A Brother Asks: The Backward Claim

 

THE CLAIM

A Brother Asks: I’ve heard it said that every man in the lodge room is a fellow craft and an apprentice.  I want to agree with this since our obligations to both of these remain with us after we ascend to the next degree.  While I am a Master Mason, I am still an Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft.  What are your thoughts?

Coach: Do you want to re-examine that notion?

Brother: Sure!

Coach: Actually, you are no longer either an Entered Apprentice or a Fellow Craft, if you have rightfully earned the title. Care to hear the logic?

Brother: Absolutely! But first, an example.

Coach: Great!  I love examples!

Brother: Good. You can always work a job that you are over qualified for. If there is no master work, is a master able to do the job of a fellow craft or an Apprentice? My short answer is, “yes.” In my humble opinion, it is better to be a Master with a low paying job, than a master whose family is starving because he has no work.

Also in my opinion, a master who does the work of an Entered Apprentice or a Fellow Craft is reminded of what it is to be a Master, what it took to get to where he is. Call it righteous labor.

This goes for life, not just Masonry. I will get out and help unload my truck sometimes, a job "beneath" me. It reminds me to be respectful and patient with the unloaders as sometimes their job is very difficult. It does me good.

 

THE REFRAME

Coach: Thanks for the examples.  There’s the problem with them though. Each is reframing and redirecting the whole question.  You are no longer talking about titles earned in your examples. You are merely talking about the work to be done. Doing the work that is below your skill and expertise level does not make you the work that you do. It merely means that you can render the work without relying upon greater skill and experience.

Brother: In Masonry, I am going back to the Entered Apprentice degree and studying once I am more comfortable, I will re-examine the Fellow Craft degree and then the Master Mason degree. I now have more tools (thanks to you) so I have to go back to the quarry and be a laborer for a while. While I carry the title of Master, I am going to do the work of an Apprentice for a while to become a better Master.

Coach: And there in lay the difference. Although you wear the title, you know that you still need to do the Work to earn it in a different way, by actually doing the Work that the Degrees point us toward.

Recognizing this is the first step toward the Masonic Mastery that the Degrees point us toward.

As you might have already come to realize, there's a HUGE difference between Freemasonic Mastery requirements and Masonic Mastery requirements. The former requires that you KNOW and repeat back three script. The later require you BE those scripts in every way.

Something to consider when you come across those wearing the Master’s title who hold to the claim that they, and all others wearing the title, are also apprentices and fellow crafts as well:

Just as students normally progress from freshman to sophomore, then from sophomore to junior, then from junior to senior, and finally from senior to graduate to never ever retain nor wear the previous titles and rightfully so, so too do members of the Craft normally progress from Entered Apprentice to Apprentice, Apprentice to Fellow, and finally from Fellow to Master, when they do the actual Work that cultivates each.

To imply or insist in any way that a previous title still applies once a higher title has been earned is likened to calling a graduate a school boy. It simply doesn't apply in the minds and hearts of anyone who has actually done the Work to earn the latest title. It also insults those who know better.

I earned the title "Master", as have countless others. To imply or claim that anyone is something less is to belittle those who have done the Work because you claim through your label that the person is still something that he has honestly and rightfully moved past.

And he shall object and for good reason.

A Master sees through the eyes of a Master. A Master hears with the ears of a Master. A Master works with the hands of a Master.  A Master learns from the vantage point of experience and skill. A Master has Wisdom, Strength and Beauty backing his Words and his Deeds, such that all or present and all are in agreement when he puts it forth. His engagements in life are Masterful. Learning and teaching are a Master's intent and he does so Masterfully.

Masters are no longer what they have passed through. They are the outcome of the sum total of what they have passed through.

When you call them otherwise, that label you make effort to put upon them says more about your views and attitudes than what they actually are.

Brother: Understood. It makes for a great lecture, for I have learned that I am all three and I am sure I'm not the only one who believes this.

Coach: Does that mean that you are still a freshman in high school?

Brother: Negative. 

Coach: Then, if you are no longer a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, because you have graduated, the same applies to apprentice and fellow craft, because, if you earned the title, you have graduated to Master and are no longer the previous because you have moved beyond them.

Brother: That makes perfect sense.  But what if you run into someone who can't rationally see this?

Coach: Then I suggest you put something more heartfelt in front of them.

Brother: Like?

