I like to use the iceberg as a visual metaphor. The proverbial “tip of the iceberg” that can be seen above the water line, the observable 10%, represents the lesser mysteries illustrated by symbols.
The greater mysteries are veiled in allegory. Esoteric truths cannot be directly communicated but must be intuited.That which can be revealed on the surface is only the introduction to the story.
Being introduced to the story makes one an initiate. It is by seeking out the rest of the story one becomes an adept.
That is the essence of Gnosis. Gnosis refers to knowledge based on personal experience or perception. In a religious context, gnosis is mystical or esoteric knowledge based on direct experience. How can we teach that to a new Brother? By example, we must model enlightened, appropriate and reverent behavior during our times of our Ritual and Communications. (I personally must share that I have failed to so too many times.) We can guide a Brother to the Fountain of Knowledge but he must choose to drink to understand. Give a Brother a fish, he eats for a meal, teach a Brother to fish he eats for a life time and eventually he learns the difference there of.
It has been a challenge to learn on my own. I know there’s a bewildering number of books or websites I might study, but I don’t know where I ought to study first.
We’ll, first was proving up (done) and PiLM (almost done). What’s next?
Dummies is entertaining but light; Morals & Dogma is 2400 pages so… maybe later.
An earlier Emeth post led to a book list. Which are the “you gotta read this next” titles? Or web sites or videos?
(Emeth has been great, thanks Cameron and all the contributors!)
I think there are a couple layers here, the first being the ritual, which we do not communicate in clear text. When i was an EA in Virginia i did not even have access to a coded monitor, which forced me to visit an elder in the Lodge, who coached me three times a week. That experience built a bond between myself and my coach. I felt i belonged. Sadly, right after i was raised i served in his funeral ceremony. The second layer is the esoteric work. WB Larry is right, the integration of that knowledge into the heart and mind of an initiate is the work of the individual brother, but i do think we could develop programs that facilitate that work. I am sure you have all seen the documentaries that talk about our "esoteric teachings", and i know that attracts many men, but when they get here we don't actually teach them anything about the esoteric. There has been some movement by individual brothers to develop these teachings, Brother Chuck Dunning, for example, teaches contemplative methods for approaching our work. I taught a medidtation class for some brothers that was well received, and i will likely do that again now that COVID is winding down. As a life long student of the esoteric, i know that a mentor is invaluable, as one can easily get lost in the vast ocean of the esoteric.
We spent over an hour at our last stated discussing this very topic.
I had read that there are over 50,000 books on Masonry. Now, no one can read 50,000 books, so which ones are right? Which ones are relevent?
I asked each Mason if how they viewed and approached life today was any different from of how they did so 10 or 20, or even 50 years earlier. Each man replied that such was the case.
So we then agree that as we pass over the level of time, our views on life, and how we deal with the challanges. We then explored how the decades of our lives influence us. Graduating school, finding a job, finding a mate, children, the passing of our parents, retirement, and our own ageing all influence our problem solveing skills. From a personal point I mentioned that how I deal with life is significantly different at age nearly 73 then when I was a newly raised Mason at 22.
I then suggested that a very good way to study Masonry is to study the lives of Masons. Really dig into the meat of their lives, the challanges and even the disasters of such men and see if there was any commonality that we might find in our search for understanding.
One of the Brothers is a now retired LtCol who spent time in "The Sandbox". He reported that while there were no Masonic lodges in country, there were Masons, and that they would gather together and talk about Masonic topics. At this point it was getting late so I asked if he would bring that topic forward at our next stated.
The one conclusion for the evening is that a congregation of Masons, all of a wide spectrum of ages, brought prespectives to life that we as individuals would be unlikely to have.Those shared experiences remind of the old African saying; "If you want to go fast, travel alone. If you want to go far, travel together. "
I like to use the iceberg as a visual metaphor. The proverbial “tip of the iceberg” that can be seen above the water line, the observable 10%, represents the lesser mysteries illustrated by symbols.
The greater mysteries are veiled in allegory. Esoteric truths cannot be directly communicated but must be intuited.That which can be revealed on the surface is only the introduction to the story.
Being introduced to the story makes one an initiate. It is by seeking out the rest of the story one becomes an adept.
That is the essence of Gnosis. Gnosis refers to knowledge based on personal experience or perception. In a religious context, gnosis is mystical or esoteric knowledge based on direct experience. How can we teach that to a new Brother? By example, we must model enlightened, appropriate and reverent behavior during our times of our Ritual and Communications. (I personally must share that I have failed to so too many times.) We can guide a Brother to the Fountain of Knowledge but he must choose to drink to understand. Give a Brother a fish, he eats for a meal, teach a Brother to fish he eats for a life time and eventually he learns the difference there of.
New guy here, raised just before the pandemic.
It has been a challenge to learn on my own. I know there’s a bewildering number of books or websites I might study, but I don’t know where I ought to study first.
We’ll, first was proving up (done) and PiLM (almost done). What’s next?
Dummies is entertaining but light; Morals & Dogma is 2400 pages so… maybe later.
An earlier Emeth post led to a book list. Which are the “you gotta read this next” titles? Or web sites or videos?
(Emeth has been great, thanks Cameron and all the contributors!)
I think there are a couple layers here, the first being the ritual, which we do not communicate in clear text. When i was an EA in Virginia i did not even have access to a coded monitor, which forced me to visit an elder in the Lodge, who coached me three times a week. That experience built a bond between myself and my coach. I felt i belonged. Sadly, right after i was raised i served in his funeral ceremony. The second layer is the esoteric work. WB Larry is right, the integration of that knowledge into the heart and mind of an initiate is the work of the individual brother, but i do think we could develop programs that facilitate that work. I am sure you have all seen the documentaries that talk about our "esoteric teachings", and i know that attracts many men, but when they get here we don't actually teach them anything about the esoteric. There has been some movement by individual brothers to develop these teachings, Brother Chuck Dunning, for example, teaches contemplative methods for approaching our work. I taught a medidtation class for some brothers that was well received, and i will likely do that again now that COVID is winding down. As a life long student of the esoteric, i know that a mentor is invaluable, as one can easily get lost in the vast ocean of the esoteric.
We spent over an hour at our last stated discussing this very topic.
I had read that there are over 50,000 books on Masonry. Now, no one can read 50,000 books, so which ones are right? Which ones are relevent?
I asked each Mason if how they viewed and approached life today was any different from of how they did so 10 or 20, or even 50 years earlier. Each man replied that such was the case.
So we then agree that as we pass over the level of time, our views on life, and how we deal with the challanges. We then explored how the decades of our lives influence us. Graduating school, finding a job, finding a mate, children, the passing of our parents, retirement, and our own ageing all influence our problem solveing skills. From a personal point I mentioned that how I deal with life is significantly different at age nearly 73 then when I was a newly raised Mason at 22.
I then suggested that a very good way to study Masonry is to study the lives of Masons. Really dig into the meat of their lives, the challanges and even the disasters of such men and see if there was any commonality that we might find in our search for understanding.
One of the Brothers is a now retired LtCol who spent time in "The Sandbox". He reported that while there were no Masonic lodges in country, there were Masons, and that they would gather together and talk about Masonic topics. At this point it was getting late so I asked if he would bring that topic forward at our next stated.
The one conclusion for the evening is that a congregation of Masons, all of a wide spectrum of ages, brought prespectives to life that we as individuals would be unlikely to have.Those shared experiences remind of the old African saying; "If you want to go fast, travel alone. If you want to go far, travel together. "