There are several character Archetypes that many people often try to put on as an image to present to the world. It can be benign, even positive, or it can be dangerous, depending on the individual's motives.
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Some build their image to match a certain Archetype because they really want to live up to a certain persona, such as one full of humility and grace, and their core self is already somewhat aligned with their chosen Archetype. Sometimes people don't really believe they can just grow and learn within their own skin, and need to become like someone else in order to achieve their goals of "becoming".
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Others do it because a certain image seems to get more positive attention from other people the way an attractive hairstyle or certain clothing does, more than just "being themselves". Sometimes the attention is not actually positive or respectful, but they don't realize it because they are only noticing the increase of attention, not what kind of attention it really is.
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Still others are putting on the mask of an Archetype in order to convince people to trust and respect them so they can con them and/or gain control over them. They have learned that people will believe and follow certain images, and they hone that image with actual effort in order to make it seem like who they really are. Of course it's just an image, like wearing a hat or a mask, or even a costume; the person underneath is really a different animal altogether, with a completely different agenda and focus. Their chosen Archetype is literally a facade that they built on purpose. It's much like they are wearing a really convincing Abraham Lincoln or Mother Teresa costume, or any other Archetype that people are known to respond to positively, with trust and admiration, or respect, or sometimes fear, but the " I deserve more admiration and respect than most people" costume is the most effective.
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Abraham Lincoln and Mother Teresa were real people, but their images live on as Archetypes when someone wants to wear them as a mask to appear good and righteous, so others will believe and trust them. There are many Archetypes that Mask-Wearers might put on.
Some we have probably run into (we may have seen through the facade, or swallowed it):
Cowboy types, Beauty Queen, Powerful Business Person, Celebrity, Spiritual Leader, Wise Shaman or Chief, Highly Skilled Warrior, Empathetic Caregiver, Brilliant Scientist, The Expert (Craftsman/Carpenter/Mechanic/Mason, etc), Rock Star, Regular Joe, Down To Earth Jane, Strong and Silent, Virtuous and Righteous, Very Hard Worker, Hero, Prophet, Angel Of Hope, Savior. There are many more, of course, that you probably know quite well. Maybe you have seen through some of them.
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GANDHI
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It's important to remember that we really can't tell if someone is genuine, or is wearing a facade, for quite a while. The truth is we often like and trust fakers more than we like or trust a genuine person, because we like the shiny image that fakers wear. We can also easily mistake one for the other, so the best way to find out is to play it safe and keep healthy boundaries intact. We don't want to reject a truly "good" person just because they seem "too good to be true", that would be quite a loss, genuinely "good" or trustworthy and honest people are rare blessings in our lives; and we don't want to let an Image Wearer get close to us by buying into their "good and trustworthy" mask.
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The most amazing thing about the practice of building and wearing false images is how people just keep on doing it, and it keeps on working because other people keep on falling for it. No matter how many fables are written, how many warnings are written in religious texts, how many times throughout history it's caused horrific damage, or how many stories, plays, and movies are created trying to expose it for what it is, the lesson just doesn't seem to get through. Humans as a species seem to be very slow learners when it comes to "Leaders" and "Followers".
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A common practice that many who believe they have awakened from being blind followers of manipulative leaders is simply rejecting one leader and group, but continuing to follow other ones, and also finding new ones. As long as they have rejected ONE or two of the leaders and groups they had been blindly following, they believe they have accomplished their goal of independence and awareness.
~
Another common practice is rejecting any and all guidance, instruction, leadership, or connection with others, as if every teacher, spiritual person, writer, or philosopher who ever spoke was a cult leader, trying to manipulate the masses. However this is based in fear, and results in the rejection of learning about anything that's outside one's own limited point of view. When our personal boundaries are healthy and strong, we can hear others freely without becoming indoctrinated, and learn new things from their points of view, ideas, and experiences.
~
So many humans buying into and believing in stereotypes, status, and "social hierarchy" keeps Image Makers, Cons, Phonies, and the dangerous kind of politicians in THRIVING business. If we want to really see through them, we need to stop believing in the fictions our cultures have made up about human beings, and learn to stop placing some people on pedestals and not others.
