Sunday, December 31, 2023

Random Building Thoughts - 2023-12-31

 

 -------------- RESPECT --------------

What if I told you...
... I don't have to respect your opinion
to still respect you.

 -------------- MASONIC EDUCATION --------------

 

 For Further Light:
Free

 -------------- SHAPING YOU --------------

Who and What
you Surround yourself with today
will Shape Who and What
you shall Be
into your Future.

-------------- NEW YEAR BEHAVIOR --------------

Your New Year
shall not be any different
if you remain the same.

-------------- HUMOR --------------

-------------- KNOW! --------------

How Gnorant of Masonry
Are You?

 -------------- MYTH --------------


"Mythology may,
in a real sense,
be defined as other people's religion.
And religion may,
in a real sense,
be understood as a popular misunderstanding
of mythology."
-- Joseph Campbell,
Thou Art That
 
And those who engage in any popular
misunderstanding of mythology unknowingly,
typically find this blatantly insulting.

-------------- MYSTERIOUS --------------

-------------- GENTLE REMINDER --------------

 

 Just a gentle reminder to my Brothers that Coaching Support for your Business, Life and Masonic efforts is available on a Just-In-Time basis. It's not limited to just the Building Better Builders Series. If you need support, you can have it now!

 Details Found Here:
http://www.coach.net/BuilderCoach.htm 

 

-------------- WELL-WISHES --------------

 
May you Start the New Year
with a Resolution
that Brings forth
Clarity in your life!
 
-------------- END --------------

 Be Well and Travel Light!

-- Coach Nagy ;-)

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You can also find me on:

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Educational Materials can be found here:

 
 
 
 

 

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Random Building Thoughts - 2023-12-30

 

 -------------- BLOCKAGE --------------

 

Lodges Obviously Attract Members
Due to the Light they Offer
and Members Die or Leave
before they Obtain that Light.
 
Let's Find Out
What's in the Way!
 
 -------------- MASONIC EDUCATION --------------
 

 

-------------- INVITATION --------------

The Craft uses
Archaic Words like "Charity"
as a way of Inviting men
to Think Deeper about Words in General.

For those who don't want
to Think Deeper,
it Invites them
to Run Fundraisers.

-------------- BRIGHT ENOUGH --------------
 

You only have to
Shine Bright Enough
to Light your Path
so you don't Stumble carelessly
upon the blind men
before you.

-------------- EMPOWERMENT --------------

Men Empowered
beyond their Grasp
are only outdone
by the ignorant fools
who Empower them. 

 -------------- DESIRE MORE --------------

I am not concerned
with immediate needs of the Fraternity;
there are enough Brothers supporting it
as it currently is.
I am looking at
what we need into the future,
sweeping away the rubbish
from a path laid long ago
and making sure it is well lit
for those who desire more! 

 -------------- LIMITS --------------


-------------- TEMPLE --------------

 If you examine Ritual,
you shall find that it
directs every person who understands it
to Work upon his own Ashlar.

Should he do so,
he shall Cultivated his soul (heart and head)
and in doing so,
he shall develop his Temple
of and for Humanity. 

 -------------- LEARN! --------------

Ritual has Countless Arrows
Pointing in a Multitude of Directions
and only those who can Recognize them
shall see where they Point.  

Learn to Recognize them!

 -------------- JUST PUNISHMENTS --------------


Electing and Promoting Unworthy men
leads to poor performance
and negative impacts upon the people
and Organizations they serve.

The perpetually voiced
dissatisfaction, frustration and angst
you hear from those who support this process
is merely unrecognized Just and Worthy punishment
for the poor performance
of each elector and promoter. 

 -------------- MYTH --------------

Once again, that's M-E-T-A-P-H-O-R-S!
 
"Like dreams,
myths are productions of the human imagination.
Their images, consequently
––though derived from the material world
and its supposed history––
are, like dreams,
revelations of the deepest hopes, desires
and fears, potentialities and conflicts,
of the human will
––which in turn is moved
by the energies of the organs of the body
operating variously against each other
and in concert.
Every myth, that is to say,
whether or not by intention,
is psychologically symbolic.
Its narratives and images
are to be read, therefore,
not literally,
but as metaphors."
-- Joseph Campbell,
"The Inner Reaches of Outer Space:
Metaphor As Myth and As Religion"  p. 27-28

-------------- WHY BOTHER? --------------

 

When you don't ever Intend
to Set Foot Outside the Door,
Why Bother Memorizing any Map?

For Further Light:
a-brother-asks-road-map-focus

-------------- DARK HUMOR -------------- 

 -------------- TRUTH -------------- 


  -------------- FILED UNDER: MUSIC APPRECIATION --------------   

C, E-flat, and G go into a bar.
The bartender says, "Sorry, but we don't serve minors." 

So E-flat leaves, and C and G have an open fifth between them. 

After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished, and G is out flat.
F comes in and tries to augment the situation,
but is not sharp enough. 

D comes in and heads for the bathroom,
saying, "Excuse me; I'll just be a second." 

Then A comes in, but the bartender
is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor. 

Then the bartender notices B-flat hiding at the end of the bar
and says, "Get out! You're the seventh minor
I've found in this bar tonight." 

