Inner Workings Survey (completed Jun 2013)
General
1. Are you multiple, median or other? Why do you believe this?
Plural. Because more than one individual shares this body. There are a handful of individuals within our group who are also Median.
2. How do you define being multiple, median or plural, based on your experiences?
Plural/Multiple are basically the same thing. Some prefer using Multiple and some prefer using Plural. Originally, the term Multiple was used more often, but we shied away from it because we wished to move away from the 'Multiple Personalities' experience, which was a medical situation and something entirely different. Median is also a Plural experience, but the group members are usually strongly connected to one individual, possibly they could not exist without this one person.
3. How did you discover you are plural?
Our group was plural throughout this body's lifetime. Various group member knew others were around, but didn't consciously acknowledge ourselves as Plural until around 2003.
4. What do you believe 'caused' your plurality? Do you believe in psychological, spiritual or other explanations? How does this work for you? Why do you believe it?
We don't know. This body seems to have always contained more than one mind. For us, 'psychological' means some sort of outside trauma created the plurality and 'spiritual' means that everyone in the group are spirits or some type of spiritual beings. We subscribe to being a natural plural group, enhanced by outside psychological influences. Yet, there are also spiritual beings in our group. So we're a little bit of all of the above.
5. Do you feel your group is more multiple or more median, and why?
I'd say we are Plural, with many fully separate individuals. Yet there are also a few medians in our group.
Inner-world/Headspace
6. Do you have an inner-world or headspace?
Yes, we have both an 'inner' world and a headspace. These are separate locations for us. The headspace or foyer is an area near the body, that a body user can usually see and interact with while in the body. The 'inner' world is our home realm that is much larger and separate.
7. What do you believe your inner-world or headspace is? Does it serve a specific function for you? If so, what?
Our headspace-foyer serves as a temporary home for current body users. Their families and children stay there with the group member so they can spend more time together. Our realm is the permanent home for everyone.
8. Do you go to your inner-world or headspace when you are not in the body? Can you be there while here?
Yes, both places. A body user can interact with the headspace foyer while in the body. For instance, a person could talk with and play with their children in the foyer while in the body. They could not do this if they were back in the realm. It's much too far away.
9. When you have spent time in your inner-world or headspace, and come to the body afterwards, does the body's brain have to 'catch up' on what you did, or 'fill in the gaps', in a sense?
Yes. If away for any period of time, a body user may need to be updated on what took place while they were gone. Their minds does not remain in contact with the body.
10. Are you 'more separate' or 'more individual' in the inner-world or headspace than you are while using the body?
Our group members are all very separate from one another anyway. But we are definitely much more separate while in our realm. There is a type of closeness that occurs when many people share time here together.
Switching/Body Use
11. How do you switch control of the body, and what does it feel like to you?
Many of us have been doing this for ages and honestly see it as a regular/normal activity that is barely registered anymore. When leaving here for our realm, it's like teleporting; being in one place and then suddenly in another. When leaving the body and entering the foyer, it's like standing up from a chair and walking backwards out of the body.
12. If you could not see your inner-world or headspace or each other, how would you describe switching to feel to you?
I'm uncertain what this means. Since we do see our headspace-foyer, perhaps it is irrelevant.
13. If you did not know about plurality, could leaving the body be described as 'switching mentalities' in a sense?
We were switching all through this body's lifetime without realizing that was what we were doing. And yes, people just thought 'there are some days when I love root beer and some days when I hate it'. Or 'this is my relaxed handwriting and this is my tired handwriting'.
14. Did you ever switch before you knew about plurality? Was switching then any different from how it is now? If so, in what way?
Yes. The switching was definitely taking place all through this body's lifetime. The only difference is, many were not as aware of our realm as we are today. So nobody really knew where they went when they weren't in the body.
Awareness
15. Do you experience a shared, or 'overall' awareness in a sense? How does this work for you?
No. It is much easier for individuals to know what is going on
16. When you leave the body, where does your awareness go? Does it go to the back, with you, or does it stay in the body? How would you describe this? Has it ever made you think you may be more median than multiple?
