Should I Create a Tulpa?

I don't know. Should you?

I've said in the past that creating a tulpa is personal business. Quite a lot is totally up to you (though not everything), including how you go about creating a tulpa to whether or not you have one. If you think that you should have a tulpa (whether it's for company or to see if all this is real), or even if you just want one and you don't really have a reason, then don't worry. You're not crazy for being curious, and, as I've already said, tulpas aren't dangerous.

There are some things that should be taken into account before you start, though.

Do I Have Enough Time?

I can't stress enough about how important it is to set aside time for your tulpa. Dissipation (when the tulpa slowly disappears from existence; in other words, when the tulpa dies) comes from lack of attention. Not paying attention to your tulpa for so long that it causes them to die is exactly the same as killing any other human. Tulpas are, for everything that counts, also human.

When people hear this they often stress that they don't have enough time, but in fact, they do. Although the more time you make for your tulpa the better results you will have, just ten minutes a day is perfectly fine. Now, you should take that as more of a minimum thing, because your tulpa will undoubtedly want to spend more time with you than just ten minutes. Imagine if you only thought about your best friend in the entire world for ten minutes a day (I can't even do that, so . . .). Whether your tulpa is your best friend or not, you're theirs. Of course, most people don't have hours upon hours of time to do nothing but talk to their tulpas, and that's fine. That's where passive forcing comes into play.

Passive forcing is what we call it when we focus on our tulpas at the same time we're doing something else. (It's not actually forcing anything on the tulpa, by the way.) This is extremely handy and what you'll probably do, for the most part. Personally, most of the time I passive force with James, I'm reading. Other people do it when they're driving or shopping, or what have you. Keep in mind: talking and reading to your tulpa is called narration . . . and believe you me, it's a Godsend.

No amount of paying attention to your tulpa can be a bad thing. Just keep in mind the Ten Minute Rule. (<-- non-official rule. I just made that up.)

When you do have enough time, that's when you can practice active forcing. Active forcing is something that is dreaded by many, probably because it is so mentally taxing, but it isn't harmful and will get you a more-developed tulpa quicker than just passive forcing will. Active forcing is when you do nothing but focus on your tulpa, whether you're talking to them (yet again more narration, though this time you wouldn't be reading) or visualizing them in your mind's eye. Just as with passive forcing, no amount of active forcing is bad.

Theoretically, you can also go your entire life without ever actively forcing your tulpa, but to do this would mean missing out on almost every one of the joys of having a tulpa. At the very most you might reach sentience and a general understanding of what they look like, and you might reach vocalization--it depends--but all the "big stuff" that people like about tulpamancy (i.e., exploring the mindscape together, imposition, etc.) will be lost to you.

If you're not sure about how much you should active force, then just stop worrying and let that question be answered when you're ready to answer it. That's one of those "it's up to you" questions that no one but yourself can know. It doesn't matter; it could be anywhere from every day to once a month.

Why am I Doing This?

Is it because you want something to beat up? Is it because you want something to have sex with?

Do you feel that if you get bored you can just dispose of them at anytime, and if you feel this way, is it because you're sure you'll grow tired of seeing the same face every day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, NO, YOU SHOULDN'T CREATE A TULPA. Notice that I capitalized that. And that it's in really bit font. And is bolded. And underlined. And italicized. Frankly, you're a horrible person if you want to rape anyone, regardless of whether you think they're real or not (imagine: some people have raped tulpas just because they might not be real), and beating people up is totally inexcusable.

Now, to continue: are you creating a tulpa in the fashion of your favorite character? You should know now that it is highly likely that your tulpa will change form at some point, and even if they don't their personality is most likely to change (all of this is called deviation). If you're going to get mad at them for this, then change your attitude. There is hope for you yet, but you need to learn to realize that your tulpa has a life of their own and they want to be who they want to be, not who you think they should be. I've heard of people who get mad if their tulpa doesn't turn out to be a pony, and then go and make their tulpas feel bad because of it. That is wrong. Anyway, once you get used to their new form you'll be surprised about how well it fits.

That being said, if you want to make a tulpa in the likeness of a favorite character but understand and are okay with the fact that they will probably deviate, then you're all ready.

FINALLY: if you plan on trying to create a tulpa like a loved one who is dead or is dying, stop. That is in no way at all healthy, and, as mentioned previously, the tulpa is likely to deviate from how you want them to be. When this happens you will find it extremely upsetting, so, please, save the heartache now and just don't do that.

How Persistent Will I Be?

The average person who forces on and off throughout the day can expect sentience (meaning that they feel that their tulpa is alive) anywhere from the first few days to about three weeks. For some it happens immediately after, and others have to wait a month or two. I felt James' sentience within three days' time, which was really cool.

I say all this because the number one reason why tulpamancers stop forcing is because they feel that they are talking to themselves. This is a very normal feeling, but if they think about it too much then it becomes a problem. Realize that sentience will come soon, if only you keep at it.

