Question about Ni

My Ni isn’t related to any kind of super natural knowing, it’s just like the description suggests, seeing patterns that exist and understanding their inter-relation and consequences. I do often struggle to explain why unless I actually think about it and if I don’t have to explain it to someone else I often won’t bother, if I accept it to be true I’ll move on to a practical use.

I don’t think being cautious about using Ni is a sign it’s weak, maybe it suggests you use it without realising *shrug* Just a question though, are you sure about being INFJ?

 

Sometimes, perhaps at least in my case, knowing what happens in movies seems obvious because we understand the human need for plot and drama and how it can play out to entice the viewer in ways that may seem obvious.

I can do this with sports...the few times I watch I can predict in advance things in football, Tae Kwon Do. Bizarre. Embarassing. In my sons Tae Kwon Doe some kid may be trying to cut a board and I'll look away because I know in advance they'll get hurt. I can't tell you how many times I see it coming, but they make them do it again to get beyond the fear, so right before contact I exert something - i dont know - a mental push - and they get it. I wouldn't mention it other than the fact that it has happened so many darned times that I almost have to wonder what the hec is happening, but somehow am used to it. This is hard, guys...

Lots of deja vus.

Other really strange things have happened to me which makes me really wonder what reality i live in.

Feel free to doubt me. Just had to let that out there. I know it's somehow real, but again, have kept this quiet for a long time. My husband is the only other who has known about this until now.

 

Ni...I don't really know how well this function works in me. I mean, I know it's there; I just never really thought about it before.
I do predict things. I don't watch a lot of tv or movies though, so I can't really name a lot of great examples. But I can predict what a person might do in a situation fairly accurately, etc.
I guess it shows up more in academics for me; I readily understand complicated things in literature, and I can easily connect things that don't seem obvious. And I usually "know" how I got there, but I wouldn't know how to explain it. Or if I tried to, it'd come across as really strange to others...

 

Cool. Glad you recalled it.

I don't know if I'm a skeptic or in denial or what here. Hard to say, but the problem that up to now I have privately always felt that I had some direct impact there while at the same time thinking, easy now, don't go there b/c that is probably some form of narcissism, except for the fact that it happens quite often...that is, thinking that I have impact on those outcomes. Perhaps it happens more often that I am seeing. I don't know what it means or what capacity I have to expand upon it. Someone else needs to draw me out on this...It is all just a weird series of events and occurrences that seem to have meaning. I think perhaps we need to create a thread on this b/c i need others input to see if i am not alone.

 

I'm still trying to figure some of this out. Personally, I completely relate to the quote about Ni you presented at the beginning of the thread. There happens occasionally though, when I am consciously aware of exactly how a conclusion is reached on the spot and can verbalize it. Even then, it still seems weird to people. But because introverted intuition almost exclusively centers itself around subjective values, hidden meanings and possibilities, and things below the surface of an object rather than on the object itself, it typically relates to the future i.e. how something "should be" or "ought to be". For this reason, I think what you may be describing is the exercising of a more tertiary function, maybe Si, which typically centers itself around the object at hand, rather than the many hidden possibilities or "the big picture". That's just a thought though and I could be wrong. I just have never experienced Ni in the way you described. Whenever I exercise it (and it is exercised almost continually), it always relates to "the big picture" and how things fit into it. I constantly dream about and envision the future, being almost never interested in the way things currently are. I really relate to what you said Smoke. Yes, lots of deja vu experiences and what you said about understanding the human need for plot and drama speaks volumes to me.

 

Thank you for that reply. My husband is very much like this...He can conceptualize the larger picture brilliantly. It's an incredible ongoing intuition. We were discussing this exact thing tonight. He makes these huge broad sweeping and inspiring observations, while somehow I have these daily, highly symbolic occurences/experiences. It's like when you go to the bookstore and find that perfect book that seems to just land on your lap. That kind of thing all around. I introduce an idea (often conceptually only in my mind) and it seems to permeate my environment and bounce back by someone else who seems to pick up on it. It is more direct and instantaneous. I almost expect it now, but it is more pronounced lately. The deja vu thing is another thing that is longer in play. I could have something happen 10 years later...