The hole I've dug

[Agent Intellect]

when i took the personality tests, i was obviously skeptical at first, so i took about 5 or 6 of them. all of them came up INTP. with that said, though, several of the tests gave a percentage for each of the letters (i know that at least 3 of them did). two of the tests had me at 100% introversion the other one having me at about 90% introversion. all of them were pretty consistent, having me at about 85% thinking, and 80% perceiving. now, all of them had my intuition much lower, at around 30% to 40%, which i'd probably agree with.

with my introversion and thinking so high, i've always been very much a recluse, withdrawing into my own head and preferring the company of a whiskey bottle to that of my fellow homo sapiens. the problem with this, i think, is that i've dug myself into such a hole that i don't know how i can get out. the way i understand it, the INTP's intuition is basically how we connect with and see the world, and i often feel that mine is so far atrophied that i've, i'm sure many of you have noticed, become somewhat of a robot of a human.

has anyone else experienced this at all? has anyone else been able to strengthen their intuition function and regain a grip on the world around them? if so, how?

often times when reading posts on this forum, it seems to me that i'm still very much an "immature INTP" as its described in some of the descriptions, focusing all of my energy on the Ti function and letting my Ne function go to waste (which might be partly because of how high my Introverted function is).

part of the problem i have with this is, my lack of communication skills. i'm not all too articulate in writing (and ten fold worse when speaking), and it seems like i'm not on the same level as people at times when reading discussions here. if anyone knows of a way that the Ne function can be matured or strengthened, i'd certainly be interested.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Time, I suppose.

Although I'm not sure objectively trying to alter your own persona is a good idea. The concept of you being "immature" has never occurred to me; IntenseBurger maybe, but I think he's just playful. Anyway who decided that having a balanced persona is a good thing; just because someone thinks in a certain way doesn’t make them better. That depends upon how much they think, social/emotional cognition included.

 

[fullerene]

corrupt-a-wish and kill the last poster


I squelched my sense of humor for a long while almost entirely because I realized the only jokes I knew how to make were from insulting people (both jokes and insults coming from Ne, I believe). Granted that's only a little sliver of Ne, and I still worked it out a little bit learning about math, science, and theology, but reading through the corrupt-a-wish specifically when I first visited the forum and inserting my own ideas over each person's posts before reading on was the first time I'd felt "playful" in quite a while.

Since then I have been noticing Ne acting up here and there more than it used to. My grandpa came over and started punching in arithmetic on a novelty oversize 4-function calculator and gasping in amazement when it spit back the right answers, and I couldn't stop smiling at how much he looked like a little child over something new and exciting. Haha just today a girl was laughing so hard she hurt herself, and the mix of laughing/hurting when she threw her head back reminded me of someone in the midst of childbirth. I'm not sure if there's causation there, but there's correlation enough for me to suggest that actively trying to play around with creative/intuitive acts may help.

 

[Decaf]

I recommend this book.

Its only damaging if you try to replace your personality with a more acceptable one. Branching out into other areas in order to tackle problems you're not very good at working on now is just called growth.

Having to live with an extravert (my stepmom) is what helped me develop some use of my Ne. As much as that was an uncomfortable experience much of the time, I shudder to think how solely introverted I would be (you'd have to know my dad and brother to truly grasp how likely that could have been).

 

[Agent Intellect]

yeah, i'm not looking to force change. i guess "excersizing" my Ne would have been a better way to put it.

and this is kind of what i mean in the topic too. i often understand what it is i'm thinking of, i can grasp concepts well, i just can't communicate them well lol. and i probably can understand how introverted you would probably be, because thats pretty much how i am. i've always been rather outspoken on this forum, but i can count on one hand the amount of people i even give the time of day to out in the real world.

i always just feel like my overpowering Ti function vastly overshadows my Ne function, which not only makes me cold and calculating, but often times closed off to new ideas and concepts, except those times when my Ti gets hungry for something, and even then its often times just something narrow. i always think of it almost like having aspergers in that aspect, in the sense that my interests often times become incredibly focused on just narrow views.

i've always considered myself a skeptic (which, i will always think of as a positive trait) but i think some of my "skepticism" stems from just having an immature Ne function, causing me to be closed off to some new ideas without even really considering them fully.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Okay then try considering some of those ideas, it's a lot of fun

Try convincing yourself of the supernatural, interpret the bible and try justifying the actions of your preferred political figure (Stalin, Hitler, Saddam, Bush, Napoleon, Alexander). I've had tons of fun trying to understand the bible from Lucifer’s perspective. Best of all start an argument with someone you agree with, do your absolute best to make their opinion appear wrong. Sure you can get into lots of trouble by taking the "wrong" side of an argument but you'll gain a much broader understanding.

Or you could analyse some of your currently held beliefs, are they yours or are they beliefs that have been imparted upon you by society. Is Bush really stupid, is violence bad for you, did Armstrong really go to the moon. Embrace your inner conspiracy theorist.

