halfwayhealer

[halfwayhealer]

STARLINK stimboard!!

w/ blue + silver glittery, pouring + slime squishing stimz!!

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4 @halfwayhealer!!

[halfwayhealer]

Belief is a Spectrum, Not a Binary.

I believe X. It is a cold hard fact.

I currently believe X, but I'm open to changing my mind.

The idea of X works for me, but I recognize it's probably not the WHOLE truth.

I believe X is true for me, but may not be for others.

I believe X is true, but also Y and Z which may conflict on a surface level.

I'm ambivalent about an "absolute" truth to this, but it is helpful to apply this belief in certain situations.

I'm not sure what I believe about X and am not concerned with figuring it out.

I don't believe in how X is described, but the principle/process works even if we don't understand exactly how. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I don't believe X in a literal sense, but it helps me conceptualize something more esoteric.

I don't believe X in a literal sense, but find value in its deeper message.

I believe X is entirely false, but there's something helpful/valuable/effective in acting as if it were true.

I believe X is complete bullshit.

I believe X is equally true and untrue.

Whether X is "true" or not isn't the point.

I believe in X but not in the way other people describe believing in X

My belief in X is fluid.

My belief in X is personal.

None of these are mutually exclusive, either. They can coexist and layer on top of each other.

[halfwayhealer]

Comet Leonard

[halfwayhealer]

Alterhuman is an umbrella term, not a synonym!

Nowadays, I see a lot of folks using alterhuman as a catch-all for not being human. While nonhumanity certainly falls within alterhumanity, alterhumanity does not exclusively refer to species nor is it synonymous with nonhuman identities (ex: therianthropy).

Alterhumanity includes but is not limited to:

Fictionfolk: An umbrella term that encompasses all individuals of fictional origin or hold a personal connection to fiction. This includes fictionkind, fictives, fictionhearted individuals, folks with fictional hearthomes, imagithropes, etc.

Otherhumans: Individuals whose species is human but not in context to humanity as we see it in its current state. Some examples include human fictionkind and archaeosapient early humans or neanderthals.

Heartedness: A broad experience in which an individual may not identify as someone or something, but has a deep, personal connection with that person, place, or thing. This includes folk who are otherhearted/otherkith/synpaths, talehearted folk, and folk who have hearthomes (fictional or not).

Archetropy: An identity in which one heavily identifies with or generally experiences an archetype, trope, or pre-established character model in a way that is central to their identity.

Plurality: The state of more than one person within a body. That said, not all who are plural may relate their plurality to alterhumanity.

Dæmonism: The practice of communicating with one's internal dæmon, a thoughtform stemming from one's subconscious. A dæmon is also given a sentient form, typically a nonhuman animal of sorts. Can be considered as a form of plurality but depends on the individual and their relationship to their dæmon(s).

Soulbonding: A practice in which an individual forms a personal bond or connection to a fictional character and communicates with them from their headspace or soulscape. Can be considered as a form of plurality but depends on the individual and their relationship to their soulbond(s).

Furry Lifestylers: A subset of the furry community whose position in the subculture carries into their daily life. Some members have described it as "furry as a way of life", in which being a furry is inseparable and intrinsic to oneself.

I have alterhuman terms of my own to take into account as well:

Archaeosapiens: Individuals whose alterhuman identity is intrinsically rooted in prehistory, antiquity or mythic accounts of history. Although I don’t use it for myself anymore, I can say as the person who coined it that species is not central to archaeosapience; it is the distinct connection to one’s time that’s central. Anyone of any species can be archaeosapient.

Ontoplanarity: In referral to ontoplanar, which describes individuals who originate from planes and realities outside of this Earth. While one could relate this term to alienkind and spacekind, ontoplanar focuses one’s own point of origin rather than one’s species. In that regard, anyone of any species can be ontoplanar.

There’s also human alterhumans who aren’t specifically otherhumans. The idea that humankind as we know it is completely alienated from alterhumanity is a misconception, likely tying into the assumption that “alterhumanity = nonhumanity”.

