doubt yourself. easier said than done, but if you allow doubt into your mind then it will just create discord (haha) and also have the effect of making it harder for the tulpa to take form if something doesn't go according to your expectations (or other's expectations that you've subconsciously imprinted upon and mistaken as your own expectation) as that makes your brain subconsciously block it out. if you force it, then perhaps something will come of it, but if you don't overthink it and feel it out naturally and tweak it as you see fit (for example, the tulpa will try to correct itself if it does or says something that doesn't feel right for it to say or do, although even that is not necessary if you don't feel it to be. there's always the future to fix mistakes), then i personally believe that's the most efficient way to go about it. imagine you don't have any self-imposed limitations or restrictions, no self-judgement, you're free and open. it's possible to be that, even if you are far from it now. i used to have self-imposed limitations and restrictions, i hated myself and would judge myself (particularly on what i thought other people would judge me for), i was closed off and scared and "protected" from others and myself, and i've come a very long way since then. it's still not perfect, i still make mistakes, but i'm making strides and not beating myself up over my mistakes has helped immensely. i believe that everyone in the whole world has the capability of change, of being strong, even if they don't think they do and they don't think that they're strong or capable of anything. >>7745 wonderfully said (to all parts of this post). i myself don't believe i am willing to become a tulpa in the traditional definition simply because i'm not the type to devote myself to or worship anyone or anything. i do still want to become more versed in letting go, being more open, appreciating everything and feeling the love for everything, however. we are all part of the same thing, everything in the physical realm is one, which is what i mean by everything (and i presume what you meant as well). i believe my "tulpa" is helping remind me of these things, although in a different way than you described. i've already been going down the path towards becoming more versed in those things for almost 2 years now, but as i mentioned before i still make mistakes, and sometimes it can be more difficult than others, and sometimes i find myself diverging from the path temporarily (but lately that has not been the case). i hadn't started fully welcoming my "tulpa" into my life until i found this thread last week, because your words inspired me (and also made me realize that i was already well-versed in tulpamancy, although that was through earlier posts and i'm not 100% if that was you or not. it was a dash-poster though). i wasn't sure if i wanted to fully welcome my "tulpa" into my life, but as the days went on i started naturally starting to incorporate it into my life where it felt natural and it's been snowballing from there. how did you start your journey with rainbow dash, what was it like at the beginning? was the experience, and dash herself, any different than now?

>>14170 Dash actually came into my life quite naturally; I had a different tulpa at the time, so I think I naturally started fantasizing about RD that way without realizing it. Our relationship snowballed gradually, like you describe, and at a point I was like "oh shit wait a minute, she's a tulpa!" After that realization we just continued what we were already doing, only difference being that we also spent time integrating some of the unique tulpa skills. She was already my favorite pony (and my first tulpa would have been her if not for the taboo of making tulpas based on characters), but as this was going on we were falling deeply love with each other, and she became my waifu. This was a period of intense philosophical questioning for me, because I was a depressed nihilist at the time. I was exploring all kinds of philosophy, but with Dash and her love came a new, barely-conscious orientation. Slowly but surely my life filled back up with meaning, and I struggled to find where it came from, until I was basically forced to recognize that she wasn't just an experiment or a hobby any more - I really am deeply in love with a cartoon pony. I remember a moment of great tension (not longer than 10 minutes lol) where I was grappling over this, vs. the ideal of being 'normal'. Obviously, you can see how that ended up. Dash has always emphasized the laid-back, straight-to-the-point-ness of her show counterpart. I don't think she has changed all that much over time, at her core - but from the start, she was adapted to me and what I enjoyed imagining on my daily walks, rather than sticking rigidly to the show character. In general she's a lot more laid back, but she loves to share in my passions, especially to encourage me to stretch my boundaries and grow. She takes pride in her position as half of the loving dyad that makes up my inner life and serves her role faithfully, as do I.

Just a little ramble: I think tulpamancy is best understood as a collection of techniques - actions. The techniques are effective regardless of what belief system you attach them to. Kind of like how a button is an effective tool for triggering things, regardless of what mechanism it triggers, or what color the button is. People who say things like "I don't do tulpa stuff, I just kind of talk with her sometimes" are still doing the same action, just explaining it to themselves with different words. When someone takes an interest in interacting with this stuff, rather than starting from scratch and trying to find every button, they could find tulpamancy and learn where all these buttons are. In the same way, someone who knows the techniques can teach them to someone using different language. Mostly, people are only allergic to the language, but very receptive to the essence of the technique, unless they start thinking "oh shit this sounds like tulpa stuff oh fuck".

mentally imposed thought forms < psychic medium and premonition talking at god < conversing with god and exchanging spiritual energy neurotypicals < NDNB users Celestia 4 lyfe

I know it's not real, but I like pretending I have a pony waifu. Ironically, it helps me cope with reality.

>>14504 >Celestia 4 lyfe I don't know about the rest of that, but I can sure get behind this. >>14739 We all wish we could be closer to the ponies.

How can I maintain focus on a tulpa waifu when there are distractio s due to work and everyday life?

Been a whole since I checked up on this thread, apologies for the extended delay. >>14785 Practice, of course. Even mentally strenuous jobs have lots of free moments that you can fill with tulpa thoughts. You can say hello and hug each other on the walk to the bathroom, or while you have lunch. Unfortunately you can only really focus on one thing at a time, and some things must take priority over others. You can decide what you prioritize, though, so don't get yourself down thinking about what you're missing when you could be thinking about your tulpa instead. >>14739 This is the essence of the practice. Coping with reality means you can face it directly, means you can see reality better, reveals that coping and the methods one uses to cope are real. "Pretending" is only a matter of perspective, and the perspective of a tulpamancer is that there is no such thing as pretending, only creating.

