Philosophy

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Rêve-Amp'T

My art and writing all embody my philosophy, my spiritual concepts, developed over a lifetime of work and experience. In 2014, I decided it was time to finally become ordained, something I'd wanted to do ever since I'd heard about how the character Chris Stevens of the wayout t.v. show "Northern Exposure" had found an ad in the back of a "Rolling Stone" and became an ordained minister--that was in the early 1990s. So,when I came across the Universal Life Church, and after having taught an eight week course at the Philosophical Library In Escondido, CA, back in Fall 2012, I felt like with all of my on-going studies throughout undergraduate and graduate school, and beyond, it was time to take that next step and obtain my ordination, to commit in that way, even if I did not go the traditional route. This was not something I did on a whim, or that I take lightly. I am on a mission.

Fulfilling my calling, which I have felt for as long as I can remember, is my purpose, but it has more to do with pulling the curtain back to reveal truth than promoting any particular religious ideology, although I draw from many cultures and belief systems. However, my basic starting point is that we are all born with our own personal connection to the Divine, and that we experience this intuitively and individually, feel it in our guts, at some deep indescribable level, because it is unique, remaining that which is understood but cannot be articulated. Encountering gnosis through epiphanies most certainly can and should bring one to one's knees, or at least to tears. I live to be overwhelmed and I am here to remind people of what they have forgotten is their birth right, which seems most easily communicated through my art, and in the process of creating my art, I meditate on the concepts, so I also gain deeper understanding.

That is my starting point, my mission to Re-connect the broken or weak connections that have allowed us to forget much of who we are and what our potential is--it's about jogging the memory, cleaning out the cobwebs, clearing the pathways of those synapses in the brain that become weakened when not reinforced, as if the foliage had overgrown the way, or maybe the bridge needs to be rebuilt.

Throughout these pages, I put forth examples of my premises, which continue to make themselves apparent, even to me. I will also present many examples from my studies of various texts, as I continue to populate these pages.

PHILOSOPHY

Anyone wanting to work with a deck (or other Divination System, such as Runes, I-Ching) must find their own Tarot deck to work with, one that speaks to them, resonates. I personally favor Aleister Crowley's Thoth Deck, for which he commissioned Lady Frida Harris to create artwork reflecting Crowley's explanations and insights, communicated through extensive correspondence. The beauty of each card and the use of symbols overwhelmingly connect with me. To note, Crowley's deck follows the lesser known (esoteric and archaic) variation with the deck positions switched between Justice (8) and Strength (11), more commonly considered as Strength (8) and Justice (11); it is Crowley's version that resonates with me.

In regard to my interpretations, I have ultimately found the late Cultural Anthropologist Angeles Arrien's Tarot book my preferred reference book for my studies.

WordPlay is one of my favorite things, to look for the mystery/history of words, to play with spelling, re-arrangement, numerology. Kabbalah instructs meditating on words, writing a word over and over, considering the letters that make up that word, as well as any other words that may be derived from those letters, thus allowing for a very transcendent experience for anyone daring to explore the rabbit hole through WordPlay