a humorous and courageous (although maybe not completely authentic) experiment in radical honesty:
http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707?click=main_sr On May 11, 12:21 pm, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > " ... 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
