Eastern philosophies and the "N" preference

I was telling a friend today that I'm having a Wabi-sabi day. When I use the word Wabi-sabi, I have a picture in my mind of what that looks like/feels like. But to explain it? That's an entirely different story. It sort of means: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect... It's kind of like that ironic "in-between" feeling of soothing melancholy...? ummm... it is the beauty of sad/content resignation...? See? I cannot explain it. You just have to understand it for yourself.

I think there may be a connection between the "N" (iNtuitive) preference (espcially as a dominent function) and the concepts of Eastern philosophies, such as Zen Buddhism and Tao Te Ching.

One who knows others is intelligent
One who knows himself is enlightened

One who conquers others is strong
One who conquers himself is all-powerful

One who approaches life with force
surely gets something
One who remains content where he is
surely gets everything

One who gives himself to his position
surely lives long
One who gives himself to Tao
surely lives forever

~ Tao Te Ching, verse 33

I must explain that I'm not talking about religion here. I just want to illustrate how the Eastern philosophy seems to have an N perspective. Here's another verse:

One who gives freely and without attachment
gets full life in return

One who gives with the secret hope of getting
is merely engaged in business

Truly, they neither give nor receive
any of the treasure from this world below Heaven

~ Tao Te Ching, verse 48

twitter dee, twitter dumb...

All those twitter fans out there, please don't be offended.

I've decided to go in and see for myself what it's all about. It's been a whole 7 hours since I signed up for a twitter account. Hmmm... still waiting for that "aha" moment. How is this different than my son's cell phone constantly beeping at him (annoyingly) with text messages?

My initial thoughts are, "This is really dumb" (probably because I don't understand it yet).

Please, please try to make me eat my words. I dare you, twitter!

I'll keep you posted...

Questions to ask yourself when choosing a career

I have recently learned that when doing a career exploration, it is important to ask the following questions:

Who am I?
Taking a good look at yourself and reflecting on what it is that makes you who you are is an important step toward choosing a career. The MBTI instrument is a great tool to use for self-awareness.

Why do I want to work?
The quick answer would be something like "because I need a job to make money." But if that were the only motivator for us to work and we get into a career that does not fit our personality or our interests, we would become unhappy and burned out very quickly - not having an outlet to use our gifts. The following are some examples of questions people ask themselves (taken from my lesson):

• Why is my life important?
• What role does work play in my overall life plan?
• What motivates me to do my best?
• What is my mission in life?
• What does God have in mind for me?

Also, see my previous post on the MBTI Function Pairs.

Where do I want to work?
What kind of an environment would you like to work in? Indoors? Outdoors? Do you like to work with many people or alone? Do you like contributing as a part of a team? Do you like a structured and orderly environment or a fast-paced creative environment. For me, places like Google and Zappos sound very exciting (check out the links). Zappos also pays their employees to quit! And you can slap your CEO! Imagine that! But I digress... back to my points...

What do I want to do?
What is it that you want to do on a day-to-day basis? What type of work would make you get up in the morning looking forward to going to work? Or is that even something that is important to you? Perhaps routine (yes, frightening thought to an ENTP) is what excites you to do your best.......? I can't even imagine that, but anything's possible... ;-)

The Strong Interest Inventory and the MBTI instruments used together in combination is an excellent way to begin answering the above questions and exploring your career options.

Hilligraphy - "May the Therapeutic Force be with You"

Here's an excerpt from an essay that Chuck Hillig shared with me some time ago. I've gotten his permission to post it, and I am finally getting around to it. I thoroughly enjoyed his thoughts, and it speaks to my N and P preferences:

Consider this: All psychotherapy occurs at a number of different levels. Obviously, there's the physical component: the therapist interacts with the patient at a particular location in space and time. Equally obvious, there's also an emotional component that invariably shows up as the patient, guided by the therapist, walks into the labyrinth of their own belief system in order to meet and confront the shadowy minotaurs that await within.

Finally, (and here's the real power of therapy), there's also the distinct possibility that a genuine spiritual shift can take place for the patient. For example, after courageously changing the context of how he sees the world, he can become transformed through his own insights.

In order to create the opportunity for such a healing, however, I suspect that all effective therapy has to first begin by helping the patient identify and acknowledge the unvarnished inner truth about "what's so" for him.

For example, it's axiomatic that the only place that we can move away from is the very place that we're currently occupying. In other words, it's impossible for us to change ourselves from where we aren't. I've been wondering, then, if we can use the obviousness of this truth to discover that all good psychotherapy is rooted in the patient's willingness to begin to love themselves unconditionally.

