Our previous Grand Master encouraged us to look within ourselves, to Know Thyself.
Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Courtesy: Patar Knight CC3.0
His advice to Masons was good. And it was the same advice given to man since at least 500 years Before Christ. It was one of three maxims inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
By truly knowing ourselves, we can discover our own unique purpose. And living that purpose gives meaning to our life, and our actions.
But uttering the phrase, Know Thyself is easy.
How do we actually do it? How do we look within to discover who we truly are and what we were put here to do?
That’s the hard part.
So how do we get it done? How do we come to a place where we know ourselves?
Thank you! I find that if I've disappointed myself during waking hours, I fret about it at the end of the day. But, I've never developed a practice of taking a daily personal inventory as you suggest. I appreciate the suggestion!
Nobody is perfect!! I beat myself up sometimes too... it's counter- productive ...we are here to learn.. if they wanted us perfect, they woupd have made us perfect!! :))
All we can do is try .. at least we are aware amd trying!!
To understand, first we have to look at the whole phrase: "Know thyself and you shall know the universe and the gods".
Know thyself means in masonic terms, that we have to travel west or inward to the place of the dead to discover what we are in our deep core. The VITRIOL of the alchemists.
It is then that we come face to face with ourselves and fight our weaknesses and vices (the gods) that control our lives. That is Theseus fighting the Minotaur. That is the apprentice chipping away the imperfections of the rough ashlar.
I've always considered alchemy from the spiritual angle you mention, and think that the practice of that deep inner exploration did and does have a legitimate place within Freemasonry. Unfortunately, most Lodges in the United States, at some time in the past, shunted that mostly or even entirely aside.
A few Lodges are bringing it back, slowly but surely. Driven primarily by younger Masons who understand that there are great depths to our Craft.
Very true dear WB. What most masons deny today is that the Craft is old, that it only comes from the medieval construction guilds. The Craft is way older than what most think. They Ancient use the tools of the guilds to conceal the knowledge.
Agreed. A lot of Masons, including in my view Masons who should know better, fail to see the accurate age of Freemasonry. They confuse the age of the government of the Craft with the age of the Craft itself.
First and foremost a 360 survey of your peers friends and family will tell you who you are to them.
Second using your internal monologue, which i learned a few years ago not every one has, to ask your self those same questions. Who am I to you, who am I to me? What is my value, what are my faults, what are my aspirations. Do i have a framework upon which to live or am I wondering in search of one? Do I need one? Where am I in this world and what purpose do I fill? Just some questions of those types will start you thinking. Write them down, Journal and meditate on what you are answered with.
>>>Second using your internal monologue, which i learned a few years ago not every one has
Interesting. I didn't know that such a thing wasn't universal. Now I'll have to go read about why that might be.
I certainly agree with your thoughts about journaling. It's a very powerful practice. I think it is probably one of the reasons I write so much, it helps me to understand myself, and the world around me.
"The lack of an inner monologue has been linked to a condition called aphantasia — sometimes called "blindness of the mind's eye." People who experience aphantasia don't experience visualizations in their mind; they can't mentally picture their bedroom or their mother's face. Many times, those who don't experience visualizations don't experience clear inner speech, either, Lœvenbruck noted. " https://www.livescience.com/does-everyone-have-inner-monologue.html
That was the very topic of my Tyler Talk at Warren G. Harding Lodge No. 260 last week at our stated meeting. How Do You Know Yourself to be a Mason? I think is touches on your question and I have included it here:
In our opening tonight on the first degree the worshipful master asked the Senior Warden, “What makes you a Mason?” His answer: “ My obligation.” But the question I have for you tonight is, “How do you know yourself to be a Mason?”
When we work with a newly initiated Mason that question is quickly dealt with and we move on, the answer being fairly simple. But as the student and even those of us who have been a part of this Craft for some time soon discovers, as simple as that question is, there is very little in our masonic work that has small significance.
Let me explain. It doesn’t take long to notice in our own lodge that there are brothers who quickly adapt and learn how to express themselves masonically. They soon accept a position in a chair, they are willing to be on a committee, they bring energy to the dinners, events, and work parties. In fact, it only takes a few years and we see them in leadership, excelling in the ritual and wearing the top hat of a Master of their lodge.
A man knows himself to be a Mason when he begins to view truth, honor, justice, and charity, not as abstract principles verbalized in our ritual, but as practical everyday virtues which he must practice and exemplify in all of his relationships, at home, at work, in his neighborhood, and with his brethren.
If a brother needs assistance, he is willing drop whatever he is doing and come to his assistance.
As a rule, man who has taken the degrees of our Craft knows he is a Mason, He knows why he is a Mason, He knows how he got to be a Mason. In fact, if he really stops to think about that question, what makes you a Mason? He sees it as sort of a challenge.
