First of all, thank you,  Enid,  for your appreciative comments on my article ”Addicted to Self-Improvement and/or  Self-Perfection.” I am so pleased you found the article enjoyable. It’s  great to know that that there are people out there who are actually reading my blog!  To find in addition that there are those of you who derive some benefit from my efforts gives me a great deal of joy and spurs me on.   So, thank you, thank you.  I  appreciate you taking the time  and effort to post your comment.

 Dropping Our Masks.

You are quite right, we do burden ourselves and others when we try ”to please, impress and perfect, etc. others.”  One of our most significant spiritual leaps is when we decide to  drop the masks we wear, worn in part in order to conceal what we consider are our human frailties and shortcomings,  and to present what we believe is a better- self, or “face,” to the world. (My series, “Quest For the Soul,” examines how  and why we  manufacture these false-selves, or masks. ) Our task, as we journey towards wholeness and enlightenment, is to become aware of these masks,  and,  learn how to let them go.  

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Thanks to Bill Reichart, pastor of the Provocative Church at Big Creek, for responding to my article, “The Loss of Soul.”    You can find Bill on  www.provocativechurch.com.   

Bill ’s blog includes the first talk in  a series entitled “False Self” which I thought you might want to check out for yourself, you men in particular. 

As you know, I’m running a series called “Quest For The Soul,” which explores the same theme.  I enjoyed the first talk in the series at Bill’s church, however,  because (a) it was given by a man who’s obviously experienced his own spiritual awakening (you could tell this because he’d dropped his masks!)  and (b) it was a talk given by a man for men,  and consequently had that unique  male  perspective and focus. It also got me thinking about the issue of masculine identity  in today’s world.

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