Projection
Human projection
"The idea that you are separate is based on the assumption that you can provide for yourself better, guide yourself better and determine your destiny better than the Creator. This fundamental belief is the wellspring of all ideas that reinforce it, and it is the fountain of all miseries that plague humanity. It is the great veil over the mind of humanity that keeps it in a state of confusion and darkness. This veil covers the mind to such an extent that the mind cannot differentiate between what is real and what is imagined, what is recognized and what is believed, what is good and what is hoped for, what is not good and what is feared. Here the mind creates a shell around itself, and everywhere it looks it sees its own ideas. As it looks out into the world, it can barely see what is occurring." [1]
“Here you will begin to learn the difference between fear and caution. Fear is a projection of your negative imagination upon the world whereas caution is the awareness that an error can be made. Fear and caution are entirely different experiences from one another. You need caution but not fear, for caution will not exasperate your mind or undermine your Knowledge in any way. It is part of having a healthy approach to the world if it is used with discernment and awareness.” [2]
"Anger and resentment are filled with personal projection and blame. That is because people are hurt, and when they are hurt, they want to react, they want to fight back and they want to get their pain out of their mind and give it away to someone else, usually to the person whom they think is the source of their pain." [3]
"The disappointment and confusion that people have about the Divine is based on the projection that the Divine is thinking about life and about them the way that they are thinking about life and about themselves." [4]
In the mental environment
"The Mental Environment is the arena of influence. People know very little about it, but it is very important in Greater Community interactions, particularly between races or organizations that compete with each other. They have to spend a great deal of time trying to discern what the other is going to do and trying to influence the other in subtle ways. This does not happen through technology as much as it happens through consciousness, through awareness, through the projection of thought and through cunning activities."[5]
"In the mental environment, you have to learn how to shield your mind. Others who have skill here are able to do this – to block intrusions, to block potent forces, to block thought forms that are projected at one and to maintain one’s awareness if one is being affected by technology, by forms of radiation, by scanning and things of this nature."[6]
The alternative to projection
“What God has placed within you is not violent. It is not hateful. It does not seek revenge. It is not filled with a cruel ideology that will only oppress the next generation. It is because it has come from God. It is not a human invention. It is not simply a projection of human psychology. It is something that has grace and power, patience, courage and fortitude. This will be needed to build a new nation, to bring about social justice and to convince people who are opposed to you that you are there to enrich their lives as well.” [7]
Projections of the afterlife
"For the projection of Heaven and the projection of Hell all come from your current existence, whereas the reality of Heaven and the seeming reality of Hell are certainly beyond your current experience. So how can you project your ideas of what these things really are from your current position? They are imagined only.
You imagine Heaven to meet your current needs and expectations, and you fear Hell and you imagine Hell as a kind of further fall from grace, a worse condition. And, of course, these imagined Heavens and imagined Hells are used by institutions and traditions to try to corral people into good behavior, to try to even inspire good work, good citizenship or adherence to the religious principles or to the religious organization itself."[8]
References
- ↑ Living The Way of Knowledge, Chapter 8: Building Spiritual Community
- ↑ Relationships & Higher Purpose, Chapter 6: Your Relationship with Knowledge
- ↑ Relationships & Higher Purpose, Chapter 14: Completing Relationships
- ↑ Greater Community Spirituality, Chapter 9: How does God participate in the world?
- ↑ The Allies of Humanity Book Two, The First Commentary: The Problem of Human Denial
- ↑ Life in the Universe, Chapter 10: The Power of Knowledge
- ↑ The New Message for the Impoverished and Oppressed (April 18, 2008)
- ↑ The Pure Religion, Chapter 9: Heaven and Hell
See also