I agree with you about all of that and mainly Freemasonry should not be a way to just get more cash in the Lodge accounts......but I see that too.
I wish I could get around like you do still since I just got that email about the trip to D.C. next year and that sounds great and I would love doing that and in my better days I tended to stay a couple weeks when we went back east but I never made it to D.C to see all those places.
That picture you showed this time is a place I have seen on history programs a couple times with that winding stairway to that floor at the bottom so I had a closeup view of it from top to bottom.......which is my traveling these days.
I tend to watch world history programs so much that the wife will go watch movies on a disc ;-)
As far as changing things in Masonry........well you have more "powers" to do anything than I do since you are our MWPGM and not many of us ever get close to that.
So good luck with that here in our State since you know more members than I do but I did meet more than most since I saw you all at every Zoom meeting we had so you got used to your Masonic mad scientist ........which is why I am always awake when you post these topics since in Geneva it is close to lunch time at CERN......and I just started all my test programs up so it is great this laptop I have next to me at night sends me my emails (windows 11) so I always know when you left something for me to read.
I haven't been to Monroe for a long time but daily talk to an old friend who still lives in Maltby
He tells me Monroe is not like it was when I was going to that old Monroe Middle School in the 60's
>>>As far as changing things in Masonry........well you have more "powers" to do anything than I do >>>since you are our MWPGM and not many of us ever get close to that.
I firmly believe that we are changing Freemasonry for the better through our discussions here on Emeth. While not too many of us actually comment here, Emeth has developed a very broad reach, and it is growing every single day. By learning about best Masonic practices, how to do things well, and what to avoid doing, we are all learning the information we need to take back to our Lodges in order to improve them. Imperceptible improvements perhaps, and improvements that will take a long time to seep into the culture of our Lodge, but over time, things will get better and better.
Another great article. As you know, I have been involved in membership development in Demolay, lodge and shrine. Since the 1970’s for Demolay, and then right into Lodge as soon as I was 21 and allowed to petition. Then 5 years ago, I was asked to help in Shrine. Why? Because I had passion. Others didn’t. Since then I’ve signed 30 petitions for Shrine, and I’ve probably helped a third of those into Masonry. But I’ve been preaching the beauties of masonry for decades. And as I was taught, the lodge’s first reason to exist was to initiate, pass and raise masons. And we were required to be proficient in our memory and floorwork before we were allowed to put on those degrees by our Inspectors. All it took was one phone call from a dissatisfied Mason to the Inspector and we would be shut down from performing degrees until we had again proved ourselves proficient in performing a worthy degree. Why? Because this was the candidate’s first and only deep experience with Masons. To achieve such progress in memory and floorwork we met weekly to practice our degrees. How carry the rods, how to conduct the candidates, set him up at the altar, walk them around the room and move properly at all times with all of our different rituals in each degree. And because of this, I feel our bonds were as good as you can have until something clicked in my head in the last decade.
All of that work together is meaningless unless you actually spend time with your brothers outside of the Masonic Lodge. You help each other at your homes, run errands for sick brothers and their family, help them fix their car, faucet or any number of things that you might do with your own familial brother. I did this, and then others started doing it. We went to each other’s homes for parties, mowed lawns for widows, took each other to the airport and the more we did these things, the more we grew in brotherly love and affection.
This is the secret to a stronger fraternity. Living the obligations with others just as if we truly were brothers in the same house. Does it work all the time? No, but it increases the hold on the fraternity for most, and those that I’ve had the privilege of mentoring have mostly grown in masonry and many seek to be leaders in their lodge and in appendant bodies. But it takes good ritual to start. We don’t always have that in any one lodge, but we have brothers who specialize in ritual and travel to all of our district lodges and it allows us all to have better degrees than if we just had our members doing the floorwork and ritual.
I have also learned in Shrine membership that one day classes have the same retention as degrees done traditionally. About 50% stay active 5 years later. So who’s to say what makes a man stay active in masons except for the experience he has with the lodge after he has joined. Is Scottish Rite, York Rite or Shrine bad? Do they hurt the lodge? Not really, in my opinion. Every Mason seeks his quarry. His interest will stay focused on lodge if his needs are met there, but at the least, if he joins an appendant body and never sets foot in a blue lodge again, he still has to maintain his dues to stay a member of those bodies. And those other bodies do great things in the world. Scottish Rite has its Rite care for children, York Rite had their heart charity and Shrine has the largest pediatric orthopedic care system in the world. They all change lives for the better and promote Masonic Charity that we teach in every initiation. What is bad about that?