Only when we see all other people, including ourselves, as equally worthy and beautiful as one another will we be able to discern those who are wearing masks.
~
Some build their image to match a certain Archetype because they really want to live up to a certain persona, such as one full of humility and grace, and their core self is already somewhat aligned with their chosen Archetype. Sometimes people don't really believe they can just grow and learn within their own skin, and need to become like someone else in order to achieve their goals of "becoming".
~
Others do it because a certain image seems to get more positive attention from other people the way an attractive hairstyle or certain clothing does, more than just "being themselves". Sometimes the attention is not actually positive or respectful, but they don't realize it because they are only noticing the increase of attention, not what kind of attention it really is.
~
Still others are putting on the mask of an Archetype in order to convince people to trust and respect them so they can con them and/or gain control over them. They have learned that people will believe and follow certain images, and they hone that image with actual effort in order to make it seem like who they really are. Of course it's just an image, like wearing a hat or a mask, or even a costume; the person underneath is really a different animal altogether, with a completely different agenda and focus. Their chosen Archetype is literally a facade that they built on purpose. It's much like they are wearing a really convincing Abraham Lincoln or Mother Teresa costume, or any other Archetype that people are known to respond to positively, with trust and admiration, or respect, or sometimes fear, but the " I deserve more admiration and respect than most people" costume is the most effective.
~
Abraham Lincoln and Mother Teresa were real people, but their images live on as Archetypes when someone wants to wear them as a mask to appear good and righteous, so others will believe and trust them. There are many Archetypes that Mask-Wearers might put on.
Some we have probably run into (we may have seen through the facade, or swallowed it):
Cowboy types, Beauty Queen, Powerful Business Person, Celebrity, Spiritual Leader, Wise Shaman or Chief, Highly Skilled Warrior, Empathetic Caregiver, Brilliant Scientist, The Expert (Craftsman/Carpenter/Mechanic/Mason, etc), Rock Star, Regular Joe, Down To Earth Jane, Strong and Silent, Virtuous and Righteous, Very Hard Worker, Hero, Prophet, Angel Of Hope, Savior. There are many more, of course, that you probably know quite well. Maybe you have seen through some of them.
~
GANDHI
~
It's important to remember that we really can't tell if someone is genuine, or is wearing a facade, for quite a while. The truth is we often like and trust fakers more than we like or trust a genuine person, because we like the shiny image that fakers wear. We can also easily mistake one for the other, so the best way to find out is to play it safe and keep healthy boundaries intact. We don't want to reject a truly "good" person just because they seem "too good to be true", that would be quite a loss, genuinely "good" or trustworthy and honest people are rare blessings in our lives; and we don't want to let an Image Wearer get close to us by buying into their "good and trustworthy" mask.
~
The most amazing thing about the practice of building and wearing false images is how people just keep on doing it, and it keeps on working because other people keep on falling for it. No matter how many fables are written, how many warnings are written in religious texts, how many times throughout history it's caused horrific damage, or how many stories, plays, and movies are created trying to expose it for what it is, the lesson just doesn't seem to get through. Humans as a species seem to be very slow learners when it comes to "Leaders" and "Followers".
~
A common practice that many who believe they have awakened from being blind followers of manipulative leaders is simply rejecting one leader and group, but continuing to follow other ones, and also finding new ones. As long as they have rejected ONE or two of the leaders and groups they had been blindly following, they believe they have accomplished their goal of independence and awareness.
~
Another common practice is rejecting any and all guidance, instruction, leadership, or connection with others, as if every teacher, spiritual person, writer, or philosopher who ever spoke was a cult leader, trying to manipulate the masses. However this is based in fear, and results in the rejection of learning about anything that's outside one's own limited point of view. When our personal boundaries are healthy and strong, we can hear others freely without becoming indoctrinated, and learn new things from their points of view, ideas, and experiences.
~
So many humans buying into and believing in stereotypes, status, and "social hierarchy" keeps Image Makers, Cons, Phonies, and the dangerous kind of politicians in THRIVING business. If we want to really see through them, we need to stop believing in the fictions our cultures have made up about human beings, and learn to stop placing some people on pedestals and not others.
Only when we see all other people, including ourselves, as equally worthy and beautiful as one another will we be able to discern those who are wearing masks.
