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[Ni] Examples of Introverted Intuition

Dur Aglar

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I've heard many informations about Ni as well as other cognitive functions, but I have some troubles with relating them to concrete situations which would show without any doubt, that specific person is using Ni. Most of despriptions I've read are general, vague and contains little content. Therefore I would like to create topic where people like you, who seem to specialize in MBTI, would give examples of situations when Ni (especially Ni-doms) was used, why you think it is Ni that is responsible for such way of dealing with things / thinking / acting / perceiving. I want to collect a great number of examples how Ni works, what distinguish it from other functions such as Ne, Si or even Ti. Every sample of Ni should be substantiated and I encourage other users to show skepticism and undermine these arguments in order to get to the bottom, to catch the very essence of introverted intuition proven by stories and facts which can be questioned and verified.

If it turns out that there is some interest in this thread, perhaps I'll make further ones with other cognitive functions. I started with Ni, because it's considered to be the most mysterious and hard to explain.

Feel free to correct my bad grammar and ask if something is unclear.

To sum up we need INFJs and INTJs who tell us how living with powerfull Ni looks like, an ENTP who would question them, an INTP who would check if all of it is logical and objective, an ENFJ who would sympathize with them, and bunch of concrete Sensors who will cut all of them down to size if waffling allert turns on.
 

Shaedow

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The specific occurrences of Ni that comes to mind for me are:

Example 1
I don't know why but I was observing people around we, I guess me just tired with the hustle and bustle of life in a rush to be somewhere or have some task completed, to which I paused to stop and look around. In my minds eye I saw a woman wearing a ragged grey dress, a bandage wrapped around her head covering her eyes. All except for the red blood on the bandages.

I just had a sense that every one around me was traveling somewhere, be it space or time. Just on fast forward yet completely blind to it all. No question to where they are traveling, and more important why they are taking that path they are taking. letting the question of what the destination rest in the back of my mind, a little later the idea that came to me was at the end of the path was death. That's where our paths lead and yet so many people are busy in a rush to get to the end. What is the rush? What's the point? Do people ask themselves these questions or are they just traveling blind never stopping to consider which path they want?

Analysis:
There was a symbolic image that came to mind that contained some insight, the image of the woman in my minds eye. This insight was conceptualising a new way to see things, in this case people rushing. It was also foreseeing implications, the people rushing now and them rushing through their timeline.


Example 2
I was having a conversation with my partner on the phone. I forget what it was exactly about. Things were getting tense and I was trying to turn things around to avoid an unnecessary argument.
In my minds eye I could see clouds parting and letting the sunlight through over the top. I had a sense that the conversation was going well and that things would improve.

The conversation did improve after that point. It look quite positive until I saw the clouds come back, blocking the light and turning dark grey. I knew things were going to go down hill again. It did and unfortunately. That phone call did not end well.

Analysis:
There were symbolic images that predicted 'what will be.'



Sometimes I have symbols that simply change how I perceive an event. Other times symbols simply symbolize my inner state. When I am calm I see a calm blue ocean.

The interesting thing is this 'foreseeing' is not always an image that comes to mind. Sometimes I have a thought that comes to mind. It's not consciously thought up from my inner monologue. Everything can be calm, everyone happy, and the thought "something's going to go wrong" pops into my head (I did not think it). A day later something does go wrong and people are quite upset.
It can also be a feeling. I have had an 'odd' feeling something was 'off'. I later find out that it was.
Whilst these aren't symbolise/images, they are predictors for what will be.

This seems like Ni as intuition can be communicated through thinking/feeling and not just sensation (e.g. seeing an image). It is foreseeing what's to happen (possibility), and these are personal to me. These aren't things in the world, these are in my own mind.



This is Berens definition of Ni:
 

peter pettishrooms

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Look at a nearby object and ask yourself what you see. Do you see the object for what it is or do you view it as some kind of metaphor or archetype? What is your own connotation of the object?

I am currently identifying my sports bra lying on the bed, and all I see is blood, sweat, and tears.
 
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I can't explain it myself but I think I use it. Or maybe I'm just good at hallucinating events happening and random unrelated imagery.
 

