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What Masonry means to people
Their thoughts on the Meaning of Masonry
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Turning The Hiram Key
Find out what Masonry means to Robert by reading his latest book,
Turning The Hiram Key.
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By Jim Gregory |
I have been proud to be a Mason for the last 23 years. I have been Master of Village Lodge #315 three times. I am proud to belong to the Masters and Wardens Association (I am the Secretary), Scottish Rite where I will serve as Master of Rose Croix next year, I am secretary/Recorder of two York Rite Bodies, I have been elected to the York Rite College, the highest order of The York Rite. I am slated to become The High Priest next year in the third body I am the Lodge Instructor and Treasurer in my Lodge I hold a minor Grand Lodge appointment in the State of Florida. I am also a member of the Shrine. I believe that of all of the important things in my life, becoming a Mason ranks only below Becoming a Christian, Marrying my wife, and the birth of my children. I, like many other Masons, follow a family tradition. My father was a Mason.
The motto of the Masons is "We take good men and make them better" I am proud to be a part of that. The myths about us are, for the most part lies, put forth by people (like the woman from the New York Times who wrote such a biased article about Dan Browns new book) it sounded like sour grapes to me. There are organizations for women, people of all religions, races, etc. which are exclusive to one group or another. Remember that Queen Elizabeth I was not allowed to become a Mason or set in a meeting. We bar no Brother due to Race, Religion or Social Standing. You must only be a man, of lawful age, well recommended and believe in a Supreme Being to qualify. If we are as powerful as we are made out to be, when is the order going to offer to pay off my mortgage? One has only to look back at the Founding Fathers of this country to see the influence of the moral teachings of the Freemasons. The roll of Just and Upright men who have been a part of the Fraternity reads like an honor roll of Great thinkers through out history. Sixteen Presidents of The United States starting with George Washington through Harry Truman and Jerry Ford and many other world leaders including Sir Winston Churchill have been proud to be Brothers. I am humbled to be allowed to count myself among such an august assemblage. |
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By Tiptoes |
I am a Freemason and when I was going through my degrees I was intrigued by the meanings in the ceremony, Knight and Lomas have touched upon bits of it in their books but nothing as for the UGLE to be worried about.
For me freemasonry is about historical and personable enlightenment.
To answer the questions.
1. I think it's hard to be more open about freemasonry without putting people off being interested in it.UGLE are in a dilemna at the moment how do they attract the new members keeping the organisation going without open up a little more. The way society is today means that more lodges are closing and the UGLE might end up being a victim of their own misjudgements.
2. For me the whole point of learning is to understand the meanings which like a puzzle lead onto other things and areas, that excitement for me in finding and learning new things about the craft is the cornerstone of why I like to be a mason.Unfortunately work commitments prevent me from learning.
3.It was a very similar feeling I got when my first ever baby was born.
Excitement, intrepidation, anticipation, the unknown, then finally relief and an amazing sense of trust.
4. It has given me a deep interest and insight into the historical manifestations of the human evolution and deeper sense of understanding of those masons around me.
5. I've tried to describe masonic principle and how it "Feels" to me, to describe the ceremonies and the symbolic rituals would be going too far in that it would spoil it for others, I don't believe that telling someone (which is obviously discouraged in masonic principle) of what your experiences were could ever give someone an iota of understanding about masonic life.
You have to go.... mentally,physically and spiritually "feel" the experience for yourself to better understand what it is about. That is how I would describe it. It is an amazing experience that is hard to compare with events in real life, the only thing left to compare is the emotions. |
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By Trevor H |
Let me say from the outset that I am not a Freemason, although I do find it interesting.
For some years now I have been pursuing a path of private research which has included Masonic ritual (amongst others). I have some friends, both male and female’ who are masons and ha been invaluable in my endeavours.
Two significant areas of my research are geometry and ritual. More precisely I am looking at the underlying pattern to the geometry of alchemical and Masonic emblems and the effect that changes in ritual has on our understanding of them.
In ‘The Secrets of Freemasonry’ p.256 you mention that ‘…the Royal Arch has been tinkered out of all true knowledge by excessive editing’. I could not agree more and this is just one example of many where tinkering has severed the link between ritual and symbol, therefore denying knowledge to future generations.
