"Don't make that expression. Your face will stay that way."

Using Masks

Kids love masks. They relish in painting their faces, wearing costumes, and acting in ways they wouldn't usually. There is comfort in masks. There is freedom and fun, creativity and newness. As adults, many of us have chosen our "mask" and live within its limits. We have forgotten the fun of being someone else. More importantly, we have forgotten that we can be someone else.

You've heard the admonition, "Don't make that expression. Your face will stay that way." Remember the Twilight Zone episode in which the family had to wear masks, only to find when they removed them, their faces had assumed the masks' expression? Taken in a different light, this story becomes a wonderful example of a spiritual principle.

Sometimes we reach a place where we feel stuck, bogged down by the mask we chose years ago. We long to change our lives, to be even more than we presently are. Spiritual principles teache that we inherently possess the power to change. Though it can be as easy simply deciding, there are times we could use some help to make the shift.

Affirmations can sound like lies. We announce ourselves as something that we not yet are. We claim "I am happy," even when we are in depression's grasp. Affirming, though, can be like putting on a mask. The more we wear the mask, the more we claim our truth, and the more our mind is open to becoming that which we desire.

Tammy Faye Messner said once, "People often as me why I wear so much makeup. I tell them my face is a canvas, ready to paint, always there." We are all divine canvases, created by Spirit, with the ability to be happy and fulfilled. Masks are fun, but sometimes they can even be life-changing.

Gender-neutral books about affirmations, metaphysics and affirmative prayer:

How To Use Your Power

Living A Life

These books have been updated to contemporary and gender neutral language.