Prayer and Temperament

Prayer and Temperament

Meyers-Briggs Personality Types 2

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types or personality preferences in four areas.

1     How you get your energy, where do you focus your attention? Introvert (I) vs extrovert (E). Do you get your energy from inside or outside of yourself?

2     How do you get your information?  Sensing (S) or intuition (N). Do you gather concrete data or do you think of possibilities?

3     How do you make your decision? Thinking (T) or feeling (F). Do you make decisions on what is logical or on relationships and what is of value?

4     How do you deal with the world? Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). Do you deal with the world in a planned organized way or are you more flexible, spontaneous, keeping options open? When there is a problem, do you look for closure or do you keep gathering in data?

Please Understand Me, Character and Temperament Types, David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates

Yesterday we talked about how knowing the Meyer-Briggs personality types can be helpful in living life on life’s terms. The classic book, Prayer and Temperament, tells us how the Myers-Briggs test is helpful in our spiritual life, especially in deciding on a way to pray.  Lectio Divina or Benedictine Prayer is suitable for all personality types.

Augustine Prayer especially emphasizes feeling and intuition so may be best for the NF temperament.

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

Those with a temperament in search of truth and competency and learning (NT) may best pray using the Thomastic or Dominican Spirituality of Thomas Aquinas.

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are most easily understood by the SJ temperament, but NT and NF temperaments also may find it 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 is speaking 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. They cannot tolerate long periods of silence.

Those who would best practice Thomastic Prayer (NT) are logical and orderly and thirst for truth and address prayer like a scientific project or mystery.

Prayer and Temperament, Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey.

Joannaj               joannaseibert.com.

Different Personalities

Myers-Briggs Personality Types

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types or personality preferences in four areas.

1     How you get your energy, where do you focus your attention? Introvert (I) vs extrovert (E). Do you get your energy from inside or outside of yourself?

2     How do you get your information?  Sensing (S) or intuition (N). Do you gather concrete data or do you think of possibilities?

3     How do you make your decision? Thinking (T) or feeling (F). Do you make decisions on what is logical or on relationships and what is of value?

4     How do you deal with the world? Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). Do you deal with the world in a planned organized way or are you more flexible, spontaneous, keeping options open? When there is a problem, do you look for closure or do you keep gathering in data?

Please Understand Me, Character and Temperament Types, David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates

The Myers-Briggs Indicator test has been so helpful to me in understanding myself, my family, and those I work with. The above is just a short very basic summary. There also are a multiple of books about it and tests you can use. When I talk to spiritual friends I suggest they connect to a group or therapist who uses the indicator. I remember how helpful it was for me in my medical practice. We soon learned that we needed all types in our group. We need J’s who wanted closure in solving problems, but we also need P’s who wanted us to look at all the possibilities before deciding an answer. We needed T’s who wanted our group to look at what was logical, but we need F’s who looked at what was of value. We needed partners who were I’s in our practice who did not speak until they had processed an answer inside, but we needed E’s who solved a problem by thinking outside and vocalizing their thought process. We needed S’s who looked at concrete data, but we needed N’s who looked at possibilities.

 So, the indicator can help us to live life on life’s terms personally and in community, but how does it help on our spiritual journey? More tomorrow.  

Joanna         joannaseibert.com.

our inner worlds

   Our Inner Worlds

“New relationship is possible only through the contact of inner worlds. We meet through our inner worlds. To understand another, you must enter into his inner world but this is not possible if you have not entered your own inner world. The first step therefore towards entering consciously into and understanding the position of another is attained through entering into and understanding the position of oneself and unless this step is taken, to as full a degree as is possible, there is little or no possibility of entering into and understanding the position of another person.”       Maurice Nicoll,  Psychological Commentaries Vol. 1

"Visitation" from Altarpiece of the Virgin,  St. Vaast Altarpiece, by Jacques Daret,  Staatliche Museen, Berlin

We can learn so much from other disciplines, and when a truth in one discipline like psychology affirms a truth in another, such as religion, this may be a sign that together they speak truth but in a different language. We meet with spiritual friends on this journey to find and keep the connection to God within ourselves and each other. When this happens, a marvelous new life that we never expected appears, what the Cajun’s call a lagniappe, a little something extra, also called grace.  When we begin to see and connect to the Christ dwelling within our neighbor, our image of God enlarges.   The reverse is true. We can best find the Christ, the Spirit, God, that dwells in our neighbor by also searching for and connecting to the Christ within ourselves. It is a paradox, another sign of the holy. It is what happened when Mary visited her relative, Elizabeth, who saw the God within her. Mary then responded with the Magnificat.

Joanna        joannaseibert.com