Coach:  Ask them, "What man do you know who honestly believes that he's both a man and a boy just because he once went through boyhood?" Follow this with, "The entire point of Apprenticeship is maturing the Candidate so they can be embrace the demands of manhood.  A member who claims to be both a Master and Apprentice Mason he has yet to embrace this." 

Brother: Yikes!

 

For Further Light:

The Forever Apprentice

 

A Brother Asks: Restrictions on Accepting Secrets

 
 
Brother: Coach, do you have any restrictions that you place on offered information when a Brother tells you that he wants to share something with you Chest to Chest.
 
Coach: Yes,  I certainly do.
 
Brother: What are they?
 
Coach: I have a two simple policies that help keep me legally, morally, ethically and spiritually safe.  Here they are in the form of bottom and top line behaviors:

1. Bottom Line (what to avoid) - Don't tell me anything that you know would get me in trouble or cause harm if I didn't share the information with the proper authorities or those who would be impacted negatively by withholding such information.
2. Top Line (what to shoot for) - Share with me only those things that you know I would have only good conscience keeping in my chest.

Brother: Interesting... how did you arrive at these policies?
 
Coach: I derived them as a consequence of examining in depth the roles played out by those twelve remaining Fellow Crafts within the Hiramic Legend.
 
Brother: The twelve remaining Fellow Crafts?
 
Coach: Yes.  Those Fellow Craft who remained after the other three ruffians followed through on their collective conspiracy.
 
Brother: The other three ruffians?
 
Coach: Yes.  All the Fellow Crafts within the legend were Ruffians.  It was they who followed through on the collective conspiracy, not the other twelve.
 
Brother: You said "Collective Conspiracy"  What does that mean?
 
Coach: They were all involved in the conspiracy together.  It was only the three ruffians who followed through on the conspiracy who did the physical damage. 
 
Brother: Wow!  I had not thought of it that way.

Coach: Many do not.  Furthermore, it was the remaining twelve ruffians who came clean on their part and after they heard of the missing Grand Master. And this only when they feared something awful had happened to him.  Until that moment they were okay with keeping the conspiracy a secret.

Brother: You were careful to say "physical damage".  Was there other damage that was not physical?

Coach: Yes.  There was damage done to trust; the trust one should have between Brothers. 
 
Brother: They violated that trust by keeping the conspiracy a secret?

Coach: Indeed they did.  They knowingly kept secret an extortion plot that was intended to cause damage. 

Brother: Is this why King Solomon told them they they would be held to account for the Grand Master's death had they not found and brought the other three ruffians to justice?

Coach: What do you think?

Brother: I think it was.

Coach: Me as well.

Brother: Do you believe the Grand Master might have lived had they not kept the conspiracy within their chests?

Coach: Perhaps.  But that's not the point.  The Grand Master had to die because the allegory wouldn't work the way it does if he had lived.

Brother: That makes sense.  But how did you arrive at your insights?
 
Coach: It was precisely the fact that they kept information in their chests that harm was done to someone who would not have been harmed had they revealed the conspiracy appropriately and in a timely fashion. They had to do this for the point to be made!

Brother: So, that's the point?

Coach: Yes!  Don't keep things in your chest that could harm others if not known.  Furthermore, don't commit to keeping information secret that could and will harm when not shared.

Brother: What about your other policy? 

Coach: What about it?

Brother: How did you arrive at that?

Coach: It's a complement to the first.  The first is incomplete without it.

Brother: How so?

Coach: Well, if I don't want to know information that would be entrusted to me for all the wrong reasons, wouldn't I want to be entrusted with information that should be held in confidence for all the right reasons?

Brother: Well, sure.  That makes perfect sense.

Coach: Good.  There are two types of information shared as secrets: That which can harm myself or others if held back and that which can harm myself or others if let out.

Brother:  Ah! I get it!  The former is an unholy alliance; the latter is a sacred trust.

Coach: Indeed!  And I only want to be involved in the receiving end of the latter; the former simply doesn't sit well with me at all and for the right reasons too.
 
Brother: But what if holding back information prevents someone from facing the harm brought about by the consequences of their actions being known?

Coach: That falls under the heading of unholy alliance.

Brother: How so?

Coach: Someone who withholds information to aid others in outrunning accountability is engaging in either illegal, unethical, immoral or non-spiritual actions.

Brother: That makes sense.  The harm is self-inflicted and withholding information only draws things out and delays the inevitable.

Coach: Yes, and when others are involved, it delays proper justice, thus harming those involved who deserve justice.

