Random Building Thoughts - 2023-01-04

 

-------------- HUMOR --------------

For Further Light:
Good Men Better

-------------- MASONIC EDUCATION --------------

-------------- CLARITY --------------

************************************************

-------------- WARNING: -----------------

************************************************ 

 

Clarity
shortens superfluous discourse,
intensifies improved understanding
and diminishes destructive tail-chasing.

-------------- COACH'S CHALLENGE --------------

You belong to a very traditional lodge. 

All Lodge members from previous years are still present, 

all attend regularly, and all are able and available 

to participate now and into the future.

 

The members of your Lodge are upset. 

The incoming WM is planning to appoint someone 

to the position of Tyler 

and this choice breaks with this Lodge's traditions,

 long held by it since time immemorial.

 

The Lodge brings this to the attention of the incoming WM,

they voice their opposition to his choice 

and they express both their dissatisfaction 

and their reasoning behind their dissatisfaction.

 

You witness all of this and stand by supporting them.

 

The WM listens intently, 

agrees with the Lodge and changes his choice, 

fully recognizing the future impacts.

 

 

YOUR TASKS:

 

Respond to the following...

 

1) Who do you think the Lodge believes should be the Tyler?

2) Why do you think the Lodge believes this specific person should be the Tyler?

3) How does making this person the Tyler affect Lodge performance?

 

How do you proceed?

(Hat Tip to Bro. Nick Adair)

-------------- MATURITY --------------

A Grown Boy
is no More a Man
than his Ability
to Maturely Handle Life.
Apply this Ideal
toward the Craft
and you might Begin to see
the Source of most Craft Problems.

For Further Light:
Maturity

 -------------- VICES --------------

At one time,
Alan Watts' writings
had a huge influence in my life...

Nah! ! Who am I kidding...
they still do!

 

 

"If you do not know who Alan Watts is, 

he is one of the very few people I would coin as enlightened."
-- Brother Nicholas Robinson

-------------- NO ROOM --------------

Countless Superfluities
Rule far too many Men
within the Craft.
Lodges Filled by them
have little to no Room
for anything Worthwhile.

  -------------- NEGATIVE ACTIONS  --------------

When you Divest yourself
of Negative Things,
you're Taking Negative Actions
in Positive Directions.

-------------- MATURE HEART --------------

There's a huge difference between
a well educated man
and a well educated boy.
The former has a mature heart.
The latter has yet to subdue his.

For Further Light:
Preparation

 -------------- MYSTERY --------------

(Hat tip to Bro. William Kennard!)

 

For Further Light: 

Mastery

 -------------- FILED UNDER: Immorality of the Soul --------------

 

FILED UNDER: 

Immorality of the Soul

The Sun Continues to Shine
Long After It Sets. 

-------------- GOD'S GAMES -------------- 

Observe life enough
and you'll find out that
some of God's most favorite games are:

 

1) Role Playing

2) Hide and Seek

3) Knock Knock

4) 1001 Questions

5) Guess what

6) Connect the dots

7) Telephone

8) What if

9) Let's Pretend

10) You're It

 

-------------- PLUG -------------- 

"Light received. 

Knowledge, wisdom, moral lessons, 

and Eureka! 

Moments await. 

So grateful for the opportunity 

to get such a collection."
-- Ian Jagger Gibb-WIlsom, 1/4/2019

-------------- END -------------- 

 Be Well and Travel Light!

-- Coach Nagy ;-)

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You can also find me on:

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Educational Materials can be found here:

 http://www.coach.net/BuildingBuilders.htm 

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnSNagy 

 

 

 

 

Random Building Thoughts - 2023-01-03

 

   -------------- PLUG -------------- 

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.
(The Craft UNMASKED!, Chapter 2)

 For Further Light:
http://www.coach.net/BuildingBuilders.htm

-------------- MASONIC EDUCATION --------------

-------------- SEEK MORE! --------------

Ritual is a Rubik's Cube of Symbols
Requiring men to Grasp and Wrestle with it
until they eventually Form
Acceptable Patterns that Enlighten.
Many Patterns are Formed
but very few are Solid.

-------------- BECOME --------------

This is the Basis of "The Craft Unmasked!"
book's Theme and The Craft we Practice
within the Society of Free & Accepted Masons.

 For Further Light:
The Craft Perfected!

-------------- NEED MORE! --------------

We need a lot more people Who
Responsibly Assume Thinking,
and fewer of those Who
Irresponsibly Think Assumably.

-------------- EARNED --------------

The Most Comforting Aspect
about Ruffians is that,
by their Own Behavior,
they shall Eventually get
what they Earned,
even if it is in the End.

