introductions

Okay, first entry. Got so much to get out of my head. Two to four years worth of stuff. What to do, what to do? Well, I suppose introductions would be a great start. And it goes like this...

My name is Joe. I could blabber on about titles, occupations, and 'flags', and 'banners' that I may or may not carry, but these things do not truly define a person, so I will refrain from wasting time in even bringing it up. To most people who know me, I am a musician who has been playing for 23 years, but there is more to me that that. (Many could probably care less beyond the musical aspect, and those people will probably never see this blog anyway, so I won't waste much time there.) I am a single/divorced father of two beautiful children. I have been studying Jungian psychology (more specifically, I have honed in on personality types, or 'typology' as it is called) for nearly two decades, and I recognize its relevance in so many applications in life. I am what Jung, Briggs-Myers, and/or Kiersey would call an iNFj. Perhaps because the type only makes up about 1% of the population could account for why I can come off as a bit unorthodox to many other types.

If you were to ask twenty different people who I was, you'd probably get all kinds of answers. I would be: an idiot/intellectual brainiac, too serious/never serious, hilarious/not funny, etc., etc... depending on the degree of time invested in me and vice versa. (I would say the same could be said for many people, actually.) I tend to be one of those guys who can converse with you for hours, but I can do so without ever letting you really know what's up or who I really am. If you are able to touch my heart (and I am speaking of friends and everyone else), then I am very warm - and once you are in my 'inner circle', it is nearly impossible to 'fall out' of it. I am working on being more open and trusting with people (which is a challenge considering the tendency of mankind to stomp on and destroy anything it gets the chance to). There is a saying, "We are more likely to accept what already looks like us than what is different." I would say this explains why people always try to change me or mold me into something that looks like them, and I cannot live in that world anymore than they would probably want to live in mine. I am generally pretty appreciative and/or tolerant of the differences in others, however, I seldom see the same considerations returned. But in seeking like-minded individuals (especially other iNFj's), it makes the world a more peaceful and desirable place to live in.

One thing that is pretty consistent (observably so) is my spirituality. Or more-so my faith. I have spent the larger part of my life trying to accept anything other than the teachings of Christ (like so many people). Such a simple message that people tend to overcomplicate. I spent 14 years of my life trying to disprove the existence of God using science, math, and philosophy. The conclusion I was finally forced to accept logically is that all those factors that hard science cannot answer have God's fingerprints all over them. The very human mind itself is the greatest testimony to its creator and designer, regardless if it (in faith) chooses to embrace it or not. In March of 2003, I had a direct experience (not some hokey 'religious' experience, but a real experience of faith) that caused me to embrace Christ, and I have never been the same since.

All types have a certain style to them and a certain way of communicating. Some speak in hard logic. Some use quick catchy one-liners and simplistic thoughts. Many tend to place importance on 'things' and 'stuff'. iNFj's generally communicate best in writing. We tend to be more concerned with bigger picture 'ideas' than fads, trends, systems, and things that are not questioned. I know, personally, I get bored and drained really quick when talking about 'surface matters' as I call them, but show me your dreams or your vision or something you are passionate about, and you have my undivided attention.

But let me get back to introductions and sum it up. I am a musician, a Christ-follower (who questions and analyzes his faith, which is the enemy of 'religion' and yet the friend of 'faith'), a writer, and a unique personality type. This sounds like some potentials for good blog work. Obviously, here it is. The blog, I mean. I invite you to share in my experiences if this grabs you in any way. For me, the idea of getting this stuff out of my head is a reward in itself, but if something shared can actually prove to be beneficial in some way or fashion, then that is an even greater thing. I hope to use this blog as a means to share my ideas (and my successses and failures), and I also hope it serves to be an 'ebenezer stone' to look back on later in the future and remind me where I was when I wrote it. There will be more to come. I think this is a good stopping point in the meantime.