" ... prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet ..." (T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock)
The idea of masks is, in my view, closely related to (or, better, often presented as being opposed to) the idea of "authenticity", a concept unfortunately half misinterpreted to death in the 60s and 70s. In fact, the thought-model is much more complex, as is clear from Campbells monumental treatment of the subject. I think, at least to an extent, we can easily set up false dichotomies here. As Lee points out, we can also see what some call masks as facets of who we are. Or the interpersonal interface of the different roles we play/are in different situations in our lives. These need not be "false", or "wrong"; in many situations they are necessary in order to function, something I think those who are involved in social professions are well aware of (otherwise most of those working in jobs like counselling or nursing couldn't carry on and retain their sanity - apart from being able to concretely help those who desperately need help). The situation becomes dicey when we loose sight of the fact that our masks/facets/roles are just that - and not complete pictures of what we are. Or when we play roles which are contrary to our personalities (some might say, "our real natures" but I don't want to widen this out too much ontologically in this concrete situation). Nonetheless, I do think that this is a relatively common occurance in our contemporary society and is a cause of much suffering and, indeed, mental and psychosomatic illness. It takes a lot of courage and trust to show ourselves to others naked, without any masks. It seems to me that those who have gone a long way on the journey to deep personal development may have less need of masks and that our reaction to such people is generally positive - although they can also provoke negative reactions from fearful, wounded others who feel threatened by such "authenticity". Thinking about Molly's post, Dan Hill's song came to my mind. Yes, it's hopelessly soppy and sentimental, but it does express something deep about relationships: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVf940pO5ME Francis On 11 Mai, 16:18, Molly Brogan <[email protected]> wrote: > Joseph Campbell is probably our best known contemporary expert on the > subject of masks, and his work including his massive studies, Masks of > God and Masks of Eternity, offer his keen insight into our own > abilities to don a mask and uncover the masks we find. > > What is it about us that put on our masks? What about us creates the > need for one? When do we confuse our mask with who we really are? > When are masks useful and when do they become obstacles for us? > > I’m not talking about the functional, physical mask such as > theatrical, surgical, protect and disguise mask etc. I am talking > about the mask of persona, the way we pretend to be one way and are > really another. Politesse is a good example and can often be a > cultural custom. When our words and mannerisms are polite, but our > actions and innuendos aggressive, we are wearing a mask. When we > profess undying love as a means to an end, and walk away in the > morning light, we are wearing a mask. Sometimes, we lose sight of our > own masks and are confused about who we really are. Why? > > What do YOU think? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
