Imagination? Or psychosis?

Well...hmmm...I like to use my imagination for thinking up pretty out there scenarios and concepts...so actually believing a doll to be a sentient entity isn't too crazy in my books.

 

I have a pretty active imagination. It's a lot more active than most people's and I live inside of it most of the time. Yes, I know my dolls are just dolls, but I like to see them as something more. They can have souls and background stories and even thoughts. But I still understand they are just dolls, pretty pieces of plastic and resin. There is no beating heart inside them, no brain, they aren't real. But if there ever comes a time where I think they are ACTUALLY talking to me or telling me things when I'm not making it up in my head as just fun and games, I may have to get myself help. But I doubt that would ever happen. It is nice to have my characters from my stories sort of brought to life, but I still know they aren't real.

 

This may not be entirely in topic but your post made me think, if believing there is more into objects is insane than what's with religion?
Most people have a religion and part of most is believing there is something superior around us even if we can't see it, some may pretend it but some do believe in it and are not considered insane.

I personally feel very attached to my dolls, even to other people dolls sometimes. When I see a damaged doll I really feel sorry for that poor thing and want to adopt it and fix it...
My imagination isn't much... I usually say I'm not good with that, I never made photostories but most of them do have a character they built with time.
Sometimes when they suddenly snap I like to think they have a reason to do it, I also like to watch movies with them, I know they can't speak but I want them to have feelings for me...

That sounded a bit lonely

 

This is an interesting topic... Some people like to pretend a bit more than others, but when pretend becomes your reality, that's when things start to go downhill.

 

Because there really is a Simpsons quote for everything:

"Now ladies and gentlemen, if you look just over left-field wall, the real show is about to begin.... The sunrise! Brought to you by God: the invisible giant you turn to when you're about to die."

 

OMG I go with imagination for sure.
Though I must say,some of our friends and family members would say
INSANE/PSYCHOSIS for sure.
Shell

 

Fear of the unknown is a basic human instinct and the power of religion lies in the power of fear; fear of death and what comes after it, fear of punishment, etc... So I find it natural when people have strong religious beliefs because it helps them deal with certain phobias. Of course, religion is highly personalized and everyone has a different reason to believe or not. Same with dolls; everyone has their own reasons to believe that their dolls are separate, sentient entities, whether it is the result of an active imagination or psychosis.

By no means I believe my dolls have souls. I do care for them, talk to them, give them personalities but at the end of the day, they are nothing but pretty pieces of art. If I were to start hearing them talking to me, I'd first freak out then seek professional help.

 

Oh, I love your post! So much!

You see, I am a very spiritual person. I believe that "if given power, something has power." For example, if you believe the doll is it's own entity, it develops it's own entity. Sometimes this is good, but not always.

There are some people who may be too into the "spirit of the doll", but same goes for anything you become attached to. It is human nature that we associate an image (a "symbol") that appears human with an actual human.

It is why some little girls hold baby dolls so gently, and pet stuffed animals. Because they allow themselves to bond with that object and they give it a personality. They give it the soul. I would like to also reference the story of Pinocchio. He was a doll, too.

 

Okay, to me my dolls are works of art. Most of mine don't even have distinct personalities, but I don't care if others choose to treat their dolls like sentient beings. For the most part I can tell they don't expect their doll to start talking back to them.

About a month ago I met a woman who took it to the extreme and, to be honest, made me feel extremely uncomfortable. She introduced her "man" and told me in a matter of fact way that he was the soul of a feudal era samurai. "okay," I said. I took the bus with her and a friend to a meet up. Throughout the trip she would slouch over her doll as is she was listening to him. Later she told us that he was very talkative, but it was mostly in Japanese so she didn't understand it.

That encounter left me feeling kind of sad.

 

My dad just asked me something similiar this weekend, he said, "you don't think she's going to talk back to you, do you?" and my immediate response was nno, because to me that would be entering psychosis. When it comes to BJD's, most people have storie for them or a backround, but I find that's no different then creating a model for a stope-motion film (like many of Tim burton's) or having a figurine/doll/action figure from a show there's just more originality with BJD's.