 -------------- MENTOR-SHIP --------------

 

One of my mentors...

 

 "You become mature
when you become 

the authority for your own life.”
 -- Joseph Campbell

 

 

 -------------- TRUST --------------

 

Don't confuse "forgiveness" with "forgetfulness" and "re-Trusting". One can forgive offenses, but one would be foolish to forget offenses that go uncorrected and to re-trust an untrustworthy individual. 

 

Once someone has offended you, it is your responsibility to assure that an appropriate boundary is both Established and Maintained so that future offenses do not occur -- for your sake and for other's sake.

Forgiveness entails "clean up". It should never include:

 

1) continuing to place trust in a person who shows no signs of correcting offensive behavior, or

2) forgetting the character of such a person and setting yourself up for another offense.

 

To continue to trust someone who is untrustworthy is simply insane. This doesn't mean you cannot forgive the person for the offense. It simply means that forgiveness doesn't mean re-trusting. There is much more to it!

 

For Further Light:
a-brother-asks-forgiveness

 -------------- COACH'S CHALLENGE --------------

A group of candidates you are mentoring
are finding it difficult to believe
that murderers making every effort... 

 

1) to hide a dead body; and

2) to outrun their accountability 

 

...would deliberately "plant an acacia [sprig]
at the head of the grave,
in order to conceal it
so that the place may be known
should occasion hereafter require."

 

They insist that such an act
would actually draw attention to the grave
rather than conceal it.

Furthermore, they cannot understand
what occasion hereafter would be required.
Why would the ruffians
WANT to find the grave
when their very act of burying the body
was TO CONCEAL IT!?!?! 

 

You were at a loss for words
and they were disappointed.
The discourse ended shortly afterward,
to your mixed relief.

 

Fortunately, it did not end there.
Your lodge education committee chairman
overheard the discussion
and asked you to research the matter,
do a write up on your findings
and present it to the lodge within two weeks.
Realizing this would make you a better mentor,
you accept the challenge.

 

YOUR TASK:

 

1) Validate these candidate's observations.

2) Explain why the ruffians did what they did.

3) Explain what specific occasion hereafter
would require locating the grave.

 

What do you do?

-------------- BIASED --------------

 Chroniclers Who are Heavily Biased
do not Report what they find;
they Report only what fully Supports
what they want you to see
and in such a way
as to Heavily Bias you.

 -------------- HUMOR --------------

 -------------- END -------------- 

 Be Well and Travel Light!

-- Coach Nagy ;-)

 PS: Subscribe to get daily notifications

You can also find me on:

https://mewe.com/i/john_snagy

https://www.facebook.com/johns.nagy

Educational Materials can be found here:

 http://www.coach.net/BuildingBuilders.htm 

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnSNagy 

 

 

 

 

Random Building Thoughts - 2023-01-02

 

-------------- MARKETING --------------

 FILED UNDER:
WE CANNOT STRESS THIS ANY BETTER!

So, you want the Fraternity to be Well-Known?
Start Making Good Man Better a Reality for
Every man who Joins! That's the Best
Marketing you shall ever get.

 -------------- YOUR APPROACH --------------

You can Approach Freemasonry
as a Vehicle to Further Flights of Fantasy
ne'r to Firmly Ground yourself
or as a Toolbox
readied to Build a Foundation
in Reality Worth Living.
Choose Wisely!

 -------------- TOOL BOX --------------

 

 THE EA WORKING TOOLS!

 -------------- LODGE --------------

 

The Lodge is not
any Building you Go To;
It's a Gathering of Men
with Good Intent
and Good Purpose!

-------------- PSA --------------

Your New Year
shall not be Any Different
if you Remain the Same.
Change, for the Better!

-------------- DO THE WORK! --------------

It's Truly Troubling
to see so many men not doing the Work
that Ritual Espouses.
You can tell who they are
by how big an Ashlar
they have become since Joining.

-------------- HUMOR --------------

...or my dismay...

-------------- DEVOTION TO TRUTH --------------

 We need a lot more noble heroes...
...Be Bold this year!

-------------- NOTIONS --------------

The Romantic Notion of Ancient Brethren
has Kept far too many Brothers
Resting Pride-fully upon the Laurels of Others.
Some eventually do learn
to Pride themselves
upon their own Achievements!  

-------------- RELIEF --------------

Relief is a crucial Masonic Tenet.

It is not what many Masons 

have been lead to Believe though. 

Relief is Fundamentally

 what Apprentice Work provides when Done. 

It unBurdens those who Perform it. 

Masonic Relief is Founded upon this Work. 