Our individual minds remain with a person when they leave the body. It would be disturbing if our brains were suddenly removed from our bodies. For example, if you and your family were all sitting in the living room and your sibling wished to take a trip to the store to pick up soda, your sibling wouldn't leave his mind behind, would he? I think he'd take his entire body with him out to the car and to the store and back. That's pretty much how it is for our group.
17. Do you believe you share the body's brain, and if so, how does it affect you?
Our presences are able to settle into this body's brain when we use the body, and are able to leave it when we leave the body. In this sense, someone who does not experience anxiety disorders will have to deal with it when they are in the body because the anxiety would be within the shared body and not in theirs.
Individuality
18. How separate are you and your headmates? Do you believe you are completely separate beings, be your beliefs psychological or spiritual, or do you believe you are more connected? Why? How does this work for you?
The majority of our group consists of separate individuals; aside from the few medians, of course. Families and lovers are, of course, more connected than not.
19. If you could not see your inner-world or headspace, self or each other, would you still simply 'know' who or what you are at your core? Would the rest of your characteristics be layered on top of that, in a sense?
It'd be like closing your eyes and listening to their voices.
20. Is there anything that is shared among all of you, be it a quirk, a belief, a phobia? Did this come from the body's experiences? Is it just a coincidence, or is there a reason it affects all of you?
Many people who have used the body together over the years have picked up each others' quirks. LeAnne didn't always like tea until she was here with Amirah who lived on tea every day. Kalli picked up Amirah's pacing while nervous habit and LeAnne's biting fingernails habit. The reason is because we're around each other a lot, similar to how families living in the same house may have the same saying or habits.
Memories/Emotions
21. Do you share a memory pool? If so, how does this work?
No, or if we do it is extremely small. We've worked at trying to open up a shared place so that returning group members would have instant access to events that took place while they were away. But that never happened. Usually someone else has to fill them in or they'll have to look around for clues. Or a few broken fragments of memories will come to them.
22. If one of your headmates used the body before you did, would your memory of what they did be hazy? Are the memories of what you have done in the body more potent for you?
It'd either be very foggy or nonexistent. Obviously, Someone will remember their own actions. Though there are times when the actions taking place back in the home realm will become hazy when they return here to the body.
23. Do you sometimes have difficulty determining what memory or previous action or discussion belongs to who?
Sometimes. But that comes from pretending to be a singlet all the time. One person may say that they did a particular action when it was actually someone else. But not always because they don't know who did it. Just out of habit.
24. Can you feel each others emotions, thoughts or feelings? How does this work for you? Can it happen at any time, or only when co-sharing the body?
Some can personally because they are an empath. Some have noticed that they are aware of the emotions or dreams coming from someone they are co-sharing with. Otherwise, it doesn't usually happen.
25. Before you knew you were plural, did you sometimes have difficulty making decisions, as if you were fighting with yourself? Has that changed since then?
Not really. It just made us look rather inconsistent to everyone else because we weren't being careful to hide our plurality when we weren't consciously aware of it. It's definitely much more consistent now. Our singlet persona is pretty linear.
26. Do you sometimes 'blur' or 'merge' together, intentionally or unintentionally? How does this work for you, when does it happen, is there a cause for it?
We don't blur, but sometimes co-sharing can give the impression that we are because we may come and go pretty quickly.
Out-world
27. How does being plural affect your body?
It increases anxiety. It's very difficult pretending to be a singlet when we're not. Or pretending to be this body's history when it doesn't belong to anyone.
28. How does being plural affect your relationships with friends, family, others?
Very few people know the real us. It's rather lonely in that regard.
29. Do you experience body dysphoria, in any way? If so, what ways?
Species dysphoria, Age dysphoria, Gender dysphoria and Abilities dysphoria. Some are personally so accustomed to using a human body, that they almost think they am human. Until they leave the shared body and their own bodies remind them again. A few have difficulty being different ages than this body. Especially the children. Gender issues doesn't usually come up unless someone wishes to have sex using the shared body and possibly if their own body isn't female. Others have difficulties not being able to use magic or have a greater access to their own knowledge and abilities.
