Ego’s projections onto objects & people
by Atman Nityananda /bkes
Our ego projects itself onto sensory objects and people (as well as thoughts and mental images) and makes us believe that the objects have the qualities that the ego projects onto them.
That is, the ego makes us perceive its projections as objective reality. For example, the ego as jealousy is projected to someone and we believe that the jealousy we see in that person is his, when in reality it is our (our ego’s) jealousy projected to him. Our ego as lust is projected onto someone and we believe that person is lustful while what we see and experience is our lust.
Cinema
In projection and superimposition is the basis of cinema entertainment. Everything we see (feelings, desires, emotions) in the actors are our emotions, feelings, egoistic tendencies and programming and we believe they belong to the actors, when they are just a play of lights on the screen and feel absolutely nothing. Egoic tendencies and mental and emotional programs are connected to sensory impressions (images, sounds etc.) so the images and sounds we see and hear in movies stimulate our mental and emotional programs and egoic tendencies and so we experience ourselves through the scenes in the movies.
Projections onto objects
When one aspect of our ego manifests, projects and identifies (associates) with a new object, person or situation, then a new branch of that ego aspect is created. For example, if gluttony manifests when we eat a cake for the first time, then an association of gluttony is made with that cake and that is a new branch of gluttony. And of course, the tendency of gluttony is also strengthened. Whereas every time gluttony (or any tendency) is expressed using an object that is already associated and we identify with it, gluttony is further strengthened in that particular aspect (this branch of gluttony). And thus addictions are created (although there are other factors related to addictions as well).
Ego projections onto others
Our ego unconsciously projects itself onto others and makes us perceive and believe that what we see in others is theirs, even if it is only our ego that we see in them.
We can use pride as an example in relation to the human being; our ego in its aspect of pride is projected onto another person and we believe that we see their pride when in reality we see our pride projected onto them. Another example is lust. Our ego in its lustful aspect is projected and superim onto a woman or a man and we see him or her as very lustful and as an object of pleasure, when in reality we only see our lust projected and superimposed onto him or her.
The same is true of all the tendencies we carry in our psyche. Others are only a mirror in which we reflect ourselves, that is, we see in them the psychological characteristics we carry in our psyche.
Instead of criticizing others for their weaknesses or defects, it is better to use what we see in others as an opportunity to examine ourselves and discover in ourselves those defects we see in them, investigate them, understand them and eliminate them from our psyche.
Instead of criticizing others for their weaknesses or defects, it is better to use what we see in others as an opportunity to examine ourselves and discover in ourselves those defects that we see in them, investigate them, understand them and eliminate them.
🌺 Peace, Love, Harmony
atmannityanada 