We are living in a time characterized by a heightened degree of projection. Citizens are projecting onto leaders. Leaders are projecting onto each other. Nations and members of various religions are projecting onto nations and members of other religions.

C. G. Jung and others have described projection as a process of placing outward onto others all the unconscious, disavowed, unacknowledged, and disembodied features of the psyche - what is sometimes referred to as shadow material. The ego believes that by projecting this intrapsychic material, it will avoid having to work with or integrate it, avoiding having its self-aggrandizing and pleasure-seeking agenda complicated.

The irony, however, is that it is precisely through projection that our psyches attempt to make us conscious of our shadow material, if we have not been working with it consciously as enlightened warriors. Jung warned that those aspects of the shadow that we do not make conscious will eventually be lived out as our fate. He also noted that becoming enlightened is not about imagining beings of light but rather about making the contents of the shadow conscious. We can make our shadow material conscious by truly attuning to whatever presents itself to us in meditation, in dreams, as well as in our everyday interactions with people.

When we practice meditation it is quite common for shadow material to make sudden appearances. Likewise, the shadow is a frequent visitor to our dreams and to our conscious dream work, constantly trying to educate and initiate us into the depths of the psyche. Finally, in daily life if you find yourself suddenly having a large emotional reaction without knowing why, you can bet the shadow is stirring the energy. Learning to pay attention, to track, and even to record the energies of the shadow (by journaling and dream journaling) is a very powerful practice.

Put another way, we may project the energy of our disavowed aspects outward, but this energy always comes home to roost. Politicians, both liberal and conservative, whose choices are driven by disavowed shadow material, for instance, may manage to live above the law for a time, but no one is above the laws of the psyche, and ignored shadow elements always attempt to get our attention and can even be played out in the public arena.

We all project. In the work place we project stuff onto our boss, our supervisors, and our co-workers, and bosses and supervisors project onto employees. This dynamic is nearly universal, but it can also become destructive, especially in companies that spawn a lot of volatility and competition or that do not have processes in place for helping everyone stay conscious of the shadow. We project in our friendships when we unconsciously compare ourselves to our peers or even to couples to whom we have become close. We may covet their accomplishments or possessions; alternatively, we may also project our own problems onto friends having similar problems in the form of judgment about their experience.

Projection also plays a large role in love relationships, from the early stages of romantic love - a very highly charged arena of projection - to the power struggles and conflicts that many go through when they let the petty ego rule instead of the heart.

We also project shadow material when we perceive individuals of other races, nations, sexual orientations, or religions as the enemy - the root of many battles. This phenomenon has always been stitched into the fabric of humanity. There has never been a time when we have not had to deal with the fallout of collective projection. If we are ever to evolve a culture of peace on this planet, we must become conscious of the potential harm of unconscious collective projection, one of the most significant pieces of shadow work we will ever have to master.

This level of projection is so potent because although it may express itself in the thoughts, words, and actions of an individual, its ultimate source is derived from a taproot that has been sent down into the deeper strata of the collective unconscious. When individuals begin to congregate around a shared process of projection, influenced by charged collective shadow material, it can lead to what we recognize as racism, hate crimes, and even wars.

This phenomenon is responsible for tensions between Christians and Jews, Catholics and Protestants, Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Muslims, whites and blacks, Republicans and Democrats, Labor Party members and Tories, prochoice and anti-abortion activists, Serbs and Croatians, Irish and Brits, and the list goes on and on, in every culture around the world.

Reclaiming our projections is one of the most powerful ways to circumvent the unbalanced and unhealthy power of brute warriorship. By having the courage and heart to reclaim them, we can align with the energies of our birthright - dignity and authentic bravery - as opposed to brute strength guided by fear. This is the path of the peaceful warrior of the heart.

From the book The Celtic Way of Seeing, Copyright 2007 by Frank MacEowen. Reprinted with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA, 1-800-972-6657, ext. 52.

Frank MacEowen is a writer whose personal journey has been influenced by primal Irish spirituality, cross-cultural indigenous wisdom, and Buddhist mindfulness training. An alumni of Naropa University's graduate program in psychology, MacEowen makes his home in Mississippi where he explores Zen practice, poetry, and the artistic process. His website can be found at www.solasdana.org.