How to Use Halloween to Embrace your Masked Self and to Let the Mask Go

What are you wearing for Halloween or the next costume party you are invited too?  The heroine of my next book mentions the mask she wears, and the roles she chose to play to be able to function in the world, and to keep her inner child safe. We all have developed some sort of mask and roles we play at some point in our lives.

How about if you choose one of the masks you wear, your favorite one, the one you feel the strongest about, and create a costume based on that mask and role you choose to play in life? After the party is over, you can choose to start letting go of that mask for good.

Before you come up with the mask and costume, make sure to ask permission from your inner child, after all, you will fully expose and even exaggerate one of the roles she/he plays to stay safe.

Here are some examples of roles and some costume’s ideas:

• Good girl - What does a really "good girl" dress like? How would she behave at the party?
• Peacekeeper - Wear the peace sign or create a costume of a white dove. Make sure to keep the peace at the party.
• Creative - How can you best show up as a creative person that "never" has a dull moment? What creative ideas can you come up with to entertain the party all night long?
• Know it all- Create a costume that says “I know it all” in at least 20 different languages, and make sure you know how to read them all for the other guests.
• Spiritual - Dress up as a monk, speak as one, breathe as one, be wise as one, etc.
• Teacher - Well, this one isn't that difficult, but make sure to truly play that role, and spend the night teaching each and every guest something, even if they already know it.
• Quiet - if that's the role you learned to play to stay safe, that should be an even easier option...
• Heroine/hero – Get a cape, like the one I’m wearing in this post’s picture, that's not another super hero’s cape but it is Super YourName cape. Make sure to save the world, or the party, or just one person, that night.
• Perfect- ha! This one as we all know probably won't make it to the party, likely failing to make the perfect costume.

If we were to host a party asking guests to wear your most treasured personal mask, what would you choose? Would you be willing to do it, and most importantly, to let go of it and become more of yourself after you take off the costume?

A good ritual afterwards would be to undress visualizing yourself letting go of that mask, while reassuring to your inner child that you will still be loved, even if you are not wearing a mask or playing a specific role. Then you can fully show up as yourself.

Happy Halloween.