So I will still work in all branches of masonry and help the world as best I can and know that I make a big difference in someone’s life. If we want better lodges, we must demand better of our lodges, our members and our leaders. And our members must remember that each lodge is only as good as the members in it. Seek out quality men, and listen to them if they give good advice. Be open to new ideas, new people and new ways of getting along. Our ritual is old, but our ways of expanding our minds is all about being open to all of education and study. Look to those who promote thoughtful discourse. And listen to those who know how best to manage our finances and affairs. And never, never stop reading and learning.
My hope is that someday Washington Grand Lodge will have a unified ritual and floorwork and promote proficiency in all lodges so that our candidates have the best chance of seeing a great degree. And so that a brother can perform the same ritual and floorwork consistently in every lodge no matter where he travels in the state. And let’s get more musicians in the lodges!
>>>All it took was one phone call from a dissatisfied Mason to the Inspector and we would be shut >>>down from performing degrees until we had again proved ourselves proficient in performing a >>>worthy degree.
Within the past 30 days, I witnessed the worst Degree I have ever seen.
Also, within the past 30 days, i witnessed the best Degree I have ever seen.
A Mason's Degree experience should not depend upon the 'accident of his birth.' He should not have to suffer through a horrific Degree simply because the Lodge in his area can't be bothered to effectively practice putting on a Degree, or take the time to seek outside assistance as needed.
Every man who receives the Degrees of Masonry deserves a quality Initiation. Anything less is doing nothing but cheating him of that which he was promised. Indeed, cheating him out of the fee he paid.
Which is why I prefer lodge officers be required to pass proficiency before they’re installed into Sr Deacon and wardens, WM. I also prefer the lodge’s all performing the same floorwork, so that you can be in Spokane, Seattle or anywhere in the State and do the same work regardless of location. Right now? No consistency from lodge to lodge. Rods? Different everywhere. Stewards? Different floor work everywhere and no single authority to define which way works. My answer? Stay with the piano.
It struck me where, in your intro to this topic, you mentioned "the old you died." If you recall last Sunday when Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford "accidently" called the pillars outside of the chamber "legs." Some may have noticed it was an intentional phrase. The chamber can represent the womb, from where you are born again (John 3:3). The same concept was found in the early cathedrals designed by architects from the templars (as repeating Solomons Temple), and carried out through the masons and carpenters guild. By entering into the church you were brought to the light (candles obviously being used to light up the interiors). By entering - symbolically like kundalini you would be placed at the base of the spine, traveling up (isle) to the heart area (pews). After receiving the message of God, you would exit back to the world. The exit has a design of the birthing canal with two upright legs on either side of the doors seen as pillars on the exterior. Hence being born again, an initiation of spirit.
There’s a lot of influence from Kabbalah in Masonry (including Cabbala [Christian] and Qabalah [Egyptian]). I have a lot of respect for anyone, particularly a rabbi who has studied in depth and shares the knowledge. I was fortunate enough to study under a few Rabbi’s in Beverly Hills, CA. There is not a large market within the Jewish community who acknowledge or have even heard of it.
One story comes to mind, from the Talmud, called the Pardes (פַּרְדֵּס). In short the story explains that four Rabbi’s studied the esoteric interpretations of the Torah (Kabbalah) and practised divination. The first died. One denounced his faith. Another went insane. And only one became enlightened and found peace. Rabbi Lambed Ben Clifford (A.K.A. Lon Milo du Quot), seems to be one of the survivors. This was the warning that was given to me when I started Kabbalah.
Oh yes I know of all of that and I met Professor Lawrence Schiffman about 20 years ago when he gave several days of lectures at the U.W, and had large sections of the "Dead Sea Scrolls" or Qumran Scrolls and he read out all of the scroll sections proving that the current Tanach is letter to letter the same as it was when those scrolls were made........world history and mainly the history of the middle east are something I have studied for decades and like right now they have several programs all night on the Smithsonian channel.....they just had one about that famous Tower in Babylon and proof that it was real and now another program with more actual evidence of the many things that were called myths . (Lawrence Schiffman is usually one of the people on these programs and he is a professor at NYU and we still email each other after all these years talking about things like this.
(for some reason the edit does not work here right now for me)
At least that is on the Dish channel version tonight and last night on the Smithsonian channel (that link is worthless)
I have seen the one on right now about King Solomons Temple and the Ark of the Covenant and I don't believe for a second that it is in that Ethiopian Aksum church or that Menelik brought it to Ethiopia....whole different story of course.
Looks like they are switching to NASA and trip to the Moon
That's the stuff I enjoy. I need to download the Smithsonian Channel so I can check those shows out. I actually prefer documentaries over movies. I'll also have to check out Lawrence's interpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Thanks for sharing and feel free to send and recommendations.
Yes of course that is the ancient Hebrew text but it is easy to translate to Biblical Hebrew which is a bit different that the Hebrew text today in a Jerusalem newspaper
I studied ancient Hebrew after I taught myself Biblical Hebrew back in the early 90's......I was doing that before I started at CERN 18 years ago and both are interesting but I really like ancient history more than the future since I'm sure I won't be around to see that.
