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	<title>Comments on: Imaginary friends</title>
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		<title>By: MisterCarson</title>
		<link>http://mindhacks.com/2004/12/09/imaginary-friends/#comment-8625</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[MisterCarson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:54:26 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[I have been for a number of years interested in imaginary friends ever since a friends child introduced me to several of hers and we had a tea party. I never had one but realised these are an integral part of a lot of children&#039;s lives. I asked around and received numerous accounts of these and set about taking note of them for a study and or book. Having searched the internet a lot I have come up with numerous places where these stories are retold but not in one single source. So in the latter part of last year I set about making my own website. Its a little cheesy and when I get round to it will look a lot better, but has a section where people can enter there stories and I can post them up. I thought there would be a lot of interest but so far not much, strange considering the amount of info dedicated to such phenomenon on the web. So if you do have a story and would like it posted on a sole source and indeed read others stories please feel free to visit. www.imaginaryplaymates.com.
thanks
andrew
Andrew Carson
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		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I have been for a number of years interested in imaginary friends ever since a friends child introduced me to several of hers and we had a tea party. I never had one but realised these are an integral part of a lot of children&#8217;s lives. I asked around and received numerous accounts of these and set about taking note of them for a study and or book. Having searched the internet a lot I have come up with numerous places where these stories are retold but not in one single source. So in the latter part of last year I set about making my own website. Its a little cheesy and when I get round to it will look a lot better, but has a section where people can enter there stories and I can post them up. I thought there would be a lot of interest but so far not much, strange considering the amount of info dedicated to such phenomenon on the web. So if you do have a story and would like it posted on a sole source and indeed read others stories please feel free to visit. <a href="http://www.imaginaryplaymates.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.imaginaryplaymates.com</a>.<br />
thanks<br />
andrew<br />
Andrew Carson</p>
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		<title>By: Laen</title>
		<link>http://mindhacks.com/2004/12/09/imaginary-friends/#comment-8624</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Laen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 2004 21:28:39 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Heck, imaginary friends are useful well into maturity.
Talking to oneself is a great way to promote introspection.
I&#039;m hesitant to admit this with a username I care about, but I still use &quot;imaginary friends&quot; today when working through a tough decision.  I sit down with a notepad, and, in a chit-chatty style, write a message down as myself, then &quot;switch&quot; to the imaginary person to consider and write a response.  This forces your mind to consider the statement as an outsider.  Someone who doesn&#039;t have a stake in the decision, and is just there to help you make the correct one.
The brain seems well equipped to handle this sort of dichotomy. It makes me wonder if schizophrenia and prayer use similar mechanisms of the brain.
-Laen
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Heck, imaginary friends are useful well into maturity.<br />
Talking to oneself is a great way to promote introspection.<br />
I&#8217;m hesitant to admit this with a username I care about, but I still use &#8220;imaginary friends&#8221; today when working through a tough decision.  I sit down with a notepad, and, in a chit-chatty style, write a message down as myself, then &#8220;switch&#8221; to the imaginary person to consider and write a response.  This forces your mind to consider the statement as an outsider.  Someone who doesn&#8217;t have a stake in the decision, and is just there to help you make the correct one.<br />
The brain seems well equipped to handle this sort of dichotomy. It makes me wonder if schizophrenia and prayer use similar mechanisms of the brain.<br />
-Laen</p>
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