FILED UNDER: The Master's Word - Not Hidden at All!

A Brother Asks: The question arises as to whether the Master's Word was originally communicated in the Third Degree?

Coach: Clearly it wasn't, no matter what the claim.

First off, when you realize what The Master's Word actually is, you realize that It cannot be communicated. All that one can do is point It out and, if there is interest in It, next point the interested party toward the path to understanding It.

That being said, regarding The Master's Word:

1) It was clearly present in all three degrees,
2) It was alluded to in the first degree,
3) How to understand It was pointed out in the second degree,
4) And if you didn't do the Work the first two degrees pointed you toward, you got a participation trophy during your third degree - in the form of a substitute.

Everything that was pointed out to you in the first two degrees was to prepare you to understand The Master's Word so that you could glean our Master's Rules & Designs to agreeably erect your spiritual building.

Any one who says that they can give you The Master's Word is lying. It can't be given! It can only be pointed out. It is up to you to do the Work to "get It."

 For Further Light: https://www.coach.net/TCM.htm

 

 

A Brother Asks: Masonry's Beginnings - It's Not What You Think

 

A Brother Asks: Franklin states that masonry began with Nimrod and the tower of Babel instead of with King Solomon and Hiram Abiff. I have an original copy (this is a screenshot shown). Manly P Hall's book "Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptians" also backs this theory of an older age.   

What can you tell me about this excerpt from JH Franklin's 1910 book called "The Rebuilding of King Solomon's Temple?"

Coach:  The challenge that all Freemasons (and interested others) face is breaking through the veil of allegory offered by both the fraternity and authors who write about it.   

This author presents his best thoughts as if it is a possible historical account.  It is presented this way but it is not the right focus.  You must get it into your head that what the author offers must be understood symbolically if it is to have any assistance to you as a aspiring Mason!

Let me emphasis this again. When you want to comprehend this passage in Franklin’s book (and MPH’s works as well) and do so within the context of Masonic Development, you MUST stop thinking linearly and historically! It's all symbolic!

Let me break it down for you.

1. Our Masonic Purpose (as stated in our first degree and written out in plain text in our monitors) is to erect a spiritual building and to do so agreeably to God’s rules & designs. This building is not the temple that must be completed that is referred to in the 3rd degree. It is an entirely different construction. The temple in the third degree is merely a necessary precursor to this second building.
   
   
2. To accomplish the spiritual building construction, you MUST understand God's Word (Our Master's Word!) Any and all Babel present within you will prevent this from occurring. Your Masonry begins with you understanding that Babel exists, that it is WITHIN YOU, and this Babel must be removed to accomplish your Masonic Purpose!
   
   
3. Your Work proceeds by committing to a Masonic Mission: Deconstruct your Tower of Babel and Build within you the Order you need to accomplish your Masonic Purpose!

This means...

1. Bringing Order to your Heart, and then
   
   
2. Bringing Order to your Mind.   

To accomplish this you must do the Work espoused by the first two degrees!

Once this Work is completed, you then will recognize TheMaster’s Word and seek to understand it so as to glean God’s rules & designs so that you can use them both to erect your spiritual building.

You cannot to this without dealing with your own personal Tower of Babel!  

Once recognized, your Masonic Work has begun!

 

 

A Brother Asks: A Place of Darkness

 

A Brother Asks: Could you give us some information on the place of the North in masonry? 

Coach: Sure.  It's claimed that, because King Solomon's temple was situated north of the Tropic of Cancer, no light rays were able to show through any opening on its north facing side.  Due to this fact of nature, a tradition arose among many Jurisdictions that honors this location in its Lodge rooms as a "Place of Darkness" where no light
shines.

That's about all that is revealed directly through Freemasonic Symbolic Lodge Rituals and Lectures.*

Brother: Some lodges have a station in the North; some don't. Some past masters like sitting in that station. Like it's a place of honor.  

Coach: There's typically a station or chair in the North in many Lodges.  However, it is most atypical in many jurisdictions to have anyone sit in it, unless there is an actual shortage of chairs and the person sitting in it who is so well-liked that the usual tradition of it being kept vacant is overlooked - I have seen this quite a few times while traveling around the country visiting a wide verity of Lodges.  In many jurisdictions it is frowned upon for anyone to sit in that chair if there are other chairs available.  Yet, I have seen well-liked Brothers sit in the chair with a facetious grin while getting an affirming murmur from the other attending Brothers.

