I've done more journaling, drawing on observations and recent reading - including this thread - but there's still more to come to grips with before finishing off the post I've been working on. I still don't think I understand all the main aspects of splitting enough in myself, and they seem to be interlinked. For now, I'll write part of it - then I'll see what to do with the old draft. There are several things that all seem to tie into the same processes going on in me:
1. Splitting - and black and white thinking, as well as having several programs running in parallel with conflicting views. The conflicting simultaneous views - charged with black and white value-judgments - make for vacillation, doubt and indecision, and problems with cognitive performance in general.
2. Automatic self-hypnosis; a dissociative response/"coping" mechanism, and a way for System 1 to disable critical-minded input from System 2. It can be subtle and hard to know when it happens - the clue is in the flavor of mental activity and a lack of questioning. Suddenly, there is identification with subjective mental sensations - vague content connected to "intuitions" favoring certain decisions, focus or activities. Magical thinking enters and projection intensifies. It is possible to break out of it with some effort if I figure out what's happening. The degree varies widely. When it comes on strong, I may end up questioning it without completely breaking off the activity.
3. Subconscious selection and substitution of data - which is evidently far more extensive in my mind than I thought before. (But probably still much more so than I can see at present.) In relation to #1, it can be used in favor of one of several conflicting views - and then often soon in favor of another of the conflicting views. #2 (self-hypnosis) makes for both intensified inner conflict and intensified use of subsonscious selection and substitution as part of it. The contrast in the often shifting, conflicting views and the thoughts brought out to support them has one advantage, making it more obvious what's going on in observing it.
4. The mind, directed by System 1, often tries to "scare away" unwanted mental contents considered and force wanted mental contents to appear in the mind. The former occurs in connection with small inner bursts of resentment, anger, fear, disdain, etc. System 1 appears to "wield" those as a weapon to "bash" the unwanted content with, trying to "force it out". This can be observed and counteracted - and this often happens when coming to uncomfortable realizations and trying to accept them to make them sink in. Self-hypnosis is triggered to facilitate the latter thing, System 1 trying to put wanted mental contents in place - and this in turn makes struggle harder and more confused, though there can still be resistance to the former kind of lying to the self.
5. Projection is much more common in me than I thought - and can presently see. But apart from the projection of negative qualities onto specific persons, there is something that seems even more common; projection onto things, places and activities - and mental contents, ideas and concepts. Hopes, pleasant feelings; fears, and anxieties, are projected. As is shame and guilt - becoming fear of condemnation and rejection.
There has been some discussion of System 1 selecting and substituting data to reach more "pleasant" conclusions. But one thing I've noticed is that the "comfort zone" of System 1 does not only comprise - at any rate in my case - what is experienced as pleasant, or more pleasant than the alternative. Fears, anxiety, shame and guilt are also part of the comfort zone of my System 1. Which kind of feeling is the "goal" of System 1 depends on the program - the little "I" - of the moment. And there may be several at once with conflicting goals, causing, as mentioned, the mind to vacillate.
To summarize some background on the self-hypnosis and "intuitions" mentioned: For years - a bit over a decade, now - I've been caught up in an imaginary world of interpreting and responding to somewhat abstract "sensations". Lately a bit more on-and-off, and with increasing detachment. The experiences might be somewhat similar to synesthesia, with probably some contents of the adaptive unconscious becoming "translated" into something in-between visualization, tactile sensation, and sometimes smell. Black and white thinking and magical thinking turned this - which originally appeared when feeling began to become more repressed at age 11 or 12 - into a "guiding" system in life. Complete with a very large assortment of "beliefs" (habits of interpreting and responding to the "sensations"). In essence, System 1 leading me through life by the nose. Though quite rarely, some "deeper" intuition, or what it all was confused for - an "experiencing" and "evaluation" of "energies" - might actually be part of it by being picked up by whatever machinery feeds System 1 - but largely it has all turned out to be nonsense. This part of my inner world has been (and continues to be) a vast area of expression for splitting.
Regarding "types" of people who split, I think I know a few more things regarding myself: It seems that the kind of splitting which involves a focus on positive qualities and projection of such - idealization - often has the worst impact on my thinking. Self-hypnosis kicks in and blinds. Attempts to "think" may go along several lines: 1) I may be actively struggling with it, in which case thinking can increase or maintain clarity to some degree, though full clarity often only comes later. 2) I may be firmly in the grip of it, in which case "thinking" muddles up my mind and the convictions of the moment even more.
In general, remembering myself and holding in mind knowledge of what goes on, or is likely going on, allows thinking to maintain some degree of clarity. Without such awareness, it becomes "thinking" which makes everything worse. Splitting involving negative emotion may be a bit "easier" - there is less chance, with mild such reactions, of self-hypnosis kicking in - though it can happen. Strong negative emotion usually triggers it, but also a struggle - and this struggle can lead to varying degrees of increased clarity.
Inhibition and my general temperament and/or character makes for little acting-out in the grip of splitting involving negative emotions. Usually it is limited to withdrawal, hesitation (coupled with tons of internal considering), and/or a bit of passive-aggressiveness.
There is not usually, for me, a clear "decision" that a person is all-bad (nor all-good). Ideas of people usually remain fragmented. Different aspects are viewed as all-good or all-bad. There may be a narrower focus on one or a few aspects held in mind, and so on the corresponding judgments, in the moment, but usually there is a great hesitation to come to any over-arching judgment. Too much conflict, perhaps.
Laura said:
One thing I notice about people is whether they are creative or not and whether that creativity is linked in some way to a strong spirit of generosity that bubbles over no matter what, even if they have all kinds of fears and other tendencies. Some people can be just racked by these internal conflicts, but the instant they see someone else suffering, they forget about themselves. That is, concern for others supersedes everything else, even their own programs.
Others, however, seem to offer to do things because, as you mentioned above, they have "unrealistic dreams of this or that endeavor serving as a means of "saving myself" and achieving a "perfect" destiny." Over time, you can begin to get a picture of whether a person is doing something because they think it might save them or because of their natural, overflowing, generous nature.
I would say that the person with the creative/generous nature has a better chance of overcoming Internal Considering than a person who does not.
It is also not so simple as people having strictly one or the other kind of motivation. Both tendencies can exist in a person and motivations can get mixed up. What begins as care or generosity can slide over as wishful tendencies take over. Then there is another false motivation that can work in the same ways, which I also know from experience: Taking narcissistic pride in imagined perfection. If you do something and you either like it a lot, think it "perfect", and/or others appreciate it (or you think they would), it may be seen as "all-good". And that, for a moment, may make for feeling "all-good".
That's some simple ways in which creativity can become diverted. Whatever creativity one has might be sucked up by obsession, whether in turn linked to unrealistic dreams or to simple self-praise.
Inner conflict - of the plain, neurotic kind - is another issue. Splitting that divides attitude may make things more complicated; a reaction of e.g. pride may be disliked and seen as "all-bad". Sometimes, I've simultaneously perceived that something would be giving and also found motivation through the obsessive means flaring up, prompting inner conflict, because the latter are seen as "all-bad". When this happens, then in fearing being selfish and manipulative (magical thinking can give the idea that anything selfish is automatically damaging to others), as a result I might stop. And so, less is given.
So an important - and recent - realization is that it doesn't matter how selfish and "wrong" my inner attitude is if I actually get something done that is useful; worrying about such things to the point of giving less is the worse selfishness. The main concern becomes monitoring what is done with a view to its
actual consequences, trying to see this objectively. This is something I need to practice.
so some physical action will help too. Beware pillows! 
