tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28689295082192233212021-10-06T10:19:12.460-04:00The North Eastern CornerM.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-15136932997163759002019-09-05T21:06:00.002-04:002019-09-05T21:06:27.754-04:00A Brother Came For A Visit<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-raS-WYFJKGI/XXGYXdXT4RI/AAAAAAAABLc/ZupIfogjzI4kQaAh2y5t-Cw14ywwrbIRACLcBGAs/s1600/casey-horner-_4XcZQ-2G5Q-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-raS-WYFJKGI/XXGYXdXT4RI/AAAAAAAABLc/ZupIfogjzI4kQaAh2y5t-Cw14ywwrbIRACLcBGAs/s320/casey-horner-_4XcZQ-2G5Q-unsplash.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "san francisco" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ubuntu" , "roboto" , "noto" , "segoe ui" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@mischievous_penguins?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Casey Horner</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "san francisco" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ubuntu" , "roboto" , "noto" , "segoe ui" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/beacon?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><i>Its always the same.</i><br /><i>Long periods go by and then through coincidence or overdue planning, a visit occurs.</i><br /><i>In the blink of an eye conversation returns just where it left off no matter how long the interruption.</i><br /><br /><br />Hi!<br />Good to see you. Its been a long time. Although I have popped in a few times over the years. It was usually a test to see if I could write or not and for such a long time "I " have not been there to answer the test. Vagaries, poems and stabs at blogging is what I have been doing for a long time because I can honestly say my mind had not been my own. My past two posts have been in September a year apart. This one is exactly 364 days since my last.<br /><i><br /></i><i>What is it about September??</i><br /><br />I spent 7-1/2 years working a very demanding job in a 24-7 industry. I learned a lot, I taught a lot, I traveled, I got angry, I laughed, and everything in between. After all the blood sweat and tears, my position and department were eliminated and I was <b><i>set free</i></b>.<br />"<i>set free??</i>"<br /><br />Yes.<br /><br />My work was my life, well not exactly. I never let it become the end all be all of my existence, but due to my job and what I supported in that role; in between time with my family and a few extra curricular activities, it took up most of the rest of the grey matter in my skull. Despite its demands I am ever thankful for my landing that job. It helped to support my family and allow us to do just about anything we wanted to do.<br />The company I had been a part of was acquired by a bigger company and after a departmental development meeting it became clear to me that my time was short. I was furious at first but I had seen the writing on the wall since the purchase and started to think about where I was and where I wanted to be. What I was being forced into was a blessing in disguise and thankfully I recognized it as such.<br /><br />So now I am free.<br /><br />I started my own company and for 2 months or so the cloud over me is lifting and I am starting to feel like myself again! It has been so liberating. Although the worries about my business still worry me all the time, they are good because they are my own.<br /><br />One of my best friends and brothers was recently over my house for a party and in no time at all we were addressing all the problems of the world and carrying on as usual. When Freemansonry came up, as it always does between us, during the usual "have you paid your dues yet?" conversation, we both brought up our dear friend who is now in the celestial lodge and how he had kept us in the fraternity for a good stretch and how much we missed him. <b><i>JH</i></b> must have been with us during this meeting because all of the sudden our "to demit or not demit" conversation turned into good thoughts of our traveling days and a warm feeling came back to me about the fraternity. We both loved what we were doing in the Order when we were in the thick of it and unfortunately the bad stuff had overshadowed the good for too long. The more we talked the more I wanted that person I was back. All of the sudden I had a blog post forming in my head. The feeling of that spark of creativity washed over my being and I welcomed it back with a smile.<br /><br /><i>Unfortunately</i> for all of us, a few beers and great camaraderie washed away the profound post that I had in my head that night but here we are none the less. I'm Back.<br /><br />Last night I listened to a Manly P Hall lecture "Reclaim the Mind" <a href="https://youtu.be/F2fwpw_6qGM">https://youtu.be/F2fwpw_6qGM</a><br /><br />I think I will!<br /><br />Thanks NS. Thanks <i>JH</i><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-26784947756613587252018-09-06T10:35:00.001-04:002018-09-06T10:35:05.041-04:00A Whisper in the Darkness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i1bZTWq7qGU/W5Evl8OFRZI/AAAAAAAABDQ/LGkPMc_mYvM0I2u5anvSfXjN2ckoWvZygCLcBGAs/s1600/Lunar_Crepuscular_Rays_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i1bZTWq7qGU/W5Evl8OFRZI/AAAAAAAABDQ/LGkPMc_mYvM0I2u5anvSfXjN2ckoWvZygCLcBGAs/s320/Lunar_Crepuscular_Rays_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>..........L......................................................................................................................................i.............................................................................................................................................................................................g......................................................................................................................................................................................................................h............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................<br /><br />The deep darkness surrounds and is all.<br />The vastness of it is overwhelming.<br />The world is a constant blur of doing...<br />Doing...<br />Doing...<br /><br />What happened to being? Sensing? Delving?<br /><br />Memories of a spark, a taper in a large room, a beacon in the distance,<br />A feeling of purpose.<br />Lost,<br />To a numbing throng of dithering.<br />White noise constantly distracting.<br />Vuzz, click, swipe.<br />Click, vuzz, swipe.<br />Vuzz, click, swipe.<br />Scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll...<br /> Vuzz<br /><br />Whats this?<br />In the middle of an eclipse a faint something diminishes the calignosity.<br />Senses awaken from a slumber of non use.<br />A feeling of curiosity returns, delivered by the same device of diversion.<br />Scroll,<br />Absorb,<br />Scroll,<br />Connect.<br /><br />The Mystic Tie that bonded but never broke.<br />A handshake in the dark,<br />The grip was correct.<br />A voice long missing needed to sound.<br />Inaudible at first, just mouthing the long forgotten...<br /><br />Silence is broken, the veil of blackness lifts ever so slightly...<br /><br />L.................i........g..........h......<br /><br />A whisper in the dawn.<br /><br />Light!<br /><br />Just a glimmer but a hope...<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-29375023575974549012017-09-15T21:52:00.000-04:002017-09-15T21:52:52.519-04:00Memories Mean More, as I get older<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8DAVuIE4GM/Wbx83TTNmjI/AAAAAAAAA-c/78sdXu11wH8ilGkMXvtYrFDh84gXO9SrQCLcBGAs/s1600/MemoriesStarry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8DAVuIE4GM/Wbx83TTNmjI/AAAAAAAAA-c/78sdXu11wH8ilGkMXvtYrFDh84gXO9SrQCLcBGAs/s320/MemoriesStarry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Memories are like stars in the sky,<br />you can sometimes see them,<br />and sometimes you don't.<br />They are always there somewhere,<br />Hidden by light,<br />Hidden by clouds,<br />but always there...in the background.<br />You need to sit still in the dark,<br />and look<br /><br />Words, people, landscapes, stories from your life are real.<br />They happened.<br />In the blur of living they get added on everyday.<br />Hundreds upon hundreds,<br />Thousands upon thousands of new stars in your mind.<br /><br />Some,<br />like Polaris or Sirius, are brighter than others and are easily found.<br />Some,<br />are like faded constellations, that you know where they are,<br /> but occasionly need time to orient yourself in the right direction on the right night to recognize.<br /><br />There are some that exist,<br /> but can only be seen when you are in a completely different hemisphere of being.<br /><br />The thing about them,<br />is that they are infinite,<br />far off glimmers of a distant time and place.<br />In reality and in the mind..<br /><br />You need a night of no clouds and silence to stop and take them in to recall and reflect.<br /><br />We all need to look at the stars more often,<br />We used to....<br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-89147232936493303042015-03-02T23:56:00.000-05:002015-03-02T23:56:34.182-05:00Memento Mori<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-blg9NMY5CJw/VPUXrsFgXSI/AAAAAAAAAzk/DfKuT4BsBiA/s1600/Momento%2BMori%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-blg9NMY5CJw/VPUXrsFgXSI/AAAAAAAAAzk/DfKuT4BsBiA/s1600/Momento%2BMori%2B2.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></div><i>The roll of the workmen has been called and one Master Mason has not answered to his name. He has laid down the working tools of the Craft and with them he has left that mortal part for which he no longer has use. His labors here below have taught him to divest his heart and conscience of the vices and superfluities of life, thereby fitting his soul as a living stone for that spiritual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. In reverence then, let us lift our prayer to the Divine Being to insure the favor of that Eternal God.</i> <br /><br />This is one of the most beautiful pieces of lecture in the Masonic repertoire. It invokes such a profound realization of loss in me.<br /><br />I can hear his name being called ... no response, called again ..., called once more ...<br />We travel along this winding path of life and are joined by so many over time but sometimes it seems that there are so few that hop along side and walk beside you, truly.<br />With those true friends you know whatever twist the road may take, even though you may take different sides of the fork, just around the bend your paths will meet again and it will be just as before.<br /><br /><i><b>I had a friend like this.</b></i><br /><br />I met him first when I was a junior officer of the lodge accompanying the oldest member of my lodge and my mentor on an investigation of a petitioner to the Mysteries of Freemasonry. I was the enthusiastic young Brother who wanted to do everything and be everything for my new lodge and raised my hand for any and every voluntary contribution to the Craft that I could.<br />We came to his place of work, a country club, where he sat us at a room in the back overlooking the harbor of our city, it was a beautiful place, the only other time I had been in a country club was either at a wedding or caddying as a kid. He explained to us that he had heard of Freemasonry through a member of his club that was a member of our lodge and that he had always had an interest in the fraternity. I took a back seat for the beginning of the interview but my exuberance soon took over and I was answering and interjecting myself into the whole process. I was twenty years this man's junior but spoke to him like the wizened warrior monk I thought I was and the crazy thing was he was not taken aback by my young age at all!<br />Before I knew it, I was a masonic mentor to this man who technically could have been my father. We soon discovered that our paths had many common areas that were too common to be coincidence. Friends, co workers, etc was a long list of "Oh yeah I know him (or her)! How the hell have we not met before." Before I knew it I had a part in raising this man to the sublime degree of Master Mason and gained a Brother and life long friend.<br />He always said I reminded himself of him as a kid of my age and I wanted to be a man like him of his age! He was kind and wise and versed in his profession and most of all he respected a rapscallion like me. It wasn't the phoney respect you get from some older guys who just are patronizing you to keep you going, but genuine respect of a man to another man who realizes you come from another experience and wants to learn from you regardless of the age difference. We had many similarities; our Irish heritage, our passion, our fire and ice personalities, there were people who either loved or hated us and we didn't care because we were both confident in who we were. I don't know for sure if I bolstered his confidence but I can tell you without a doubt he made me much of the man of who I am if you meet me today.<br />He was entered, passed, and raised with me on the line and a part of every part, and I say that with this with sincerity, that I have and will always consider him my first and true Master Mason that I was a part of.<br />As we grew in friendship I discovered just how similar we were in many ways.<br />We were Irish. (given)<br />We were traditional. (given)<br />We were wandering souls. (very Irish tendency)<br />We sought an anchor for life's travails. (given)<br />We were conservative. (rare in the Irish world)<br />We were outspoken. (I won't even go there)<br /><br />He was there behind me in my highs.<br />He was fighting for me in my lows.<br /><br />There were few calls that I walked away from what ever was happening in my busy world to take, but his was one.<br /><br />He became my rock.<br />He became my weather vane.<br />He became my hero.<br /><br />When I wanted to throw the fraternity to the curb he held me fast. When I wanted nothing to do with my lodge he lulled me back in. He was my hero.<br /><br />When I learned of his current health crisis I didn't even think that something could happen to this man because he was made of iron and could not be broken. When I spoke to him last, I felt ashamed that I had called to question his health because his positive attitude would prevail against anything that could be thrown against him. Then I received a horrible text.<br /><br />I didn't believe it.<br />I still don't.<br /><br />Back to the ritual...<br /><br /><b><i>My Brethren, we have assembled in accordance with the ancient customs of our Craft to bid farewell to the mortal body and Godspeed to the immortal spirit of him who dwelt a Brother among us.</i></b><br /><b><i>Brother James Charles Hutchinson. Born: December 11, 1955, Raised: November 6, 2008, Passed to the great beyond: March 1, 2015.