30. Do you wear a 'body history or personality' mask when interacting with those you are not out to?
Yes. We have stated this many times. We put on a singlet costume and take on this body's history as our own.
31. When you use the body for too long, do you sometimes forget you are plural, or your individual identity, and slip 'too far' into the body mask? How often and when does this happen? How do you get out of it? Do you adopt the body's history or personality without intending to?
No. Many of the actions that take place here with the body become part of this body's history. If a body user is in college, that is their own choice and is added to the history. What can happen is for main body users who remain here for several years, it can be difficult to permanently un-root from the body. They could return to the home realm and suddenly find themselves sling-shot back to the body. It takes awhile for this to stop.
History
32. Do you remember the first time you realized you weren't alone? When was this, and what was it like?
This body was around 2 years old. There was an infant, a couple of young children and an adult male also around. Many weren't born to this body though.
33. Have there been times throughout your body life in which group members seem to disappear or reappear? When was this, and how did it work for you? Do you know where they went?
Yes. When this body was around age 9, Kalli left and has no memory of where she went. She returned when this body was around age 12. She still doesn't recall where she was during that time. She may have been back in the home realm. LeAnne left when this body was 18 and didn't return until thirteen years later, also with no memory of where she was. When Suz left in 2003, everyone thought she had died until she came back about a year later. Other people have come and gone, but they usually recall returning to their own home realms.
Doubts
34. Have you had doubts about your plurality? What are they? How often do you have them? Why? Does something seem to cause them?
When Suz left in 2003, many of us were very confused. She had us all believing that we were her imaginary friends. When she left, we realized that we obviously were real. There haven't been doubts in that regard for a very long time.
35. Has the manner in which you switch caused you to doubt your plurality before?
No.
36. Have you ever thought that you are just 'pretending', 'playing' or 'acting', even without intending to?
No. Other than pretending to be this body's singlet history.
37. Have you ever doubted your plurality so badly that you tried to force your group to be singlet for a while? How did that work for you?
No.
1. Are you multiple, median or other? Why do you believe this?
Plural. Because more than one individual shares this body. There are a handful of individuals within our group who are also Median.
2. How do you define being multiple, median or plural, based on your experiences?
Plural/Multiple are basically the same thing. Some prefer using Multiple and some prefer using Plural. Originally, the term Multiple was used more often, but we shied away from it because we wished to move away from the 'Multiple Personalities' experience, which was a medical situation and something entirely different. Median is also a Plural experience, but the group members are usually strongly connected to one individual, possibly they could not exist without this one person.
3. How did you discover you are plural?
Our group was plural throughout this body's lifetime. Various group member knew others were around, but didn't consciously acknowledge ourselves as Plural until around 2003.
4. What do you believe 'caused' your plurality? Do you believe in psychological, spiritual or other explanations? How does this work for you? Why do you believe it?
We don't know. This body seems to have always contained more than one mind. For us, 'psychological' means some sort of outside trauma created the plurality and 'spiritual' means that everyone in the group are spirits or some type of spiritual beings. We subscribe to being a natural plural group, enhanced by outside psychological influences. Yet, there are also spiritual beings in our group. So we're a little bit of all of the above.
5. Do you feel your group is more multiple or more median, and why?
I'd say we are Plural, with many fully separate individuals. Yet there are also a few medians in our group.
Inner-world/Headspace
6. Do you have an inner-world or headspace?
Yes, we have both an 'inner' world and a headspace. These are separate locations for us. The headspace or foyer is an area near the body, that a body user can usually see and interact with while in the body. The 'inner' world is our home realm that is much larger and separate.
7. What do you believe your inner-world or headspace is? Does it serve a specific function for you? If so, what?
Our headspace-foyer serves as a temporary home for current body users. Their families and children stay there with the group member so they can spend more time together. Our realm is the permanent home for everyone.
8. Do you go to your inner-world or headspace when you are not in the body? Can you be there while here?
Yes, both places. A body user can interact with the headspace foyer while in the body. For instance, a person could talk with and play with their children in the foyer while in the body. They could not do this if they were back in the realm. It's much too far away.