Brother: What is the North's proper role in a lodge?

Coach: To represent a "Place of Darkness."

That being said, that "Place of Darkness" is given a symbolic and honorable place within the Lodge room, It represents for all Brothers the symbolic places that they as Apprentices must go to  Complete their Apprentice Work - not physically, but internally.  They should know that when they do not travel there, and they do not seek and properly address what is in their dark places, it will be absolutely impossible for them to Complete their Apprentice Work.

Additional to this, It also represents the unknown and what we as Masons must willingly face who desire further Light in those places where it is most lacking. 

And more especially when we KNOW a dark place exists that NEEDS a Light bearer!

 

* Esoteric related Light related to religious and mythological information on "North" can be found in numerous articles on this subject and within Bro. Mackey's Encyclopedia under "North."

A Brother Asks: Getting the Most Out of Freemasonry?

 

A Brother Asks: Coach!  What should one do to get the most out of Freemasonry?

 Coach: That is an awesome question to ask!

Brother: Thanks!  So, what's the answer?

Coach: Well, for starters, I recommenced that you don't believe for a second that proficiency in any degree is just memorization and regurgitation! 

 

Brother: Really?  That's all that's required by my Lodge Brothers. Why do you say it's not?

Coach: All memorization of Ritual does for a Mason is install a road map for the journey he should undertake once he's installed it!

 

Brother: Wow, I had not thought of it in that way.

Coach: In what way have you thought about it?

 

Brother: Embarrassingly enough, I really didn't give it much thought at all, other than just doing what I was told to do by my mentor, coach, & instructor. 

Coach: And you are not alone.  So many come into this fraternity not knowing what to expect and they are not provided any suitable guidance. As a result, they go through the motions without much thought. And what compounds this is that those who are responsible for guiding them were provided the same.  

Brother: So, what should we do about this?

Coach: Start by asking yourself what true proficiency actually is, not based upon what is being asked of you by your Brothers, but by what Ritual is saying for you to do!

 

Brother: What answer would be best for me to receive if I did ask that question?

Coach: The answer which would be best for anyone wanting to get the most out of Freemasonry is to do what each Degree Ritual directs every Mason to do!

 

Brother:  And what is that?

Coach: Do all that it take to Erect your spiritual building and do so agreeably to God's Rules & Designs!

 

Brother: That's it?

Coach: No!  Don't stop till you're done!

 

Brother: Is there anything else I could do?
Coach: Yes.  Show any Brother who will listen to you earnestly and sincerely what he might be missing in his Masonic Journey and do so by exemplifying it and, even better, instructing them on how they could do it for themselves.

Brother: Wow!  I had no idea what I was missing!

Coach: I am glad you're listening!

 

Brother: What about all those other things Brothers talk about doing?

Coach: Like? 

Brother: Like charity work, performing degrees, giving lectures, bringing in new members, and going to meetings?

Coach: All of those activities are more worthwhile once you Complete your Temple, understand The Master's Word, Obtain God's Rules & Designs, and Erect that Spiritual Building talked about in the first Degree.  But you must do all this Work first for all that other stuff to be enhanced by what you can contribute, once you get the spiritual building underway!

 

A Brother Asks: How does multi-faith inclusion encourage spirituality?

 

 A Brother Asks: How does the inclusion of members from a wide range of religious backgrounds within Freemasonry, and the emphasis on the universality of a "Supreme Being," challenge traditional notions of religious exclusivity and encourage a more inclusive and tolerant approach to spirituality and belief?

Coach: You're question could be considered rhetorical if looked at superficially. However there are specific points that it raises, and by those raised points, the answer you seek becomes clear. 

Let's review them.

Point 1: To include members of many faiths necessitates the exclusion of talk related to their individual faiths. The purpose of this exclusion is to have members relate as human beings, not as men representing, and therefore possibly defending, their faiths.

Result 1: Proscription of Religious discussion removes impetuses that distract members from Masonry's primary goal - To erect spiritual buildings; not religious buildings.

Point 2: As just stated, the primary goal of Masonic Work is to build a spiritual building. This is clearly pointed out within the first degree. All Masonic actions flow toward and support this goal.

Result 2:  Because members are not distracted by discussion of their faith, they are free to focus upon this primary goal.

Point 3: By pursuing the primary Masonic goal, members come to understand that spiritual development is independent of all religious views, experiences, and norms.