</i></b><br /><b><i>Ours is a ceremony, not of grief and despair, but of faith and hope. </i></b><br /><b><i>These last rites we accord Brother Jim signify only our parting with his flesh, from which the immortal spirit has achieved emancipation. We perform them serenely, supported by our knowledge that each of us in his time must follow the pathway his soul has taken and, beyond the vale of sorrow, meet again to part no more. Having faithfully discharged the great duties which Brother Jim owed to God, his family, his neighbor and himself, it has pleased the Grand Master of the Universe to summon him into His Eternal presence.</i></b><br /><b><i> May the trestle board of his whole life pass such inspection that it may be given unto him to "eat of the hidden manna," and "to receive the white stone with a new name," that will insure perpetual and unspeakable happiness at His right hand. How often, when the day is ended and the sun is gone to rest, we pause to stand in awe, beholding the western sky transformed with a radiance that seems to shine out from the very gates of heaven, a wonderful picture painted by the hand of God, and we are lifted and exalted by the beauty and glory of nature. And when a life's day is ended and a loved one is gone to rest, we are somehow lifted above the plane of our everyday life and our souls are permitted to catch faint gleams of the ineffable glory of that spiritual world, and we are comforted with a new assurance that: </i></b><br /><b><i>"There is a mystic borderland that lies just past the limits of our workday world.".</i></b><br /><br />I love and miss you my Brother,<br />until we meet again.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-50110064366838133992014-01-18T20:23:00.002-05:002014-01-18T20:23:44.031-05:00Winter is Coming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUNGwSom1p0/Utsonq39VJI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/BQHicD1IyV0/s1600/Ice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUNGwSom1p0/Utsonq39VJI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/BQHicD1IyV0/s1600/Ice.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>It is with heavy heart that I begin to even write this post, but by my less frequent writing anyone who may still even pay attention to this blog would surely know that my time with the fraternity has been coming to a close.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><div>My journey was like a glorious sunrise that seemed to take forever and then the day begins and the magic is gone. When I think about all of the time I dedicated to the craft and to my brothers and I cant help but be proud of what I accomplished and the lives I touched and be thankful of the men who helped and nurtured me. Like everything I have done in my life I would not change a single second of it for anything. </div><div>My being needed something to unlock the man hidden in an overgrown boy and Freemasonry held the key. It is crystal clear to me now and easy to admit that even the cataclysmic end to my time in lodge was just as important to my psyche as its stupendous rise. Maybe even more so.</div><div>Before the two defeats of election of my peers, my entire life revolved around my lodge. It decided my free time. It decided my alone time. And more often than not, it seeped into the time that I should have dedicated to my family. I don't say this with regret because it is what my soul needed to get me through what I went through, but as I have now evolved I can see now that it took a lot.</div><div><b><i>It is the internal not the external</i></b></div><div>I have a very good job now that without Freemasonry's teaching of meeting people on the level I could never have held or been successful at. My time in the craft gave me the confidence to meet with any man or woman no matter what their title or stature and not give them reverence due simply because of their title or position. I only give respect to those who are deserving of my respect and I am not shy in dong so. My defeat taught me to not hold myself too high either. It was just at the time that I started to think about my legacy that I was taught a valuable lesson on humility.</div><div><b><i>Stand before us an upright mason</i></b></div><div>Dealing with politics and different people with strong beliefs can harden a man. One of the greatest things I took away from my regular attendance at lodge was a sense of self confidence and practice at it that changed me in a very good way. Even though I was always outgoing and confident, holding different positions in the lodge and dealing with traveling dignitaries strengthened my spine and made me walk with my head held high knowing that when you know what you are talking about you can talk with anyone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Recently I joined a new organization that has taken up my nights, but unlike lodge, playing Ice Hockey only takes me away for a couple hours and happens very late at night when my family is fast asleep. A nice side effect of this organization is weight loss and aggression venting. The only downside is that my knees are starting to really hurt...</div><div>I have not handed in a demit but I have no urge to sit in a lodge and have serious issues in handing over my dues for something I don't participate in. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-67812372801324827162013-09-07T22:30:00.002-04:002013-09-07T22:30:56.797-04:00Merge.....err<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bUSoAQlUCNg/UivG0IwlfII/AAAAAAAAAmo/syARw0v7Hzg/s1600/8.21.2013+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bUSoAQlUCNg/UivG0IwlfII/AAAAAAAAAmo/syARw0v7Hzg/s320/8.21.2013+026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I have been dreaming allot about Masonry lately. Not the starry eyed what can I do for the fraternity kind, but odd, out of place, what are you guys doing kind. They revolved around me going to a lodge, my lodge or another, me walking about as usual meeting and greeting and being happy to see my brothers and feeling good; then something happens and I start thinking to myself what the heck am I doing here...they haven't been good dreams.<br />When I was younger I always had dreams that revolved around me going to school and not being able to find my locker before class or not being able to get to my class from my locker. I was always searching and late and not feeling good about what was happening. Those dreams haunted me. I would wake up with a horrible feeling of not being able to do what I wanted and was capable of doing.<br />These dreams followed me through my years in school, in the Navy, after the Navy, and into adulthood. Perhaps a reader or Brother with knowledge into the meaning of dreams could delve deeper into my mind but from what I can figure out myself with my high school/military education and experience is that my soul is desiring something that is so close but so far away...<br />Back to Masonry.<br />In the spring of this year I enjoyed a couple of visits and degrees that I had decided to go to, or had the honor of being invited to that had me feeling a small bit of Masonic renewal in myself that had been long gone. In my own thoughts I thought of myself having a Masonic Spring. I had great boosts of confidence and wonderful rekindling or cementing of relationships I have had through my travels as a Freemason. But they were fleeting. In my ever growing panoply of real and work life events that I encountered, the Masonic ones seemed trivial in comparison.<br />The majority of my Masonic interaction strictly revolved around Masonry and when that level of familiarity was pressed to a different one it rarely resulted in an evolution. To put it simply, I found it hard to talk to my Brothers that I had grown in the order to talk of anything other than the craft. My Masonic friends were not my friends outside of masonry and when I tried to elevate that friendship 9 times out of 10 it stayed strictly Masonic.<br />That makes me sad.<br />Don't get me wrong. I have made a number of lifelong friendships within the fraternity, but I have also through this blog and a lot of travelling, met a voluminous amount of Masons yet the R.O.I. has not come near the expenditures.<br />So where the heck am I going with this?<br />I don't know.<br />I wear my ring every day or at least have it in my little jeans pocket.<br />I still am drawn to any lodge building or story about Freemasonry, no matter where I am.<br />I am paid up in my dues and am considered a Brother, but I cannot imagine dedicating the amount of time that I had in the past to my pursuit. Mostly because my family and job require that time and both have an exponentially higher R.O.I.<br />What does any of this have to do with the title to my post?<br />I stepped into my mother lodge, "Old St. Johns", for the first time since my failed attempt at returning to the East to hear what a joint committee on consolidation of the two local lodges had produced. I saw some very dear old Brothers and friends, along with others who were not so dear but brothers none the less.<br />One of the men there, who I hold in the highest regard and fondness, has reached the epitome of what it is I was striving for. Due to life's demands I had not been able to congratulate him in person and I was very glad to see him and give him my esteem. To tell the truth, he was the real reason I came to the meeting because I knew he would be there and I knew it would be one of the only times I could give him my reverence due.<br />None the less, I listened attentively to the findings and politely yet vociferously stated my opinion along with some other very passionate opinions by members of my lodge.<br />Unbelievably, <i>yet not really</i>, the ones who lingered after this very pivotal, historical meeting to talk were not members of the lodges involved, but the visitors... and I, save the brother who waited for us to leave and lock up and one other Brother...my mentor.<br />I had not seen or talked to him since my "downfall" and he politely waited outside to say goodbye. We did have some curt conversation to catch up but had not really talked earlier. As I walked out with others he interjected himself into the conversation and we caught up. I was glad for the conversation but it ended all others and we all left for home.<br />The end result of it is that my mother lodge, two years short of reaching 250 years on its original charter, is merging with a lodge that sprang from it and turning into something new. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing because I had no idea before that meeting that we would have to surrender our original charter as a result of the merger, no matter how much the consolidation was needed.<br />I was not at the final meeting for the vote.<br />It was unanimous...<br />Adieu SJ6.............. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-73423073899082525532013-04-09T22:57:00.000-04:002013-05-09T17:32:18.107-04:00To Be Listed Among Those Names...One of the biggest allures to Freemasonry is the long list of world changing men whose names adorn the halls of lodges and numerous websites as being members of the worlds largest fraternity at one time or another. I wont rehash the list or even give a highlight reel, cause we have all seen it or used it as question fodder for Masonic Jeopardy night, but often I find myself confronted with one of these profound men who I used to use in my welcome to the fraternity Entered Apprentice speech, today was one of those days.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cNuCX6dhHr0/UWTDtWwP8YI/AAAAAAAAAkM/_km-RFGqYA8/s1600/marktwain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cNuCX6dhHr0/UWTDtWwP8YI/AAAAAAAAAkM/_km-RFGqYA8/s200/marktwain.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>Samuel Langhorn Clemens was at one time the most famous of all Americans. He is quoted as saying "I am not just an American, I am THE American." He received his degrees at Polar Star Lodge No. 79 in St. Louis Missouri and is on most every list of famous Freemasons. Today I was lucky enough to have spent the day with my daughter and her 4th grade class on a field trip to his amazing house in Hartford Connecticut. He lived there for what he called the happiest years of his life from 1874-1891, raised his family there and wrote some of his most famous books there.<br />I was absolutely thrilled to be in the same place where such an iconic man had lived and must admit as I walked up the grand three story staircase in the heart of the mansion and was allowed to touch the banister on the way up (about the only thing you are alowed to) I tried to absorb as much mojo as possible from whatever infinitesimal matter was left on it from one of the most amazing and influential writers of all time.<i> I have been in such a horrible writing funk that I need ancient magic to get my creative juices flowing again. </i>Anyways, the tour was fantastic and I admonish all that live in the area to make the trip but I digress.<br />Like usual I hit Google afterwards to soak up as much useless information as possible about my long dead brother. Unfortunately, like many men on the famous Freemason list, his stint in the order was short lived. He went through the Masonic degrees in a flurry in 1861 did not do much else in the craft and then demitted in 1868. Curiously enough on his trip to the holy land that spawned his first best seller <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innocents_Abroad" target="_blank">Innocents Abroad</a>, </i>he cut down a cedar tree outside the walls of Jerusalem and had a gavel made of it that he presented to his mother lodge just shortly before he ended his Masonic career...a parting gift?<br />As I have gone through my struggles with the order...or my lodge... or whatever I have received so many thoughtful emails and comments and calls from brothers from all over this once great nation that I finally sent that check to my mother lodge to keep me in good standing. As one good friend and brother I talked to about my struggles said to me as I questioned my paying up and keeping in good standing "you will always be my friend but I hope that I will continue to call you brother." While that may sound contrite to some, like I would not be his brother anymore if I didn't send my check in, it was a very honest request that I keep in the mainstream so he would not have to violate his obligation to call me brother resonated with me. So here I am.<br />I leave you with a quote from Brother Samuel.<br /><i><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit;">"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore."</span></i><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-17255686401201633562013-02-07T22:10:00.002-05:002013-02-07T22:10:55.400-05:00Polarizing Light<b>Pure Light Radiates Everywhere.</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mYVfgiCAQ6M/URRY8H8flqI/AAAAAAAAAjs/kq57XNyw_Gk/s1600/PureLight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mYVfgiCAQ6M/URRY8H8flqI/AAAAAAAAAjs/kq57XNyw_Gk/s200/PureLight.