Brother: There's a lot to this sharing secrets that I had not considered.

Coach: There sure is.  Talks like this help bring things to light and invite us to consider things more in depth.

Brother: Indeed!

A Brother Asks: What is the Highest Degree?

 

 

A Brother Asks: What is the highest degree?

 

My Response: It might surprise you to know that it is the Fellow Craft.

 

Let me explain:

Since...

1. the "Master's Part", was originally the Premier Grand Lodge's Fellow Craft Degree [1], and
2. the "Master's Part" was an innovation to the original one degree system brought about by the GL era[2], and
3. the MM degree "legend" was an innovation to this innovative "Master's Part" [3], and
4. the Craft are known, taken and Accepted as "Brothers and Fellows", and
5. the original Apprentice Degree was split into two.  This created an abridged EA degree (EA version 2) and a different FC degree (actually the other half of the abridged EA degree)[4], only with a lot less fluff than we have today, and
6. the original Apprentice Degree was the highest degree necessary to be a full fledged member with all the rights, lights and benefits of "organizational membership", prior to Grand Lodge innovations to membership requirements, and
7. the splitting of original Apprentice Degree pushed the Apprentice Degree completion to the now new Fellow Craft Degree level, and
8. the Fellow Craft level (at the time of "Stonecraft") was obtained ONLY after seven years of Apprenticeship, and
9. the currently practiced Master's Degree, if done properly, is ONLY an acknowledgment and celebration of the skill development that one must cultivate to be proficient as a "Fellow of the Craft", and
10. the completion of Fellow Craft skill development makes you a Master of the Craft; not some title bestowed upon you by others,

the FC is the highest degree.  The rest is title fluff. ​​

 

Of course, in the USA the title of "Master Mason" bestowed upon members during the Master's Degree is now required to enjoy all the rights, lights and benefits of the Blue Lodge experience. 

 

Sadly, little to no Mastery, as alluded to by Craft Ritual, is required.

 

If you're interested, here's a brotherly discussion on this blog post: https://buildinghiram.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-brother-asks-about-highest-degree-post.html

 

F&S,

 

Brother John S Nagy

PS - If you were paying attention, you might now ask:  Are you talking about the Fellow Craft, as in "the second half of the Apprentice Degree Prime"?
 

[1] A degree where a "Fellow Craft" was made.

[2] The Premier Grand Lodge (PGL) at the time required as Fellow of the Craft to run the lodge and only they, the Premier Grand Lodge, could make a FC.  (This is an innovation!  Becoming a Fellow of the Craft occurred by going through seven years of Apprenticeship under the oversight of a Fellow of the Craft!  It did not occur by some Grand Lodge putting an apprentice through a "degree" so that they could run a lodge!)

[3] The first documented evidence is that it appeared around 1725 CE.

[4] The PGL split the original Apprentice Degree into two degrees, thereby creating the now abridged EA degree and new FC degree, so that the lodges could make FCs to run lodges, rather then the PGL doing the degree.

 

For Further Light:
 

 

 

Now available on Video here: https://rumble.com/ve4ne3-top-ten-reasons-fellow-craft-degree-is-the-highest-masonic-degree.html

 

 

Raisings Suspended



Candidate Achmed Bonaparte
Expected to Recover

Dry Bones AZ – In an unexpected late evening press conference held outside the Arizona Grand Lodge Building this last Tuesday, a spokesman for the institution reported that all future Raisings have been suspended indefinitely.  When asked why, Grand Line Officer Will Squasher said new developments with the Fellow Craft union have brought to light the adverse effects of a new unsanctioned grip employed during that night’s Third Degree. 

 

When asked specifics about what occurred, Brother Squasher said, “It's not surprising.  Lately we’ve had some Ruffians not following our strict script guidelines for Degrees.  One small informally organized group conspired to change their group’s reputation by Raising the Candidate on the second attempt.” He grimaced and added, “Unfortunately, they actually succeeded this time but the results were just downright ugly.”

When pressed for further information, one witness of the Raising who asked for anonymity had this to say, “Oh Lord!"  He paused to compose himself, "My God it was terrible!  I’ve never seen the degree team zeal for authenticity and recognition taken this far.  The poor candidate had his flesh cleaved from his bones!” The Brother was visibly shaken, but continued, “Sure, the Fellow Crafts were able to pull him up prematurely, but the poor sot was nothing but skin and bones as a result.”

