However, projection is not necessarily pathological. It can be. Paranoia is an extreme and pathological example of it.
It can also be healthy. It's commonplace, and we all do it.
Projection is what children do when they see love in a stuffed animal. They're projecting their own feelings onto an inanimate object.
Projection can be healthy. It is partly responsible for the positive feelings that we have for other people, including children, and for animals.
Projection is the psychological mechanism behind pareidolia, i.e. seeing animals, faces, maps, etc. in clouds et al.
IN FACT--the maya, i.e. the world that we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste, is an illusion, an example of pareidolia, projected onto an energy field, and we are part of it.
I’ve never thought of “projection” as being a state of projecting your love upon another person or thing.
I’ve only witnessed “projection” as the envy of another person’s life style, intellect, personality, etc. This type of envy demands that they somehow make themselves look better than the other guy by putting down the other guy, and by telling lies about the other guy.
From that envy there is the sometimes unconsious effort to “project” negative statements about the other person. The negative comes from their inadequate feelings about themselves; or that no one appreciates them.
In other words, the projectee want the other person to be disregarded or disrespected, or reprimanded for doing things (that the other person never did), in order to cover for what the projectee is doing.
The goal may be to cause mistrust - because the Projectee is already untrustworthy themselves; maybe even a liar most of the time.
Having lived with a person who constantly accused me of doing wrong - cheating on my spouse - when in reality, it was the spouse who was already doing the cheating. And yes, it was because of a pronounced paranoia.
Interesting discussion.
Have to go now and get ready for work.