At the risk of sounding like a pompous jerk, I coined the name Regressionism to describe my holistic mish-mash of various modern art styles. As an style, Regressionism is not one particular art style so much as it is several, unified by a technique — a meta-style, so to speak. It could be compared to an empire that consists of different nationalities. I like to freely adapt different styles into my work, sometimes using more than one style independently within a single painting. Some of the most influential styles for me are Symbolism, Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. Where my Regression series relies more heavily upon the symbolist style, my Temples series began with a heavy surrealist influence which leaned more towards post-impressionism as the series played out.
The Path to Holism *
Regressionism is a systematic means of piecing together a truly holistic perspective and philosophy. For me, this method of shattering illusions has practically been a way of life. The path of enlightenment may be the most difficult of all missions — know thyself. To know thyself is to know God. This is gnosis, a unification of personal will with that of the divine source — or divination in the literal sense of the word. Oftentimes going backward is what reveals the clearest path forward.
In this philosophy, there is only the mind. In its physical aspect, the universe is essentially the body of God. The body is essentially the reactive part of the all-encompassing mind. Like one large organism, every seemingly separate thing has its designated functionality. Bodily systems are generally designed to act independently of higher consciousness. Sometimes the body automatically reacts on a cellular level, like in the case of emergency. The left hand does not necessarily know what the right hand is doing. There seems to be a great gulf separating the reactive mind (body) from the creative mind (brain). In universal phenomena, this abyss is like the black hole — a dark, terrifying gateway to a place where the ego dies to be One. Esoteric traditions around the world all have one thing in common, the goal of enlightenment through reintegration of cellular intelligence into the higher consciousness. Regressionism is a personal and universal trip through the black hole.
philosophy: root words (Greek) — philo: to love + sophia: wisdom
The premise of Regressionism is based upon acquaintance with the shadow self. Shining the light of consciousness upon what the brain’s natural defense mechanisms exist to protect us from, we can train ourselves to shatter reality. Reality shattering is naturally disorienting, but it expands the mind to experience a larger world. One’s misconceptions may be comforting to live in, but such a limited perspective is a self-imposed prison. As one wise shaman said, “We are all our own prisons, we are all our own wardens, and we do our own time.”
Regressionism is a soul search — an archaeological dig in search of suppressed memories. Exploring the nightmares, one can unlock the chains that bind the soul. There is a time to let the bad guys out. We can learn to let go. If we can forgive those who have hurt us, we can forgive ourselves. If we can forgive ourselves, we can live in love and acceptance rather than fear and tolerance. Only then can we be free.
Falling in love you remain a child; rising in love you mature. By and by love becomes not a relationship, it becomes a state of your being. Not that you are in love – now you are love. — Osho
Love is something you BECOME after there is no more YOU … through complete sacrifice of the personality … — Mel Lyman
Preaching love while practicing separation, if one is not ready to invite the nightmares, one is not ready to awaken to a greater world. Misguided positivity says we should build people up instead of tear them down, but those who dwell in ivory towers are the same dogs who bite the hand that feeds them. Light bearers aren’t surprised to find themselves ignored or demonized by those who live in the dark. As destruction is the first step in the process of creation, false principles should be rooted out — not enshrined.
We live in a society out of touch, composed of individuals who do not really love themselves. If one cannot love oneself, they cannot very well love another. There is no fear in this kind of love, no will to possess. When one fears what lies deep inside oneself, know thyself becomes mission impossible. Too afraid to let mental walls fall, one perceives great evil in the outside world. Our own fears are projected onto others, manifesting as condemnation and hatred — often masked as tolerance by the “open-minded.” Reality is essentially what we perceive, and we are what we believe. God is a devil in the heart of fear.
Acquaintance with the Gnostic aeons, that is the higher mystical realms of the creative mind, allows for transcendence of the mundane world of fear and loathing ruled by lesser gods and archons. True, holistic love of the self destroys “the devil” through reintegration — through love. Without the hindrance of the reactive mind, a whole new world is born. Paradise is on the horizon.
* Holism (as I define it) draws inspiration from new school anthropology’s holistic perspective, a non ethnocentric nor egocentric viewpoint which strives to view each culture (and by extension each individual) first from its own point of view, and also from multiple perspectives in effort to construct the most panoramic understanding possible — a dispassionate, unbiased perception.