Shedding the Masks of Ego: A Self-Portrait of Liberation and Spiritual Awakening

In creating this self-portrait, I set out not just to paint my image, but to explore the eternal question that has echoed through my art, my meditations, and my very being: Who am I? This painting became a meditative inquiry into identity, ego, and the masks we wear to navigate the world.

From the moment we are born, society hands us masks: daughter, friend, mother, artist, lover. Each role is like a layer, a performance on the stage of life. As Shakespeare wrote:

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."

As I painted, I felt those layers slip away. I asked again and again:
Who am I, really?
Not this body.
Not this mind.
Not this fleeting thought.

"I am without form, beyond time and space. I am in everything, and everything is in me. Tat Tvam Asi — That Thou Art."

In this portrait, I sought to capture a visual unmasking, of standing face to face with the Self that lies beyond ego, beyond persona.

The ego loves its masks. It whispers that we must achieve, prove, and strive.

“The ego wants you to believe you have somewhere to go, but the self says you have arrived. Be present in your life while you are creating your future. What you do today matters because it’s our blueprint for our destiny.”

But these masks, these roles—however useful—can easily become traps. As Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. reminds us:

"You are not any of the masks that you wear… when you believe that any role, identity, career, social status, or interest is who you really are, you have fallen into another trap, and suffering is right around the corner."

Carl Jung, too, warned of this danger:

"The persona is a complicated system of relations between individual consciousness and society… a mask that feigns individuality, making others and oneself believe that one is individual, whereas one is simply acting a role through which the collective psyche speaks."

Portrait as a Mirror of Consciousness

Self-portraiture is more than the act of depicting one’s likeness. It is an invitation to confront the self beneath the mask.

"Whoever looks into the mirror of the water will see first of all his own face. Whoever goes to himself risks a confrontation with himself."

In this work, I chose to become both artist and subject—the protagonist of my own exploration of ego and identity. 

"Only the truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free." — Eckhart Tolle

When we begin to unmask ourselves, we begin to rediscover:

• Inner peace

• Authenticity

• Unconditional love

• True happiness

• Emotional freedom

• Meaningful connection to the divine

This self-portrait is my reminder—and perhaps yours—that the answers we seek are not out there. They are within. The divine is not distant; it lives through you, as you.

Living Beyond the Mask

The journey of shedding ego’s masks isn’t about rejecting all roles, but about wearing them with awareness. As Ruiz Jr. shares:

"A Master of Self wears any mask with a full awareness that it's only a mask, a temporary identity to serve a function, and readily discards the mask when it is no longer needed."

This awareness frees us to live intentionally, to choose how we show up, without letting roles define us. It allows us to let go of attachments, to surrender desires, and to move toward liberation.

"Desire is a trap. Desirelessness is liberation. Desire is the creator. Desire is the destroyer. Desire is the universe."

An Invitation to the Viewer

As you gaze into this work, I invite you to reflect:
What masks are you ready to release?
What remains when you lay down the expectations of identity and persona?

May this portrait be a mirror, a portal, and a gentle reminder that you are so much more than any role, any name, any story.

I am without form, without limit, beyond time, beyond space. I am in everything. Everything is in me.