Consider this: Before helping them to change into who they are not, what happens when a therapist first encourages his patient to fully "be" who they already are? In other words, instead of, indirectly, implying that their patients are "wrong" for being as they are, what would happen when the focus is first on making them "right?" In short, the therapist actively encourages the patient to begin to free his inner spirit to become, paradoxically, what that spirit already is.

Go to this link to read the full essay.

Motivators for the MBTI Function Pairs

Some information I have recently learned about what motivates us to work:

• ST - Need to "get it right"

• NT - Need to "understand and master knowledge"

• SF - Need to "provide practical service to others"

• NF - Need to "empower others"

(Taken from On-line Strong/MBTI Combo workshop at G/S Consultants)

A Snapshot of an ISFJ

A good friend of mine is an ISFJ. I also work with this person on a team which I will not mention to protect the identities of the innocent. (Please don't be offended if you're reading this - You know I love you!) ;-)

Here's an illustration of a recent conversation:

ISFJ: We will no longer be doing X because it didn't work out.

ME: How do you know this?

ISFJ: It was the general consensus.

ME: I see. So the vocal minority got to you again?

ISFJ: It was not just the minority, but I don't want to say too much.

ME: Okay. No problem. Let's make the adjustments.

ISFJ: After next week. We need to finish out the month.

ME: Umm... if it's not working, then why don't we just change it now?

ISFJ: We really should finish out the month, since that was what was decided at the beginning of the month.

ME: ??? I don't get it...

A snapshot of an ISTJ

This conversation actually took place between me and my ISTJ husband:

ME: What time do you need to leave for the airport?

HUSBAND: At noon. That way, I'll be there two hours before the flight.

ME: Okay. I know how you usually get with the time, so how about planning on leaving at 11:00 am, so you don't rush me?

HUSBAND: Good idea.

AT ABOUT 10:40 A.M., WHILE HAVING A CONVERSATION OVER COFFEE, HE STARTS GETTING ANTSY, HIS EYES DARTING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE CLOCK AND ME.

ME: Hey, I agreed on a time that was one hour earlier so you wouldn't rush me!

HUSBAND: I know, but I can't help it. The new time is now the time that I'm working with, and I still want to leave 15 minutes early.

ME: *sigh*

What goes around comes around

Chuck Hillig sent this story to me that he received from a friend. You may have heard it before, but it really is a good story. It reminds me of Leo Tolstoy's short story called Three Questions (another great story): :-)

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

“I want to repay you,” said the nobleman. “You saved my son's life.”

“No, I can't accept payment for what I did,” the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

“Is that your son?” the nobleman asked.

“Yes,” the farmer replied proudly.

“I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.”

And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Many years afterward, the same nobleman's son who had been saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

Some things to remember:

What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

Dance like nobody's watching.

Sing like nobody's listening.

Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

Outdoor neighborhood family room, anyone?

I've been reading about ideas regarding the future of children's education over at Peter Gray's blog "Freedom to Learn." One of the commenters there has a blog of his own called Playborhood. On one of his posts, he talks about his plans to design an "outdoor family room" in his front yard where the neighborhood parents and kids can stop by anytime to just hang out.

This sounds like a very interesting and a wonderful concept in theory. But will it work? What do you do with that one annoying neighbor who's loud, boisterous, opinionated, eats all the food, drinks all the beers, and does not have a clue? What do you do with the cliques that will inevitably form? What do you do with that one kid who none of the kids want to hang out with? What do you do with the few women whose main goal in life is to gossip and spread rumors?

Not to put a damper on the plans before they even get off the ground, but I foresee so many of the same problems that seem to surface in any organization, such as church.

There will be the ones who are "in" and who are "out."

Is it just me? Am I just being negative?

By the way, Playborhood is a wonderful blog. He has some great thoughts...

HILLIGraphy - "Seven questions to change your life"

Seven Questions to Change Your Life
By Chuck Hillig

The quality of your life is often determined by the quality of the questions that you ask yourself. Your inner mind is, quite literally, compelled to answer all of your questions….voiced and unvoiced…no matter how limiting or self-destructive those questions might be.

For example, if you’ve ever wondered, “Why don’t things ever work out for me?” you’re going to come up with a very different answer than you would have if you had asked yourself “How can I learn more about myself from what’s happening right now?”

And, if you’re foolish enough to ask yourself “Why am I such a loser,” your mind (in its infinite love for you) will dutifully come up with a list of all of the reasons why you are, in fact, “a loser”…even if it has to make those reasons up! You see, phrasing the question like that subtly implies that you’re already a loser, and now you’re just trying to discover “why.” Your mind is constructed to automatically support and validate all of your inner beliefs. In short, its prime directive is to make your perceptions about yourself and the world “right.” Avoid asking questions that only serve to contract your soul and harden your heart.

