Projection is quite natural, and by projection I mean projection of your state of mind. Ever notice when you are actively engaging someone in conversation you tend to imitate their body language without thinking about it? In the case of a community some of those states are viral. You can tell when someone is “not from around here”. They don’t have the group projection.
If someone says “I don’t project on anything” they lie or are very naïve. In fact, it is a delusion. You can translate any event only to the degree you project on it. If you have no mental stance on something (none what so ever), your brain won’t recognize the pattern of the object or event, and in most adult cases you might not take any note of it at all.
Example. At work, when someone starts a project in a completely new area. They knew nothing about it and found that they would listen without projection (it would seem). However this person is projecting on it and were even at the beginning. You have an idea of “the unknown”, and you process things based on how you have generalized the concept of the unknown. Some people won’t accept that category, and won’t remember events of the unknown. All behaviour and action is always based on our projection.
Lets take this to a more personal level. Whenever you encounter an issue, whatever little drama it is, the bigger part of any problem is in your projection. Example. Someone you have dealt with personally a lot when there seemed to be a big drama, was it in them or in your interpretation of it? Interpretation most likely. Ever notice your reaction can be very different at different times even when the situation is similar? It is linked to your mind state and so is the outcome. Outcome is linked to actions taken as a result of your mind state.
How about something extreme like being shot by someone? In that case, you were likely seeing the shooter though a trusting projection. A random shooting? Don’t see where your projection comes into play? The shooter was projecting the concept of nothing is ok. You were projecting the concept of nothing is ok if you were distracted. A random shooting isn’t entirely random. Nothing in life is entirely random and my discussion of projection isn’t a blame game, but it isn’t entirely random.
Is this not a simple explanation? Well in fact it is, but one we don’t like cause it puts it all on us. Simple isn’t easy, but yes it is very simple. I notice it all the time and people aren’t very aware. Didn’t notice the furtive or erratic person somehow? Maybe you were attending to a crying child, or making change for a customer? But you didn’t isolate yourself to see to this distraught infant did you? The event still plays out under the same dynamics. There are just a lot of fine points for it.
I have a “what will possibly happen?” projection. I do it all the time, often for fun. I very rarely have seemingly random events happen to me, and I screen them before ever encountering them. In the case of autistics, the process that screens sensory input doesn’t exist or work right. So in my case someone meets me in person and it can look like I’m spaced out. I am actually processing consciously what your brain does on its own.
So this projection idea is a trap and a key depending on if we use it. You will do it no matter what, and there isn’t really a reason to try to avoid it. The key is knowing it. It can’t be avoided anyway. In my case my projections are a mish-mash of other peoples psychology like imitating body language in overdrive. For me to grasp interaction I adopt other peoples projections. Form a projection out of what my mind doesn’t make well.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~