Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) said that many people mistake self knowledge with that which they know about themselves, or in psychological terms, with the ego, not understanding that there is an unconscious realm to each of us that wants to be known and is certainly felt. Moods, dreams, internal dialogues, fantasies, and interactions all point towards this unknown aspect of ourselves. We are in a constant state of disconnection with much of ourselves and this disconnection creates an illusion of the world around us and of the people in our world, and most of all who we actually are. Our unconscious plays a profound part in shaping our world. We project our unconscious beliefs and drives onto reality, such that it becomes more a reflection of our own unconscious or “shadow self” than that which it is in and of itself. Not only does this trap us in a one-dimensional limited and distorted relationship with everything around us, it also causes us to be stuck in a script of which the writer is our own unconscious!
Understanding projection is (arguably) the single most important concept of psychoanalytic theory to grasp on the journey to knowing and understanding yourself and experiencing greater fulfilment in the world.
