"weird" INFJ

( resident INFP detector ) :)
INFP! WHERE?!?!

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Good afternoon @Ren :) So.. philosophy hmm? Also very interesting.. The well is a clever, clever metaphor for the english word you seek. I like a good challenge, so I am going to find that word for you or a close runner up ;) I live in the Netherlands, we are "sort of neighbors :)" but I am an American by birth and since English is my native tongue, I should be able to find a suitable word for you.

Epic.. when I say this I mean to say epic feelings, epic ideas, metaphors that attempt to describe a much larger idea or concept. I think in metaphors almost like a habit I cannot break lol.. so I can't help but use them liberally when I write.
I think it is great that you are discussing this with Wyote! He would be perfect to delve into these things with! But that is because @Wyote is "the man" :) He is the first person to greet me when I came to the forum and was always a great friend and a great listener :) He and I have a similar taste in unusual music too, so you can share that with him too if you like. I loveee music so I enjoy posting it and annoying the masses with it! I too am working on a novel. It is a suspense / horror novel called "Splintering".. I love Stephen King and Anne Rice, in particular, so it is my main genre of interest. Not to mention that I have spiritual beliefs and have had a few experiences which leave me utterly fascinated with the forces of light and darkness, a concept of mystery and high contrast that bleeds into every photograph I take. I love mystery..

The novel explores two concepts.. one that the human shadow is actually the physical manifestation of / actual body of the soul. ;) A concept I also focus solely on in my short story about the devil coming to Earth and taking over a human and thus, having no shadow.. an homage to King's short story about the devil, "The Man in the Black Suit". The second concept deals with what happens to people when they are "infected", so to speak by evil itself. How they begin to "splinter" psychologically and much like Satan, lose their shadows as they lose their very souls..

Blah, blah, etc. I ramble often.. sorry o_O I would love to read some of your work, to be honest. If you ever want to share it one day, of course. Thank you for the poetry compliment.. I think poetry is not really a skill of mine, but rather an outlet for intensity.. I'm glad you like it. :)
 
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@MistyWrites It's great, what part of the US are you originally from? I’m actually going to join an human rights organisation in December that has a focal point in The Hague. I have not visited the Netherlands yet, however. Do you like it?

Regarding the prized word – wow, it would be amazing if you found it. Alas, I am really not sure it exists. Since the Well is a nice but somewhat unwieldy metaphor when I'm attempting a demonstration of some kind, in many of my aphorisms I resort to the French word ouverture, because it allows me to give it a different sense than openness. It also has an organic, ‘grounded’ feel to it, and means both openness and ‘opening’, which is closer to the meaning I’m seeking. I think I'm quite happy with it.

You can see the concept of ouverture sort of surfacing in this series of aphorisms, ‘Closed Doors Blending on a White Wall’. (Since I’m at it, @Wyote I also wrote a bit on ‘The Plight of the Open Essence’ last year. Been digging it a lot more since.) Actually, if at some point you get to visit my blog a little bit, you will see that I’m not completely insane and actually write about normal things too, such as mountains, catching up with friends, Pepsi Coke, dreams, etc. But the aphorisms remain my life’s main side project at the moment, together with the book draft.

What are those weird music tastes, by the way? I am really curious. I would consider myself a big music fan, maybe we can also get to share some music? I agree that Wyote seems very nice, though I don’t want to make him embarrassed by saying this :p On the philosophical thread I created recently, there’s already been a lot of really fascinating discussion that has already informed my writing.

Don’t worry about rambling – I’ll use my Ti to compartmentalise your overflowing ideas! The news about the novel is fantastic, and I like the title Splinter. Do you remember when this insight struck you, about the shadow being the body of the soul? It’s exciting that you’re exploring its meaning and implications in writing. Since you reference evil, would you say your book is also informed by questions of morality? It sounds to me like you’re ploughing these metaphors to tackle some really deep, human themes.
 
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I too am working on a novel. It is a suspense / horror novel called "Splintering".. I love Stephen King and Anne Rice, in particular, so it is my main genre of interest. Not to mention that I have spiritual beliefs and have had a few experiences which leave me utterly fascinated with the forces of light and darkness, a concept of mystery and high contrast that bleeds into every photograph I take. I love mystery..

The novel explores two concepts.. one that the human shadow is actually the physical manifestation of / actual body of the soul. ;) A concept I also focus solely on in my short story about the devil coming to Earth and taking over a human and thus, having no shadow.. an homage to King's short story about the devil, "The Man in the Black Suit". The second concept deals with what happens to people when they are "infected", so to speak by evil itself. How they begin to "splinter" psychologically and much like Satan, lose their shadows as they lose their very souls..

I'm not really a fan of Stephen King's style of writing (although I have to say that my first try may have been untimely and not precisely the right fit), he tends to stretch the raise of suspense too long and intermittently to keep me interested. And I don't like too long expositions. Are his short stories different? By form, they ought to be in medias res, so there shouldn't be much of a back story, right?

