The Persona - Who we pretend to be

God's desire is for us to become whole and be real. To become whole is what we will deal with in the next lectures. Now we want to see how God makes us real. To do this he uses the dream in a most significant way. Just as God was not satisfied with the fig leaf coverings that Adam and Eve made when they discovered they were naked, "He made garments of skins and clothed them" (Genesis 3:7 and 3:21), so He is not satisfied with masks that we put on when we want to hide who we really are. We call the masks that we wear the persona. One of the most evident parts of ourselves that shows up in our dreams is the persona. The persona is the mask that we wear, it is the face that we put on to be acceptable to or relate to others. It is useful in relating to others, but we have to be aware of how we rely upon the personas we use. It is possible to become so closely identified with the persona that we lose track of who we really are, or we can be tormented with the differences between the image we portray and the person we really think we are. Dreams can help us see and consider the way we relate to others through use of our various personas.

In the dream, the persona often appears as the clothes that we wear, or sometimes as the skin or other covering. We may be dressed to the "T" to look appear very attractive on the outside, but something is wrong. A woman dreamed: “I was in my closet and all of my silk blouses had little holes at the shoulders. They were worn-looking. I was wondering how the holes had gotten there, because they were new.” She finds that the fine appearance she wants to make has "holes" in it. She knows others will be able to see through the fine garment which is her mask as she goes to present herself before others. Sometimes we put on a "front" for the occasion. A young woman of strong character was troubled by the weakness of her husband. He vacillated and could be swayed by most everyone. The only time he showed authority was when he put on his uniform, for he was a court officer. He had no authority within himself, he had to put it on in court, otherwise he was weak and vacillating.

Sometimes the dream shows that we want to look like everyone else to be acceptable. This may be symbolized in the dream as wearing a "uniform" like a choir robe. At other times we may be wearing the uniform of the doctor, nurse, mechanic, soldier or pilot. This is what we "wear" for our work or profession, but that only reveals what we do but does not reveal who we really are. When my first book was published I dreamed: "I was being fitted for the length of my new trousers as an author." It indicated that I was tempted to appear as an author, and not simply another person who has written a book. God bypasses what we do to speak to the person we really are. In the dream we may appear as not properly dressed, as when I was speaking to a group of missionaries in Papua New Guinea who heralded from Australia and New Zealand.  I dreamed: "I was speaking to a group but had no shirt on.” I knew that if this happened in real life I would be embarrassed or at least ill at ease, so I listened to what my heart revealed in the dream so I could hear why I was ill at ease. Then I realized that one of the men who participated in the seminar was quite an intellectual and he was not accepting what I was teaching and causing me to go off on side tracks. To correct that attitude revealed in the dream, I decided to let him go off on his "rabbit trails" and I stayed where I belonged and was comfortable. The dream was showing me what I was not yet conscious of, but unconsciously was feeling. These corrections and insights are so valuable in day to day situations and in our growth towards wholeness.

Sometimes we find ourselves completely naked in the dream. This may have two different meanings. Nakedness may say that we feel that we are exposed; that people can see right through us, that is, the persona that we put one. However nakedness may also say that we have nothing to hide. We are willing for people to see us just as we are, without putting on any front. The emotions or feeling tone we have in a dream can help us understand which way to interpret a symbol which can have many meanings. In this case, perhaps a sense of shame or embarrassment would lead to the “exposed” meaning, while a sense of confidence or strength would point towards the “openness” meaning. 

In the dream shoes may portray our standing, or our connection with the earth, our solidity, our foundation. The belt holds thing together. The hat covers our head, so it may signify a protection or our mind, or body. The trousers cover our lower body, so may speak of the covering for our walk or our sexuality. The blouse covers the breast which is a symbol of femininity. So the clothes that we wear in the dream may signify many different things, or as a whole may speak of our covering. The skin is sometimes used as a mask or persona in the dream. The skin is the largest organ of the body, and covers and protects us. A noted dermatologist pointed out to me that the condition of the skin gives a very accurate reflection of our emotions. Accordingly, the skin may do what the clothes do in the dream, so if the skin is broken or blotched in the dream, it may indicate that our covering is broken or blemished too. The persona is a necessary part of us. It is the covering, like the skin for our body or like the clothes that we wear. It is good as long as it relates to us honestly, and not used as a “cover up” for the real person.

So God is showing us our persona when we pretend to be what we are not. He wants us to take off the false covering and let Him reveal the true person who we are. Jesus speaks much about the mask. Jesus said, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them" "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men". "When you pray do not look somber; as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting” (Matthew 6:1, 5, 16). Speaking further about the hypocrites, "Everything they do is for men to see" (Matthew 23:5). The hypocrites are really actors, putting on a face as though they are someone else than they really are.

We need the mask at times, for when we are asked, "How are you?" generally the inquirer does not want to know about your quarrel with your spouse, or your latest medical status, but is quite satisfied to know that on the surface all is well. However if we wear the mask all the time we are hiding the real truth about ourselves; we may be in denial, or in evasion, and miss opportunities for growth and deeper relationships. We need to know the difference between using the persona as a way of simplifying relationships with others, and when to be much more “real” about who we are. This need to be familiar with who we really are was illustrated to me by a conversation with a friend who shared about a point in his life when he had to be honest about who he was. Upon meeting my friend for the first time, a man said "I hear you are a troublemaker. Tell me how you got that way." The friend told me, “I chuckled and then tried to avoid a head on discussion of my life. He would have none of my evasive tactics. I finally shared the bizarre and painful events of that time in my life. We became good friends." It is wonderful to know who we really are, and to have friends who can accept that reality.

God does not speak to our persona or mask, He only speaks to the real person, deep within. Too often we look for the healing of our persona, when it is the real person deep within us who truly needs the healing.

It is important for our growth and healing to acknowledge the masks that we are wearing and let God go beyond them and touch the real self. If we make our choices based upon the mask we are wearing at any one time, we will make choices that will suit us only as long as we wear that mask. Since that is not who we really are, we may find ourselves as uncomfortable as David was when Saul offered his heavy armor to the shepherd boy. With the armor on, David would surely have been slain by the giant, but when David wore only what he really was, then he made the giant fall. There is great strength in knowing who we are, and making choices and taking actions based upon that reality.

copyright © Herman Riffel, May, 2004