Ne vs. Ni Imagination

[LucieCat]

I use Ne and my imagination is running almost constantly. I often find myself theorizing possible outcomes and situations. I also tend to play through potential conversations in my head.

As as a kid, I was always described as having an overactive imagination, and I still do have one. Growing up, my favorite thing to do besides read was to play make believe. I've always been drawn to the fantastical and mysterious. So there is often an element of magic and fantasy to my daydreams. I like to make up stories that I tell myself in my head for entertainment. So that's also a part of it. I continuously word build and character build inside my mind though I rarely (if ever) write any of it down.

 

[Eric B]

Ne imagination is looking at objects, and letting them make their own inferences. Like the properties of one object will remind you of something else, so then you compare, or imagine how it can be changed.

Ni imagination is what emanates from within, and you don't even have to start with an object. When you do have an object, you'll imagine things for it that it doesn't necessarily imply. Someone described it to me as inferring "what's left out" of something.

 

[Earl Grey]

I sat for a few minutes wondering how to describe my imagination.
In short, I imagine so much, I don't know where to begin. Anything and everything can take me somewhere. Sometimes, it's a little distracting.


//also, tiny addition to Ni vs Ne--

All types imagine. And all types imagine all sorts of different things.
To me, the difference is the nature of the imagination than its contents.

Ne vs Ni... One staggeringly common thing I find with Ne-users is that they will have the most grandiose (EP especially) or elaborate (IP especially) of ideas. However, they fall extremely short when it comes to planning them out. In short, they seem most detached from reality.
Ne has the most flexible and incredible insights and amazing imagination. However, they sometimes seem to be rooted in otherworldly systems.
Ni is much more linear, and clear-cut. The results of their thoughts can still be explained to outsiders, piece by piece, or step by step.

(Of course, this is an exaggeration, though they are taken from several real-life events.)

Generally, both can be amazing and intricate. Both can be overactive. I'd say both are very imaginative.

 

[Peter Deadpan]

I imagine a lot of horrific car accidents while driving or riding in a car, for funsies.

My boyfriend likes to imagine crushing the cars of horrible drivers with his mind.

We're both Ne users and apparently perfect for each other.

 

[lunalum]

I'm definitely Ne/Si axis but I still don't really know if I'm all that imaginative But I know that if given ample sunlight and caffeine, I can weave up some wonderfully weird stuff. I'd say I'm more creative than imaginative, I suppose. I use thoughts more so than actual images. At my peak, "perpetually inspired by input" is about the best way I could describe it right now.

 

[Magnus]

A few pages back (eg, a couple of years ago) someone mentioned imaginary worlds. I don't know that I would've thought to frame it that way. But that just about describes how I have stacked things myself. Mine's a bit more intricate though. Put it down to pragmatism?

Real World- It's a shitty world so my imagination conjures ways to improve things. Of them all, this one's probably the most nebulous because (A) I can take real action here and (B) often I don't have a rationalization for my actions until later. Only later is it clear that my actions a few months ago are why I'm getting a raise now. Stuff like that. But I color inside the lines here. I don't know if it's even possible to save the world. Assuming it's possible to save the world, doing so isn't my job. But even if it was, I'm not likely to save the world by posting a bunch of stuff on the Internet. But I can improve my own situation a bit. So I do. And it frequently happens without me being able to articulate how I knew to do what I did. This is about how to improve my situation.

Ideal World- This one's fun. If it saving the world was possible and if doing so was my job, I think about how Things Ought To Be: politics, society, religion, technology, etc. How is law enforced in my utopia? What types of food do people eat? What's the average family size? I have answers to all those things. It's "real" in that I dream about it sometimes. A place where I can truly be free. It's "attainable" in the sense that there's always an outside chance it could happen somehow, someday, some way. But it's very much an idealization of our current situation. It's a version of the real world which isn't shitty. This is about how to improve everybody's situation.

Both of them start with an image which I try to understand and then extrapolate upon. So I guess it's not entirely graphical. It begins that way but then shifts to conceptual and I figure out which steps need to be taken between How Things Are to How Things Ought To Be. I guess that's kind of abstract but that's how it seems to work.

I've got a Fantasy World too but trust me none of you want to know about it.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I imagine a lot of horrific car accidents while driving or riding in a car, for funsies.

My boyfriend likes to imagine crushing the cars of horrible drivers with his mind.

We're both Ne users and apparently perfect for each other.

I do that, it’s fun. I will imagine suddenly side swiping assholes and driving them off the road, or pulling in front of them and throwing handfuls of nails under their tires

 

[Polaris]

I write and have had tendencies toward psychotic breaks, so I have developed or, more accurately, nurtured a rich imagination. My imagination is a sometimes whimsical, occasionally absurd, and often dark one, something like a cross between The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Trial, and undefinable elements of the existentially disturbing. It is a very introverted kind of imagination--it doesn't revolve around or, generally, get sparked by things in my environment. I'm not the sort who imagines what can be done with that cucumber or this screwdriver handle. A cucumber and screwdriver will be right in front of me, and I'll be thinking the most extraordinary and unlikely things about gravitational singularities.

