Remove the Lens of Fear: From Projection to Presence

Seeing things exactly as they are is not easy. Most of the time, we don’t realize that we are seeing the world through what is inside us. This is often the root of our confusion and suffering.

In psychology, this is called projection. Projection happens when we unknowingly place our own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs onto other people or situations.

For example, imagine there is a belief deep inside you that says, “I have no value.”Even if you are not aware of it, that belief can shape how you see others. A neutral facial expression may look like judgment or disrespect.

In reality, the other person may not be thinking anything like that at all. Yet we end up seeing something that isn’t really there.

The Lens of Worldview: Fear-Based and Love-Based

When a projection is happening, we are not seeing facts clearly. We are seeing our interpretations, shaped by our inner beliefs.

If you believe that “the world is dangerous, ”everything you experience will pass through that lens. In the same situation, one person may feel afraid while another feels calm.

This is more than a habit of thinking. It actually changes how the world appears to us.

From a fear-based worldview, everything feels threatening. From a love-based worldview, the same situations feel more open, connected, and trustworthy.

When what we believe on the inside shifts, what we see on the outside changes too—like swapping the film inside a projector.

What Does “Fear-Based” Mean?

A fear-based state is when the world feels unsafe or threatening. In this state, projection is especially strong.

• We read other people’s expressions as rejection

• We worry about future failure

• We react to things that haven’t happened yet

Fear creates stories about the future and treats them as if they are real. Because of this, we lose the ability to see things as they actually are.

What Does “Love-Based” Mean?

A love-based state is when the world feels connected and basically safe. This is not romantic love.

It is a calm, grounded sense that what is here right now is allowed to be here.

• We can hear words and observe social events without overreacting

• We don’t make situations bigger than they are

• We feel a quiet sense of “enough” in this moment

Fear pulls us toward the future. Love brings us back to now.

When we meet reality directly, this is the direction we naturally return to.

Where Does the Practice of Sonomama Lead?

The practice of sonomama (as-it-is-ness) points us toward a love-based way of being.

Sonomama is not about getting rid of fear or trying to stay positive.

It is about returning to what is actually happening right now.

The breath. The body. Sounds. Light. This moment.

When we receive these as they are, without trying to change them, we step out of fear-based stories.

Fear lives in the future. Love lives in the present.

Sonomama is the practice of coming back to now.

Noticing projection is a small but essential step—a shift from a fear-based world to a love-based one.

Closing

We are all, without realizing it, projecting the world through our own inner lens.

Instead of getting caught in the images it creates, we can pause and ask, “Is this projection?”

Then, like taking a slow breath, we return to what is actually here.

By repeating this simple return, again and again, the world shaped by fear slowly softens, and a world based on connection and trust begins to appear.

This is the quiet, profound change made possible through the practice of sonomama.

Photo and words by K E I K O

Please read this, too. The Difference Between Facts and Interpretation: Perception Shapes Our Reality