One more things before I 'define' the line, but one day I was watching a show with Audrey propped up on the table, and from different angles she seems to have different expressions, almost like she would have an opinion. Many sculpts can look different depending on the angle, which I really like, but that still doesn't mean I believe her to be 'real'.

The line of imagination and psychosis is crosses when you whole-heartedly believe they talk to you. I'm not saying people who think they're dolls have personalities are crazy by any means, or for example many people here spoke about supernatural events that happened with their dolls, but I think that's a different story. For me, BJdDs are a representation of a character/person; but if you start thinking of them as honest-to-god humans you might be entering psychosis.

hopefully that was clear and in no way did I mean to offend someone, if I need to clarify something, I can

 

I talk to a lot of inanimate objects. I talk to my computer (I call her names because she is a total bitch, that's right, I called her "she"), I talk to my stuffed animals, and I WILL, without a doubt, talk to my doll. Hell, I talk to myself.

I could also imagine what my doll would say in response, but I use this as a method of building character. The key word, though, is IMAGINE. At the end of the day, I know full well that my doll will not talk back, and he will never be a flesh and blood being. The only real cause for concern there is in my case is that since I've been this way most of my life, I never actively sought socialization, or acceptance into groups and cliques, which may be why I am asocial and shy like I am today.

But no matter how immersed you can be when you play with your dolls, I think as long as you can still tell your fantasy from reality, there is no psychosis... But it should be kept in mind that what could be a OVER-active imagination isn't necessarily good either.

 

This is a lot like reading a good book filled with wonderful, memorable characters. The characters truly live in our minds while we are reading the book and we fondly remember them later on. All the while we are reading, these characters live, if only in our mind.

Have you ever shed a tear reading a book with a sad ending? Some things have the ability to pull genuine emotion from our hearts, even though we know its not real. And I do realize some books are fact and some are fiction, but it is easy to form emotional bonds with both. Take Happy Potter for instance. Even movies can have this same effect, whether fantasy or not.

I enjoy reading, watching movies and playing with my dolls because that little escape is very entertaining. Pretending and playing make-believe is fun for me. That's what my dolls are to me as well....entertainment. Do I believe they have a soul and feelings? No, I do not, but I do enjoy pretending they do for a little while.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are some who do take things too far. For example, obsessed fans of actors who believe they have a special relationship with them and they stalk them, etc. They truly believe the actor's character is real and a part of their life. This is an example of what I think psychosis is. The line between real and imaginary is dangerously blurred, resulting in abnormal behavior, which can be dangerous to the people around them and/or to themselves.

 

As a pagan I believe that the dolls possibly can have a soul, or house souls. Mainly because I am a sensitive and I can sense different vibrations or energies from the spirit world. Not only that but when someone makes something their energies get put into the doll and the energy can build up when you add your own characters to it. Sometimes these energies can manifest itself into a lower being, but I guess that is my belief.

Also its a belief that is not far off from different Native American Tribes. Many different tribes believe there is a spirit in every living thing weather you are a tree or a rock. They may be inanimate but they have a life force energy, and they are all part of mother earth. To them these spirits should be respected and taken care of. They may not be "Alive" In the animate sense but on some level there's a possibility of life.

Also when I make things I notice they feel bonded to me because I made it with my energies. I know for the Ojibwe tribe they teach children to think good thoughts while making things because that loving caring energy is being stored and manifested to the universe. I think the same goes for these dolls. Every time someone uses their Imagination to create personalities is manifesting an energy force to the universe.

Even Christianity has some form of this type of energy manifestation. They call it praying. So in a way I believe they have a possibility of housing souls and manifesting energy (what do you think voodoo is?) and being "alive" with our own projections. Does it mean they are animate and talk to us, uh duh, no. But that does not mean they are not "alive" in our minds and hearts and possibly "Alive" in the spirit world as the energies collect and manifest itself or house a spirit.