Your story sounds very intriguing, even promising... Do you have or need a reader or an editor?
 
I'm not really a fan of Stephen King's style of writing (although I have to say that my first try may have been untimely and not precisely the right fit), he tends to stretch the raise of suspense too long and intermittently to keep me interested. And I don't like too long expositions. Are his short stories different? By form, they ought to be in medias res, so there shouldn't be much of a back story, right?

Your story sounds very intriguing, even promising... Do you have or need a reader or an editor?
To each their own taste.. their own writing styles and inspirations, I say :) I fully support people being unique.. Yes, I had a professor in college say go forward with it, but I never sought a lit agent or editor, life got in the way, responsibilities. But now I have a writing partner, he is very good, a good friend, skilled in the technical end of writing as well. Skilled in the place I lack - proper format, structural things.. etc. He and I trade chapters or short stories in google docs and edit each others work. It's ironic how laser - like the speed and precision he and I can "see" how to perfect the others work is, and yet not because all writers are "too close" to our own work to clearly see. I also read every single sentence I write aloud for rhythym and flow. I am huge Tolkien fan too, though that may make you cringe as one who is less prone to love long expositions. I find he goes on too long as well.. but the metaphors. Oh.. :) What a sweet offer though! I have to keep on top of my photography work and edits, some competitions coming, and pass my inburgeringsexamens ( citizenship tests ) end of Nov.. so my writing is a bit on backburner till then, save for some poems which pop out fast. I would always love another sharp pair of eyes on my work though, so I will remember you then ;) What do you write? Or do you favor editing?

Oh yes.. you asked about King. Hmm.. he has less back story in his shorts, indeed, but a lot of description. You can download / read most of his shorts online. The story I write mine in homage to is his homage to Nathanial Hawthorne's devil story. Kings tale called "The Man in the Black Suit" won awards. Hawthorne as you may recall, also wrote "The Scarlet Letter". Kings story is great imo. You might like it.. I loved it!
 
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I would always love another sharp pair of eyes on my work though, so I will remember you then ;) What do you write? Or do you favor editing?

At the moment I'd rather read/edit... my BA (due Monday) really took a lot from me to write. Studying in general... as good as it was to help me learn to think, I believe I paid for it in creativity. I'd have to practise to write again. I've been tempted to write something since I took up Literature as a subject in eighth(?) grade, but I believe I'm more of an architect than a gardner, though a weird mixture of it, and I was never able to think of a whole plot for a story, just pictures and feelings, which I didn't consider very original or deep. I haven't made an attempt at writing anything of my own for at least two years. If I were to write, I'd have to have a goal, and ending to work towards, even if I don't have a middle part. This is where I am architect and gardner.
 
@MistyWrites It's great, what part of the US are you originally from? I’m actually going to join an human rights organisation in December that has a focal point in The Hague. I have not visited the Netherlands yet, however. Do you like it?

Regarding the prized word – wow, it would be amazing if you found it. Alas, I am really not sure it exists. Since the Well is a nice but somewhat unwieldy metaphor when I'm attempting a demonstration of some kind, in many of my aphorisms I resort to the French word ouverture, because it allows me to give it a different sense than openness. It also has an organic, ‘grounded’ feel to it, and means both openness and ‘opening’, which is closer to the meaning I’m seeking. I think I'm quite happy with it.

You can see the concept of ouverture sort of surfacing in this series of aphorisms, ‘Closed Doors Blending on a White Wall’. (Since I’m at it, @Wyote I also wrote a bit on ‘The Plight of the Open Essence’ last year. Been digging it a lot more since.) Actually, if at some point you get to visit my blog a little bit, you will see that I’m not completely insane and actually write about normal things too, such as mountains, catching up with friends, Pepsi Coke, dreams, etc. But the aphorisms remain my life’s main side project at the moment, together with the book draft.

What are those weird music tastes, by the way? I am really curious. I would consider myself a big music fan, maybe we can also get to share some music? I agree that Wyote seems very nice, though I don’t want to make him embarrassed by saying this :p On the philosophical thread I created recently, there’s already been a lot of really fascinating discussion that has already informed my writing.

Don’t worry about rambling – I’ll use my Ti to compartmentalise your overflowing ideas! The news about the novel is fantastic, and I like the title Splinter. Do you remember when this insight struck you, about the shadow being the body of the soul? It’s exciting that you’re exploring its meaning and implications in writing. Since you reference evil, would you say your book is also informed by questions of morality? It sounds to me like you’re ploughing these metaphors to tackle some really deep, human themes.

ouverture.. what a beautiful word. I love that concept, the idea you are trying to explore.

