As a social role the concept of the persona is useful in allowing an individual to move in and out of relationships without being too vulnerable. A persona can be the oil to ease potential social friction. A persona provides for some predictability of relationship, but wearing a mask may become a sub-personality preventing us from embracing our true spiritual identity.

The Masks We Wear

Wearing A Mask May Become a Sub-Personality Preventing Us From Embracing Our True Spiritual IdentityBy Eugene C. Rollins

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Dr. Eugene C. Rollins
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-9712-4

Contents

Dedication............................vForeword..............................ixIntroduction..........................xiChapter One...........................1Chapter Two...........................21Chapter Three.........................31Chapter Four..........................41Chapter Five..........................53Chapter Six...........................63Chapter Seven.........................73Chapter Eight.........................83Chapter Nine..........................93Chapter Ten...........................103Chapter Eleven........................113Chapter Twelve........................123Chapter Thirteen......................131Chapter Fourteen......................143Chapter Fifteen.......................153Chapter Sixteen.......................161Chapter Seventeen.....................171Bibliography..........................183Suggested Reading.....................185About the Author......................187

Chapter One

The Most Tragic Mask of All!

TEXTS: Genesis 1:26-31; John 4:24; James 3:9-11

CIT: (Central idea of the text) God created humankind in God's image.

THESIS: Having been created in God's image, we are spirit.

PURPOSE: Major Objective: Doctrinal Specific Objective: Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I hope to lead each of us in affirming our true spiritual identity.

TITLE: The Most Tragic Mask of All!

INTRODUCTION

OUTLINE

I. Masks Have a Positive Use

II. Masks Have a Negative Use

III. Masks Have a Serious Unhealthy Use

IV. A Mask May Become a Sub-Personality

V. Our True Spiritual Identity

A. Humankind Is to Extend God's Life on Planet Earth-Genesis 1:26a.

B. Humankind Is to Express God's Character on Planet Earth-Genesis 1:26b.

C. Humankind Is to Exhibit God's Power on Planet Earth-Genesis 1:26c.

CONCLUSION

The Word of the Lord

Genesis 1:26-31 (All of the Bible Scripture in this book is quoted from the New International Version)

Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, over the livestock and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful, and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds in it, they will be yours for food. And so all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground, everything that has breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that he had made and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

John 4:24

Jesus said, God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.

James 3:9-12

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father and with it we curse men who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and curses. My brothers, this should not be. Can both freshwater and saltwater flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring bear fresh water.

Introduction

All of us wear masks. It is normal and natural to wear a mask from time to time. Oscar Wilde said, "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." There is some truth to Wilde's statement. The purpose of a mask is to hide, conceal, or disguise. Its use has been traced back seven thousand years BC, and according to Joseph Campbell, its use has been found in every human society, in art, song, liturgies, and life-empowering visions by seers, medicine men and women, poets, theologians, and philosophers.

Masks have been worn by people everywhere, for everything from religious rituals to costume parties, from dramatic performances to protective devices in sports. For many reasons, masks have an archetypal fascination for us as humans.

Carl Jung said, "The persona is that which in reality one is not, but which oneself as well as others think one is." Robert Johnson refers to the persona as our "psychological clothing." The persona refers to that aspect of the ego that we present to the world for its approval. It is like a mask, and we can hide behind it.

The word persona comes from the Greek word for the large masks that early Greek actors would use to portray their characters. With audiences in the big Greek amphitheater, the nuances of performances could easily be lost. The primary function of the mask was not to hide the actor but to give information about the character. The persona is the mask or role that a person plays in society. While it gives information, it can be used to hide the ego.

The concept of the persona as a social role is useful in allowing an individual to move in and out of relationships without being too vulnerable. A persona can be the oil to ease potential social friction. A persona provides for some predictability of relationship. For example, the personas of doctor and patient or of student and teacher can be useful in knowing what to do, when, and where. Other examples of the persona are mother, father, husband, wife, lawyer, judge, policeman, and baker. A persona becomes a problem only when a person becomes too attached to it and cannot put it aside; for example, when someone who is a judge is a "judge", all the time at work and at home. Or perhaps, a teacher who is in her role all the time. When a person cannot move flexibly between roles, then the persona hides the person not only from others but also from himself. It is difficult for such a person to have appropriate self-knowledge.

An overemphasis on the persona blocks avenues of communication not only between people but also between the ego and the darker aspects of the personality that need to be acknowledged. These darker aspects are represented by the shadow.

I. Masks Have a Positive Use

When a person comes to see me as a therapist, I have on my therapist mask. She has on her client mask! When she comes in, we do not talk about the weather, the current conditions of sports, or politics; we get right to the business at hand. What is the presenting problem? Our roles are clear. There are times when a mask serves us and serves us well because it helps us to identify the situation, the circumstances, who we are in relationship with, and why. We then can do immediately whatever is necessary. When I fill the pulpit, I wear a robe. It is like a mask. When my three-year-old grandson saw me in it for the first time, he asked, "Papa, why do you have on that dress?"

All of us often wear the "I am fine" mask. I will be walking down the hospital hallway, and a total stranger will approach me saying, "How are you today?" I respond as I put on the "I'm fine" mask: "I am fine, thank you." I do not stop him and say, "I have a horrible prostate...