E-flat comes back the next night
in a three-piece suit with nicely shined shoes.
The bartender says,
"You're looking sharp tonight.
Come on in, this could be a major development." 

Sure enough, E-flat soon takes off his suit
and everything else, and is au natural. 

Eventually C sobers up
and realizes in horror that he's under a rest.

C is brought to trial,
found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor,
and is sentenced to 10 years of D.S. without Coda
at an upscale correctional facility. 

   -------------- BOOK #16 NOW RELEASED IN HARDBACK!!! --------------   

 JUST IN CASE YOU
DIDN'T HEAR THE GOOD NEWS!

MY 16th BOOK 
IS NOW PRINTED 
 and BEING SHIPPED!
paperback is now available!

HARDBACK COPIES
ARE HERE


PLEASE put your orders in now 
if you would like a first edition copy
 for your collections.

You can order it here:

Also, please share the link 
if you want to inform others
of its availability.

Thank you in advance!

Coach Nagy
 
Are you all caught up 
on your reading?

 -------------- MASON OR FREEMASON? -------------- 

For Further Light:

A Brother Asks:
Are you a Freemason or a Mason?

 -------------- END -------------- 

 Be Well and Travel Light!

-- Coach Nagy ;-)

 PS: Subscribe to get daily notifications

You can also find me on:

https://mewe.com/i/john_snagy

https://www.facebook.com/johns.nagy

Educational Materials can be found here:

 
 
 
 

 

Friday, December 29, 2023

Random Building Thoughts - 2023-12-29

 

-------------- BE - DO - HAVE --------------

 
Didn't Plato and James the Just
say something like this as well?

 -------------- R&P --------------

Religion and Politics
are Proscribed from Open Lodge,

not because they themselves
cause Disruptions and Disharmony
but because too few Brothers
have Mastered Civil Discourse
- one of the very core goals of the Trivium. 

Masterful Brothers have no difficulty whatsoever
Respectfully Discussing Religion and Politics,
even when faced with
the Ignorant Disrespect of others. 

On the other hand,
Brothers who wear titles
and who have not done the Work
to earn them
are one of the central reasons
such Proscriptions exist.

For Further Light:
Proscription!

-------------- HUMOR --------------

It’s truly embarrassing
to know so many "Master Masons"
who don’t know their Zoroaster
from a Holy Ground.

-------------- WHERE'S YOUR ASHLAR? --------------

FILED UNDER: WHERE'S YOUR ASHLAR IN ALL THIS?
 
A Little Ashlar Info...
 
1) Rough Ashlars are roughly hewn but generally unworked Freestones. These are Profanes and newly Entered Apprentices who have yet to begin their Perfecting Work.
 
2) Common Ashlars are Rough Ashlars that are currently being worked upon. These are Apprentices (not to be confused with Entered Apprentices) who are doing their Perfecting Work.
 
3) Perfect Ashlars are Common Ashlars that are currently Suitable for the Builder's use. They contain flaws but none that would make them unsuitable for the Builder's use. These are Apprentices who have finished their Apprenticeship Work (not just the proficiencies but the Work pointed out within the degree) and newly Passed Fellow Crafts who have done their Perfecting Work but have yet to climb the stairs.
 
4) Raised Ashlars were Perfect Ashlars that were Raised to the level where they are ready to be positioned and cemented into that House not made by hand. These are Fellow Crafts who finished their Fellow Craft Work by climbing the stairs and who have Raised themselves by doing this climbing Work.
 
SO! Where's your Ashlar in all this?

 -------------- AVOIDANCE --------------

The Ironic Aspect of Craft Practice
is how some Brothers Shun
the very Light they Seek
once they Decide that it doesn't Conform
with their Accepted Reality.

-------------- FEED THEM! --------------

Don't Feed those Sheep!
They'll Feed Themselves.
Feed those Future Lions!

-------------- HOLD BACKS --------------

False Illusions
hold back far too many men
from experiencing what the Craft
truly has to offer
and realizing their true potential.

 -------------- CRIME --------------

<sarcasm engaged>
It's a terrible crime,
threatening someone's illusion.
</sarcasm engaged>

-------------- ON YOU! --------------

When you Realize
that what is before you is an Illusion,
you must also Realize that
it is on you to move past it
and then Make the Best of your Efforts
Regardless.

 -------------- LIES -------------- 


 -------------- MYTH --------------  

"One cannot predict the next mythology
any more than one can predict tonight's dream;
for a mythology is not an ideology.
It is not something projected from the brain,
but something experienced from the heart."
Joseph Campbell, 
The Inner Reaches of Outer Space.

-------------- YEAR'S END --------------

What Special Moments
are you Choosing to Carry
from this Year's Heart? 

-------------- BOOK REVIEW -------------- 

Found Here:
Journeyman-Papers-Uncommonly-Grimm-Lessons

 -------------- END -------------- 

 Be Well and Travel Light!

-- Coach Nagy ;-)

 PS: Subscribe to get daily notifications

You can also find me on:

https://mewe.com/i/john_snagy

https://www.facebook.com/johns.nagy

Educational Materials can be found here: