Defence Mechanism: Projection

Most of us have heard of the term projection, but what is our subjective meaning when we think about it? It could be argued that our whole experience of reality is a projection and that all of the Ego defence mechanisms are a projection, but for now I will remain in this context. I believe the only person who can really realise or come to an understanding of this, is oneself, once one move's beyond a mere intellectual understanding and into a visceral knowing.

My empirical understanding of it is the parts of ourselves that cause us pain or that we have not yet realised in ourselves, become repressed or just below conscious awareness and from that point on, start to show up in other people, via experiences, relationships, at work, family and other areas that causes us conflict in our life's.

When we look at day to day life, a defence mechanism can be seen as a necessary and important aspect of being able to function in the world. With it being rarely possible to process these parts of ourselves in each moment. And this is not just because we are often too busy, but due to the pain that is caused by having to face ourselves can often overwhelm us. One of the long term consequences of not dealing with our defences is the avoidance and renunciation of our own responsibility. 

With my understanding being that the Ego's main purpose is to keep us alive and part of our own evolution is to mature the Ego mind, so we can work together and not fight with it or engage in the futile attempt to remove it.

''we repress parts of ourselves and we then project those parts out into the world and in turn, become the victims of our own projections'' - Oliver J R Cooper

If we leave these parts repressed and don't take the time to process what is causing the conflicts in our life's, we can expect all kinds of consequences to occur as a result. The parts that cause us pain can create consequences that can be unpleasant at best and often devastating at there worst and appear to come out of nowhere. And the parts of our true nature that we have not yet realised, can create a life of worship, feeling inferior to others and numerous other occurrences. Our ego mind Will then create value judgments about what's going on and how we are unlucky, unfortunate and many other expressions that make us feel powerless and a victim of external circumstances.

However, from my experience, I believe once we start to let go of the baggage we have accumulated throughout our life and by removing the dissociation we have with our own being, we will begin to see that the conflict and drama we experience in our life is just feedback for that which we need to look at.

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Oliver J R Cooper
http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk/