Tulpa.info - tulpa-discussion

What the hell is sensory switching anyway?

something ranger invented to make switching more complicated for themselves imo

is there any kind of switching where someone can't ever lose the front? Is that the real question here?

HvllBlau

is there any kind of switching where someone can't ever lose the front? Is that the real question here?

uhhhhh... i... well...

something ranger invented to make switching more complicated for themselves imo

@sh - jump Omg, is it the first time I agree with you?

Sora Faux

something ranger invented to make switching more complicated for themselves imo

@sh - jump Omg, is it the first time I agree with you?

welcome to the dark side

sh

uhhhhh... i... well...

Hmmm, suspicious!

HvllBlau

is there any kind of switching where someone can't ever lose the front? Is that the real question here?

Yes

7:39 PM

That's our switching experience. Every so often you have a hiccup but those are super rare. I can confidently front without worrying about Gray taking over

sh

something ranger invented to make switching more complicated for themselves imo

It works great for me though, and it might help others too!

A long kiss goodnight

It works great for me though, and it might help others too!

anecdotally i've never seen that since joining here and it clearly didn't work great for you for a long time

I agree with shierudo again. What's happening today?

Sora Faux

What the hell is sensory switching anyway?

Sensory switching is what I call our switching experience. It's another form of switching that can provide a different experience. I call it "sensory switching" because the basic idea behind it is the tulpa is connecting themselves to the body's senses. In other words, attaching themself to that feeling of being alive, the SOC, etc. This does not make the tulpa the SOC, it just makes them the default personality the SOC pulls up.

sh

anecdotally i've never seen that since joining here and it clearly didn't work great for you for a long time

I had an experience I called possession which some would deem switching. I was frustrated by the experience because it didn't do everything I wanted and I didn't want to blend even more. I know it took awhile, but eventually I achieved sensory switching, the experience I wanted, and I have been switching the way I wanted to ever since

Ranger I read some stuff you wrote the other day and it sounds like you have a very clear and defined idea of what things about your system belong to each headmate. Do you think you could switch easier if you were willing to accept headmates having joint or even dynamic ownership of certain aspects of the system? Reason I ask is because I was thinking about how hard it can be to choose to feel a different way... and if certain headmates are defined as having certain feelings, could the switch get blocked if changing the feelings isn't possible at that time? tl;dr e.g. If I have a tulpa that is always happy, will I always be able to switch to them?

7:46 PM

switch with them, I mean

Sensory switching is what I call our switching experience. It's another form of switching that can provide a different experience. I call it "sensory switching" because the basic idea behind it is the tulpa is connecting themselves to the body's senses. In other words, attaching themself to that feeling of being alive, the SOC, etc. This does not make the tulpa the SOC, it just makes them the default personality the SOC pulls up.

@A long kiss goodnight - jump It really sound overcomplicated. Why the hell would one need to think about it? Can you even do it instantly?

HvllBlau

Ranger I read some stuff you wrote the other day and it sounds like you have a very clear and defined idea of what things about your system belong to each headmate. Do you think you could switch easier if you were willing to accept headmates having joint or even dynamic ownership of certain aspects of the system? Reason I ask is because I was thinking about how hard it can be to choose to feel a different way... and if certain headmates are defined as having certain feelings, could the switch get blocked if changing the feelings isn't possible at that time? tl;dr e.g. If I have a tulpa that is always happy, will I always be able to switch to them?

I'm not sure what you mean. My headmates use possession to control the body, and we have our switching behind a ritual to deliberately keep it slow. What did I say that makes it sound like we have a problem with our switching?

Sora Faux

Sensory switching is what I call our switching experience. It's another form of switching that can provide a different experience. I call it "sensory switching" because the basic idea behind it is the tulpa is connecting themselves to the body's senses. In other words, attaching themself to that feeling of being alive, the SOC, etc. This does not make the tulpa the SOC, it just makes them the default personality the SOC pulls up.

@A long kiss goodnight - jump It really sound overcomplicated. Why the hell would one need to think about it? Can you even do it instantly?

