I
In Jung's typology there are four functions:
Thinking, Feeling, Intuition and Sensation.
One of these functions is our Primary Function.
Most of us also have a Secondary Function, our fall-back,
And the opposite of our Primary Function
Is our Inferior Function which is mostly unconscious.
The opposite of Thinking is Feeling and visa versa.
The opposite of Intuition is Sensation and visa versa.
I am an Intuitive-Thinker.
Intuition is my primary function.
Thinking is my secondary function.
II
As I get older, I realize
That I'm not as smart as I thought,
Nor am I as smart as I used to be.
And I'm certainly not as quick
As I was when I was 30 or 40
Which is understandable.
But, as I age, my Intuition deepens.
III
There are people who know much more than me
And I rely upon their knowledge.
But many of these fine thinkers
Do not seem to appreciate that
There are other ways to process reality,
And that putting all of one's eggs
In the Thinking basket
Can lead to loneliness,
As Thinking winds down.
I'm glad I'm not a thinker per say,
But being an Intuitive
Hasn't made for an easy life.
How often do you see a job in the paper
Calling for someone who is highly intuitive?
IV
Intuition is like riding a horse VS driving a car.
The logical mind can only get you so far.
Eventually you come to where the bridge is out.
That is where the horse of Intuition comes in handy.
V
I walk my horse downstream
To where the current is wide and shallow.
I let my horse drink and walk her across.
Then I climb back on.
Or maybe I decide to camp by the stream
For a while.
(My not being in a hurry
Has nothing to do with age.)
Meanwhile the person in the car of Thinking
Is looking for a detour
Wasting gas.
VI
Have you noticed
That there are more and more bridges out
These days?
(Happy trails.)
..................
The last line in this poem is from the song that Roy Rogers sang at the end of his cowboy show. Roy was a childhood hero of mine, chronologically speaking, between Popeye and Green lantern. They were all so self-sufficient they didn't need each other and could handle any situation alone. (Did you ever see Popeye look for help?) Popeye was my first guardian (good guy / champion). His super power was spinach. (canned) Pretty simple. (He didn't need a can opener but would either squeeze the can open or use his pipe as an acetylene torch.) Then Roy. His super power was his horse, Bullet, his clean, handsome unruffled appearance, and his wholesome friendliness. (My mother approved of Roy and might have had a crush on him.) Then there was Green Lantern, whose super power was his ring, which focused his will. Green Lantern appeared on my radar when I was trying to navigate adolescence, trying to figure out who I was apart from my parents. When I was 9 - 11, the world was overwhelming, to say the least, and Green Lantern was the perfect embodiment of a strong, independent male. His super power was his green ring and his will and his ability to manifest things. The difference between Green Lantern and the other two was, I wanted to be Green Lantern. This became an obsession. I was desperate to find a green ring that could focus my will and my poor mother was assigned the task to find my ring. To her credit, she took me seriously and actually found one in a jewelry or gem store. It was a pale green jade in a sterling silver setting. I tried to make it work for me, (for her!), but it was just too feminine (although I wouldn't have described it that way at the time). It held no power for me, and that was the end of my Green Lantern phase.
As I think of it, my super hero from age 24 - 50 was Jung. (His super power was the ability to interpret archetypes.) From roughly 54- 60, it was Rumi. (Rumi's super power was his power to transcend the ego without losing himself in his spirituality. He achieved this by expanding his heart to accommodate forays into ecstatic states of mind.)
For the last decade of my life I have been winging it without a super hero. But, the point of this discussion is to conclude that it is helpful to have a super hero, at least until we develop our own powers. My super power right now is my intuition. It's not quite as powerful and sexy as a green ring, but no complaints.
(Article changed on May 25, 2022 at 7:43 PM EDT)
(Article changed on May 28, 2022 at 10:33 AM EDT)
(Article changed on May 28, 2022 at 10:46 AM EDT)
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