Now . . . BE PERSISTENT! If you stop paying attention to your tulpa then they will eventually dissipate, and although that does take a certain amount of time and you shouldn't worry about that if you skip a day, or probably even two or three or five (though I'm not advocating you do that). Don't give up. The more you do this, the easier it will become (except for imposition, which is a headache no matter how much you do it--or at least that's what I've been told).

Am I Responsible Enough?

Oh, yes. Responsibility. How we dread it.

Whether you like it or not, there is a certain amount of responsibility that comes with tulpamancy, namely taking control as the tulpamancer. It is your job to see your tulpa safely through the creation process and to take care of them (all you really need to do to take care of them is to pay attention to them).

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A CERTAIN AGE TO HAVE A TULPA. Young children have a low form of a tulpa all the time, and I've seen thirteen year olds go through the entire process and not have any difficulty.

Do I Really Want a Tulpa?

After all the other questions in this post, this is the last one you really, really, really need to think about before you end up doing anything. You have the option at your fingertips (or what have you) to create someone or something that is perfect for you in whatever way you want them to be. Once you've started and they've reached sentience, if you stop, it's just the same as killing another human being. Can you handle that? Are you willing to accept that?

It took me a couple of days to decide, but I finally knew what I wanted when I thought, "Well, when I'm eighty years old, if I have a best friend, will I regret it?" I decided that I wouldn't and officially became a tulpamancer.

What you decide is totally up to you. You don't have to have a tulpa to be happy, nor do you have to avoid one to be happy. Do what you think is best; that's the best advice for you I can offer.

The Dangers Tulpas (Don't) Pose

My original plan was to make my second post be about why one would want to have a tulpa, but I have now decided that it might be better to cover the dangers of having a tulpa fairly early on, instead of later on down the line. I actually covered this subject briefly in my last post, but, hey, I was a newbie once, too.

To explain, I want to take a step back in time, to when I was fifteen years old. I was onDreamviews‘ forum, which is a Web site dedicated to lucid dreaming, when a few people mentioned having or hearing about a tulpa. The people were talking about how creating a tulpa was serious business, because you were creating another life form inside your head, how they were sentient beings, how they could move and talk on their own . . . it sounded dangerous. What if the tulpa turned on them, killed them? It wasn’t a physical being, so how could they fight back? I wasn’t sure to believe it or not, but the thought scared the crap out of me.

After just a couple of weeks I forgot about the notion of tulpas, until two years later, when it was brought to my attention by another user on AVEN, where I promptly freaked out that night and was royally disturbed. The next day, however, I was able to think more clearly, to assess all the information I was given.

What helped me overcome my fear? Knowledge. From going through the various information that I had to my disposal, I was able to comprehend that I was in no danger by creating a tulpa, and nor was anyone else.

Yes, you read that right. Tulpas are not dangerous. They will not do anything to hurt you, they won’t hate you, they won’t even dislike you. They’re essentially your best friend, so of course they won’t want to do anything to hurt you. If that’s hard for you to understand, then look at the situation like this: they share your brain. Anything that harms you, harms them–and they don’t want to get hurt the same way you don’t.

That being said, there are certain things you can do that would make them want to hurt you, but those things should be common sense. Do not beat or verbally abuse your tulpa, don’t send malicious thoughts their way, don’t use them as sex toys/rape them, don’t drug them up because you think any distress they might experience is funny–in other words, be a decent human being and they’ll be decent to you.

Really. That’s it. That’s all you have to keep in mind. If you don’t hurt them, they won’t want to hurt you. If you aren’t mean to them, they won’t want to be mean to you.

Now, I won’t you to process everything you just read. I wrote all of that in mind of someone who has a friendly tulpa.

“Whoa, whoa, Anastasia! You mean not all tulpas are friendly?! How do I make sure mine is???”

Just calm down. A tulpa comes from your brain and knows what you want from them even if you don’t, and therefore it’s highly unlikely you’d be unsatisfied with the results. If you want a friendly tulpa, you’re going to have one. It’s as simple as that. Of course, so long as you don’t do the horrible things I’ve mentioned above, you won’t have a mean tulpa, right? Right.

Well, there’s just one more exception.

Some people have spiteful and rude tulpas, and yet are perfectly good hosts. Why do the tulpas go against their creators like that? Well, they didn’t. In those instances the creator wanted a tulpa that went away from the usual kind ones. They intentionally made them that way.

In other words, that makes three ways a tulpa wouldn’t be friendly:

1. if you hurt them physically (I’ll explain how this is possible later on)
2. if you hurt them mentally/verbally
3. if you intentionally make them that way

Personally, I didn’t want a mean tulpa. James is very nice, friendly, and warm, and I love him and he loves me. I remember the very first day I started tulpamancing I told James that he was a nice person, and that he wasn’t mean. And he’s well aware of that today.