There are so many things that I am learning around the idea of projections.

I am discovering how much of my (and our) behavior is really controlled by projections. I am seeing how they limit my own interaction with others and myself. I am really finding which are truest to me and which are merely a result of external influence. And lastly, I am being humbled by their presence and am curious about their complexity.

I am seeing right now that from the moment we are born, there are influences that are coming from society, parents, friends, etc. And those influences are stimulating humans to form “interjections” which are otherwise known as internalized stories, tapes, whatever you want to call them.

These stories are internalized messages that we take with us everywhere.

These impressions of how we believe certain types of people are, what experiences are going to be, what the world is comprised of. And I have seen that throughout my childhood and adulthood, my behavior has been…in part due to these internalized messages that I have carried along with me. And so much of what these projections stem off of is experience.

So for example say that I have a really bad experience at Starbucks (why would I be in Starbucks in the first place? Go Local!). My internalized message then would be that all Starbucks will produce a negative experience, so I will just avoid them on the general.

This is an example where my projections on people, environments and experiences can prove to be limiting. Unfortunately, I know that I have surrendered to my projections but now feel as though I am at an advantage because there is now an awareness of how pervasive they are, and more importantly—that they don’t need to be.

I reflect and see that so much negativity that I had projected onto other people prevented me from having an enriched experience, because my own manifestation of surrendering to my projections is avoidance.

In the past, if I feel negatively about a certain environment, I would have avoided it completely.

So here is where an interesting juncture comes in my development:

Since my awareness of these projections and their strength is in the forefront of my mind, now is the time to really discriminate between what is exclusively a product of influence, and what is at the heart of me.

For me that deserves introspection and an opportunity to allow moments arise where projections surface. From there, I can determine how to behave in a manner that is truest for myself.

I feel as though these projections are worth engaging.

I feel as though the pulling apart genuine versus enforced will really allow an individual to reach a deeper level of authenticity.

Like I’m not Spiritual, I just Practice Being a Good Person on Facebook.

~

Ed: Kate Bartolotta