“We’ve suspected for some time now that the Fellow Crafts were planning something like this", grumbled Old Past Master Ian Mieday. "It’s totally off script and they know it.”  He added, “Had they only been patient and allowed us to stay on script, that poor candidate would not have had the shock of his life.” 

A Degree Team Organizer by the name of Brother Ceep M. Inlyne reported that the unfortunate candidate, Achmed Bonaparte, who was Raised earlier that evening was in stable condition and thought what occurred was actually part of the show. 

 

All present have agreed that further Fellow Craft Training was necessary and this should stave off any repeats of that evening’s performance.

Those wishing to contribute to the Candidate’s relief fund, please direct them toward your local Shiner’s Hospital.

 

F&S,

 

Brother John S. Nagy

 

 

 

 

 

The Coaches Coach: Traveling Men - The Purposes Behind Memorizations

Traveling Man

So many Experience it; so few Understand the Experience.  Further Light facilitates Further Travel.

“Proficiency”, also known to most Brothers who have gone through them as “Catechism”, is a requirement in which many Brothers must participate to progress through the Blue Lodge Degrees, at least, within the majority of the Jurisdictions in the USA.  The Proficiency requirement does a multitude of things for both the Candidate and the Lodge.  Over the years, the Proficiency requirements exist within fewer and fewer Jurisdictions due to a host of reasons.  It is most unfortunate that those Jurisdictions eliminating it are not training these Brothers in one of the most important aspects of Masonic Travel. 

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

Freemasonic Purposes

Given opportunity to explain, the average Brother would say that Proficiencies have important purposes for the Fraternity.  The most obvious response some Brothers provide is that it reveals how serious a Candidate is to participate in the Organization.  Another response you’ll readily receive is that it helps Brothers remember what they went through during the degree. 

Those Brothers who are savvy to the needs of the Lodge and the Organization as a whole shall immediately share that it installs a script within each Brother.  Such installation makes it easier for each of them to participate in Degree work when new Candidates come through to be Initiated, Passed or Raised. 

All are purposes that serve well the Organization of Freemasons.

Masonic Purposes

The purposes for Proficiencies are far more than what may seem to be obvious to Organizational support upon first glance.  One purpose that I have been sharing for years is that Proficiencies are in themselves Road Maps that Candidates can and follow to Better themselves.  These Road Maps, once recognized as such, contain specific directions and tasks that aid toward Making Good Men Better, when followed through upon. 

When Candidates Recognize them in this form, for what they truly are, and seek to Understand what these Road Maps direct them toward, they can then journey forth using them as guides toward Betterment.  It’s truly a shame that too few Proficiency Instructors do not point this out to Candidates before, during and after the Proficiencies are engaged in by them.  Candidates would benefit much more by Understanding the basis behind this effort and perhaps have more incentive to engage in them knowing the purposes that lay behind them.

Another underlying purpose has nothing to do with the Catechisms themselves.  It has to do with men getting to know one another.  In this sense, the Catechisms are there for Instructors to use as a tool and vehicle for Brotherly bonding.  The catechisms become a catalyst for each man to become familiar with and to learn about the other, by focusing upon a task that lessens the awkwardness sometimes experienced by men initially unfamiliar with each other.  

I’ve seen a lot of very good opportunities missed, deliberately skipped over and even lost because the activity focus was so strongly upon the Catechism that the men involved faded into the background. 

Doing Proficiencies provide ample time to get to know one another. This especially in a day and age where the mobility of people is almost certainly going to interfere with knowing each other much better, and certainly before having these Brothers Passed and Raised. 

 Should you be in the position of Instructing Candidates through these Proficiencies, you might want to step back and look at it as an opportunity to get to know the Candidates, and for them to get to know you and other members as well.  Other members?  Sure!  Use other members to explain things that come up during Proficiencies, especially when those other members know the topic well and might make for great friendships long term.  The more people a candidate gets to know and bond with during this time, the more likely he will have connectedness to Lodge members long term.

Ancient Purposes

There is an ancient purpose that is not often known that should be Understood by both Instructors and Candidates alike before they engage in these activities.  That ancient purpose has been described in a whole host of different sources over the years.  That purpose was to develop the Candidates’ ability to remember using an ancient technique referred to repeatedly by both Plato and his student Aristotle, among many others.   It is currently known by many names:  “Method of Loci[i]”, “The Roman Room” and “The Memory Palace”, are just a few. 