Litsnob

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I had an experience several months ago where I was surprised with a revelation and of course all of the clues were there, but I hadn't seen them as a whole. The minute the revelation occurred I had an image in my mind of a boxed jigsaw puzzle. All of the pieces flew out of the box and assembled themselves into the complete picture.
 

Santosha

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Ni for me is largely associative and subjective, so much so, that... whatever example I might give you, if you happen to perceive it through Ne or Se, or even Si, would lead you astray. It is that cryptic.

Properties or characteristics I'd use - the root, when you pull back all the layers. The conceptual relationship of the associative symbol of the mechanism of the material, at it's root.

It is impressions but not expressions, while reconciling the two.
It finds the associative (rather than common) relationship between things.
It is remedial synesthesia, as it synthesizes associative sound, smell, tase, sight and touch, with more abstract properties and form.

An example of Ni-Fe 'In a 'just' world we find that, that which we hold power over, we must be in service to...

or

authenticity can not exist without harmony, any more than harmony can exist without authenticity.


Hope that helps ;)
 

Forever

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I can't explain it myself but I think I use it. Or maybe I'm just good at hallucinating events happening and random unrelated imagery.

 

Dur Aglar

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@Shaedow
Impressive. That is what I asked for, you're the only person who fully followed my request :)D).
Very visual and metaphorical, symbolic perception. And it matches definition of introverted perceiving function which is abstract and not based on reality. I guess Ni-users are appreciated by art and native language teachers, don't they?

But I cannot dismiss the thought that it is related to confirmation bias and self-fulfilling prophecy. Concerning second example with phone call, other explanations:
- you used your feeling function that can read emotions from the tone of your partner's voice. It was kinda subconscious though, and that's why you think it's Ni. If I had to guess, I would say that it was some sort of cooperation of Ni and Fe. Are you INFJ?
- Self fullfilling prophecy - you relied so much on your Ni-predictions that you acted (maybe subconsciously) like it was an accomplished fact. Your interlocutor sensed change in your voice or attitude and this finally led to bad ending.

Another thing is that if Ni is your dominant function, I simply cannot imagine how your life with these super features looks like... or Ni means something more than such symbolic visions and subconscious insights. It's your favourite mindset, easiest/default way of thinking and perceiving. There should be something else, something more than that. Or you truly live in own world of figurative visions and prophetic premonitions.

"The interesting thing is this 'foreseeing' is not always an image that comes to mind. Sometimes I have a thought that comes to mind. It's not consciously thought up from my inner monologue. Everything can be calm, everyone happy, and the thought "something's going to go wrong" pops into my head (I did not think it). A day later something does go wrong and people are quite upset."

But after your prophecy fullfill, there should be some logical explanation why you predicted it. You should be able to find some premises, reasons that something will happen, at least after it happened, if you can't explain it before.
Second thing, if such situations are quite common you probably can say how often you were right and wrong. If Ni really gives you special abilities to predict future implications, you should statistically predict better and more often then others. How many times (estimated percentage) your visions didn't come true?

I'm starting to undestand why perceiving functions were called "irrational".



@peter pettishrooms
"Look at a nearby object and ask yourself what you see. Do you see the object for what it is or do you view it as some kind of metaphor or archetype? What is your own connotation of the object? "
It depends on the object. Most of them are not meaningful enough to be worthy of consideration. In this case I have probably more Si features - things brings back memories related to them.I understand Ni's way of seeing things, I can imitate that, but it isn't default in most cases.
"I am currently identifying my sports bra lying on the bed, and all I see is blood, sweat, and tears."
It seems that you have some connotations written in mind with your bra - memories of strong emotions and physical states. I wouldn't necessary call this case Ni-proof (although it generally fits descriptions)

@Litsnob
"I had an experience several months ago where I was surprised with a revelation and of course all of the clues were there, but I hadn't seen them as a whole. The minute the revelation occurred I had an image in my mind of a boxed jigsaw puzzle. All of the pieces flew out of the box and assembled themselves into the complete picture."

So you had clues, but your conclusions came "from nowhere" in the form of this showy vision? Ti users (and probably anyone else) would simply use the clues to gradully and consciously create final form, the revelation. I heard that Ni tends to skip that process right to the conclusion.

