other/inner worlds

	what are other/inner worlds?
	does this mean every multiple has an other world?
	are these worlds real? do multiples think of them as real?
	are other/inner worlds unique to multiples?
	is it possible to travel from one world to another?
	if someone tells me someone from my group visited them and wrecked the place, am i still responsible even though i don't remember it?

what are other / inner worlds?	top

"Other" or "inner" worlds refers to the subjective experience of perceiving and/ or living in a place other than one's physical location. Some describe it as "a place I go to in my mind" or an "inscape". This is not necessarily related to any form of spirituality, astral projection etc. Nor is it unique to multiples. Many writers including Edith Wharton, Austin Wright, Charlotte Bronte and Robert E. Howard had such alternate worlds which they perceived as living, tangible places.

A multiple's personal world may be nothing more than a place where people go when they are not up front. They may perceive and refer to it as being "inside" or they may call it "back" or "away". Some plurals deliberately create such spaces as meeting places for persons in the group that otherwise have a hard time getting together to communicate. Multiples in therapy are often asked to create such inner or mental spaces as part of the therapeutic process. Others had their worlds long before they entered therapy.

does this mean every multiple has an other world?	top

No. Having any sort of world in whatever amount of detail isn't a requisite for being plural. You can be an absolute singlet and have a very detailed personal space. You can be plural and have no other world at all.

are these worlds real? do multiples think of them as real?	top

Some groups experience their worlds or spaces as part of an objective but invisible reality -- another dimension, for instance -- and resist calling them "inner". Some groups assert their worlds to be their real home, and feel they're just visiting earth. This can be a very important part of a multiple group's existence, and should be taken seriously.

are other / inner worlds unique to multiples?	top

Both multiples and singlets report experiences with internal or other lands. Writers sometimes experience their creations as vividly as external reality (Charlotte Bronte wrote a great deal on this subject). People who read works of history, fiction or fantasy, from Stanley Vestal's biography of Sitting Bull to Tolkien's Middle-earth, report feeling that they are personally experiencing the realities depicted in such works -- and that it doesn't end when they close the book. Simple daydreaming can lead either to the creation or discovery of other, subjective worlds.

It's also common for people who practice various spiritual exercises such as meditation or guided imagery to experience themselves as being somewhere else. Some epileptics report visiting alternate realities during seizures, and there are many reports from people who have undergone surgery, including but not limited to near-death experience.

does this mean it's something limited only to certain creative, spiritually gifted types?	top

No, that's part of another myth -- a peculiarly Western one, at that -- that only certain people have "gifts" that enable them to perceive these other spaces. This is something accessible to anyone -- not because everyone has untapped psychic abilities, but because it's a common human trait.

The reason you hear about writers' personal worlds is that they're writers -- they communicate about it. Same with the psychics. Same with multiples -- we communicate about ourselves, especially on the internet where we speak for ourselves, unhindered.

All that it really takes either to create or to find subjective worlds of your own is time, and willingness to think about it. It can be done by anyone at all.

is traveling common?	top

This question refers to the idea that a person or persons living in one body can travel from their own subjective reality to visit the worlds of others. People do report doing this, both multiples and singlets. In a multiple situation, one or more people could journey while others ran the body: for a singlet, it would most likely be something experienced during sleep or a daydreaming or trance state.

No one knows if it is "common" to do this, because so few people feel comfortable talking about their other worlds. It's not something encouraged in Western society. Also, it is a deeply personal experience, and often hard to describe.

The only source of information on traveling comes from the stories of people who experience it. One way to determine whether or not a person from X system has indeed visited Y's otherworld is to focus on a certain object or event, remember it upon returning, and confirm it with Y.

This is very difficult to do and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't necessarily mean that you haven't actually made the trip. Memory is slippery even in the earth world -- can you remember what you had for breakfast six months ago? -- and people often report that they remember little or nothing of their experiences journeying, or even in their own personal worlds once they come up front. (Statebound abilities and skills are also reportedly common.)

The wisest thing to do is to be certain you trust the other person or group enough to be able to be completely honest with them, and know they are completely honest with you. It's too easy to take advantage of the situation, as in the next question.

if someone tells me someone from my group visited their world and wrecked the place, am i still responsible even though i don't remember it?	top

There are several possibilities. Unfortunately, one is that you're being lied to. Otherworld experiences are often so hard to remember, somebody could be taking advantage of that to put you on -- guilt-tripping you in order to get something they want. Or, they could honestly have had the experience, but mistaken someone else for a person in your group.

Since it can be tricky to hold a person accountable for a memory that only one side insists happened, try resorting to discussion of what happened rather than where the blame should be placed.