Passing
and Raising Ill-Prepared Brothers are Egregious Acts against your own Faith and
that of your Brothers.
At
first, I thought it was a fluke. A well-known
and very active Brother who had been in the Fraternity for some time had openly
and blatantly denounced his affiliation with it, along with his Obligations and
his Brothers. His letter of declaration
was available for all to see and it was clear that he wanted nothing to do with
the Organization, ever again.
--------------
Early in my Fraternal
membership, I had no clue about Craft things that more experienced Brothers
took for granted. I didn’t know how to
respond to family and friends who asked me about the organization I
joined. I didn’t know much about its
history. I didn’t know how things
operated. I knew even less about the
principles and philosophies that the Fraternity espoused. All I knew was that I was a Master Mason and
that I was supposed to be proud of carrying that title.
Rumbling
Foundations
I
was more fortunate than other Brothers in that my family and friends knew even
less than I did. I didn’t have to go
into too much detail about the organization.
I didn’t have to field any in depth questions about its philosophy and
its principles. I didn’t have to explain
much because, without question, my family and friends trusted my judgment in
making good choices in life.
They
were very satisfied with me stating with great confidence that “they make good
men better”. They never took their
questions one step further by asking, “How do they do that?” And that was most fortunate for me, in one
respect and very unfortunate in another.
Being
a member of the Organization for over a decade, I can say without reservation
that others have not been so fortunate. I
base this upon many observations but mostly upon direct statements from
Brothers who sought to share their experiences.
The
main theme conveyed was how utterly unprepared the Brothers felt they were. They didn’t feel Masterful. They didn’t feel “better”. They didn’t feel they achieved anything of
significance. These feelings occurred even
though they were Master Masons and had passed all the Proficiencies required of
them by their Brothers.
They
also felt disappointment, especially when they were told by their Brothers that
they shouldn’t feel the way that they felt.
These dismissals only added to the feeling that something was not
right. To have their concerns invalidated
by their Brothers made their feelings all the more disturbing. It was clear by their comments that there was
a hole that was not being filled.
Beginnings
I
first took notice of Brotherly unrest after reading open and honest posts placed
upon on-line forums and through other forms of communication now widely used by
the Craft. The unrest was not coming
from those who shared their feelings about their
ill-preparation or from those who had decided to leave the Fraternity due to
perpetual disappointments or perceived conflicts. It came forth strongly from Brothers who did
not want to hear them.
The
typical responses from Brothers making effort to shut down these discontented voices
took different forms. Many opted to
dismiss these Brothers as an anti-mason who, they imagined, had come into the
Fraternal Fold with hidden agendas.
Others dismissed these Brothers as being weak minded individuals who
were easily persuaded by outside influences and therefore it was truly good for
the Craft that they left. The irony in
this type of dismissal does not take very long to spot. Still other dismissals took the form of subtle
to outright ad homonym attacks upon the individuals doing this unwelcome sharing.
The
shame of it all was that nowhere did any of these dismissing Brothers see any
Organizational accountability for Brothers leaving. Moreover, no responsibility was taken either
for taking effective steps toward remedying
the situation. Furthermore, those
Brothers who openly shared their truth soon discovered their disclosures were
used as cannon fodder in some very aggressive and ugly discourse. The
outcomes of such exchanges are rarely Brotherly.
On
the other hand, many often expressed concerns were by individuals with strong
family ties into religious organizations.
Equally present were expressions of disappointment toward the
organization for having too superficial a focus to bring about any significant
benefit for those who came into it for something of substance. With
simple well-directed Perpending one shall see that both of these concerns would
be addressed quite appropriately if the Organization actually required specific
Work before Progression.
Most
recently a newly Raised Brother, O.T. Ledge, was sharing his concern about a
specific Scriptural verse. It was a
legitimate concern and he was looking for Brothers to assist him in addressing
it. His concern was specific. He believed that he was not supposed to do
things that he believed Scripture proscribed.
He couldn’t reconcile what he
believed he thought Scripture said with the Philosophy that he thought that he
participated in within Open Lodge. With
all this on his mind, he was clearly On The Ledge[ii].
Had
Brother Ledge been required to do the Work that Ritual directs all Brothers to
do, he would have been Properly Prepared to begin the process of reconciliation
between what he read within his Holy Book and the Philosophy that he was Obligated
to participate in and adhere to as a member of the Organization.
