• Philosophy and Spirituality
    Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Threads of Note Socialize
  • P&S Moderators: JackARoe | Cheshire_Kat

MBTI - Introverted Intuition

protovack

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 27, 2004
Messages
2,681
Location
Elma, WA
In the interest of stimulating MBTI discussion, here is a little something I wrote up on my primary function, Introverted Intuition. Later, I will attempt to add to this a discussion of my auxilliary function, Extroverted Thinking, and how it works with my primary function. If anyone has anything to say about their functions, please post, because it is very difficult to understand without explanation. For instance, I have no idea what it's like to be an ESFP with extroverted sensing as their primary function.

At the most basic level, Introverted Intuition is a perceiving function. It is a way of perceiving the world and organizing it in our mind. As an INTJ, my primary or "dominant" function is Introverted Intuition (abbreviated as Ni). We all use Ni to a varying degree, because Ni allows us to make connections between internalized concepts, helping us to make decisions. As we mature, we build up an internal world comprising all that we have experienced. Ni mines that web of concepts for connections, giving us a sense of "how things are." We all need to do this, and we all use our Ni to do it.

But I have Ni as my primary function, and thus my Ni is extremely active compared to other types. Over time, this has had an interesting consequence - Ni has given me a picture of reality as an intricately woven tapestry of connections all locked in a cosmic balance, or equilibrium. The connections between concepts are so easily recognized that they resonate, and the entire web glows with coherence. I can only symbolize it with the word "equilibrium" or "perfection."

Ni will often feed me interesting things, like "maybe this set of events is intricately related to this other thing, in this specific way" and it will make perfect sense to me, but I find it difficult to describe.

The result is that I have this huge bubbling vat of experiences that are all interconnected in a cosmic whole. I feel like my Ni allows me to perceive what people will typically call "oneness." Things will occasionally bubble over - that is, random flashes of insight will appear in my thoughts during the day, like solar flares bursting out of something that is far too hot and indecipherable. These thoughts will sometimes be zany and unrealistic. Other times they will have a clarity that cuts through everything.

Examples of these would be:
- my true purpose in the world
- the fundamental "order" of nature
- how people "really are"

Ni is the function that can provide insights outside the realm of logic and rationality.

"Ni is a way of knowing (or at least thinking you know) that bypasses reason, facts, evidence, the expected or intended interpretations of signs, or anything you can point to, simply giving you an awareness or belief that seems indisputably true to you, period. You can't tell by introspection how you got this idea. There is no thought process. There is only tuning into this form of awareness and just knowing." (http://greenlightwiki.com/lenore-exegesis/Introverted_Intuition)

I rely extensively on Ni to learn lessons about life. It can be unreliable, so sometimes I feel like I have to "wait" for something good to show up. However, when my Ni is really going, I have a nearly unlimited source of inner strength and purpose.

It has been said that an INTJ risks "standing in a place filled with rubble of structures they built by internalizing other people's ideas and subsequently destroying themselves." This could happen if the INTJ fails to gather diverse experiences (and the Ni wouldn't have enough to integrate), but this could only happen given extreme isolation and lack of support during maturation. Unfortunately for the INTJ, isolation is a problem during childhood, and so the best scenario is one in which the INTJ child is rapidly fed a diverse array of experiences, and then fully supported socially while they integrate those experiences. This applies for any type of child. Given enough time, the primary function will eventually mature and form the core of the individual. The maturation of your primary function then guides exploration into your other functions.

Ni is not mature until it accumulates enough interconnections that it can start resonating and pushing up realistic, clear impressions from its depths.
 
Last edited:
This description sounds a lot like my experience of introverted thinking...except my thought processes feel a good bit more definite, verbal, and rigid than what you are describing.

I feel like I am building internally coherent logical systems when I investigate things (and very often I strive for these systems to be coherent with each other).

Only a couple pieces of the greenlight wiki on introverted thinking seem to describe my internal life. My experience of thought isn't very bodily. However, these pieces seem to work:

"Introverted Thinking leads you to relate whatever you are doing to some larger principles that you have identified. Hence, Ti is like having some kind of book in your head, which describes the inner workings of things. When interacting with reality, you are constantly writing and re-writing your book. To deal with anything, you have to be able to understand in terms of the observations in your book. Whenever you are dealing with any new system, you start writing a new chapter on it in order to attain complete understanding of it."

"Introverted Thinking (Ti) is the attitude that beneath the complexity of what is manifest (apparent, observed, experienced) there is an underlying unity: a source or essence that emerges and takes form in different ways depending on circumstances. What is manifest is seen as a manifestation of something. From a Ti standpoint, the way to respond to things is in a way that is faithful to that underlying cause or source and helps it emerge fully and complete, without interference from any notion of self. The way to understand that underlying essence is to learn to simultaneously see many relationships within what is manifest, to see every element in relation to every other element, the relationships being the "signature" of the underlying unity. This can only be experienced directly, not second-hand."

