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In this episode, Joel and Antonia begin a two-part series about integrating your cognitive functions. In this episode they discuss the perceiving functions and how to integrate the weak side of each in your personality.

In this podcast you’ll find:

  • Why do we prefer to talk about cognitive functions in terms of how they work in polarities?
  • Check out our article on Car Model to learn about your functions and their polarity opposites.
  • We can’t fully understand one function without understanding its opposite -why is this the case and how does this show up?
    • An example of how this works.
  • What is the key purpose of integrating functions?
  • How can we integrate the polarity opposite of our Driver and Copilot?
  • What happens if we don’t consciously work on integration?
  • How to see the limitations of your backseat functions – even if you’ve developed skill there.
  • What does it look like when we purposefully use our backseat functions to support our stronger functions?
    • What happens if we don’t use them to support our strengths?
  • How to integrate your weaker perceiving functions – and the difference in how they show up when they are integrated and unintegrated:
  • xNxPs – integrating Memory (Si) to support Exploration (Ne)
    • How Si helps you to learn your lessons with the gift of wisdom
    • Why you need templates – the concept of “blank page syndrome”
    • What happens if you don’t build on your past?
    • How you can prevent bad habits
  • xSxJs – integrating Exploration (Ne) to support Memory (Si):
    • What’s the main purpose of Ne if you have Si in the front seat?
    • How to move forward when there isn’t an existing template
    • How can unintegrated Ne make you more closed off to new experiences?
    • How integrated Ne benefits your past reflection
  • xNxJs – integrating Sensation (Se) to support Perspectives (Ni):
    • What happens to your Perspectives process if you don’t check in with reality?
    • How integrated Se enhances your inner world
    • What happens to your mind if you don’t look after your body?
    • Thinking of your body as a part of you
  • xSxPs – integrating Perspectives (Ni) to support Sensation (Se):
    • Ni helps Se perform better in the moment- an example
    • How unintegrated Ni can trick you into living in a fantasy world
    • How lazy and avoidant behaviours can creep in
    • What can you gain from using Ni to understand future implications?
  • “Courage isn’t the opposite of fear” – how this idea fits into integrating the opposite polarity function.
  • Remember – the same function may be integrated in some areas of your life, but not others.

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26 comments

  • William (ISFJ)
    • William (ISFJ)
    • June 20, 2021 at 2:34 am

    Hello Sharon,

    Interesting story! I’ve never thought about how the polarities come up in altered consciousness — such as during sleep. You’ve given me neat stuff to think about :)

    Here’s one quick comment on your last paragraph. You said, “The key to integrating Se seems to be advertised as becoming more aware of my body and its movements.” I would say that that is a very important side to the key, but there is one other component. I forget whether it was this podcast or another, but I’ve heard Joel and Antonia mention that Se at its purest is like being one with your environment in a way. Se goes into all of the present, tangible moment. Thus, the environment is a very important part to integrating Se, as well as being in tune with how your body relates to the environment. If the environment feels to you like the quickest bridge to finding your Ni/Se balance, I’d totally go for it.

    Now, this is just a thought from a fellow type enthusiast who is certainly not an expert in this field. I hope I was helpful, but please don’t take what I say as professional-level advice.

    Sincerely,
    William

  • Victor (INTJ)
    • Victor (INTJ)
    • June 16, 2021 at 5:44 am

    Well, that explains why my brain is toast! I have a progressive degenerative neuromuscular disorder plus a pinched nerve and arthritis in my neck which at this point in my life is causing poor physical sensation in my arms, hands, legs and feet. So, I have permanent nerve damage.

    I’m a creative (music, art, writing) and having a terrible time being productive when I literally feel physically numb! It’s terribly hard to think half the time let alone create. The disease and the neck problems are also disabling and I have no idea what is safe for exercise let alone have the energy when I’m in pain every day. It’s very depressing and unless a cure is found or even a treatment it’s just going to get worse.