@Santosha
"An example of Ni-Fe 'In a 'just' world we find that, that which we hold power over, we must be in service to... "
Well, I suppose that many SFs (or any other type) may come to the same conclusion, as it relies on morality and has little to do with Ni.
"authenticity can not exist without harmony, any more than harmony can exist without authenticity"
Define both. (I've seen them somewhere as "nicknames" of Fi and Fe, but I want to know your understanding).

Thank you for your replies.
 

Shaedow

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@Shaedow
Impressive. That is what I asked for, you're the only person who fully followed my request :)D).
Very visual and metaphorical, symbolic perception. And it matches definition of introverted perceiving function which is abstract and not based on reality. I guess Ni-users are appreciated by art and native language teachers, don't they?

Well when I first came to MBTI is wasn't convinced I was INxJ. Initially I got INTJ then INFJ. So I have been paying more attention as I don't remember everything I do.

Yes, though I find that when looking at symbolism when studying art/text I always found I was 'making stuff up'. I was good at it, but how it was taught was like the symbols were what the artists were expressing. That this is what the art symbolised as if that was the only interpretation.

It's odd because how can one know what the artist really thought about their art? How could the teacher know this was the artists intent? Maybe I missed the memo it was supposed to be about my interpretation of the art. even so that's my interpretation, the painting does not hold my symbol (but I guess now I can see that's my introverted nature).

I think this illustrates my point:

I will say my art when younger did lack any 'meaning'. It was more based on aesthetic appeal and what images came to mind that I attempted to reproduce. Now it has more 'tone' to it. As for making art I prefer to have a practical use to it as well. This would suggest the development of the rational functions.

But I cannot dismiss the thought that it is related to confirmation bias and self-fulfilling prophecy. Concerning second example with phone call, other explanations:
- you used your feeling function that can read emotions from the tone of your partner's voice. It was kinda subconscious though, and that's why you think it's Ni. If I had to guess, I would say that it was some sort of cooperation of Ni and Fe. Are you INFJ?
- Self fullfilling prophecy - you relied so much on your Ni-predictions that you acted (maybe subconsciously) like it was an accomplished fact. Your interlocutor sensed change in your voice or attitude and this finally led to bad ending.

The thing with such predictions, it tends to not matter what I do. If I do something or not it doesn't change much. I could be subconsciously altering things. I can't however control the other person.

The thing is this 'prediction' is not always immediate. It could be a day later. At that point I have forgotten (if I did not pay enough attention) and I can be taken off guard. I can't know if my unconscious mind remembers and acts accordingly as I'm not conscious of it :p


Generally the way I interact with people IRL tends to be more in a Te style. I'm not good at, nor do I tend to try, influencing and directing emotional states in others. I tend to make claims and back myself with facts from my knowledge. But then online I tend to come across as an NF type *shrugs*

Another thing is that if Ni is your dominant function, I simply cannot imagine how your life with these super features looks like... or Ni means something more than such symbolic visions and subconscious insights. It's your favourite mindset, easiest/default way of thinking and perceiving. There should be something else, something more than that. Or you truly live in own world of figurative visions and prophetic premonitions.

I would say I am not an extreme case. In the sense I'm not completely removed from the world and living in only a world of figurative visions (as with some of Jung's patients, such as one patient who could not hear her own footsteps). So the world does exist around me, rather I spend more time in my head than paying attention to my surroundings.

I was focusing on examples of Ni from my life so I would expect it to seem... one sided.


Also It's not just symbols/images predicting outcomes. For predicting things, sometimes it's more an awareness of consequences of actions. I can mentally move through how a situation may likely play out. This is not so much symbolic.

I do also have symbols/images representing my inner state, so it's not always prediction. Sometimes a symbol comes attached with a realisation which completely changes my outlook for the same situation I am in. I am not predicting, rather changing how I fundamentally interpret the situation. When my perspective changes I don't always have a visual image come to mind. There can be a sense of shifting my mind, like mentally turning my head.

And also how [MENTION=27129]Litsnob[/MENTION] describes her revelation. That is something I can relate to. Sometimes I see an image come to mind, this can be formless (which is odd I know, how can you see something invisible?). It's like a certain number of facts link up in such a way that confirm the basis of my realisation. This is how I tend to fill in gaps of understanding.

