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[NF] Why do NFs like Spirituality?

RaptorWizard

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Mar 19, 2012
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sx/so
I'm wondering why pretty much all of the folks into spirituality (like the New Age Movement) are NFs!

(like the INFJ in the below video)
Truth? What To Do When No One Can Agree On It! (Ask Teal-Help For Those Who Suffer From Indecision)
 

Ene

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First, that girl looks remarkably like an elf! [so, are INFJs all part elf? Is that why my ears are pointed?]

Secondly, it is not the F that pushes one toward spirituality so much as it is the Ni. However, having said that, I will say that any type can be spiritual. Granted, it may be more difficult for some types than others, but ulitmately, spirituality is a reflection of what we choose to believe and not of type. I think not a more spiritual man ever lived than C.S. Lewis, an INTJ. There are many INTJs who are very spiritual. I know some personally.

I will move out of the realm of theory and into the realm of experience now. I know some ISTPs who are spiritual and ENTPs and ESTJs and ESTPs [I know a BUNCH of these who are spiritual]. I know an ISFP who is spiritual and even some ESFPs, but spirituality in an ISTP and an INFJ will not look the same. We must recognize that it will manifest itself in various apperances. I even know some ISTJs who are spiritual.
 

Scott N Denver

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we like "self development" and "be all you can be" and "harmony" and "love" and "compassion" and stuff

NF's :heart: warm fuzzy inspirational things!

That sounds stereotypical, but I've read basically the same thing in various MBTI theory books I own.
 
G

garbage

Guest
It's ineffable, but it's the thing that's beneath the surface and beyond the shadows in the cave--and, ultimately, the source of our motivations.

One can tie that into type, or whatever
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
Joined
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Messages
3,900
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Why isn't Poimandres spiritual?
Why would it have to do with type?
Why wouldn't it be due to physical brain structure and not a misinterpretation of Jung?
Why couldn't it be due to childhood exposure to religion?
Why coouldn't it be due to a variety of other things beside what you know about personally (typology, et alia)?
 

skylights

i love
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THE FEELS

We're the most in touch with illogical things and things that may or may not be. So...
 

kyuuei

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Because there is something there for me.

I feel energy.. I feel life breathing in the world. When I saw the waterfall I'd traveled so far away from to see, it was beautiful--but more than that. Everything was alive. It was alive, the trees and everything around it.. an oasis in the middle of the desert.

When I am in a forest, I feel energy in it. It fuels something inside of me. I feel spirit, and calm, and other such things in rocks.

There are deeper connections with people. There is a passion for those around me inside of me, and the whole world is lined up by a beautiful system of stars, patterns, repetition of shapes, variety, and formulas, and...

... and new-agey stuff tells me that I'm not crazy for feeling that way about all of that. That I'm not crazy for thinking a tree is a powerful and moving piece of scenery. That there really is life in everything--which is what I see whether new age stuff exists or not..
 

Words of Ivory

facettes de la petite mor
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I can't speak for anyone else, but for me its just always been part of who I am.

I've been a buddhist most of my active life. I have always believed in the connections between people and the transformative nature of kindness. Without that belief, I couldn't be me. Why do I believe in it? Because I think the human mind goes deeper than basic scientific thinking. We have an inmate ability to understand the why of the world, not just the what. We all find that in difference ways.

Our lives are full of suffering. We only have each other to reduce that suffering. We can only make the world a better place together. Without that, we're nothing.
 

Typh0n

clever fool
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My cousin, who is a new ager is porbably an INTP, not an NF at all. I dont new many poeple into the new age movement who are hardcore but much of my family is into it lite, though I doubt most of them are NFs.
 

Esoteric Wench

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Spirituality seems to be in the NF wheelhouse.

From Kiersey's Idealist Overview

Idealists (NFs), as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and... are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

All that abstraction (N) couple with the Feeler thing. Seems pretty straight forward to me.

It's not that other types can't be spiritual, but there is a unique quality to NF spirituality, I think. It's very much a part of their core worldview. It's very abstract. It's very much a driving force in their personalities.
 

Lexicon

Temporal Mechanic
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While I do have an understanding that there are universal spiderwebbed connections between everything (more or less) within our perception of reality, I can't say I'm particularly spiritual, at all. (note that I'm using the term spiritual in the sense of religious, or belief in "something" beyond the realm of our understanding/supernatural, "energy," etc). Obviously there's only so much we can truly be certain of, so I leave that Ultimate Question-Thing unanswered, thus- I do not invest much of myself in things like spirituality. To invest myself I would need something conclusive, and I've yet to encounter anything. Faith based on wanting/needing something 'more' from this universe to attempt to have a more profound sense of overall meaning/purpose/hope has no value to me, personally- I feel that it'd limit my own horizon lines, that I'd be voluntarily narrowing the scope of my lens on reality, for the sake of placating myself with empty beliefs, to have my precious truth. I'd be lying to myself.

I don't have a spirit. I have a brain. I am alive, and able to react to stimuli- I am able to sense life and physical forces/elements around me. It's amazing, yes. But it's nothing more than the pure and simple nature of existing, at the core. I don't need words or practices, or to even really express that at all. It just is, as I am.

I'm comfortable with not knowing how we got here, or why. I don't need to know-- chances are that truth won't be uncovered in my lifetime, so it doesn't have much relevance to me. I will always have a drive to explore, question, and remain open to possibility- but that openness doesn't exactly allow for the kind of conviction spiritual people have for their idealistic systems/rituals they've embraced. I'm all for growth, self actualization, and making the most of one's life, gaining new perspectives along the way, creating oneself-- doing what's possible for others to be able to do the same-- but I don't pile that into any 'spirituality' box. I imagine my ideals are ultimately similar to that of self-professed spiritual people-- I just don't link mine to something I can't actively believe in. I'll make a disclaimer here; that my perspectives on spirituality are my own, and only pertain to how that concept does or does not impact my life. I understand and appreciate the value it can have for others, but it simply doesn't fit me. I mean no insult to those who find solace/comfort/freedom/kinship/etc in their spirituality. In fact, I welcome and revel in the rich variations our psyches color this life; our multidimensional shades of meaning.


/end rambling
 

Southern Kross

Away with the fairies
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^ I'm the same. :yes:

I can get pretty spiritual about science, nature and human potential, though.
 
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