>What can you tell me about the nature of creativity?
Ever heard about jungian cognitive functions? Creativity in terms of artistic expression is a product of introverted feeling (Fi) coupled with extroverted sensing (Se) for physical performance related art (painting, music, dance etc) and introverted sensing (Si) for writing and maybe some other things like directing (for comedic/sf type of writing it's Ti+Si e.g. Terry Pratchett, an INTP). Extroverted feeling (Fe) can work too I guess as long as it's high enough in the cognitive function stack but if we're talking that real artsy, ephemeral stuff then Fi is the king.
So if you want to become more creative find out your cognitive functions of your ego (MBTI tests are extremely faulty but they give some reference point from which you can start to figure out which type suits you best - read descriptions of different personalities and if you can't still decide which is more you then delve into the functions and differences between them which will eliminate one type or the other) and then look up what are your other 3 other personalities you can have potential access to (look up '4 sides of mind') and try to work out what forms of creativity you're geared towards and how to get there.
For example: you have Fi inferior? Does that mean you're shit out of luck? Initially you'll suck but with practice inferior function can become a hero leading to an aspirational personality. I haven't seen one agreed upon system of naming but aspirational form has the weakest function on top of the stack so it's ego upside down (should be a no brainer but don't date those who have it in the ego), anima/mirror/shadow/unconscious(or subconscious? I keep fumbling over which is which) is the polar reversal of ego (might seem tempting but the way they lead their lives is incompatible with yours so don't date those either) which means introverted functions become extroverted functions but don't change their position in the stack, and super ego the most difficult to access peacefully, is anima upside down (might seem like what you really want in a partner but they won't understand you at all - your other half which is is 50% your ego and 50% super ego - just switch the T and F letters of your MBTI type, people say ideal matches don't exist but they're retarded; individuals aren't ideal so even the perfect design might not work but that shouldn't stop you from attempting to build from the perfect design if you're going to attempt anything). To access super ego in it's positive form you need to either go through a most traumatic experience for your ego (getting hit right where it emotionally hurts but understanding that spreading more misery isn't the right thing) or master/integrate your anima and aspirational personalities, which is where your suppressed/shameful needs, feelings, wishes, thoughts and so on lie buried within. I didn't do that so I don't know how that works, I went in straight through the trauma but that can easily backfire if you don't have strong enough integrity. Anyway regardless of creativity gain unlocking all of your personalities is a worthwhile goal because it's the definition of emotional maturity.

>>33855
sasuga /AM/. any book recs that discuss this further?

>>33856
Here's one on functions themselves by the OG Jung himself but he's hard to read.

If you don't mind more digestible info there's a dude on youtube, C.S. Joseph, who's actually very competent in explaining the intricacies of functions and types (can't really recommend his other videos though), you just have to filter what he's saying through what he says about the other similar types if he's being too negative or positive. For example that he's now married to ESTP so he idolizes the type and won't speak ill about it (ESTP is THE bully type in it's corrupted and immature form) while at the same time bashing INFJ to hell and back since he's had a long and hurtful history with them. Anyway just serves to prove that the types that are hailed as the best for each other (N and S in the same position in the stack but reversed polarity) are anything but. You see intuition and sensing predicate individual's lifestyle and you cannot share life with someone that's lifestyle doesn't match yours or you're forcing yourself to not be yourself and that's a ticking time bomb. C.S. Joseph and many others claim that you need to have the polar opposites since they're also responsible for sexual attraction, at least the mental component, but it's better when the magnetism is between anima/animus and ego not ego - ego. Unfortunately most stories about true love have jungian idea - anima in the ego of your partner (like Okabe and Kurisu) but the attraction is so strong it's difficult to let your anima out since that leaves you with null attraction unless your partner switches with you. It's good for fiction because it's volatile and passionate but Jung was in the wrong here. Been there done that, got burned hard, also my parents are the perfect pair according to Jung and I see them tormenting one another as years go by because of lifestyle/needs differences.

