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[Si] ENFPs and Si

five sounds

MyPeeSmellsLikeCoffee247
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I'm currently trying to develop my Si better. I struggle to listen to my body for hunger cues and have a really hard time 'checking in' with myself to pay attention to how I'm doing. I also have difficulty with just sitting and 'being' rather than becoming caught up in thoughts, emotions, or events. I know this is an inferior function for ENFPs (attention to details isn't my forte either, but I'm less bothered by that aspect), and was curious to hear other people's experiences with developing a stronger Si. I've been practicing yoga to help myself do this, but I'm always looking for tips and strategies to help me look inward with any kind of focus and duration. Without Si, it seems, it's hard to even tell if this is working or to catch myself when I go off track.
Thanks!
 

Betty Blue

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Oh... well setting routines (even though we may rebel against our own settings, haha) can be helpful with the eating thing.

I find it super hard to know when to eat but i do have children and i also understand that they require regular nourishment with food. So i try to regulate meals ... a bit anyway. Three meals i find very tough going, they are old enough to get breakfast for themselves so i try with lunch and dinner.

Having alarms might be a good way to start... maybe you could try with getting one meal at a regular time during the day and go from there. For me it's more about getting into an effortless routine that noticing physical cues to being hungry. I'm also not very fussy with what i eat. I'm not really a foody person... so i try to encorporate different food groups, but am not overly concerned with the ingredientes. I find cooking regular meals quite tedious, unless i am doing something like a dinner party which can be experimentally fun.

So anyway, back to the point... try with one regular meal with different food groups. I hope that helps.
 

pinkgraffiti

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The internet is the worst, because it's a constant source of distraction....not only because it's so vast....but also because information keep getting updated (email, facebook, forum, news, etc) that you can just refresh every 2min and always find something new.

Yoga was very good to me, so I do that in moderation. But I read somewhere that we shouldn't struggle too much with our inferior function, or it will makes us feel miserable, because we spend too much energy to use it and end up not even using it correctly. Jung does not even mention a 4th function. So what I read is that you should really focus on developing your two best functions, Ne and Fi. I find that to be true. When my Fi is happy and content, I am an equilibrated person.

Regarding schedules and so on, I use Te for that. For instance, instead of setting myself time schedules, I set quantity schedules. For instance: I decide that I will write 2 pages today. I have to do it. Even it I spend 5 hours on a forum, I will force myself to do it today, even if it will make me go to bed at 3 in the morning. Or for instance, if I don't do it in a particular day, because I really wasn't feeling like it, or some external event happened, then I force myself to do twice the work the day after. I try to set deadlines and divide my work through a series of other smaller deadlines. It kinda works pretty well.
 

Vilku

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one aspect of Si is sensitivity. dont be afraid of youre sensitivity, its part of who you are, and it isnt somehting you should be ashamed of.

if you just learn to show your sensitivity to others personally, theyll most likely learn to appreciate it. if you dont show it, they expect it to not be part of you. which only makes it harder.
 

Standuble

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I don't believe that Si is related to sensitivity or determining your well being (hunger etc.) Si is my tertiary function so I'm at home using it and it provides assistance for the other two. Si is detached from reality; the five senses take it in and the brain attempts to snapshot what was perceived. However the brain is not without its flaws, biases and subjectivity so what is stored becomes personalised as in "this is what I experienced". I think the axis for Si is that the higher up the stack the more details are stored (and not necessarily how accurate the impressions are). I think accuracy is derived from an increased number of items - more items could be incorrectly imprinted but you have a higher chance of accuracy nonetheless. Stephen would be the ideal person to speak to about this or if not Disneygeek or Giggly.

In your case Si would only be a problem determining what your favourite food is or what is your preferred routine.