I'm currently studying Paleo-Hebrew, Phoenician and Canaanite languages. Learning one pretty much explains the other two, it's almost identical. It interesting to read the symbolic language in lieu of the modern Hebrew of the Torah, with its gematria.
I had read one of Lon Milo DuQuette's books in the past, but hearing him speak on both Saturday and Sunday truly sparked my interest in his work.
As soon as I got home, I started reading 'My Life With The Spirits' and finished that in a couple of days. Then I moved on to 'Homemade Magick.' Early in Homemade Magick he speaks of self-initiation. While I've long known that some people perform self-initiations, I never gave the act of doing so much credence. However, after reading his detailed account of his first Initiation, a self-initiation, I believe that I've changed my view.
Oct 4, 2022·edited Oct 4, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey
Great article.
As mentioned the #1 function of a lodge is to make master masons. The initiation rituals should be first and foremost done to the best of one's ability as it is the lasting impressions made on that candidate. The ritual should be done with solemnity; dramatic and beautiful with meaning and purpose to install wonder and awe for the newly obligated brother. Anything less is a disservice to the man and the craft. Anything that adds to that atmosphere should be incorporated into the work, as long as it doesn't go against TSW or the WMC. Proper lighting, music, candles, incense, etc. all can help establish the proper mood and frame of mind for both the candidate and the lodge members.
With that in mind, as I've stated several times in our weekly zoom meetings, it should be a requirement to have passed the PILM before being elected as a pillared officer within a lodge. If a WM or one of his pillared officers can't do the work, why are they being elected to those positions? If a lodge in general can't do the ritual, then why does it still exist? As far as I am concerned, the first most common indication of a failing lodge is poor ritual.
Also, as far as elections go, more care needs to be taken when writing a name down on a slip of paper. The progressive line has it's benefits, but one of the major flaws is that it can (and has) move unsuited and unqualified members into the east. This can have disastrous results.
There are some lodges that hold elections then follow that with step up night. To me, that makes zero sense. I've heard the argument that it's a bit presumptuous to hold a step up night before an election, you're assuming that the person is going to be elected. No, the entire purpose of step up night is to prove to the brothers that the person they are electing to fulfill that position can actually do the work. Holding it after elections simply would be like closing the barn door after the cows escaped. I recently attended a step up night at a lodge where just about everyone was reading their parts out of the cypher. I couldn't believe it. And no one seemed to be bothered by it. Why were they allowing this to happen? Because none of the past masters were willing to step up and either mentor the brothers, or volunteering to take a chair. Instead, they are more than happy to have someone completely unqualified to be elected, as long as it's not them personally. That is a clear indication of a lodge that needs to close, or merge with another.
Read "Autopsy of a deceased church", it's not about the fraternity, but you'll see many parallels between dying churches and lodges.
"In several of my initiations, the presiding officer was visibly intoxicated and the assisting officers ineptly read their lines from scripts that they were seeing for the first time. No matter what the circumstances, I considered the experience true initiations."
- Lon Milo DuQuette, Homemade Magick
I do not doubt that what Brother DuQuette wrote is true. For him.
I also do not doubt however that our Brother was much more ready for and open to initiation at that time than the average candidate.
In order to have a successful initiation, the candidate needs to be ready and open to initiation. But in many/most/almost all cases, I think that there is going to be resistance or fear within the candidate. We overcome that by providing a truly profound initiatory experience. It is what we owe our candidate.
For me, my initiation was the start of a very subtle change in me that needed to be cultivated. I can't say that I felt some kind of rebirth. I grew up Christian and have been baptized and very familiar with the term "born again". But at the time of my initiation, which was a pretty well put on EA degree, I can't remember feeling this kind of profound experience. I think most of this is probably due to my being too analytical in my thinking and I was trying to make sense of everything I had experienced instead of just experiencing it. I also had a very well done chamber of reflection for all my blue lodge degrees, of which I am thankful as it helped to quiet my mind a bit. I wonder what else can be done or told to the candidate that would help them to just experience instead of thinking too much about everything.
I also think along the same lines, that having more than one candidate at a time is not the best experience, but I must admit the brothers who were with me in my degrees I may have a stronger bond with initially than with other brothers because we went through the same thing together. And I don't think I would want to change that about my degree experience at least for me personally.
Brother Dale brings up some good points also. I believe we need to do the best work we can to initiate new members, but that is just the beginning. What happens after initiation is also very important and what happens outside the lodge also. But I think the point Cameron is making here is that this is what makes us unique, and without it we are just the same as any other organization doing good in the world and seeking truth.
I have more questions and thoughts, but alas, I must go to work.