Sorry, I know you're asking about the creativity itself mainly but the relationship thing is more important knowledge and barely anyone realized that so far. And yet romantic relationship with your F/T counterpart is like joining two hemispheres of the same brain, everything works so smoothly as long as people put in minimal effort. Love language is the same, weaknesses are covered, growth naturally facilitated, fears and emotional needs adressed, follower/leader roles are obvious and don't cause dissatisfaction, every sexual need is realized through interactions between different depths of personalities and when you're on the same level you have emotional closeness so there's no situation of switching into undesirable or redundant set of functions - every configuration works. Getting this through to people would eliminate so many problems and pain, seriously. Also this is why the most frequent of types in men are ISTJ while in women those are ISFJ and the least frequent are INFJ for men and INTJ for women. The tendency is visible for other types too but it's less clear but that might be because of too small of a sample size or mistyping.

>>33856
Oh and I don't know if I've said it but anima/animus is accessed either through fear in it's negative form or through love and acceptance, maybe a sense of unchaining or leisure even, in it's positive, healthy form. I actually have Fi in my anima and after researching cognitive transitions I understand why I ended up with shitpostile disfunction. Feeling rejected, seeing repeated whining, experiencing loss of harmony, unfunny negativity, worsening morale that never got a chance to recuperate, and frustration over my inability to make few loud bad apples understand that the point of /aM/ is fun - all coupled together probably blocked my switching.

Also just a random thought: since anima is female for men and male for women I wonder if the tendency for Anonymous to post with anime girl reaction faces can be explained as the feminine anima expressing itself, rather than the male ego.

>>33857
Something occurred to me just recently, the biggest problem in ego and ego's anima/us relationship is not the sudden loss of attraction, it's not like you'll suddenly start to hate the person that is yourself (unless you have some unresolved issues with your own self). What breaks the deal is that fears and insecurities of both persons latch onto and double on one another just as the functions in their egos cling to and reinforce one another.
Example: INFJ (Ni Fe Ti Se) and ENFP (Ne Fi Te Si)
Since fears, insecurities and inadequacies are in the shadow/anima it follows that through Ne nemesis INFJ fears of what others want (might manifest as desire not to force anyone into anything or straight up paranoia), ENFP in turn fears their own wants/will. INFJ will seek to confirm what ENFP wants and will find absolutely nothing there leading to the next issue. INFJ's Fi critic renders them unable to act on their own whims/what they feel like doing unless they have external justification. They might be okay with bending ENFP to their own will for a bit but soon they'll doubt their motivations, their sense of moral worth for literally forcing their will onto another human being, especially one that desires freedom as much as ENFP, and they'll meet with ENFP's Fe critic which looks down on other people's motivations. Big oof.
Next step is INFJ trying to justify themselves with logic but that comes out as rationalization through Te trickster which fumbles all the time leading to misunderstandings in turn multiplied by ENFP's Ti trickster wrongly seeing logical consistency where there is none or failing to see one where there is.
I don't fully understand how Se and Si demons would interact so I'll stop here. What I've outlined above is catastrophe enough. There's a multitude of scenarios like that since each of the functions is responsible for several things (Ni facilitates wants, decisiveness, willpower, structuring one's own future, recognition of patterns leading to specific consequences, and - although I doubt any experiment to confirm this will ever be carried out - luck). To sum up ego-ego's shadow relationship is something that works good when everything is good but falls apart when life goes through a darker patch.
The solution to INFJ's shadow is INTJ and it works both ways. INTJ will probably make their wants clear to INFJ before they start worrying about them. Fi critic won't meet with Ti critic face to face, for INFJ it will be adressed by INTJ's Fi child which judges others' worth honestly and innocently. Same with Ti child reassuring Ti critic when INTJ doubts their plans. Te trickster will be mercifully pardoned by Te parent because it genuinely understands, and Fe parent will know that Fe trickster doesn't mean ill even if what it says comes out hurtful or selfish because Fe parent is empathy.

I could address each potential pairing but it would take several walls of text. People either marry one of their own personalities (which I'd guess only lasts until they mature and master that personality), one of the personalities of their ideal type (inefficiency, unnecessary misunderstandings, avoidable lifestyle differences you'd have to force yourself to cope with) or they try their luck with introverted/extroverted versions of those personalities when they had bad experiences with the better suited types, or it's either convenient or these are the types present in their lives and they fall to peer pressure/loneliness. Unfortunately, however, every choice other than T/F in one's type switched is wrong and by that I mean it won't stand the test of time (might last until death but not eternity) since it's not a true perpetuum mobile that's going to give out more energy than than gets put into it. That and when you marry someone not of your perfect type you take away the chance for person who's perfect for them to join their lives and be happy with them rather than be content at best like you would. It's bad for everyone.

‮>>33917