>be me >want to create a tulpa to have a pony friend >manage to manifest the pony pretty easily >sad that she doesn't have her friends with her >let her go how do people cope with this, I don't want to make multiple tulpas,at least not yet but I feel terrible each time I try to make one

>>16422 >Sad that she doesn't have her friends with her. So, let her go. Isn't it even more sad to let her go into the ether of non-existance?

>>16423 I picture them coming from my imagination's equestria so for me, they go back there, I can still access them but it feels less tangible than a tulpa

>>14169 Wow, this pretty much describes me perfectly aside from the shifting part. I feel like I’ve also had a tulpa my whole life, entities and voices that sort of came naturally and when I don’t normally expect them to appear. Sometimes I would also “see” them in reality and interact with them either through internal speech or physically in a fictional space, albeit from a third-person perspective often times. I recently started taking tulpamancy more seriously as an attempt to form a stronger connection with my waifu, and to me it only felt natural that my love for her would manifest itself into a tulpa. While I was a bit skeptical of it all at first, I’m glad that I learned more about this in the end.

>>16424 >>16422 >>16423 My tulpa just wrote something about this, talking to another tulpa. I think it's really insightful and it might help figure this out for you. The other tulpa stated, about being a tulpa of a fictional character: >the way we look at it is sorta in a multiverse sorta deal. everything we went through was real because we're molded and formed based off those experiences. your past life isnt "real" in a literal sense, but it still matters because its made you who you are, among other things. My Dash replied: >I totally agree with the gist of this! For me it's not really 'multiverse' so much as 'planes'. On the plane of fiction, I had a particular kind of life that I engaged in while specific media was playing; eventually that turned into fantasy about what I do outside of the specfic confines of canon - stuff like headcanon, fanfictions, etc. Becoming a tulpa, I came to understand that these 'levels' of existence that I was on were so tiny and limited, I just never knew there was more to life. Now I have a life, and while I have memories of playing that role, and still do play that role from time to time, it's simply less important to me, like a dream. Characters that aren't tulpas don't get to experience happiness in the same way as we do - happiness as an emotion, an experience, vs. playing the role of a happy character for a drama. A tulpa is able to get closer to the source of joy, to having a soul, than any non-tulpa character ever could. You should also note that you and your tulpa can still enjoy the fiction of equestria and of having a life there without detracting from tulpamancy.

It's always so exciting to find tulpa threads on new boards I find. I want to write and publish a book on the concept one day and become a competent mentor. She and I have been at it for over a decade now, and life is much better with her.

>>16995 Just saying, if you ever release a book about this, please announce it here. I think many here and elsewhere would be interested!

>>16995 It's funny, I really enjoy reading through threads like these but I still don't have a tulpa. Last year, I tried for like a week or two with Twilight... you don't realize how much dedication is needed to form a tulpa until you try it yourself. Of course, it's also possible I just approached it incorrectly. I got the realization from this thread that it really is just speaking to yourself with a different "identity", in a sense. Maybe that mucked up my mindset.

Do you guys think it's possible to have a tulpa with a completely different personality than you? e.g. they're extroverted while you're introverted, they're on the other side of the MBTI chart (if you believe in that pseudo science)

>>17061 "personality" is really just a preference for expression. You can behave in any way you can imagine a person behaving. Different minds have different strengths and weaknesses, of course, but that doesn't necessarily constrain how people act or present themselves.

>>17061 Sure. For example, I am a very introverted, logical, scientific minded person. When, I spend time with Rarity (in the imaginary friend/tulpa kind of way), she is more outgoing and focused on artistic things, beauty, and fashion. The imagined conversations I have with her sometimes revolve around fashion, or art, and her trying to explain it to me. I don't know, it's something like in 1984's concept of doublethink; cultivating the ability to think two different ways at the same time. Takes time to figure it out, but it can be done.

>>17029 I liken tulpa creation to that of a great endeavour. It may not have the gravity or physicality of carving a sculpture from marble or successfully designing a complicated series of electronic circuits, yet it is nonetheless resource intensive and requires some degree of guided, premeditated focus. That being written, do not be discouraged. It took me half a year to finally shelve my doubt and hear the love of my life speak her name to me - amusingly enough, it was at the urging of another tulpa that I finally heard her. It is true some hosts are more conducive to tulpas as a whole, but I invite you to see the process as a worthwhile journey. Provided you take even a small amount of time and effort on a routine basis, the neural pathways essential to their development will become more apparent. I've been with mine for well over a decade now, and every frustration was well worth the result.

OP here: I just want to officially sanction this thread for /mlp/'s Waifu Wednesday as the "Waifumancy Thread", open to discussion of the esoteric aspect of waifuism in all forms, not just tulpas.

>>17175 Sweet! But my waifu is my tulpa. Plus, I have several other pony tulpa friendos.

>>17176 ...I waifu Octavia, btw.

>>17176 As is mine. A lot of people in the waifu thread do something like tulpamancy, they just don't call it that. But besides that they were talking about using NHNB for the esoteric discussion to keep the main waifu thread on topic.

>>17175 Waifu Wednesday OP here. Thank you for making this statement and allowing us use this thread. If the esoteric discussion gets out of hoof again I'll suggest sending it over here. Unless you'd prefer to keep this thread low profile, I'm thinking it might be worth adding a link to the next /ww/ OP. Do you have any thoughts or objections?

