Even though today the mask is often evoked for dissimulation and deceit, it is interesting to see that it also conveys very different meanings according the different societies as well as different periods of human history.
In the West, the mask has often been used to veil the true identity of a person: hence the use of it during the carnival where people from different social ladders could mingle and do things that – had their identity been revealed – would cause their disgrace. Another interesting example of this can be found in Ancient Rome: the mask, called “persona”, was the social mask needed in order to shield the individual from society.
In the other hand, in Greece as well as in Japan, the mask is not conceived for veiling the identity but rather to replace it. Indeed, masks are used in theater in order to create the catharsis in the public – meaning : to waken in us the deepest and truest emotions.
Hence the ambiguity of the mask – from shield to mirror of truth.
Now you take the floor: what do you associate with the mask?
A mask…you can hide or show an expression with a mask.
Hidden can be related with a shadow, earth, dark, light, treasure, gold…universe.
There are so many energies that we don't feel or see by our masks that we wear.
What's hidden when our eyes see what we have to see?
What's a mask when we can look through or beyond?
Love
Hildegarde
X
[Reply]
Thank you so much, my dearest Paul from Austria… (i know the song, and it is beautiful..however the link says that it is a malformed id.. :S )
Love and Graditude
Annie
[Reply]
Sometimes, though, when you refuse to wear this mask given to you by society, society often accuses you of not being "real". Masked people often like talking to other masked people. One time society had Elders, Medicine People, Witches, etc. who could see beyond this mask and they were sought out for counsel in a most natural way. Today, we go behind the closed doors of Psychologists, Counsellors, and other forms of lay counsellors to unburden ourselves of this mask. No wonder there is much deceit in the world and institutions that support this deceit with the masking of true Spirit. Yet, i have great hope in the mystery of Spirit to lead us to dismantle the mask for each of us.
[Reply]
people are wearing mask of heart for to long that makes them forgot who they really are, who they should be and what they should do…
[Reply]
I totally agree with you. Thats extactly what I believe and yes, we all use masks in order to survive.
[Reply]
Well we can only hide behind masks for so long - for they can cover our individuality -,charm and bluff for so long but eventually people see that its not truth -while our authentic self has no mask and is born of spirit -which is steadfast ,honest and open .It trusts respects and honors ,gives and never lets us down -Your true self is free to celebrate ,while wearing masks mocks . Love and Light Tania
[Reply]
We human beings all have several masks and we use them on a dayli basis. When we go to work, we have our professional mask on altough we underneath feel fragile, unhappy or happy, but in order to act as a professional at job we create this mask thst indicates that we are strong and know how to handle things. But underneath we are just as afraid as anyone else ad don´t want to lose face. Our Social society has teached us that in order to live and act normally, we need to use our masks to hide the reality. I actually began crying to your boo " Veronika decides to die" when I was reading in the the train and people starte at me like..whats wrong with her? why is she crying over a book? But it really touched me and I really didn´t wanted to use my mask at that moment, because I was so caught up in your boomand I just let my emotions float.
The mask is necessary so that we can survive and at the same time it is also important to let go of it so that you can reveal yourself and be true to yourself.
[Reply]
I`m very sad,sorry ,because I`ve just saw a documentar film on the channel arte,about the crimes that nazis people have done,the jeuish,and gipsis and all the people that don`t agree to them and their politic to this time!
Today we all buy batteries Varta, or drive very luxurios BMW (SORRY;MAYBE NOT WE ALL),and nobody knows that the posesor of this two big concerns companys is a Family names Quandt, from Germany ,who had made her capital for that ,with the workers blood that cames directly from concentration lager.They used this humanbeing and killed them because of no using anny chemical protection and don´t giving them water to drink,so that they had to drink from toilets!!!!
Now ,the junior Quandt,said for the cameraman,that he don`t feel any responsability about the past of his father,grandfather and the art how he aunt his money today.
