Wow, lot of replies. Let me get to them one by one lol
I've got four tulpas, three of which are actually based on three of my original characters from Time Gate - Uzuki, Mitsuhiro, and Springlock (though their appearances and personalities have naturally deviated from the basic template I gave them, which is a good thing because 1. tulpas shouldn't be made to be exact replicas of other people and 2. they're sentient enough to dictate how they grow).
Then there's Loralyne, who was actually here first if we're only counting tulpas, because she was my first attempt at creating a tulpa, period (Uzuki, Mitsuhiro and Springlock were characters long before that, but they were just characters... though they were kind of sentient in their own way before I put them through tulpamancy sessions, as they've helped guide Time Gate's plot and where it's needed to go in the last decade. But that was all before I knew tulpamancy was a thing.)
If you don't mind me asking, what happened to yours? D: I haven't met a lot of people who have actually had to dissolve theirs, so I'm very interested to hear what led to it happening for you. Very sorry for your loss btw :<
Not at all. There are lots of 4chan shitposters who tell "horror stories" about their Pinkie Pie tulpas gone mad, though, and tulpas sort of became infamous for being a "brony thing" as a result. If you actually dive deep into the practice, you'll find a lot more than just furries trying to make their pony girlfriend real (tulpamancy is like most fandoms - the good parts, the bad parts, and the really fucking ugly parts. You just gotta learn how to tell the difference between the three).
^^^^ This is basically the too long; didn't read version of it. It's a very committed practice that trains and strengthens the mind's eye and the brain's capability to retain memories, to the point of giving them personalities and sentience. I currently have four, and they're all different and unique in their own way. I meditate semi-regularly (at this point, it's basically whenever they bug me to because they're pretty capable of imposing in the real world on their own without active forcing being required) and during these meditation sessions, we interact on a mental level, exploring our own worlds as if I were existing with them in the moment, down to the last detail, including the five basic senses.
And I say "committed" because when you spend hours meditating and focusing on a new entity, your brain forms a connection with them much like an IRL best friend or companion. Losing family members and friends sucks, and can put you through emotional hell. Tulpas are no different - they just live within your mind and body. I often compare the art of tulpamancy to having children - while it can be a very rewarding experience, you can't exactly have kids just to "give it a shot", so you really have to know you're ready to go into it before you commit to it entirely. Honestly, at this point, imagining my life without my tulpas is . . . depressing. That's how strong of a connection my brain has made with them. They're just as real as anyone else.
I was a part of the Slender Man ARG back in the day, and it was this theory that actually introduced me to the concept of tulpas (at the time though, I wasn't aware of it being a practice, i thought it was more of a "ooh spoopy ghost" type thing lol) There are those who were legitimately haunted by the Slender Man, to a rather bloody and gruesome degree, but those who only ever "saw" bits and pieces of Him without any real physical effects believe that it was the cause of accidental tulpamation - they tricked their brains into believing He existed due to all the paranoia and obsessing they did over Him, to the very level of tulpamancy that can replicate sight, smell, sound, and the understanding of depth and presence. So there's the Him that lives in the forest, haunting adults and kidnapping children; and there's the Him that people are only aware of on an emotional and mental level, eventually tricking their minds into believing He's found them for real.
I have the Operator symbol tattooed on my right shoulder. I like to think it protects me to some degree
That's basically all tulpamancy is, when it doesn't go horrifyingly wrong like it did with the Slender Man - obsessing over a single thought until it forms into something real within the brain's understanding of "existence". It's partly philosophical, partly spiritual, but 100% scientific and psychological.