As for ways to improve it I would suggest you lock yourself in your house for several hours until your Ne calms down (I would suggest before you would normally encounter burn-out.) Allow yourself to meditate and/or relax and reflect. Reflect upon your past, upon certain events. Allow them to play out in your mind without fear, if you must you can allow your Fi to evaluate what you are seeing or feeling (normally you will either feel nostalgia for the past or you will feel what you felt when the event occurred) and from what I understand both of these would assist development.

Alternatively try and recall an event which exists in an alternate format e.g. a video, internet etc. and write down what occurred to the best of your ability. Afterwards play the video, record the events and compare them.
 

pinkgraffiti

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I would suggest you lock yourself in your house for several hours until your Ne calms down (I would suggest before you would normally encounter burn-out.) Allow yourself to meditate and/or relax and reflect. Reflect upon your past, upon certain events. Allow them to play out in your mind without fear, if you must you can allow your Fi to evaluate what you are seeing or feeling (normally you will either feel nostalgia for the past or you will feel what you felt when the event occurred) and from what I understand both of these would assist development.

Alternatively try and recall an event which exists in an alternate format e.g. a video, internet etc. and write down what occurred to the best of your ability. Afterwards play the video, record the events and compare them.

OMG I'd rather shoot myself :alttongue:

It's probably a wise and healthy thing to do, but it seems like one of those medicines that you know are good for you, but taste soo bad. :cry:
 

Standuble

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Perhaps, I guess I can relate if I was told to go on a wild two week bender with people who keep switching with new people every thirty minutes or so. It will develop on its own I think. I also have my doubts you need it (with NeFiTe proving to be suitably pragmatic to do well in life) and you need only study it in some detail to find out what it does concern as a function and what it doesn't. Then tiptoe around those situations which require its use.
 

five sounds

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Oh... well setting routines (even though we may rebel against our own settings, haha) can be helpful with the eating thing.


maybe you could try with getting one meal at a regular time during the day and go from there. For me it's more about getting into an effortless routine that noticing physical cues to being hungry.

I find cooking regular meals quite tedious, unless i am doing something like a dinner party which can be experimentally fun.

So anyway, back to the point... try with one regular meal with different food groups. I hope that helps.

This is right on point. I love cooking for my husband and I or for parties or guests, I just can't seem to take the time to prepare food for myself. I do much better with a schedule that's set for me. I've been off work for the summer since I work in a school, so that's been a big adjustment for me. I laughed out loud when I read your comment about rebelling against our own settings. UGH! I have a serious love/hate relationship with that aspect of myself.

Standuble: "I don't believe that Si is related to sensitivity or determining your well being (hunger etc.)"

I read that it is. ENFPs often ignore their body's needs because they get so caught up in other things. It's also the reason we tend to overlook details. The main things I'm really looking for is for me to be able to tune in to myself, like at the core of my being, instead of being blinded by a swirl of thoughts and emotions. I believe that's what I'm missing to really be at peace and not be in a reactionary or lost in thought state all the time. I want to feel present more.

pinkgrafitti: "OMG I'd rather shoot myself "

My thoughts exactly! haha, I'd go nuts.

"The internet is the worst, because it's a constant source of distraction....not only because it's so vast....but also because information keep getting updated (email, facebook, forum, news, etc) that you can just refresh every 2min and always find something new."

I've been thinking of trying to cut back in that area, but I haven't taken the plunge. You're right though. I know the immediacy of it is not doing me any favors.

"I read somewhere that we shouldn't struggle too much with our inferior function, or it will makes us feel miserable, because we spend too much energy to use it and end up not even using it correctly. Jung does not even mention a 4th function. So what I read is that you should really focus on developing your two best functions, Ne and Fi. I find that to be true. When my Fi is happy and content, I am an equilibrated person."

I find this interesting. Maybe I should give that some thought too.

Thanks for all the great responses! Keep them coming if you've got more to say.