>>>I also think along the same lines, that having more than one candidate at a time is not the best >>>experience
If we have more than one man going through the Degree at the same time, one man will still be the focus of the Degree.
One man will be led by the SD. The other will follow. One man will kneel where the candidate is supposed to kneel at the altar, with his hands on the Lodge's HB, S, C. The other man will be off to the side somehow. One man will be the center of attention. The other will not be.
From an esoteric standpoint, the man who is the center of attention will be receiving energy from the other men in the room, simply because he is the focus of attention. The other man will not.
From a non-esoteric standpoint, the man who isn't kneeling where a Candidate kneels will wonder why the Lodge prefers the other man. Why the other man was selected to be the 'primary' candidate and he the 'secondary' candidate.
I think it is OK to combine candidates for the Degree Lecture. I don't think it is ever OK to combine candidates for the Degree itself for the reasons stated above.
Right on MW Sir, what a great essay. I remember a couple of those 1 day degrees, they were a complete failure for the most part. We should change the code to comply.
Most Worshipful you know my feelings on this topic.
I am of the opinion that every man that petitions for the degrees in Masonry deserves his own degree from EA to MM.
In my jurisdiction the first part of the EA degree must be given to a single candidate and if up to five receive the lectures and charge together. My question has always been why stop there!!
How can any Master or Grand Master believe that a group of men of up to five get all of the teachings as well as in a one-on-one degree? From my own experience the EA was where I felt I was binding myself to the Craft. I consider myself lucky in that three of us went through together and we all did the first part by ourselves and got to watch the first part twice and our MM degree was a singular event for each of us.
On a few occasions I wasn’t the most popular person in the East because each candidate got his own degree. One MM degree with five FC went from 10 Am to 7:30 PM, but I would do it again if needed.
I get the argument that it takes to much time to work a candidate one at a time. That to me it is counterproductive when we want him as a Brother, that he should be and feel the center of our attention through all of his degrees. Do we as modern Masons think we have more on our plate then the Masons of the past? We have more free time today then ever before. How we manage that time is another story. In the past most men worked 12 to 14 hours, went to Lodge on horseback then went home to attend to livestock.
>>>Do we as modern Masons think we have more on our plate then the Masons of the past?
Your point is very well taken.
My family experience is from rural commercial agriculture, but here it is. My grandfather tells me that when he was a young man he worked every day on the farm, but got a half a day off every other Sunday. This would have been in the 1940's, and makes sense to me. At that time the farm contained approximately 500 cows that had to be milked twice a day, fed and cared for every day, plus approximately 800 acres of crop land that had to be tilled, planted, and harvested.
I presume that the days were much longer for my Great Grandfather during the Great Depression and through both World Wars.
But my Great Grandfather started our farm with draft horses. Then came tractors. Small machines but machines that could do a great deal more work than a horse. Now, in addition to small tractors used to do small things, the family utilizes great and massive and powerful machines. Tractors and loaders that have tires quite a lot taller than I am. Tractors with air conditioning and radios.
I remember as a kid my dad working hard on the farm, coming home dirty and exhausted. But five days a week instead of seven. Before instead of after dark.
I don't work on our farm, but about half of the family members of my generation do. Both of my Brothers, and my cousins. Alas though, none of them put in the punishing hours that my Grandfather did in the 1940's, or the unimaginable hours my Great Grandfather must have put in in the 1930's.
Things have gotten much easier over time, across all income levels. If the men of the last century had time for Freemasonry, we certainly have time for Freemasonry.
I have never had a profound or transformative experience in my whole life. Even the times I almost died from allergies, drowning, falling, explosions, and 3 close calls in combat in Iraq did not have much effect on me as anything more than things to be careful about in the future.
I think I desire and seek a profound experience. That connection with something greater than objective reality. I suppose I was hoping for such a connection in masonry but did not find it in my 3 degrees of blue lodge.
But perhaps the problem isn't masonry or even how the degree was performed but me.
I still remember thinking, "Where is this person taking me, I know the room isn't this big". I expected to find myself in the parking lot outside the building when the hoodwink was removed. I had been searching my entire adult life for exactly what Freemasonry offers and continue to enjoy it. I most enjoy teaching the lessons I have learned or am still learning to those less informed than myself.
I agree with you about all of that and mainly Freemasonry should not be a way to just get more cash in the Lodge accounts......but I see that too.
I wish I could get around like you do still since I just got that email about the trip to D.C. next year and that sounds great and I would love doing that and in my better days I tended to stay a couple weeks when we went back east but I never made it to D.C to see all those places.
That picture you showed this time is a place I have seen on history programs a couple times with that winding stairway to that floor at the bottom so I had a closeup view of it from top to bottom.......which is my traveling these days.
