When we mask, we are are covering our face so that other people will not know who we are. What energies does that set in motion?
When we go to parties wearing costumes and masks, we assume a different identity for a while.
Changing our identity in this way is fun. When we have a great costume and mask, people have fun trying to figure out who we are and we can have some mischievous fun with them.
Remember that laughter is as good a way to connect with people as love. Barriers dissipate when we are laughing with others. This holds true for business meetings as well as social events.
There is also a sense of freedom that comes from being invisible. While we are masked, fore that event, we can pretend we are some famous celebrity, popular icon or superhero. For a brief while, we can pretend we have another life. How does it feel to be able to do that for a while? How does it feel when you return to your normal appearance? Does masking give you new ideas or inspire you in some way? Does your life suddenly feel larger?
Then we have another application for masking. When we mask for a civic ritual or spiritual ritual, it is another way of communicating with spirit. Wearing a costume or mask identifies us in another way with spirit.
Think about dressing up for a parade. For that event, we are wanting to be seen as part of a larger group with a purpose or identity. Spiritually, this falls into the same category as wearing certain clothes to attend a ritual or ceremony. We present ourselves with a physical sign that we are here for a specific purpose.
As part of a Day of the Dead or Samhain (pronounced as sowen, the old Celtic name for Halloween), we take on the persona of guides for those who have recently departed for the next realm. The spiritual reason for these holidays is to send our family members or friends off on a pleasant journey into their next life.
The most common imagery reported by those who have had near death experiences is that the family and friends who preceded them are waiting there to welcome them to this next step in our evolution. We are blessing this flow of events and holding space for it to happen.
As a kid, Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays. In my eyes, at that time, how could anything better happen than to dress in costumes and then walk around the neighborhood ringing doorbells and getting shopping bags full of free candy?
As an adult, Halloween has taken on a whole new meaning for me as a time to pause and reflect on our journey so far. The fact that it is no longer good for me to eat bags of candy is one pleasure that is now in the past.
Then there is the reality that many people I have known, loved, worked with, and learned from have made this transition and every year, more names are added to that list, some expected, and some totally surprising.
Masking has ancient roots in our human traditions that encompasses both the joy and the spiritual evolution in our lives and the masks themselves become both toys and tools for us. Wear them well.
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Have a wonderful day! | 
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