Imaginary Friends: Who are they really? (Blog)

[Erin Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Erin Pavlina's blog:

Imaginary Friends: Who are they really?

[Dan.Linehan]

But is your twin... evil?

// couldn't resist.

[Erin Pavlina]

Muahahahaha. Maybe *I'm* the evil twin.

Nah, she's cool. Not an evil bone in her body.

[Adrienne]

And people try to tell me all those voices were in my head!!

Honestly tho, I am glad no one was able to take away my friends. I noticed they were often too right to be ignored..

Adrienne

[LillyoftheValley]

My niece has one.
It's a 4-yr-old boy like her, but she's the boss in this relationship. I'm not sure if she's pretending (cuz she's a great impersonator), but she talks, um, yells at him even when no one's listening.
Hope he's patient enough to stay with her now - she has chicken-pox at the moment!

[Susie]

My imaginary friend wasn't human, he was a tiger that would sit by my desk in school and accompany me home. I did find out years later that I'm a tiger in Chinese astrology-- for what it's worth.

I've always felt a strong connection with animals-- one of my earliest memories is of lying in my crib at night, which was against the wall under a window, and I used to be terrified that a big owl would break through the glass and get me. Part of me wonders if I had been a prey animal in a past life. Also when I was around four I used to dream that I was a dog (or wolf?) just walking and walking through snowy fields and forests at night, it was so vivid again I wonder if it had a past life element to it. Who knows....

[Lola]

I had an imaginary friend named JoAnn. According to my parents, I started talking to and about JoAnn from the time I could first string sentences together. She looked a lot like me only a little older, she always wore a green dress with a white collar, and her hair was in long curls. Mom kept mine cut short. I remember feeling quite annoyed with my parents for various transgressions - stepping on JoAnn, sitting on JoAnn, interrupting JoAnn, failing to offer JoAnn any dinner, etc. I can also recall playing outside or in my room for hours with JoAnn, perfectly happy in our imaginary world.

Details of JoAnn are now somewhat vague. She slipped out of my awareness around kindergarten. Endless teasing by my family probably encouraged the disconnect (they still tease me about it 40 years later).

A couple of notes - I'm the oldest, was an only child the first four years of my life and my parents were busy professionals. For what that's worth in the creation of imaginary friends. The second thing I find interesting is I didn't know anyone named JoAnn. There was no one in my world, as a very small child, that went by that name. So where'd I get it?

I still talk to myself and have all my life. It may be inaudible at times but rest assured, there's a running commentary in my head at all times. Maybe she's still around!

[Mia]

Hi Erin,

I don't recall having any imaginary friends, but I'm curious about your sister.
Are you guys identical twins? Does she have the same... how shall I put it... abilities and interests as you?

Thanks,
M.

[Erin Pavlina]

My sister and I are fraternal.

She has abilities but she never pursued them. We've had a lot of experiences of a paranormal nature together, but she shied away from opening herself fully to that side of things. Doesn't stop her from calling on me when she encounters something astral though.

[carriekris]

I had an imaginary friend for perhaps age 4-7 named Dianne (I think) and she was about my age - just someone to talk to and play with. My parents humored me and thought it was a good thing to have a vivid imagination. I remember stopping my father from sitting down on a dining room chair because "Dianne" was sitting there. He said something to the effect of asking if Dianne could create a chair for herself and sit on that one because my father was more "limited" and could only sit on the one remaining chair that was visible to everyone. Dianne agreed!

Another guy I met said he had imaginary friends when he was young. He was complaining one time about having no one to play with and his mother, who was trying to get him to go outside and play, reminded him that he had his imaginary friends.

His parents and my parents had no problem with us having imaginary friends and we eventually "grew out" of them. Our friends from the Cuban and East Indian cultures said they NEVER heard of such a thing - they think it is unique to middle-class white American children.

Now I feel I have a higher self (constant running commentary/discussion, not harsh but many gentle reprimands), guardian angel (comfort and intervention to prevent serious harm), runners, special-problem solving spirits and all kinds of help when I ask/need it.

