| “Ask Burt” - Projection |
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Hello Burt, How are you doing? I got the CDs thanks - I haven’t got thru listening to them yet but will do. I have a request for you to explain “projection”. I haven’t gotten interested in it and see it everywhere. I would really value if you could explain it in layman’s terms in a step by step way with examples. I really like the simple methodical/thorough way you explain things so I would really appreciate explaining it... Thanks what is Projection - why does the mind/I do it? What circumstances/situations does it do - when does the mind/I do it? What circumstances/situations does it do - How does the mind work and how does this projection thing fit into it? Is everything but everything really all my interpretation, judgement, naming, assessment, perception pure projection? How do I know if I am assessing any person truly if everything is my projection If genuinely want to listen to someone an understand them/their side - how can I possibly know unless I ask and even then you may or may not get the truth or it may their truth for now or maybe even they don’t get it. How can I know for example if someone is lying to me if is all my projection - Where does intuitivity or intutitive connection/understanding come in ? Where does empathy/compassion fit in - what’s the difference - Seems like it’s all in my head How do I distinguish and answer that “comes from my heart” versus my head How does one access one’s truth versus projection especially if its a quality I don’t like in my self that I project on someone else Thanks Regards R.Ê Dear R., Thank you for your questions. I will insert your questions in italic and my reply underneath yours.
Projection is when you feelÊNOT okay and blame it on someone else for being and feeling that way. For example, suppose you feel guilty or ashamed or just plain moody then in your mind or actions blame either circumstances or someone for feeling that way. We project negative feelings when we have internal dialogue such as thinking to yourself: “Why did they do this to me?” “Why don’t they respect me?” “Can’t they see they are being mean?” and so on. So, we project whenever we don't feel good about ourselves and then blame the cause to some circumstance or person or situation. In other words, projection makes us escape responsibility for our feelings and makes us act like victims. Here are the rest of your questions:
The mind is the sum total of what you have experienced in your life and therefore it contains memory and thought process. Since the world we experience is created by our mind, thought creates your world and the way you see it. For example, if you fell in love with someone then you’d feel as if the world is beautiful. If you felt betrayed, rejected and lonely or depressed then the world appears ugly. The world doesn’t change but our thinking does. So the mind produces the way you see the world according to your thoughts. Now, if you blame the world and others for the way you feel then that’s projection.Ê If you realize that it is your thoughts that are creating your feelings then there is no projection and you are NOT playing victim but gain strength and inner power because you realize you can change yourself by changing your thoughts.
That is correct!! It is quite a big one isn’t it? It is all your interpretation -- how YOU SEE things is HOW YOU ARE in your thoughts. When love starts to grow in you then everything starts to change and shift because you are NOT a victim of your thoughts (which is your past). What you are is NOT what you have identified with. What you are is this very NOW itself. In your Natural State you are pure and beautiful divine guiltless being. Once you start seeing this clearly by seeing that thoughts are JUST thoughts from the past, then you awaken spiritually to the realization that you are a NOW being and not limited to your past conditioned state.
You cannot assess any person truly except through seeing their being as part of yours. Any judgment you make of another person is a judgment based on what you have thought, believed and studied from your past. Anyone you assess is based on your training and conditioning and therefore NEVER a real assesment. No one is thoroughly bad or thoroughly good but a mixture of both with more of one thing or another. However, we assess a person’s projection rather than their true state (which is bwing). So, in brief, any assessment you make of another is only how YOU SEE that person and not in reality. In the long run we will stop assessing anyone except through love and acceptance. It is that which is the enlightened and true way.
To listen to someone’s side is to see clearly that no matter what they have done, said or acted, all they wanted was to feel okay, to feel loved, accepted, approved of and respected. This is what everyone wants. People do what they do because that’s all they know at the moment of what to do. If a person steals or hurts someone is because they think they can gain from it. They are NOT bad but simply misguided and ignorant of their true nature. Therefore you listen to what they hunger for (attention, respect, love, admiration, importance, self-esteem etc) and then see clearly that despite their swearing, their anger and their rage (projection) they are seeking some acceptance. No one can tell you the truth unless they awaken to the truth. You can’t expect the truth from someone who lies to protect themselves like a dysfunctional teenager, a politician with some agenda, or to anyone who hasÊa motive to gain something. The only person who tells the truth is someone who has nothing to lose or gain by being real and truthful. They have no agenda or ulterior motive. All spiritual growth is a growth towards spiritual maturity, which means, towards truth.
You can only see the world and others according to your thoughts and emotions. However, when there is the clarity of who you are, that is, you know beyond a doubt that you are pure awareness and not the past, then your own heart would be so open that if anyone even attempts to lie it will be obvious to you.
Intuition is heartfelt knowing and therefore it is quite accurate. If you were to be fully open in the moment and laid aside any ego agenda, issues and even beliefs in order to be here-now clear, then your intuition would be also so clear that your impressions (without judgment) would be flawless. When I give satsangs and have a large group of people around me I feel clear about what they are thinking and feeling and address my talk to the group’s energy. When clients come to see me I know what they are really feeling even though they are not saying it. I address what they are NOT saying because the ego often hides behind pretences and deceptions. This is natural for the unawakened self to do.
Empathy and compassion energe automatically when you empty yourself of all projection and fear because then you will feel what they are feeling. You will feel genuine love for them. Empathy is feeling another’s feelings as your own. Compassion is understanding that their feelings are created by their own projections and judgments but you love them anyway because they are merely acting from unconscious reaction to get love, acceptance, understanding and some personal importance. How do I distinguish and answer that “comes from my heart” versus my head I am glad you asked that question because it makes all the difference. The head is what it contains as thought. Deepak Chopra once said that we think 26,000 thoughts a day and the next day we repeat the same 26,000 thoughts so small wonder that most people are bored, dreary, tired and often fearful. These thoughts that emerge from the past are NOT you. They come into your head from the past without your permission. On the other hand, your heart is this NOW moment itself. When you are authentic, genuine, open and without any agenda then you are coming spontaneously from the heart.
Truth is NOT a quality but an essence of NOW beyond thought. When a puppy is let loose on the beach he runs wild with ecstasy and affection and love because it is the nature of innocence and pure consciousness when there is no thought. A child smiles with innocence and joy because it is the nature of pure consciousness without a motive or agenda. Projection always has an agenda (something to gain or lose). Pure being has no agenda and therefore it is totally NOW without past. Just like when you listen to music and you love it so much that you forget yourself. In that self-forgetting you are euphoric, ecstatic, filled with energy and love. That's the state of egolessness. That is innocence and pure consciousness without an agenda (projection).
When we project we feel guilty automatically and guilt simply creates negative thoughts about ourselves and we actually feel bad. Next time you project, just stop for a brief second or two and say to yourself (inwardly) “There is projection taking place,” without making it personal. In time you will find that you will stop projecting (blaming) yourself. When we start feeling good about who we are then we automatically stop projecting and feel LOVE for who we are just as we are. Once we accept who we are just as we are, we start changing for the better automatically. With lots of love, Burt |