Light - And Shadow - Projections

Accurate perception of the world and the people around us is one of the key ingredients of how well one can navigate the waters of reality. I am sure that you have had situations where you ended up disappointed that somebody didn't meet your expectations, or you had to apologize to someone after harshly judging them, because that person or a related event turned out a lot better than you had thought.

At the root of these occurrences we often times find projections.

Think of them as a movie projector that plays it's own (your internal) movies on top of the reality the way it really is. It's like sitting in a cinema while a movie is playing and the person arriving late walks in front of the screen. You can perceive the outline and the shadow that is cast on the screen, but you don't really see the color clothes or the tone of the skin, because the colors of the movie will fill in that information for you. Our own internal movies often times get  produced by our fantasies, actual traumatic experiences in the past, cultural belief systems, ego demands etc.

During light projections the movie is healthier, brighter, more aligned than reality, while the shadow projector makes the situation/person appear darker, scarier, meaner, and sicker than they truly are.

So let's say you have a good hearted, trust-worthy person, who believes that most humans operate under the same principals. They might have a tendency to light project their own nature onto other people. This person could go so far as to overlook warning signs, because with the honor code in place it would feel too negative to say, "I can't trust this individual".

Instead the conclusion would be "everybody deserves a chance, what's wrong with me to have such negative thoughts?"

The decision to ignore ones instincts can come at a high price and the disappointments can be very traumatic. The real lesson of course is to be willing to see reality as it is, even if that is uncomfortable at times.

If due to past trauma one would come to the conclusion i.e. that all rich people are evil and cold, certain opportunities might not be taken. The rich person that offered you the loan for your dream business was turned down, meanwhile the inner victim screams, "why does God never give me a break?"

In my journey through life I have chosen to pay close attention to my old movies and to take them off the projector.

Here are some indicators that alert me:

1.  Generalization - all situations/people of that nature are good/bad

2. Emotional Overreaction - I am too upset/ angry/ scared considering the actual situation at hand

3. This person is just like me/ or like somebody I know very well

4. This person/situation is the answer to all of my problems

Getting rid of projections makes the ride a bit smoother and gives the people in our lives a fairer chance to be seen in their truths.