3 years ago, a guy who has since become a great friend of mine asked me to do something which I found a little on the bizarre side. The something was called a Myers Briggs personality test, and it got me to answer loads of questions about my personality and how I interact with other people. I want to share it with you because it’s one of the best self development and awareness tools around.
To me, the biggest and most significant difference in perceptual views of the world is to do with if we perceive Alice’s world as a string of beautiful magical events in all their glorious detail, or an amazing metaphorical overall journey with hidden meaning in all of the metaphors along the way. Which do you see it as more? Of the 4 dichotamies within the Myers Briggs theory, this to me most relates to the Sensing/Intuition dichotamy, and the fundamental difference in perception which causes the most misunderstanding between people (although that is only my perception). The latest version of Alice in Wonderland seems to appeal more to those with the “sensing” preference, or those who live in detail of the string of events, because the visuals and sounds are beautiful, and the meaning is kinda spelt out along the way. Those who have the “intuition” preference, or who always look for the bigger picture or hidden meaning and connections, or who view the story as metaphors contributing to one large metaphor, tend to be a bit disappointed with the new version, and much prefer Lewis Carrols writing.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can interact with other people, and want to look in wonder and get a better understanding about how other people perceive their reality, I highly recommend Myers Briggs theory, there is a free test here to “type” yourself to be found here……. www.personalitypage.com
I love Myers Briggs, it’s totally changed my life and has lead to a huge change in my perception. I’ve also passed the above link on to several friends, and all of them have found it very useful to apply in their own lives. I believe that it’s one of the very best tools for self development and awareness out there. Wikipedia has excellent information on how the model works for those who are really interested once they get their “type”. There is also an excellent book called “gifts differing” on the subject.
Important note – it’s tempting sometimes to view information like this as an excuse for behaving in a certain way, because for those of us who feel judged for being who we are, it can be an exhilerating and very empowering learning that we get from the test and theory i.e. that it’s ok to be ourselves. I know I was more than tempted to do this when it gave me the information that I got from it. We should always view information like this as a tool to help us understand and communicate, and not to judge others for how they are different to us, even if we feel that those others judge us on a regular basis. We can learn from the model, and know that we have a valid way of being or “type” as the theory calls it, without judging others, even if others do judge us for our differences. Most self development material, religions and other spiritual teachings tell us that judgement leads us away from love.