Prayer and Temperament: Guides Along Our Spiritual Journey
Myers-Briggs Personality Types
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types, which describes personality preferences in four areas.
1 How do you get your energy, and where do you focus your attention? Introvert (I) vs. extrovert (E). Do you get your energy from within or from outside yourself?
2 How do you gather information? Sensing (S) or intuition (N)? Do you gather factual data, or do you consider possibilities?
3 How do you make your decision? Thinking (T) or feeling (F)? Do you decide based on logic or on relationships, and what is of value?
4 How do you deal with the world? Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)? Do you approach the world in a planned, organized way, or are you more flexible and spontaneous, keeping options open? When a problem arises, do you seek closure or keep gathering data?—David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates in Please Understand Me, Character and Temperament Types.
The Myers-Briggs Indicator test has been so helpful in understanding myself, my family, and those I work with. The above is, again, a brief, very basic summary. There are also many books about it and tests you can use. When I talk to spiritual friends, I suggest they connect with a group or therapist who uses the indicator.
I remember how helpful this was in my medical practice. We soon learned that we needed all types in our group. We needed Js who wanted closure in solving problems, and Ps who tried to look at all the possibilities before deciding on an answer. We needed Ts who wanted our group to look at what was logical, but we needed Fs who looked at what was of value. We needed partners who were Is in our practice, who did not speak until they had processed an answer, but we needed Es who solved a problem by thinking outside the box and vocalizing their thought process. Finally, we needed Ss who looked at concrete data, but also Ns who looked at possibilities.
So, the indicator can help us live life on life’s terms, both personally and in community. But how does it help our spiritual journey? Stay tuned. Knowing our type can help us choose the prayer practice that best connects us to God.
Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/