 

[eudemonia]

i often understand what it is i'm thinking of, i can grasp concepts well, i just can't communicate them well lol.

A lot of people in the forum say this - me too. Sometimes a new idea plops into my head but when I try and express it the words are not there and sometimes not even the concepts. I end up feeling like an idiot. Some people on this forum have beautiful cognitive architectures that they express very well and I am definitely envious of. But its partly due to a strong 'I' also. You need to talk to develop fluency. I was listening to a radio programme the other day on fluency. They studied politicians and found that when they spoke on topic, they were fluent and authoratative. However, when they were asked to speak on a less familiar topic they filled their speech with pause fillers like umm and er and sounded more awkward and less convincing.

As for developing the Ne, I loved Cognisant's ideas and LoR's. Here's some others:

cognitive - read books like the one I mentioned before, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - he's pure N and its short and fun to read. Another book I would recommend is Michael Michalko's Thinker Toys. Its full of fun exercises designed to develop your creativity. One I like is the colour bath where you imagine yourself (he has a technique for this) as a colour and say to yourself things like: "I am red and all of its qualities of strength"...well I liked it. You could also visit art galleries and stand in front of pictures you like instantaneously interpreting the themes and messages that come to you.

emotional - a good fun exercise is to imagine what emotions you think people are experiencing. Just look around you and identify 3 emotions that you think someone is exhibiting. It doesn't matter whether its right or wrong, just let your N do the interpreting. You can also do it to yourself - what 3 emotions am I feeling right now. Don't analyse just let the three emotions come into your mind.

behavioural - I am a strong believer in coming radically outside one's comfort zone. Why not try something that you've never tried before - for me I did Tai Chi (I have very low kinaesthetic intelligence). This intentionally soothes the mind and in my case switched it right off. there's art/music classes; meditation (where you have to just do it and not think at all), or sailing where you have to sense the wind and manipulate the boat using instinct....

Relational - I feel that we often learn to develop our shadow side by being in the company of people who are strong in that area. For example, if you joined an art class you might meet very different people to those you're used to (I don't know of course!). Maybe join an ENFJ forum - is this relational? Do you develop relationships on-line

Well, anyway just a few ideas - no idea whether they're relevant or not.

 

[IntenseBurger]

Although I'm not sure objectively trying to alter your own persona is a good idea. The concept of you being "immature" has never occurred to me; IntenseBurger maybe, but I think he's just playful.

Immature? IMMATURE?!well.... yeah.

and I am quite a playful person.

back to the topic

Im not sure if this counts as an exercise, but I am constantly trying to figure out what people are all about as they walk by in say, the mall or something. I try to figure out as much as I can about them just by watching how they walk, who they are talking with, how they are dressed, etc.

 

[Dissident]

behavioural - I am a strong believer in coming radically outside one's comfort zone. Why not try something that you've never tried before - for me I did Tai Chi (I have very low kinaesthetic intelligence). This intentionally soothes the mind and in my case switched it right off.

Hehe
Just last week I started doing Choy Lee Fut (a style of Kung Fu) and its the same as that, you get to shut your mind off for a while and understand things without words, just doing them - the opposite of my usual approach . Time flies by and its fun, I recommend it (also, a geek that can kick your ass, how good is that? )

 

[Agent Intellect]

doing something like martial arts or something like that would really only appeal to me if it was a one on one thing instead of a class lol. in all honesty, as much as this forum has probably made me become more INTP (in the sense that now i think "i'm INTP so i do things like this") it has probably helped my Ne function quite substantially (and not just these excersizes, but having to put up with other peoples points of view and having to learn to communicate my own lol). next step: the outside world!

 

[Dissident]

The Final Fronteer!

(actually I go at night and we are only three people practising)

 

[eudemonia]

Good luck

 

[Vrecknidj]

This may seem a little weird.

I would recommend working on the 3rd and 4th functions, and not the 1st or 2nd ones. There may be a sense that the Ne requires development, but, for me, the most growth and best insights have come from working on the darker, deeper stuff.

Dave

 

[Zaihtam]

I have the same problem with jokes. When I tell about things i've seen and think about, people think I am telling a joke. But progress has been made, because i have been able to analyze what i am about to say from a third persons view.

But the most important thing is to find friends who accept you as you, else you are going to try fitting in by being the funny guy and seem like someone with no humor or very low social skills.

I can only tell jokes which insults people or about sexual things. That has become my niche. I talk about fucking your grandma and the protected forestS in her abdomen. If you say you want something sweet, I ask if you want something salty.

But my joke-telling is much better in writing. That may be a sustitute solution.

Something that some people also find funny is to actually just say the things you think about out loud, so that it sounds like you are just thinking, but saying what you are thinking. Like on scrubs, if you know the show.