Over the course of our lives, we are exposed to damage that can result in all kinds of false personas, depending on how we react – masks, if you like, to avoid vulnerability, especially when removing the mask would expose festering wounds.
The damaged person learns to wear numerous masks, each of which is a defence against openness. Perhaps they validate themselves through financial success, or by seeing themselves as a disruptor, or through some form of dominance over others, or maybe by viewing themselves as exceptional or special.
There is no end to the variety of false selves we can adopt but they all serve the same, defensive purpose, and the person with their guard up finds it hard to give and receive love.
Another way of understanding these masks and their use is to recognise them as ego, which is always an expression of pain. Ego is a hall of mirrors, within which it is impossible to see yourself clearly.
We chip away at ego by accepting ourselves as we are, recognising the masks we wear without self-judgement. Freedom always starts with love, and for a spiritual person, the first step is acknowledging that God accepts and loves us exactly as we are.
The foundation for self-acceptance is the loving nature of God. If God is judgemental and his love conditional, self-regard won’t get us very far, but if God is love and accepts us as we are, positive self-regard reflects the fundamental nature of the universe. We are in tune with all that is!
Once a month, Patheos features one of my articles and publishes it through a route that bypasses my blog-spot. To dig more deeply into this topic, here is the full piece.
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