I tend to watch world history programs so much that the wife will go watch movies on a disc ;-)
As far as changing things in Masonry........well you have more "powers" to do anything than I do since you are our MWPGM and not many of us ever get close to that.
So good luck with that here in our State since you know more members than I do but I did meet more than most since I saw you all at every Zoom meeting we had so you got used to your Masonic mad scientist ........which is why I am always awake when you post these topics since in Geneva it is close to lunch time at CERN......and I just started all my test programs up so it is great this laptop I have next to me at night sends me my emails (windows 11) so I always know when you left something for me to read.
I haven't been to Monroe for a long time but daily talk to an old friend who still lives in Maltby
He tells me Monroe is not like it was when I was going to that old Monroe Middle School in the 60's
Goodnight Brother Cameron
>>>As far as changing things in Masonry........well you have more "powers" to do anything than I do >>>since you are our MWPGM and not many of us ever get close to that.
I firmly believe that we are changing Freemasonry for the better through our discussions here on Emeth. While not too many of us actually comment here, Emeth has developed a very broad reach, and it is growing every single day. By learning about best Masonic practices, how to do things well, and what to avoid doing, we are all learning the information we need to take back to our Lodges in order to improve them. Imperceptible improvements perhaps, and improvements that will take a long time to seep into the culture of our Lodge, but over time, things will get better and better.
Wow that nice
Thank you Brother!
Another great article. As you know, I have been involved in membership development in Demolay, lodge and shrine. Since the 1970’s for Demolay, and then right into Lodge as soon as I was 21 and allowed to petition. Then 5 years ago, I was asked to help in Shrine. Why? Because I had passion. Others didn’t. Since then I’ve signed 30 petitions for Shrine, and I’ve probably helped a third of those into Masonry. But I’ve been preaching the beauties of masonry for decades. And as I was taught, the lodge’s first reason to exist was to initiate, pass and raise masons. And we were required to be proficient in our memory and floorwork before we were allowed to put on those degrees by our Inspectors. All it took was one phone call from a dissatisfied Mason to the Inspector and we would be shut down from performing degrees until we had again proved ourselves proficient in performing a worthy degree. Why? Because this was the candidate’s first and only deep experience with Masons. To achieve such progress in memory and floorwork we met weekly to practice our degrees. How carry the rods, how to conduct the candidates, set him up at the altar, walk them around the room and move properly at all times with all of our different rituals in each degree. And because of this, I feel our bonds were as good as you can have until something clicked in my head in the last decade.
All of that work together is meaningless unless you actually spend time with your brothers outside of the Masonic Lodge. You help each other at your homes, run errands for sick brothers and their family, help them fix their car, faucet or any number of things that you might do with your own familial brother. I did this, and then others started doing it. We went to each other’s homes for parties, mowed lawns for widows, took each other to the airport and the more we did these things, the more we grew in brotherly love and affection.
This is the secret to a stronger fraternity. Living the obligations with others just as if we truly were brothers in the same house. Does it work all the time? No, but it increases the hold on the fraternity for most, and those that I’ve had the privilege of mentoring have mostly grown in masonry and many seek to be leaders in their lodge and in appendant bodies. But it takes good ritual to start. We don’t always have that in any one lodge, but we have brothers who specialize in ritual and travel to all of our district lodges and it allows us all to have better degrees than if we just had our members doing the floorwork and ritual.
I have also learned in Shrine membership that one day classes have the same retention as degrees done traditionally. About 50% stay active 5 years later. So who’s to say what makes a man stay active in masons except for the experience he has with the lodge after he has joined. Is Scottish Rite, York Rite or Shrine bad? Do they hurt the lodge? Not really, in my opinion. Every Mason seeks his quarry. His interest will stay focused on lodge if his needs are met there, but at the least, if he joins an appendant body and never sets foot in a blue lodge again, he still has to maintain his dues to stay a member of those bodies. And those other bodies do great things in the world. Scottish Rite has its Rite care for children, York Rite had their heart charity and Shrine has the largest pediatric orthopedic care system in the world. They all change lives for the better and promote Masonic Charity that we teach in every initiation. What is bad about that?
So I will still work in all branches of masonry and help the world as best I can and know that I make a big difference in someone’s life. If we want better lodges, we must demand better of our lodges, our members and our leaders. And our members must remember that each lodge is only as good as the members in it. Seek out quality men, and listen to them if they give good advice. Be open to new ideas, new people and new ways of getting along. Our ritual is old, but our ways of expanding our minds is all about being open to all of education and study. Look to those who promote thoughtful discourse. And listen to those who know how best to manage our finances and affairs. And never, never stop reading and learning.
My hope is that someday Washington Grand Lodge will have a unified ritual and floorwork and promote proficiency in all lodges so that our candidates have the best chance of seeing a great degree. And so that a brother can perform the same ritual and floorwork consistently in every lodge no matter where he travels in the state. And let’s get more musicians in the lodges!
I do not disagree with the system you mention:
>>>All it took was one phone call from a dissatisfied Mason to the Inspector and we would be shut >>>down from performing degrees until we had again proved ourselves proficient in performing a >>>worthy degree.
Within the past 30 days, I witnessed the worst Degree I have ever seen.
Also, within the past 30 days, i witnessed the best Degree I have ever seen.
A Mason's Degree experience should not depend upon the 'accident of his birth.' He should not have to suffer through a horrific Degree simply because the Lodge in his area can't be bothered to effectively practice putting on a Degree, or take the time to seek outside assistance as needed.
Every man who receives the Degrees of Masonry deserves a quality Initiation. Anything less is doing nothing but cheating him of that which he was promised. Indeed, cheating him out of the fee he paid.
Which is why I prefer lodge officers be required to pass proficiency before they’re installed into Sr Deacon and wardens, WM. I also prefer the lodge’s all performing the same floorwork, so that you can be in Spokane, Seattle or anywhere in the State and do the same work regardless of location. Right now? No consistency from lodge to lodge. Rods? Different everywhere. Stewards? Different floor work everywhere and no single authority to define which way works. My answer? Stay with the piano.
It struck me where, in your intro to this topic, you mentioned "the old you died." If you recall last Sunday when Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford "accidently" called the pillars outside of the chamber "legs." Some may have noticed it was an intentional phrase. The chamber can represent the womb, from where you are born again (John 3:3). The same concept was found in the early cathedrals designed by architects from the templars (as repeating Solomons Temple), and carried out through the masons and carpenters guild. By entering into the church you were brought to the light (candles obviously being used to light up the interiors). By entering - symbolically like kundalini you would be placed at the base of the spine, traveling up (isle) to the heart area (pews). After receiving the message of God, you would exit back to the world. The exit has a design of the birthing canal with two upright legs on either side of the doors seen as pillars on the exterior. Hence being born again, an initiation of spirit.
הרב לאמד בן קליפורד, הידוע גם בשם לון מילו דו-קווט, כותב ספרים שמגיעים מכל כיוון, אבל לא ידעתי שהוא הלך ללשכות הבונים החופשיים לתת הרצאות
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם
There’s a lot of influence from Kabbalah in Masonry (including Cabbala [Christian] and Qabalah [Egyptian]). I have a lot of respect for anyone, particularly a rabbi who has studied in depth and shares the knowledge. I was fortunate enough to study under a few Rabbi’s in Beverly Hills, CA. There is not a large market within the Jewish community who acknowledge or have even heard of it.
One story comes to mind, from the Talmud, called the Pardes (פַּרְדֵּס). In short the story explains that four Rabbi’s studied the esoteric interpretations of the Torah (Kabbalah) and practised divination. The first died. One denounced his faith. Another went insane. And only one became enlightened and found peace. Rabbi Lambed Ben Clifford (A.K.A. Lon Milo du Quot), seems to be one of the survivors. This was the warning that was given to me when I started Kabbalah.
Oh yes I know of all of that and I met Professor Lawrence Schiffman about 20 years ago when he gave several days of lectures at the U.W, and had large sections of the "Dead Sea Scrolls" or Qumran Scrolls and he read out all of the scroll sections proving that the current Tanach is letter to letter the same as it was when those scrolls were made........world history and mainly the history of the middle east are something I have studied for decades and like right now they have several programs all night on the Smithsonian channel.....they just had one about that famous Tower in Babylon and proof that it was real and now another program with more actual evidence of the many things that were called myths . (Lawrence Schiffman is usually one of the people on these programs and he is a professor at NYU and we still email each other after all these years talking about things like this.
https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/lawrence-h-schiffman.html
At least that is on the Dish channel version tonight and last night.
(for some reason the edit does not work here right now for me)
At least that is on the Dish channel version tonight and last night on the Smithsonian channel (that link is worthless)
I have seen the one on right now about King Solomons Temple and the Ark of the Covenant and I don't believe for a second that it is in that Ethiopian Aksum church or that Menelik brought it to Ethiopia....whole different story of course.
Looks like they are switching to NASA and trip to the Moon
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם
That's the stuff I enjoy. I need to download the Smithsonian Channel so I can check those shows out. I actually prefer documentaries over movies. I'll also have to check out Lawrence's interpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Thanks for sharing and feel free to send and recommendations.
Yes of course that is the ancient Hebrew text but it is easy to translate to Biblical Hebrew which is a bit different that the Hebrew text today in a Jerusalem newspaper
I studied ancient Hebrew after I taught myself Biblical Hebrew back in the early 90's......I was doing that before I started at CERN 18 years ago and both are interesting but I really like ancient history more than the future since I'm sure I won't be around to see that.
