A Brother Asks: Blocking Brothers on FB private messenger

 

 

“Please fact-check that story you want to pass along before you pass it along.

If you don't do this the credibility that will be destroyed is your own.”

– Art Cornett 

 

THE BLOCK

A Brother Asks: Coach, why did you block Brother Jones on Facebook  private messenger?

Coach: Because he forwarded me a hoax and encouraged me to do the same to my Brothers and, when he was confronted, he dismissed me.  
Brother: Yikes!  He sent you a hoax and expected you to forward it, no questions asked?
 
Coach: Yes, he sent it to me because he didn't do his due diligence on what was shared with him. 

Brother: But that happens all the time.  Why did you block him from sending future messages? 
Coach: Good question! Let's say that I did this to you.

Brother: Okay.  I can play along with that.  Let's proceed.

Coach: Great, and thanks.

Brother: You're most welcome.

 

THE PLAY ALONG

Coach: Okay, let’s get to it.  Let’s say that I forward you a hoax.  I do so unintentionally by the way, but I did so without checking it out. 
Brother: Okay.  I follow your premise.
 
Coach: Okay. If you cannot trust me to do my due diligence before I share such things with you, encouraging you to do the same for your Brothers, how can you trust me with other things?

Brother: Well, what if it came from a trusted Brother.  I've received many alerts from Brothers on all sorts of things.

Coach: As have I.  But let's roll up our sleeves on this.

Brother: Okay.

Coach: You're telling me because a Brother I trusted sent me a hoax and encouraged me to share that hoax with other Brothers, I should not be held to account?

Brother: Well, yeah.  You make all this sound so bad. Under this scenario, all you did was share some information with me.  He did the same. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm by it with you.  It was shared with the best of intentions by both of you.

Coach: Okay.  So, because it was shared with the best of intentions, that should excuse him and hence me from the consequences of our collective actions?

Brother: Gosh Coach, you're blowing this all out of proportions.  It was just some information you both shared.

THE LIE

Coach: And that information was a hoax.  I shared it with you and asked you to take action based upon a lie. 

Brother: Yikes!  I'd not thought of it that way.

Coach: Too few do! It furthermore wasted your time and every Brother who engages in this chain of unqualified information sharing. 

Brother: Okay.  I see that too.

Coach: It also, if followed, could cause death. 

Brother: What!?

Coach: Yes.  There are quite a few of these hoaxes that, if followed, places those who follow their advice in danger.  Some actually give dangerous information that if acted upon could cause death.

Brother: Wow! 

Coach: So, if you can't trust me on something as seemingly harmless as this, even though it is harmful and a lie, how can you trust me with more important things?

Brother: Well, since you put it that way, I guess it would erode my confidence in you.

Coach: Exactly!

Brother: I hadn't thought of it in that way.

 

THE TRUST EROSION

Coach: Far too many Brothers don't think about how such things erode trust in one's Brother. 

Brother: Then, if I was in a situation like this, where I shared information that I didn't do my due diligence on, I would apologize to you.

Coach: And I would thank you for offering this apology and say to you that your apology was conditionally accepted.

Brother: Conditionally accepted?  Wait a second!  What does that mean? 

Coach: It means I would accept your apology when you make amends for your actions. 

Brother: Make amends? 

Coach: Yes, make amends!

 

THE AMENDS

Brother: What actions would that mean for me?

Coach: That would mean telling the Brother who sent you this hoax that he did harm to your trust in him by not doing his due diligence before sending a lie your way and encouraging you to forward it to your trusting Brothers.

Brother: Are you serious?  You would want me to confront him like you confronted me?

Coach: Would you want your apology to be taken seriously?

Brother: Well, yes.

Coach: Then you would have to make amends and make sure the Brother who harmed your trust in him faced the same consequences for his actions.

Brother: But what if he won't accept responsibility and he dismisses me, much like Brother Jones did to you.

Coach: Then you would know his true character, that you were right in confronting him and ultimately not trusting him into the future. 

Brother: Isn't that a bit harsh?

Coach: If he refuses to face the consequences of a simple action like this, what further can you expect from him on more important things?  How can you trust him on anything else? 

Brother: Wow!  You're right!  This raises a question though.

Coach: What's that?

Brother: If he were to apologize, should I demand he do the same thing that you're asking of me?

Coach: I demanded nothing from you.

Brother: You want me to confront the Brother who sent me the hoax.

THE CHARGE

Coach: No.  I offered to accept your apology conditioned on you making amends and that requires you confronting the erring Brother who sent you down this path - you know, to live up to your Master Mason charge.

Brother: Darn Coach.  You're making this real.