I have to think on the Comunists in Romania and allover Europe,on the socialists in Austria,all they put a new Mask and with a new identity tried again all cca.50 years to play a new role ,to broke all the morall rules,to broke the Love and Life for theyr personal needs.
The Point in this Time now, is that nobody is capabel to admit any destructive Mask again!!!
All the Masks are falling down!
Let us pray for that!
Love
Mirela(the woman in lift)
[Reply]
I believe the mask is a veil and creates a sense of security for the person wearing it allowing them to act however they want, but they are still afraid of societies judgements if the true identity is revealed.
We should never be afraid of being ourselves and if a person judges and makes us feel terrible, that is the point where you walk away and say goodbye to that soul.
[Reply]
in fact it’s not easy to see if someone is wearing a mask.in fact i’m not sure if i can see that or not.i had a good friend,who passed away since a long time,he was be abble to see that,sometimes he showed me some people that in fact for me, i believed that i saw them clearly,but he said “no they’re wearing a mask” the circumstances showed to me after that he was right.then i made a lot of mistakes again,i don’t know why i can’t learn that..i don’t talk about caution,or to see lies,but to be abble to see the truth of someone,it’s a gift maybe to see that..
[Reply]
Masking is filtering the message you want to give to the world at a certain time. We normaly create an official mask, composing an immage that we believe would do us good if we would would comply with it. We wear it every day and we like to identify ourselves with it. Sometimes we genuinely believe we are it. Once in a while however there are things that want to get out. Then for a carnival we chose the costume that fits that thing hidden there deep inside of us. We want to be pirates or gypsies or princesses or you name it… This is an expression of the freedom that we don’t actualy experience in the normal life where we live under the pressure of our desire for normality, for being like most of the others, for being part of whatever community we are born in or have the privilege to chose…
We are masks. All of us. As members of the society. Transparency is possible only for the most humble, for the cleanest hearts, for the most selfless… Gosh, where are they…?
[Reply]
After some thought, I associate the human body with the mask. It’s this temporary exterior most people use to define themselves throughout their lifetime. As the body ages, people fill the need to redefine their persona. I’ve heard people being told to “be a Man”, “Act like a Woman”, “A lady doesn’t do that”… All this expression are based on our the natural mask, our body which I spirit one day will condemn.
Washington DC
KUKU
[Reply]
I have a dream: some day people will see words as they are: words, and some day people will see each other as they are: people. Words aren’t bad or good. Reality is outside, in the shape of words, meanings are in our hearts. But there are people with hearts that are dirty, full of envy and all sort of crap. Sorry, I did not make them dirty.
I have to stop, look inside me and clean my heart in order to be able to go on. That’s why I understand other people’s hearts and they don’t. That makes me sad but, come on, I live for these stuff, and after sadness comes joy; I guarantee.
[Reply]
One one hand, carnival, on the other, religion. I truly apreciate and enjoy both. They are like air, like water or the sun to me. They make me feel alive, they make me part of the Universe and I like Cosmos because it’s huuuuge! and powerful and beautiful and fun and full of surprises.
[Reply]
we all wear masks
i believe the ultimate goal
is to strip them all off
and to see our truth
we are all the same
we are all the same
our insides are made of the same stuff =love
ALL LOVE=cat
[Reply]
Dear Paulo,
some time ago almost similar question was on your blog.
This time I’ll just tell you about carnival mask.
FUNY THING IS THAT WE DRESS UP FOR WHAT WE WISH TO BE, AS PARENTS DRESS THEIR LITTLE GIRLS IN FAIRIES AND PRINCESSES !
I wonder why so many nowdays put Zorro mask ?
Love
Luce
[Reply]
A beautiful song, my dearest Paul from Austria. We are the clowns in the theater of life. We are here for a purpose, a role to play, in the big school, and the lesson is LOVE.
LOVE,
THELMA
[Reply]
I think, behind de mask, we show our deepest feelings. That is something good when it is used as a protest. When it is just for funny, we consequently learn bad things just for “fun”.