It's utterly astonishing how many men 

Desperately hold on to Unnecessary 

and Excessive Burdens 

and hence find no Relief whatsoever.

 

Here are the results of completing that Work -

a-brother-asks-completing-apprentice

 -------------- REVIEW --------------

 “'To make good men, better'
– this is the laudable mission of the Craft of Freemasonry.
Many men pass through its ceremonies
without any awareness of how
it accomplishes this mission.
In his new book,
“The Craft Unmasked”
Bro. Nagy allows us to glimpse behind the curtain
of the ceremonies and rituals of the fraternity.
He offers a fresh perspective of
the history behind the ceremonies
and provides readers points to consider
in the mechanism at work within the Degrees
and the ways in which they influence men to become better.
This is not just another historical expose on the Craft.
It is an exploration that goes deeper
than previous works have offered before.
This book is a very worthwhile read
and a useful tool in the education
of the members of your Lodge.
I highly recommend it."
-- Bro. Steve Joyce ;-)

(Thanks again Brother Steve!)

For Further Light:
http://www.coach.net/TCU.htm

-------------- PSA -------------- 

Don't confuse "forgiveness" with "forgetfulness" and "re-Trusting".
One can forgive offenses,
but one would be foolish to forget offenses
that go uncorrected
and to re-trust an untrustworthy individual.
Once someone has offended you,
it is your responsibility to assure
that an appropriate boundary
is both Established and Maintained
so that future offenses do not occur
-- for your sake and for other's sake.

Forgiveness entails "clean up". It should never include:

1) continuing to place trust in a person
who shows no signs of correcting offensive behavior, or

2) forgetting the character of such a person
and setting yourself up for another offense.

To continue to trust someone who is untrustworthy
is simply insane.
This doesn't mean you cannot
forgive the person for the offense.
It simply means that forgiveness
doesn't mean re-trusting. 

 

There is much more to it!

For Further Light:

a-brother-asks-forgiveness

 

-------------- END -------------- 

 Be Well and Travel Light!

-- Coach Nagy ;-)

 PS: Subscribe to get daily notifications

You can also find me on:

https://mewe.com/i/john_snagy

https://www.facebook.com/johns.nagy

Educational Materials can be found here:

 http://www.coach.net/BuildingBuilders.htm 

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnSNagy 

 

 

 

 

Random Building Thoughts - 2023-01-01

 

-------------- DIG! --------------

It's Truly Easy
to Refer to or to Quote
the Imaginative Conjectures
of any Heavily Invested Brother
Driven to Validate the Created Lore
of Freemasonic Society.
It's Far more difficult
to dig through the Mire
to find the Truth Buried
by its Ruling Ruffians.
DIG!!!

-------------- RAISED OR RESURRECTED? --------------

-------------- RIP -------------- 

 

 

May you Masterfully Grasp
the Poorly Buried Bones of this Past Year,

Raise them out of their Rubbish
and Intern them more Suitably
in a Sane Sanctuary of Rest and Honor.

May you Perpend then their Relevance,
Conclude too their finest nuances
and Speculate upon what must Be.

May you Render upon your Trestleboard
only those Grand Designs Worthy of your Efforts,
Securing all good manner of Resource and Attentiveness
and Build your new year Unburdened,
but Virtued with Freedom, Fervency and Zeal.

 

-------------- HUMOR --------------

-------------- MYTH --------------

"Throughout the inhabited world,
in all times and under every circumstance,
the myths of man have flourished;
and they have been the living inspiration
of whatever else may have appeared
out of the activities of the human body and mind.
It would not be too much to say
that myth is the secret opening
through which the inexhaustible energies
of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation.
Religions, philosophies, arts,
the social forms of primitive and historic man,
prime discoveries in science and technology,
the very dreams that blister sleep,
boil up from the basic, magic ring of myth."

-- Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces

(courtesy of the Joseph Campbell Foundation)

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."

-- Joseph Campbell

Honor the privilege!

 -------------- INDICATORS --------------

Masonic Work Civilizes.
You can tell who has done It
by their Civility...
or lack of It! 

 -------------- MOTIVATION --------------

-------------- ALLEGORY --------------

 -------------- PLUG --------------

 Alternative Views for Your New Year:
http://www.coach.net/BuildingBuilders.htm

-------------- END --------------

 Be Well and Travel Light!

-- Coach Nagy ;-)

 PS: Subscribe to get daily notifications

You can also find me on:

https://mewe.com/i/john_snagy

https://www.facebook.com/johns.nagy

Educational Materials can be found here:

 http://www.coach.net/BuildingBuilders.htm 

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnSNagy