The Intuitive Feeling types and the 60s

That "religion" of the 60's, the encounter group movement, was largely motivated and populated by NFs seeking greater intensity in their relationship, seeking an elusive intimacy. They searched in sensitivity groups, Gestalt groups, marathons (nude and otherwise), Transcendental meditation groups - all in an effort to find a way to give deeper meaning to their lives, to develop the ability to live more openly and more honestly. They explored verbal and nonverbal dimensions of communication to become more fully aware of their emotions, hoping to reduce to a split second the delay between the occurrence of an emotion and its awareness in consciousness. In many, many groups they found for a time, the sense of intimacy they sought, describing the experience as an almost spiritual peak or rush:

At the exact moment when I encounter someone I feel as if I am in some place I have never been before. It's hard to describe. Like you and this other person are out in space with each other and looking down on the earth. > Terry O'Bannion and April O'Connel - The Shared Journey. 1970

Often, though, after the group experience was over, the intimacy faded in the dulling routine of daily living.