Masks

[El Twid]

I think that one tied directly into my thinking about whats written on the other side of the mask.

[M. Nigel Salt]

RE: non-mask wearers

So um, don't we define ourselves by comparing ourselves to notourselves? In other words, I am Me because I know I am not You, and the things that I used to differentiate Myself from NotMyself changes based on the NotMyself I am comparing Myself to. So wouldn't that mean there are Masks that are Mask over Mask, but also Masks that aren't complete Masks, but parts of a Mask, and you mix and match your Maskparts?

I think that one of the things that came up in the My Face Fell Off thread (or whatever it was called) was that people can't actually interact with each other without masks of some kind. We can't handle an unmasked person. We NEED some kind of boundaries, and the different masks we choose reflect not only what we want to show the people we're interacting with, but also how we're willing to interact with them, how much intimacy we're willing to have with them, and what parts of ourselves we're willing to show.

If you wear the wrong mask for a particular situation, things go sideways. You don't want to wear your Saucy Slut mask when you're interacting with your son, or your Party Girl mask at the office, or your Power Executive mask when you're having dinner with your friends.

[six to the quixotic]

RE: non-mask wearers

So um, don't we define ourselves by comparing ourselves to notourselves? In other words, I am Me because I know I am not You, and the things that I used to differentiate Myself from NotMyself changes based on the NotMyself I am comparing Myself to. So wouldn't that mean there are Masks that are Mask over Mask, but also Masks that aren't complete Masks, but parts of a Mask, and you mix and match your Maskparts?

I think that one of the things that came up in the My Face Fell Off thread (or whatever it was called) was that people can't actually interact with each other without masks of some kind. We can't handle an unmasked person. We NEED some kind of boundaries, and the different masks we choose reflect not only what we want to show the people we're interacting with, but also how we're willing to interact with them, how much intimacy we're willing to have with them, and what parts of ourselves we're willing to show.

If you wear the wrong mask for a particular situation, things go sideways. You don't want to wear your Saucy Slut mask when you're interacting with your son, or your Party Girl mask at the office, or your Power Executive mask when you're having dinner with your friends.

It could be said that your True You is ALL your Masks. The try to separate the Masks from the Face would like trying to remove the face of a die. A die with one less face can not be used for the same purpose it was intended, and will not roll the same way. There is more to the die than the numbers printed on it. And without the die the numbers lack the context.

[M. Nigel Salt]

RE: non-mask wearers

So um, don't we define ourselves by comparing ourselves to notourselves? In other words, I am Me because I know I am not You, and the things that I used to differentiate Myself from NotMyself changes based on the NotMyself I am comparing Myself to. So wouldn't that mean there are Masks that are Mask over Mask, but also Masks that aren't complete Masks, but parts of a Mask, and you mix and match your Maskparts?

I think that one of the things that came up in the My Face Fell Off thread (or whatever it was called) was that people can't actually interact with each other without masks of some kind. We can't handle an unmasked person. We NEED some kind of boundaries, and the different masks we choose reflect not only what we want to show the people we're interacting with, but also how we're willing to interact with them, how much intimacy we're willing to have with them, and what parts of ourselves we're willing to show.

If you wear the wrong mask for a particular situation, things go sideways. You don't want to wear your Saucy Slut mask when you're interacting with your son, or your Party Girl mask at the office, or your Power Executive mask when you're having dinner with your friends.

It could be said that your True You is ALL your Masks. The try to separate the Masks from the Face would like trying to remove the face of a die. A die with one less face can not be used for the same purpose it was intended, and will not roll the same way. There is more to the die than the numbers printed on it. And without the die the numbers lack the context.

Hmmm, I like this analogy. The more masks you have, in a sense, the more facets, and therefore you may be more confusing, but also more versatile.

[LMNO, PhD (life continues)]

So:

I = Σ [mask]

[six to the quixotic]

To further expound upon this, unlike a die, a human potentially has more faces than can be seen. To wit, the better you know someone more apparent their other faces become. Furthermore, the more faces a person perceives of another person, the more they can still see those other faces? When looking at the face of a four sided die, one face is clearly visible, but on the other hand, you can see more than just one face at a time, even though one is in focus.

[six to the quixotic]

So:

I = Σ [mask]

I think that the I is more than just the sum of all masks, but I don't know?

[V3X]

There is a face behind the masks, but I strongly suspect it is only a mirror. A terrible, horrible mirror. If you removed your masks completely -- all pretense, all identity, all belief, all ego altogether -- what would be left? A Thing which experiences. And that's true for everyone. Anyone who saw you would be staring directly at what they themselves are. Being faced with that, I can imagine the masks screaming in terror. It may be impossible to communicate that way, maybe because "communication" itself is a layer of abstraction built on top of that ultimate identity.

[six to the quixotic]

There is a face behind the masks, but I strongly suspect it is only a mirror. A terrible, horrible mirror. If you removed your masks completely -- all pretense, all identity, all belief, all ego altogether -- what would be left? A Thing which experiences. And that's true for everyone. Anyone who saw you would be staring directly at what they themselves are. Being faced with that, I can imagine the masks screaming in terror. It may be impossible to communicate that way, maybe because "communication" itself is a layer of abstraction built on top of that ultimate identity.

if you strip away all masks then all you have is the last few episodes of Neon Genesis Evangalion. AND NO ONE WANTS TO LISTEN TO SHINJI CRYING AGAIN!!!!!!!

[V3X]

There is a face behind the masks, but I strongly suspect it is only a mirror. A terrible, horrible mirror. If you removed your masks completely -- all pretense, all identity, all belief, all ego altogether -- what would be left? A Thing which experiences. And that's true for everyone. Anyone who saw you would be staring directly at what they themselves are. Being faced with that, I can imagine the masks screaming in terror. It may be impossible to communicate that way, maybe because "communication" itself is a layer of abstraction built on top of that ultimate identity.

if you strip away all masks then all you have is the last few episodes of Neon Genesis Evangalion. AND NO ONE WANTS TO LISTEN TO SHINJI CRYING AGAIN!!!!!!!

Speak for yourself. I have Dark Side of the Moon in here.

[six to the quixotic]

There is a face behind the masks, but I strongly suspect it is only a mirror. A terrible, horrible mirror. If you removed your masks completely -- all pretense, all identity, all belief, all ego altogether -- what would be left? A Thing which experiences. And that's true for everyone. Anyone who saw you would be staring directly at what they themselves are. Being faced with that, I can imagine the masks screaming in terror. It may be impossible to communicate that way, maybe because "communication" itself is a layer of abstraction built on top of that ultimate identity.

if you strip away all masks then all you have is the last few episodes of Neon Genesis Evangalion. AND NO ONE WANTS TO LISTEN TO SHINJI CRYING AGAIN!!!!!!!

Speak for yourself. I have Dark Side of the Moon in here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=atL7Ra4fJgg#t=28s

[El Twid]

I have never watched the thing you guys are referring to.

[V3X]

I don't know what he's talking about, I'm talking about Pink Floyd.

Or, my mask is anyway. I guess I ran out of things to say.

[El Twid]

Babble babble bitch bitch rebel rebel party party sex sex sex and dont forget the violence

[V3X]

Babble babble bitch bitch rebel rebel party party sex sex sex and dont forget the violence

Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
When you live with apes, man.. it's hard to be clean.