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The star your eye sees as a tiny speck of light in the nighttime sky is just the tiniest, infinitesimal fraction of the original radiance that occurred in every direction in a fusion reaction that happened in some unfathomable distance away from your visual cortex.<br />Think about that. Its like a hurricane blowing away a beach and you getting hit with one grain of sand on the opposite side of the world. You will never understand the beauty of the whole beach from the microscopic piece that hit you. Yet somehow we do.<br />Now take something that is semi transparent and block the light.<br />Light, if my rudimentary understanding of physics is correct, is an electromagnetic wave that travels everywhere. When an object is placed in between the source and our receptor it does not just get blocked completely but our ability to sense it does. This is an arbitrary loss of sense.<br />A piece of red glass does not change the pure light to red it limits what part of the light we see.<br /><b>Light is unchanging.</b><br /><b>Are you following yet?</b><br />Like a star, we beings of dust on this tiny rock in the universe, have the ability to radiate light.<br />Out of nothing we can create something.<br /><b>That, is pure power.</b><br />Our thoughts and actions are sent out like light waves in all directions, to be received or not, but regardless if they happen to hit a sentient receiver, they exist.<br />When our waves of light are received by someone without a filter of prejudice or history or tradition they have the ability to resonate with that being and that light is given fully to another.<br /><i>But we all have filters and lenses that polarize light.</i><br />How do we remove these things that change the way we see light that is emanated?<br />Its not easy. <br />First we must understand that we are all creators of light. No matter where it comes from it has the ability to bring something new to where something was not.<br />Second we must remove the filters that make us see the light in a different shade and recognize that polarized light is not what was originated from the source. It is and will always be pure and radiant.<br />And thirdly if we can, we must find what that light was originally intended to bring out of darkness because <b>pure light radiates everywhere and illuminates.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>The red light you see is only from a polarizing filter that is in between you and pure light.</b><br /><br /><br /><b><br /></b><br /><br /><b><br /></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-41750660026236787332013-01-11T22:56:00.001-05:002013-01-11T23:04:04.420-05:00Mandatory Proficiency, Edicts and Free?masonry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwevBoFa-Pk/UPDeOaSS3gI/AAAAAAAAAjc/cZFKT6lMxMM/s1600/G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me,_Jean-L%C3%A9on_-_Moses_on_Mount_Sinai_Jean-L%C3%A9on_G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_-1895-1900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwevBoFa-Pk/UPDeOaSS3gI/AAAAAAAAAjc/cZFKT6lMxMM/s320/G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me,_Jean-L%C3%A9on_-_Moses_on_Mount_Sinai_Jean-L%C3%A9on_G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_-1895-1900.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>What do we do?</b><br /><i>What can we do?</i><br /><b>We have to do something...</b><br /><i><br /></i><i>What came first the Freemason or the ritual that made him?</i><br /><b>The ritual.</b><br /><i>How so?</i><br /><b>It is what separates us from the other animal or benefit clubs.</b><br /><i>Then why is the ritual different in every jurisdiction and not universal...we are the universal brotherhood?</i><br /><b>It is close enough...its not about the ritual anyway...</b><br /><i>Why is the ritual different within every jurisdiction?</i><br /><b>Stop asking questions and memorize your ritual.</b><br /><i><br /></i><i>Free.......</i><br /><br />So here we are, in a light speed age of information where the most mundane facts and nuggets of knowledge are readily accessible with the slightest swish of a finger tip by any human and we come to the realization that we have an ancient order with readily accessible secrets and a stagnating or dwindling number of men who wish to become or stay a member of our fraternity. In a number of meetings and discussions it becomes apparent that the Craft needs to change its ways or die.<br /><br /><i>What do we change?</i><br /><b>Ohhh that old rule that you have to go through the initiation yourself and take your time to learn what it is to be a member...the kids now a days want things fast, in an instant even. Let's do it all in a day. Come in in the morning, give a check, sit in a theater and watch the whole thing and walk out with a membership card...ohhh they'll come in in droves.</b><br /><b><br /></b>So what did we learn? The type of man who wants things in an instant is not the type of man we need to bring back the glory days of the Craft.<br /><br />Back to the trestleboard.<br /><br /><b>I got it, I got it!! It's that other silly old rule that we don't recruit or ask men to join...that's our problem. The young guys out there just don't know what we are about. Let's do fancy advertising campaigns and while we are at it, let's throw open our doors and let them in to see what we are all about...that'll bring them in to stay...</b><br /><b><br /></b>Books, blogs, websites, commercials, movies and open houses brought them in finally, but like before many of those who came to knock on the West Gate came out of curiosity and not a deep desire to change their beings from a rough ashlar to the perfect stone capable of building upon. Making yourself a better man was the original promise wasn't it?<br /><br /><b>That was it! Ohhh we got a bunch of guys now and they are coming to the meetings but they keep on asking questions and frankly I don't know how to answer them. How do we keep them from straying? They have so many options out there and I am not quite sure that we are delivering on the promise of what we advertised. They are looking for Benjamin Franklin while we are sitting around Colonel Sanders...What makes us different???</b><br /><i>The RITUAL!</i><br /><b>Yeah! You are right. That is what separates us, it is the ritual of becoming a Master Mason that makes us the greatest fraternity in the world. We need to stress that it is important to learn the ritual and what it is to be a Freemason. Education is what they are after. Let's give it to them!</b><br /><b><br /></b>With the renewed interest in Freemasonry, and for the first time in a long time a slight uptick in men joining, it became imperative, that the Freemasonry that was in the commercials and banners was what was experienced in the lodge room and Masonic Education was inculcated. But what education was brought to the eager or curious minds? Deep thought? Insight into the common and universal plight of a boy into manhood? Not usually. We dragged out the extended edition directors cut of Freemason lectures to men who didn't even read the book.<br /><br /><b>They are not staying! What are we doing wrong? Isn't it that old school stuff they were after?...We gave it to them?</b><br /><i>Who gave it to them?</i><br /><b>Ohhh you're right! And when you are right you are right and brother you are right! The guys that were educating were not educated enough to give the education. We need guidelines and stricter controls of who and how the new young guys get the Masonic experience. Let's certify that every man who is leading a lodge can deliver the goods...but how do we test them? It is not something easily defined that separates those special brothers that can keep 'em listening...I got it!</b><br /><i>Philosophy? Esoterica? 7 liberal arts and sciences? I cant imagine how we can test the modern masonic leader to insure that we create a healthy fraternity?</i><br /><b>Ritual.</b><br /><i>Ritual?? I'm not so sure...it is not even something that is exactly standard in our small jurisdiction. </i><br /><b>Listen, hidden in our ritual is the deep stuff that these new guys are seeking. If we can ensure that every new man in the order receives the standard ritual in the way it is in our book at least we know they are getting something that they are after... They want this esoteric stuff and if we give it to them good they will stay...right?</b><br /><b><br /></b>So here we are in one of the worlds oldest fraternities. Once the ground-spring for development and change in the entire planet and a blueprint for how an educated society of equals can survive and prosper and we find ourselves forcing men to deliver empty words perfectly to curious minds who may or may not listen to those words and more often than not take the words themselves for granted.<br />I have said this numerous times and in countless ways.<br />Freemasonry needs men who are looking for something better and it <b>can</b> deliver.<br /><b>Perfect ritual performed by someone who doesn't even really know your name or who you are, can not deliver the initiatic and deeply spiritual things that are hidden within its veils.</b><br />The ritual is not in itself the thing that can save our fraternity.<br />Nor is camaraderie.<br />Nor is a fancy lodge room.<br />I go back to an old description of the Order I joined and seek everyday.<br /><b><br /></b><br /><h3><b>Freemasonry is a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.</b></h3><b><br /></b><b><i>And that is all that it is...</i></b><br /><br />Think about that my brothers, ponder that description, take that building block and make a temple.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qeKk9cjsgCE/UPDeFLMF4qI/AAAAAAAAAjU/O2EslgxtUjM/s1600/Septem-artes-liberales_Herrad-von-Landsberg_Hortus-deliciarum_1180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qeKk9cjsgCE/UPDeFLMF4qI/AAAAAAAAAjU/O2EslgxtUjM/s640/Septem-artes-liberales_Herrad-von-Landsberg_Hortus-deliciarum_1180.jpg" width="483" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><b><i>Eureka! We have much work to do...</i></b><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-13327283741515042752012-12-09T15:40:00.000-05:002012-12-09T15:40:04.974-05:00The Unmentionable Spector<br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OCFrFTr0LcE/UMTPzRh4VBI/AAAAAAAAAi4/wojrmPe6uHo/s1600/MMMthegreat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OCFrFTr0LcE/UMTPzRh4VBI/AAAAAAAAAi4/wojrmPe6uHo/s400/MMMthegreat.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>This has and will always be a personal blog about my journey into and around Freemasonry, albeit a somewhat anonymous one. I have always been candid and frank about most of my experiences. I have written things that I probably should not have and have held back some things that I should more than once.<br />Apart from some minor posts in the last year my writing has all but dried up like so many other Masonic bloggers around what was once a very exciting and vibrant group of like minded individuals.<br />For me the muse that once fed my fervent prose has gone.<br />Like many men before me, I was a seeker of light and discovered the ancient fraternity out of a combination of deep need and heady research. There are many outlets available for a man to dedicate his time and energy to and my spirit was drawn, like a moth to flame, to a brotherhood represented by two builders tools locked in an iconic embrace.<br />I have stated numerous times and in way too many ways on this site of what I found when I approached and passed through the West Gate on my way to the East. I dove in head first following my heart and the providence that led me to the ancient craft. Like an infatuated youth the order held my thoughts every waking minute and my dreams at night. In retrospect I am ashamed at how much of my energy and valuable thoughts were taken away from my precious wife and children by my devotion to Freemasonry, but that is how my personality is, I do not do anything half way.<br /><i>So where am I, you might ask.</i><br />Well, last spring I finally got a job equal to my skills after a long drought of layoffs and part time work. My new job has eaten up allot of my time and energy but at least I am getting paid well for it. Masonicly I have not stepped foot in my lodge for over a year now. I have kept up with what has been going on there but the last time I was at lodge it was made crystal clear to me that what I had tried to do was not wanted or appreciated. I had attempted to demit but was talked out of it and have questioned my decision ever since. My thoughts and ideas of what lodge I would like to belong to has completely changed and my old lodge fits none of them.<br />Others who followed me in the idea of a "different kind of lodge" have also dropped off and although I had nothing to do with anyone's decision directly, the blame has been laid at my feet. In fact at the most recent election (<i>of which I could not attend because I was hundreds of miles away at work nor any intention of going to anyway</i>) the rumor that was murmured around the room was that I was going to show up out of nowhere and "start some trouble," like some phantom menace....<i>Oh my god I am Voldemort!</i><br />Just hearing of what has been said in my absence hurts me to the core and the idea of what was accomplished in the five years of my dedication to a positive idea as being labeled "trouble," has led me to believe that my continued support of men who do not want it is unwarranted.<br />Under my Grand Lodges rules and regulations a brother may demit form his lodge if his dues are paid in full. I would then receive a certificate of demit which would make me a kind of unsigned Freemason free agent. The ramifications of this decision are heavy especially since I am not a member of another lodge and my "regularity" would be in question. I don't know what to do, but I no longer belong to the group of men who I called brother for so long...<i>at least not all of them</i>.<br />Over the past year I have received numerous calls and emails from the readers of this blog that have lifted my spirit and cemented my decision in joining Freemasonry in the first place. If it weren't for you, or this work of love, I may well have just given up on the craft altogether. I still wear my ring although lately I have gone days without taking it out of the small jeans pocket where it resides when not on my finger.<br />My questions still linger. My spirit has taken quite a blow.<br /><i>There is much work to be done.</i></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-19120209428651805872012-08-26T20:48:00.002-04:002012-08-26T20:48:39.126-04:00The Lonely EsotericThe Craft gather,<br /><div>the spirit is up.</div><div>They share a meal,</div><div>they share a cup. </div><div>Camaraderie and fellowship</div><div>is everywhere, </div><div>yet the deeper meanings</div><div>are lost.