Whenever you have some quiet time, here are other questions for you to ask yourself:

1) “What are the five things that I value most in my life?” List them in their order of importance. You might be surprised which one shows up on top.

2) “What are the three most important goals in my life right now?” When you write them down, be sure to notice any difference between your stated goals and how you are actually living your life out on a day-to-day basis.

3) “If I won 100 million dollars in the next PowerBall lottery, how would I change my life?” This answer will tell you a lot about your selfishness, compassion and values.

4) “How would I spend my remaining time if I knew for certain that I would die exactly six months from today?” Would you travel to some place special? Hang out with family and friends? Become more spiritual?

5) “What kind of work would I do if I had that 100 million dollars mentioned above, but was still obliged to do some kind of 8-hour a day job in order to have access to it?” Maybe the answer to that question will tell you more about your true passion in life.

6) “What activities in my younger years gave me the greatest feeling of freedom, importance and satisfaction?” Are you still participating in any of them? How do you stop yourself from enjoying those same activities right now?

7) Here’s my favorite: “What’s the one thing that I’d do in (and with) my life if I absolutely knew for certain that I couldn’t possibly fail?”

Asked with an open heart and without any expectations, these seven questions will unlock further treasures of self-awareness.

MindBlink up and running

I apologize to those who could not access this site for several days (seemed like weeks). I had a slight technical difficulty, and my blog was not accessible through certain browsers.

However, the issue has been resolved and...

I'M BACK!! Yay!! Now everybody dance! :-)
:

Bre-Day #3 - MBTI and religion, culture, etc.

It's Bre-Day #3!! Breanne Potter has been so gracious as to answer my never-ending and sometimes off-the-wall questions. As usual, my questions range from blogging, religion, culture, and misc. I think for future Bre-Day posts, I should stick to one topic. (I need to take a deep breath and ask myself What would a J do?)

Linda: Do you think there is a correlation between type and blogging? Do you think certain preferences are more attracted to blogging than others? (How about if we go into the Step II facets?)

Bre: I love this question! I asked this on one of my blog posts and assumed it would be similar to any writer in general. The reality is that blogging is different from just being a writer. In my informal nonscientific poll, INTP and INTJ’s were overwhelmingly the most frequently occurring blogger types. In many ways this makes sense. I feel that both I’s and E’s are equally likely to be bloggers. N’s would have the fantastic ability to be more verbose and create meaningful connections between ideas and concepts. T’s would be comfortable tacking an idea/topic and create structure to their opinion. J’s would likely set a schedule to updating their blog and be consistent in posting topics. This is just my guess!

Linda: You have mentioned before that there are some cases where the type can change, such as when there is trauma or other major life changes. How about spiritual enlightenment? Could that bring about a change? (Weird question, but I’ve always wondered this.)

Bre: I have thought and thought and thought about this for 3 days. You really challenge me!!! I suppose it’s possible for a large spiritual rebirth to affect the way you look at the world and values enough to affect the way you answer MBTI® questions. I would guess that trauma and spiritual enlightenment aren’t all that different in terms of the affect on the mind other than whether it is a positive or negative perspective. They are both likely to shift value systems, trust issues, and orientation to the world…so I guess it could affect the way one answer the MBTI®.

Linda: I’ve heard somewhere that when making decisions, given the type vs. strong cultural influence, the culture tends to trump the type. Firstly, do you think there’s any validity in this statement? Secondly, do you think this would be also true with religious influence (i.e. fundamentalism)?

Bre: I’m not sure about the idea that culture trumps preferences. I say that from my personal perspective as a Thinking female. If cultural expectations trumped my preferences I’d probably be married with 3 kids by now! I would guess that it largely depends on two factors: how strong the person’s preferences are and how strongly the culture reprimands those who reject the norm. For instance, if I had unclear preferences between T-F I might be more inclined to follow the cultural norms. Also, if the result of rejecting the cultural norms were negative, I would be more inclined to do what was expected of me. I don’t know how this in with non-Western cultures. As an example, in Japanese cultures, Extraversion does not look like an Extravert in the United States. What if someone in the Japanese culture tried to look like an American Extravert? Would they be culturally reprimanded? I’ll defer to anyone with more world experience on this one!

Linda: In her recent post on MindBlink, Ruthie referred to a VLS test which was a part of a class (marketing) assignment. Have you heard of this test?

Bre: I have not heard of that. I certainly would like to learn more though. There are hundreds of thousands of assessments out there. I try to stay on top of the ones that are based on Jungian core concepts, but it is a mountain of a task to keep up with!