We all know what a slide projector does. It takes the small images on a slide placed in a machine and "projects" them onto a screen some distance away. All movies in a cinema are "projected" onto large screens in the same way. There is absolutely nothing on the screen! It is just empty white space. But through the use of light projection we can literally experience that white space as the real world. Turn off the projector and everything disappears.

A few weeks back I was pulled over by a policeman for speeding. I had completely misunderstood the speed zone limits. I was annoyed with myself, felt guilty and was quite irritated by the whole situation. But whose fault was it? The policeman for booking me? The speed sign for being in the wrong place? The darkness for being too dark? My dog for distracting my attention? No it was my own fault!

Then why was I feeling grumpy towards the policeman? He hadn't broken the law. He was at work. He was doing his job, politely, professionally and legally. I had never met him before. He had not abused me or acted inappropriately. Yet somehow I didn't like him, or was it really the situation I had put myself into! I was beginning to put (project) onto him my own negative grumpy feelings which were now turning him into the 'bad guy'.

Projections can be very scary, especially when we are using them without even knowing. I grew up in a household filled with violence and anger. My mother was cripple and very sick. My father was healthy, very strong and uncontrollably aggressive. My dad would blame my mum, his work, his children, anything but himself for the dark moods he was in.

But how can a tiny child be responsible for the violence of an aggressive adult? How could a physically sick woman defend herself against such threat? My dad was disturbed because of an alcoholic father beating him. But that had NOTHING to do with his innocent wife and beautiful little children. When we feel bad others around us are blamed for being bad and often have to suffer.

I just won lotto! A million dollars! How do I feel? Euphoric, ecstatic and absolutely wonderful. How do I feel about life now? Wonderful as well! Suddenly the world changes color. No, my world changes color, not everybody's world. I project onto the world my happy happy feelings. Nothing has changed in the world, but my emotions change how I relate to the world, for better or for worse. What we feel we project onto others. That's fine when no harm results, no injury is caused or no life is threatened.

A young girl is walking home late from a party. She missed the bus. She looks beautiful in her party dress. She is cold though and home is some distance away. She doesn't want a lift but she needs one to get home. He stops and offers her one. Moment of decision! No she did not decide to be raped, that was his decision, but he said later that dressed like she was and walking the streets, she was "virtually asking for it!"

For her - no consent, no choice, no decision, no rights. He was trying to blame her for his actions. He said she was seducing him. But she was simply being a lovely young woman needing a lift home. That's all! He projected onto her his lust, his power, his aggression, his abuse, his violence. His mind was pornographic her life was innocent. His image of her was of a sexual object. No status, no name. She was a person. She had a name. She had rights.

We live in a world filled with projections! Our own and everyone else's. We may not be able to do much about the camera work going on in other people's heads, which is too often projected onto our TV and movie screens, but let's hope we can stop the harmful projections we put onto others and screen out this unwanted material!

Next time we want to blame others for our own actions, attitudes, and feelings it would be a whole lot healthier and wiser to look inside our own heads to make sure the images there are not creating a phony world where we share no blame or responsibility.