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As Halloween is approaching, we look forward to dressing up in the spirit of the holiday.  But, why are you wearing your mask now?

Years ago, when we would change what we were doing, we used to refer to it as changing hats... "Let me put my administrator hat on now."  But there is more to it than just changing jobs.  In some cases, it is almost changing personas, but not quite.  But it is changing attitude, responses, and what you allow other people to see. 

I would like to think that I am me no matter what I do.  I know that no matter what is going on in my life, I can rise above it once someone comes in with a problem.  I immediately go into 'healer mode'.  But is that mode a mask.  Do I just change focus, or do I cover up things that are not for others to see?  I think we all do. 

Now, I know people that used to change personas based on where they were and who they were with.  This to me is just being fake.  But in who we are and what we do, we do change based on what we are doing and who we are around.

When you think about it, how many people know the entire you?  How many know everything about you?  My guess is not too many.  We cover our inner selves with a layer of protection.  There might be a special person or few people that you have allowed to see the full, inner you.  But even those close may see most of you, but not all of you.  We cover ourselves with layers of masks based on how we feel about the people we are with. 

Many people keep their personal lives very much to themselves.  Others tend to let anyone that will listen hear about every intimate detail of their lives.  Most of us tend to be a little in between. 

I tend to be a more open and honest person than a lot of people (and I'm not saying that a lot of people aren't honest).  I will talk about myself some with clients to let them know that I have some insight into what they are going through.  Someone might say that they have major back issues, and I might tell them that I understand what they are going through.  I find that instead of throwing out the pompous "I know how you feel", I might relay a short piece of information that shows the client that I do speak from experience, not sympathy.  But there is still a mask in place to keep everything about me covered.  It is not deception, more like protection. 

The question comes down to how many masks we truly have.  And I think the key is to limit the number to a minimum.  To be the real you all of the time, with your inner core protected is the goal.  Of course, some of us don't cover that core enough.  I used to be told that I carry my heart on my sleeve.  To me, this means that I put 100% of myself into everything I do, and yes, when someone doesn't like what that is, it hurts all the way to the core.  But I don't know how to be any other way.  People get what I am, not just what I want them to see.  I find it easier that way. 

So, how much of you do people see, and how much is covered by masks?  And will you change to a scary one for Halloween?  Or are some of the masks you use scary enough?  Food for thought?  I hope so.  Just don't get a sugar high. 

I started thinking back about the things I was told as a child and thought it would be good for a laugh to post some.

When we are children, parents would tell us certain things, all too many of which were lies to get us to behave properly.  Other things could be seen as passing on sage wisdom of the ages. 

I think the biggest of all things is Santa Claus.  Now granted, telling children about a mythical creature that can visit every home in the world in one night, have time to leave presents, and have milk and cookies at each place leaves us open to the realm of magic.  (And allowing ourselves to believe in magic allows us to be open to energy healing, like Reiki.) 

But I think the worst is to tell a child that if they're not good, they will only find a lump of coal in their stocking.  And in reality, what parent whose child misbehaves on Christmas Eve is going to hide the presents that they spent hundreds of dollars on and give their kid coal?  (We did something like this one year as a joke.  We left a stocking on our daughter's door with a lump of coal in it.  She really wasn't amused.)

My mother used to tell me that how the first day of the year went was how the rest of the year would go.  (And trust me, kids believe these things.)  Can you imagine having a really bad New Years Day?  Man it would make you want to pack it in for the rest of the year. 

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.  Well that definitely turned out to be true.  After all, doctors don't make house calls any more.  You have to go see them. 

Speaking of doctors, how many have gone with their parents to get a shot and had the parent tell you "this is going to hurt me more than it is you"?  Really?  Well, why don't we get the doctor to jam a needle into you and see which truly hurts more. 

During the summer when we would have watermelon, my father would tell me that if I ate any of the seeds, a watermelon would grow in my stomach.  In fact, this seems to be one of the all time myths parents tell their kids.  I kept wondering why my stomach wasn't getting bigger and vines were going to come out of my ears.

How about if you play with your privates too much, you'll go blind.  There would always be someone that would come back with "can I do it till I need glasses?" 

If you stick out your tongue again, it will be stuck there permanently.  How many actually stopped? 

Or how about "If you tell me the truth, you won't get in trouble."  Uhh, that's because by this point you're already neck deep in the brown stuff.  They just want you to confess to find out the little pieces they're missing.

Then there's the old Pinocchio one.  The parent will tell the child that their nose will keep growing longer if they tell lies.  It made me wonder if I should keep a tape measure on me so I could keep track of it and see how noticeable it was.

And the one I remember most is being told to wear clean underwear in case I was ever in an accident.  Well, I really hope that the EMTs that come out in the ambulance and the doctors in the ER are going to be concerned with more than the condition of my underwear.  I can see the triage nurse telling the doctors, "The one on the left has six stab wounds.  The one in the middle needs treatment for a concussion, and dirty drawers over there has a broken arm."  And in reality, I would think that if one was in a bad enough accident, the first thing they would do would be soil their underwear. 

Oh well, parents.  Go figure. 

At Caring Palms, we pledge to do the best work we can at every session.  We not only do this to continue to earn your business, but because we believe that you deserve the best care possible every time you are here.  This is true whether it is massage, or energy work, or classes.  This is our promise.  This is what we will continue to do.