I originally discussed this in the Alterhuman (Tumblr) Community but I felt as though I should make this information publicly available, especially with how the term has been sifting around lately. I’m not the first to bring this up, far from it even. If anyone who’s learned something from this wants to know more, here’s some posts to check out:

The finalized coining of the term Alterhuman/AHPI (x)

Aster’s discussion on alterhuman as an umbrella, particularly its conflation with otherkin (x)

Rani’s discussion on umbrella terms in the community, addressing erasure in folks’ usage of both alterhuman and fictionfolk (x)

Rani’s explanation on the difference between nonhuman and alterhuman as terms (x)

A thread of terms and experiences that tie into the alterhuman community (x)

I understand being excited to find a community that speaks to you. We’ve all been there!

That said, inclusive language is important. Even more so when the terms we use were already inclusive to begin with.

I think the best example I’ve seen to address this phenomenon is Aster’s example referring to queer and its usage. Queerness is vast. It is not synonymous with one specific experience in the LGBTQ+ community. That much is understood online.

In the same vein, alterhumanity is just as vast. It is not synonymous with nonhumanity, be it therianthropy or otherwise. It can be alienating for your peers to see it centralized as that experience alone. Alterhumanity is an ocean of possibilities and perspectives that should be recognized alongside nonhumanity. I encourage folks to look at it in full, if not use terms that specifically highlight what you experience instead of framing alterhumanity as only that experience.

[halfwayhealer]

Hey, wanna know the ultimate trick to help you explain alterhumanity?

Saying that you "identify" as something can be really, REALLY hard to grasp for a ton of people, so just use a different phrasing with the same meaning!

For example, if you're in a situation were you have to explain your identity to someone who's a bit less open minded, instead of saying

"I identify as a fox"

just say

"I see myself as a fox" or "I feel more like a fox instead of a human"

That has the exact same meaning, but is much easier to understand!

"Yeah, I just kinda see myself as a fox. When I see images of them I kinda go 'hey! That's me!', and doing things a fox would do makes me happy"

Boom. Your chances of being understood just went up by like 80

[halfwayhealer]

'Bear with me' by Thomas Theodor Heine, 1901

[halfwayhealer]

About the otherlink vs otherkin discussion... One issue I see being talked about a lot, but that often gets to a conclusion that bothers some otherlinkers is the fact that some alterhumans differentiate them in a way that does not align with every person with a linktype, which would be this:

- If you have a linktype that you cannot drop, then you have no reason to call it a linktype. It would be more useful for you to call yourself otherkin.

The issue with this statement is not obvious, but I can understand the thought process behind it. An otherkin can quite easily identify with the label otherlink and later on figure out they were always otherkin, but that isn't the experience of every otherlinker. Some of them genuinely used to not identify as their linktype, chose to do so and later on realised that they could no longer stop being their linktype. Some of them actually did want to get to the point their linktype became involuntary.

I can honestly understand why it might bother some alterhumans (especially otherkin) that an otherlinker can experience a deep identity that they have chosen and I'm not even here to give any proof that they are still otherlinkers. I just want to say that otherlinkers should be allowed to call their own experiences the way they believe it is appropriate, according to their interpretation of them. Just because someone has experiences similar to otherkinity, it doesn't mean it can't be something else.

A few examples I can think of:

- Otherhearted that experience phantom limbs, behavior, shifts and/or memories related to their hearttypes involuntarily, but do not identify as their hearttypes;

- Fictionflickers that experience memories, shifts and even goes as far as to identify as their flickertypes, but do so temporarily;

- Median systems that experience a complete shift in the perception of who they are when a facet fronts, experiencing some kind of strong shift towards this identity (and can sometimes mistake that for kintype shifts).

There are many different kinds of experiences in the alterhuman community that are similar to each other, but that doesn't mean they all fit the same label. Of course, there are many different ways to experience each one of these, however, we have to recognize that sometimes we can relate to one another without having to be the same kind of alterhuman the other being is. Being an otherlinker that reaches the point of experiencing their linktype involuntarily can still be considered an otherlinker if they so choose. They don't have to create a narrative in their heads about how they always were otherkin and only after experimenting with the otherlinker label have they started to understand themselves. That could be the case, but not for everyone.