The Technique is truly simple.  It requires that you memorize the layout of a room, home, or even a well-traveled path.  Colors, shapes, sizes, textures and anything that is best suited to the individual’s method of experience[ii] should be taken into consideration.  Once you have created a location or path within your mind with which you are familiar, you can then Travel through it. 

You might say, “So what? What does that do for me?”   What it does for you is Establish a path that you can Build upon.  In other words, the cultivation of this technique within one’s mind brings about a structure for recall.  Doing so remaps the Parietal Lobes of the brain and interconnects it with the other lobes as well[iii].  Should you research this Further, you’ll find that the ancients knew a lot about using the brain more effectively than we might give them credit for today.

Once this internal path is Established, you then create specific stop points or loci along the way that you shall remember without fail.  As you Travel through this imaginary path at anytime thereafter, these stopping points shall allow you to place images that shall remind you of what it is that you want to recall.  

When I first heard this method explained, I thought to myself, “Yikes! That’s an awful lot of work to memorize something!  First I have to memorize a path, and then I have to memorize images that will trigger memories of what I want to remember!  There’s got to be an easier way.”  I reluctantly tried to use it but gave up because it seemed to not work quickly enough for me.  I resolved in those moments that I would not pursue it any further, no matter how great it might have worked for those who perfected it. 

Along the Road

I held that opinion for many years.  And there was nothing that seemed to budge me from it.  Even though I knew that it was a technique that was recommended for over 2400 years, I resisted Cultivating it.  My conclusion and choice kept me from Traveling down that Path. 

Then something changed for me.  I went through my first Degree as a Freemason and was told immediately afterward that I was required to memorize about six single spaced sheets of responses to questions and requests from a proficiency Instructor before I was allowed to advance to the next Degree.  I had no idea how I was going to accomplish that task.  I was encouraged by my Instructors.  I was told that I was not the only one faced with this overwhelming task and that many others faced it too and succeeded.   With the help of my Instructor I stepped up and started to memorize what was asked of me.

As you know from my status as a Master Mason, I was successful in memorizing what was required of me.  I did this three times over and was supported by my Brothers in doing so.  It wasn’t till years later that I became aware of what actually occurred for me through those memorization efforts.   

Locus Focus

I had a question put to me by a Brother.  The question was simple. 

What does memorizing all these Proficiencies do for a man?

 It was a bit too simple a question and I should have expected there would be another not so easy question fired at me very quickly after the first one was put forth.  And I was right.  That second question was not so simple. 

Wouldn’t a man be better off understanding what he went through rather than simply memorizing all those provided responses not knowing what they meant?

Over the years, I’ve responded to the second question with an unshakably energetic and confident, “Absolutely!”  That response went unchecked for a very long time.  That is, until I Recognized the underlying reason for the memorization.   Once I realized that the basis behind these memorizations was to install a Freemasonic version of a “Roman Room” in the form of a Masonic Lodge, it all clicked!

Yes!  It was very important to Understand what was being memorized.  And to get to the point where you can Understand what you are memorizing, you have to be able to recall it and do so without wasting a lot of time trying to remember it! 

This led to the following connection: The underlying purpose behind doing Proficiency is to both honor and engage in an ancient practice involving teaching Candidates how to remember using the “Method of Loci” used by humankind since time immemorial.

To be a “Traveling Man”, one must be capable of Traveling Masterfully within one’s mind, not only through “natural” occurring memory, but through what the Greeks referred to as “artificial” memory[iv].    Proficiencies help us toward this end, should we participate in doing them.  When you never have opportunity to Cultivate this important technique within yourself, your Travel shall be muted by many moments caused by memory roadblocks and stumbling points.  Those Jurisdictions that still require Mnemonic Cultivation are providing an invaluable supportive service that Builds Better Travelers, one mind at a time! 

Points to Perpend

1)  Does your Jurisdiction require “Method of Loci” training in the form of Proficiencies?
2)  Have you used this Training to remember
3)  How do you see such Training affecting your Travels?

---

[i] plural of Latin locus for place or location

 

[ii] Depending upon a person’s internal “wiring” they might be tactile, visual, or auditory; smell and taste should not be left out since they are also modes of sensory input that some people are more sensitive to than others.