[butterfly]

This is a subject i am very interested in
i aparently had imaginary friends when i was young but it is my daughters experience with imaginary friends that i thought i would share and hopefully get some feedback on

When my daughter was aroung 2 years old she had an imaginary friend named daygan. At first daygan was his own person and she would speak to him and he sould speak back about alot of subjects, he was almost always around. After a while daygan became one side of my daughter.. i cant remember if it was right or left but she would argue with him and even fight over toys!!! picture in your head watching your two year old pulling a toy from right to left hand saying no its mine!!! Strange!!!
she became increasingly more irritable and she had alot of trouble sleeping at this time, at the time i wasnt really in tune with my spirituallity and wondered if my daughter was in need of serious help! but now i wonder if this was maybe a spirit?
Daygan left (or stayed?)when we moved house and now at 9 she can hardley recall him
has anyone had any experiences like this? happy for any feedback :0)

butterfly

[Erin Pavlina]

butterfly, interesting. Hard to diagnose from here and from just the info you posted, but it could have been a hovering spirit that got attached to her. Or it could have been totally imaginary. Or it could have been something else. Very intriguing.

[butterfly]

i thought that it was completely imaginary and part of me still does
i guess it doesnt really matter if it was or wasnt lol, it was a long time ago
i think the post reminded me of the odd behaviour so thought i would fish to see if anyone else had a simular experience... imagined or not
its not something i have to have an answer for was just curious

[Rosie327]

I don't remember this at all, but my mom says I had an imaginary friend. I'm an only child, fyi. We lived in an apartment until I was three, and once in the new house my mom found me doubled over outside the bathroom door. I told her I had to go, but my friend was in there! I'll have to ask her if she remembers the friend's name. Once we got settled in our new neighborhood I made friends on the block - I think that's when the friend went away. I also got my puppy for the third birthday - he was truly my best friend!

[persephonevii]

I didn't have an imaginary buddy, I wasn't special enough for one

So I got a ratty, annoying little sister instead.

[blm91]

I had imaginary friends as a child, and I have recently become curious as to why I developed these. I am the youngest of four, so as a child I was never lonely, and had lots of people to play with. When I was very small (2-3) my mom says that while she would be holding me, I would sit up, and wave at nothing. I don't remember that. Later on, I developed imaginary friends. I don't know the age they I developed them, it's almost like they were just always there. My "best" imaginary friend was Jackie. I remember he had very dark hair and wore a black leather jacket. He was the one that was around the most. I also had Jessica, Amy, and "little" Josh. Who were these people? Were they just in my head, or was it something else? I had these imaginary friends until I was around 7-8. I never felt like they totally disappeared, I just stopped talking to them. I was never one to say "STOP! Jackie's sitting there!" or anything like that. They were just there to talk to. My family didn't seem to mind them. Although, my sister would get very annoyed sometimes and ask "Do you actually SEE these people?!" I never actually saw them, it just seemed that they were always there. I had my own mental images of them. But, who were these people? Maybe I just made them up...or, did I? Can anyone help me with this?

[Lallymac]

Hi blm91,
Two of my sisters and my youngest daughter had imaginary friends when they were little. My daughter called them her 'magareeny' friends. My youngest sister's were Wossle and Lulu Belle & Kicking Bed. Many years later my grandmother came through in reading and said Wossle was a friend of Dad's called Russell who'd died of Scarlet fever when Dad was 6-7 and Lulu Belle was my grandmother's friend Isobel.
When my youngest sister was in labour with her first child Rosie, her husband and I had been with her for hours as she struggled to give birth. I kept seeing a native American Indian with a long swishing headress pacing the room back and forth. At one stage he stood in front of me and said, 'Quietly does it, she'll be fine.' His name was chief Kicking Bird.
Some young children see spirit very easily. It seems to fade out around ages 5-6.
My youngest sister is a very successful fabric artist who gets her inspiration from nature. She stills sees spirit occassionally now.
Lallymac

[Lallymac]

The 'seeing' you talk about where they are just there, is how we see them with our third eye. It's like seeing without looking.
Do you still see glimpses from time to time? It usually comes in from the side of our vision and when we turn to 'look' its gone.
Lallymac

[blm91]

Hmm...that's strange. No, I can't say that I ever saw them. Like I said, it's like I had my own mental image of them. I could see them in my head.