You see, we can't really exclude otherlinkers from the label otherlink based on how they experience their identity. This label is there to show how they became their linktypes, not how they experience their linktypes. We don't even have an "Otherlinker Narrative" to be able to exclude anyone from it (even if we did, this could end up very badly). I say, yes, we can point out the possibility of them experiencing otherkinity, but if the person still believes the word otherlink fits them best and it explains their experiences accurately, can we really say they're wrong?

You could argue that if an otherlinker cannot drop their linktype, then they are otherkin. However, wouldn't that open up the discussion about whether it is possible for someone to become otherkin again and wasn't it already concluded that it is impossible, thus the word otherlinker was used for the alterhumans who chose to be their linktypes? When did the permanence of their identity became a way to exclude otherlinkers from their label? Why can't an otherlinker become so deep to their core their linktype that they can no longer choose to unbecome who they are?

I believe I already contributed as much as I can to the discussion. While I had the experience of being an otherlinker, I'm far from being the only one that can decide what is right or wrong for the community. Do not take my words as the general opinion of otherlinkers. This was just my personal view of the situation. I'm open to disagreements.

[halfwayhealer]

"Get to know me" stimboards day 2: favorite color!

Dark green!!

✧ ✧ ✧ | ✧ ✧ ✧ | ✧ ✧ ✧ | ✧

[halfwayhealer]

Dæmonism 101 - What’s dæmonism? / Our story

Back in primary school, I didn’t have many friends. The ones I did have were not the best of friends. I was to do as they said, play the games they wanted, agree with them, and put the focus on them. Their friendship could be taken back at any time, and often was. (There is a point to this ramble, I promise.)

I used to read a lot. One book series that marked me was His Dark Materials. In the world of the book’s protagonist, every human has their soul outside their bodies in the form of a talking animal called a daemon. A daemon and a human pair are tied by an incredibly powerful bond. They are the same person, like two sides of a coin. They cannot leave each other’s side without pain. If one of them is injured or dies, so does the other. They spend their whole lives with each other. I remember a part from the first book, towards the end, where the protagonist Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon, having faced tremendous trauma and pain, reassure each other that they are never alone. They have each other. It stuck with me. I wanted a forever friend like that. I wanted a daemon. So I had one. 

It was an easy, thing for a child with a lot of imagination, to have a daemon. We named her, played together, talked to each other. We lived our life as two, with her invisible at my side. We were about 20 when we found the daemonism community. I am now 30. My Aza is still with me, though we have both changed a lot over the years. 

Daemonism is speaking to another part of yourself which you call your daemon. It’s learning to meet them, see them in your mind’s eye, hear them within your thoughts, and make them a part of your life. Another aspect of daemonism is form finding: trying to find an animal form that best represents who you are, though personally we consider that secondary compared to building a relationship with your daemon. 

A daemon can be many things. A mental construct. A spiritual guide. An imaginary friend. A wonderful companion. A way to practice self-love. A way to be more aware of your innermost thoughts and feelings. A fun distraction on a long bus ride. A nagging voice telling you to stop procrastinating and do the dishes already. A cheeky voice encouraging you to not be so serious all the time. A reassuring presence on a stressful day. A guide to help in decision making. A joke from out of the blue that puts a smile on your lips...

There are as many different experiences of daemonism as there are daemons and daemians. It’s honestly such a diverse experience. 

Daemonism has nothing to do with demons. Nor with Daemon Targaryen. Daemonism isn’t a religion. It’s not dangerous. It’s not a delusion (though some daemians also have delusions). It isn’t an experience or practice accessible only to a select few. It doesn’t mean we copy the daemon lore of His Dark Materials to the letter. 

If that sounds interesting to you, maybe stick around for our next posts. Ask some questions if you’d like! Also here are some links to learn more about daemonism: 

The Daemon Page: https://daemonpage.com/

Daemonism 101: https://daemonism.wixsite.com/daemonism101

[halfwayhealer]

plural blinkies ~ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO START SYSCOURSE, OR GOING AGAINST PLURAL UNITY ON THIS POST WILL BE IMMEDIATELY BLOCKED~

(f2u with or without credit AFTER reblogging this post!)

