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[Se] Cutting off Se

Poki

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My wife uses TV to shut off Ti. I know personally when I really listen to people I tend to kind of shut off my vision. I may stare blankly at something, fixate visually on an object. If I look right at you some of my focus goes into what you are doing or expressions and my mind wanders slightly. I probably appear to blank out, but I am really listening. You are essentially shutting off part of your Se to focus on other parts like maybe the running water, maybe internal thoughts.
 

"?"

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Basically when I have a shower I like to just shut off the lights and have the water cascade over me in the darkness. Just having my all visual stimuli severed and only the sound of the water penetrating the silence.

I feel when I'm in this kind of environment I am able to think with such clarity and just maintain a steady stream of thought.

Is this my Ni and Ti working together in some fashion? It just seems like making connections and thinking hard on a subject becomes a simple task.

Basically I was just wondering if any other ENFJs have experienced this or even other types I guess that use Se extensively.
All function attitudes are cognitive, so you are thinking when you use any of them. The difference is introverted functions do not need external stimulus to kick start the experience, wherein extraverted functions do. Can what you describe be done without the shower and right ambiance? If not, I would think what you are describing can be some form of Se usage:
Extraverted Sensing - Experiencing and noticing the physical world, scanning for visible reactions and relevant data. You are one with the experience. There is no "naming" or describing - just pure, vivid experience. The whole scene comes into your awareness almost at once. You may be drawn to experience more and more, seeking any variation that will intensely excite the senses. Writing that is richly descriptive can also evoke extraverted Sensing as can other mental stimulation. The process is momentary and tied to the events of the iminediate situation. It is used in the here and now and helps us know what is really there in the physical world and to adapt to it. Extraverted Sensing occurs when we scan for information that is relevant to our interests, then we mentally register data and facts such as baseball statistics, the locations of all the restaurants in town, or the names of all the actors in the popular television shows. There can be an active seeking of more and more input to get the whole picture until all sources of input have been exhausted or something else captures our attention. Associated behaviors include eating a whole box of chocolates for the variety of tastes; playing an instrument for hours with pure enjoyment, not for practice; voracious reading or continual asking of questions to get specifics.
I don't think that Ni (definitely not Ti) works like this.
 

SpottingTrains

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I'm a little confused about what you are saying. You state that in order to use an extraverted function you need external data to kickstart it. Doesn't this rule out the usage of Se in darkness?
 

Costrin

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I'm a little confused about what you are saying. You state that in order to use an extraverted function you need external data to kickstart it. Doesn't this rule out the usage of Se in darkness?

No. Even darkness is data. Plus you get data from your other senses.
 
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Being in the shower, period, is useful exactly for that reason. I dont have anything to focus hard on in the outside world. Kind of like the little personification of Se has a toy to play with so it's not bugging me to go take him for a walk so I can get to the real work. Same thing for different kinds of art, like clay sculpture and painting. I can think while using Se enough to keep it from interfering with my main functions.

Holy sh**! Your post just made me have an epiphany! The only time I ever really feel whole is when I'm standing at my easel painting. I never knew why that was the case until now. It's because it's the only time that Se is being fully used and integrated with my other functions!
 

"?"

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I'm a little confused about what you are saying. You state that in order to use an extraverted function you need external data to kickstart it. Doesn't this rule out the usage of Se in darkness?
No. Even darkness is data. Plus you get data from your other senses.
It’s exactly what Costrin says. ST you said that
…when I have a shower I like to just shut off the lights and have the water cascade over me in the darkness. Just having my all visual stimuli severed and only the sound of the water penetrating the silence.
You are one with the experience. There is no "naming" or describing - just pure, vivid experience.

You then say:
I feel when I'm in this kind of environment I am able to think with such clarity and just maintain a steady stream of thought.
The process is momentary and tied to the events of the immediate situation.

Contrary to popular belief and in my opinion, our opposing function attitude is not the exact opposite but the opposite with the same attitude. Ergo someone using Ni can and do use Se, but they cannot use Si simultaneously since two introverted or extraverted functions cannot be used in tandem/simultaneously. In fact Dario Nardi says of the Ni-Se tandem:
We can get impressive results using introverted Intuiting in tandem with extraverted Sensing. We might try out various tangible experiences and activities to catalyze realizations for growth. The more varied and undigested experiences one has, the more material there is for the unconscious to draw upon….. A tandem relationship using Ni-Se could involve engaging in a physical activity so that body, mind, and environment merge to become one, perhaps experiencing a great sense of calm or energy.
This would be no different than someone bathing by candle light only, to merely experience the ambiance, or playing soft music, etc. These are all Se behavior in my opinion.
 

Avocado

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My wife uses TV to shut off Ti. I know personally when I really listen to people I tend to kind of shut off my vision. I may stare blankly at something, fixate visually on an object. If I look right at you some of my focus goes into what you are doing or expressions and my mind wanders slightly. I probably appear to blank out, but I am really listening. You are essentially shutting off part of your Se to focus on other parts like maybe the running water, maybe internal thoughts.
I think my Ne works like faulty Se when I am very tired…
 

skylights

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I think my Ne works like faulty Se when I am very tired…

Si, maybe?

When I am very tired I have "baby" Si... I just want comfort... familiarity... the known... all the details right... etc. I like to curl up in the same spot, under the same blanket, or just immerse myself in warm water or cozy pillows and with familiar trusted people around.
 

Avocado

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Si, maybe?

When I am very tired I have "baby" Si... I just want comfort... familiarity... the known... all the details right... etc. I like to curl up in the same spot, under the same blanket, or just immerse myself in warm water or cozy pillows and with familiar trusted people around.
That sounds about right. If something looks more out of the ordinary than I'm used to, it might give me a second wind of Ne or make me really upset. It depends on just how tired I am. If I'm tired enough to get upset, it's usually becuase I have to figure something out when I don't feel like it.
 

skylights

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That sounds about right. If something looks more out of the ordinary than I'm used to, it might give me a second wind of Ne or make me really upset. It depends on just how tired I am. If I'm tired enough to get upset, it's usually becuase I have to figure something out when I don't feel like it.

Right? Lol. I get really pissy if I'm tired and I have to make hard decisions.
 

Avocado

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Right? Lol. I get really pissy if I'm tired and I have to make hard decisions.

Me too…
I just want to drink a coca-cola classic and go to bed. Of course, that decision would play out in my head while I'm trying to wind down. I think that's one of the reasons I have insomnia.
 

skylights

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Me too…
I just want to drink a coca-cola classic and go to bed. Of course, that decision would play out in my head while I'm trying to wind down. I think that's one of the reasons I have insomnia.

Yeah. I have trouble getting my brain to shut up. Right as we speak I'm stressed because of the first week of class, and trying to get my schedule worked out, and I would really like to (and probably need to) take a nap, but no luck here.

IRT OP, that whole clearing-your-mind-in-the-shower has been something I've heard Ni types express often but not Ne types as much, which is interesting to me. No idea if it's externally valid demographic-wise, or just happenstance, but it would seem right that reducing external input would let the little Ni wheels turn.
 

Avocado

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Yeah. I have trouble getting my brain to shut up. Right as we speak I'm stressed because of the first week of class, and trying to get my schedule worked out, and I would really like to (and probably need to) take a nap, but no luck here.

IRT OP, that whole clearing-your-mind-in-the-shower has been something I've heard Ni types express often but not Ne types as much, which is interesting to me. No idea if it's externally valid demographic-wise, or just happenstance, but it would seem right that reducing external input would let the little Ni wheels turn.

With me, I think it's giving my mind a chance to let it run itself out.
 
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