The triple tau is the key to the (original) ritual and is the link between the Godhead and the geometry that is used to describe the godhead attributes.
In the opening lines of Lecture II, we are told that, “nothing but the key is wanting”. The triple tau is not the key, but once the key is found it unlocks the true power of the triple tau. And further confirms the statement; “If thou comprehendest these things then thou knowest enough’. It must be noted here that “knowest enough” is not knowest all, this comes later in the (original) Royal Secret (32°) ritual.
The Royal Arch brings together the perfection of the spiritual with the perfection of number/geomtry (speculative Masonry) to describe the Godhead by the perfection of the symbol as the name is ineffable.
The (older) Royal Arch ritual is truly a beautiful ritual in its earlier forms but its richness has been diluted by successive tinkering over the years. Fortunately the symbols appear to have remained true.
All this leads to my mantra, “Do we really know what we change when we change ritual?”
Trevor H |
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By Elenilson Nunes |
Boa noite meus irmaos ?!
Por motivos óbvios não usarei qualquer sinal ou símbolo maçonico.
Sou de São Paulo / Brasil, pertenço a Loja Simbolica Meditação e Fé - 628 - GLESP, ocupo o cargo de primeiro vigilante.
Estou iniciando a leitura da obra " O LIVRO DE HIRAM ", percebo porém, que algumas passagens do ritual sao descritas ali de uma forma muito transparente.
Não me entendam mal, por favor, não estou e nem tenho a pretensão de criticá-los, absolutamente ( aliás, quem sou eu ? ).
É apenas uma dúvida, nao encontram nenhum problema com isso, ou seja, sentem-se á vontade para comentar ?
Não são segredos que deveríam ser revelados somente aos iniciados ?
Obrigado, estou achando profundamente importante a leitura do livro, muitos dados que em nossos rituais não são mencionados.
O livro devería ser parte integrante da bibliotéca de todo maçom que trabalha em busca da verdade.
Abraços meus irmãos. |
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By Sherrod |
Hello,
My comments are not coming from a person that is currently a Mason. However I have been interested in the subject for 15 years and feel that I most likely will become one at a period shortly in the future. However I do believe I have some insight into the questions posed, reason being is that I have grown up a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or in the more known name Mormon. In the Mormon church we too have sacred rituals that we strive to keep from the public. Anyone that has done any research on the 2 subjects will know of the unquestioning similarities between the rites. Where I understand the historical timeline of the rituals and other similarities favor Masons and point to Mr. Joseph Smith molding the future temple ceremonies for Mormons from his experiences as a Mason, I will not address this part of it, and simply focus on the questions above.
Should Freemasonry be a secret? My path into finding out about the Masons started as one of a conspiracy theory mindset. I was merely a 18 year old that had a wild imagination. This journey was filled with wonder and thought provoking findings which eventually lead me to no longer look at it in a conspiracy light and one more of pure curiosity, and eventually to one of wanting to know more. So Should it be a secret? My answer to this would be Yes. Why? Because that in my mind is part of the journey. You have something that you know little of that has many meanings depending on your level of understanding and desire to grow. The secret is that there is growth, if you want to grow to your potential, you must affiliate yourself with said Fraternity.
What does the ritual mean to me? Well as stated before I am not yet a mason so my knowledge of rituals is limited to what books I can get my hands on and what I can find in the internet. What the rituals mean to mean is a intellectual path, a path that leads to growth. It forces you to questions yourself and your comfort. Do I understand what is going on now enough to continue to gain more light and understanding?
How did I feel when made a Mason? Well not there yet but I have a load of anxiety at the moment and am excited for the day I start the path.
What role has Masonic ritual played in my life? Desire... a desire to gain more, a desire to learn, a desire to continue.
Can it or should it not be put into words? As I said before it is a path of growth for the individual. I believe bits and pieces may be put into words, but the truth is it is something that must be experienced to understand the value. Line upon line.
Thank you for the opportunity to think about your questions and my journey to this point.
STS |
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By veneris |
Hi there, I am reading the Book of Hiram and found it very much worth reading. I am a Christian for many years, a Chinese, and I wanted to show my appreciation of your humble, balanced attitude and your dedication to finding truth. Please keep on your good work! I am a devoted Christian but I am open to anything well evidenced and, why not, if I am really serious about truth?
