I was told that one of the major benefits to be obtained from studying types would be the deeper appreciation of our personal subjectivity. When I began to see myself as a type, I would no longer consider my own thoughts, feelings of attitudes as uniquely mine. By showing me that I was invariably a member of a particular type, I hope to see beyond my type, to what was objectively true. And, in fact, over time I did find that this study was the single most practical tool for beginning the work of breaking down the walls of my own habitual life.
I frequently heard those with more experience of types say that it was the most ‘practical’ body of knowledge about people they had ever encountered. After several months I began to realize that this might well be true. Knowledge of the types began to enter every interaction I had, with myself and with others. Every relationship was open for reinterpretation based on what soon became a surprisingly obvious reality. Having begun to acquire some ability to recognize types, I realized I no longer had to compare a mental list of criteria to the person in front of me, but simply recognized their body itself, or even their ‘energy.’
From the Preface of Body Types by Joel Friedlander