I'm currently studying Paleo-Hebrew, Phoenician and Canaanite languages. Learning one pretty much explains the other two, it's almost identical. It interesting to read the symbolic language in lieu of the modern Hebrew of the Torah, with its gematria.
I had read one of Lon Milo DuQuette's books in the past, but hearing him speak on both Saturday and Sunday truly sparked my interest in his work.
As soon as I got home, I started reading 'My Life With The Spirits' and finished that in a couple of days. Then I moved on to 'Homemade Magick.' Early in Homemade Magick he speaks of self-initiation. While I've long known that some people perform self-initiations, I never gave the act of doing so much credence. However, after reading his detailed account of his first Initiation, a self-initiation, I believe that I've changed my view.
Great article.
As mentioned the #1 function of a lodge is to make master masons. The initiation rituals should be first and foremost done to the best of one's ability as it is the lasting impressions made on that candidate. The ritual should be done with solemnity; dramatic and beautiful with meaning and purpose to install wonder and awe for the newly obligated brother. Anything less is a disservice to the man and the craft. Anything that adds to that atmosphere should be incorporated into the work, as long as it doesn't go against TSW or the WMC. Proper lighting, music, candles, incense, etc. all can help establish the proper mood and frame of mind for both the candidate and the lodge members.
With that in mind, as I've stated several times in our weekly zoom meetings, it should be a requirement to have passed the PILM before being elected as a pillared officer within a lodge. If a WM or one of his pillared officers can't do the work, why are they being elected to those positions? If a lodge in general can't do the ritual, then why does it still exist? As far as I am concerned, the first most common indication of a failing lodge is poor ritual.
Also, as far as elections go, more care needs to be taken when writing a name down on a slip of paper. The progressive line has it's benefits, but one of the major flaws is that it can (and has) move unsuited and unqualified members into the east. This can have disastrous results.
There are some lodges that hold elections then follow that with step up night. To me, that makes zero sense. I've heard the argument that it's a bit presumptuous to hold a step up night before an election, you're assuming that the person is going to be elected. No, the entire purpose of step up night is to prove to the brothers that the person they are electing to fulfill that position can actually do the work. Holding it after elections simply would be like closing the barn door after the cows escaped. I recently attended a step up night at a lodge where just about everyone was reading their parts out of the cypher. I couldn't believe it. And no one seemed to be bothered by it. Why were they allowing this to happen? Because none of the past masters were willing to step up and either mentor the brothers, or volunteering to take a chair. Instead, they are more than happy to have someone completely unqualified to be elected, as long as it's not them personally. That is a clear indication of a lodge that needs to close, or merge with another.
Read "Autopsy of a deceased church", it's not about the fraternity, but you'll see many parallels between dying churches and lodges.
Thank you Brother.
Yesterday the following caught my eye:
"In several of my initiations, the presiding officer was visibly intoxicated and the assisting officers ineptly read their lines from scripts that they were seeing for the first time. No matter what the circumstances, I considered the experience true initiations."
- Lon Milo DuQuette, Homemade Magick
I do not doubt that what Brother DuQuette wrote is true. For him.
I also do not doubt however that our Brother was much more ready for and open to initiation at that time than the average candidate.
In order to have a successful initiation, the candidate needs to be ready and open to initiation. But in many/most/almost all cases, I think that there is going to be resistance or fear within the candidate. We overcome that by providing a truly profound initiatory experience. It is what we owe our candidate.
For me, my initiation was the start of a very subtle change in me that needed to be cultivated. I can't say that I felt some kind of rebirth. I grew up Christian and have been baptized and very familiar with the term "born again". But at the time of my initiation, which was a pretty well put on EA degree, I can't remember feeling this kind of profound experience. I think most of this is probably due to my being too analytical in my thinking and I was trying to make sense of everything I had experienced instead of just experiencing it. I also had a very well done chamber of reflection for all my blue lodge degrees, of which I am thankful as it helped to quiet my mind a bit. I wonder what else can be done or told to the candidate that would help them to just experience instead of thinking too much about everything.
I also think along the same lines, that having more than one candidate at a time is not the best experience, but I must admit the brothers who were with me in my degrees I may have a stronger bond with initially than with other brothers because we went through the same thing together. And I don't think I would want to change that about my degree experience at least for me personally.
Brother Dale brings up some good points also. I believe we need to do the best work we can to initiate new members, but that is just the beginning. What happens after initiation is also very important and what happens outside the lodge also. But I think the point Cameron is making here is that this is what makes us unique, and without it we are just the same as any other organization doing good in the world and seeking truth.
I have more questions and thoughts, but alas, I must go to work.