Coach: No.  I am offering you an opportunity to make it real.  Do you want it?

Brother: Well, yes.  Of course I do.

Coach: Good!  Then you know what you have to do in situations like this. 

Brother: You mean, separate out the wheat from the chaff and find out who you can trust and who you cannot. 

Coach: Yes, and stop play acting and live it!

Brother: Okay Coach.  Thanks for taking the time. I appreciate your efforts.

Coach: You're most welcome.  Thanks for hearing me out on this.  It means a lot that you would do this. 

Brother: You’re welcome.

Coach: So, would you like to take it to the next level?

Brother: Next level?  You mean there's more here than meets the eye?

Coach: Yes.  I mean exactly that.

Brother: Are you going to drag me down another rabbit hole Coach?

Coach: No.  But you're welcome to join me if you want to go.

Brother: I'm game!

 

THE FAUX LIGHT

Coach: Good!  How many times have Brothers provided to you information about Freemasonry, as if it were fact, that you found with reasonable effort was not a fact and was based upon a conjecture made by some Brother in the past?

Brother: You mean like Adam being the first Freemason or the Knights Templar being a part of Freemasonic history?

Coach: Exactly!

Brother: I can’t count the number of times this has occurred.  The Craft are full of these unsubstantiated claims.

Coach: Indeed! 

Brother: Wait!  Are you telling me that these situations are no less grievous as sending these hoaxes to Brothers through email or private messenger?

Coach: Are they presenting the information as fact?

Brother: Well, yes.  They are doing just that.

Coach: Are they telling you that they have done their due diligence on what they shared with you to assure the information is factual?

 

THE DILIGENT

Brother: Good Lord Coach!  I rarely have any of the information that comes my way backed by an assurance it is checked out and validated by due diligence.

Coach: So, you’re just accepting it as fact because you’re trusting the Brothers who gave it to you?

Brother: Well, yeah.  I guess I am?

Coach: Guess?

Brother: No, I know that I am.  Ouch!  Darn Coach!  I know when this all started!

Coach: When?

Brother: Before I was an Apprentice.

Coach: Before?

Brother: Yes.  Even before I petitioned, I was trusting my future Brothers to provide to me Light that was valid.

Coach: Did you make sure you checked the information out?

Brother:  At first I did.  But in all honesty, I didn’t know what I didn’t know and I placed trust in my Brothers after a while because there was simply too much information to verify. 

Coach: What took precedence?

Brother: Getting accepted by them and getting my degrees.

Coach: At what point did you simply accept what was being shared with you without doing your own work?

Brother: In truth, just after I got through the investigation. 

Coach: Why?

 

THE START

Brother: Because I was on my way to being accepted and didn’t see any need to invest time in checking out what was being told to me. 

Coach: So, you placed your trust in your conductors and felt no danger in what was being shared?

Brother: Yes! Of course!

Coach: But you said there were countless times where what was being shared with you was found by you to be mere conjecture from some long dead Brother and not fact.

Brother: Yes, soon after I was raised I found I was not satisfied with the superfluous answers I had been receiving.

Coach: And?

Brother: My seeking revealed many of the superfluous responses I had received had not been checked in depth and some were actually misleading.

Coach: And you received all these responses from your trusted Brothers?

Brother: Yes. 

Coach: And the result of your findings?

THE RESULT

Brother: I am less trusting of them as sources of Light.

Coach: Sort of like the trust you placed in the Brothers who shared a hoax with you, encouraged you to share it with your Brothers and didn’t check to see if what they shared was valid?

Brother: Darn Coach!  You just popped your head out of the other rabbit-hole!

Coach: I have a rabbit of doing that.

Brother: Yes, you sure do.

Coach: Want to go down another rabbit hole?

Brother: Sure!

Coach: How many times have you actually checked the dues card and IDs of your Brothers?

Brother: I’ve never done this!

Coach: So, you take for granted that your Brothers are valid members of the Fraternity?

Brother: Of course I do!  I trust them! Why would I not?

Coach: The same ones who share information with you that you have found not to be factual?

Brother: Ouch!  Coach!  You’re giving me a whole bunch to think about here.

Coach: Good!  Why don’t we leave it there then?

Brother: Yes!  Please!  My head hurts.

Coach: Good!  That’s a sure sign you’re using your gray matter.

Brother: Thanks for a most thought-provoking conversation Coach.

Coach: You’re most welcome my good Brother.  Thanks for taking the time to chase some rabbits with me.

Brother: I can see how chasing Freemasonic rabbits can develop good Masonic habits!

Coach: Good one!


THE RETURN

Brother: Thanks!  So, is it safe to say that the reason you blocked Brother Jones is a combination of blatant disregard and overt disrespect?