</div><div><br /></div><div>The gavel cracks on stone,</div><div>get to your seat.</div><div>The purging and Tileing</div><div>and opening greet.</div><div>The Wardens the Deacons</div><div>are doing their jobs,</div><div>but the words fall on </div><div>deaf ears.</div><div><br /></div><div>We do what we do</div><div>'cause its always been done.</div><div>The ritual the language</div><div>for some are not fun.</div><div>But silently, the one who knows and learns</div><div>absorbs everything said and performed.</div><div>The Lonely Esoteric.</div><div><br /></div><div>Everything has a reason</div><div>to most it's just lost..<br />Every sound, every motion<br />are friverously tossed<br />Round the secret closed room like<br />some silly old play without a<br />worthy director.<br /><br />Was it ever understood,<br />or just simply hummed?<br />Like a familiar old tune<br />with words that were dumbed.<br />So that more could learn it and<br />spread it around and not even know<br />what they're singing.<br /><br />Perhaps<br /><br />Or maybe it's structure<br />was carefully decided.<br />To carefully conceal it<br />from ones we should hide it.<br />And gather stray seekers one spark at a time<br />who will see it<br />for what it is worth.<br /><br />A strange ancient beacon<br />with knowledge just hidden.<br />For some small groups of men<br />to great things are always bidden<br />like a bird to a flower<br />that hides its sweet<br />nectar.<br /><br />Then one after one<br />after disappointment and trial.<br />Gather themselves together<br />Regardless the mile,<br />of distance they traveled<br />and create a smoldering<br />fire.<br /><br />Be not lonely esoteric,<br />just be patient and true.<br />For your comrades are waiting<br />to come and join you.<br />They are lost and wondering<br />and hungry for more learning and just need<br />a good place to gather.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-176803936564365232012-06-05T15:44:00.000-04:002012-06-05T22:40:08.064-04:00Observing the Lecture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8TgGtQDx0no/T87C5U0tWpI/AAAAAAAAAhw/to9YPQ1kCio/s1600/Observer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8TgGtQDx0no/T87C5U0tWpI/AAAAAAAAAhw/to9YPQ1kCio/s320/Observer.png" width="320" /></a></div>Last night I had the distinct pleasure of traveling with 3 dear Brothers from the lodge I was once Master to visit another "Old St. Johns Lodge" here in Connecticut. We spent a little over an hour in the car to get there, but because of the tremendous amount of fellowship and Brotherly love we have for each other, it seemed like a few fleeting moments. We talked and laughed and griped, but the first two were more prevalent in the cigar smoke filled SUV as we traveled up the valley from the coast to the heart of our small state.<br />Why did this small band of Brothers undertake this journey you ask?<br />Well, we were on our way to have dinner and enjoy a lecture from Worshipful Brother Andrew Hammer, author and Past Master of <a href="http://aw22.org/" target="_blank">Alexandria-Washington Lodge no. 22</a> in Virginia (which apparently had some famous founding father of the United States as a member in the past with the initials G.W.). His book, <a href="http://observingthecraft.com/" target="_blank">Observing The Craft</a> was the topic of the evening and his host was <a href="http://www.wyllysstjohnslodge04.org/" target="_blank">Wyllys St. Johns Lodge no. 4</a>, in West Hartford Connecticut. I had been meaning to travel up to Wyllys St. Johns for a while, as they are the first lodge in Connecticut, I believe, to institute a <a href="http://thenortheasterncorner.com/2007/11/discourse-on-chamber-of-reflection.html" target="_blank">Chamber of Reflection</a> and the guest speaker was an added incentive to make the trip. No sooner had I sent out an email to the like minded Brothers in my old Lodge announcing that I was traveling, I received immediate positive responses to join me.<br />We arrived in a misty rain and entered the big brick building with the classical facade just in time for a tour and some idle chat. I had said hello to our graceful and ever ebullient Deputy Grand Master who introduced me to a young dedicated Brother that also is a reader of this blog. One of the greatest thrills I receive is talking to someone who reads my stuff and I was very glad for meeting this new Brother and talking about my last post and his journey so far in the craft. I cut short our conversation and caught up with my traveling party just in time to be taken to the Chamber of Reflection.<br />What can I say... I certainly had heart palpitations when I saw it and I think I can say that we were all floored by the simple room in the attic of this huge temple and how it must affect the men who are voted in to receive the degrees of our Order. You can read about these chambers and see pictures of what is in them, but until you step into a well appointed room set aside for this purpose you cant imagine what it would be like to be in one. The walls were painted black with the word V.I.T.R.I.O.L and a few other alchemical symbols in white. A small desk with a skull and bone, salt, sulpher, a picture of a rooster and a picture of a skeleton were against one wall and a lone mirror was on the other. All lit by a single flickering lamp. It was beautifully done. The Chamber of Reflection in this lodge was just recently incorporated into their ritual and the long term effect it may have on the lodge is not yet known, but the Master of the lodge said you can see the difference on the candidates faces when they exit the room before their Masonic journey begins. I am definitely jealous and wish that my quest started in such a profound and introspective room.<br />Wyllys-St. Johns has one of the youngest officer lines in the state and their rallying cry to a deeper Freemasonry has been the book that we came to hear about, <b>Observing The Craft</b>.<br />W:.B:. Hammer has been a Freemason a little longer than I and we have had a similar experience along our paths. We both joined old lodges. We both were searching for a place to tie ourselves to the bigger things in life by joining and we didn't find what we were looking for. Our biggest differences are that he took a break in the beginning to regroup and I am taking a break now, and he has that charming British accent and I have a semi-New York cabby way of talking.<br />His book is all about restoring the foundation that he and I both believe is what our fraternity was meant to be: <b><i>an initiatic Order where men come to grow themselves both mentally and spiritually</i></b>. For most of his lecture I sat there just nodding my head, loving the fact that another Brother had put down all of the things I have said on this blog in a book form and is traveling the country giving talks to lodges about it. Brother Andrew has never read my blog but in my head I was thinking back to posts I had written over the last 5 years and saying <i>Here Here </i>in my head. I have still yet to read the book and will follow up with a proper review when I finish but one of his finer points that I took from his talk was what he disliked about how his lodge was "sold" to prospective members and how he has changed it.<br />He said when he came into his lodge, the three questions asked by the investigating committee were;<br />1. Do you believe in God? 2. Are you the proper age? And 3. Do you know that George Washington was a member of our lodge? It is an enlightening point that shows that most lodges are not looking for men to better themselves but simply looking for another dues paying member to whisk through the degrees and get the money and they try to sell sell sell our fraternity to any man that walks through the door. I for one was guilty of similar selling with my old lodge and could not wait to give the prospective member my long winded tour, with historical undertones, in hopes to try and keep them interested.<br />Brother Andrew's most profound statement was that<b> he was more interested in making a lodge where George Washington would want to be a member, than one that sat on the laurels that he <i>once</i> was.</b><br /><i><b>That one hit deep.</b></i> A lodge that is more interested in the men who belong to it or want to be a part of it than the ones who once did. That is what I want in a lodge. Not to diminish my obsession with history in the least, which is what distracted much of my time in my old lodge but I never saw the forest for the trees.<br />The little trip I took last night to eat a good meal, enjoy...really enjoy the company of my Brothers and leave on a higher level than when I came is what I joined Freemasonry for, not to be in a dusty old building filled with priceless artifacts...well I never will get over my obsession with history, I just need to separate it from what I want in a lodge.<br />Thank you Brothers of Wyllys St. Johns no. 4,<br />Bravo Worshipful Brother Andrew Hammer,<br />You have both done your job on this Traveling Man.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-63632074855500515882012-05-21T22:53:00.002-04:002012-05-21T23:15:32.057-04:00A Recognized Traveling Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0DpyTVWneOc/T7r_Xjvnv-I/AAAAAAAAAhU/XkBabE2PPJc/s1600/bartholdi_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0DpyTVWneOc/T7r_Xjvnv-I/AAAAAAAAAhU/XkBabE2PPJc/s320/bartholdi_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit;">I think that there is one thing that all Freemasons can agree upon.<i> Freemasons agree upon something...that is preposterous</i>, I know you may say, but yes I think I know one thing that is truly universally appreciated in our fraternity. It is something that unifies us into a congruous mass of men, freely traveling this time and space. It is something that will uplift the most despondent brother or make the quietest mason suddenly talk with a smile on his face...</span><br /><div><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit;">My daughter was elated all week long and the night before our trip she could not sleep. The third grade was going into the city to reinforce their current study of immigration into the United States by spending the day at one of the most iconic of all symbols, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit;">The copper giantess holding the torch of freedom as a beacon to the world is, in my opinion, one of the greatest monuments ever erected on this planet. The huge statue was not erected to memorialize a king or leader, or to mark the place of a significant battle. No, this colossus was envisioned by men from a country founded upon the same enlightenment ideals as the United States, as a gift to uplift America during its most trying time, the American Civil War.</span><br /><div><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit;">The idea for <i style="line-height: 19px;">La Liberté éclairant le monde</i><i style="line-height: 19px;"> </i><span style="line-height: 19px;">(Liberty Enlightening the World), the statues original name, came during a dinner at </span>Édouard René de Laboulaye's home in France. Laboulaye was a law professor and politician who was a tremendous admirer of the American Constitution. This dinner was attended by many Freemasons including the Marquis deLafayette's grandsons Oscar and Edmond, Henri Martin a historian and prominent Mason, and a young artist Frédéric Bartholdi, a member of <span style="line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;">Lodge Alsace Lorraine, in Paris.</span></span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;">During the dinner, Laboulaye said that it would be fitting that a monument to freedom be erected in the United States and that it should be a joint effort between France and America. The idea continued in conversations between Bartholdi and Laboulaye, but was delayed by the Franco-Prussian War and the politically repressive situation in France under Napoleon III. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">After many years and significant monetary support from Freemasons in France, the </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">Statue</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> of Liberty was erected on an island in New York Harbor so that all who entered America could sail past a symbol of </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">friendship</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> and freedom.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">So there I was, responsible for a few third graders for the day, not only for their safety but also the weighty responsibility of enlightening their minds. Us </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">chaperons</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> had free reign on how we spent the day with our kids once we landed on Liberty Island so as soon as the ferry hit the dock we were off. We quickly headed towards the back of the monument where we had run into a Bartholdi impersonator on our last visit here but he was no where to be found on this trip. I rambled on about the history of the statue and the Island, my </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">daughter</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> is used to my haughty historical side and I was worried that the other two kids might not catch on, but they were enjoying it just as much as my girl. We touched a stone from the quarry where the copper ore that was used for the statue came and the boy in our group kept noticing how the other groups just passed it by or stood on top of it not knowing what it really was.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">It was a overcast day, there were not </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">allot</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> of tourists and we quickly breezed around the Island towards the front. We snuck into a tour group to hear what they were learning and took some good pictures under our lady then headed back behind the statue for some lunch.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">All of the wrought iron tables were vacant as they still had some residual rain on them from the morning but we </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">decided</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> to sit at one anyway when out of nowhere a gentleman in a parks uniform appeared. he saw our table dilemma and without hesitation pulled out a rag to dry off the chairs and the table all the while asking the kids if they were enjoying lady liberty. I asked him what he did on the island and he told us that he was the keeper of the torch, the only one allowed to climb up the small ladder through the statues arm to take care of her beacon of freedom. It was such a special treat to talk to him that I had the kids take a picture with Louis Prosper. His kind manners and ebullient attitude left quite an impression on our little group and what a name for the keeper of the torch. He grabbed his hard hat that he had put to the side while he dried our eating spot and trotted off to the monument on his way to the top while we said thanks and waved goodbye.