[BLINKIES MASTERPOST]

[halfwayhealer]

Daemons are not splinters. When you look closer at a piece of wood, they are the grains that twist and run together. They bind the wood together so it can be strong and stable thanks to its support. It also gives the wood its distinctive character. They may one day splinter off and become their own thing, but the rest of the grain remains exactly where it was.

You are that piece of wood.

[halfwayhealer]

Dæmonism is

Embracing a part of yourself you have neglected in the past.

Finally understanding what it means to 'love yourself' through loving this aspect of your soul.

Never having to feel alone again.

Your heart separate to you.

Making constant efforts to connect with this new aspect of yourself.

A friend to walk by your side.

Comfort in the darkest of times.

Something beautiful.

[halfwayhealer]

"It's so hard being otherkin people don't get it" NO TRUST ME THEY DO you just have to remove any otherkin specific lingo around it.

You aren't a "techkin android robot thing", you just "see yourself as sort of like a robot and think that's cool". Trust me on this because I do this all the time with my irls. I have "robot" in my instagram username. I talk about robots all the time. I say I see myself as a robot. And I like robots so much because I relate to them and think they're cool. And that I wish I was a robot. Even making jokes that I have no brain, only a shitty motherboard that was actually really good by 2006 standards (and adjacent jokes). And nobody is like "ooh look at this robotkin freak" they're like "yeah that's [gadget] he's really into robots nd computers, probably because he's autistic" (but you could probably get around that being neurotypical, my friends just say it's bc I'm autistic because I'm very openly autistic)

[halfwayhealer]

Resources!!

There are many masterlists of resources for or about plurality, but we thought we'd make one about sites and posts that have been extremely helpful to us. Some resources are about overall plurality, some about headspaces, even some about alterhumans. This is a catch-all for helpful things and will always be in progress as we find more. If you would like us to add something, please tell us!

The Plurality Hub by the Heretic System

The Alterhuman Hub by the Heretic System

Alt + H: The Alterhuman Advocacy Group by Alt + H

The Chimeras Library by House of Chimeras (liongoatsnake)

Developing Internal Communication - Starting With The Basics by Kathy Broady MSW

All the Resources You'll Need to Build Your Own Wonderland, Headspace, or Inner World by Sophie in Wonderland

Power to the Plurals by The Plural Association Nonprofit

Here for the Plural Folk

Healthy Multiplicity by LB Lee and The Zyfron System

Tulpas and Mental Health: A Study of Non-Traumagenic Plural Experiences by John Doe, Jacob J Isler

Endogenic Systems by Plural Culture

More Than One

Plurality Resource

New Alter Rundown by the Heretic System

Plural Terms by Cluster Brains in collaboration with The Trifecta Collective and the Polybius Network

Multiplicity Database Systemology

A Tulpamancy Resource Site

Quick'n'Dirty Plural History by LB Lee

System Internet Safety by Sunflower

Pluralpedia

Alternatives to "System" When Choosing A Collective Name by The Xenodelic Effect

Tips if You're Having Trouble Visualizing Your Inner World by the Orange Orchard System

Multiplicity and Plurality Wiki

List of Tulpa Guides by Vos

The Plurality Playbook by Lucia Batman and Irene Knapp

Plurality Resources by Rolal District

Endogenic Hub

The Plural Dictionary

System Sources by Cluster Brains

Resources for Faceclaims/Forms by Wild Tulip Field

DID Basics by Cleveland Clinic

Simply Plural Website (There is also an app version)

System Communication and Journaling by The Wonderland System

[halfwayhealer]

Alterreality Coining Post 2.0

On August 9th, 2023, I posted “AlterReality: A Coining Essay”. The purpose of that post was to coin a term that describes my personal experience while getting out my thoughts on metaphysics, imagination, and perception in writing. However, due to the personal nature of that essay, I wanted to make this post in collaboration with Lav (@WinreyPlace) and others to clearly and plainly state what alterreality is. While it is a broad term, there are limits to what it does and does not include.

