[SP] What is Se to you?

[miss fortune]

That's really one of the best ways to know what your dominant function is, when you use it seamlessly without having to exude extra straining effort to do it. Further, when others who don't have that function look at situations where it comes into play like "how do you do that?!". To them it seems almost impossible and very difficult to fathom.

that sort of thing always makes me wonder why anyone would look down on any function... why would you think something was inferior when in more capable hands it's completely awesome?

 

[Forever]

Might as well post here since it's more on topic:
http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/the-fluff-zone/25206-random-thread-5595.html

 

[Mal12345]

something that comes so naturally to me that I'm not even aware of it... the reason that I can immediately be aware of small changes in the environment, whether it's nature, work or living beings and can adjust to compensate without really thinking about it... it's the ability to wing it and live by the seat of my pants and figure out how to land on my feet... that's what it does in my existence (in play with other factors)

in other words, my Se gives me my clever and slippery super powers

Good point - functions are skills and not "preferences" or 'tools', Right?

 

[Luigi]

Sexy

Funny how you're the only dominant Se user to comment so far.
Se is seeing things as they are, easily picking up on body language, giving yourself to every moment, pulling off results simply by making your presence known, not worrying too much about anything, having fun with the physical world and every nuance of what it feels like to the senses. I think Se also has a tendency to be a bit power-hungry. I've seen that with SPs and NJs, although it shows itself differently based on their dichotomies.

 

[TreeBob]

Funny how you're the only dominant Se user to comment so far.
Se is seeing things as they are, easily picking up on body language, giving yourself to every moment, pulling off results simply by making your presence known, not worrying too much about anything, having fun with the physical world and every nuance of what it feels like to the senses. I think Se also has a tendency to be a bit power-hungry. I've seen that with SPs and NJs, although it shows itself differently based on their dichotomies.

Whatever is an ESTP, she just doens't list it on her profile.

It is pretty hard for a primary Se user to describe Se, because it is our everyday. Warning bells go off when Se users start giving long drawn out explanations about how they are so sensitive to every thing in their environment. Why would a real Se user say that? I would get it if it is your third or fourth function and that SOME times you notice certain things in your environment. Ni is a good example for me, I can sometimes describe Ni better than Se because I don't use that function very much.

 

[Mal12345]

Whatever is an ESTP, she just doens't list it on her profile.

It is pretty hard for a primary Se user to describe Se, because it is our everyday. Warning bells go off when Se users start giving long drawn out explanations about how they are so sensitive to every thing in their environment. Why would a real Se user say that? I would get it if it is your third or fourth function and that SOME times you notice certain things in your environment. Ni is a good example for me, I can sometimes describe Ni better than Se because I don't use that function very much.

My ESFP step-daughter has an amazing visual memory. She can tell you the location of everything in a room after she's been in there.

 

[TreeBob]

My ESFP step-daughter has an amazing visual memory. She can tell you the location of everything in a room after she's been in there.

I don't doubt she does. My point was merely that for a primary Se user to describe their top function would be hard. We are completely immersed in it all the time. I could say that I am aware of my surroundings and I am good at sports, but can I really, truthfully say it is because of my Se? No

 

[Mal12345]

I don't doubt she does. My point was merely that for a primary Se user to describe their top function would be hard. We are completely immersed in it all the time. I could say that I am aware of my surroundings and I am good at sports, but can I really, truthfully say it is because of my Se? No

I don't even know how Se makes you good at sports. But I would say that your dominant function simply does not focus on such intellectually airy matters, but prefers to think about, plan about, and play with concrete ideas and make them real.

 

[TreeBob]

I don't even know how Se makes you good at sports. But I would say that your dominant function simply does not focus on such intellectually airy matters, but prefers to think about, plan about, and play with concrete ideas and make them real.

I think that is more Si than Se. The common "stereotype" is that Se makes you good at sports. I brought it up as a bad example on purpose because it is one that others use.

