RELIGION AND DEPTH PSYCHOLOGY

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process reserved for the individual who has always placed too much authority in the parents and negated his own individual responses, feeling guilty when they occurred in any degree in conflict with the parental pattern.

But there are many others who have well-established mechanisms of blaming already in existence, operating in a well-worn groove. The blame might be directed towards parents, or socie. ty, some minority group, a political faction, the economic sys tem, the educational system, the wife or husband, or any of a multitude of other possibilitie 8, Here the process is quite a different one, because blaming in this case is only a means of avoiding personal responsibility. It is much too easy to say

that the fault lies with the other person than to acknowledge any participation on our part. A person can go on and on with this mechanism without ever improving, because while it may shift the responsibility, it never heals. Blaming others is absolutely ineffective because all it can do is postpone healing. Yet, it is the most popular approach from the lowliest of individuals to the greatest of nations.

YOU SEE YOURSELF IN OTHERS

I use the word blaming in the broadest sense, including being Judgmentally critical. This brings in another psychological concept which is widely used in treatment. I refer to what we call "pro je oti on". Here again it is always surprising to people when it is pointed out to them that what they see in other people really lies in themselves. The religious expression which conveys this thought is also well known. "The beam you see in the other person's eye is nought but the mote in your own". The concept of projection applies to both ne gative and positive qualities equally. People's surprise at this assertion stems from the fact that most people can honestly admit they do not possess the qualities they see in others. This is because these same qualities may be only potential within them. Modern, sophisticated, psychologically-oriented people have become quite adept at the use of the word projection. Just as when, a few years bac k, neurosis and neurotio became words used in name calling, so the word projection is now being bandied about as a defense, as:

"Aw,