Our Personality and Our Prayer Life

Our Personality and Our Prayer Life

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types, which describes personality preferences in four areas: 

Energy Source. Introverts (I) get energy from within, while extroverts (E) get it from outside.

Information Method. Sensing (S) people gather factual data, while intuitive (N) people consider possibilities.

Decision Making. Thinking (T) people decide what is logical, while feeling (F) people decide based on relationships and what is of value.

World View. Judging (J) people approach the world in a planned, organized way, seeking closure when a problem arises, while Perceiving (P) people are more flexible and spontaneous, keeping options open. When a problem arises, they continue gathering data.—Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey in Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types (Open Door, Inc., 1991).

We have discussed how understanding the Myers-Briggs personality types can help us live life on life’s terms. The classic book Prayer and Temperament explains how the Myers-Briggs test is helpful in our spiritual life, especially in deciding how to pray. Lectio Divina, or Benedictine Prayer, is suitable for all personality types. 

Augustinian Prayer emphasizes feeling and intuition, which may suit the NF temperament best.

The basic temperament of SP may best respond to Franciscan or to the prayer used by St. Francis.

Those with a temperament oriented toward truth, competency, and learning (NT) may best pray using the Thomistic or Dominican spirituality of Thomas Aquinas.

The SJ temperament most readily understands the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, but NT and NF temperaments may also find them a rewarding form of prayer.

Ignatian prayer projects us into a scene, while Augustinian prayer transposes the words of the Bible so that the Bible speaks directly to us.

Those practicing Franciscan Prayer (SP) must be free and able to go wherever the Spirit moves them. Their prayer leads to action, and their action is prayer. Therefore, they cannot endure long periods of silence.

Those who best practice Thomistic Prayer (NT) are logical and orderly, thirst for truth, and approach prayer almost like a scientific project or mystery to be solved.

Prayer became a mainstay for so many during the past pandemic and social unrest. We learned several more ways to pray to enrich that time. We will talk more about it tomorrow.

Joanna Seibert   https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Guides Along Our Spiritual Journey

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/

Carrying Heavy Burdens and Listening to the Rain

Charleston: carrying heavy burdens and listening to the rain

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“I know you carry a heavy burden, one you do not often share. I see its weight, even behind your hopeful smile. Let me hold it for a while, trusting it to my safekeeping. I would like to see how high you can fly without it, how far and how wide. High enough to see a path before you. Wide enough to give yourself options. Long enough to let you breathe the clean air of an open sky. Take your time. There is no hurry. I will be here, praying for you when you return, holding something that suddenly seems lighter.”—Steven Charleston

I hear the gentle rain on our roof as I read Bishop Charleston this morning. I imagine my worries being washed away as the rain rolls off our roof. I think of the third step in 12-step recovery, “turning our lives and our wills over to the care of God.” We often forget the last part of that sentence. God is taking care of all our concerns. Caring for them. As I imagine this, as I pray it, for seconds, I feel free. I do not have to be in charge of the world any longer.

Of course, it is our custom to keep taking our concerns back, as if God were not able to handle them. Amazing that we do this. This morning I have a little “taste” of freedom to become the person God created me to be, instead of worrying about the rest of the world. I am embarrassed to say that I once believed that if I worried about something enough, it would never happen! Another example of how our amazing minds can trick us.

This morning, I am listening to the rain.

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Joanna joannaseibert.com