Let me remind our Enter Apprentices and Fellowcraft brethren that the ritual you have experienced in taking your degree isn’t all of it by any means. It is only the beginning. Know that being brought to Light is more than just taking the hoodwink off, it is the pursuit of Masonic knowledge, it is the light that shines on your character, it is the light that reveals to us our obligations to our families and to each other.
What few Masonic secrets you now know as an Enter Apprentice or Fellowcraft is what makes you a Mason and now must guide you daily.
It is true that there are many good men who live their life’s without being Masons. It is these good men who we as Masons are open to accepting a petition for the degrees, just like we have done for all the good men sitting here tonight in the past. Like our newly initiated brothers here tonight they are finding greater joy in their service to their family and community. They are finding that at least once a month at our stated meeting a time to share a meal and have brotherly fellowship.
So, to our newly made Masons and to our 50 year plus brothers and all of the rest of us in between, I say to you tonight, look for evidence that you are a Mason, not in your head where you have stored your ritual memory, the grips, the signs, the tokens of your degree, but in your heart. It is from our hearts where true brotherly love is found. It is from our hearts that generosity, kindness, patience, and goodwill is a well spring.
Then you will be able to answer the question: “How do you know yourself to be a Mason?”
Thank you very much for sharing this Brother. I really appreciate it. I also salute your efforts to bring this great education to your Lodge. Things like your Tyler Talks are so very important to fulfilling the promise of Freemasonry.
Thank you Cameron, and I can relate. I actually began knowing myself when I was isolated physically, spiritually and mentally married. I moved with my husband to a ranch out in the middle of nowhere in California where we have to force ourselves to physically socialize. So we are left alone a lot. When you are physically alone I believe is when you can really get to know yourself. I’m not suggesting moving out to some remote ranch like I where I live, but time once in awhile to be alone in your own thoughts.
There is a practice in Freemasonry that largely fell out of favor in the United States decades and decades ago, but that is making a comeback, referred to the Chamber of Reflection. In a nutshell, it is a dark space, containing symbols of mortality, into which a man can go and spend time all alone, in the quiet and the dark, contemplating himself. Where he is, where he wants to be, how he wants to be remembered, the big important questions of life. This is, in my view, a really important practice.
And I think it relates to your suggestion that one spend time alone. Unless we can truly quiet our mind from the hustle and bustle of the day, I think contemplation is extremely difficult to achieve.
So true! I don’t think there’s a moment in my life unless I’m driving I don’t have another human being in my presence. I love the idea of Chamber of Reflection, and what a great name for it!
I would add this, although a bit deep- To "know thyself" has been explained as knowing your characteristics or the nature of mankind and the universe. He who understands his own measure, knows only his own external goods and internal qualities - or lack thereof. Our characteristics, or gods for that matter, cannot be measured in the theoretical sense, because they are part of the measurement.
Heraclitus wrote ‘I sought myself.’ A saying that he sought in himself the knowledge of the self, as a solution for the problem of duality (unity and division) in the world. The self, absorbs itself by imagining division or beliefs of its own importance over others. Much to the extent that the material world or people serves as the psyches reaction to it. The knowledge of self, supplements itself from self-understanding which can be reached only by introspection, striped of wealth, appearance, intellectualism or social stature. The allegorical legends of a certain person, can allude to the death of the self will, only to be raised to cosmic order of the "3" Divine beings.
“The aim of man’s life is union (henosis) with God. This participation takes man within the life of the three Divine Persons themselves, in the incessant circulation and overflowing love which courses between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and which expresses the very nature of God. Here is the true and eternal bliss of man. Union with God is the perfect fulfillment of the “kingdom” announced by the Gospel, and of that charity or love which sums up all the Law and the Prophets. Only in union with the life of the Three Persons is man enabled to love God with his whole heart, soul, and mind, and his neighbor as himself.” -Fr Lev Gillet (1893-1980)
I think that only through deep contemplation can we truly discover why we are here, and what we were put here to do.
And that discovery can be scary as heck, because it probably doesn't align with what we are actually doing. Usually it will demand growth and change, if we are to follow it.
But, I think that ultimately we can only truly find peace and contentment if we do follow it.
And I think, as Robert mentioned above, that does take conversation with our higher selves.
Absolutely! From a stolen lyric I once heard, "the world will never know true peace until until three people can simultaneously look at each other straight in the eye."
I've taken that to mean that everyone has a unique purpose to discover. That if those purposes are discovered, and a quest is made to follow them, conflict between people falls away, for each pursuing individual purpose would not clash together.
Taking my own inventory during and at the end of every day.
Why did I respond that way?
Why did I do that?
What makes me happy, feel good, feel bad?
I think a lot of people know who they are but have to compromise themselves to survive in this world...
"To thy own self be true" is even harder...
Me thinks... lol
Thank you!!