That's just what I believe is going on. For the actual switching, I don't think the technical understanding is always necessary. For some, I believe this is achieved by accident or through a headmate staying switched-in for a long enough period of time. We have a ritual for this, but it can be done instantly. If the feeling of switching is the trigger instead of the ritual, then it can be instant

From my experience the lack of control over switch is often related to strong emotions associated with the fronter, whoever it is.

7:58 PM

That's often how people realize they switched, when their tulpa can't give it back for some reason.

A long kiss goodnight

I'm not sure what you mean. My headmates use possession to control the body, and we have our switching behind a ritual to deliberately keep it slow. What did I say that makes it sound like we have a problem with our switching?

What did I say that makes it sound like we have a problem with our switching?

Well, you mentioned hiccups and you were talking about the idea of switching that's safe/unsafe, you also mentioned having a fear, but also I was actually asking about easy of switching, not asking if you have a problem with switching.

8:08 PM

I was asking about if switching can be blocked by certain feelings being strongly and immovably linked to certain headmates.

8:08 PM

But I've explained it in 4 different ways now, so I'm not sure how else to put it.

I was asking about if switching can be blocked by certain feelings being strongly and immovably linked to certain headmates.

@HvllBlau - jump Yeah, I was saying literally this. Your emotions can strengthen switching but also make it harder to switch back.

8:09 PM

Sora was*

1

I see, I see... Yes, I think that's what I was thinking would happen

8:12 PM

Does that explain what I was asking?

Sora Faux

Sensory switching is what I call our switching experience. It's another form of switching that can provide a different experience. I call it "sensory switching" because the basic idea behind it is the tulpa is connecting themselves to the body's senses. In other words, attaching themself to that feeling of being alive, the SOC, etc. This does not make the tulpa the SOC, it just makes them the default personality the SOC pulls up.

@A long kiss goodnight - jump It really sound overcomplicated. Why the hell would one need to think about it? Can you even do it instantly?

yeah really, what Ranger described sounds like a grounding technique, something I use often to maintain focus while imagining the wonderland, and that my girls use to maintain their hold over the body when possessing (edited)

HvllBlau

What did I say that makes it sound like we have a problem with our switching?

Well, you mentioned hiccups and you were talking about the idea of switching that's safe/unsafe, you also mentioned having a fear, but also I was actually asking about easy of switching, not asking if you have a problem with switching.

Ah, okay. I should clarify a few things: First, I am hesitant to teach beginners to sensory switch because I don't know if that would hurt them or not. Second, I know our emotional experiences are inconsistent with most people's. We have trouble identifying our own emotions and we can accidentally break each other's trust, which we know is an us problem. Here's where we are confused- we don't know if sensory switching can cause trust violations in other systems if they're not ready or if we're projecting our emotional experiences onto others again. We know that switching that involves accidentally losing the front is safe, and we thought that it applied to sensory switching as well, but now we are unsure because what if our sample is mostly systems who don't sensory switch?

HvllBlau

What did I say that makes it sound like we have a problem with our switching?

Well, you mentioned hiccups and you were talking about the idea of switching that's safe/unsafe, you also mentioned having a fear, but also I was actually asking about easy of switching, not asking if you have a problem with switching.

I want to say we do have "hiccups" because I didn't want to claim our switching is 100% perfect. Sometimes we get insecure or whatever and we need to do a switching correction to fix it. Otherwise, our switching is very stable and I don't have to worry about losing the front to Gray (edited)

Sora Faux

That's often how people realize they switched, when their tulpa can't give it back for some reason.

That happened during our accidental switch, but we didn't realize it was a switch at the time. Later we realized a problem with this approach- we have possession, and Gray can control the body while switched-out. I think it's actually better for the tulpa trying to switch in to hang out for 30 minutes or so and if the system really wanted to, then see if their host can steal the front (although honestly I don't recommend it)

HvllBlau

I was asking about if switching can be blocked by certain feelings being strongly and immovably linked to certain headmates.