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Uplifted by our chance encounter we ate lunch, excitedly talking about our great few hours so far and rushed to the dock just in time to catch the ferry over to Ellis Island. We stood in the bow of the ferry and I asked the kids to imagine themselves sailing past the Statue and coming into Ellis Island as immigrants recently separated from their family and friends. The ferry approached the other island and we went downstairs to get first in line to get off and spend the rest of our day </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">learning</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> about the peopling of the United States.</span></span><br /><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">I kept telling the kids to stand close and to pay attention and had my hand on my daughters shoulder when a man next to me said " I see you're a traveling man." He looked about my age, had a backpack on and must have noticed my ring.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">"I certainly am Brother," I replied and we exchanged a friendly grip. He told me he was from a lodge in Brooklyn and that he worked in the museum on Ellis Island. I said how nice it always is to run into another Freemason to which he said I would be surprised how often he runs into brethren at the park. He then told me how he had helped </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">organize</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> a </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">re-dedication</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> of the corner stone with full masonic ceremony by the Grand Lodge of New York and New Jersey which must have been such an amazing </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">experience</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> given all of the Masonic connections with the statue. Before I knew it the ferry docked and my Brother was wishing us a great rest of our visit and bid us a fond </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">farewell</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> and headed into the building. </span></span><br /><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">We spent the rest of the afternoon thoroughly enjoying exploring the beautiful building where so many people began their quest in America, including my own grandparents. My little tour group had a great time and learned allot.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">So </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">that's</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> it.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #073763; font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">I think that is the one thing all Freemasons can agree upon, because I see stories like this one all of the time on social media and they are always liked by all of the Brethren...</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">being </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;">recognized</span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><b> as a Brother while traveling is awesome...that is why I always wear my ring....</b></span></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background-color: #073763; line-height: 21px;">And spending the day with your child learning and enjoying each others company is the greatest time spent in the world.</span></b></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-4477720440914753432012-04-08T21:06:00.000-04:002013-02-12T22:26:11.776-05:00A Coal Away From The Fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WFm0XuOFnRk/URsHqw7B7lI/AAAAAAAAAj8/NGMBZ2S5-Us/s1600/mmiphone+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WFm0XuOFnRk/URsHqw7B7lI/AAAAAAAAAj8/NGMBZ2S5-Us/s200/mmiphone+006.JPG" width="149" /></a></div>I enjoyed a very nice conversation the other night with a very good friend and current WM of a local lodge the other evening while we waited for loved ones to finish what they were doing. He told me of what was going on in his lodge and I listened with as much interest and empathy as only one who has served his lodge can understand. The strange thing about the whole chat, was that for the first time in many years the attentive ear my friend received was as far from being an active mason as it has ever been. I have been as far away from a lodge as I have ever been since I have written this blog and I am not sure of how I feel about it.<br />There are many factors that have led to my hiatus, including finally finding a very challenging and time consuming job, along with the usual constraints of being a father of three with a wife who works full time also, along with some other heavy baggage that you may be full aware. All of these things have led to my not going to my lodge or any other lodge for that matter. I am still a Freemason, a very proud one at that, I still wear my masonic ring everyday and answer the usual questions that comes with wearing such regalia but the farther I get away from going to lodge regularly the more I begin to ask the question of what it is I gained from regular attendance.<br />This question in my mind makes the Past Master in me shiver to my essence. When I was the one trying to get the brethren out to every stated communication or to the various events that were planned, I would think that the brothers that weren't there had somehow fallen off the wagon, masonically speaking, or had lost what it is that makes us an order. It was a very narrow minded thought but it is definitely one that every dedicated officer has at every poorly attended gathering.<br />The further I get away from regular attendance, the more I have garnered the question of what it is that makes us "Free" masons. Was slavish devotion to our home lodge thought of when the masonic order was developed? Is the lodge we are raised in the end all be all of our masonic existence, or were we meant to be the traveling men we call ourselves? These are tough questions, but I have no doubt that many brothers like myself have found themselves at a masonic crossroad where they have found these questions echoing in their head.<br />I have not the answer, I travel on.<br />What have you discovered?<div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-17641621436178114812012-02-26T11:59:00.001-05:002012-02-26T12:05:04.626-05:00Reflected Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e0NKkWxHgkc/T0pjrBcA7MI/AAAAAAAAAf4/wgdtHulFDOA/s1600/reflect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e0NKkWxHgkc/T0pjrBcA7MI/AAAAAAAAAf4/wgdtHulFDOA/s320/reflect.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Sometimes all I can do is reflect brilliant light.<br /><br />Please go to <a href="http://fromdarknesstolight-somoteitbe.blogspot.com/2012/02/leadership-in-freemasonry-complicated.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">From Darkness to Light</span></b></a> by Bro. Vick for a well thought essay on leadership from someone who knows all about it.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-49180603290332968322012-02-03T12:50:00.000-05:002012-02-03T12:50:32.923-05:00We Meet UP, On The Level<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m_U2ENUDItk/Tywa8zJd-2I/AAAAAAAAAfs/PuVEzeayEb4/s1600/uponthelevel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" sda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m_U2ENUDItk/Tywa8zJd-2I/AAAAAAAAAfs/PuVEzeayEb4/s400/uponthelevel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Speculative Freemasonry began at a time when the world was a conglomeration of despotic monarchical, quasi theocratic societies, where the vast majority of the human population was kept in the dark both spiritually and mentally. The differences in quality of life for the common ditch digger to the shop keeper were minimal at best. Only the aristocracy and clergy led the life of high comfort, with the masses living in virtual squalor. The common man was uneducated and his mind was constantly filled with a well thought out litany of deprecating drivel, to keep him subservient to those who were in power.<br /><br /><br />This way of life had existed since the dawn of man. No matter what god given talents an individual was blessed with, if he or she was born in a certain class of society, the chances of raising ones status or quality of life was slim to none. The number of bright and talented humans that must have had their natural spark extinguished by a dreary labor filled existence must be countless. The reality of the lives of the common man revolved around scratching out a meager living, and whole hearted devotion to a church that was complicit in keeping them down, then came a revolution in thought.<br /><br />Somewhere in the early 18th century Reason began to replace Religion and small groups of like minded individuals started to meet in closed spaces to discuss ideas that if discovered, could cost them their lives. It has been theorized that this wellspring of radical thinking began as a way to justify the Protestant Reformation. Democracy replacing Monarchy, Liberty replacing Dogma, are key ideas that caught fire in the minds of individuals that had been repressed from birth to death. The lower classed people wanted to become better, and they used a tool that they had been given at birth that sat unused for the most part, their mind.The advent of the printing press and the growth of literacy spread to the repressed people like wildfire. <br /><br />But where could the intelligent farmer and the smart blacksmith meet with the merchant and the ship captain to discuss these blasphemous ideas that made so much sense? Not church. Not on the town green. No, men of increased intelligence needed to meet in secret to elevate themselves and society.<br /><br />In France they met in Salons, in England it was the public house or coffee house. From these back rooms the challenge was put forth to educate and illuminate the people. Debate, discussion, and dissemination occurred between men and women who wanted to learn and grow in thought and spirit. It was not a place to grumble about their lot in life, but a place to dream about what they could attain if they used their god given gift of reason and higher thought.<br /><br />Enter Speculative Freemasonry, what was a guild for the association of men who built in stone, became a social meeting place for men who would build in spirit and thought. The lodge was the earliest form of pure democracy. Liberty, fraternity, and equality were the values that cemented the forum where the lowest man could elevate himself to be a master. The constitution and laws of the order and elections of the men who were championed to lead it, were a micro-society that formed a model that would change the world. Freemasonry was a nonreligious venue to make cross societal contacts in an effort to make good men better.<br /><br />This phrase “making good men better” is the ten cent answer that most members of the craft use to explain what the purpose of Freemasonry is. It is a blanket statement that only touches upon what the purpose of the fraternity is meant to be. What exactly does going to a Masonic meeting or going through the three degrees do to make a man who is “good” “better”. <br /><br />In modern times, does listening to arcane enlightenment language in itself lead to making a “better” man? Does voting on how and when to pay for the dinner you eat at the meeting bring a brother to a higher level of thought? Is the ritual of opening a lodge to do business then promptly closing it in the same way, a way to enlighten the minds of the gathered brethren? Is the reason a man goes through three degrees of “initiation” only, to sit on the sideline to watch more initiations?<br /><br />The answer to these questions is a resounding NO! The ritual of Freemasonry was meant to be used as a tool to unlock the greatness that lies in <strong><em>some</em></strong> men. The degrees of the order were meant as a means to weed out those, who would by their association in the fraternity, bring <em>down </em>the “level” of their fellow members. Long times between degrees and requirements of demonstrating an understanding of the ideals of the fraternity were once the norm, although in the name of numbers this practice has generally disappeared in the United States.<br /><br />Masons meet on the level, by the plumb, and act on the square. The idea of meeting on the level has been subverted into the belief that we must bring ourselves down to the level of the lowliest brother. Like the American society we live in, efforts to make oneself better are misconstrued as being elitist and that term has been perverted into a bad word. The smartest and the brightest are ostracized and it is more acceptable to make yourself out to be like the lowliest type of person, a full reversal of what the enlightenment had achieved hundreds of years ago. In the name of egalitarianism we are made to believe that all men are created equal and that equality transcends the actions and intentions of a man his entire life.<br /><br />All men are <strong><em>created</em></strong> equal. After creation, it is up to the individual to live up to the standards and laws of the highest form of nature that surrounds them. <strong><em>Equal creation does not mean equal existence.</em></strong> The Great Architect of the Universe, has laid out for man an amazing world for which greatness is possible of attaining if only his creations strive to recognize the divine in what surrounds them. The mystical practice of Freemasonry when lived by its supplicants to the highest level possible, can elevate the men who knock on its gates. The format is there but the practice is missing in American Freemasonry.<br /><br />“The Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God” is another Masonic axiom that has been turned around on itself. In a familial context we can better understand this idea. A man is born onto parents who he will devote his life to. If the parents have another child, it is accepted into that devotion. A man will take care of his brother before he takes care of a stranger. Associations of like minded individuals became like families to those who met and shared together, and the endearing term to use between these group members became what they already used to call their siblings, brother or sister. The Masonic saying of a Brotherhood of man under a Fatherhood of God does not encompass all of God’s creations, only those of which we can find that familiar bond to call Brother. Even in our fraternity it is hard to find men who you would consider your actual brother, especially since West Gate was turned into a floodgate.