    So, I have gained far too much weight and may never be able to lose it. I definitely eat things I shouldn’t. The only ways I have left to feel connected to the physical world is my connection to nature (especially trees), going outside and physically putting my hand on the tree that’s in front of my apartment or going in my power wheelchair to the park. Taking photos of flowers while out there also helps. I use soft plushy throws on my furniture since I still have some sensation also.

  • Victor (INTJ)
    • Victor (INTJ)
    • June 19, 2021 at 9:28 am

    Thanks again, Antonia!

  • William (ISFJ)
    • William (ISFJ)
    • June 15, 2021 at 11:19 pm

    Again, I posted a comment before realizing that I had missed a thought.

    I don’t think that how they play out is nearly as simple as my personal, biased view of it.

    William

  • Sharon
    • Sharon
    • June 19, 2021 at 4:53 am

    My experience with Ni/Se
    I think the thing people find the most odd about me is that I can actually forget who I am when I dream. What’s more weird is that I often don’t remember the dream itself – I just wake up and have to slowly walk myself through the construct of what my life is and what my roles are.
    I have no ambition to write – probably because I’m so sick of editing while asleep. If woken up while dreaming, I’ve often been in the process of rewinding and editing things to fix plot-holes or to add to character development. I shake my head at myself and ask “who does that?”
    When I was a young teenager I was told repeatedly that I would move my mouth when others would talk to me. I think it was my way of trying to stay present, but I had no awareness that I was doing it. I think I’ve unlearned that behavior, but now I have a better one. I often realize, in the split second after it’s happened, that my body has reacted to something I was thinking about without me being aware of it. This can happen when I’m alone or in a group (while others are discussing something entirely different). It’s usually amusing to me, but trying to explain to someone why I just dodged, winced, laughed, or shuddered isn’t easy. If I’m on my own, I just have a quick chuckle at myself and move on.

    All this is to say that really noticing my body and my position in my current environment is not a very natural state for me. But while I’d love to say that exercise is a solution, since it has obvious benefits and I love the sound of that kind of efficiency… The problem is that I find that anything repetitive in exercise doesn’t really help the situation. As soon as I know how to do an exercise, my mind is so free to wander (and does!), that I’m really no more connected to my body than when I started. Exercise is a good thing, but while it’s healthy for me and aids cognition and all that, it doesn’t necessarily connect me to my body without the hard work of repeatedly reminding myself to focus. It feels like a double effort rather than a natural win/win.

    Connecting to who/how I am in the present goes something more like this for me:
    – Making a study of body language helps keep focus when in conversation (curiously, I’m observing my own body language as much as theirs and trying to figure out what my body is telling me as well)
    – Challenging myself to find new harmony lines keeps me in the moment when listening to music
    – Walking in nature in any weather is a daily practice, but I have to be really watching for animal/insect movements or my mind wanders and I’m even more distracted than when I started. I don’t find that my thoughts improve in quality for the effort
    – Scented body wash, shampoo, and laundry soaps are good – not necessarily for the obvious reason of personal hygiene, but because I found that I oddly notice smell more than others seem to, and it’s a way of catching my attention in a good way. Fragrant foods work for the same reason. That long, appreciative inhale feels pretty darn satisfying.
    – Making my space colorful and beautiful caught me by surprise. I notice that it kind of feeds my soul to randomly observe that I like to look around my living room and see patterns and colors that I like. I’ve found that it catches my eye just enough that decorating is worth the investment.
    – I’ve also learned over time to notice and change things when I observe that they annoy me. For example: while I have to set alarms to remind myself that I need to prepare to move to the next project/role, any alarms on my phone are carefully selected so they feel as gentle and pretty as possible. Sometimes ‘as possible’ does mean they need to shake me up, but why make that the standard?

    The key to integrating Se seems to be advertised as becoming more aware of my body and it’s movements, but I seem to be more able to do that if I am first connecting to my spaces and to the environmental stimuli I find/create around me. I’m not sure if that’s a full win or if it’s just a temporary bridge to something better, but it works for now.

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