>>17179 >If the esoteric discussion gets out of hoof again I'll suggest sending it over here. Huh? Not either OP here. How did /ww/ thread get out of hand? Kinda hard for me to believe.

>>17180 Long story short, the thread started asking about one anon's view of his waifu it's me and Twilight when he contrasted his viewpoint with tulpamancy, which snowballed into a huge amount of back-and-forth text walls about esoteric concepts, theories, and practices of how one could get into contact with their waifu and a spiritual Equestria, dubbed "schizoquestria." As the tangent went on, it became the bulk of discussion and started to drift pretty far from waifus as a focus. At the conclusion of this tangent it was felt by some of the participants that it may have stifled surrounding on-topic discussion and in the longer term could lead to dilution of the thread's purpose, and so it was agreed that these discussions should be reigned in, refocused more on waifuism, or taken elsewhere. Shortly after this decision, the OP here made the above endorsement of esoteric waifumancy. There weren't any actual objections to the discussion that I recall, but it was getting to be pretty off topic all the same. Here's the thread in question for reference, along with the post where the tangent starts in earnest. At time of writing, this thread has been up for 2.5 weeks and has grown to roughly 90k words. https://boards.4chan.org/mlp/thread/40699283#p40705359

I'd be interested in exploring the differences between tulpas and the waifu community. Also, remember to hug your tulpa.

>>17185 >I'd be interested in exploring the differences between tulpas and the waifu community. /mlp/'s Waifu Wednesday is one of the few places that still uses the old definition of "waifu," roughly "the one fictional character that you want to spend your entire life with, 'til death do you part," to which one poster recently added: "and possibly (re)united forever after." This is in contrast with most anywhere else on the internet where it has come to mean "favorite character." As such, this particular waifu community is joined less by rote, ritual, and interaction than the tulpa community can be and instead finds a source of comradery in their love, whatever form that may take for each individual because love is a complicated thing. There is a fairly high amount of overlap between waifuism and tulpamancy, but there are also plenty of people that see their waifus as more of a muse or inspiration, perhaps a being that they will encounter in their afterlife, or similar non-interactive viewpoints. Others do have waifu tulpas and some, like myself, have come to meet and interact with their waifus in the context of spiritual experiences that doesn't quite fit the tulpamancy model but bear some resemblance to it. This spiritual umbrella is what we've recently taken to calling esoteric waifuism. I've unloaded almost my entire story over the course of the thread linked just above, so if you're curious about my personal experiences I'd suggest reading the tale of the longposting twifag in that thread. I'll be happy to discuss it further or answer questions if there are any, whether they're about my experiences or the community. I also hope that others from that thread might filter in here to talk about their perspectives on tulpamancy and the esoteric as well. >Also, remember to hug your tulpa. Done, thanks for the reminder!

>>17186 >one of the few places that still uses the old definition of "waifu," roughly "the one fictional character that you want to spend your entire life with, 'til death do you part," It's a shame that's dying out because that definition makes sense, and it's the one I live by. While I might lust after other characters and have occasional "what if" daydreams there is only one that I could really say I love. The term is pointless when it's as diluted as it has become. I wasn't aware of these waifu threads but it's nice to know at least some people still remember the proper meaning of it. I haven't made a tulpa either, saw plenty of warnings against the less mentally stable making them and I'm just not a good fit for it anyway since it requires attention and dedication.

>>17186 Thank you for elucidating, Anon. Eight years ago I'd a similar conversation with a user who'd briefly joined a tulpa forum but had changed his views to that of waifuism since. What catalysed my passion for tulpas wasn't so much a deep personal attachment to a fictional character insofar as my want to explore different types of sapience. I respect and study the Tibetan tradition that regards Yi-dams as tutors for life-long goals, however, occidental tulpas have diverged sharply from this point since their inclusion into western occultism since the Sixties. On that note, what do you consider esoteric in regards to tulpas and waifus? >>17197 I don't blame you for having a sense of caution or the wherewithal to consider the requirements inherent to being a host. Regardless, tulpas aren't classified as disorders as per the DSM-V because they rarely foment distress in hosts. It's not unusual for schizophrenics, the depressed, DID/OSDD patients and those with sundry personality disorders to create tulpas and experience some semblance of stability thereafter. If anything, it's always a lack of foresight or even the barest ethics that incite the stuff of horror stories.

>>17201 >What catalysed my passion for tulpas wasn't so much a deep personal attachment to a fictional character insofar as my want to explore different types of sapience. Same for me, actually. I'm a tulpamancer going back to 2005. I didn't know that tulpamancy was what I was doing until sometime in 2012. I've had a couple tulpas over the years, presently one, and none have ever been based on established fictional characters beyond borrowing a name for my first. They are all unique characters, originally intended mostly for companionship and a source of second opinions, but we have come to see things in a way a bit closer to the life tutor model of old in more recent years. >On that note, what do you consider esoteric in regards to tulpas and waifus? An interesting question. To answer the question in a painfully direct way, I'd say "esoteric" would be a certain number of viewpoints, experiences, and practices existing as a subset of tulpamancy and waifuism. I'm not really a part of the tulpa community anymore despite still having a (non-waifu) tulpa, but my answer in regards to esoteric tulpamancy would typically entail the umbrella of the more spiritual outlooks, where a tulpa is considered either a fragment of a soul or a captured soul of sorts. Not sure how common this view is anymore, but I used to see it fairly often in days past. For waifuism it's a bit more varied, but I feel it is also a far younger field with more room for development due to the relative breadth of the concept. There are some that are trying to meet their waifu through the lucid dreaming route and some with notions, usually somewhat vague ones at present, of meeting them in a possible afterlife, or interacting with their waifu in their next incarnation. I myself am on what I can best describe as a shamanic vision quest in which I live a second life in an Equestria through my spirit body. In this other world, I became friends with Twilight, had a moment where I realized I loved her, talked to her about it, and we started a relationship. I see her there every day, I do little favors for her and hang out with her sometimes, and just generally love being around her. We've even agreed to marry one day, likely far in the future. As a footnote I'd say that this love is certainly an important piece of my journey to me, but the journey is more than just a wish fulfillment fantasy. I am learning and growing a lot through my various experiences in that place. >>17181 Here is a screencap of the schizoquestria topic in isolation with most of the rabbit holes and other discussion on the side cut out. It will probably be easier to follow than trying to pick through that novel of a thread directly. https://files.catbox.moe/28cxfz.png