Thank you! I find that if I've disappointed myself during waking hours, I fret about it at the end of the day. But, I've never developed a practice of taking a daily personal inventory as you suggest. I appreciate the suggestion!
Don't be!!!
Nobody is perfect!! I beat myself up sometimes too... it's counter- productive ...we are here to learn.. if they wanted us perfect, they woupd have made us perfect!! :))
All we can do is try .. at least we are aware amd trying!!
More than most ... lol
I know, it is a goofy thing to do, but I seem to do it anyway!
We all do.
I was told that is perfectionism ... yet another defect and it kills joy.
If it was easy, we'd all do it!
The trick is to wear it like a lose garment.
After all, we are spiritual beings, having a human experience.
It is true, I think, the quest for the perfect can destroy the good.
To understand, first we have to look at the whole phrase: "Know thyself and you shall know the universe and the gods".
Know thyself means in masonic terms, that we have to travel west or inward to the place of the dead to discover what we are in our deep core. The VITRIOL of the alchemists.
It is then that we come face to face with ourselves and fight our weaknesses and vices (the gods) that control our lives. That is Theseus fighting the Minotaur. That is the apprentice chipping away the imperfections of the rough ashlar.
I've always considered alchemy from the spiritual angle you mention, and think that the practice of that deep inner exploration did and does have a legitimate place within Freemasonry. Unfortunately, most Lodges in the United States, at some time in the past, shunted that mostly or even entirely aside.
A few Lodges are bringing it back, slowly but surely. Driven primarily by younger Masons who understand that there are great depths to our Craft.
Very true dear WB. What most masons deny today is that the Craft is old, that it only comes from the medieval construction guilds. The Craft is way older than what most think. They Ancient use the tools of the guilds to conceal the knowledge.
Agreed. A lot of Masons, including in my view Masons who should know better, fail to see the accurate age of Freemasonry. They confuse the age of the government of the Craft with the age of the Craft itself.
First and foremost a 360 survey of your peers friends and family will tell you who you are to them.
Second using your internal monologue, which i learned a few years ago not every one has, to ask your self those same questions. Who am I to you, who am I to me? What is my value, what are my faults, what are my aspirations. Do i have a framework upon which to live or am I wondering in search of one? Do I need one? Where am I in this world and what purpose do I fill? Just some questions of those types will start you thinking. Write them down, Journal and meditate on what you are answered with.
>>>Second using your internal monologue, which i learned a few years ago not every one has
Interesting. I didn't know that such a thing wasn't universal. Now I'll have to go read about why that might be.
I certainly agree with your thoughts about journaling. It's a very powerful practice. I think it is probably one of the reasons I write so much, it helps me to understand myself, and the world around me.
Right? Its fascinating that thought could be a non verbal construct or not possible at all.
20-40% of people may be like this.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/oct/25/the-last-great-mystery-of-the-mind-meet-the-people-who-have-unusual-or-non-existent-inner-voices
"The lack of an inner monologue has been linked to a condition called aphantasia — sometimes called "blindness of the mind's eye." People who experience aphantasia don't experience visualizations in their mind; they can't mentally picture their bedroom or their mother's face. Many times, those who don't experience visualizations don't experience clear inner speech, either, Lœvenbruck noted. " https://www.livescience.com/does-everyone-have-inner-monologue.html
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02019/full Three Dimensions of Inner Speech
This is really fascinating to know. Thank you for the links!
That was the very topic of my Tyler Talk at Warren G. Harding Lodge No. 260 last week at our stated meeting. How Do You Know Yourself to be a Mason? I think is touches on your question and I have included it here:
In our opening tonight on the first degree the worshipful master asked the Senior Warden, “What makes you a Mason?” His answer: “ My obligation.” But the question I have for you tonight is, “How do you know yourself to be a Mason?”
When we work with a newly initiated Mason that question is quickly dealt with and we move on, the answer being fairly simple. But as the student and even those of us who have been a part of this Craft for some time soon discovers, as simple as that question is, there is very little in our masonic work that has small significance.
Let me explain. It doesn’t take long to notice in our own lodge that there are brothers who quickly adapt and learn how to express themselves masonically. They soon accept a position in a chair, they are willing to be on a committee, they bring energy to the dinners, events, and work parties. In fact, it only takes a few years and we see them in leadership, excelling in the ritual and wearing the top hat of a Master of their lodge.
A man knows himself to be a Mason when he begins to view truth, honor, justice, and charity, not as abstract principles verbalized in our ritual, but as practical everyday virtues which he must practice and exemplify in all of his relationships, at home, at work, in his neighborhood, and with his brethren.
If a brother needs assistance, he is willing drop whatever he is doing and come to his assistance.
As a rule, man who has taken the degrees of our Craft knows he is a Mason, He knows why he is a Mason, He knows how he got to be a Mason. In fact, if he really stops to think about that question, what makes you a Mason? He sees it as sort of a challenge.
