Many clients enter treatment because their psyche is “failing” to accommodate itself to their one-sided will. They are cut off from the self-regulating functions of their unconscious and the resulting symptoms have induced so much suffering that they are forced to stop their plans, enter therapy, and work through the blockage. The power complex wants a better hold on the psyche.

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Cassandra represents the difficulty of expressing one’s own truth in a way that is persuasive and influential in the world, particularly a truth that is not androcentric. The weakening of the voice of the dream ego represents the suppression and repression of the feminine that results from continuing to rely on old ways of exerting influence.

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The dynamics of creative process and psychological wellbeing are such that creative artists are often overcome by the demonic. From Nietzsche’s Zarathustra to Curt Cobain’s Nirvana, there is an artistic star swallowed by the unconscious every week. But the arts can also be a type of savior—a place for us to process our darkness and not become it.

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To have to spend a year in one’s inferior function is like a yearlong time-out for a toddler. I got so bored and desperate with my inferior introverted sensing (Si) function, required to gather and document the data, that I spent many hours asleep in the library. I could have asked Dr. Goldsmith for help, or maybe a mercy killing, but I was too proud to admit difficulty.

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Kirk develops depth and integrity as he learns to harness the power of his dominant function and come to terms with the shadow parts of his personality. Ultimately, he is also able to cultivate his ego-dystonic functions and realize a more integrated and mature self capable of fulfilling his potential for charismatic and visionary leadership.

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Delivering education that gets today’s students ready for the modern world must incorporate flexibility, diversification, and individualization. Students have moved past the structure of traditional classrooms. They have different problems, different gifts, and dramatically different brains. Educators need to refocus their efforts on teaching individuals.

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In the MBTI® I found the self-understanding that I had been lacking; I saw myself finally as less of a dilettante than an adaptive explorer, and a powerful implementer of all I had learned. I had been collecting knowledge and skills but had continued to be unclear about my “use of self.” I finally saw my journey as self-actualization.

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Type enthusiasts may wonder whether we can purposely apply our personality preferences—which are comfortable ‘tools’ to make habit change a little easier. Speaking as a lifestyle medicine physician, as well as a type enthusiast for the past two decades, I believe we can. . . . Type affects what motivates us and how we learn new skills . . .

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The blank piece of paper symbolically represents our universe. How we put writing on the paper—how the pen moves across the paper—represents how we see ourselves fitting into life and how we navigate through it. Extraversion is characterized by a tendency toward expansion. There is an emphasis on centrifugal movement (movement away from the body).

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