Coach: Indeed.  Disregard for their own credibility, for checking out information before it is shared and for encouraging me to do the same. Additionally, disrespect for my time, my credibility and for my Brothers who would have ultimately been the recipients of the same.

Brother: That’s deep!

Coach: That’s life my Brother and I have been charged with divesting myself of such vices and superfluities. 

Brother: Ah!  The Apprentice level work and all the rest that far too few do. 

Coach: Yes.  That include making sure there's no rubbish in my temple! 

Brother: Mine as well Coach.  I have much to perpend! 

Coach: As do we all my Brother.

   
  
  
  

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: Getting that Master's Word

How to Start

A Brother Asks: Coach, if I were to investigate the Master's Word, what questions would you suggest I ask myself to start the ball rolling?

Coach: I suggest you start with the particulars of "The Master's Word".

Brother: The particulars?

Coach: Yes. They're provided to everyone right there within the third degree ritual. 

Brother: They are?

Coach: Yes, hidden in plain sight they are.

Brother: Good.  Then it should give me some very helpful clues.

Coach: Indeed.  Everything has been put there for you to figure it out. 

Brother: It has?

Coach: Yes. But only when you have done the preparatory Work.  When you have you should be able to discern quite nicely both the clues and to what they allude.

Brother: Nice!  So what should I ask first?

Coach: The first thing you should ask yourself is "What exactly were the three Ruffians looking for from the Grand Master?

Brother: Okay.  I see it would be important to understand what they were making effort to obtain in the first place.

Coach: Yes.  So many focus upon what the king says toward the end and not how what he says applies to the details.

Brother: I must be one of them. 

Coach: How so?

Brother: All I glean is that they wanted the secrets.

Coach: Yes.  But what specific secret were they looking for?

Brother: Ah!  Okay.  Got it.  They wanted his Word.


Desire

Coach: Yes.  Once you understand that, you should ask yourself the next obvious question.

Brother: What's that?

Coach: Why did they want it?

Brother: Is that answer found within ritual too?

Coach: It sure is.

Brother: You mean it's clearly stated therein?

Coach: It sure is.  Just ask the Senior Warden.

Brother: Why him?

Coach: Because he tells you those reasons every time he is asked, especially by the Worshipful Master.

Brother: Thanks.  I may have to listen to ritual more closely next time.

Coach: You'd do well to do this.

Brother: Wait... doesn't he let the Worshipful Master know this right in the beginning?

Coach: He sure does. 

Brother: Okay.  I know the answer.


Empowerment

Coach: Good!  So, let's say they get what they want.  What does it allow them to do?

Brother: Okay.  I see where this is going.  It would allow them to do exactly what the Senior Warden says when he answers the Worshipful Master's question.

Coach: Indeed and I shall add to this, if they got what they wanted, they could do all that masterfully.

Brother: I can see a lot of benefits from this.

Coach: Yes.  They would benefit tremendously from doing all those things masterfully.

Brother: Is that what they were indirectly seeking?

Coach: What's that?

Brother: The benefits of having what they sought?

Coach: Yes.  Why have something if you can't benefit from it?

Brother: You mean like being given something and not having it do anything for you, other than being able to say to others that you have it?

Coach: Exactly!  What good does having something if it provides to you no benefit along the lines of what it claims, especially if that is why you tried to get it in the first place?

Brother: Agreed. I've seen that occur more than once.

Coach: Me as well.  Yet I see so many feel like they accomplished something significant by obtaining something that has no influence upon the outside world.

Brother: You mean to say that I'm not alone in this?

Coach: I am.   So many members think that they can be given something and be empowered, yet when they receive something that truly doesn't empower them, they are still smugly satisfied.

Brother: You mean to say the Grand Master could have given them anything and they would have likely been smugly satisfied and let him live?


Substitutes

Coach: Yes.  Any substitute would have sufficed.  How would they ever know any difference?

Brother: Hold on now. Are you implying that's what's occurring anyway?

Coach: I was doing no such thing, but I'm glad that you're seeing the implications.

Brother: So why didn't The Grand Master just do to the ruffians what is done to all candidates?

Coach: You mean, just hand them over a substitute, and not tell them its true nature?

Brother: Yes, just like we already do to candidates.

Coach: Why do you think this is done this way?

Brother: Well, perhaps the ruffians are used within the story to communicate to the candidates their true nature - ruffians!

Coach: Why do you think this might be the case?

Brother: Okay, I'll pull a "coach" and ask you a question back.  Do most candidates finish their temples before they ask for the title of Master Mason?

