Persona - The Matrix Within

The Persona was described by Carl Gustav Jung as a mask or appearance that is projected by every, and any one of us, to the outside world.
Importantly, the persona (or ego), used in this sense, is not a pose or some other intentional misrepresentation of the self to others. Rather, it is "the self as self-construed, and may change according to situation and context".

“The persona is a complicated system of relations between individual consciousness and society, fittingly enough a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and, on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual.” - The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious – 1935 – Carl Gustav Jung

We individually strive for the acceptance of the world surrounding us. Our persona tries to do just that, to envelop a layer around us that makes us feel more adequate, accepted and even loved.
But if we all (although to varying degrees) have the need possess that layer, shouldn’t that mean that we all feel (adequately) inadequate, and, having that in common, shouldn’t we maybe come to a time and place where acceptance is inherent to our human condition? We are all human, and none of us are our persona.

As society’s conventions, rules, morale and prejudices get farther away from our true and primary self, so must our persona. The way we live has changed so dramatically in the last fractions of our existence as humans, that I can’t help but wonder if the way that nature evolves and adapts the species is enough for our frantic changing. It does seem otherwise.

The human body naturally forms fat. It is the most accessible source of energy that the organism can save for later use, and the ability to produce it is obviously priceless for our survival in times or scarcity, just like many other survival mechanisms.
A species evolves to meet demands of survival, and so we did throughout millenniums.

Millenniums of scarcity.

Would our body, in this particular, work in the very same way, if our evolution travelled eras of abundance? If starvation would never be a threat to our survival and existence, would our body still develop or maintain an ability that would never or rarely be necessary? And would our almost universal appetite for fats and sweets be the same, if these weren’t such valuable as energy sources.

Did we not progressively loose the hair in our body after thousands of years, after we learned to keep ourselves warm with animal fur and fire?

In developed countries, we die because we have not adapted to abundance. In the US in 2012, obesity and it’s consequences will be the leading cause of death.

Socially, we have, in a recent past, undergone times of violent and extreme oppression, rooted either on religion or simple tyranny and power (and the border between religion and these, is often blurred, at best).
Today, although more “civilized”, it’s doubtful that we have cut down the distance between social rules and conventions, and our true primary selves.
In fact, the more intricate the web becomes, the further our persona strays away from our true selves, and the deeper the abyss we have to cover to enforce it to the world.

The persona is the projection of our supposed ideal, adapted self. The paradox is, the farther it is distanced from our true selves, the more it has a tendency to work against us.

n

Questions / feedback can be sent to adv_anybody@gmail.com