[Reply]
Mi ricordo una frase di nietzsche friedrich :”cosa potrebbe importare ad un faust dei giorni nostri di sedersi a teatro tra uomini con gli occhi da talpa che sognano imprese magnifiche di vedere le azioni che compie lui stesso tutti i giorni ?”
[Reply]
Human beings want to hide their face behind it, because face gives up all their emotions, feelings, thoughts. People may think that mask is a shield of the soul, but it only can hide us, but it can not cure or even protect our reality, character, behaviour. Wearing mask is the easiest way of changing your outer profile, but not inner. Everything that we use to hide or change our real being according to others can be associated with mask.
I want to remind famous words of Mawlana Jalaladdin Rumi who says: “Seem to be as you are, or become as you seem to be.”
[Reply]
The reason people hide behind a mask is because of fear of being judged. If you make agreement with yourself not to judge others, it means not that others will judge you. If you take off your social mask, then you allow people to see real you and who you are. When you do this, you show no care for the negative judgements. If people do not wear social mask, they allow themselves to be judged, but if feels a lot better to be yourself because “The people who mind don’t matter, and the people who matter don’t mind.” God bless to all.
[Reply]
Well,generally I am against fake behaviour.I want people like me the way I am.But,being a complex nature,now I think a mask help me to show my different side,for example in life I seem sensible,but inside I am very sensitive,or I let people think I am strong,but my real nature is too weak.Than of course I am wearing a mask.For a while,because cant do that long time.Always I was amazed by those scenes in moveies where kings or dutchess were dancing,flirting with mask.I think is so exciting,trying to guess who might be the person behind the mask.I love misteries,things covered by a thin vaile.
[Reply]
i believe we all wear all sorts of masks everyday. Masks mean existing within society. We wear a mask to work so we’re appropriate and professional, we wear a mask in front of our parents so they don’t know we’re not doing well at school, we wear a mask to pretend we’re happy so we can be more supportive to our partner who had a bad day, etc. etc. etc.
It is not a good thing, but it is reality and what interacting with different people entails.
a real mask can mean many things though, one of which you mentioned Paulo, about people being on the same level at the carnival. If anyone have seen V for Vendetta, at the end when everyone wears the mask of the protagonist, it symbolizes that everyone is one.
[Reply]
There’s alot more than meets the eye. When you wear a mask, no matter how you smile or frown, people tend to see only the mask and what it depicts. I’ve seen alot of people wearing mask of bravery yet when you tell them your observation, you can feel the hint of weakness and fear in their voice. With everything that is happening nowadays, a mask is like watching the world but not living in, more on to hide the pain and agony or the real person behind it. If a person wants to look tough, he or she just mask a face that never smiles even though all he/she wants to do is laugh.
whatever opinion, yours or mine, people use masks differently whether for the benefit of the good or simple torture to self and somebody else.
But I believe that society created the mask for goodness, for example parents would not want their children see that they are having disagreements so they use a mask that makes everything look all right. Just to prevent any trauma to the psych of the children.
hmmm… mask is only abused or misused.. that’s all
sorry for the incorrect grammars
thanks Mr. Coelho, your the best =D
[Reply]
The belief that one is something we are somewhat falzo, we are multifaceted and we are not the same person under different circumstances perhaps by the fear of rejection I have even in some circumstances is welcome to make fun of others pretending to be something it is not real.Me taste much the idea that masks allow us to be what we really want to be without fear of rejection, without which the others know who you are in truth … the last time listening to a song that said in part: we are just drops of rain April and I loved the idea of diluting, lost in a feeling that everything they give us masks remember that one of my ballet lessons we got some masks and timides of girl who always had disappeared … I think that the fact set in what we see is what fills us with fear, shame, I think the masks were created to hide but not to forget what the eye can see and begin to do with the heart …
[Reply]
Why does my post is not here? How can I post on this page?