It is a mindset that I tend to trust. To broaden this mindset I should apply my assumptions to the world and test them out more than assume I'm correct. I will however change my mind if someone has proof on the subject that does contradict my claim.


These predictions do not feel like prophetic premonitions. I don not literally have a mind jump and experience and actual future event. If you have seen final destination when one person has a premonition to avoid their death, I do not experience life like this.
It's more like looking where I am walking rather than at my feet. Anything close to a premonition is extremely rare and is likely a dream I have.


But after your prophecy fullfill, there should be some logical explanation why you predicted it. You should be able to find some premises, reasons that something will happen, at least after it happened, if you can't explain it before.

Well yes, after an image comes to mind I do tend to reflect and speculate to myself where it may have come from within. But it's just speculation. Unless It comes with a sense of 'knowing' I only see it as speculation often leading to more unanswered questions.

This is why knowledge is important for me. Acquiring facts can help explain why something occurred. Though it doesn't really look at why I noticed this occurrence in the first place.

Other times, such as when I have a revelation about something, that facts tend to come attached with my revelation filling the space in-between all the facts attached. I can further explain this with my knowledge and make sense of it.


There are times when things are just unexplainable. When I seem to know something I should not know. These are very rare occurrences.

Second thing, if such situations are quite common you probably can say how often you were right and wrong. If Ni really gives you special abilities to predict future implications, you should statistically predict better and more often then others. How many times (estimated percentage) your visions didn't come true?

I'm starting to undestand why perceiving functions were called "irrational".


I would guess maybe 15-20% of the time I'm incorrect or partially incorrect. It's not usually a 'specific' prediction which partially helps with correctness lol.
As for ideas/revelations, this is dependent on the knowledge I have acquired. The more I know, the more accurate I'll be.

I can also be wrong.

I think there are two things that come into play here. Generally I have an understanding of myself in the sense of where things in my mind come from or manifest. This can be projected onto the world to predict other peoples behaviour. The second one are images that come to mind. I believe this is perhaps an unconscious pattern that I have picked up and filling the next steps for.

This all can of course be wrong. I am not in another persons head so I can not truly know what another is thinking/feeling or what they are going to do. Nor am I actually seeing the future. It's just prediction. Or a guess/assumption that tends to be correct.
 

Carpe Vinum

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In terms of Ni vs. Si, I always think of this scene from The Great Outdoors.


In simple terms, Si = impressions of concrete objects, Ni = seeing the abstract qualities or potential uses of an object.
 

Litsnob

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So you had clues, but your conclusions came "from nowhere" in the form of this showy vision? Ti users (and probably anyone else) would simply use the clues to gradully and consciously create final form, the revelation. I heard that Ni tends to skip that process right to the conclusion.


I think it was more that as I suddenly put the pieces of information together to form an answer, all the clues came together in what felt like an instant and I realised something that I thought I should have known all along but I'd merely collected the clues and not paid attention to them. So when something triggered a thought that lead to retrieving all the clues and a big picture emerged and it made sense, instead of shouting Eureka! I had an understanding of how my own thinking had worked and realised that the stored away clues were like pieces of a jigsaw still in the box and that I had suddenly and rapidly been able to assemble this puzzle because I saw in an instant how they all fit together.
 

Wunjo

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Sensing something that is crucial about a question that is unanswered but answered within various perspectives. Adding another possibility to a place where all other possibilities could be true but there are also cases that they aren't. Having a hard time to put that thought within words while it perfectly fits within your head. Finding a door with an unknown depth yet thinking twice when it comes to going through it or not because of the perceived depth of it.

When I have moments of introverted intuition, by that, I mean using my intuition to deliver or give birth to an answer to a philosophical, spiritual question, rather than the daily use of the function; they are mostly puzzling, confusing and hard to get through.

Sometimes it is worth the toil, sometimes it isn't.
 

Tilt

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Sensing something that is crucial about a question that is unanswered but answered within various perspectives. Adding another possibility to a place where all other possibilities could be true but there are also cases that they aren't. Having a hard time to put that thought within words while it perfectly fits within your head. Finding a door with an unknown depth yet thinking twice when it comes to going through it or not because of the perceived depth of it.