<br /><br />The good thing about the order of Freemasons, is that it is a beacon that draws <em>some</em> men of that higher calling, <strong><em>not as many as it used to</em></strong>, but it still does. Like a light in the dark that attracts all types of insects because of its resemblance to the sun, the light of Freemasonry draws all types of man. It is up to the individual Mason to distinguish between the ones who come out of curiosity, or in simple awe of light, and the ones who look at the light and want to know why it shines. Only by associating with the ones who are striving to understand and truly become “Better” can we meet upon, or more correctly <strong><em>UP </em></strong>on the level.<br /><br />Like the pyramid that starts on the ground with many stones and drives up towards the heavens, on each successive course there are fewer and fewer blocks. The higher it reaches the closer and smaller the groups become, until it reaches a single point and in that single point lies infinity. We must level UP.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-8322458685645714562012-02-01T15:37:00.001-05:002012-02-01T15:39:36.158-05:00Masonic Ornithology Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mLmKqRiXIDI/TymLGX8oi6I/AAAAAAAAAfk/EusR3ZYwfxc/s1600/ornithology.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mLmKqRiXIDI/TymLGX8oi6I/AAAAAAAAAfk/EusR3ZYwfxc/s200/ornithology.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>In continuation of my descriptions of particularly prevalent pontificators with precellent plumage, that I began in <a href="http://thenortheasterncorner.com/2009/08/peacocks-and-pomposity.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Peacocks and Pompocity</i></b></a>, I would like to turn my brothers attention to another pernicious pecking creature that pervades once great halls of knowledge that were temples...<br />The Parrot<br />This eye catching bird is at first a very amusing and endearing pet. With training, a parrot can vocalize words much like its human owner. One particular specimen named N'kisi has an impressive vocabulary of over 950 words and is reported to have quite a good sense of humor. The key to training these animals to mimic the language of a human, is to <b><i>give them lots of one on one attention and reward them for repeating whatever phrase you wish them to vocalize</i></b>. High praise or a favorite treat are perfect rewards for your talking bird...<br /><br />Do you see where I am going with this?<br /><br />The masonic parrot is a particularly harmful creature when it is realized that perfect mimicry of particular language can be often confused as understanding. We all know the species. Word for word they can recite masonic ritual, sometimes with convincing delivery. This bright plumage makes the masonic parrot an attractive member of the lodge indeed. Newer members, mesmerized by the recitation of arcane language will flock to and praise the masonic parrot. Older members will pat the masonic parrot on the back for doing things like they did in the old days. This praise is exactly what the masonic parrot is looking for. Like a cracker, the patting on the back and attention are what drive the masonic parrot to move further along in its delivery of the ancient language of the fraternity.<br />The aviary version of the parrot is cute and funny, amusing to all, but rarely are parrots allowed to use their ability to vocalize language to be confused with knowing what it is they are saying. The masonic parrot is entertaining until brothers start to confuse speaking words perfectly with actually knowing what they are talking about. When this confusion occurs the masonic parrot can be held in high regard and put into a position of power, this is when the masonic variety can become dangerous.<br />Imagine asking a parrot for advice on life's big questions.<br />They may hear trigger words and dive into already memorized phrases or if they are not triggered into a learned routine they may just spout out colloquialisms or riddles that make no sense to what was asked of them. Harmless right?<br />Imagine putting a parrot behind the wheel of a car.<br />That's crazy you say, I would never let my pet parrot drive my car but do we allow masonic parrots to lead a lodge? All of the time.<br />When the meaning of the language of the ritual of masonry is lost, it becomes just elevator music. It entertains you, kind of, but only for the short time you are locked in a room with it. You will never go out and find that muzak that you heard in the elevator and listen to it in your car or at home. The same thing goes with our ritual. If we just parrot the words and never internalize the deeper meanings or explore the teachings of our order with the brothers of our lodge in lodge why do we go?<br />To sit around a 3 foot wedge with loose acquaintances squawking meaningless drivel?<br />To trick new guys into buying into the fake mystique and get them to pay dues?<br />The problem with the masonic parrot is that once an intelligent brother discovers that all it takes to progress in the fraternity is to memorize meaningless words and spit them back to get huzzahs from the assembled, he quickly becomes disenfranchised with Freemasonry. If the purpose of the ritual is not to improve a mans understanding of himself and his roll in the society he belongs to, why go through the parroting?<br />Just get to the pizza and beer.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-44973806596733081802011-12-13T13:57:00.004-05:002011-12-13T14:16:30.945-05:00Rightous Indignation<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: inherit;">"It belongs to small-mindedness to be unable to bear either honor or dishonor, either good fortune or bad, but to be filled with conceit when honored and puffed up by trifling good fortune, and to be unable to bear even the smallest dishonor and to deem any chance failure a great misfortune, and to be distressed and annonyed at everything. Moreover the small-minded man is the sort of person to call all slights an insult and dishonor, even those that are due to ignorance or forgetfulness. Small-mindedness is accompanied by pettiness, querulousness, pessimism and self-abasement."--Aristotle, <i>Virtues and Vices</i> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gl-1lM4PbR8/TueK-hlIOSI/AAAAAAAAAe8/fUERvEynhOM/s1600/imagesCAOX54FX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gl-1lM4PbR8/TueK-hlIOSI/AAAAAAAAAe8/fUERvEynhOM/s1600/imagesCAOX54FX.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #ffd966;">"We may be angry and sin not; but this disposition may become sinful, and this in the highest degree. It is so when it is excessive, when it is rage, and makes us lose control of ourselves. It is so, and may become a vice, when it leads us to wish evil to those who have offended us. It is resentment when it prompts us to meet and repay evil by evil. It is vengeance when it impels us to crush those who have injured us. It is vindictiveness when it is seeking out ingeniously and laboriously means and instruments to give pain to those who have thwarted us. Already sin has entered." <em>James McCosh</em></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ffd966;">"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." </span><span style="color: #ffd966;"><em>Buddha </em></span><br /><br />and the most important ones for those of us with a blog.<br /><br /><span style="color: #ffd966;">Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. <em>Ambrose Bierce </em></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #f1c232;">Always write angry letters to your enemies. Never mail them." <em>James Fallows </em></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">So the dust has cleared, the fires are out and a survey of the battlefield is complete. I am human and as a human being I am capable of great things and small. As a Freemason I will continually struggle with subduing my passion, a recurring theme here at the North Eastern Corner, but as a human the fire of my passion can burn bright, it just needs to be kept under control. The best thing about a blog is it can be a great funnel to collect and channel my creative tendencies but that can also be a bad thing. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">For two years I have put myself out to lead my lodge and for two years I have been on the short end of things. It hurts. The first time,I did not stick my neck out but resolved myself that the Brothers would make the best decision. The second time I really put myself out there and they decided again. Both times I was not chosen by the people that were there on the night of the election. Duplicity and deceit abounded the second time around and I let the bad intentions of others blind me of the good intentions of the rest. In my humiliated rage I vented here on the corner and my angry words and thoughts, although quite profound and timely, polluted the light that I am capable of and for that I am sorry. I could not see the forest for the trees. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">In both elections and in the wee hour times after lodge I have spoken with men who want and believe in the same things as me. Twice now a large group of Brothers voted <strong><em>for</em></strong> something and were beaten by those who were voting <strong><em>against</em></strong> something. It has just been a numbers thing. Collectively there are more Brothers in my lodge that want to <strong><em>grow</em></strong> something than there are ones who want to <strong><em>watch</em></strong>. I let my small minded anger loose sight of this fact and asked for a demit in order to show those guys just how wrong they are and to separate myself from those that wronged me. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">This was completely justified in my small minded state because I was defaced and those that voted against me were evil and I wanted nothing to do with them. How could I sit in lodge with men who attacked me so? </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"> </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The funny thing about time is that we all have loads of it and our perception of that time greatly affects how we act. In my <strong>righteous indignation</strong> I surmised that my valuable time was not worth giving to those men who voted out of fear or ignorance <strong><em>against </em></strong>something, completely forgetting about the ones that voted <strong><em>for</em></strong> something. I acted upon this egregious assault and wanted to stomp off somewhere to sulk and regroup. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">I talked to many of my Bothers and up until last night was completely resolved to martyring myself for the cause of perfect Freemasonry. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Had time been against me my demit would have been accepted and I would have left something and many men who I have come to love and trust, but time was with me. As the blazing fire of my rage dissapated I looked out and saw a band of brothers circled around me waitng for the steady light to return and I realized that abandoning the things that had hurt me so would also leave behind those who had not. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">I will not go through with my demit. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">I will take some time off from my lodge because I need some. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Another lesson learned Jack. </span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Time heals all wounds and I really need to subdue my passions....someday.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-10713774011001741642011-12-06T13:11:00.001-05:002011-12-06T14:42:24.128-05:00The Struggles of an Esoterically Inclined Freemason part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a2dvemenjbU/Tt5ak2XplqI/AAAAAAAAAe0/hKgTy4tCfPY/s1600/sunrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a2dvemenjbU/Tt5ak2XplqI/AAAAAAAAAe0/hKgTy4tCfPY/s320/sunrise.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://thenortheasterncorner.com/2008/11/struggles-of-esoterically-inclined.html">The struggles of an esoterically inclined Freemason</a> continue…<br /><br /><br />After another humiliating defeat at the hands of those who think that younger Masons only goal is to change things for changes sake, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the definition of a lodge and what the term has come to mean.<br /><br />The lodge in its classical definition is a group of Freemasons from a particular town or neighborhood assembled and chartered by a Grand jurisdiction to perform the degrees of the craft. One of the most confusing things about the term lodge is that it becomes synonymous with the building or place the lodge meets. When masons were actual builders of structures they would often meet at their place of employment to instruct each other, to gain skill and help and support each other. I have always imagined a tent hastily thrown up on the side of a cathedral with masons doing business by candle light. When the first non-builders began entering into the craft there was no central meeting place as we have now and meetings would be held in any place that could properly be guarded from people who were not part of the group. Back then there was no confusion as to the meaning of the term lodge; it simply was the term to call the group, like a congregation or flock.<br /><br />As more and more non-building masons entered into the fraternity speculative masonry was born. A lodge was no longer a place that men of a particular skill set met and discussed work, it became a place where philosophical and moral allegories replaced the simple building principals and instructions. The main reason this happened, in my opinion, is because that at the time many of these men lived in oppressive and authoritarian societies and the secret modes of recognition of masonry allowed them to be very selective in the company they kept in order to discuss enlightenment ideals that could have easily led them to incarceration and or death at the hands of their oppressors. New members were carefully investigated because if they let in someone of lesser ideals or morals it could literally endanger their lives. It mattered not where you came from or what your place in society was, all that mattered was that you could meet with men of a like mind on the level to expand your understanding of bigger things and help each other out as Brothers. <em>This selective association aspect of a lodge is very important but I will address that later.