I can’t see that! What happen?
: o (
[Reply]
The mask can also represent temptation to assume an identity that is incompatible with your authentic self. People fall under the spell of the mask and hide from what they are or hide from what they truly desire. An intriguing analogy can be found in the story of Phantom of the Opera. Some people fear who they really are and fear looking into the depths of the soul. You do not require a mirror to do so. The irony is that no mask will protect you from expeirencing the ups and downs of your physical life journey. This is the journey of finding your way back to self-love, learning to love everything about yourself unconditionally.
[Reply]
I didn’t use any ‘feelings’ mask today..
I was myself, happy, satisfied with my life, even if I don’t have everything I ever wanted..
Sometimes I’m too stupidly happy, but life is made to be lived, so live your life like it would be your last day on earth, enjoy it, do things you never dreamed of doing..
[Reply]
For all…. but especially for Annie… x
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvzUdM29_uA
Love, & enjoy Send in the Clowns by Judy Collins, Paul
[Reply]
Every day of my life I try to live without a mask. Many times a day (at work, in the office, in the afternoon when I am together with my children etc) I “control” myself and if I recognize, that I am wearing a mask, then I put it “off”. I know that I do not need a mask, but sometimes I find myself in a situation wearing a mask. But I am on the way of realising it more and more.
Reflecting the own personality and its masks is the first step in order to see all the masks in the surrounding.
[Reply]
I remember when i was little, on February , at the celebration of the Carnival days, (even at school) my parents, used to dress me like a clown when i was little, and i hated it!!! ANd i didnt want to go to school or anywhere else dressed like that..i never understood why people liked that season, putting masks and pretending to be something else.. (however, i still think, till today, that clowns hide a sad side of themselves, behind the laughs and the funny acts..)
[Reply]
One of the uses of the mask is to hide someone’s tru identity, or to pretend to be certain character, for example when somebdy wears a costume pretending to be Superman is not hiding his/her identity but rather pretending to be someone else, for carnavals because you are supposed to, to show off a beautiful mask. I personally don’t like wearing masks!
[Reply]
@ Paul from Austria {I cannot resist of not answering to you!!]
“… and our Paul from Austria from his…. ‘pirate photo’.
LOVE,
Thelma
[Reply]
I agree with Truth. sometimes masks can be used as tools that set you free. In my case when i speak in any other languge but my native languge, i become more open, i talk more, and what surprize me the most is that i speak about myself easier.. otherwise i would never do that.
So my mask, helps me to express and discover myself.
So i kee training myself to put my mask down..
and I hope “Today I have the ourage to figth , tmorrow i may have to courage to win..”
[Reply]
We all wear a mask… every single one of us… our society expects & implements it, so all the more necessary to not judge a book by it’s cover…;)
Love, & look deeper, Paul
[Reply]
“Nightens sharpens, heightens each sensation.
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses….
Slowly, gently night unfurls it´s splendor
Grasp it. Sense it. Tremulous and tender.
Turn your face away from the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light
And listen to the. Music of the. Night.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHAauiJwwmU
[Reply]
Mask- disguise, holding back, unknown, another character, costume
[Reply]
I love masks specially the decorated ones in Venice style. I usually paint masks of porcelain.
And I like them also because of their ambiguity…let’s take them off and see who we really are…
I associate them with ‘persona’, deceivers, romance, beauty, mystery.
[Reply]
i agree with cristina
Everyone should take off their masks and be true to themselves as well as others!
Most people put on the contentment mask on. that they are happy, everything is perfect in their lives. when we all know that its an act. they r only lying to themselves. and no one likes fakes!
and then we sometimes need to put on the mask inorder to help people. sometimes we need to lie to them in order for them to feel better, or give them courage, strength….
so i guess using the mask in a positive way is acceptable
[Reply]
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I get to paint my face and be someone I’m not. I think that when you are unhappy with yourself or desire a change, you put on a mask. I would love to wear a wig and be someone else for a day. It would be an experiment. Would people relate to me differently? Everyone wears masks at some time or another.
