Extraverted Sensing is probably the least mystical function of all. It’s simply your mind’s live feed of the physical world and your ability to act on it right now. Think of Se as: “Seeing what’s actually happening and responding with your body in real time.”
Se notices movement, color, sound, tension, and opportunity in the environment. It tracks how things are shifting second by second and adjusts your behavior—steering the car, catching the ball, changing your tone mid-conversation, or spontaneously seizing an opening. It learns primarily by direct contact: try, feel, adjust. There’s no spiritual aura here—just sensory data, motor control, and immediate feedback loops.
1. Basic perception & attention
- Noticing what’s actually in front of you
Colors, shapes, sounds, movement, people, objects, layout. - Tracking motion and change in real time
That car speeding up, that person shifting posture, the ball flying toward you. - Picking up fine sensory details
Textures, flavors, micro-expressions, lighting, temperature. - Orienting in space
Where your body is in relation to walls, furniture, roads, and people. - Fast “what’s different?” detection
“Something moved over there.” “This room is arranged differently from yesterday.”
2. Body, movement, coordination
- Hand–eye coordination
Catching, throwing, typing, drawing, driving, gaming. - Timing physical actions
When to jump, when to brake, when to turn, when to swing. - Fine motor adjustment
Adjusting grip, pressure, and speed without overthinking. - Using feedback loops
You swing → you feel it’s off → you adjust next swing. That’s iterative correction, not magic. - Balance & posture
Knowing when you’re leaning too far, when your body feels “off-center”.
3. Learning through direct experience
- Trying something and seeing what happens
Push, pull, taste, lift, press the button. - Calibrating by trial-and-error
“Too much force → reduce. Too little → increase.” - Trusting what the senses report
You believe the chair is there because you can see and touch it. - Storing muscle memory
Riding a bike, playing an instrument, skating — built from repeated real-world practice. - Sensitivity to environmental cues
“The crowd is getting louder.” “The air feels heavy; maybe it’ll rain.”
4. Time & consequences
- Reacting to immediate opportunities
Spotting a gap in traffic and moving, noticing a sale sign, and grabbing it. - Responding to immediate danger
Ducking, braking, stepping aside. - Adjusting on the fly
Mid-conversation, mid-game, mid-project — shifting based on what you see right now. - Reading “how it’s going” moment-to-moment
Is this working? Are they engaged? Does the shot look right? - Staying present enough to adapt
Not locked into a pre-written script — open to what’s actually happening.
5. Sensory enjoyment & aesthetics
- Enjoying visuals
Colors, shapes, composition, style in design, photography, and fashion. - Enjoying textures & sensations
Soft clothes, warm showers, good chairs, cozy blankets. - Enjoying taste & smell
Food combinations, coffee, wine, baking, markets, and nature smells. - Enjoying sound & movement
Music, rhythm, dancing, walking pace, the sound of the city or nature. - Curating environments
Changing lighting, rearranging space, adjusting what’s on the wall or desk so it feels right.
6. Social & emotional side
- Reading body language in the moment
Posture, eye contact, hand movements, and how someone occupies space. - Noticing subtle tone shifts
When someone’s voice tightens, slows, speeds up, or gets higher. - Responding to the room’s vibe
People are bored → crack a joke; people are tense → lower voice, soften posture. - Calibrating presence
How loud you speak, how close you stand, how expressive you are. - Engaging through shared experiences
Doing things together: games, walks, activities, events – bonding via common sensory moments.
7. Creativity & performance
- Improvising with what’s at hand
You see the props and environment and use them creatively. - Visual composition
Photography, video framing, and knowing what “looks right” in a shot. - Physical performance
Sports, dance, acting, live music — shaping the moment in front of others. - Adapting mid-performance
Crowd isn’t responding → change tone, pacing, style in real time. - Experimenting with styles
Fashion choices, grooming, decor — trying things and seeing what pops.
8. Decision-making
- Reality-checking abstractions
“Nice theory. Can we actually do it in this room, with these people, in this budget?” - Prioritizing what’s observable
Basing decisions on what’s actually happening, not just what’s predicted. - Moving from talk to action
“Let’s test it”, “Let’s try a small version right now”. - Updating decisions based on live feedback
If it’s clearly not working, Se says: Change it. Now. - Preventing endless overthinking
Pulling attention out of mental spirals into “What’s the next physical step?”
9. Limits & non-mystical flaws of Se
The mistakes Se makes are also normal, non-magical:
- Impulsiveness
Acting too quickly without thinking long-term. - Chasing stimulation
Seeking intense experiences to avoid boredom or inner discomfort. - Underestimating future consequences
“It’s fine now” → ignoring the longer Ni-style pattern. - Superficiality risk
Focusing only on what’s visible and immediate, missing deeper dynamics. - Overconfidence in “I’ll handle it when it comes.”
Neglecting planning because “I’ll just react”.
10. What Se is not
- Not “primal animal energy” in a spiritual sense – It’s attention + body + action.
- Not “living only in the moment” by magic – It’s a bias to prioritize the moment.
- Not inherently shallow – It can be used in the service of deep goals (e.g., mastering a craft).
- Not automatically brave or reckless – It just reacts quickly; courage/risk is a separate choice.
Se doesn’t make you a reckless thrill-seeker by default; it gives you fine-grained contact with reality. When balanced, it grounds abstract ideas in what’s physically possible and keeps you responsive to what’s truly happening instead of what you imagined.
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