Also, I know I suck at quoting and stuff. I'll figure it out later :) I'm still pretty new here.
 

five sounds

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Another weakness of mine that I think might have its roots in Si is the ability to call to mind past experiences. Like, if someone asks me if I've ever ________ in my life. A lot of times I feel like I have no idea. I usually end up responding with, "I don't think so." Or when asked about the best ___________ I've ever experienced (like movie, trip, best recipe I've made) I have a hard time calling them all to mind in order to even pick one, so I generally just remember a good one and pick that. Does anyone else have a hard time using Si for stuff like that?
 

Standuble

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I read that it is. ENFPs often ignore their body's needs because they get so caught up in other things. It's also the reason we tend to overlook details. The main things I'm really looking for is for me to be able to tune in to myself, like at the core of my being, instead of being blinded by a swirl of thoughts and emotions. I believe that's what I'm missing to really be at peace and not be in a reactionary or lost in thought state all the time. I want to feel present more.

Read from who? From where? It seems infinitely more likely (using the premise that strong Ne is either similar if not identical to ADHD) that it's the strong Ne that is causing the lack of realisation with Si not being relevant. Take the case study of hyper-focus: the individual becomes so focused on a task that they forget to eat, sleep, drink etc. and do not require the above.

If I may speak from personal experience: In the past I have hyper-focused on certain tasks (usually video games) where I have played for many hours straight without rest. Like above I went without being aware of my needs however the whole time I was comfortable with using Si - I reflected upon the past and everything else like usual.

As for solutions, I suggested two in my original post. It may be difficult but you can't expect everything to just be handed to you on a plate.
 

Standuble

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I read that it is. ENFPs often ignore their body's needs because they get so caught up in other things. It's also the reason we tend to overlook details. The main things I'm really looking for is for me to be able to tune in to myself, like at the core of my being, instead of being blinded by a swirl of thoughts and emotions. I believe that's what I'm missing to really be at peace and not be in a reactionary or lost in thought state all the time. I want to feel present more.

Read from who? From where? It seems infinitely more likely (using the premise that strong Ne is either similar if not identical to ADHD) that it's the strong Ne that is causing the lack of realisation with Si not being relevant - the mind is speeding off fast through its many tangents that it isn't stopping to assess other things. Take the case study of hyper-focus: the individual becomes so focused on a task that they forget to eat, sleep, drink etc. and do not require the above.

If I may speak from personal experience: In the past I have hyper-focused on certain tasks (usually video games) where I have played for many hours straight without rest. Like above I went without being aware of my needs however the whole time I was comfortable with using Si - I reflected upon the past and everything else like usual.

As for solutions, I suggested two in my original post. It may be difficult but you can't expect everything to just be handed to you on a plate.
 
S

Stansmith

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Si manifests for me as bad memories from my past. I'll be all blissful distracted in the present and future and then Bam!, at some random moment my mind will be like "you did so-and-so in the past and now you're overcompensating. You're hopeless". I otherwise suck at recalling exact details and often still need to use my iPhone map after having been somewhere 10 times


I find Si-doms very strange. If you randomly decide you don't feel like eating cereal one morning a Si-Dom will want an explanation for it.
 

Avocado

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OMG I'd rather shoot myself :alttongue:

It's probably a wise and healthy thing to do, but it seems like one of those medicines that you know are good for you, but taste soo bad. :cry:

I had to do this so many times for school and describing what bullies did to me, I still do it all the time …
I think that at 17, I already have a very strong Si compared to most ENFPs. I still lose things and forget things, though, so Si isn't something I can use passively. I have to take extra care to remember something…



This is bad, becuase some things that seem insignificant while they are happening end up being important later and I can't remember. Are there any tips for passive Si?
 

skylights

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As for ways to improve it I would suggest you lock yourself in your house for several hours until your Ne calms down (I would suggest before you would normally encounter burn-out.) Allow yourself to meditate and/or relax and reflect. Reflect upon your past, upon certain events. Allow them to play out in your mind without fear, if you must you can allow your Fi to evaluate what you are seeing or feeling (normally you will either feel nostalgia for the past or you will feel what you felt when the event occurred) and from what I understand both of these would assist development.