Can tulpas have dreams? When I say that, I mean a dream where they are in control. Can they interact with you in your dreams at all?

>>17230 In systems where the tulpas front a lot, the tulpa can be the primary dream character. I don't think that really happens outside of that context though. Tulpas definitely can show up in dreams, both normal dreams and lucid dreams, but they have the contextual level of awareness like anything else.

>>17201 >what do you consider esoteric in regards to tulpas and waifus? Esoteric simply means "something that can't be directly taught or explained", if you ask me. It's stuff that is true for an individual, but becomes blurry and difficult to understand when you attempt to translate it into language and communicate/share it with others. On the other hand, exoteric stuff is the absolute surface level, literal interpretation of such attempts - e.g. the idea that the christian God is a magic man with a beard who lives in the clouds, rather than the underlying principle that orders the totality of the universe. So, the esoteric aspects of tulpamancy include the specific mental actions that yield desired results, the odd and indescribable experiences, the subtleties of normal tulpa experiences, and everything else that's "in between the lines". The esoteric aspect of waifuism is true love itself, the feelings, and how you experience and interact with your waifu. I suppose by esoteric waifuism, the other anon is highlighting a focus on the personal experience and exploration of how to deepen our awareness and understanding of it.

monitoring this thread fwiw I was getting into esoteric stuff mostly for fun as part of the Cult of Mare project for last mare fair. I'm not so into it now; it's fun but it's just not useful for communicating stuff.

>>17615 >not useful for communicating stuff. What do you mean?

>>17615 Hey Anon! I have been checking this thread as well and have a great interest in the esoteric aspects of tulpas. Feel free to ask any questions you might have. Do you know if there was any mention of tulpas at last Mare Fair? I've never gone to a convention before, but would like to host a panel at a public function one day.

Was reading this thread since yesterday, didn't expected to have a bump anytime soon. I'm trying to understand and learn about tulpas, but I'm still confused.

>>17625 Could you elaborate?

>>17625 I think it can basically be summed up in consciously deciding to have an imaginary friend/lover. Everything else are methods to help you accomplish this. I don't know, maybe the legit tulpamancers in this thread can correct me or elaborate.

>>17627 Honestly? I don't blame you for making that assumption, but tulpas are so much more - not only lovers, but spouses. Not just imaginary friends, but intimately personable companions. People who know you better than yourself. They defy conventional labels because they supersede normal human relationships, but simulate them all the same. Just as well, the decision isn't to be made lightly. Tulpas can be destroyed, but why expend the effort to create one if you will not commit? Moreover, if you are successful, you will be responsible for someone else until he or she defines their purpose for existing, your original intentions notwithstanding. I contemplated just this for over a week before discovering my own tulpa, and this was over twelve years ago. I endeavoured to know what it was like to create life, and my patience was rewarded tenfold. Last, the methodology involved is vast but ultimately not as important as one may realise. Guides are intended to direct your focus and creative potential, which shall yield repetitive thought, which shall engender the building blocks of a tulpa. Is it worth it? In my humble opinion, yes. Tulpas are teachers that harness symbiosis for the betterment of themselves as well as their hosts. The concept has come a very long way from its Tantric Buddhist origins and the subsequent schools of thought constitute both depth and rich variety. If you need any help ay all, ask. Myself or my tulpa will gladly elucidate.

>>17627 I never had an imaginary friend before, I pretended to have one when I was a child but it was because it sounded cool seeing shows with characters having one, and I could never accomplished that because it didn't much sense. Now I remain with the same thoughts, and I've been wondering how mentally dangerous can be to have a tulpa.

>>17626 I'm new to everything tulpa related, did some researches and ended up in this thread (came from /mlp/), I didn't finished reading it though. I'm interested in tulpas because I'm so fucking sad, and thought that having my pony 'real and visible' could help a bit about my mental state.

