Aspecting vs Multiplicity

I've read and re-read the threads here and am STILL confused .... help! I'm sure this is a very basic / ignorant question ...

How do you *know* you are multiple rather than having two or more distinct aspects of a single individual? What if the two or more aspects feel and think and identify as totally different people, including names? But what if they are all aware of what is going on at almost or at all times?

Thanks!

In my system, we believe that the differences are large enough and scattered across enough aspects of our personalities that most of us cannot be simply variations on a core self.

The original humans, who are attempting to integrate their subgroup anyway, and a pair who split along past-life lines (Shainin and You Don't Know Who) could be aspects of a whole comprised of their respective subgroups. We treat them as separate individuals when they appear to be separate individuals, to make sure we're not denying them any rights that they ought to have. But we do accept the possibility that they are not, especially the humans. Now that our attention has been drawn to it, we can feel that they are less because they were separated - this is why they agreed to integrate if possible. The gaps aren't being filled back in with their own, separate growth. Maybe that's an indication of where to draw the line; I'm not sure.

Curious to see what others have to say about this...

-Nihil

Still haven't figured this one out yet.

I figure with time I'll figure it out. All I know is I've got at least 2-3 aspects who may or may not be separate entities, who like to use different names, keep different schedules, and have different attitudes, generally. One of two is usually at the front.

Are they simply aspects of me, possibly of former lives? Not sure, but I'm not going to over-think it. Heck we even type differently, yet similarly.

*Grins*. Suppose time will tell.

Thanks Nihil <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s --> Appreciate it a lot!

I'm still trying to figure out that difference, myself. I'll have periods where I'd rather just refer to and think of myself as one individual being with aspects; then sometimes we are not so compact. For the time being, I recognize 4 distinct "official" system members: Archaia acts as sort of an impartial judge and provides us the discipline to stay on track, Kazorando plays the recordkeeper, and Kashana and Inky share the actual living of day-to-day life. So, with each of us filling specific roles, I think, things go much smoother and it makes it easier to differentiate between personalities. "Hey, you're out of place"- that's when I know something is wrong. There are other aspects of us that I just don't know what to do with. They are animals; what CAN be done? I can't deny them their existence but at the same time they have no place in society or in my life.

I have much the same, although I have only really realized two beings so far- Flara and Phaedra. the others are more minor. I may or may not have other "system members" so to speak. Phaedra and Flara take up the most of my time- And even before Phaedra started taking over the day to day, Phaedra would come out at night, and Flara would be in during the day, unless Phaedra needed to step in to say something. When I've noticed more I'll let you know.

dazedwolf Wrote:I've read and re-read the threads here and am STILL confused .... help! I'm sure this is a very basic / ignorant question ...

How do you *know* you are multiple rather than having two or more distinct aspects of a single individual?

I don't. But I don't really care, none of us do. "Multiple" is a useful model for where we are right now. It might not be the Absolute Truth, but what in this world *is*? Or rather, how can we know *anything* for sure. If I think too much about it, I'm not even sure *reality* is really real. So I don't really care if any of it's really real or not; I just use the best working model I have available as though it were real, and remember that it might not be, so I can discard it more easily when a better model comes along.

-Pi