Result 3: Members, freed from any "traditional" notion that spiritual development is dependent solely upon their faith, can then

1) focus their energies upon engaging in their spiritual development, unencumbered by and unrestricted by their religious backgrounds and views 

2) or refocus their faith efforts by better understanding that spiritual development is different from religious development.

Point 4: God is universal and God is "The" Supreme Being, not "A" Supreme Being. God is also The Highest Power, not "a" higher power. These are subtle differences, but ones that should be considered when talking about God with pre-masons. The use of words other than "God*" can mislead those exploring membership. There are at least 12 reason why "God" must be believed in to assure ritual is not bastardized. 

Result 4: Men who do not believe in God, and by there inability to clearly identify what it is that they actually do believe, are filtered out.

With these points being stated, let's revisit your question, focusing upon your central question:

How does the inclusion of members from a wide range of religious backgrounds ... ...encourage ... spirituality...?

Well-informed members realize Masonry's primary goal is to foster spirituality so that a spiritual building can be erected by each member.  

They also recognize that their religious ties need to be put aside or refocused to allow for that pure spiritual focus and effort.

By members purposefully disconnecting meeting from religion, spiritual Work can be engaged in spiritually guided by God. 

Inclusion of members of many faiths promotes sensitivity to elements of religion, thus further helping members create the spiritual environment required for spiritual development, rather than one focused upon faith.

Open lodge with many faiths present, especially during degrees, allows for a better spiritual focus to be realized.  

--------

* or words for "God" in the native tongue of the believer, such as "Allah", etc. and not euphamisms.

 

COACH'S CHALLENGE - Completing The Temple

 

COACH'S CHALLENGE

 

You are the lodge Masonic Education Officer, keeper of the Lodge Light and provider of wisdom, insight and assorted tidbits of esoteric knowledge. 

 

A group of your lodge's Master Masons approach you with a very serious question, one that has been burning in the bowels of their minds ever since they were each raised. 

 

They approached you because they felt, out of all the members who they knew, you would be most likely the one who would give them a straight, profound and no-nonsense answer.

 

They provide you with some constraints though. If they feel that you are beating around the bush in any way and providing them an answer that is unworthy, they will make sure that the tiler will never let you set foot in the lodge again. 

 

You know that they are serious and that they have the means to make it happen. 

 

You want to help. You ask them what the question is and what would be considered inappropriate responses. 

 

They want to know why. You reply that you want to make sure you can set foot again into the lodge and you want to avoid any landmines in responding to their question.

 

They agree that this is fair and reply:

1. We want to know what it takes to complete our temples.
2. We each want to complete our own temples and live within them.
3. We want to do so while each of us are still alive, with ample time to enjoy the temples we build, enjoying the fruit of our labors into old age.
4. We also want to know the purpose for completing these temples, the benefits of completing each and the problems that would occur if any one temple is not completed.
5. We want to know what we do once we have completed our temples.
   

 Any response that implies or conveys that their temples will never be completed until they live their lives OR be completed when they die OR that their temples will never be completed, will result in lodge banishment.

 

You agree that you will take all this into considerations and that you will provide to them responses that honor their request.

 

What do you tell them?

 

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

 

WARNING - If you chose to play along with this and post any response that dishonors, disrespects or dismisses their request, your response will be noted, filed and deleted!

 

Here's a teaser video that you might find interesting...

 

 

 

A Brother Asks: Freemasonry's limitations?

 

 

A Brother Asks: What are Freemasonry's limitations?

Coach: That's a great question! 

Here are but four of countless limitations. I hope these examples help you better understand Freemasonry's limitation and what you can do to overcome them.

1) Freemasonry cannot make a good man better. It can only offer opportunities for men to better themselves.

--> That being said, you can better yourself by doing the Work of the path its rituals point you toward. That Work is not ritual work though. Ritual work is but a map. Follow that map and your Work becomes clear.

2) Freemasonry cannot "make" anyone think. It can only offer people opportunities to think.

--> It's only by doing the Work of the path it points toward that your thinking will be assisted.

3) Freemasonry cannot teach you anything; it can only instruct you as to what behaviors and thoughts are better for you.

--> It's only by doing the Work of the path it points toward will you learn. When you don't do this Work, you are only trained; no thought is required in this training.

4) Freemasonry cannot make you a Master of any Craft. All it can do is bestow titles as participation trophies upon men who show up and go through the motions.