When I have moments of introverted intuition, by that, I mean using my intuition to deliver or give birth to an answer to a philosophical, spiritual question, rather than the daily use of the function; they are mostly puzzling, confusing and hard to get through.

Sometimes it is worth the toil, sometimes it isn't.

Totally agree. All the subtleties and nuances line up in such a way that it makes sense to you but it takes a while describe the intricacies of the connections. For me, I usually have a vision of how I see someone evolving and it usually comes true within 2-3 years.
 

Maou

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After reading this thread, I am convinced I do both Ni ans Si at the same time when thinking about things.

I don't just "see" metaphors, I feel them like an physical object inside my head. It isn't gradual, but instant. I hold both metaphysical and physical data about something all at once when I think about something. They problem is, I cannot communicate it, because its a "whole" idea that I cannot break down easily into individual thoughts.

I like to compare it to a Zipped folder program, and I don't know how to extract it and there is no .exe file.
 

SigmaEnigma

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Simply put, organizing thoughts. Relating everything back to familiar concepts, thoughts, and patterns on autopilot.

Ni likes to stick with the familiar in the intuitive realm, Si likes to stick with the familiar in the physical world
Ne likes to explore outside of its comfort zone in the intuitive realm, Se likes to explore outside of its comfort zone in the physical world
 

Turi

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Well off the bat, "Ni" isn't a thing theoretically, from a Jungian perspective it's an introvert that is oriented primarily by intuition.
"Ni" itself doesn't actually exist. It is no more than a combination of the above - being introverted (as opposed to extraverted) and then being oriented by intuition more than feeling, thinking and sensation.

Your best bet is to understand "Ni" as INxx. Logically, INxP is the best-fit for what the personality community understands as an "Ni" dominant.
But I digress. People always have a cry when I suggest the above because they "test as Js and MBTI says INxJs are "Ni" dominants", can't argue with that logic, right?

Understanding "Ni" as per the above makes it easier to understand - introversion itself sees the subjective factor of higher importance than the objective factor, this is to say it prefers *itself*, it's own thinking, it's own feelings, it's own ideas, it's own thoughts etc to those of others or other objective data.

Intuition is no more than a spontaneous perception of unconscious content that one can not immediately explain - it is a sense of knowing information, without knowing how you actually know it, it is a hunch - it is referred to as the nose, Jung notes - "to smell a rat" - this is intuition - you know something, without really completely understanding how exactly it is you know it.

Combining intuition with introversion means a person has psychic imagery in their mind, and these images are of subjective value and importance.


Examples of intuition might be when a massage therapist is working on someones neck, and perceives the problem area without any real understanding of why - they did not feel the problem, they did not literally view any damaged muscles or tight muscles, yet they just have a sense of what the problem is and get to work - that is intuition.

Another example might be playing a game of basketball, and without knowing precisely where your teammates are due to not consciously seeing them or hearing them in a particular place, you pass the ball off into an area, where they receive it - this is intuition, a sense of knowing something without knowing how you know - you just have this feeling that that's where the ball needs to go, without any real-world data to support the perception.

Another example might be to walk over to the stove where somebody is cooking, and you know before you taste it that it needs more salt. This is intuition.


Of course all of the above can indeed be explained - perhaps the massage therapist felt something physically that they didn't consciously realize as the problem area, and this formulated the intuitive perception. Perhaps the basketball player did indeed hear or see the teammate in that area without consciously realizing it. Perhaps the person in the kitchen was able to tell by smell unconsciously, or perhaps they unconsciously noticed that the salt was not on the bench - there are indeed explanations for intuitions, they're just not immediately apparent.

Our brain doesn't just magic them. It's just unconscious perception, and in the introverted attitude it possesses a subjective value/importance - this might manifest as the massage therapist envisioning a darkness in a certain area of the persons neck, and knowing that's what needs to be fixed. The basketball player might suddenly perceive a voice in their head screaming "NOW NOW NOW" out of nowhere, indicating they need to pass the ball right at that moment. The person in the kitchen might have a sudden imagery in their head of the beach and something about it being off (no salty air vibe).

Intuition is a very primitive function. It is something all of us possess and do/use, in both attitudes (extraverted and introverted) likely on a daily basis.
 
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