Human rights organisation?? Sigh... dreams.. That.. is my end goal! I want to make a decent mark in the world with my photography and or writing so that one day I can afford to do what I call "The Jolie thing".. and travel the world to countries where people are in dire need. Poverty is a huge weight on my heart. To go to these places and give not a temporary handout, but a hand up.. to help them grow strong as a people, build schools, have art, places to worship, income, dreams of their own.. the ability to express themselves through their own creative means, means the world to me. ( rant over ) :) What kind of humanitarian organisation.. o.o Fascinating.

I will look into your blog, for sure. I have one here also.. "Feel the flaming elmo feels".. There is a great deal of photography there and some poetry but if you ever want to see my main gallery just look at my current profile status and the link is there as of last night. I am interested to read your work.. Over the weekend I can have a look.. forgive me though with time as I am studying like mad too for my inburgeringsexamens now... What language do you speak? German? Do you know any Dutch yet? It is a Germanic language. I loveeee hearing other languages. Esp German.. it sounds like a beautiful version of French - Dutch to me.. if that made any sense.

Weird music tastes.. yes.. :) If you have spotify I will fire playlists at you.. If not I can post one of my youtube playlists here in a link etc..

And yes.. I love Holland. I will never go back unless they kick me out lol. I lived all over in the US because as a child my father was in the air force. Arizona is where I last lived.
 
At the moment I'd rather read/edit... my BA (due Monday) really took a lot from me to write. Studying in general... as good as it was to help me learn to think, I believe I paid for it in creativity. I'd have to practise to write again. I've been tempted to write something since I took up Literature as a subject in eighth(?) grade, but I believe I'm more of an architect than a gardner, though a weird mixture of it, and I was never able to think of a whole plot for a story, just pictures and feelings, which I didn't consider very original or deep. I haven't made an attempt at writing anything of my own for at least two years. If I were to write, I'd have to have a goal, and ending to work towards, even if I don't have a middle part. This is where I am architect and gardner.
Fascinating.. I cannot work from the ending back, so I admire your architectural skills, in the extreme. I am a discovery writer, my brain explodes in nine directions and I stay up with insomnia trying to explore each version in my head, then tailor back until I reach "the one" I want. My head is my favorite place to be, so as you can imagine I am not the fastest. Congrats on your education.. It is a long journey. I would love to read some of your work as well someday when you have had the time to cultivate it. :)
 
I cannot work from the ending back,

Nor can I, it's sort of knowing where you want to go, but not knowing how to get there. It is a journey in itself.

It really was long... 4 papers, 4 years, and before that just basic stuff and preparation.

I've only been proud enough of three papers, my thesis especially, as I have worked on it for 6 months with another half-year of research before that.
 
Nor can I, it's sort of knowing where you want to go, but not knowing how to get there. It is a journey in itself.

It really was long... 4 papers, 4 years, and before that just basic stuff and preparation.

I've only been proud enough of three papers, my thesis especially, as I have worked on it for 6 months with another half-year of research before that.
Wow.. congratulations. :)
 
Wow.. congratulations. :)

Well, let's see first what comes of it. I'm still in the correction-phase. I'll be happy when I'm rid of it, and hope for the best. I'm beginning to doubt though that it's going to be an A. I'd be content with a B.
 
Psst... @Ren

Have fun sifting through this one, and remember, you asked what kind of unusual music.. so here you go. My new playlist, "All over the place".. :)

All over the place..: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDweU8ilyaawXsgjw26DWj2VFGOR_x70F
Thanks for this @MistyWrites ... did you realise that your 'musical' playlist includes a video on the INFJ vs INFP dominant functions?

If that's what you mean by weird music, then I agree, it's weird at a fundamental level - one might even say at an ontological level!
 
Hi @acd - I meant to react to this earlier.

How do you establish healthy boundaries, though? I know there's no magical solution. But it can be quite dispiriting for me. Whenever I drop my T mask in real life, I feel like I am quickly being invaded by the negative emotions of others. I struggle with keeping boundaries without coming across rude or even callous at times. But when I don't (and these days I mostly don't) the emotions can be overwhelming.

If anyone knows of a thread on this topic, I'd gladly welcome it. Learning to accept and nurture myself as an empath is a serious goal of mine.
 
Thanks for this @MistyWrites ... did you realise that your 'musical' playlist includes a video on the INFJ vs INFP dominant functions?

If that's what you mean by weird music, then I agree, it's weird at a fundamental level - one might even say at an ontological level!
Ha! I saved that one because I have been accused of being an INFP once or twice lol.. and it made me delve into the differences so I would fully understand them for myself and to better be able to verbalize to others.. how I know, aside from tests that I am definitely not a "P".. lol. :)
 
Well, let's see first what comes of it. I'm still in the correction-phase. I'll be happy when I'm rid of it, and hope for the best. I'm beginning to doubt though that it's going to be an A. I'd be content with a B.
Well, a B is nothing to be ashamed of, worst case scenario :)
 
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