[iii] The parietal lobe integrates sensory information from different modalities, particularly determining spatial sense and navigation. For example, it comprises somato-sensory cortex and the dorsal stream of the visual system. This enables regions of the parietal cortex to map objects perceived visually into body coordinate positions. Several portions of the parietal lobe are important in language processing. Just posterior to the central sulcus lies the postcentral gyrus. This area of the cortex is responsible for somatosensation. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parietal_lobe]

[iv] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic

For more information related to this and other works, please visit my website.

 

New Video! The Coaches Coach: Building Builders

Building Builders Video - 04/23/2011

Hello Fellow Travelers!

Brothers,

I have the distinct honor of being a featured presenter on the "Worldwide Exemplification of Freemasonry" project sponsored by the GL of Indiana (WEOFM.ORG). My part of this project will be released "into the wild" tonight --Saturday April 23, 2011 at 8PM (20:00 DST).

This presentation is called "The Coaches Coach: Building Builders." It is a 50 minute fast paced audio-visual production that is filled with many overlapping themes.

You will want to become well acquainted with your rewind button as the rapid fire unfolding of information will at many times have at least two or more directions presented at one time.

Enjoy!

 

Fraternally and Sincerely,

Bro. Coach N

ps - If you look carefully, this free public video contains at least two spelling errors and one grammar error, all corrected in the DVD edition found at Building Builders.

 

Testing Our Entered Apprentices and More

Building Boaz - 10/1/2010

Hello Fellow Travelers!

Here's something to Perpend in your in-between hours.  Most current methods used in the USA to test for Proficiency of Entered Apprentice Work rely upon Candidates showing that they have memorized something and can share what they have memorized to the satisfaction of those testing them. From a systems standpoint, such standardization might seem fair and predictable, but it doesn’t serve the purpose of making good men better.

Let me share with you a perspective that may not be common among Masons, but a perspective that should be – according to what Masonic Ritual espouses.

Masonry has far too many improperly Prepared Masons advancing from Entered Apprentice to Fellow Craft. How can I say this with any validity? Even better: How can anyone tell?

The proof is all around us. Improperly Prepared Fellow Craft Masons and above continuously show outward signs of Vices and Superfluities and equally show that Virtues are lacking.

What are the telltale signs? Here are just a few.

1) When a Mason has "Vice and Superfluity" issues:

1. He is Burdened unnecessarily.
2. These Burdens negatively affect his Resources (as in his overall “Strength”; and we are not talking about his “physical” strength).
3. These Burdens prevent him from maximizing the Return on his Investments, no matter what the direction that investment may take.
4. Furthermore, you will see signs that his Burdens cause harm to both himself and others.

2) When a Mason has "Virtue" issues:

1. He lacks temperance and hence doesn't limit himself when he rightfully should. Self-control is a must but he won’t show such control because he has yet to develop it fully.
2. He lacks prudence and hence doesn't make prudent choices. Far-sighted sensible care will not be one of his outward expressions as he makes life and business choices.
3. He lacks fortitude and hence doesn't endure things that men who have fortitude do without question. Lacks in resilient and purposeful courage prevent the necessary staying power that brings about long term results.
4. He lacks justice and hence lacks a foundation necessary for dealing fairly with others. His dealing with others shows that games are unfavorable tilted in his favor, no matter how he may involve himself.
5. He lacks faith and hence believes in probable things that can only be proved and refuses to invest in the possibilities things that will benefit most and are worthy of believing in. His beliefs shall be based solely upon that which is concrete and will lack any choice that cannot be backed up by indisputable fact.
6. He lacks hope and hence wanders as a boat without an anchor. He shall not invest in things that are worthwhile unless they are a sure thing.
7. He lacks love and hence invests not in things that are lovable. His manner will not show acceptance of others for who they are but will be based solely upon what they have to offer him.

What gets in the way of both the instruction and the proofing of Entered Apprentice Proficiency? Part of the problem is that most Fellow Craft Masons and above do not know how to clearly and succinctly state what a vice or superfluity is, how they are similar and how they differ. If Fellow Craft Masons and above don’t know this, how are they going to communicate this to Candidates who need to Work on them much less be able to spot them in candidates when they are clearly present? These same Masons have equal inability in clearly and succinctly stating what Virtues are, how they Strengthen men and how to go about integrating these Virtues within men’s daily habits.

If they did know and do this, they would realize “how” Masonry makes good men better! For one, Properly Prepared Entered Apprentice Masons are less inclined to judge inappropriately. If they did, they are more inclined to correct that mistake appropriately. They are also more likely to exhibit the qualities of a true Brother rather then someone who merely holds the title but lacks the Character such title should denote.

