The Magic Power of Self Image Psychology by Dr. Maxwell Maltz

Author:Dr. Maxwell Maltz [Maltz, Maxwell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mobilism
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House
Published: 2013-02-04T00:00:00+00:00

8

When the Curtain Goes Up, You Don't Need a Mask

I invite you to relax in the playhouse of your mind and see a drama in which you take part:

It's a masquerade ball at the home of a friend of yours. There's laughter and excited conversation. Everyone wears a mask; you can't even recognize the host, even though you know his face well.

A blonde woman wearing a pink mask says "hello" and you answer her greeting. She's tall and slim, you know her from somewhere — but who is she? A man with cowboy clothes and a black mask takes her arm and leads her over to an improvised dance floor, a space made by pushing back the sofa and the TV set. He's not Tom Mix or the Lone Ranger, but who is he?

It's all very confusing, but it's a game and you're having fun. You drink some punch — "what's in this bowl anyhow?" — and join a laughing group of people. No one takes life seriously for the moment.

Symbolically, this scene is true to life, for most people wear masks almost every day of their lives. You can't see them, but they're there. Our real-life masks are tragic, where the masquerade disguises are amusing. They serve an insidious purpose : to hide your real self, which you feel is unacceptable, from a threatening world.

Many people live their little masquerades till the day they die, putting on the faces they feel will shield them from other's censure. They keep their real selves locked up inside, like some dark secret that terrifies them.

Some people live to ripe old ages without anyone ever really knowing what they're like. Their masks keep them from the imperfect, chaotic give-and-take that is living.

The Masks We All Wear

Are masks necessary?

Our primordial ancestors many centuries ago were savages. When two of them, searching the earth for food, came face to face in an open field, they would both grit their teeth, jut out their lips in defiance and stare at each other menacingly until they finally came to blows. After the fight, the loser would feel fear and might weep unrestrainedly, while the worry on the victor's face would be gone, replaced by the laughter of success. When they met in the future, the beaten man would look fearful, may be terrified, while the winner would wear the face of confidence.

We, in this civilized society, are also winners and losers, but the picture is grayer. Most of us know the taste of both success and failure and our days may be up and down.

As young children, we are primitive, like our ancestors. If a boy of three takes a bad fall and skins his knee severely, he may howl with pain. If a girl of five receives a pretty birthday present, she may squeal with satisfaction and clap her hands. Most young children express what they feel openly.

In later childhood, in adolescence and as adults, we learn to wear masks, to hide our clean-cut feelings — or to modify them.

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