Coach: I don't think most candidates know what the temple is much less finish it.

Brother: I think you're spot on with that assessment.


Requirements

Coach: Perhaps.  But we are missing something much more important here.

Brother: What's that?

Coach: Why couldn't the Grand Master just hand over what they claimed they wanted?

Brother: From what I understand, there were several reasons.

Coach: Such as?

Brother: What I had just said... they had not completed their temples.

Coach: And?

Brother: It couldn't be giving without specific presence and agreement.

Coach: So, what you're telling me is that specific requirements were not met, right?

Brother: Yes.  I am saying just that.

Coach: And in the minds and hearts of the Ruffians, none of these mattered, right?

Brother: Yes.  They couldn't care less that the requirements were not met.  They wanted what they wanted when they wanted it.

Coach: Does it sound like they were using their minds and hearts maturely in there pursuit or that their minds and hearts were using them immaturely in their pursuit?

Brother: I'm erring toward the latter.  They would not have acted the way they did if it were the former. 

Coach: Why?

Brother: Their passions weren't circumscribed and subdued.  They were irrational and uncivil in their demands.  These are two blatant indicators that their hearts and their heads were in control of them and not the other way around.

Coach: Likewise they are also two indications that their temples were not completed.

Brother: And with their temples incomplete, what was present was in disagreement!

Coach: Yes.  I like the way you tied that together.


What's Missing

Brother: Thanks.  Are you telling me that the ruffians lacked specific qualities to be able to have what they wanted?

Coach: Yes I am.  What the ruffians wanted had itself specific qualities.  It, in return, required them to have specific qualities for them to have it.

Brother: Is that why it was impossible for the Grand Master to hand is over?

Coach: Yes.  No matter how you may try to force something to fit, you're only going to damage it when you don't have the skill and experience to put it into place.

Brother: Like using a setting maul to put a stone into place where it clearly doesn't fit?

Coach: Exactly!  All you do by trying to force it into place is ruin the stone and damage the surroundings.  The end result is rubbish!

Brother: Like they did by trying to force the Grand Master?

Coach: Yes.  Moreover, what they wanted from him had specific qualities that made it impossible to hand it over, to anyone. 

Brother: Are you saying what they wanted was impossible to hand over?

Coach: Yes.  Furthermore, I am also saying that who they were made it impossible for them to have what they wanted.


The Lie

Brother: Wow! All this means is that anyone claiming to be able to give it to you is lying.  It can't be done! It's impossible - even symbolically!

Coach: I like how you added this up and took it one step further.

Brother: So, this raises the next question!

Coach: What's that?

Brother:  What qualities must I possess for me to have it for myself?

Coach: You mean, such that you could benefit from having what they sought and do so without the aid of others?

Brother: You mean, like all by myself?  Wow!  You mean this is a solo situation?

Coach: Yes, all by yourself.  You can't possibly honestly believe that you must travel, work, and earn masterfully with others in tow can you?

Brother: Having others in tow doesn't make any sense at all.

Coach: Exactly!  So, let's expand upon your question.

Brother: Go for it Coach!

Coach:  What qualities must you possess such that you can travel, work and earn masterfully without saying or writing a word, and do so without the aid of others?


Mastery

Brother: I like it!  I'd have to have all the qualities of a Master.  Not just the title!

Coach: Okay, so your saying you'd have to be a man who has completed his temple?

Brother: Yes.  But how does one go about developing those qualities?

Coach: There's only one way Brother.  And it's not by dying either!

Brother: Wait!?  What's that?

Coach: What's what?

Brother: You're saying you can complete the Temple before you die?

Coach: Yes.  Many have done so.  How else do we have master's walking among us?

Brother: Okay.  Yes.  I get it.  So how do you do it?

Coach: Do the Work that establishes, develops and cultivates Experienced Masterful Skills.

Brother: Hold on!  Is that why is it impossible to say or write it?  It can only be expressed through being masterful?

Coach: Let me turn the questions around for you.  What can you possibly say or write that would communicate mastery so well that it would allow you to Travel, Work and Earn Masterfully?

Brother: You can't.  You have to live masterfully and that's an expression of who your are and what you chose to be.  That's the only way it can be communicated to others and for you to benefit both yourself and others.

Coach: Indeed.

Brother: Wait!  That's it!

Coach: What's it?

Brother: The Master's Word!

Coach: Are you sure?

Brother: To be masterful and reap the benefits of Mastery, you have to be true to your Word to BE the Master's Word.  That's why the ruffians couldn't have it.

Coach: Why?

Brother: They were not Masterful!  They hadn't completed their temples!

Coach: Really?

Brother: Yes!  Really!