Friday, January 26, 2018

A Brother Asks: Producing Unbiased and Untainted Works




A Brother Asks: I'm not sure anything Brothers write can be unbiased or untainted.  I'm not even sure that is desirable!  How do you research thought without bias?

Sunday, January 21, 2018

A Brother Asks: Degree Focus and Work

 
 
A Brother Asks:  I'm in constant discussions with other Brothers about the degrees and find myself at a loss for words at times.  I would appreciated some concise language  regarding the blue lodge degrees, what they are about, their focus and the work they direct us to do.  Could  you and would you provide to me your shortest breakdowns possible of each Degree Focus and Work?
 



 
Coach: Sure! And kudos to you for being engaged with your Brothers in these serious discussions and asking for this.   Here are a few triplets that you can use to convey degree focus, purpose and Work each points toward.
 
It's not about training; it's about Learning!
  1. EA - Preparing to Learn
  2. FC - Learning How to Learn
  3. MM - Learning and Teaching
It's not a about learning the degrees; it's about Learning what the degrees Direct us to Learn!
  1. EA - Learning about the Creature - The Self
  2. FC - Learning about the Creation - The Universe
  3. MM - Learning about the Creator - The Word
It's not about being orderly; it's about Bringing Order to Chaos!
  1. EA - Bringing Order to the Chaos of the Heart
  2. FC - Bringing Order to the Chaos of the Head
  3. MM - Bringing Order to the Chaos of the Spirit
It's not about building; it's about Living!
  1. EA - Laying the Foundation of the House
  2. FC - Building the House made not by hand
  3. MM - Living in the House (baking cookies, being a host and inviting guests)
It's not about Mastery; it's about Providing the World with Masterful Brothers!
  1. EA - Maturing the Youth
  2. FC - Mastering the Adult
  3. MM - Replacing the Master
Satisdiction?
 
F&S,
 
Coach John S Nagy
 
 
 

Sunday, January 7, 2018

A Brother Asks: Where's the Goat?



A Brother Asks: Coach!  I keep on hearing jokes about goats from my Brothers.  I've  looked high and low and can't find any association with goats in ritual.  Where's the goat?

Coach: Are there not parts of goats displayed right on top of two officers' staffs[1]?

Brother: Goat parts?

Coach: Yes, goat parts?

Brother: Okay, I'm looking at the insignias used upon all the staffs and I don't see any goat parts.

Coach: Of course you do. 

Brother: No.  I don't see them at all.

Coach: You do.  You just don't recognize them.

Brother: Okay.  I give up.  Which staffs?

Coach: The Stewards'.

Brother: All I see are weird looking squiggly cone shaped things.

Coach: There is a name for them.  Care to hear it?

Brother: Sure.

Coach: They are called, "cornucopias" .

Brother: Cornucopias?

Coach: Yes, cornucopias.

Brother: How are cornucopias parts of goats?

Coach: Great Questions!  If you do a little research, you'll find that a cornucopia is defined one way as "a symbol of plenty consisting of a goat's horn overflowing with flowers, fruit, and corn." 

Brother: Okay, that makes sense.

Coach:  What does?

Brother: The cornucopia...  I remember hearing this word as a youth when I asked what those strange looking things in the Thanksgiving pictures were with all the fruit coming out of them.

Coach: Yes.  Cornucopias are one of many symbols used during this observance.

Brother: Okay.  So you are saying the Steward staffs have goat parts on them.

Coach:  No.  I am pointing out that the Stewards' staffs have a cornucopia upon each of their tops, that a cornucopia is "an ornamental container shaped like a goat's horn", that it is a symbol for "an abundant supply of good things of a specified kind" and that a cornucopia is a goat's horn overflowing with specific good.  This is what I am saying.

Brother: I am beginning to see what you are saying.  Our ritual does indeed allude symbolically to goats through the cornucopia.

Coach: I'm glad that you are seeing it now.

Brother: Are there any other connections?

Coach: I'm impressed.

Brother: Impressed?

Coach: Yes.  I am.

Brother: By what?

Coach: By your further interest.


Brother: Further interest?

Coach: Yes.  You didn't stop at the cornucopia information.  You continued to seek further connections beyond that one.  That is impressive.

Brother: Why?

Coach: So many members stop at the information they are provided.  They do not question it.  They remain content not seeking Light beyond that which was provided.  You didn't do this.  You're still seeking.  That's impressive.


Brother: Thanks!

Coach: You're most welcome.

Brother: Well?

Coach: Ah!  Good. 

Brother: Thanks! Please continue...

Coach: I suggest you look at the Freemasonic allusions to the Tropic of Capricorn, when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky during Winter.

Brother: Capricorn?  Isn't that a symbol that is based on, "Enki", the Sumerians' primordial god of wisdom and waters?

Coach: Yes!  It is.

Brother: Doesn't Capricorn have the head and upper body of a goat and the lower body and tail of a fish.

Coach: Yes. The goat part of the symbol depicts ambition, resoluteness, intelligence, curiosity, steadiness and an ability to thrive in inhospitable environments.

Brother:  And this is all alluded to by the time of year that Saint John the Evangelist's day is observed?

Coach: Yes.  Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this area of the heavens from December 22 to January 19 each year.  The dates differ for the sidereal zodiac.

Brother: I'm enjoying these goat connections.  What's more?

Coach: Good!  You're remaining on task.  Have you ever looked at the word "Tragedy"?


Brother: A long time ago.  Why?


Coach: You might want to look into it again and make a sincere effort to connect the etymology of the word with that which we do overall and that which we do for candidates as we carry them through the third degree drama.[2]

Brother: Wait?  You're not going to give me the Light?

Coach: I just did.  It is up to you to use it.

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[1] a.k.a or called "rods" in many jurisdictions
[2] Chapter XIII; The First Freemason; The Craft Unmasked! The Uncommon Origin of Freemasonry and Its Practice; Bro. John S Nagy; Nov. 2014


Friday, January 5, 2018

Freed Cave Dweller Maxims



Good Day Fellow Travelers!

I wrote these "Freed Cave Dweller Maxims" years ago due to some in depth conversations with some frustrated light seekers.  They were put forth in guidance, in humor and in love.   

Perhaps they may provide some grist for your thought mill.

Enjoy!


Bro. John S. Nagy

--------------------

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #1: Knowledge is not Power; it's inventory. It is only through application that Knowledge emPowers.


Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #2: Share what you know only with those who will apply it for Good.

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #3: Going back to the cave to find those who will apply knowledge for good is a awesome responsibility not intended for the weak of spirit and timid of heart. It is a loving act.

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #4: To spark a QUEST, ask an empowering QUESTion.

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #5: To incite a massive jail break, write a whole bunch o' questions and publish them in a series of odd sounding books designed to cause chain corrosion.

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #6: Never assume a curious person is a moral person.

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #7: Those who cannot handle Light shall find ways to numb their reality, conceal their numbing ways from themselves and others and sabotage and, if need be, destroy those who make effort to reveal these numbing ways.

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #8: Self-serving action is not a bad thing.

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #9: The cave can be a really fun place to visit, especially if you like messing with cave dwellers in subtle but beneficial ways.

Freed Cave Dweller Maxim #10: When returning to any cave, bring a Light. It'll help Guide you and keep you warm.

What maxims do you see needing to be added?