As defined by someone else in the alterreality server: “Alterreality is a process of creating one’s unique sense of reality via imagination and belief. It can be described as a lifestyle or a philosophy, with one central idea: what makes something ‘real’ is nothing but the belief that it is real.”

Another definition Lav gave was “imagination as a lifestyle”. Alterreality can also be interpreted as daydreaming or imagination-based fantasies overlaying or interacting with consensus reality.

What alterreality covers:

Many experiences of those in the self-shipping community, such as going on dates with your f/o in the “real world”

Adding a fantasy narrative to your life (i.e. tests at school becoming monster fights) as long as you choose to believe in the fantasy narrative as part of your perceived reality

Many experiences are classified as roleplay, again, as long as you choose to incorporate the roleplay into your perception of what’s happening in your own life

What alterreality doesn’t cover:

Involuntary spiritual, psychological, or metaphysical experiences 

Any alternative reality experiences you were born with or had awakened within you

Identifying as something while living a non-altered life (i.e. if you’re wolfkin and you are going to mundane human school while only experiencing that physical reality, that's not alterreality)

Manifestation and law of attraction concepts. Alterreality, while it interacts with the shared reality we all experience, doesn’t change its course; instead it builds onto or reframes it. Alterrealizing should not and does not make struggles in consensus reality disappear or cause the universe to provide a more positive life. 

In short, alterreality has three aspects: intentionality, imagination, and belief. Alterreal experiences are incredibly varied and diverse; however, they all require these elements. 

Now, with the above fully explained, let’s understand the why and how. Starting with the why.

There are infinite reasons as to why one would alterrealize their own life. I do it because I find mundane existence to be boring, and I want to engage with something that is beyond mundane human life without believing in anything, particularly spiritual or supernatural. Any reason is a valid reason to create alterreality. You can do it for fun, as a coping mechanism, to connect better with your alterhuman identities, because you love fictional characters or worlds, to help you understand complex things better, as a tool of exploration, personal growth, and creativity, and so much more. You don't even need to have a why at all! There is nothing wrong with fucking around and finding out with your life :3. 

In terms of how to do alterreality, I repeat, there is no one way. I’m still figuring out all the ins and outs of doing it myself. But my best piece of advice is to give yourself permission to fully live inside of whatever fantasy narrative you choose to and let yourself believe in it. This can sometimes be a demanding or difficult process, especially if everyone and everything around you is conforming to consensus reality, but just like they find meaning existing in consensus reality, you are allowed to find meaning existing in alterreality! Another way to phrase all this is to just “fake it until you make it”. Ask yourself questions like  “What world or narrative do I live in?”, “What form does my alterrealized self take?”, “How would I act and speak in my alterreality?”, “What would my tasks, goals, or challenges be?”, and things like that. If you cannot do something in shared, mundane reality for whatever reason, make-believe a reason why you cannot do it in your alterreality too! As you develop your alterreality and discover what works and what doesn’t for your brain, you’ll find it will come more naturally to live out your imagination-fueled life. 

This world is in desperate need of whimsy and wonder. While there are various ways to make your life more whimsical, there are not many that involve actively living a lifestyle of fantasy. In a world where time is a finite resource, where the “have-tos” outweigh the “want-tos”, and where playing pretend is shunned once you age out of childhood, alterreality is a way to live in the physical realm, while embracing the fantastical. So, what are you waiting for, step into a world of your wildest dreams!

[halfwayhealer]

love is real and worth it and SO important to me it’s pretty much my entire political spiritual philosophical deal………you can be critical of how romantic love is commodified and dominated by heteronormative myths for sure but ppl out there like “love is fake” aren’t doing ANYTHING interesting or subversive……love is revolutionary bc the systems that oppress us are directly opposed to all kinds of love, interpersonal love and self love etc. they’re trying to drive it out of us. love as an action love as a choice love as something u cultivate and tend to is the best thing in the world and it’s at the absolute centre of my life

[halfwayhealer]

By @jordan_robins