Se and Ne are similar in many ways I find. Both take in a lot of what is going on around us without realizing it. Ne users tend to hold all in their heads at once, and see many possible outcomes. Se is like that too, but we tend to see all the outcomes and then pick the one we think is correct. After that we dismiss the other choices and move on. One could attribute that to fast talking sales guys, and constantly putting our foots in our mouth because we said what was on our minds without thinking of the consequences.

But yeah the bolded part is Si

 

[Luigi]

Whatever is an ESTP, she just doens't list it on her profile.

It is pretty hard for a primary Se user to describe Se, because it is our everyday. Warning bells go off when Se users start giving long drawn out explanations about how they are so sensitive to every thing in their environment. Why would a real Se user say that? I would get it if it is your third or fourth function and that SOME times you notice certain things in your environment. Ni is a good example for me, I can sometimes describe Ni better than Se because I don't use that function very much.

I studied the function somewhat so I at least know how to verbalize how it works.

 

[Mal12345]

I think that is more Si than Se. The common "stereotype" is that Se makes you good at sports. I brought it up as a bad example on purpose because it is one that others use.

Se and Ne are similar in many ways I find. Both take in a lot of what is going on around us without realizing it. Ne users tend to hold all in their heads at once, and see many possible outcomes. Se is like that too, but we tend to see all the outcomes and then pick the one we think is correct. After that we dismiss the other choices and move on. One could attribute that to fast talking sales guys, and constantly putting our foots in our mouth because we said what was on our minds without thinking of the consequences.

But yeah the bolded part is Si

Only if you take it out of context with the rest of the sentence.

 

[iHeartCats]

Se is seeing things as they are, easily picking up on body language, giving yourself to every moment, pulling off results simply by making your presence known, not worrying too much about anything, having fun with the physical world and every nuance of what it feels like to the senses.

Yeah but that's something self-evident....well at least to me

I think Se also has a tendency to be a bit power-hungry.

Phallic aggressive and in-your-face is probably a better choice of words than power hungry when talking about Se tendencies

 

[Luigi]

Yeah but that's something self-evident....well at least to me



Phallic aggressive and in-your-face is probably a better choice of words than power hungry when talking about Se tendencies

Well, the person that started this thread is an ISFJ so they probably don't know much about Se. We're just trying to help them figure out a function that they don't have or use. I think that some SPs might be more or less power-hungry than others, and that it depends on their Enneagram type. To me it would seem that Enneagrams 3, 6, and 8 are more likely to be driven in life based on their descriptions. But I see your point, too, and it makes sense.

 

[Mal12345]

There is a difference between Se dominant and Se auxiliary that should be pointed out in this thread.

Both Se dominant and auxiliary are focused mainly on concrete possibilities. But the Si auxiliary's perceptions are also colored with Ni-tertiary perceptions. These also influence the person's way of life.

I live with both an Se-dominant and Se-auxiliary type. The former is my step-daughter and the latter is my wife. I have been living with them for 9 years, so I have had plenty of opportunity to study the differences.

Se-auxiliary with Ni adds an element of eccentricity. My ISFP wife is very observant, but she adds some else to the perception that is usually very interesting. For example, we're driving down the road and my wife says, "I wonder if there are dead bodies in those," referring to some barrels.

In high school, my wife hung out with the "cool" group of kids. They were a little anti-social - rule-breaking but in a non-violent way - irrational types in the Jungian sense, they were likely to be sensation-seekers who didn't care for rules that got in the way of having fun. Getting poor grades was par for the course.

My ESFP step-daughter doesn't share in those ISFP eccentricities. Te is her tertiary adds an aggressive streak to her personality. A burgeoning Ni-inferior leads to outright psychosis (a step or more beyond eccentricity) that is kept under control via psychotropic drugs. The normal ESFP type keeps the Ni-inferior in control through constant activity, but this is still relatively low-functioning if the activity involves brute sensation-seeking activities. The highly-functioning Se-dominant type enjoys the "finer things" in life, although these are still sensation-oriented.