"Introverted thinking is a form of mental representation in which every input, every variable, every aspect of things is considered simultaneously and holistically to perceive causal, mathematical, and aesthetic order. ... Every variable is fair game to vary, every combination of variables worthy of consideration; the only ultimate arbiter is how well the parts form a unified whole rather than a jumble."

ebola
 
Sounds alot like 2nd tier cognition. Characterized by a comfort with a system/collective perspectives, an ability to draw connections through pattern recognition/apprehension, and a desire to integrate.
 
As another INTJ, I'd describe introverted intuitive thinking as, "I know I'm right, I may not be able to give you evidence to prove it, but frankly I wouldn't waste the energy explaining it if I could."

It leads to the odd juxtaposition of absolute faith in one's beliefs with a total lack of concern with whether or not anyone else agrees. For instance, I have very strong spiritual beliefs and absolutely no drive to convince anyone else that I'm right.

This is just my intuition speaking, but I'd wager you'd be hard pressed to find an INTJ missionary.

However, if for some reason I must explain an intuitive belief to someone else, I usually begin by presenting a basic logical premise and trust myself to chart a rational and coherent path that leads to my intuitive belief. I suppose that'd be the Extroverted Thinking. The answers always come to me before I understand how to derive them. It can be very frustrating to arrive at conclusions in such a bizzare way, the explaining always feels unnecessary and exascerbating-In high school math I frequently lost points for failing to show my work correctly, but rarely for coming up with the wrong answer.
 
Yeah. That's not how it works for me.
I know the answer. I know all the steps that are necessary to derrive the answer. I'm happy to discuss those steps, and when I disagree, more and more, I've become happy to let people remain wrong (as they often are).

And...I'm pretty sure I've met some INTJ missionaries...if they can handle holding a single position for long enough. :)

ebola
 
INFJ here.

I can relate to your description of Ni in alot of ways.

Sometimes connections I make will involve spiritual ideas (karma, some sort of higher power watching over me).

Alot of the connections I make also relate to people.

I'm quite interested in Psychology (particularly Personality and Conciousness).

My Auxilary Fe probably leads me to gather different types of information to you.


Taken from: TypeLogic INFJ
In their own way, INFJs are just as much "systems builders" as are INTJs; the difference lies in that most INFJ "systems" are founded on human beings and human values, rather than information and technology. Their systems may for these reasons be conceptually "blurrier" than analogous NT ones, harder to measure in strict numerical terms, and easier to take for granted -- yet it is these same underlying reasons which make the resulting contributions to society so vital and profound.
 
INFJ here too, what you describe is very well known to me. I have the ability to percieve thoughts, intentions and feelings of others often without knowing how or why. This function started at age 14 and rapidly evolved once I started using drugs and meditating.
I am clairvoyent, I call it my internal soul reading ability although this function is extremely introverted simply because it's so difficult to communicate exactly what happens and how. It stays inside but being an introvert thats not really a problem.
These abilities are common with INFJ but also among INTJ, INFP and INTP.
The abilities are getting stronger as my life unfolds.
Read more in my blog category: Personality and Temperament

Connections are spiritual and involve people (Rated E knows what I'm on about)

Examples of these would be:
- my true purpose in the world
- the fundamental "order" of nature
- how people "really are"

Ni is the function that can provide insights outside the realm of logic and rationality.

....Exactly this Protovak

This ability can leave one feeling isolated but also involves responsibility as it grows to become a source of Paranormal and Spiritual power.
 
Last edited:
reading the description, I'm going to give myself a new type:

Functional breakdown:

1. Introverted Thinking
2. Extroverted intuition
3. Introverted intuition
4. Extroverted Thinking

This might explain why I am always testing as an INT*, and also retains my leanings towards the INTP description. This does not, however, retain my tertiary function as an INTP, introverted sensing. My autobiography really is rather detailed and subject to constant recall. My new breakdown does capture just how weak my extroverted feeling function is.

ebola
 
Oh...and if we actually assume that the order of function preferences is orthogonal, there would be 1680 "types" for preferences for the first four functions and 8! types for preferences for all 8.

ebola
 
Interesting. So you don't believe that the functional order is limited to the 16 types...

Here's how I see it...

The last four functions are shadow functions. Eg. Ni - Fe - Ti - Se / Ne - Fi - Te - Si.

So if you had Ti - Ne - Ni - Te as your dominant functions, you're last four functions wouldn't be connected to the first four. This is just a bit of a guess, but it could be like having two separate personalities, or a distinctive split in your personality.

Which is why I think the types have the functions ordered the way they do for a reason.
 
Ni will often feed me interesting things, like "maybe this set of events is intricately related to this other thing, in this specific way" and it will make perfect sense to me, but I find it difficult to describe.

Heh heh yeah I get this. Lacking the vocabulary and using less than pefect examples to try to express gets one looked at strangely sometimes tho ....


This is just my intuition speaking, but I'd wager you'd be hard pressed to find an INTJ missionary.

Overtly maybe ;) No seriously I agree with that I quoted!
 
Top