--> It's only by doing the Work of the path it points toward that you can become a Master of the Craft. When you don't do this Work, the title is bestowed upon you and you wear it unmasterfully.

These are but four of the many other limitations that you will encounter in Freemasonry should you take the time to think through what it truly offers to you and its membership.

Here's an article that might assist you further:

Freemasonry vs Masonry

 Enjoy!

 

 

 

20 QUESTIONS EVERY EA SHOULD KNOW HOW TO ANSWER*

 

 --------- 20 QUESTIONS EVERY EA SHOULD KNOW HOW TO ANSWER* --------- 

When a Mason cannot 

properly answer these questions, 

they remain just a member. 

 

Here are 20 questions that every Mason should be able to answer knowledgeably before
they pass to Fellow Craft.  Can you answer them?  If you cannot, you have not paid attention to what Ritual communicates.

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

Question #1: What are the three central purposes for doing your Apprentice Work?

 

Question #2: What are 11 Apprentice Working Tools that you are to work with or develop when you do the Work that the Apprentice Degree asks you to do?  (Name them.)

 

Question #3: What was the very first Apprentice Working Tool that embraced you, how does it instruct  you to say "no" appropriately, and what is the determining factor(s) in its use?

 

Question #4: What is the first Working Tool that you must Set to make all your other Apprentice Work possible, why is this so, and how is this done?

 

Question #5: What are Vices & Superfluities, how are they the same, and what is the central difference between them? (Provide and explain examples.)

 

Question #6: What are seven Virtues revealed to you during the Apprentice Degree and how would you apply each of them in your life?

 

Question #7: What does hanging your Plumb Line Establish for the Working Tools of the Apprentice? 

 

Question #8: What diligent process do you go through to determine what's most important to you? 

 

Question #9: What are Standards & Boundaries, how are they similar, and what makes then different? (Provide examples of each.)

 

Question #10: When you are asked what Passions & Desires are, their similarities, and their differences, what should you say?

 

Question #11: What advice was given to you about Circumscribing & Subduing, and which Apprentice Working Tools are you supposed to use to do so?

 

Question #12: What Apprentice Working Tool builds your Square of Virtue?

Question # 13: Which Apprentice Working Tools are used to both internalize & externalize the disciplines that your Apprentice Working Tools represent?

Question #14: Which Apprentice Working Tool represents your Obligation? (Explain this in detail.)

Question #15: What dual purpose does the Common Gavel serve and why?

Question #16: What three other Apprentice Working Tools assist you building and internalizing the disciplines represented by the Level?

Question #17: What three things does the Apprentice Apron configuration represent?  (Explain Each)

 

Question #18: How are you taught Time Management, what does the 8-8-8 truly represent, and what must you first do to assure that you can properly manage your time?

 

Question #19: What distinctions can you draw between Masonry and Freemasonry and the Work of each? 

 

Question#20: How would you know for sure that you were doing either Masonic or Freemasonic work? Please explain.

 

FOR FURTHER LIGHT:

 

 

Here's an older list with some questions already addressed-covered:

 

Question #1: What distinctions can you draw between Masonry and Freemasonry?
Question#2: How would an Apprentice know for sure that they were doing Masonic or Freemasonic work?

Question #3: What is the intent of the EA Work?

Question #4: What is the first Working Tool that an Apprentice must Set to make all his other Apprentice Work possible, and why? (Hint - it ain't so obvious!)

Question #5: What does hanging a Plumb Line Establish for the Working Tools of the Apprentice?

Question #6: What does the Checkered Pavement have to do with the Apprentice Work?

Question #7: What diligent process does an Apprentice go through to determine what's most important to him?

Question #8: How are Apprentices taught Time Management?

Question #9: When Apprentices ask what Passions and Desires are, what should they be told about each and how one differs from the other?

Question #10: What advice is given to Apprentices who want to Circumscribe and Subdue?

Question #11: What are Vices and Superfluities? 

Question #12: How do Vices and Superfluities differ from each other?

Question #13: What examples should be provided to Apprentices when asked about Vices & Superfluities?

Question #14: What are the 11 Working Tools that every EA sees while experiencing the first degree?
Question #15: What Ashlar are you when you complete the Work that the first degree directs you to do?

 

 

Enjoy!

Coach Nagy

* Before they Pass to FC! (Yep, Preston-Webb Based Ritual Only!)

