Have you ever looked at someone you know in the mirror as you stand next to them? Did you notice a difference in the way they look?
Mirrors are tricky things. They show us a version of ourselves, not necessarily our true selves. It is always a reverse image. If you take a selfie and a regular photo of yourself, you get two different perspectives: how you see yourself and how others see you.
So, our perspective of ourselves changes according to who is observing us. Our view of ourselves is influenced by who is reflecting us in our lives because people are always a reflection of ourselves. Even when we don’t like the person, it is because they reflect to us
something we do not care for in ourselves.
The kind of people we associate with depends on how we see ourselves and how we project that into the world. We invite those mirrors into our lives.
If we pay attention, we can learn something about ourselves from who mirrors us, and it depends on our level of self-awareness. Therefore, who we are at any moment reflects who we have invited into our awareness. This is our external image population.
It is the same for our internal image population.
Our memories, our thought processes, our language, our unconscious imagery are also a reflection of our self-awareness, or lack of.
We can consciously choose our external population or community, but what of our internal community? What do we know about it? What images are living through us that we are not conscious of? How aware are we of that reflecting imagery?
It is possible, and in my experience imperative, to explore and understand our internal image community. Because these images influence how we see ourselves, and how we mirror our external world, knowing them allows us to better choose our external community of mirrors, or the people we associate with.
One way to explore our internal image population is through creative work.
Self-Portraiture and guided archetypal exploration are a fun way to do this exploration and choosing of our relationships. The relationship with ourselves and with those we let into our lives. As we hone these internal images, we develop an understanding and a love for who we truly are and want to be. As we love ourselves with more clarity, we invite that same love from others.