 

[teen rose]

Iam afraid of dark. While it is true for everyone, i start imagining things so deep that it almost seems real. When i try to go to my dark room, as soon as i stand near the door, i imagine a ghost jumping on me and it is ot just imagination, it feels like it really did. There are many things that happen in the similar lines. I feel pessimistic sometimes but also optimistic. If i got a thing right, i shall start to feel good future and it happens like it is for real.

 

[Yuurei]

I don't think I am a very creative person. By that I mean that I cannot create something out of nothing.
However, if I have a starting point, usually by combining and connecting two pre-existing ideas, I can go down that rabbit hole for an eternity until the end result is so far from it's origins that only someone who uses Ni to the ridiculous extent that I do would be able to find it.

 

[Norexan]

Only for NJ and NP.

Ne - abstraction
Ni - symbolism

 

[Zhaylin]

I used to have an absolutely fantastic imagination. But, I have also always had fantastically awesome dreams.
I wrote my first novella when I was about 13 years old. It, and all the ones that followed, were inspired by dreams.

Then, there there was the dark side of my imagination. I would daydream/fantasize about people hurting me in extreme ways. I'd always get disgusted with myself and try to squash them (most of the time). Aren't daydreams and fantasies a sort of wishful thinking? So, I talked to my shrink about it. He said, no. Sometimes, we fantasize about things we're terrified of. But, how can that be so? Some of the events that lead to such thoughts, occurred when I was 13. How can a person be terrified of something that happened so long ago?

Then, I realized: I'm always victorious. In fact, some of my imaginings are extreme grandiose lol (telepathy, magical ability; medical knowledge, unreal pain endurance etc). Which means: I want people to think of me as being capable if not outright special

Other than that... I hate old pictures (like in an antique shop). I always read to much into their expressions (or lack thereof) and I wonder about their life and feel deeply saddened that I would never know their story; and then I wonder if anyone at all knows it. It's a feeling similar to intense loss. So, I avoid looking at pictures of people I have no connection to.

One thing I'm curious about: Who here envision (see pictures in your mind) of your imaginings?
I rarely can. Mostly, it's just shadowy images or brief flashes. (Which is EXTREMELY weird to me because my dreams are as vivid as a high budget movie!) My thoughts are all in (spoken) words.

 

[Maou]

I used to be a maladaptive daydreamer. I have such a strong imagination, that I sometimes forget reality exists. I use autopilot a lot, and I can completely ignore discomfort when doing so. Though sometimes I have to pull myself out, especially if I just stop responding physically when using autopilot. The depth I can go into my imagination varies by mood swing.

I too imagine horrible things like car accidents or someone I know dying. It sometimes overwhelms me.

My visualizations are not limited to 3d, and I can imagine stuff in many ways. I can recall sensory information, as well as plug in behavioral mechanics into things if I want them to act of their own volition. I can imagine many things happening at once, as well as music and physical strain of a would be action in the daydream.

My dreams are visually extraordinary, and emotionally and symbolically vast and complex. I can dream of my life, or an alternate world with aliens. Sometimes the "graphics" can't keep up with the dream and switch to lower resolution and polygon count. I have pushed the limits of dreaming for years with my lucid experimentation.

 

[Abcdenfp]

I used to be a maladaptive daydreamer. I have such a strong imagination, that I sometimes forget reality exists. I use autopilot a lot, and I can completely ignore discomfort when doing so. Though sometimes I have to pull myself out, especially if I just stop responding physically when using autopilot. The depth I can go into my imagination varies by mood swing. I too imagine horrible things like car accidents or someone I know dying. It sometimes overwhelms me. My visualizations are not limited to 3d, and I can imagine stuff in many ways. I can recall sensory information, as well as plug in behavioral mechanics into things if I want them to act of their own volition. I can imagine many things happening at once, as well as music and physical strain of a would be action in the daydream. My dreams are visually extraordinary, and emotionally and symbolically vast and complex. I can dream of my life, or an alternate world with aliens. Sometimes the "graphics" can't keep up with the dream and switch to lower resolution and polygon count. I have pushed the limits of dreaming for years with my lucid experimentation.

Lucid dreaming has both frightened me and yet kept me curious for such a long time.. most of my life actually. I remember being a small child and wondering at night if my whole life was just a dream and one day I would wake .. and being generally terrified. It's like hypnosis I would be fascinated to see what kind of past life exploration I could do but yet I am deeply fearful.

 

[Maou]

Lucid dreaming has both frightened me and yet kept me curious for such a long time.. most of my life actually. I remember being a small child and wondering at night if my whole life was just a dream and one day I would wake .. and being generally terrified. It's like hypnosis I would be fascinated to see what kind of past life exploration I could do but yet I am deeply fearful.