Let me remind our Enter Apprentices and Fellowcraft brethren that the ritual you have experienced in taking your degree isn’t all of it by any means. It is only the beginning. Know that being brought to Light is more than just taking the hoodwink off, it is the pursuit of Masonic knowledge, it is the light that shines on your character, it is the light that reveals to us our obligations to our families and to each other.
What few Masonic secrets you now know as an Enter Apprentice or Fellowcraft is what makes you a Mason and now must guide you daily.
It is true that there are many good men who live their life’s without being Masons. It is these good men who we as Masons are open to accepting a petition for the degrees, just like we have done for all the good men sitting here tonight in the past. Like our newly initiated brothers here tonight they are finding greater joy in their service to their family and community. They are finding that at least once a month at our stated meeting a time to share a meal and have brotherly fellowship.
So, to our newly made Masons and to our 50 year plus brothers and all of the rest of us in between, I say to you tonight, look for evidence that you are a Mason, not in your head where you have stored your ritual memory, the grips, the signs, the tokens of your degree, but in your heart. It is from our hearts where true brotherly love is found. It is from our hearts that generosity, kindness, patience, and goodwill is a well spring.
Then you will be able to answer the question: “How do you know yourself to be a Mason?”
Tyler Talk
05-03-24
Thank you very much for sharing this Brother. I really appreciate it. I also salute your efforts to bring this great education to your Lodge. Things like your Tyler Talks are so very important to fulfilling the promise of Freemasonry.
Thank you Cameron, and I can relate. I actually began knowing myself when I was isolated physically, spiritually and mentally married. I moved with my husband to a ranch out in the middle of nowhere in California where we have to force ourselves to physically socialize. So we are left alone a lot. When you are physically alone I believe is when you can really get to know yourself. I’m not suggesting moving out to some remote ranch like I where I live, but time once in awhile to be alone in your own thoughts.
There is a practice in Freemasonry that largely fell out of favor in the United States decades and decades ago, but that is making a comeback, referred to the Chamber of Reflection. In a nutshell, it is a dark space, containing symbols of mortality, into which a man can go and spend time all alone, in the quiet and the dark, contemplating himself. Where he is, where he wants to be, how he wants to be remembered, the big important questions of life. This is, in my view, a really important practice.
And I think it relates to your suggestion that one spend time alone. Unless we can truly quiet our mind from the hustle and bustle of the day, I think contemplation is extremely difficult to achieve.
So true! I don’t think there’s a moment in my life unless I’m driving I don’t have another human being in my presence. I love the idea of Chamber of Reflection, and what a great name for it!
This is a pretty good explanation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_of_Reflection
It's a Masonic practice, but could certainly be put into use by anyone.
I would add this, although a bit deep- To "know thyself" has been explained as knowing your characteristics or the nature of mankind and the universe. He who understands his own measure, knows only his own external goods and internal qualities - or lack thereof. Our characteristics, or gods for that matter, cannot be measured in the theoretical sense, because they are part of the measurement.
Heraclitus wrote ‘I sought myself.’ A saying that he sought in himself the knowledge of the self, as a solution for the problem of duality (unity and division) in the world. The self, absorbs itself by imagining division or beliefs of its own importance over others. Much to the extent that the material world or people serves as the psyches reaction to it. The knowledge of self, supplements itself from self-understanding which can be reached only by introspection, striped of wealth, appearance, intellectualism or social stature. The allegorical legends of a certain person, can allude to the death of the self will, only to be raised to cosmic order of the "3" Divine beings.
“The aim of man’s life is union (henosis) with God. This participation takes man within the life of the three Divine Persons themselves, in the incessant circulation and overflowing love which courses between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and which expresses the very nature of God. Here is the true and eternal bliss of man. Union with God is the perfect fulfillment of the “kingdom” announced by the Gospel, and of that charity or love which sums up all the Law and the Prophets. Only in union with the life of the Three Persons is man enabled to love God with his whole heart, soul, and mind, and his neighbor as himself.” -Fr Lev Gillet (1893-1980)
I think that only through deep contemplation can we truly discover why we are here, and what we were put here to do.
And that discovery can be scary as heck, because it probably doesn't align with what we are actually doing. Usually it will demand growth and change, if we are to follow it.
But, I think that ultimately we can only truly find peace and contentment if we do follow it.
And I think, as Robert mentioned above, that does take conversation with our higher selves.
Absolutely! From a stolen lyric I once heard, "the world will never know true peace until until three people can simultaneously look at each other straight in the eye."
"Every man and every woman is a star."
I've taken that to mean that everyone has a unique purpose to discover. That if those purposes are discovered, and a quest is made to follow them, conflict between people falls away, for each pursuing individual purpose would not clash together.