Comments on The North Eastern Corner: The Struggles of an Esoterically Inclined Freemaso...

Unknown, I have no regrets in joining the Fraterni...

2011-12-08T12:03:13.663-05:00

Unknown, I have no regrets in joining the Fraternity and neither will you. I too waited to read anything deeper about Freemasonry until I received my MM degree so your intentions are definitely pure. You will with out a doubt find more men like yourself in your travels, as I have, and your attitude is very advanced and well thought. I wish you nothing but the best in your journey.
Bro. Vick your comment is dead on as always. We are all blessed to have you back! I definitely did not settle into my rocker after my sunset and paid the price. Cest la vie.

My vision of a Masonic lodge is a small group o...

2011-12-08T01:27:56.699-05:00
My vision of a Masonic lodge is a small group of like minded individuals who wish to explore the deeper meaning of life and to help each other become better men in every way. I believe that the rituals of Freemasonry are a tool to be used to enlighten a new comer or Brother and to test the dedication of the man to the lodge, but they are not the end all be all of the craft. Brotherly love is not something to be handed out flippantly. A man must prove himself worthy of the greater trust that comes with the ever expanding understanding and obligations of the order of Freemasons.

You just described AMD, and really is the body for this as it's emphasis is degrees, bettering oneself and one must be active in Freemasonry, continue to be active in AMD to continue their membership.

Because of the void of generations in Blue Lodges, Past Masters really run the lodge and the Worshipful Master is less about being WM, and more of being a Past Master in training. The WM either goes with the brain trust, gets his rocker and move on, or have a year filled with conflict and angst, in which the PM brain trust will label it as a "bad year". That is why I continue to have conflict in being in the line up. Every serious Mason should try to make the journey to the east, some that is all they care about. After seeing WM after young non-legacy WM sit in the east and either do nothing their year or cause conflict, and then you become that brother.

GEN Stan McChrystal gave an excellent speech about this, and that his job as a senior leader was to always try to understand the youth, otherwise he could never really be effective as a senior leader, I know that the majority of senior Masonic leaders do not follow this practice.

-Bro Vick

I have recently joined Freemasonry myself - I am a...

2011-12-07T11:48:02.973-05:00
I have recently joined Freemasonry myself - I am a Fellowcraft, to be raised early in 2012. I think my motivations to join are similar to what you have described here, though I have yet to do a lot of the background reading (I want to wait until I am a M.M.). When I joined, I realized that it probably wouldn't be the Freemasonry of old - of philosophy and the esoteric. (and to be fair, the Freemasonry of old probably wasn't the freemasonry of old either - what we have the are idealized, sepia-toned memories of other people).

My relaxed expectations allowed me to find a bit more of that than I might otherwise have found, realizing that each man there wrestles in their own way with the object of the esoteric, even if it be in exoteric ways. (a blade of grass?) My hope is that Freemasonry begins a journey to find others to discuss these things with.

Brothers All, Your words of encouragement and unde...

2011-12-07T09:57:22.939-05:00
Brothers All,
Your words of encouragement and understanding have been a wind under my wings. I wish I could thank you all personally but this is the best I can do.
Thank You,
MMM

As a practical matter, I think having a building o...

2011-12-07T09:11:56.273-05:00
As a practical matter, I think having a building owned by multiple lodges in a separate organization, like in England, with an attached restaurant, pub, place for libations, could truly encourage the Masons of our day to focus on the internal and not the external aspects of Masonry. In fact, I would argue that each small town should have at least two lodges with smaller memberships.

Nick

Buddhists believe that attachment to temporary obj...

2011-12-06T20:50:59.422-05:00
Buddhists believe that attachment to temporary objects, such as a 'lodge' building, leads to suffering. They might say that leaving behind the building you attached yourself to will eventually lead to greater inner peace. A good way of getting through tough challenges, like finding a new group to belong to, is to think of these not as challenges but opportunities, maybe an opportunity for feeling more fulfilled.

I just read your latest post and wanted to take a ...

2011-12-06T16:51:45.410-05:00
I just read your latest post and wanted to take a moment and let you know that you're not alone. I too had a long journey to learn that my "lodge" couldn't become what I was actually seeking. I spent a lot of time cleaning, fixing and building a "lodge" that we eventually had to sell and it was difficult to separate the feelings of losing the building and realizing that I had to broaden my search for what I was really looking for. For awhile, I thought these feelings came from the same place, but they weren't. Even if we kept the building, I still would have felt unfulfilled.

Luckily, I've found that this emptiness can be filled by the very nature of our craft. As masons, we're meant to do two things; labor and travel. I think that most masons confuse labor with work and travel with visitations. Masonic labor is always spiritual and can never be fulfilled by physical work. We must labor with our minds and spirits, but this must be accomplished with our brethren and not alone. Laborare est orare. To work is to prey. Travel isn't just about physically changing locations. It's about leaving your comfort zone and experiencing something new. Many masons like their "lodge" because it's always the same and doesn't challenge them. As masons we should always be challenging ourselves. I appreciate reading your blog because you're always pushing yourself and exploring new territory.

These items are at the heart of what we've tried to do with Quinta Essentia Lodge U.D. (www.quintaessentialodge500.org). We've tried to form a group where we're always exploring, we're always searching. And we're giving the other brothers of our jurisdiction a place to travel to, where they will also be challenged. You can't make a perfect ashlar with a flawed stone. Sometimes you have to start new to find what you've been looking for.

When King Solomon was inspecting the site of the T...

2011-12-06T15:05:26.721-05:00
When King Solomon was inspecting the site of the Temple, his chief surveyor pointed to the ground with his finger and said, “Your majesty, this is the spot where the Sanctum Sanctorum shall stand.”

King Solomon took a blade of grass, stuck it in the ground and said, “It is built.”

--from ZenMasonry

Wow - that was a great post. You were able to arti...

2011-12-06T14:47:56.763-05:00
Wow - that was a great post. You were able to articulate many of the feelings I have been having as well. I often feel that as a younger mason, the more established brothers sometimes see our demographic as a threat to the established status quo that they themselves helped to develop. I hope that you realize that there are many of us scattered throughout the established lodge system that are looking for something more, but not quite finding it. This may have something to do with the large number of Brothers that drop due to NPD - a lack of genuine connection to what is going on in lodge. I very much appreciated and understand your comments.