</em> As the ‘speculative’ masons replaced the ‘operative’ masons they needed a place to meet and since it was not near the place that employed them anymore it became a place that was convenient to the members of the lodge. <br /><br />Freemasons began to meet in taverns, public houses and coffee rooms and the modern lodge was born. The place where you met almost became as important as the people you met there and the confusion began. A lodge of masons meeting at the Goose and the Gridiron Ale House would be loosely known by the place where they met. As speculative Freemasonry exploded and the separate lodge’s treasuries grew the Masonic temple was born. The men who met regularly as Freemasons wanted a permanent place to carry on their traditions and with a lot of money from its membership they began to build like their predecessors but this time for themselves.<br /><br />Temples and Halls sprang up around the globe and since the Freemasons who met there were as a group termed a lodge, a Masonic ‘lodge’ took on a whole new definition and existence. The men who met in the lodge became less important and the ‘lodge’ became the focus of attention. The ‘lodge’ was the recipient of grandiose gifts and decorations of its dedicated members and the men of that lodge belonged to the ‘lodge’ and not the group of men who met there. The name and number of the ‘lodge’ you belonged became a badge of honor that you wore on a sleeve and its history and traditions were carried out with sacramental reverence and esteem. It was something a man could attach himself to, if he so wished, to add legacy to his own existence.<br /><br />Herein lies the problem, when the lodge of Freemasons took on the existence of the ‘lodge’ it became less stringent upon the members and more focused on membership. The temples and halls needed vast amounts of money to operate and in order to accommodate this need a ‘lodge’ brought in as many men as it could and this only exacerbated the problem. A lodge of Freemasons no longer was a group of men who wished to discuss philosophy and morality in a selective and secret environment to help and support each other as brothers, it became a place where a man went to see the rituals of Freemasonry on a grand stage. Lodges with 100’s of men in membership became common and the institutionalization of Freemasonry occurred. <br /><br />Unfortunately the spirit of the craft was lost in this institutionalization. The ‘lodge’ did things for the ‘lodge’s’ sake and the traditions of each lodge trumped the fraternal communion between Brothers. It was impossible to know and care for such a large group of men which was one of the principal reasons for a lodge of masons to form and the care of the ‘lodge’ became the focus.<br /><br />When I joined this fraternity I was drawn into it not because of any ties or bonds to a ‘lodge’ but out of a search for the answers to the bigger questions in life. When I knocked on the door of a ‘lodge’ I was quickly lulled into the belief that the ‘lodge’ was the most important thing and that only by building or rebuilding that ‘lodge’ I could then start the quest that I originally began. There was only a small number of men in my ‘lodge’ that even dared to delve into the deeper aspects of the human condition and the majority were very happy to watch or participate in the dramatic aspects of the ritual and never take it to the next level. I existed in this environment with the belief that if only my brothers could save our ‘lodge’ and take part in the rebuilding could they discover the deeper aspects of our craft. This belief led me to experience many different lodges and ‘lodges’ in order to find something that would unite my ‘lodge’ into a lodge. <em>(I am sorry for the confusion.)</em><br /><br />This zeal for building led to me making excuses all of the time for some of the men I called brother that I would never associate with outside of Freemasonry. It was an easy exemption to make because I wanted my ‘lodge’ to be the best and in order to be the best we needed as many dues paying members as possible. In six years the amount like minded brothers I gained within my ‘lodge’ was very small and we would talk all of the time of how our common needs and desires not being met by our ‘lodge’. Time is a very precious thing and the only time many of us would finally have these philosophical discussions was after ‘lodge’ and since the more theatrical aspects of Freemasonry take a very long time, sometimes we found ourselves squeezing these conversations into a tiny scrap of time or way too long into the night, neither of which is very efficient or fair to men with families. Our solution to this problem was to try and turn our ‘lodge’ into what we came into Freemasonry for. We convinced ourselves that deep down in every Freemasons heart was this same desire and we believed if they only experienced this esoteric side of the craft the other brothers would join us in our quest.<br /><br />It took two very humiliating defeats at the hands of the men who did not want to change their ‘lodge’ for me to finally realize that my ‘lodge’ can never become the lodge I wanted to be in. The lodge I was a part of had to meet at a different time than my ‘lodge’ and the dear brothers to whom I wanted to associate with and have the discussions of the deeper things in life were slowly being disillusioned with the fraternity and our ‘lodge’. I mean in no way to put down the men of my ‘lodge’ who do not think my way. They are happy with the Freemasonry that is delivered to them and it was very wrong of me to think that I could change things that they believe are sacred and unchangeable. They love the ‘lodge’ for the ‘lodges’ sake and it was a small group of newcomers with vision and initiative that tried to upset that belief. I have requested a demit from the ‘lodge’ I spent six long years trying to change because of this realization.<br /><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">My vision of a Masonic lodge is a small group of like minded individuals who wish to explore the deeper meaning of life and to help each other become better men in every way. I believe that the rituals of Freemasonry are a tool to be used to enlighten a new comer or Brother and to test the dedication of the man to the lodge, but they are not the end all be all of the craft. Brotherly love is not something to be handed out flippantly. A man must prove himself worthy of the greater trust that comes with the ever expanding understanding and obligations of the order of Freemasons. Once earned that trust can be used to sit in a selective meeting where men can discuss things that they would not dare to in mixed company and to use the tools of the Freemason to help each other and the world they live in. This will naturally lead to the Brothers in being very selective of who they let into this mystic tie or band of Brothers. When men of a like mind come together in order to do things that improve themselves it will naturally lead them to try and improve the world around them as a unit. Charity should not be something that is forced upon a brother but something that wells up naturally. These are some of the things I believe in and want to dedicate my very valuable free to to. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div>I am not going to join another ‘lodge’ but I am desperately searching for a lodge. The quest begins anew.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a2dvemenjbU/Tt5ak2XplqI/AAAAAAAAAe0/hKgTy4tCfPY/s1600/sunrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a2dvemenjbU/Tt5ak2XplqI/AAAAAAAAAe0/hKgTy4tCfPY/s320/sunrise.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-61618874596486800732011-12-02T12:57:00.000-05:002011-12-02T12:57:16.746-05:00A Young Man and an Old Gentleman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-98RiwG5vtho/TtkNHJWCVII/AAAAAAAAAd8/ROSml-O2XdY/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-98RiwG5vtho/TtkNHJWCVII/AAAAAAAAAd8/ROSml-O2XdY/s200/12.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>There was once a young man in the prime of his life who underwent an event that no man should ever have to experience. The sheer joy of the upcoming birth of his first son was shaken to the ground when he discovered that there were serious complications that would affect his soon to be newborn son. During many long nights of researching the problems that his unborn son had, he also underwent a spiritual and mental change that caused him to reflect for the first time in his life on what his own life had been about to that point. This realization of the preciousness of the gift of life sent him on a quest for answers to the bigger questions. He left his house and began searching with a heart full of trust and wonder.<br />The road the young man traveled on was winding and confusing but he soon found himself on a small side road where he met and old gentleman sitting on a bench. The old gentleman was dapperly dressed as if he was going to be attending a function but his clothing was worn and dirty. The young man approached him and asked about his attire. The old gentleman started off by telling the young man a tale of mystery and history. He said that he had been where he was for a long time and that he had a glorious past. The young man was full of love and hope because that was all he could muster in his trying time, listened carefully to the tales the old gentleman told him and because of his mysterious demeanor found himself entranced with what he heard. He left the old gentleman and went back home filled with questions.<br />In between doctor visits with his wife and ordealing consultations with specialists about his unborn son, the young man spent all of the rest of his free time digging deeper into the story the old man had told him. He went back time and time again to that side street and talked more with the old gentleman and eventually made up his mind that he would help the old gentleman regain that told of glory even though the old gentleman never asked. He spent countless time at the old gentleman's side learning the stories and making them his own and tried to clean up the old gentleman's appearance so that he could find others that would help him on his new found quest and not be put off by the worn and dirty attire. His dedication to save the old gentleman was a reflection of the young mans need to gain control of something in a world that seemed to be going out of his control. The complications his unborn son had seemed to increase with every doctor visit and the young man yearned for something to anchor him.<br />The day of his sons birth came all too soon and the young man was not able to go and be with the old gentleman for a while. He spent days and months in the hospital tending to his sick son. The young man never stopped thinking about the old gentleman and he wondered why the old gentleman, who had said they were friends, never reached out to him in his time of need but he made an excuse up in his mind that the old gentleman was just set in his ways and couldn't leave the place where he always was. His son lost the battle with the problems he was born with and the young man had to do something no man should ever have to, bury his own child. At the funeral the young man saw the old gentleman in the crowd and the old gentleman expressed his sympathy as he had found out about the death in the newspaper. The sight of the old gentleman warmed the young mans heart and reaffirmed his dedication to saving him.<br />Soon after the death the young man feverishly set about mending the old clothing and polishing the worn shoes so that the old gentleman would shine again. At times the dedication to the old gentleman took much of his time but the young man desperately needed something old and grand to tie himself to because he had lost something beautiful and young. Visitors began stopping by on the side road because of the refreshed appearance of the old gentleman to sit and hear his stories and the young man who took them for his own told them with pleasure. The old gentleman never said anything and was pleased to be looking good again and allowed the young man to do everything he wanted and tell his stories. He was getting attention again and the glory seemed to be returning.<br />One day the young man was on his way to the side street where the old gentleman was always, began to think that if he could only get the old man on the main road and off the beaten path they could have that grand event that the old gentleman was dressed for and bring the new visitors along. He began to plan and seek out a better place for him on his own and traveled around to do so. The young man found out that the old gentleman had actually been in different places in the past and he talked to him to try to convince him of the benefits of a move. The old gentleman in his ever mysterious ways never struck down the ideas but just sat back and let the young man run with his plans.<br />There were not many places where the young man could find residence for the old gentleman because of his finances. Every option the young man presented was either not suitable or too expensive for the old mans means. This went on for years. The young man seeking something bigger in his life to hold onto to fill the void left in his heart with the death of his son made it his mission to find a place for the old gentleman he loved, to be seen for his glory by everyone. The young man knew a story of a well where the old man used to refresh himself and went there to find out more. When he got to the well he came across another old man and introduced himself. This old man was not as old as the old gentleman he knew and he was dressed like the old gentleman but in a suit of a different era. His suit was not worn out and old and the young man soon found himself meeting and talking to this new old man often. He was not quite as graceful as the old gentleman but he had the same mysterious way. The young man came to find out that the two men were brothers and had a falling out long ago but were still on talking terms. The well where the other old man was, was pretty and seemed like the perfect place to move the old gentleman to and although he had some trepidation the young man agreed to talk to the old gentleman about reuniting with his long lost brother. In consequent meetings with the old man at the well, the young man was promised that if he was able to bring the old gentleman to the well they could enjoy the refreshment of its sweet water.