9. When you have spent time in your inner-world or headspace, and come to the body afterwards, does the body's brain have to 'catch up' on what you did, or 'fill in the gaps', in a sense?
Yes. If away for any period of time, a body user may need to be updated on what took place while they were gone. Their minds does not remain in contact with the body.
10. Are you 'more separate' or 'more individual' in the inner-world or headspace than you are while using the body?
Our group members are all very separate from one another anyway. But we are definitely much more separate while in our realm. There is a type of closeness that occurs when many people share time here together.
Switching/Body Use
11. How do you switch control of the body, and what does it feel like to you?
Many of us have been doing this for ages and honestly see it as a regular/normal activity that is barely registered anymore. When leaving here for our realm, it's like teleporting; being in one place and then suddenly in another. When leaving the body and entering the foyer, it's like standing up from a chair and walking backwards out of the body.
12. If you could not see your inner-world or headspace or each other, how would you describe switching to feel to you?
I'm uncertain what this means. Since we do see our headspace-foyer, perhaps it is irrelevant.
13. If you did not know about plurality, could leaving the body be described as 'switching mentalities' in a sense?
We were switching all through this body's lifetime without realizing that was what we were doing. And yes, people just thought 'there are some days when I love root beer and some days when I hate it'. Or 'this is my relaxed handwriting and this is my tired handwriting'.
14. Did you ever switch before you knew about plurality? Was switching then any different from how it is now? If so, in what way?
Yes. The switching was definitely taking place all through this body's lifetime. The only difference is, many were not as aware of our realm as we are today. So nobody really knew where they went when they weren't in the body.
Awareness
15. Do you experience a shared, or 'overall' awareness in a sense? How does this work for you?
No. It is much easier for individuals to know what is going on
16. When you leave the body, where does your awareness go? Does it go to the back, with you, or does it stay in the body? How would you describe this? Has it ever made you think you may be more median than multiple?
Our individual minds remain with a person when they leave the body. It would be disturbing if our brains were suddenly removed from our bodies. For example, if you and your family were all sitting in the living room and your sibling wished to take a trip to the store to pick up soda, your sibling wouldn't leave his mind behind, would he? I think he'd take his entire body with him out to the car and to the store and back. That's pretty much how it is for our group.
17. Do you believe you share the body's brain, and if so, how does it affect you?
Our presences are able to settle into this body's brain when we use the body, and are able to leave it when we leave the body. In this sense, someone who does not experience anxiety disorders will have to deal with it when they are in the body because the anxiety would be within the shared body and not in theirs.
Individuality
18. How separate are you and your headmates? Do you believe you are completely separate beings, be your beliefs psychological or spiritual, or do you believe you are more connected? Why? How does this work for you?
The majority of our group consists of separate individuals; aside from the few medians, of course. Families and lovers are, of course, more connected than not.
19. If you could not see your inner-world or headspace, self or each other, would you still simply 'know' who or what you are at your core? Would the rest of your characteristics be layered on top of that, in a sense?
It'd be like closing your eyes and listening to their voices.
20. Is there anything that is shared among all of you, be it a quirk, a belief, a phobia? Did this come from the body's experiences? Is it just a coincidence, or is there a reason it affects all of you?
Many people who have used the body together over the years have picked up each others' quirks. LeAnne didn't always like tea until she was here with Amirah who lived on tea every day. Kalli picked up Amirah's pacing while nervous habit and LeAnne's biting fingernails habit. The reason is because we're around each other a lot, similar to how families living in the same house may have the same saying or habits.
Memories/Emotions
21. Do you share a memory pool? If so, how does this work?
No, or if we do it is extremely small. We've worked at trying to open up a shared place so that returning group members would have instant access to events that took place while they were away. But that never happened. Usually someone else has to fill them in or they'll have to look around for clues. Or a few broken fragments of memories will come to them.
22. If one of your headmates used the body before you did, would your memory of what they did be hazy? Are the memories of what you have done in the body more potent for you?