Dreams respond to your intention generally in a positive, or resistive way (make it difficult to achive). Dreams exists within both the conscious and unconscious part of your mind. So if you internalize the fear dreams are scary, they will be. If you internalize it as awesome and fantastical, they will be. Lucid powers are directly related to your perspective of your "self" in the dream. So if you think you're weak, you will be weak. That's why its important to remember in lucid dreams are not limited by anything but your perspective. You are literally God.

 

[Abcdenfp]

Dreams respond to your intention generally in a positive, or resistive way (make it difficult to achive). Dreams exists within both the conscious and unconscious part of your mind. So if you internalize the fear dreams are scary, they will be. If you internalize it as awesome and fantastical, they will be. Lucid powers are directly related to your perspective of your "self" in the dream. So if you think you're weak, you will be weak. That's why its important to remember in lucid dreams are not limited by anything but your perspective. You are literally God.

This makes absolute sense to me and I think it is my lack of faith in my ability to control my perspective in that type of scenario. It is why I was always terrified of drugs as well, I don't trust my ability to keep my perspective in my subconscious positive and not fear based when it comes to my perception and so I worry about "losing control".

 

[Maou]

This makes absolute sense to me and I think it is my lack of faith in my ability to control my perspective in that type of scenario. It is why I was always terrified of drugs as well, I don't trust my ability to keep my perspective in my subconscious positive and not fear based when it comes to my perception and so I worry about "losing control".

I believe there is some overlap with the ability to do hallucinogens and Lucid dreaming. So it might be best to avoid those. I myself have tried acid a few times, and I can say awareness and control over the high is very similar to combating nightmares or controlling a dream that seems to naturally want to turn into a nightmare. I dealt with it just fine, but my ISTJ and ESTP friends did not.

 

[Zhaylin]

Lucid dreaming just takes WAY too much work lol. You have to do "reality checks" throughout the day (make a habit of looking at a watch or your hand etc while you're awake. When you're dreaming, the image isn't as stable.). Then, if you're new and really serious about LDing, then you have to have a proper sleep schedule, a dream journal, a system of alarm clocks to go off at just the right time (ugh... math...).
But worse still... you do ALL of those things, and the moment you realize you're dreaming, you wake up and it was all for nothing

Nah, I'd rather go with the flow and decipher what my subconsciousness is trying to tell me. Usually, it's jibberish, but I enjoy the detective work lol

I used to spend almost all of my waking hours in a video game called 7 Days to Die. I friggin LOVED that game. Nearly every night, for years, I would dream of zombies. I would find myself in an unfamiliar place and start looking for a house I could change into a fortress. Then, before I knew it, the zombie dogs would attack, and then the Screamers (they're like Scouts and alert the horde), then I'd have zeds surrounding me for as far as the eye could see.
Humorously, just as in the video game, I would try to skin the dogs for leather while dodging attacks and looking out for runners.
And then the Ferals (runners) would appear. I'd think. "Come on! I can't friggin die now. I really like this location and there's no telling where I'll respawn."

Video games changed my imagination SO much (at least in my dreams). I would base build, terraform, mine, parkour like a boss; and dying was no longer a fear, but an inconvenience rofl.

I've always wanted to try hallucinogens. I bought Morning Glory seeds, telling myself I'd eat them. I chickened out.
My husbands ex-wife has a green thumb and I was marveling at her Angel's Trumpets... but mostly because I knew it was a hallucinogen. She gave me a plant.
It's a hardy plant, I'll give it that. I've had it 4, 5 years and it's still alive. It didn't even start flowering until 2 years ago.
But I've been too big a sissy to actually make use of it

 

[Oberon]

My imagination is intense. It is filled with exotic material i've aquired both subjectively and objectively.

Earlier tonight I was imagining, as i was trying to sleep, a wooden doll with a shiny, black-hair comb over and a red bow tie. It was located in a decrepit brown house filled with a gray atmosphere, falling in on itself. The wooden dummy's head cracked open violently and it's mouth dropped. From its skull out came a rose. I thought what this meant symbolically and discovered that from the most haunting situations grow the most beautiful roses.

Then the thing replayed itself a few more times. I guess my unconscious wants to really drive the message home. Speaking of driving, now I know why I see cars in my dreams.


Sometimes I have paranoid thoughts that are really images playing out. Like someone at work backstabbing me. I think that I'm thinking it but really it's all a show in my head, just a video play by play.

I really don't like thinking that much. I used to think I was a thinker but everything I do is based on intuition. I hate when people refer to intuition as some weird tarot card reading shit.

Intuition just means I train by memorizing shit and then i forget it and just know it when I need it - pull it up from the sea of my mental tartarus.

 

[Norexan]

Ni - creation of something out of nothing!!!
Ne - creation of something because of something or someone (intuition you know)