Yes! Our switching can and has been blocked by trust violations

glitchthe3rd

yeah really, what Ranger described sounds like a grounding technique, something I use often to maintain focus while imagining the wonderland, and that my girls use to maintain their hold over the body when possessing (edited)

Our ritual is a grounding technique and a trigger. We have it set up where we only switch if we do the ritual. That way, if our headmates randomly possess us, we won't disturb the switch. I can have Ian possess me and then get distracted by something, kicking Ian out of the front. We have several grounding techniques during the ritual, including drawing our form over the body, saying our name, saying we're the host, and then association at the end. After the switch, a quick "my name is Ranger and I'm switched-in" is enough to correct a switch. I also draw a bowtie or my form over the body to make me feel better (edited)

A long kiss goodnight

Yes! Our switching can and has been blocked by trust violations

from your point of view, is this a good thing/desired result?

Yes

4:46 PM

Non-consensual switching would be very bad for us

Ranger, your system is tulpagenic, isn't it?

non-consensual... so does that mean your headmates don't agree on what to do in some circumstances, up to the point that they would take the front by force if they could?

4:48 PM

and blocking switching is a way to stop this?

We are a tulpa system, yes. We can accidentally violate each other's trust because we have a hard time identifying our own emotions. For instance, if I do something, I don't get a little "don't do that" thought that warns me what I did would upset Gray. And then when our switching locks up, Gray won't know why he's upset until we talk about it and figure it out Not having normal emotional understanding is frustrating

I think we just don't get upset with each other. Like, I don't know what would Felix need to do to upset me.

It was me

I think this is a weird we have some kind of brain damage or something. I don't even know why we have this problem

5:06 PM

It ties in with our bad judgement and stuff sadly

if it's done by accident, how can it be a violation of trust? Are your headmates trusting each other to not do things that will upset them? If so, why? Do they not know that you have difficulty identifying your own emotions?

We all struggle with identifying our emotions. It's a universal in-system problem. When I get upset I don't always understand why. I also don't always know if something is upsetting to me. That's why Ranger can accidentally violate my trust and vice-versa. If I don't understand my feelings, Ranger won't either (edited)

6:00 PM

When we violate each other's trust we work it out by talking to each other. We aren't doing anything malicious towards one another or anything like that.

Oh, I see, I thought you might have been mad at each other or something

6:47 PM

I wonder if headmates noticing emotions and talking each other through their emotions might be a good way to exercise self compassion (self compassion at the level of the entire system, I mean) (edited)

I'm getting jealous of reading posts from people with tulpamancy experience, and it's becoming clear to me I won't be able to figure out for sure how close what I've already done is to tulpamancy without giving it a try... so I've decided to give it a try

11:42 PM

I've skimmed some guides so I think I have the general idea, but I am wondering: if people here could give a single piece of advice to someone starting/experimenting, what would it be?

@HvllBlau - jump accidental parroting does not exist

2

HvllBlau

I'm getting jealous of reading posts from people with tulpamancy experience, and it's becoming clear to me I won't be able to figure out for sure how close what I've already done is to tulpamancy without giving it a try... so I've decided to give it a try

don't doubt yourself! you can't prove or disprove sentience, and even if you could, it doesn't matter if it doesn't hurt and makes you happy!

1

Believe in your tulpas and be nice to them.

1

Fantasize about your imaginary companion and have fun.

1

HvllBlau

I'm getting jealous of reading posts from people with tulpamancy experience, and it's becoming clear to me I won't be able to figure out for sure how close what I've already done is to tulpamancy without giving it a try... so I've decided to give it a try

what have you already done?

HvllBlau

I'm getting jealous of reading posts from people with tulpamancy experience, and it's becoming clear to me I won't be able to figure out for sure how close what I've already done is to tulpamancy without giving it a try... so I've decided to give it a try

You're not a tulpamancer?

I think they're just an interested person who's done their research

The way they have shared their ideas I thought they had experience already

Raptoir

what have you already done?

Haven't started yet!

A long kiss goodnight

You're not a tulpamancer?

https://discord.com/channels/431579755037589505/821731704112152576/1024813328817721344

2:34 PM

https://discord.com/channels/431579755037589505/821731704112152576/1024818737553092700

2:34 PM

looked up median, still not quite sure!

2:34 PM

So we'll see!

A long kiss goodnight

The way they have shared their ideas I thought they had experience already

bows I am taking this as a compliment

If you're already plural that would explain a lot lol. Median is just a label, you can choose to accept it or not. I think it would make sense if you picked it up, but it's ultimately up to you (or you guys?)