 

How do Masons move toward cultivating good men into better men? The answers lay not in what passes as acceptable catechism.

The answers lay in using catechism that is not standardized by a Jurisdiction.

This makes sense. Standardized Catechism is the result of a machine process that “punch presses out” candidates like Masonic widgets on a production line. What you get from this process are Masons who tend to the very Masonic Machines that created them as a result and not the Masonic Spirits it was intended to nurture.

What exactly is Catechism? Catechism is merely “opportunity” training for both the mentor and student. It affords them the opportunity to "venture off the assembly line" and to interact and discern if the student has truly applied the lessons of the Ritual. The Catechism is there so that such exploration occurs.

Far too many Brothers unfortunately focus on the task at hand – learning and teaching the "officially accepted" catechism – and not the true task at hand and loose the opportunity to do the true Work. What is the true Work? It’s using that Catechism time to explore the lessons of the First Degree and to determine what needs to be done to assure that the entrusted student has both learned these lessons and done this so well that he lives them.

The Official Catechism encouraged and even forces time to be invested between Brothers. Good instructors realize this and use this time prudently to discern the student's character development, not just his memorization of the catechism at hand.

Mentors who fail to use the time they spend with their students to assure such important activities occur, waste their time, fail their student and fail our Craft.

Perhaps a different system of training and evaluating our Masonic Mentors might help bring about some valuable change for our Fraternity as a whole. This might lead to Building Boaz for everyone!

Fraternally and Sincerely,

Bro. Coach N

Building Books Makes Scottish Rite Journal - ONCE AGAIN!

Building Series - 9/12/2010

Hello Fellow Travelers!

I receive quite a suprise today. After asking a recent book purchaser how he heard about my books, he replied:

I'm exploring freemasonry and James Tresner recommended your first

two books in his book reviews on the Scottish Rite Journal website.

I felt oddly confused reading this as I recall that Brother James Tresner had only written one review in the Scottish Rite Journal last year and that was on "Building Hiram" and not on my second book "Building Boaz."

Being curious, I did a quick search on the web and found that Brother Tresner had indeed written another review, made generous comment on both my books and it was in the most recent SRJ book review for the Oct. 2010 edition. He wrote the following:

General Masonic Education

Building Hiram: Uncommon Catechism for Uncommon Masonic Education and Building Boaz: Uncommon Catechism for Uncommon Masonic Education, Volume 2 by Dr. John S. Nagy (buildinghiram.blogspot.com) —

1. I find both these books especially helpful in Masonic education. [italics added]
2. Written in a Q & A format, these little books explore many of the ideas of the Blue Lodge Degrees.
3. They provide a lot of insight and more or less “trick” you into thinking more deeply about the symbols and structures of Freemasonry.
4. You can find them on the Internet.

I've already sent a quick "thankyou" note to Brother Tresner for assisting our Brothers in finding and obtaining Further Light.

For those of you who have come to this link to find out more, you can find these books at the following links:

Building Hiram / Building Boaz / Building Athens

Fraternally,

Brother Coach N

Tolerance Revisited

Building in General - 09/04/2010

Hello Fellow Travelers!

I’m posting something here that may go against the accepted grain of some Mason’s entrenched beliefs.

Tolerance is no more a virtue than Intolerance is a vice. Moreover, the opposite is true, too. Neither are a vice nor virtue in and of themselves.

Let me elaborate just a bit: By their nature, Virtues strengthen and support and Vices weaken and burden. Neither Tolerance nor Intolerance does either of these.

Therefore, you may query as to what “Tolerance” is and you would ask for good reason. So much of what Masons hear about it is lauded over the purpose it exists and to the point where it is truly unreasonably applied.

To hear Masons speak of Tolerance, one might assume that there are only two possibilities:

Intolerance --- Tolerance
...where “Tolerance” is an expected mode of behavior, specifically toward the religious beliefs of others and any “Intolerance” should not be “Tolerated.”

However, we all know that there are many more possibilities under the heavens than these two behavioral choices. Let me expand upon this further.

Tolerance is one of four words used to denote expressions or behaviors that occur when people are faced with something in which they must deal.

That group of four expressions covers a continuum that stretches from rejection through to acceptance. When adding resistance and tolerance to that continuum, we have four behaviors that people use to deal with situations.

