When
you want to know where to start to
unravel
the Mysteries behind the Craft, Start by
Focusing
upon the Blatant and Blaring
Misunderstandings
and Inconsistencies that its Membership Actively Refuses to Deal with
Effectively
When you remain even loosely active in
Craft activities and have taken the time to discuss it at length and in depth
with others, you shall soon become acutely aware that there are many aspects of
the Craft that appear to be confusing at best, and deeply disconcerting at
worst. These aspects shall continue to
plague the Craft until such time that all members find themselves harmoniously
discussing differences.
Y
It was only after a few years within the
Craft that I began comparing notes with my Brothers. It was not an easy task either. As you might know from your own experience,
trying to come to a common understanding of things about the Craft even at a
superficial level is sometimes blocked by many assumptions. After many misunderstandings and
miscommunications I slowly became aware that I had to create a super-flexible
translator for myself, especially when I tried to speak about the Craft with
others.
Misunderstandings
There are many times when Brothers make an
effort to draw distinctions between things that they are told and things that
they observe. I became aware of this
when I started reading and hearing key differentiating words inserted into
conversations and discourses. This
occurred most often when Brothers were describing who they saw and what they
were doing.
The words that were used by them to
distinguish some members from others were prefaced with “True”, “Authentic” and “Real”
as opposed to “False”, “Fake” and “Bogus”.
The words that followed these precursors were usually “Brothers”, “Masons”, “Masonry”, “Freemasons”
and “Freemasonry”. In a very genuine way, each was making a
sincere effort to communicate to others what they were seeing before them.
And this effort was not limited to
members of the Craft. Writers who were
not members of the Society used these very same methods to communicate that there
were huge differences between members of the Society and those who actually Practiced
the Principles that the Society espoused.
With more time and interactions, I
became aware that there were Brothers who didn’t use such prefacing words in
their efforts to share what they saw.
They opted for using words that were familiar to all but assigned,
through their use, distinct meanings that would be understood by those who
would read them.
Examples of this can be found within
Craft writings throughout the 1800s and 1900s.
There are countless times when the word “Freemason” was used by some authors to indicate members of the Craft
who actually practiced the principles of the Society. These same writers would call other members
who did not practice Societal Principles mere “Masons”. It was clear that
their efforts were put forth to draw distinctions between two classes of
members within the Society.
This caused tremendous confusion within
those members who saw being a member synonymous with being a Freemason. They earnestly believed that if you are a
member, you are both a Freemason and a Mason.
The spotlights shown by authors upon members who were true to Society
Principles and members who were untrue to these principles could not be seen by
these Brothers. Because they could not
see any difference, the main intents of the writers and speakers were utterly
lost in the minutia of the confusing discourse.
Uncommon
Ground
Adding to this situation is a clear
reversal of meanings conveyed by some twenty-first century Brothers. They have
summarily dismissed these conventions and adopted pre-Society distinctions that
would appear to be a complete antithesis of these definitions. By taking the issue of practice outside the
Society and assigning it strictly to practice versus non-practice, these
Brothers have assigned a distinction that removes membership from the equation
defining Masons. They have opted to
define Freemasons as mere members of the Society of Free & Accepted Masons
while in the same effort defining Masons as individuals who Practiced Principles
that transform males toward maturity and wisdom regardless of affiliation.
In the eyes of some, Freemasons were
members of a Society whereas Masons were Builders.
None of these definitions denoted that
there was mutual exclusivity between the two.
They didn’t mean that members could not be Builders too or that Builders
could not be members. It merely
communicated a base understanding that one was not necessarily the other and
one didn’t have to be one to be the other.
Using this assignment of meaning and applying
it to questions about historical figures can cause tremendous confusion within
those not knowing these definitions. One
such example is President Thomas Jefferson.
It is quite clear that this man Raised himself up from Youth to Manhood
and to Age. It is clear that he was not
only mature but also wise in what he did with his time and efforts. It was also abundantly clear that he was a
Builder of himself, his fellow men and the country which he helped found. He was also surrounded by men who were
members of the Freemasonic Society. From
all outward signs, this man was clearly a Mason (Builder) according to one set
of assigned meanings. By another set of
assigned meanings, what was not clear from anything that was written down about
him was whether he was a member of the Society of Free & Accepted Masons
and hence a Freemason (a Member of the Society).
Resistance
One of the biggest problems that
differing definitions bring to Craft discourse is the unwillingness of certain
members to accept that word meaning is assigned within the context of the
communication. Furthermore, these same
members have also steadfastly refused to accept that meaning does change in
ways that may be counter to what they have come to understand and accept as
true for themselves.