Alternatively try and recall an event which exists in an alternate format e.g. a video, internet etc. and write down what occurred to the best of your ability. Afterwards play the video, record the events and compare them.

OMG I'd rather shoot myself :alttongue:

It's probably a wise and healthy thing to do, but it seems like one of those medicines that you know are good for you, but taste soo bad. :cry:

Yeah, exactly. I do it reluctantly every once in a while. It's a lot easier if you bring along some soft music and something to write with/on... kinda ease yourself into it and give yourself a momentary escape from it.
 

Azamaral

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What i noticed about my Si is that when i get caught up in things like researching online i can become totally focused to the point where everything around me fades and time is absorbed into a black hole. eating and sleeping really don't matter to me plus i have a hard time even knowing if i am hungry to begin with. o_O i also forget things constantly!!!!!! its almost like objects just disappear around mere it has become a curse!!! even if i try to keep my mind on the object it somehow gets misplaced.... the losing things constantly is a problem -_-
 

five sounds

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What i noticed about my Si is that when i get caught up in things like researching online i can become totally focused to the point where everything around me fades and time is absorbed into a black hole. eating and sleeping really don't matter to me plus i have a hard time even knowing if i am hungry to begin with. o_O i also forget things constantly!!!!!! its almost like objects just disappear around mere it has become a curse!!! even if i try to keep my mind on the object it somehow gets misplaced.... the losing things constantly is a problem -_-

This! All the way. It's making recovery from an eating disorder very difficult. I have very little awareness of my internal cues. Come onnnn Si!
 

pinkgraffiti

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What i noticed about my Si is that when i get caught up in things like researching online i can become totally focused to the point where everything around me fades and time is absorbed into a black hole. eating and sleeping really don't matter to me plus i have a hard time even knowing if i am hungry to begin with. o_O i also forget things constantly!!!!!! its almost like objects just disappear around mere it has become a curse!!! even if i try to keep my mind on the object it somehow gets misplaced.... the losing things constantly is a problem -_-

is that what Si is? :shock:
 

five sounds

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is that what Si is? :shock:

This is the explanation I read that I've been basing a lot of my thoughts on. It comes from personalityjunkie.com:

Introverted Sensing can aid the personal growth and development of NP types by recalling to mind lessons learned from past experience. By remembering what they have already ruled out from past experiences or study, NPs feel they are, even if rather slowly, moving closer to certainty. Si can also help NPs develop effective habits. As NPs observe themselves over time, they can identify which behaviors allow them to function most optimally and feel the most satisfied. Then, when they start to get off track, their Si can step in and remind them of those behaviors that can help them return to a more balanced and healthy state. Since Si is inferior for ENP types, they may have the most difficulty developing and adhering to healthy habits.

Finally, one of the most commonly overlooked functions of Introverted Sensing is its role in perceiving internal bodily sensations—the body as felt and experienced from within. More than any other psychological function, Si provides access to our most basic sense of “being,” apart from thought or outward stimuli. Historically, Eastern philosophical and religious traditions have done a much better job exploring this aspect of human experience than those of the West. This dimension of Si is engaged during activities that require close attention to one’s internal bodily state, such as yoga, Tai-Chi, or meditation.
 

Qlip

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I think Si manifests in me as a kind of deja vu. Where I feel like I know what's going to happen, but I can't explain why. This happens sometimes as a warning, or sometimes as a prediction. I just it's just a whole bunch of Ne data that has been accumulated and crystalized into what feels to me like some sort of 6th sense. I used to wonder if I wasn't using Ni in some manner, but MBTI theory doesn't really show that to be likely.
 

five sounds

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Interesting. I feel like I have no idea what Si is now. I've had deja vu before, but I don't think I sense warnings or predictions. I'm usually actually pretty set against not trying to predict the future. I feel like, 'who knows!?'
 
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