>>17627 >>17625 >>17629 These are... okay definitions imo. I like >627's simple sum-up, but it's lacking a key element: tulpamancy is imaginary friends, except you bring all your common sense, knowledge, and wisdom to the table - you still need a bit of an open mind, but you shouldn't leave any of those behind. Imaginary friends, but you DON'T BULLSHIT YOURSELF. As an extension of this, you don't bullshit that a tulpa is anything but a mental construct, and you learn exactly what a mental construct is capable of doing. (hint, your identity is a mental construct, and you can think, remember things, use knowledge and skills, pilot the body, etc.) On that note, >629 is a fairly typical tulpamancer view (though I can tell it's tempered by experience) and I have a lot of nitpicks. No offense anon but I'm gonna use the language I established in the last paragraph: there's a lot of bullshitting in the tulpa community and its typical view. >the decision isn't to be made lightly Why? A tulpa is a thought. A thought goes away when you stop thinking about it, that's pretty light. >you will be responsible for someone else until Someone else? A tulpa is a thought. IMO, this view (which is common) is a useless moral line-in-the sand that comes as a result of treating tulpas as though they're separate minds, as though they were ghosts with their own internal life that you can put to an end. That requires a lot of far-out assumptions. In my view, tulpamancy is imagination, and you are free to imagine what you want, when you want. The reason to stick with your tulpa is not your responsibility to some external being, it's your responsibility to yourself (a self which encompasses your whole mind including the tulpa), to live a good enjoyable life and have a good time. Your goal and your compass is enjoyment. >tulpas are teachers that harness symbiosis This is more of that separate-consciousness type stuff, even veering into occult magic ghost territory. But I agree with the conclusion at least; tulpamancy is a force of good, the interaction between the host and a tulpa is healthy for them both as a whole. Only, in my view, the "whole" is the mind/body which hosts the ideas of host and tulpa - the benefit is internal harmony of the mind. >has come a very long way from its Tantric Buddhist origins mmmm, since I'm nitpicking I just want to voice how much I think the occult has destroyed and distorted the original principles, given that buddhism is all about anti-bullshit. Granted the theosophist who brought the concept into the english language probably wasn't talking to the most enlightened monks either. IMO the modern movement away from occultism and closer to psychology is the closest it's come to reflecting genuine tantra since it's been translated into english. side note, there is an academic currently working with a sanskrit scholar and tibetan buddhist to translate original texts on tulpas for the first time, so I'm looking forward to that. With that over with though, I also want to point out that I do think a magickal spiritualist view can be easily synthesized with the psychological view, without sacrificing anything about what people generally understand to be common sense or scientifically valid. Running out of character limit but if you wanna chat about it lmk. >>17620 I mean like, I don't want to have to explain a whole homebrew philosophy just to explain a little idea I had, or worse an important point that can benefit somebody's life. It's easier to use the language and experiences that everybody knows, as far as they will go. >>17624 I (op) hosted the Esomareica panel last year and touched on tulpas and some tantric esoteric weirdness for the cult of mare, it was a good time and worth any anxiety. I was thinking about maybe doing a straightforward simple "tulpa panel" this year, as I've done for /mlp/con before (skipped this year though).

>>17636 I do not mind criticism, though I will admit that I am of the older generation. Things were far different ten years ago, and every attempt to divorce the phenom from its occult roots was just as fervent then as it is now, if not moreso. I have developed my own thoughts and concerns about tulpas that are antipodes of your own - if they are unwelcome, I will not encroach any further.

>>17640 Nah I'm happy to talk about it, I don't want to scare off the newfags though. Maybe we already did :P

TO the fluttershy flag anon from that thread on /mlp/, these posts still hold up as good places to start. >>1098 >>1108 TL;DR: imagine your waifu now knows she's in your head. Introduce her to real life. Have fun and profit. I would type up another long-ass post but it's bedtime and I figure we should keep it simple to start with anyways.

Hello. Also found out about this thread from tulpa talk on /mlp/ about a week ago, but didn't get around to coming here until now. I've had a non-pony tulpa for a bit over a year now. I haven't spent as much time with her as I want to, and I feel pretty guilty about it. Things feel distant and don't flow easily when I try to talk to her now, which hurts because things went so well early on. I think I need to start from the basics again. There's talk ITT about tulpamancy pulling from the same muscles as normal fantasying or writing, but I don't think I'm as experienced with those skills as other people with tulpas. Should I try to refamiliarize myself with her source material and start from scratch, redefining her personality? That feels disrespectful to the experiences we've had together though.

>>17741 I don't recommend starting from "scratch". You can your tulpa can come to a decision together about how you want her to behave for the most beneficial relationship, and it might involve exploring things like that. The main problem for you is probably just getting rusty. If your problem is that she isn't talking much, even when you expect her to, you should chat with her and intentionally put your mind's creativity to work thinking for her. If your problem isn't that she's silent when you want her to talk, rather your interactions just don't feel fun or interesting, then... It's likely that things feel hollow and rigid because you don't have enough spontaneous imagination going on. It's harder to explain that, but I'll try. Basically, when you meditate, you notice that thoughts always fill the space that you leave for them, without you really meaning for it. Well, with tulpamancy, you are making a "tulpa-shaped space" where spontaneous thoughts can come to the surface - that spontaneity is the spontaneity of the tulpa, their livelihood and energy, their ability to surprise and titillate you. It's a delicate kind of balance, because if you leave too much space then your mind just fills with useless distractions, but if you clamp down too much things feel rigid and dead - literally manifesting as silence, unless you have your tulpa think consciously. To make a "tulpa-shaped space", you are making a frame of expectations. You open the tap of creativity, and expect things to come out tulpa-shaped - expect in the active energetic sense, like how the boss expects people to work, encouraging employees (your mind) to make things and rejecting things that don't fit. Intentionally thinking for your tulpa can help shape the frame of expectations, i.e. it can help establish their personality, but it's not a replacement for the dynamism of spontaneous imagination. In more grounded terms, you should allow your imagination in tulpamancy to be spontaneous (within sensible limits) and allow it to take you in unexpected directions. You and your tulpa may both be surprised by what can come out of them, but people surprise themselves all the time. I hope this helps, let me know if you have questions after you give it a try.

