How do you envision time?

[zhandao]

"Stand up and visualize time as a continuum flowing from future to past. Spatially indicate with your hands where the future, present, and past are, respectively, in relation to yourself. Try to actually FEEL where they are around you by touching them with your hands. After you have done so (for real! -- not just in your head!), read this."

Taken from infjorinfp.com, but applies in theory to NJs and NPs. However, I'm curious as how this correlates with others besides NJs and NPs, so responses from all types are welcome.

Lenore Thompson also comments on this "test": INFJ or INFP? a closer look

[nightning]

Time for me is left and right... because I'm use to writing from left to right, left for me is past and right is future. I'm NJ.

For some people it's in front of them or behind them... I've read it from a book somewhere that they think of themselves as being at "present". They're directly interacting... where as the left and right people take on more observational roles.

Have very thought of it as relating to type though. My guess would be NJs (left & right), SPs (front & back), SJ (leaning towards left & right, I'm pretty sure ISJ is left and right... not sure about ESJ), NP (leaning towards front and back... although probably ENP front and back, INP left and right).

[Colors]

I misunderstood the exercise. I didn't know that some people had problems understanding time in the spatial manner. I've never really thought about, I guess, it's just easy to think of time as a line (like the other three dimensions).

[zhandao]

Originally Posted by nightning

Time for me is left and right... because I'm use to writing from left to right, left for me is past and right is future. I'm NJ.

For some people it's in front of them or behind them... I've read it from a book somewhere that they think of themselves as being at "present". They're directly interacting... where as the left and right people take on more observational roles.

Have very thought of it as relating to type though. My guess would be NJs (left & right), SPs (front & back), SJ (leaning towards left & right, I'm pretty sure ISJ is left and right... not sure about ESJ), NP (leaning towards front and back... although probably ENP front and back, INP left and right).

Interesting... well, do read the links.

[bluebell]

Time is very visual for me - left is the past, the right is the future. I'm standing in the present. The end of the year/Christmas is the anchor to see how far through the year I am. Last year is to the left of the Xmas marker.

The second link made me smile. I'm curious if that's true or not.

I believe I'm NP (small possibility that I'm SP).

[jnick1972]

Seeing time can be a form of synesthesia. (Just because someone can visualize time doesn't necessarily mean that they have synesthesia--the sense has to follow certain guidelines for it to be considered so, and even then, there aren't any official guidelines for diagnosis.)

Although I've never seen any studies on whether synesthesia and MBTI are linked, I'd be curious to know if they are. It's possible that if you got a lot of true synesthetes answering your question, (from a population that has an equal number of intuitives and sensors), you might find that how they visualize time doesn't correlate with their MBTI type.

Just a guess, though.

[bluebell]

Originally Posted by jnick1972

Seeing time can be a form of synesthesia. (Just because someone can visualize time doesn't necessarily mean that they have synesthesia--the sense has to follow certain guidelines for it to be considered so, and even then, there aren't any official guidelines for diagnosis.)

Oh, oops. I should have mentioned that. Yes, I have strong synaesthesia - but it didn't occur to me to mention it in the context of this thread. Not sure if it's type-related, but man, there's a high proportion on INTPc.

[Seanan]

"Stand up and visualize time as a continuum flowing from future to past.

I find that an odd way of stating it.

I can't respond because, odd ball that I am, neither applied and I would have a hard time describing what did.

[nightning]

Originally Posted by zhandao

Interesting... well, do read the links.

*chuckles* I posted before the read... figure not to bias the results. So according to what they said I better fit as an NP than NJ?

I don't have a problem with the terms "moving forward" or "moving backwards" when it comes to describing events. But then again, I rarely use the word "move". I use "bring forward" and "pushed back". Perhaps that helps to remove the confusion. Bringing something makes it closer to you... where as pushing is always away from you.

Or alternatively I'm really a P and not a J!

Originally Posted by Seanan

"Stand up and visualize time as a continuum flowing from future to past.

I find that an odd way of stating it.

I can't respond because, odd ball that I am, neither applied and I would have a hard time describing what did.

Try visualizing this... If you have to give spatial locations for the past and the future. Where will they be located with reference to yourself?

[Seanan]

Originally Posted by nightning

Try visualizing this... If you have to give spatial locations for the past and the future. Where will they be located with reference to yourself?

What happens when I try to do that is:

I'm seeing from above... looking down on a circle. I'm in the center of a circle where the entire left field (180 degrees) is one color.. changing in values. The entire right field is another and doing the same thing. Where these two fields meet, I see a blending, merging, line my own width of multi-colors that are moving and changing... front to back. I'm sorry, I cannot visualize spatially without seeing color I guess.

Anyway, I can't determine because its left to right? but also front to back? or maybe not front to back since I'm in the center and assuming the blending color line is present, that is what's front to back? Like I said, my profession probably makes me a dud on this... don't mean to be confusing but its hard to describe.

Edit: Hubby and I went for a drive and while I waited for him at a stop, I tried this again and got a clear left (past) right (future) "feeling" but its not what I think of as visualizing "spatially"... anyway that feeling might be what you want.