I am a female and not eligible to be a freemason but I am so happy to find your books that allows me to know more about that without joining masonry! |
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By Clifford Walsh - Roseville #222 |
Freemasonry is not a secret in this modern day. Anyone interested in knowing more about it can observe documentaries, read books or discuss them with a Mason. However, most of the information they will hear about is of a general nature, which should remain until one decides to join the craft and learn first hand. Even then, this is just the beginning of one's enlightenment.
The ritual in the 3 degrees is written in an old language and difficult to translate. Many of the memebers don't understand it fully themselves because there is no one that has researched the subject the way Dr. Lomas has done in his work. I myself have spent a lot of time studying the books on various parts of Masonry to get a fuller understanding of its rich history and purpose.
A lot of my interest begain after reading the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown a few years ago and then pouring through Holy Blood Holy Grail, which I found very enlightening. I am currently reading The Hiram Key and have Dr. Lomas and Mr. Knight's other books too. The extent of research they have compiled has solidified a lot of the suspicions I've had for a long time. Thank you for the well articulated book that really spells out the history of the ancient craft. |
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By VerticalUnion |
I am proud to be a Mason and will happily discuss what I can with non-masons who ask me about the Craft so whilst I believe that we shouldn't shout it out from the rooftops we should be as open as possible to those who show enough Interest to be bothered to ask.
I joined in 2006 and have had some exciting, thought provoking and entertaining evenings ever since. I have genuine affection for my fellow lodge members and know that should I ever need advice and support I would get it as readily as I would give it.
On my initiation I was literally buzzing with anticipation; I felt like I was taking a step into the unknown and was eager to experience the reality of all the things I had read and thought I knew about beforehand. It was a wonderful way to spend a few hours. The ceremony and the after proceedings were just fantastic and I couldn't wait to do more.
I have learnt and delivered many parts of all 3 degrees over 3 years and now find that extracts come to mind in real life situations and either guide, comfort or inspire me. often all 3 at once.
Parts of the Ritual are so intriguing that they induce that spark of curiousity to find out more. This is a lovely feeling and I think that Divine touch that has enabled Humans to control fire and fly to the Moon.
I don't believe that The Craft can really be explained by words alone, they are not adequate tools to promote Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Only practical experience over many years can get us to a true understanding. |
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By Tom M. Preuss |
I was made a mason in November of 2008 .
Roberts book the Hiram Key, was the first book I ever read on the subject, which gave me this feeling of needing to know more.
It took nearly one whole year , from the time I first went into Freemasons hall to find a local lodge, to my initiation. As far as is possible to put into words , what freemasonry means to me , it is just not that simple. For me personally it has helped me see clearer into the world , dealing with others , brethren or non members. Also to be truthfull to oneself .
This wonderfull feeling of togetherness when we meet is the most marvelous experience. I am starting my first office next month , I am a member of the oldest research lodge in the World, and enjoy the Lectures, wich in turn inspire me to be more inquisitive. Mark Masonry and the royal arch masonry are my next steps and something that I am looking forward to very much.
To sum it up as far as putting it into words , one can't really do that fully , an individual has to explore it and live freemasonry to experience this wonderfull feeling and the benefits that Freemasonry can bring you.
Tom M. Preuss |
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By Rooski |
There are two ways to view the "secrecy". One is to imagine a group, worldwide, that shares ritualistic acts and beliefs (or visions) and that non-members are not privvy to the details. The other way is to understand the brotherhood and its close relationships, and how they will consider themselves first when it comes to assisting success in any form. This is no different than preferring to speak to someone you know versus someone you do not, should you not be comfortable socializing at all.
Because of the second way, the brotherly "leg up" that is seemingly historically present, and can be at low levels or very high societal levels, the less educated people (regarding masonry) fear there is collaboration in dark circles. This is close minded but a natural logical thought process.
As far as I am concerned, the more educated the general masses could be, the less conspiritorial they may view the craft and its members. On the other hand, those who do not choose to use some of their capacity to reason and learn, and do not bother to seek the truth, can stay in the dark to forever imagine the ghosts and goblins lurking around every corner of the movie screen.
I am not yet a mason, but I have been open minded about the group because my grandfather was one and I know he was a good person.
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