>>>I also think along the same lines, that having more than one candidate at a time is not the best >>>experience
If we have more than one man going through the Degree at the same time, one man will still be the focus of the Degree.
One man will be led by the SD. The other will follow. One man will kneel where the candidate is supposed to kneel at the altar, with his hands on the Lodge's HB, S, C. The other man will be off to the side somehow. One man will be the center of attention. The other will not be.
From an esoteric standpoint, the man who is the center of attention will be receiving energy from the other men in the room, simply because he is the focus of attention. The other man will not.
From a non-esoteric standpoint, the man who isn't kneeling where a Candidate kneels will wonder why the Lodge prefers the other man. Why the other man was selected to be the 'primary' candidate and he the 'secondary' candidate.
I think it is OK to combine candidates for the Degree Lecture. I don't think it is ever OK to combine candidates for the Degree itself for the reasons stated above.
Right on MW Sir, what a great essay. I remember a couple of those 1 day degrees, they were a complete failure for the most part. We should change the code to comply.
Thank you Brother!
i have nothing to add, you nailed it.
Thank you!
Most Worshipful you know my feelings on this topic.
I am of the opinion that every man that petitions for the degrees in Masonry deserves his own degree from EA to MM.
In my jurisdiction the first part of the EA degree must be given to a single candidate and if up to five receive the lectures and charge together. My question has always been why stop there!!
How can any Master or Grand Master believe that a group of men of up to five get all of the teachings as well as in a one-on-one degree? From my own experience the EA was where I felt I was binding myself to the Craft. I consider myself lucky in that three of us went through together and we all did the first part by ourselves and got to watch the first part twice and our MM degree was a singular event for each of us.
On a few occasions I wasn’t the most popular person in the East because each candidate got his own degree. One MM degree with five FC went from 10 Am to 7:30 PM, but I would do it again if needed.
I get the argument that it takes to much time to work a candidate one at a time. That to me it is counterproductive when we want him as a Brother, that he should be and feel the center of our attention through all of his degrees. Do we as modern Masons think we have more on our plate then the Masons of the past? We have more free time today then ever before. How we manage that time is another story. In the past most men worked 12 to 14 hours, went to Lodge on horseback then went home to attend to livestock.
>>>Do we as modern Masons think we have more on our plate then the Masons of the past?
Your point is very well taken.
My family experience is from rural commercial agriculture, but here it is. My grandfather tells me that when he was a young man he worked every day on the farm, but got a half a day off every other Sunday. This would have been in the 1940's, and makes sense to me. At that time the farm contained approximately 500 cows that had to be milked twice a day, fed and cared for every day, plus approximately 800 acres of crop land that had to be tilled, planted, and harvested.
I presume that the days were much longer for my Great Grandfather during the Great Depression and through both World Wars.
But my Great Grandfather started our farm with draft horses. Then came tractors. Small machines but machines that could do a great deal more work than a horse. Now, in addition to small tractors used to do small things, the family utilizes great and massive and powerful machines. Tractors and loaders that have tires quite a lot taller than I am. Tractors with air conditioning and radios.
I remember as a kid my dad working hard on the farm, coming home dirty and exhausted. But five days a week instead of seven. Before instead of after dark.
I don't work on our farm, but about half of the family members of my generation do. Both of my Brothers, and my cousins. Alas though, none of them put in the punishing hours that my Grandfather did in the 1940's, or the unimaginable hours my Great Grandfather must have put in in the 1930's.
Things have gotten much easier over time, across all income levels. If the men of the last century had time for Freemasonry, we certainly have time for Freemasonry.
I have never had a profound or transformative experience in my whole life. Even the times I almost died from allergies, drowning, falling, explosions, and 3 close calls in combat in Iraq did not have much effect on me as anything more than things to be careful about in the future.
I think I desire and seek a profound experience. That connection with something greater than objective reality. I suppose I was hoping for such a connection in masonry but did not find it in my 3 degrees of blue lodge.
But perhaps the problem isn't masonry or even how the degree was performed but me.
My lack of spiritual connection.
My brother, I know other men who are still searching for answers. They join all different groups and don’t find what they are looking for.
I think perhaps they will never find it, because what they seek doesn’t exist.
And in acknowledging that, perhaps they find peace within. Resignation? Fatality? Acceptance?
Who knows? Just find peace in being the best man you can be. That is all you can hope for.
I don't know Brother.
Perhaps like the man I mentioned in my post, it comes years from now, and from a completely unexpected quarter?
I still remember thinking, "Where is this person taking me, I know the room isn't this big". I expected to find myself in the parking lot outside the building when the hoodwink was removed. I had been searching my entire adult life for exactly what Freemasonry offers and continue to enjoy it. I most enjoy teaching the lessons I have learned or am still learning to those less informed than myself.