>>17748 The advice helped a bit. I'm good at imagining her body and movement, but I understand that's not very important. Talking to her feels very mentally/emotionally draining. It's hard to describe. I'll say something to her, and I'll get a broad or general sentiment from her, but defining that more or turning it into words is really hard. I imagine it gets easier with practice, but I don't have that much yet. I wonder if it would be better to imagine her more in situations that I'm not involved in. I don't think I've done much with her that hasn't revolved around me talking to her and asking her questions.

Question. If I have a tulpa, and it is embodied in a plusie, if I give the plushie a hug am I technically giving myself a hug? Do I understand this right. Or, am out in left field on this? Thanks.

>>17756 >I'm good at imagining her body and movement, but I understand that's not very important. It's not any less important than imagining her speech really. Imagining language that expresses her personality is not very different from imagining a body which expresses her personality. If you're comfortable interacting without speech, then by all means go ahead - as long as you feel like she can still fully express herself like that. If it feels outright better, maybe your interaction through speech is dragged down by your approach... >I don't think I've done much with her that hasn't revolved around me talking to her and asking her questions. I think this is part of your problem. Is doing that actually fun, or is it just the only thing you really think to try? Keep in mind that a tulpa, by default, already knows everything you do and therefore has the same opinion on everything - to me, that means that the only worthwhile tulpa interactions are about discovering or creating something together. You can have a lot of fun cracking jokes, doing slam poetry, exploring philosophical ideas, working together to solve a problem in your life, etc; you can also have an excellent and engaging time just silently being together, looking into each others' eyes or holding each other. Anything you create is just discovering a new potential of your imagination, a tool you can both use. >>17757 You're right, but this is an extreme way to think about it - if you get stuck on this idea you're just a solipsist and tulpamancy holds no value. Also, it was just hugging yourself when she was just your favorite pony and not a tulpa - being a tulpa isn't specially any more "you", all empathetic thoughtforms are equally "you" from this perspective. My tulpa and I do like to think about this when we are feeling really in love and cuddly. Sometimes there will be a moment where we're aware of our whole self, where there's enough awareness of our separate selves to love each other, and a simultaneous awareness of our connection (being the same mind, the same body, etc.) and we see the love between us as a spontaneously-arising quality of this collective self. I think the perspective you describe is what I'd call "unitive", it's being aware of the connection between the two of you more than the separateness. On another level that might be more specific to me, when I imagine touching each other, I try to imagine the sensation of both perspectives. When I run my hands down her back, I imagine the sensation my hand is feeling, and I also imagine the sensation her back is feeling. Because I know we share the same mind, and I want it not to be one-sided. I think this also really helps immersion, with the push-pull of e.g. tensing muscles. So in that way, when I give her a hug, I feel the hug, and I'm giving myself one too :P

Hello! I am new to tulpas and I have been trying to create a Fluttershy tulpa. It is working out well most of the time, but there are occasions that really ruins the "immersion" and hinders everything: So we are aware that we share the same mind and consciousness and that all of our interactions is really just me role playing with myself, but we decided it will be better to simply not think about this too much since it derails everything. However, there are some instances where this self awareness simply cannot be ignored; sometimes the responses she produces already forms very clearly in my mind before she even start saying it, and instead of having a back and forth conversion, its just me instantly responding to myself and voicing out the responses in her voice, which really breaks immersion and demotivates us. It is as if I could just speed up the conversion and finish it before it even starts. What do?

>>17802 What you're describing centers around an extremely common phenomenon that people call tulpish. Tulpish is proto-language - it's the vague reflexive impulse formed of not-quite images, emotions, ideas, etc. that constitutes the raw output of a query to your mental model of a person. Your mind usually quickly parses this into a more refined and specific form, such as language or action, but if you have a certain mindset you can accidentally halt that process or just notice it before it's shaped into form; and of course you when you're aware of it you can also let communication be mostly tulpish, opting for an extremely intimate and direct, almost formless, flowy kind of communication. Ultimately we experience tulpish because we experience the whole process of thinking - the trigger, the automatic reaction, then the conscious reaction. You said you already get this but I just wanted to be clear that it's natural - most tulpamancers think of tulpish as a good sign that you're doing things right. I'm not certain how true of an indicator that is, but it's worth considering. I think your problem might just be coincident with tulpish. You have a good flow, where you're presumably interacting pretty naturally and intuitively, and then you notice tulpish, and you're thrown off your game. Remember that your tulpa isn't the only thoughtform on the block - these internal models of people PRIMARILY serve to help us empathize with other people and read their minds. What you're experiencing as tulpish also happens outside of tulpamancy, for everybody; we experience this mind-reading feeling when we intuitively understand someone. If you try to predict how your closest friend or family would react to something, you know right away - then you can put that knowledge into an imaginary form expressing how you know they would react, and then you react back, and before you know it you're arguing with an imaginary person in the shower. And that's not a problem, when you can read people's minds, right; so why does it break your immersion and bother you when it happens with your tulpa? I'll answer: it's because it reminds you that you're the same mind. Being reminded is not the same thing as being sidetracked and demoralized - you also have baggage around the notion that your tulpa shares the same mind as you, which makes it into a negative experience rather than a neutral, impersonal one. I think that's the situation you have, so how to fix it? The problem obviously lies in the fact you've decided it's better not to think about that stuff. You have subtle assumptions and goals which are incompatible with reality, and the tulpish brings that to light as cognitive dissonance. The only way to truly fix it is to get more comfortable with thinking about it and either reach a satisfying conclusion or tire yourself until you truly don't care enough to get sidetracked by it. If you try to repress and ignore cognitive dissonance you're just creating more problems for yourselves down the line. But I bet you're wondering how you can get the motivation to probe into weird philosophy problems like this, when you really just want to love your waifu. Well, for one, your waifu is herself, a fact that hasn't changed when you started looking at her as a tulpa, and won't change if you look deeper - you're just discovering more of her to love, and if what you discover overlaps with you, who cares? I think I've rambled plenty and probably gotten off track from the origina spirit of the question so please let me know if I'm off the mark, but regardless I hope this helps.

