Masks of Origin: Regression in the Service of Omnipotence
Brian George's debut collection of personal essays invites readers on a journey beyond the normal categories of space, time, and narrative structure, toward a further shore of multidimensional and more-than-human experience. These are "essays" in the sense of attempts or explorations of a subject which is too vast, and too profound, yet also, paradoxically, too familiar (to some deepest part of us) to be exhausted by any one expression or approach. As George puts it, "The book is not quite a collection of essays, or the fragments of an autobiography, or a record of inter-dimensional journeys, or a work of metaphysics, or a sociopolitical critique, or an attempt to formulate a contemporary mythology-although it has elements of all of these." To read Masks of Origin, and to re-read it perhaps, and to live with all that it reveals, conceals, and intimates, is to risk encountering the unfathomable within ourselves as much as in the art. As George recursively unravels the contours of his peculiar spiritual landscape, we begin to see aspects our own world history and generational trauma transfigured-as in a psychedelic mirror-in a startling new light. Yet the only drug administered here is the noötropic of poetic language. (You may still wish to avoid operating heavy machinery while under the influence of this book.) With penetrating insight into the soul of post-industrial America and a rare ability to invoke transpersonal states of knowing (even accompanying the thrill of the unknown) in the reader, and with a metaphysical bravado that any dada surrealist might envy, there is also-how to say this?-a down-to-earthness about George that softens our defenses. In Masks of Origin, we meet the artist not only as a cosmic traveler and esoteric yogi, but also as a schoolboy, a son, a rebel, a lover, a teacher, a friend/enemy, and a family man-in short, as a person with adventurous goals but few pretenses. As we follow George in the probing of his origins, we may find that we have suddenly drawn much closer to our own.
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"The demand for things to simply "be what they are"-no symbols, no masks, just fungible commodities that are forgotten almost as soon as they are consumed to make way for the next meal-seems to be a hallmark of this age. If that is so, some might consider this book a sort of anachronism. But it's the opposite: a glimpse both of what has been forgotten, and is yet to be. It contains a world of puzzles and ciphers laid out upon the meandering labyrinth path of life. It won't get you rich, or laid, or cure your bunions. But for those who are still seeking the ineffable, (likely because they have no other choice), it is a pitcher of cool water in the desert, so that you might continue the journey, wherever it leads."- James Curcio, author of Narrative Machines: Modern Myth, Revolution, & Propaganda and Tales From When I Had A Face
"In Masks of Origin, Brian George will blow your mind and make you see everything-time, space, life, death-in radically new ways. This is a delightful combination of memoir and philosophical journey. The ideas are complex, but the language is easy to follow, creating an experience that is both profound and accessible. The book is filled with personal stories that touch universal truths. I love hearing about mystical experiences and have heard many amazing stories, but Brian's stand out for their vividness, depth, and engaging, lucid description. If you're in the mood for a fun and mind-expanding ride, read this book!"- Stephanie Wellen Levine, author of Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey among Hasidic Girls; Columnist at Hevria and The Wisdom Daily
"The writing of Brian George is built upon personal experience, which he translates into a universal algorithm. Each verse reads as geometrical sequence, keys that unlock pieces of consciousness. This is where poetry becomes music. The poet lives in the center of the vortex, memories flooding his vision, being assigned symbols in the matrix. Brian weaves his way through a hall of mirrors, travelling to emptiness, where the faceted diamond of knowledge is forged and brought to the surface in his writing. His words are clues; one's understanding shifts and expands the more one reads. There are lingering questions, and passages that come into clarity over time. This only serves to enhance for the reader the incredible fortune of not-knowing, and thus, discovery."- Marjorie Kaye, artist
