Posted by Amanda :) on July 31, 1999 at 13:35:59:
In Reply to: how do you think? posted by zuihitsu on July 29, 1999 at 03:23:33:
Greetings all :)
This is a fascinating topic....aren't we all terribly windswept and interesting in our collective approaches to things!
You may have heard me say before that I think primarily in pictures. It's like a non-stop movie going on in my head - even when I'm asleep! Sometimes I become aware of the internal 'dialogue' - there seem to be a whole range of 'tapes' playing in there too, giving myself all sorts of messages. This self-talk bubbles up to the surface....and usually makes quite an impression on me.
I see things in colours too. I nearly fell off my chair when I read about names etc. having colours. It happens quite automatically with me too! I score all "N" on the MBTI (no 'S' at all, I'm afraid:( and I test decidedly right-brained.
Another interesting thing happens when I listen to music - or should I say that two interesting things happen. I am a musician by trade, and I actually 'see' the score for a piece of music in my head as it plays....all the notes, the rests, the dynamics; everything....and get a particular 'feeling' from the music. I then have to listen again (if it's a song) to get the words. When I listen to the lyrics, I then get a 'picture' of what the song is about. Quite frequently, I superimpose an episode or situation from my own life that relates to the words - as if the song is about my own life. I often 'hear' music (particularly original music) in my mind - but then, being a songwriter, that's probably a good thing!
When remembering something from my past, I almost always remember the 'feeling' that went along with the episode long before I can conjure up the 'movie' that goes with it. It's quite odd really, since, at the time of many of these same past episodes, I was really very cut off from experiencing much of any of the emotions that went with them. Nowadays, since everything has come 'online' for me - I find I can now go back and look at past experiences and become aware of the feelings that were lying hidden below the surface of my consciousness - that I was completely unaware of at the time.
As for Erica's observation about having more than one thing to think about at a time....ask any parent, and they'll probably tell you that one gets better at this as time goes on. (I'm sure it's true the world over that, when on the phone to a friend, your child just HAS to tell you something that can't wait. A favourite ploy of my kids is to ask permission for something that they're fairly sure would normally get a 'no' - in the hopes of getting a 'yes' from me, just to get rid of them from pestering me while I'm on the phone!). I have been known to listen to a child practicing their reading while working out what we're going to have for dinner, which leads me to think of what I need to pick up at the store, and, in turn, make a list of what bills need paying next; all while I'm thinking of the perfect - but elusive - phrase to complete my latest song! And that can be on a slow day!!!!
Isn't the mind a most amazing thing?
There's never a dull moment, that's for sure!
smiles
Amanda :)
> I've been reading these egram pages and boards for about two weeks now, and I'm pretty sure I'm 4w3 with a lot of wing5 elements, and INFP on the whatsitsname. Whatever.
> Anyways. I don't know if you've already discussed this but I've been wondering about how people think. Many times I've heard people say that they see clear images in their minds, but I've never experienced that. I think mostly in, hmm, concepts, I guess. For example if I think about a person I know, I don't see his picture in my mind. Instead I think about how I feel about that person, what we've done together, what he's said, what's his personality... things like that. That is if I really try to focus on thinking about him. It doesn't mean I can't describe him, I know how he looks like, I just don't "see" him in my mind. When recalling someones face I sort of listen to some kind of describtion, but it's not only words but more like feelings and/or nonverbal thoughts. (This is so hard to explain in English which is not my native tongue (I'm Finnish).)
> I also tend to think in (kind of) colours. For each person, event, time of day or year, song etc I have a colour for. I don't select these colours, they're just there. But even if I feel the colour I can't always name it. And it's not like they're bright and clear colours but more like shades, constantly changing ever so slightly.
> For all I know many people kind of talk to themselves in thoughts. I do that too, but it seems that it's only an attempt to dress thoughts into words, thinking itself doesn't use words in the usual manner. There are many levels of this "mental speech", others are louder than the others. Have you ever noticed that sometimes you figure something out and then you tell it to yrself in a "louder" mental voice? I have, and it really bothers me (I'm a 4, remember? ;).
> Just some thoughts (pun intended). Let me hear what you think.
> Zuihitsu