The London Lounge

No, it’s not (yet another ) philosophical question.



But when you check out your latest suit in a mirror, is that man with a boutonniere on the right side really you?
If you part your hair on the left side, why does he part his on the right side?
And if you tilt your hat to the right, why is his hat tilted to the left?

What’s all this mess up with which we have been putting (to paraphrase Churchill ) for the entire lengths of our lives? In fact, probably the only time when you see yourself the right way is in photographs – but they are still.

And yet there is a way for the vain to see themselves as they really are (yet do they truly want that? ) And it’s been around for a while. You can even try it at home: hold two mirrors at a perfect 90 degree angle and – magic! – you will see the real you, in a true mirror.



Someone even thought about putting this through a modern manufacturing process to do away with the disturbing line down the middle, providing a seamless image (but I’m not promoting anyone’s sales, so you figure it out). Or you may have one made to order by your trusted glassmaker But this thing can change your perception of yourself forever, if you can ever adjust to… reality!

A whisper to tailors: if I were you, I’d like to have one of these in my shop. Not just for customers…

Oh, and don't try to shave using that!

Or use your computer and webcam to have a glimpse of your true self

This might do more damage than good. One is used to one's mirror image; for this reason photographs or unexpected glimpses in a double-mirror give you this unpleasant impression. Yes, this is what you really look like and how others see you, but that you look terrible, and certainly worse than you know yourself from looking in normal mirrors, isn't true. It's only because your brain isn't used to it.

Costi wrote:
Oh, and don't try to shave using that!

Actually, I have tried it and got all the movements wrong.
I don't know who that guy on the other side was or what he was doing in my bathroom, but I surely got a few nicks on him.

Haha, shaving others is a profession, hectorm, not an amateur game

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj wrote: You cannot possibly say that you are what you think yourself to be! Your ideas about yourself change from day to day and from moment to moment. Your self-image is the most changeful thing you have. It is utterly vulnerable, at the mercy of a passer by. A bereavement, the loss of a job, an insult, and your image of yourself, which you call your person, changes deeply. To know what you are you must first investigate and know what you are not.

(Sorry for the ineluctable philosophic twist.)

The idea that our persona is merely "a passer by" through our existence is fascinating... A well-dressed passer by certainly gratifies the senses more (our own, first of all), but we still need to come to terms fully with "what we are not" - and senses are little help in that respect.

Empty Mirror
- Kenneth Rexroth -

As long as we are lost
In the world of purpose
We are not free. [...]

To really see yourself and know who you are, indulge in the self-reflecting variety of mirrors

Yes, indeed mirrors.

How many of us have a full length mirror in the house??

But more importantly, how many of us are willing to call foul on ourselves??

uppercase wrote: how many of us are willing to call foul on ourselves??

Willing, I am... but I just haven´t found any reason for doing it so far

Ha!!

Put on your best uniform and I'll give it a shot.

Honest but fair.

Deal?

A mirror that offers an OPINION - now that is something

A Swiss opinion?
I thought that the Swiss were scrupulously neutral?? No??

uppercase wrote: How many of us have a full length mirror in the house?

Costi wrote:A mirror that offers an OPINION - now that is something

I don´t exactly "have" at home a full length mirror that offers opinions, ...but I have been married to one for the last two months and twenty two years.

This is not to say that you are well trained is it, hectorm??

Just kidding.

I do understand that for the sake of marital peace and harmony, it is always best to listen to the boss.

We can always say what we really want elsewhere, like on LL.