 

A Brother Asks: Orders of Architecture

A Brother Asks: Coach, Would you tell me how the columns figure into our Masonic journey?

Coach: I sure can.

Brother: Great!  Please do!

Coach: The first thing you must realize is what each column actually denotes allegorically.

Brother: Allegorically?  You mean the columns are standing in symbolically for a quality that a Brother must embrace Masonicly?

Coach: Exactly!

Brother: Wow!  I had never considered that approach before.

Coach: Many don’t.  Yet, they first are presented in a symbolic lodge and you’d think that most members would. I mean, it is a symbolic lodge.

Brother: True enough. Let’s start with the Tuscan.

Coach: No.  Let’s start with the Doric.

Brother: Why the Doric?                                                                 

Coach: Great question. What do you know about the symbolism of the Doric as it relates to the officers of the lodge?

Brother: I know that the three principle officers are denoted by the Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns.

Coach: Meaning?

Brother: The Worshipful Master, Senior and Junior Wardens respectively.

Coach: Great! So which officer is the Doric?

Brother: The Senior Warden.

Coach: Correct.  And what quality does the Senior Warden represent?

Brother: Strength.

Coach: Agreed. Using this understanding, what do the Ionic and Corinthian columns represent?

Brother: The remaining officers respectively, and by default, the qualities of Wisdom and Beauty too.

Coach: Yes.  So, you’re telling me that the Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns represent Wisdom, Strength and Beauty?

Brother: No. Ritual is telling us this through our ritual lectures.

Coach: Indeed! 

Brother: How does this play into our Masonic journey?

Coach: Let’s overlay these qualities.

Brother: Okay.

Coach: The Doric column represents any Brother who demonstrates that he has worked sufficiently upon his Strength.

Brother: You mean sufficiently doing the Work pointed toward by the apprentice ritual to bring Order to the Chaos of his heart?

Coach: Precisely!

Brother: That makes perfect sense.  What about the Ionic column?

Coach: The Ionic column represents any Brother who demonstrates that he has Worked sufficiently upon his Wisdom.

Brother: You mean sufficiently doing the Work pointed toward by the fellow craft ritual to bring Order to the Chaos of his mind?

Coach: Yes. 

Brother: I like that! What about the Corinthian column?

Coach:  The Corinthian column represents any Brother who demonstrates that he has Worked sufficiently upon his Beauty?

Brother: Beauty?  How is that possible?  How do we work upon our appearance?

Coach: It’s symbolic my Brother.  And it means that a Brother has applied what he has learned within the first two degrees to create a recognizable masterpiece of Beauty.

Brother: You mean sufficiently doing the Work pointed toward by the master ritual to bring Order to the Chaos of his spirit?

Coach: Indeed!  You’re getting the hang of this symbolic stuff.

Brother: Thanks… your coaching helps a lot.

Coach: So does your ability to grasp the allegorical elements and apply them.

Brother:  Thanks... so, what about the Tuscan?  What does it represent?

Coach: The Tuscan is the plainest and simplest of all the columns presented to them within the staircase lecture. 

Brother: Okay…

Coach: When this is to symbolize any quality assigned to a member, it is to denote any Brother who demonstrates that he has yet to Work upon any aspect of his Wisdom, Strength or Beauty.

Brother: So, they have yet to do any of the Work pointed toward by the first three degrees?

Coach: Exactly!  They may have done the memorization work, but they have not applied anything that they have memorized toward their lives.

Brother: So, they are rough ashlars?

Coach: Yes, they have yet to even take up their Working Tools and applied them toward their Ashlars.

Brother: So, they are members, but they have yet to truly do anything other than fit in.

Coach: Sadly, I have to say "yes."

Brother: What about the Composite column?  How does that apply to our Masonic journey?

Coach: The Composite column is any Masterful Mason.

Brother: As in?

Coach: As in any Brother who demonstrates that he has Worked sufficiently upon his Wisdom, Strength and Beauty to create a masterpiece, most especially of himself.

Brother: You mean the Work that is pointed toward by the three symbolic degrees?

Coach:  Yes! Furthermore, he has integrated this Work fully and suitably into his being and everyday manner such that they all are present and they all agree.

Brother: Wow!  That’s a lot to take in?

Coach: Yes, and the sad aspect of this whole thing is that its hidden within plain sight and most members do not see it.