Let me say this again: Tolerance is only a small part of a continuum of behavior based upon differing response/reaction choices. In a rudimentary continuum, Rejection, Resistance and Acceptance flank Tolerance.

This continuum appears like this:
Rejection --- Resistance --- Tolerance --- Acceptance
Which could be viewed as an expanded version of this:
Intolerance --- Tolerance

However, the later version of these last two isn’t the former version of the four, since “Intolerance” doesn’t capture the subtleties of “rejection or resistance” and “Tolerance” doesn’t capture the subtleties of “Acceptance.”

What was previously stated about Tolerance and Intolerance applies here too. Each one of these four expressions is not a virtue or vice either. They are simple behavioral choices that one may use in responses/reactions to life, and this includes those behaviors toward people with which one shares one’s life.

These four should also not be confused with Attitude, which in and of itself consists of seven key attributes*, of which only one is manifested by the aforementioned behaviors.

What though can be said of the virtues that support one’s choices to respond with any one of these four? My observations tell me that the Four Cardinal and Three Theological Virtues help guide one's choice to either reject, resist, tolerate and accept.

1. These Seven virtues may call a person to reject what is before them when it is wrong for all involved. Don’t these Virtues help to discern this?
2. They may as well call that same person to resist something forced upon him that is not right even if it is right for someone else. And, perhaps rightfully so!
3. Yet, if what is right for one is not right for another and it is not being forced upon the person whom it is not right for, these virtues may lead someone to express tolerance. Would this be considered relative?
4. Acceptance may unfold when what is at play is right for all involved and these virtues support this. Yet, without a firm foundation in the Seven virtues, could some things be accepted wrongfully?

These conditions outlined above are relative to whom is involved and the values that each involved hold as sacred for themselves and others. “Relative” because it is rare that any two people hold the same values much less agree upon how these values should be honored. The key though lay not in the choice of each of these four options…
 
Rejection --- Resistance --- Tolerance --- Acceptance   …but in how each is expressed. Each response/reaction is appropriate under the right conditions and inappropriate under the wrong conditions. Additionally, that key may never be inserted into the locks th at hold people apart because agreements upon honorable behavior are as varied as the faces of humanity.

Knowing this, I chose to accept that there will be disagreement and, when this occurs, I shall simply be open to better understand what others accept as honorable behavior or not. Once I think I understand, I may make effort to come to some amicable agreement, most of the time. Of course, I reserve the right to hold back on this if I believe it will work in everyone’s best interest when we don’t come to an amicable agreement. Sometimes this is appropriate too.

At one time, I defined “Tolerance” as the ability to withstand any amount of irritation, agitation or violation, perceived real or not, without responding or reacting in a devaluing or negative way toward the perceived source of that irritation, agitation or violation.


I should have expanded that definition to include all four possibilities and temper them with the Seven Virtues specified in the EA Ritual.

1. “Rejection” and “Resistance” are saying “no” and doing so in a valuing, honorable and respectful way toward all those involved.
2. “Tolerance” and “Acceptance” are saying “yes” and doing so in a valuing, honorable and respectful way toward all those involved.

People, Masons included, seem to focus upon the one behavior, Tolerance, though. It’s as if it is the sole option in this world of humans. It is not. It is but one of at least four that we as Masons should keep in mind as we navigate the minefield that is created by much misconception. This is where education helps -- more specifically "Masonic Education."

Throughout Masonic Education, “discrimination” is something that is a valuable and appreciated skill. Much of the first two Blue Lodge Degrees makes effort to cultivate this skill within Masons. As with all skill development, it is just as important to know when to apply it and when not to apply it. This too is something that is cultivated within the first degree of Blue Lodge Masonry.

So, when you see Masons who have done the Work that Ritual points to, you most likely see the entire continuum of behavior ranging from rejection through to acceptance played out before you in very righteous ways, all based upon their finely cultivated ability to discriminate appropriately depending upon the situation before them.

In addition, if you perceive that these same Brothers push the envelop of unacceptability in some situations where other Brothers are involved, you can almost guarantee that they’re simply messing with their heads and for all the right reasons.

I suggest that you play along. You may very well learn something new and valuable about yourself and your Brothers.

Fraternally,

Brother Coach N

(Source: Pages 140-146; Building Cement - Uncommonly Concrete Masonic Education)

* Values, Intents, Perceptions, Beliefs, Emotions, Actions (behaviors) and Results

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I'm proud to say that this article eventually became an appendix with my book, Building Cement.