A Brother Asks: What's Missing?

A Brother Asks: I see so many men coming in to our organization with no clue as to what to expect from their membership.  Coach!  What's missing?

My Response: Great observation and a truly awesome question!

It's a front end preparation issue and in it is the flaw that you have detected.  The missing component in far too many Masonic Investigations is not having the petitioner disclose verbally and in a concise and revealing way what he Perceives to be "Betterment" and how that Applies specifically to him!   These two things are the Vision and Intent behind his joining!

Think about it.  What's Prescribed based upon Ritual?  If we take it for granted that he actually did come to the organization to truly improve himself, shouldn't that be the target to shoot at in all his future involvement?  Shouldn't that be what we focus upon in our investigation and later on in our support of him?  Shouldn't that be what he shares with us upfront so that everyone is on the same page as he goes through our Freemasonic process? 

When these two things are not disclosed upfront, he is likely to blindly wander the Freemason Landscape unknowingly bumping into one Improvement Opportunity after another without taking advantage of them in any way. His focus will be elsewhere and so will most all those who direct him.

To Improve Improvement Opportunities, Investigation members would do well to have the potential Brother-Member lay out this Strong Foundational Intent and Vision during the Interview.  What does he Visualize Betterment to be and how would that apply to him!  Force the interview to come to a complete stop if necessary and return to it when the petitioner has had time to give these things worthy consideration and contemplation.  These are not worth dismissing or skipping past.  They ARE the reason all candidates have come through the West Gate, at least, according to Preston-Webb Ritual.

Yes, his Vision and Intent may and shall rightfully change with Further Light and that's not the point or an issue here.  Giving him opportunities to pro-actively think is!  And especially upon the very things that Ritual Espouses!

A Purposeless Quest is non-hunger driven eating; it serves no good purpose.  Make sure his Quest starts out with the best of intent and clearest of vision!

If a Pre-Mason's attention is not focused upon the very reasons Ritual espouses for what he should be coming here to do as a future member, how can we honestly expect him to focus upon that activity if we don't?

F&S,

Brother John S. Nagy

A Brother Asks... About Preparation

A Brother Asks:  Where were you first Prepared to become a Mason?

 My Response: The most common and accepted response you will get from those trained in Freemasonic proficiencies is, "In my heart".   But what you shall not hear too often is how that preparation occurs and when.

Most men think that this Preparation is done 'before' they become members of a Freemasonic Order. And it is understandable how they could be easily led to believe that this was all that this sentence implied.

This question alludes to something more profound though. Perpending the sentence with more diligence and due consideration, they might come to understand that this sentence more accurately represents the focus of the Apprentice Work, of which, if left undone, reveals to the world that this Preparation was never started.

But, don't take my word on this.  Let's expand upon this further and then make up your own mind if you see that what I share does apply. 

What does the Apprentice Work focus upon?  If you review what Ritual espouses, it is all about Working upon a man's heart; moving it from Chaos to Order. 

Here's a list of things that does just that:

Apprentice Work (Development of the Heart)

 1) Setting your Plumb; (VoSL)
 2) Determining what's Important/Unimportant to you; (Plumb)
 3) Establishing and Maintaining your Priorities for ...
     a) Time Management, (24IG)
     b) Standards, (Compasses)
     c) Boundaries, (Compasses)
     d) Divestiture (Vices & Superfluities) (CG)
     e) Investiture (Virtues); (Square)
 4) Establishing and Maintaining your Moral Integrity (Square)
 5) Circumscribing and Subduing your Emotions (Passions and Desires!) (Heart!!!!)

Every last one of these activities leads up to and then properly prepares a man's heart to become a Mason.

As you might have gathered from what is shared herein, it is truly not enough to simply want to become a Mason and claim that itself first prepared you.  One must first properly prepare oneself to become and that starts with properly preparing one's heart!

F&S,

Brother John S Nagy

For more information about this specific Work, please refer to Building Boaz and Emotional Awareness Made Easy.