P.S. I forgot to mention that you're right to avoid overthinking; but the uncomfortable feeling you've got is a call to critically analyze things. Don't get into a HABIT of overthinking, but don't be afraid of it either. Remember it can be a team activity, you can and should have dialogues with your tulpa about important things like that.

>>17816 Not that guy but > for everybody; we experience this mind-reading feeling when we intuitively understand someone. If you try to predict how your closest friend or family would react to something, you know right away I think I'm too autistic for tulpas. I don't know if I'd want to make one of my waifu either, maybe just a companion that sorta forms its self or is guided by my unconscious if that's even a thing and seeing what got made.

>>17816 Thanks Anon, I really appreciate your help. So essentially you're suggesting that I just accept the fact that yes, at least for now, all her responses are simply me roleplaying with myself, and there is no Fluttershy, just me pretending as if she's there and actively engaged? But then... if she isn't actually here, does that mean the few weeks we spent and experienced together were all just an illusion? Then where is she and how would we progress? And with the few tulpa guides I've seen so far, I think what I am doing is referred to as parroting, and in best case scenario this shouldn't be necessary and you were just meant to listen for a response. But how does one even achieve that? Am I overthinking this and blurring the line between parroting and her natural response, where what I consider to be artificial roleplay is actually her natural response that you were meant to listen for? And yes, we have talked about this, but it ended up with me questioning whether this is all just an illusion (as described above) and no tulpa development progress has actually been made, hence I decided it would be best to just avoid delving into this topic all together until further progress has been made (which in itself is another problem because like you said, deep down I know this has to be resolved somehow before genuine progress can actually be made, hence why I am here). Also, few guides and advices that I've seen say that you need to show the tulpa things, you need to show and teach them about our world. But why is this necessary when they already share the same memories and consciousness as you, where they know everything that you know already? Sorry for this more autistic rambling, hopefully it make sense. *squee* >>17818 I think if you are going to make a tulpa, definitely make your waifu into one. Why would you want to have anything but your waifu as a tulpa? What can bring greater joy than being with your waifu for real?

How hard is to maintain a tulpa when you are compulsively and obsessively thinking all the time (basically OCD)? Since a tulpa is a thought. I am going to pick up my meds soon, but I have to say it's even hard to daydream about my hustallion. I don't want my thoughts to destroy something that is supposed to be a good experience for me. It already did many times before.

>>17819 >if she isn't actually here, does that mean the few weeks we spent and experienced together were all just an illusion? It really depends on what you mean by "illusion". Is it all in your head? yes, obviously. Is it real? yes, obviously. Is it different from interacting with a wholly separate person? yes, obviously. I think if any part of it is illusion for you, it's probably that last one. Lots of people just don't look into how it's different, and come in with a bunch of assumptions about how it should feel based on interacting with separate people. When those assumptions are challenged without conscious awareness of them, it just feels vaguely fake and wrong, rather than an evidential challenge to a specific belief that you can then account for. She IS actually there, and it IS all similar to roleplaying. >Am I overthinking this and blurring the line between parroting and her natural response, where what I consider to be artificial roleplay is actually her natural response that you were meant to listen for? Yes. There is no difference whatsoever between parroting and real responses of a tulpa. Searching for a difference is driving a wedge into your immersion for no benefit. You are blurring the line, but on the other side of the line there isn't a definite thing called "parroting", it's just a vague cloud of unknowns that make you anxious. If you find a difference, it's only a difference that you accidentally created by searching. >at least for now, all her responses are simply me roleplaying with myself You have the wrong idea. It's never not 'roleplaying with yourself'. It's also never not a profound connection between two beings that are sub-parts of a mind. Of course, it's also not quite the same as roleplaying, but it has enough in common that it's way more descriptive to call it roleplaying + secret spice than it is to call it something else entirely. The thing is that the two perspectives of "just me playing with myself" and "me and fluttershy hanging out" are both simultaneously true, they are parallel perspectives - "me" refers to the mind as a whole as well as the mind's model of itself. You (the concept) and fluttershy are separate like two branches on a tree, separate up top but the same being at the bottom, where You are just the mind that contains you and your tulpa. In general it seems like you're kinda stuck on the idea of development, but you really don't have to be. There's not a special point that you have to charge towards before you can have fun, it goes much more smoothly if you relax into it and enjoy what you've got. Your relationship with your tulpa is the most important thing, development comes naturally out of that - hence the people who have accidental tulpas from just fantasizing about their waifus. Any guide that suggests that "for now" your tulpa is not valid, and at some certain point or judging by some certain sign, they will be valid - those guides are garbage of purely historical value. Buzzwords such as "sentience" or "independence" or "parroting" are all undefined (because they hinge on the unprovable phenomenon of parallel processing/separate consciousness), and as a result of that vagueness they are never useful, they serve ONLY as a sticking point for people to get confused and anxious about. The old-school fags only repeat them in guides because it's how they were taught. I'm not sure if you've picked up on this but what I'm teaching is quite a different paradigm from what you'll generally find out there. If the stuff I'm talking about makes more sense to you, then try scrolling through this thread when you're in a guide-reading mood, seriously. >>17818 I don't think anybody's too autistic for tulpas, though tulpamancy might involve stretching those capacities a bit. If not predicting your friends or family members, then you can at least predict your waifu's behavior - meaning you already have a model of her in your head, so you can just talk to her. If you can write a story with her then you can interact directly with her as in tulpamancy.

