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.
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.
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