[Reply]
When I think of the mask I think of how I used to be. How I used to wear a happy mask not to worry my loved ones…
[Reply]
Comunqe, SE TI SFORZASSI come in altre occasioni, FORSE un giorno arriverai a capire che le persone giungono sempre al momento giusto nei luoghi dove sono ATTESE….
Forse la risposta bisogna cercarla nella VIRTUOSA PAZIENZA di CHI attende. :-PPPP
[Reply]
Elson D’Silva understand. You Paulo? Do You understand? IN THE NAME OF GOD, WAKE UP!!!! PLEASE…. WAKE UP!!!!
[Reply]
я ипользую маску и не стыжусь этого, для меня это всего лишь игра, вру, когда мне это выгодно, улыбаюсь, когда тяжело на душе, пытаюсь грустить даже если мне весело, что бы не смутить покой остальных людей, самое главное это знать что то что ты творишь в данный момент это правда на 100% надо играть свою роль
когда я остаюсь с собой на едине я уыбаюсь потому что мне весело и грущу если плохо, иногда обманываю себя что бы сохранить собственый покой, но все делают тоже самое!!! так в чем же смысл !!!
а смысл в том что маска неотъемлимая наша часть это наше лицо, наша материя в которую нас преднамерено облекли, наша поверхность за которой скрывается истина - наши мысли а вот это и есть самая страшная тайна и пока мы ее не откроем ложь-игра так или иначе будет заполнять наше существование хорошо это или плохо решать только человеку
[Reply]
Associated with the mask a few things that make me be more myself than other situations, this time they are Dance, Music, Love and Anger.
Moments where they usually are removing all the masks on stage.
But i just associate it with the unseen identity.
[Reply]
I am finding, increasingly so, that my personality, ego, beingness in the world is made up of judgements and presumptions based on fear.
My effort is to root out exactly what those ‘personality’ components are, get to the root cause and free myself of those habitual modes of response and interaction.
That is what my ‘mask’ is about.
Becoming so unburdened I hope to live in my ‘true nature,’ an appreciation of God and the power of love which I suspect is rooted in an appreciation of the interconnectedness of all things.
Masks have protected me all my life, but they have also prevented me from living freely and lovingly. I am seeking to unmask myself and, in doing so, become better able to see beyond your masks to your heart, with love.
[Reply]
Another aspect of the mask, that first came to my mind when I saw the title, it’s the mask on every single person’s face. Sometimes, trying to please people and be kind, we show the mask of kindness..
Personally I love when I’m myself, natural, expressing my own feelings, but sometimes in many things I do, I have to hide them… like my job for instance, being a cashier at a busy store, where people get angry often, I gotta be calm and smiley.
Also, adapting to your environment and smiling when you’re sad or disappointed shows that you can use your mask very well… As well as using it in a bad way, for example pretending you love someone, but also cheating on her/him, even his/her face, his/her soul and his/her moves shows nothing but love. That’s another way of using that mask..
It’s kinda away from the subject… but…
[Reply]
I’m posting a clip showing a Norwegian gag reporter, who is wearing the mask; ‘I’m playing, trying to have some fun’. As you will see, the New York city council man looses his mask, and react with outrageous anger, which most politicians wouldn’t do in public.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1iNH7W9SC8
This video make me ask, why is he getting so mad for loosing face, or being taken by surprise?
[Reply]
Totally agree, it’s funny the credit crunch is only affecting people with money. I have no House, Car and live in a shared house and have to listen to those with a house and several cars complain that they are having a bad time. Get real!!! You only need food and shelter.
[Reply]
That is the reason why Jesus said that the Kingdom of God belongs to the children, because they are the only ones who don’t need/wear a MASK.
Success to all in our journey towards taking off our masks,
Nelson.
[Reply]