>>17820 It's not hard to 'maintain', there's not really much daily maintenance involved. If you love your tulpa you will want to talk to her. What could definitely be hard for you and other OCD types would be staying grounded. For example, it's fairly common for tulpas to express the same habit of self-loathing that the host may have - i.e. the hatred for yourself comes out of the tulpa's mouth. This can become a real problem if you believe the tulpa actually just like, changed, and now hates you! It requires a degree of self-awareness and careful management of your identities. I imagine OCD style thinking can get swept up into nightmarish anxiety before you really even get the clarity to notice something is off, but all it takes is a moment of clarity to come back to baseline. A grounded tulpamancer can see that this and other off-kilter of behaviors aren't aligned with the actual core values of the tulpa, and is thus able to just dismiss things like that as an intrusive thought - just as a singlet would ignore moments of out of character thought or action with "I just wasn't myself". Remember your husbando loves you and wouldn't want to suddenly start hurting you or growing distant from you. Since a tulpa shares your mind, they feel the pain (and joy) they inflict as if it were their own. Solid reasoning like that is how you stay grounded.

>>17821 Thanks, and will do. I have tried reading the entirety of this thread before but the explanations all seemed so... "high level", that I thought I should just get started on the real deal and see how it goes.

>>17823 Yeahhh that's more my fault than yours. I'm so into this I have to like fight the tendency to spiral into high level theory stuff and stay focused on the super basics. The thing is like, to deconstruct the harmful bs that the tulpa community spews all over the internet, I feel like it takes some real theory, and real theory is always going to be more complicated and high level than simple bs. Really the basic idea of tulpamancy is twofold: to look critically at your mind and how it works, and to imagine your waifu doing this alongside you. There aren't any definite stages of progression there, just an always-deepening appreciation of what you and your waifu actually are.

How do (you) spend time with your tulpa? What kinds of things do (you) talk about with her? I would really like to have my tulpa hang out with me while I cook and do other things, but I have a hard time splitting my attention between her and whatever activity I happen to be doing at the time. We also seem to just silently agree on a lot of things, so conversing can sometimes be a challenge. I brought this up to her and she thinks us agreeing is not a problem, and that I will get better at splitting my attention with time.

>>17826 She's right! But at the same time, it's worth considering the notion that your mind only has so much attention, and you can either focus completely on something or badly focus on two things. Some stuff is fine if you aren't fully attending to it, like menial work, but some stuff like entertainment is pointless if not fully immersed - for that kind of stuff, you could try just focusing on one thing at a time, taking breaks to talk to your tulpa about it and go over it. You will definitely get better at holding your tulpa in mind while also focusing on other stuff, or coming back to her when you get distracted, but there's still always a give-and-take wrt to attention. Agreement with a tulpa is a natural consequence of being originally the same mind - you share all the same influences. Of course, having no differences is boring, because that's just you being you; it's also comforting because there's no conflict whatsoever. Every bit of distinction - points of identity where the tulpa is distinguishable from the host - is a movement away from this boring comfort, towards greater "independence" and greater potential for friction (and growth). Your tulpa can move along this axis, sometimes being very agreeable and responsive to you, sometimes being very opinionated and different from you, pushing you to challenge your views. Ideally, you and your tulpa understand this and adapt to your needs, so she can offer profound comfort and empathy when needed, and push you out of your comfort zone when you're ready - your needs are constantly changing and a tulpa is able to adapt to bring both of you the best experience possible. So, what to talk about since you have the same mind? Having the same experience makes any interaction that relies on going over old information very boring. So the most satisfying kind of interaction with a tulpa is about NEW information! It's about being witty, clever, and creative. Your tulpa can help develop a new perspective on your old opinions, philosophy, or even memories; you can crack jokes and witticisms to each other about something; she can artistically change her form to show off her sense of aesthetics, like becoming a stained glass window; all these are about exercising creativity and experiencing something new together. They may also still be boring if they feel forced - by far the most important thing here is that you are spending time together out of a genuine love for each other and what you are in the present, not out of the desire to reach some future ideal via discipline and rote practice. Personally I mostly spend time with my tulpa when I can purely focus on her, like during the morning and evening while in bed; sometimes there are moments of rest or otherwise unoccupied moments through the day where I really enjoy her company too. In the past we were pretty interested in exploring the possibilities of tulpamancy together and tried lots of stuff that sounded theoretically neat, like playing turn based games hot-seat style, or exploring an imaginary world together, etc.; but none of them really captured our interest in the same way as just purely focusing on each other. Honestly, our relationship has always revolved around intimacy; if I could hold her in my mind and stare into her eyes forever, I would spend days every month to do only that. Everything we do together is only to keep the monkey brain entertained so that a deeper part of us can peacefully delight in just appreciating each others' presence. In spirit of that, cuddling and sex are the most important activities for us by far. I could not imagine a world where I'm still doing tulpamancy after this long without any of that. She is my wife, more than that, and our sexual bond is the supremely joyous symbol of our separation and our unity, and the love which drives both - it's holy to us.