HvllBlau

Haven't started yet!

Well you said you've already done something and you're not sure how close it is

Well I could be quite shy IRL, but online I'm a bit different. I started talking things through with my 'online self', to ask me what I'd do differently in real life situations

2:47 PM

after a bit, I tried being my online self in real life, while talking to my... I suppose ex-IRL self, to get a bit of balance and ask what she'd do

2:48 PM

I assumed talking to yourself like that isn't too unusual, but I'm not completely sure since people hardly talk about stuff like that

It's normal for people to have inconsistencies in their personality. As long as you don't give parts of you names, you're not having any tulpas.

2:49 PM

It's also perfectly normal to talk to yourself

that implies I'm only an extra name away from having tulpas

@HvllBlau - jump kinda, you could start thinking of that image of your other self as a character separate from you instead and interact with them like they were separate.

2:51 PM

A name is just a label, but we use labels to distinguish dirrent things, don't we?

1

Yeah that does sound closer to a median-type dynamic, I wouldn't try to develop either into a tulpa per se. To make a tulpa I'd start with a supposedly separate character (edited)

2:53 PM

It's pretty normal to have dialogues between 'parts' and it's even a widely practiced form of therapy (edited)

2:54 PM

But I think trying to strengthen the separation (i.e. their individual existence) between the two isn't advisable in the long term

2:56 PM

But aside from the nature of these two identities themselves you're definitely doing tulpa-like techniques

1

Raptoir

But I think trying to strengthen the separation (i.e. their individual existence) between the two isn't advisable in the long term

Why isn't it advisable, in your opinion?

Well it applies to tulpas too, but by separating parts of yourself off, you make it harder to engage with stuff in a flexible, wholesome way

3:03 PM

Like if you see yourself as the shy one and your tulpa as the confident one, even though your brain can be both, you will be more inclined to be shy and not confident

1

Separating parts off yourself off?

So separation, the driving force behind identity, reduces efficiency if it isn't balanced by the opposite mental action, unity

From my point of view, sometimes it's easier to find a certain things in yourself when you separate them though. (edited)

My tulpa was supposed to be not shy and she just became as shy as i am. But she still has easier time overcoming shyness

Raptoir

So separation, the driving force behind identity, reduces efficiency if it isn't balanced by the opposite mental action, unity

Efficiency in what

Regina Faux

From my point of view, sometimes it's easier to find a certain things in yourself when you separate them though. (edited)

Definitely, and this is one reason I suggest making a tulpa of a whole new distinct character

Genry_the_frog

Efficiency in what

Efficiency in dealing with life situations

3:08 PM

Like anything could potentially be affected

Genry_the_frog

Efficiency in what

Efficiency in dealing with life situations

Under stress situations, if you are taking it consciously, and base your actions on logic, it will not matter, who is fronting. If theres too much stress and you do things automatically, you will stick to one course of action no matter what. I mean, confident tulpa will always stick to aggression and not confident to avoidance(its more complicated but i hope you got the idea). And will it pay good or not depends on situation, not tulpa, so doesn't matter if you go home and switch back, or if you are singlet But if Tulpa has different mindset to things than you, she could handle situations where her personality is favourable - and if you know that some situations are more likely to occur maybe you could let your tulpa deal with them presumably? You know, sometimes even if i do know how i should act i just cant.

Raptoir

So separation, the driving force behind identity, reduces efficiency if it isn't balanced by the opposite mental action, unity

can you have a lot of separation and a lot of unity, or are they opposites?

Yeah, but these things require an ideal hand-off or ideal 'collaboration'. Unhealthily separate tulpa systems have all kinds of rules and anxieties about that kind of stuff that can and often do get in the way.

3:29 PM

Meant for genry

3:29 PM

You can definitely have both, just not at the same time

3:29 PM

It's about being flexible

Raptoir

Yeah, but these things require an ideal hand-off or ideal 'collaboration'. Unhealthily separate tulpa systems have all kinds of rules and anxieties about that kind of stuff that can and often do get in the way.

well at least they can have fun with eachother, bless them fixing their problems

3:31 PM

~~extreme cases of this are called DID~~