When listening to and reading
discourse and debate between Society members, you can quickly pick up on those
who grasp this understanding and who stubbornly refuse to accept the offered
meanings in any way. Within a very short
time, the discourses involving these men degrade to arguments of definitions
rather than the actual intent of the person trying to communicate Light. Rather than trying to seek to first understand[i] what the
other person is trying to communicate, the effort is put forth by these
listeners to have the person accept the listener’s well-entrenched meanings
before further discourse can occur.
As a result of listener resistance, many
possibly valuable communications end in battles over what definitions are right
and wrong rather than trying to get past these superficial labels and into the
meat and bone of what is trying to be communicated. Such discourses also tend to eventually degrade
into personal attacks upon the persons offering the Light by those who
dogmatically oppose how this Light is offered.
Many members believe that this condition
within the Craft shall not change anytime soon.
It is part and parcel of what occurs when the Society itself refuses to
educate its members along the lines of what is professed through its
Rituals. As long as members are allowed
to Progress in name only, that is, reciting back what they are told rather than
thinking deeply about, understanding, and applying what they are told, such
Craft disconnects between societal members shall continue.
Inconsistencies
The meanings that members assign to
Craft words are not the only wide variables that you shall find within the
Society. A huge inconsistency that many
members see and experience is between what is spoken of within Craft Ritual and
what is expected of them from the actual organization. Given any one specific arena of encounters among
members of the Craft, you shall see that there is a higher than usual
probability that several members shall display character that is utterly counter
to that which is espoused by Societal Ritual.
One such inconsistency is the support
one would normally expect from an organization that espouses at every turn that
they are about transforming good men into Better men. This is stated upfront and is supported by
words and phrases sprinkled throughout the entirety of its Rituals, Lectures,
Laws and other Organizational writings.
For an organization that professes so highly the value of Bettering men,
the stark desert of support its members see before them and the experience they
have as a result of their participation, leaves many disenchanted by the words
that fall sweetly upon their eager ears.
Problems that arise as a result are
plentiful. One involves the literal
translation of what is shared within Ritual.
This occurs even though it is readily apparent, or should be from what
Freemasonic writings share, that Ritual is Allegorical and Symbolic. Even with this being stated, there are many
within the Society that make every effort to understand, convey and live Ritual
as if it were not Allegorical and Symbolic.
This becomes clear when you see the activities
that members engage in surrounding their investigation of elements found within
the third Degree drama. This includes either
what they experienced directly or of what they are informed, depending upon how
their Jurisdiction goes about it. Some members take the Dramatic information
and experience as if it were some secret history that is being kept hidden from
the world. Others believe there is an actual Lost Word. Still others believe the story conveyed
is more accurate than the Scriptures it was based upon.
All things considered, with even minor
Perpending, it should become clear that such fanciful flights of imagination
would be better guided if the Society as a whole helped its members do the Work
that its Rituals direct men toward. This
would be preferred behavior. Instead, the
present Society merely assures that Candidates experience the Ritual as required.
They soon wear titles that don’t truly represent what they originally
did within the Stonecraft Society from which they were supposedly taken.
Erosion
Between the misunderstanding and
inconsistencies lie a perpetual production of disillusionment and
disappointment within members who eagerly joined the Craft. Candidates Entering the Society usually have
high hopes of being surrounded by men who have actually developed Life
Masteries. What they find is a wide
assortment of males who have yet to master themselves, much less the principles
of the Craft. They also find men
obsessed with memorizing things that they have no desire to understand, much
less apply. Included in this are
statements from these very men that continually encourage similar attitudes and
behaviors within new members who obviously want more from their investment of money,
time and energy.
With no true leadership or examples of
what the Society can actually do to develop good men into Better men, some members
soon realize that the organization is not what they expected. Couple this with meetings that provide little
to no nourishment for those who attend, it becomes very clear to any man who
was initially excited about joining the Society, that it offers little more
than activities that maintain the process of Initiating men three times
over.
Many men leave the Society soon
thereafter, believing they have obtained all that the Society has to offer. Other men continue to be dues paying members. They are still motivated enough to continue
having a connection with the Craft but rarely if ever attend meetings. They realize too soon that meetings offer
nothing of interest to them. A fewer number
of members continue to maintain the process, believing it offers worthwhile activities
to engage in, regardless of expectations truly never being met.
[i]
Seek first to understand, then to be understood – Habit #5; Seven Habits of
Highly Effective People; Stephen Covey
