I dreamt last night that I was high up in a building where the floor had virtually collapsed and I had to get down to the ground. I was very scared at the prospect of climbing down as I felt I would surely fall and perish. I realised that I needed help and yet there was strong resistance to ask, I felt that I had to do it alone, that in some way I should do it alone.

I vaguely recall some people talking to me and suggesting that I could ask for help. Eventually I acquiesced and a young man came to my assistance helping me easily and effortlessly down to solid ground. I was so relieved and very grateful. People around were so happy to see me. However, to my horror I looked in the mirror and saw that I was wearing a face-mask, the type of ‘beauty’ mask we apply to help our skin, that dries to a chalky white.I must have forgotten to remove it and I was SO embarrassed and immediately attempted to wash it off. I was simultaneously aware that I was holding a make-up brush with bronzing powder so that I could reapply another ‘mask’!!

My dream was showing me so vividly that so many of us live life wearing a ‘mask’. We use it to cover up who we ‘think’ we are. We hide behind it so that we don’t allow others to see our true human self, the part of us that has ‘negative’ emotions. The part of us that thinks negative thoughts about ourselves and others. The part that wants revenge or thinks a moments thought of jealousy or envy.

When we begin our spiritual path, we are so often ashamed of these types of thoughts that we have had in the past, or goodness ‘now’..when ‘I shouldn’t’ be thinking them!! However, as many spiritual teachers have taught us, they are just thoughts, just energies of our Lower self, not the thoughts of our Higher Wiser True Self. Our Higher Self will accept that we have these thoughts and not condemn us for having them. Our Higher Self will react by saying, ‘Oh that’s just a thought, an energy,’ not grasp on to it  and letting it go. 

We attempt to cover up this Lower self, by wearing a Mask and pretending that we don’t have negative thoughts, that we are perfect, that we never become angry or frustrated or hurt by another.

Can we recognise our own ‘masks’ and gently allow ourselves to remove them, to reveal our true and wonderful self?

Below is a clip from the film ‘Pleasantville’ which has the most wonderful spiritual teaching 🙂 I can’t say too much about it just in case you haven’t seen the film, however the film refers so beautifully to us wearing our masks 🙂 living in world that is without colour or emotion