Projection

In the field of Freudian psychology there is a well known principle called projection. It is defined by Wade Tavris (Wade, Tavris "Psychology" Sixth Edition Prentice Hall 2000 ISBN 0-321-04931-4) as follows:

"Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person unconsciously denies their own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, such as to the weather, or to other people. Thus, it involves imagining or projecting that others have those feelings."

We experience or witness projection in action every day. People blame their lateness on someone else in traffic, etc.

It is a defense mechanism that protects us from ourselves - from thoughts and feelings that we would consider distasteful, or otherwise uncomfortable.

I prefer to look at projection in another way. Consider for a moment the concept that everything that happens in the outside world first must occur within a person. It is the person that manifests thoughts, feelings, and emotions based on their beliefs. This is all in relation to some desire of that person, such as the desire to survive, or the desire to be accepted and loved, and so on.

With that as a model, then are we not all projectors, projecting outward onto others who serve as projection screens for us? We project our insides onto something external, in my example another person, in an attempt to see ourselves better. If we view projection from that perspective, then our interactions with others would change quit a bit.

If you think of a many-faceted diamond as the lens through which you project your thoughts and desires, where each facet creates part of a unique puzzle piece in a three-dimensional whole, then you may start to picture what I am proposing (no pun intended).

We would realize that everything that we see and experience is but a facet of ourselves for us to appreciate and discover in greater detail.