It'd either be very foggy or nonexistent. Obviously, Someone will remember their own actions. Though there are times when the actions taking place back in the home realm will become hazy when they return here to the body.
23. Do you sometimes have difficulty determining what memory or previous action or discussion belongs to who?
Sometimes. But that comes from pretending to be a singlet all the time. One person may say that they did a particular action when it was actually someone else. But not always because they don't know who did it. Just out of habit.
24. Can you feel each others emotions, thoughts or feelings? How does this work for you? Can it happen at any time, or only when co-sharing the body?
Some can personally because they are an empath. Some have noticed that they are aware of the emotions or dreams coming from someone they are co-sharing with. Otherwise, it doesn't usually happen.
25. Before you knew you were plural, did you sometimes have difficulty making decisions, as if you were fighting with yourself? Has that changed since then?
Not really. It just made us look rather inconsistent to everyone else because we weren't being careful to hide our plurality when we weren't consciously aware of it. It's definitely much more consistent now. Our singlet persona is pretty linear.
26. Do you sometimes 'blur' or 'merge' together, intentionally or unintentionally? How does this work for you, when does it happen, is there a cause for it?
We don't blur, but sometimes co-sharing can give the impression that we are because we may come and go pretty quickly.
Out-world
27. How does being plural affect your body?
It increases anxiety. It's very difficult pretending to be a singlet when we're not. Or pretending to be this body's history when it doesn't belong to anyone.
28. How does being plural affect your relationships with friends, family, others?
Very few people know the real us. It's rather lonely in that regard.
29. Do you experience body dysphoria, in any way? If so, what ways?
Species dysphoria, Age dysphoria, Gender dysphoria and Abilities dysphoria. Some are personally so accustomed to using a human body, that they almost think they am human. Until they leave the shared body and their own bodies remind them again. A few have difficulty being different ages than this body. Especially the children. Gender issues doesn't usually come up unless someone wishes to have sex using the shared body and possibly if their own body isn't female. Others have difficulties not being able to use magic or have a greater access to their own knowledge and abilities.
30. Do you wear a 'body history or personality' mask when interacting with those you are not out to?
Yes. We have stated this many times. We put on a singlet costume and take on this body's history as our own.
31. When you use the body for too long, do you sometimes forget you are plural, or your individual identity, and slip 'too far' into the body mask? How often and when does this happen? How do you get out of it? Do you adopt the body's history or personality without intending to?
No. Many of the actions that take place here with the body become part of this body's history. If a body user is in college, that is their own choice and is added to the history. What can happen is for main body users who remain here for several years, it can be difficult to permanently un-root from the body. They could return to the home realm and suddenly find themselves sling-shot back to the body. It takes awhile for this to stop.
History
32. Do you remember the first time you realized you weren't alone? When was this, and what was it like?
This body was around 2 years old. There was an infant, a couple of young children and an adult male also around. Many weren't born to this body though.
33. Have there been times throughout your body life in which group members seem to disappear or reappear? When was this, and how did it work for you? Do you know where they went?
Yes. When this body was around age 9, Kalli left and has no memory of where she went. She returned when this body was around age 12. She still doesn't recall where she was during that time. She may have been back in the home realm. LeAnne left when this body was 18 and didn't return until thirteen years later, also with no memory of where she was. When Suz left in 2003, everyone thought she had died until she came back about a year later. Other people have come and gone, but they usually recall returning to their own home realms.
Doubts
34. Have you had doubts about your plurality? What are they? How often do you have them? Why? Does something seem to cause them?
When Suz left in 2003, many of us were very confused. She had us all believing that we were her imaginary friends. When she left, we realized that we obviously were real. There haven't been doubts in that regard for a very long time.
35. Has the manner in which you switch caused you to doubt your plurality before?
No.
36. Have you ever thought that you are just 'pretending', 'playing' or 'acting', even without intending to?
No. Other than pretending to be this body's singlet history.
37. Have you ever doubted your plurality so badly that you tried to force your group to be singlet for a while? How did that work for you?
No.
© 1995-2017