 

[Ene]

I confess to not having read the whole thread, but I still might, so for now, I'm just going to answer the question: What does Se mean to you?

To me Se is being here now.

As a child I rode horses bareback and Se, I think, was moving with the horse, feeling his body shift beneath me and instinctively knowing which way to lean or hold my body. It was climbing a tree and feeling the bark in my hands and moving naturally from branch to branch or up the trunk, digging my bare toes into the rough maple bark and then sitting on the limbs, eyes closed, feeling the wind, hearing the birds, breathing the smell of the woods or simply declaring to my brothers, "I'm up here. Your turn now!"

When I was a teen I used to go to dances. I won a contest once. I won it because when the music played, I was one with it. I had no lessons. I simply merged with the beat and moved in ways that came naturally. I have always had the ability to totally get lost in a moment, but never to the point that I didn't think about the consequences of my actions, if that makes sense. I have always been a risk taker, but all of my risks were always "calculated."

Martial Arts is much the same. It's being in the moment, perceiving the most subtle shift in your opponent's movement or eyes or breathing and adjusting before they make their move. It's going by your gut but never loosing your mind.

In art it's being aware of the colors and shapes and shadows; it's curving the lines without thinking or making the shadows without really having to think about it. It's the ability to create what you see in the instant you see it whether you see it in the world around you or just in your memory.

As a writer, it's being so at one with your surroundings that you can remember every detail in a room, every smell, every sound or the way the smoke hangs in the air.

I have an incredible memory for sensory details, for the clothes people wear, the way their faces look, the houses they live in, the color of the sky.

It's using a tool, like a chain saw or a knife or a hammer or a steel whip and not separating myself from the tool but having the tool become an extension of myself, like a limb.

 

[Derpravity]

I think my inferior Se explains why I tend to completely neglect my physical body, and ignore the world outside my thoughts for hours or days on end.

Se kicking in is probably those rare, but intense moments when I tune into the world and the evening air takes my breath away and I wonder how it is no one else is looking at the amazing fading colours of the sunset. Or when I was little and went for a run through the bushland with the dogs on a friend's farm and thought "this feels amazing, maybe I'm actually a dog." I don't let loose and just feel the sensory moment very often, so when I do, it's a profound rush.

 

[Frosty]

Se is pretty much the antithesis to me, making life difficult at every turn. I cannot pick up on what Se throws at me, yet it insists upon itself.

I have no interest in... Tangible things. I have realized that I only like gifts that allow for some level of interaction, books, games, ect.

I do not notice details in my environment at all. Something can change, something radical- physically, and until it is directly pointed out I will have absolutely no notice of it. High Se users have this level of high active engagement, that I cannot match and can really only understand in a semi... Theoretical sense.

 

[witchingyear]

Se is knowing where everybody stands in a room, how they move around, even if you're not looking.
It's getting the move right on the first try while dancing.

It's being able to get the "feel" of a place by noticing all the small but nevertheless crucial details instantly.
It's reacting the first in case of immediate danger.

It's being focused and mentally present everywhere, efficient.

(I picture Se like a pack of running wolves !!! Feeling the ground under their paws, looking around, searching for preys, fun and survival)

How did I ever though I was an ENTP ??

 

[Duffy]

I have an adversarial relationship to Se. I tend to view it all along the lines (dominant Se) of pleasure seeking, reckless, and superficial. I think I view that attitude as denying suffering, which I used to look down on. Another side of me yearns for that though.

I'm an INFJ that's sort of coming to terms with the type after a lot of reading.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I have an adversarial relationship to Se. I tend to view it all along the lines (dominant Se) of pleasure seeking, reckless, and superficial. I think I view that attitude as denying suffering, which I used to and sometimes still, look down on. Another side of me yearns for that though.

I'm an INFJ that's sort of coming to terms with the type after a lot of reading.

I think Se is an important thing to have respect for. Especially for an INxJ type.

Just like Fe is important for INTPs.