I suppose a more accurate way to put that might be to say some of us have a more direct connection. For those that have a harder time tuning in and hearing a deeper truth, there is always the option of looking around and seeing what is being mirrored back from your life.
You’re probably familiar with the idea that we are prone to projecting onto the people around us the fears, hopes, and interpretations that we wish to escape. Well, we do something similar with other aspects of our internal world for the exact opposite reason.
Our ego does this to defend us against things that it fears we can’t handle. We deny it in ourselves and shift blame/responsibility to others. We make them the ones who are incompetent, untrustworthy, or stupid. Our Spirit, on the other hand, wants to grow, wants to expand and reveal itself, so it uses the same tactic to attempt to show us what we’re missing.
No matter how in touch you are, there are always inner mysteries, complications, and expansive potential yet to be uncovered. One of the primary ways we try to show ourselves what’s going on inside us is to project it outside us as our everyday lives. What we struggle to see internally, we present to ourselves as external experiences.
You can also think of it as mirroring. Everything around you is a reflection of you. It is the result of all the energy you put out there; all of your intentions, beliefs, and expectations – both conscious and unconscious – are broadcast on the big movie screen of the Universe.
It is Karma, it is the law of attraction. In important ways, your external reality is a byproduct of your internal reality. It’s part of how we are responsible for the way that life shows up. One of the most powerful ways to create change in the world is to manage our interior world skillfully, and as consciously and intentionally as possible. After all, the internal work we do will be reflected back to us as our new reality.
Psychological projection is an attempt to avoid. Spiritual projection is an attempt to make us more aware and integrated.
When we refer to psychological projections, mostly what we mean are the instances where people are doing it unconsciously. An example is when someone is aggressively managing the nerves of others because they can’t acknowledge their own nervousness. Or when cheaters and manipulators develop a paranoia about those around them.
Mirroring blows up in your face most easily when you blame the messenger. In order to show myself that I hold a lot of unexpressed anger, I might draw examples of anger toward me and suddenly find myself surrounded by people who are mad at me or at something in their lives. Or, I might perceive that my spouse has been grumpy lately when it’s really me.
The problem is that we seldom realize these are opportunities to take responsibility and grow. Instead, we complain about those around us and how they should get their acts together. The compulsion to attack or criticize something in others can often indicate that it is an aspect we don’t tolerate well in ourselves. The disowned and rejected parts of us are seldom received gracefully.
Making use of the idea that our experience reflects who we are works best when we live with this idea on a regular basis. Otherwise we only refer to it when we are struggling, which is when we are most vulnerable to feeling wronged and under attack. And it’s hard enough, just in principle to accept that when other people are jerks it’s probably your own fault…
We can choose to feel blamed or empowered by this point of view, but it lacks context unless we try it on for big things and little things, successes and failures, flattering or unflattering indications. Just living with the ongoing possibility that the whole world is your own personal neutral feedback loop is a pretty significant paradigm shift for most people.
Once you get used to seeing the world this way, though, you notice themes and patterns that can give you an idea of what your spirit is attempting to get you to see, work on, grow into, let go of, etc., and what your ego wants to disguise and disown.
This is the kind of Spiritual terrain that I help people navigate. If your Spirit is prompting you to have a conversation like this, I encourage you to get in touch with me.