I think this is very true of me. It takes me awhile to process everything. I think I respond to things emotionally immediately but it takes me awhile to organize my thoughts.
I've heard of Alan Watts from different sources but I haven't checked him out yet. I've just kind of been looking into different avenues, not delving too deeply into one area.
I think all these influences are just food for thought. They're not the end in itself
The new age movement seems to think that 'spirituality' is a process of trying to make yourself feel better. I don't agree with that
if you think about it....what is it you are trying to achieve with this spiritual search?
life is hard and full of tough choices. If all you want to do is ease your mind then you will constantly shy away from tough choices but maybe sometimes the tough choices are the right ones for various reasons
So i think a lot of what is parcelled as 'spirituality' these days is really avoidance
Another trap i think people fall into is the one where they want to be popular and they seek the admiration or adoration of others. I see this pushed a lot on television where lots of TV shows put up exhibitionism on a pedestal as if it is some kind of modern heroic ideal.
But really what is it these people are actually doing for themselves or their wider community? Its not like they have found a cure for cancer
if you are constantly checking yourself in everything you do and say because you want to be liked then you will be constantly be doing what you think other people around you want you to do or say. By doing this you are being shaped by them instead of expressing your authentic self
The problem with expressing your authentic self is that some people won't like it! In fact some people will hate it!
If you look at one of the most famous INFJ's ghandi he used to work in the british civil service as a lawyer and was clearly shaping himself to fit into the system and play the game and was no doubt being rewarded for that but then he had a change of heart. he saw the injustices of the system and had to break free of it. he stopped wearing western clothes because they were made out of material that was made in britain and that subsidised material was then competeing with the material made in india which was then affecting the livlihood of indians. So he started wearing traditional indian dress made in india in order to protect the livlihood of his local community
Some people loved him for this and some who were suddenly not going to be making so much money hated him for it so they shot him. It wasn't just the material issue that he upset people over but the point is that by being his authentic self he polarised people
He may have lived longer if he hadn't started doing that but the chances are that he would have died a little inside every day
So the question is do you ''go along to get along'' or do you start walking your own path?
when you walk your own path you are able to live more authentically but you will also clash with those who do not share your point of view
But in terms of speaking of 'spirituality' there are people these days who argue that humans are just biological machines that can be reprogrammed whilst on the other side there are people who are saying there are human qualities that transcend the material world
What makes someone like ghandi leave the easy and comfortable path of being a system man to instead walk a harder and more dangerous path to try and right a perceived wrong?