Under
Heaven: Nothing New
The
reconciliation challenge faced by this and other Brothers is not new. It was also faced by scholars in Europe many
years ago. At that time, there was an
influx of Classical Philosophy making its way into their scholarly circles. At
first glance, this new wave of information appeared to conflict dramatically
with the accepted Theology of the day.
Most all of the conflicts had to do with the misunderstanding of the
metaphors and symbols used within the two.
They
soon realized that the problem was their Lack
of In Depth Pattern Recognition.
They could not reconcile the differences between the two because they
were incapable of even superficially understanding the materials in the way
that the original writers intended them to be understood. They could only understand the materials
based upon false and uneducated assumptions.
As a result, they were misled by their own naivety and ignorance. They eventually concluded falsely and chose very unwisely due to their Lack of Proficiency.
The
problem at that time was no different than the one our Brothers face today – they don’t know what they don’t know. The problem shall continue into the
future and the solution is the same today as it was back then – one must meet the challenge of developing one’s heart and head so that they
are both well-founded and in
alignment with each other.
Ineffective
Dealing
Brotherly
concerns need clarity and directness! Diverting problems occur when either
tries to prove the other wrong. No Brother shall convince, persuade or invite
any other Brother into thinking differently by proving them wrong. Should you try this, you shall be met with resistance, and why not? You're resisting
their pleas! You can only open doors for
them by knowing the topic well enough to answer their questions Heart-fully and Knowledgably -- and without fear.
The only way of doing this is studying the
words, the culture and the times and carefully discerning the Intent of
the writer. This requires Brothers to get their own heads and hearts
well-founded and to get them in alignment with each other so that true
reconciliation can then be undertaken.
Packing Masters
Unfortunately,
none of this Preparation Work is required of our Brothers. As a result, many Brothers are given title,
along with their Traveling Papers and sent
forth to venture with fully loaded
diapers. They go back into the Profane
world and into the clutches of those who
would do them harm. And we willingly help facilitate this as an Organization.
It’s
terrible watching it unfold. Brothers
who have not done the Degree Work eventually succumb to intellectual and emotional
blackmail and torment from those who know their weaknesses – many that should
have been dealt with long before they were Passed or Raised.
Had
these Brothers been required by the Mature Souls of the Fraternity to dedicate
time to do 1) the Emotional Management
Work that they were directed to do by the First Degree, and 2) the Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric studies
required of them by the Second Degree Staircase, they would have been Properly Prepared.
Properly
Prepared Brothers can easily and effortlessly deal with such coercion. They are fully capable and firmly willing to
deal swiftly and effectively with the unbelievable social stresses and
pressures administered and employed by manipulating henchmen masquerading as
well-meaning family, friends, co-workers and congregants. They shall also look back to their Brothers with thankful hearts for assuring
that they were Properly Prepared.
If
you do not want to see your Brothers fall prey to this insanity, do the Work
yourselves so that these Brothers shall see what Mature Souls are capable of Being. It is only when this generation leads by
example that future generations shall be led by Cultivated men!
The Degrees offered to men within the Symbolic Lodge introduce them to specific
Development Work that, when done,
Transforms them from Good men to Better men. It also Properly Prepares them for Life as Mature Adults.
This Betterment starts with Cultivating a deeper
Understanding of The Self, continues with
Cultivating a deeper Understanding of The Universe and ultimately turns
toward Cultivating a deeper Understanding of The Word as exemplified through
their chosen Faith.
When men join and choose not to do the Cultivation Work that these Three Symbolic Degrees
Directs him toward, they shall receive only unfulfilling and dissatisfying
Substitutes that they might try to make sense of by futilely Seeking Further Light in other Degrees.
Unfortunately, each shall remain unfulfilled until he actually Does The Foundational Work that Properly Prepares him for any Further
Light. This Proper Preparation saves Brothers
from unnecessary frustration and disappointment.
Points to Perpend
1)
Do you properly address the concerns of your Brothers, or do you summarily dismiss them because they reflect poorly upon the organization?
2)
Toward what Worthy Solutions are you Contributing?
[i] A facetiously fictitious
name created to both 1) conceal and 2) allude to something lofty and edgy.