I have some friends who think these dolls are creepy because they feel alive to them or look alive to them. It is very much so like walking into a house where there was a lot of bad energy stored and you feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Or you can look at a person and feel that they are upset even though there is no way of knowing on the outside. In some way shape or form, we can also store and activate energies in stones to help us teach us life lessons. These concepts are also the basics of magic and spells. This is my own belief though.

So to answer the question, are Native Americans psychotic because they believe all things have souls in them? It is psychotic to believe in God or even multiple Gods, or even ghosts? I don't think so. I don't think it is crazy to become a little child once more and do what natural children do best. Sometimes as adults I also believe we have to let out our inner child every once in awhile and let her/him play. Because if we don't we become really unhappy adults. As Adults we have so much to worry about and letting out our inner child is healthy and reduces stress, and improves health. So why care what the rest of the world thinks if it's beneficial to you?

Also note there is no wrong or right way to believe in something, and you all have a right to believe in something completely different from me.

 

I have a wild imagination
And my dolls make it coming true .. I used to write stories as a hobby and now my photos can tell a story of their own by my dolls
I love to create a different world, a little tiny forgotten world x) .. it is just amazing and take us back to our imaginary times .. Work and busy life take everything out and leave us with less imagination .. so I try to restore that

 

I share the same thoughts as Ethra on this. I couldn't have said it better.

 

But is there a line between imagining a personality for their dolls, and actually believing that their doll is a separate, sentient entity? In other words, if there's a spectrum between pretending the doll is real, and actually thinking the doll really is real, at what point does imagination become psychosis? Because I really think we've all crossed the line at some point. (Excuse me, but I haven't crossed it... ;___; ).

Of course there's one: the point where one expects a doll to answer back. Then's when you start being psychotic. I have no comments to those who believe dolls have a soul, but if you start expecting the doll to answer back or move by its own, then you're trying to see it alive and... Sorry, it's not. It can't be alive because it's just a doll.

Do you expect paintings to talk to you and move? We're not at Hogwarts (or whatever it's called) and life's not like Harry Potter, paintings don't move and dolls (even if you believe they have a soul, I think most of us would agree with this (if not, please, excuse my generalisation just like I excused the OP's) are mere inanimate objects.

 

First and foremost, to each his own. I mean, who are we to decide what's wrong and right for any one individual in particular?

Personally, I do believe that dolls can be seen as vessels for spirits of the dead but I also believe that it can only be done when it's intended. It can't just spontaneously 'be' a vessel. You have to want it to happen. i.e. spell a doll to 'be' something *continues rambling*

And then, for me, I can see how someone can have an emotional, bordering on physical connection with their dolls. It all deals with how far their imagination can go and how far they're willing to take it.
Now, if someone were to regard a doll as 'real', that's their business. I don't see how someone could take it to that level, if you will, but I'm sure it can be done. It's just not something I am able or willing to do.

 

I don't talk to my dolls or do any stuff with them. I just... kinda leave them in the corner *sadface*.

My imagination is kinda bad, haha.

But I am scared of people touching them. I don't like people touching my dolls.

 

I talk to my dolls all the time, haha! And I would freak out if they really answered O____O
Whenever I'm bored, I like to put up scenarios about my dolls becoming real humans and be my friends in school, and I also wonder what they would look like then. I even imagine whan their voices would sound like, how they would smell, act, talk and walk
But I do know that this is never going to happen in real life, and if someone asked me right now what I was thinking about, they would probably think I was crazy if I answered "I wonder what it would be like if my dolls were alive and in human size!"

 

Only things I say to my dolls are going like "did you really have to fall over now?", "Did you gain weight? I was sure this pants would fit you perfectly...", "Stop pulling the strings back!" "Come on, stop kicking me."
It's like people tend to talk to their car or their computer. ^^