<br />He went back to the old gentleman, who was leery at first of his long lost brothers intentions, but since he had been cleaned up and seemed to be back on the path to glory with many visitors he reluctantly agreed to go and meet with him because he wanted to entertain. The young man took the old gentleman to this meeting and was thrilled to have finally made some ground on what he thought was necessary to restore glory to the old gentleman. The old brothers embraced each other and agreed that their falling out was long behind them and that they could reunite and the old gentleman could remain at the well with his brother. <br />The young man drank the sweet water from the well with the brothers but as he was sipping the refreshment he noticed something about the old man from the well that he hadn't before. Although his clothes were newer and looked great from the front he could see that they were not of the same quality of the old gentleman's and were haphazardly stitched together in the rear. This stopped him from drinking and the young man was terrified that he had done something wrong but the two brothers continued to drink deeply from the well. The old gentleman after some time at the well felt his confidence return and the young man was believing that although the old gentleman's brother had a false facade his heart was in the right place. Reunited with his brother and feeling good again the old man began to distance himself from the young man and soon made the decision that he no longer needed his help. He never told the young man this because he was afraid that if he offended him that the young man would flee altogether but slowly and surely it became evident to the young man that he was the third wheel at the well. The visitors continued to come and be entertained but the old gentleman began to tell his own stories again and pushed the young man away.<br />The young man was heartbroken with what had happened. He loved the old gentleman and had dedicated many years to learning his stories. After such a long time the young man had filled the void of his loss, with the glory of the old man and when the glory seemed to return he began to feel healed but the ostracism opened the wound. Looking back, the young man realized that he had invested so much in the old gentleman he had actually missed many things with his own family. His mind was constantly thinking of how to improve the old gentleman's situation even more so than the old gentleman and when he was pushed aside he was able to see the situation for what it was worth and he was resolved to the fact that he would let the welfare of the old gentleman return to his own hands.<br />He was approached by some of the visitors that he had brought to the old gentleman who asked the young man to return to his side and tell his story again because they liked the way he told it. Although the wound in his heart was still fresh he was lifted by the pleas of the visitors and he approached the old man at the well and asked him what he should do for his brother. The old man at the well lavished him with praise and thanked him for reuniting him with his brother and told him to bring the visitors by for the big event that the old gentleman deserved. With the good will he received from the brother the young man approached the old gentleman with new found hope and told him that he wanted to have the big event that they had always talked of. The old gentleman did not say a word. He sat there drinking the water from the well and just stared at the young man. His brother had told the old gentleman that the young man meant to harm him and the big event was a trap to ensnare the old gentleman and that he needed to just trust his brother so that they would be okay. The old gentleman, in his shined shoes and washed outfit, believed the brother and made a plan with him to embarrass the young man in front of the visitors to put him in his place.<br />The young man had come to visit his old friend and saw the brothers talking at the well and although he didn't hear everything they said he believed something was afoot but since the long about event was about to occur he carried on.<br />The night came and the visitors were gathered in great numbers but the young man was late because of family obligations. When he arrived the old gentleman was with his brother at the pretty well drinking deeply of its water. The visitors met the young man with a great welcome and applauded his effort at returning to tell the story of the old gentleman at his side but the young man noticed that the old man from the well had brought some of the visitors to drink from its waters. When the time came to begin the event and the gathered waited for the stories to begin the old man pushed the young man away and told them on his own and his brother began to chime in. Some of the visitors were astonished at what had happened but the young man who had spent so much time with the old gentleman did not leave but sat there and listened to the stories he loved. When the event was finished he hugged the old gentleman who glared at him with distrust, thanked him for his stories and walked to the pretty well to rest. From the lip of the well the young man watched the brother pat the old gentleman on the back for what he had done and then he looked down into the well and saw something he had believed was true but was not sure of. <br />At the bottom of the well in the moonlight he could see a venomous snake. It looked up at him and smiled an evil grin as it spit its venom into the water. The young man realized that in his rush to fill the emptiness of his lost son he had led the old gentleman, who was content to live in his worn out clothes on his side street content to exist as he was, to a poisoned well. He had suspicions before but now he knew. As he walked away saddened by all that had occurred he watched the old man from the well empty his cup behind his back before toasting the old gentleman who drank deeply of the water that will eventually kill him.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-49991097793504207622011-11-30T23:32:00.003-05:002011-12-01T10:06:40.296-05:00Of Rules and Regulations<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3MzOo4wIf14/Ttd0zXK_0ZI/AAAAAAAAAd0/ecVX8XyVkVA/s1600/torch_book.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3MzOo4wIf14/Ttd0zXK_0ZI/AAAAAAAAAd0/ecVX8XyVkVA/s200/torch_book.gif" width="156" /></a></div>It’s funny how the people who are the least read and informed about rules and regulations are usually the ones who trumpet supposed breaches of the law.<br />Freemasonry is a very old organization with many rules that trace back to days gone by. One of the reasons the first grand lodge was formed back in 1717 was to try and organize and regularize the very local and different lodges of Freemasons. Freemasonry’s actual origins might never be known but we do know that groups of operative masons would group themselves into a lodge or guild to protect their art and be able to travel around and recognize each other as masons. These proto-lodges had ceremonies and rules that varied from town to town and country to country. The signs, grips and words that were used to identify yourself as a mason varied in many ways and even today they vary slightly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Even more varied are the rules that Freemasonry uses to govern itself.<br />When the premier Grand Lodge of England published its General Regulations in 1723 it stated "Every Annual Grand Lodge has an inherent power and Authority to make new Regulations or to alter these, for the real benefits of this Ancient Fraternity; provided always that the old Land-Marks be carefully preserved." Ah-ha you may think, at least there are indisputable landmarks on which all regulations derive, but if you are of that opinion you would be wrong. Even when the first regulations were published the landmarks were never enumerated or defined in any manner which left quite a considerable leeway in how to govern a body of Freemasons.<br />The first time the “ancient and unchangeable” landmarks of Freemasonry were actually published, in the Jurisprudence of Freemasonry 1856 by Dr.Albert Mackey, he laid down three requisite characteristics:<br />1. notional immemorial antiquity<br />2. universality<br />3. absolute "irrevocability"<br />He claimed there were 25 in all, and they could not be changed. Over the years in all of the different jurisdictions this number varied and the landmarks themselves were different. In the United States of America where there were many independent Grand Lodges between the ‘Regular’ and Prince Hall Freemasons, the number of landmarks goes from 3 to 54. So if all of our rules and regulations are derived from the “unchangeable” landmarks and the rules and regulations can be altered and changed by each subsequent meeting of a Grand Lodge one can easily see how rules and laws of the fraternity can become jumbled for a less learned Brother Mason.<br />In the 1950’s the Conference of Grand Masters of North America decided upon three universal landmarks.<br />1. Monotheism — An unalterable and continuing belief in God.<br />2. The Volume of The Sacred Law — an essential part of the furniture of the Lodge.<br />3. Prohibition of the discussion of Religion and Politics.<br />Of the three above landmarks the last one is the most confusing to some. In fact that landmark does not even exist in the ones that are accepted in my own jurisdiction of Connecticut but it is still regarded as an important rule in Freemasonry. This landmark is involved in one of the most important things to control the harmony of a lodge. By removing the topic of Religion or Politics from the arsenal of rhetoric a Brother may employ at a meeting you take away the two things that can easily divide the most loving of Brothers. As we are a simple brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God we can welcome men of all religions and beliefs into the lodge room to do the work of Freemasonry. The not understood part of this and all rules of Freemasonry is that it only applies to Freemasons when in lodge assembled. Freemasonry never asks a brother to give up his deeply held beliefs but it does ask that they be left at the door when the labor of Freemasonry commences.<br />This prohibition of the talk of Religion or Politics has been expanded and contracted in different jurisdictions to regulate all sorts of behavior of Masons in and outside of lodge and in some places come to prohibit Freemasons from politicking for office in a lodge. In my own jurisdiction this does not apply. While it is strictly prohibited that a brother be nominated for a position while in lodge there are certain times that necessitates a Brother Mason announce his availability for office when the progressive line is absent or dissolved. This should not occur while in lodge assembled but when the annual election of officers for a lodge is about to convene it is perfectly acceptable for a Brother to say he is willing to serve his lodge if they so elect him or how else would the craft know of their options.<br />Recently, after being approached by some of the Brothers of my lodge asking that I return to the east, I wrote a letter to all of the Brothers of my lodge addressing the state of our progressive line and informing them of my availability and willingness to serve the lodge if they so desired. Never once in the letter did I ask to be Master. Never once did I try to convince anyone of making a decision in one way or another. I just notified the Brothers of my availability and willingness and republished the messages from the east from my term in office for the newer brothers in the lodge to get an understanding of my vision for the fraternity and my lodge in general.<br />Almost immediately an undercurrent of backhanded and secret communications occured between certain members of the craft in my lodge leveling accusations of unmasonic behavior and breaking of the rules of our Grand Lodge. Not one of these "Brothers" whispered good counsel in my ear, not one of these communications were ever sent my way or out to the entire craft as I had done and I was very hurt by the way some of the men who have smiled and called me Brother to my face were so easily led to conduct unbecoming of a Brother. This level of back door politicking is what has chased many men away from leading or serving the craft and nearly chased me away but I know I am in the right and cannot allow the misguided intentions of a few to spoil the work of many. The good thing to come from this entire ordeal is that I quickly found out who really is my brother and who only parrots the words of Masonic ritual and is not even my friend. <br />This year’s annual meeting at my lodge might be a very interesting one to say the least.<br />What do you think?<br />What is your Grand Lodges policy of campaigning for an office in lodge?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-53959486955334445922011-09-02T11:08:00.000-04:002011-09-02T11:08:05.644-04:00Bad Leadership<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pZRunhYVrLE/TmDdN4arbQI/AAAAAAAAAcw/aliFc9RcztQ/s1600/badleadership.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pZRunhYVrLE/TmDdN4arbQI/AAAAAAAAAcw/aliFc9RcztQ/s200/badleadership.jpg" width="200" xaa="true" /></a></div>Leadership is powerful. The power of a leader derives from the people who give up control of one aspect or another of the group and themselves to one. This dominion is given because it is very hard to administrate a large group of individuals en masse so we elect someone to LEAD. <br />A good leader can inspire individual people to do things that they have never done before. <br />A good leader can elevate the group of people to something they could never have achieved by themselves. <br />A good leader can amalgamate a diverse group into one.<br />A good leader knows his people.<br />A good leader listens carefully.<br />A good leader is driven towards a goal.<br />A good leader builds upon past success.<br />A good leader makes decisions for the group because that is his job.<br />A good leader knows what information to address to the group and what should be left to private.<br /><br />A bad leader does not challenge people but relies on a few.<br />A bad leader brings the group down.<br />A bad leader divides the group and derides some.<br />A bad leader does not know everyone.<br />A bad leader disregards flippantly.<br />A bad leader flutters aimlessly.<br />A bad leader ignores and destroys what was good.<br />A bad leader constantly asks the group what should be done.<br />A bad leader bores the group with trivial matters that do not need to be shared.<br /><br />When a group is lead by someone who knows how to lead, success and happiness follow seemingly effortlessly because the leader does the work he was elected to do behind the scenes for the benefit of the group, this allows the group to concentrate its collective efforts on bigger and better things. When a group is steered in a definite direction they can imagine what it will be like to reach that goal and keep that thought as an inspiration to keep them going when the labor becomes hard and it takes hard labor to build something beautiful.<br />Bad leadership is not always done on purpose, but often comes from the attitude that the office of leadership in and of itself is all that it takes to lead. <br />A good leader builds.<br />A bad leader erodes.<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-12069997991637411132011-08-12T11:32:00.004-04:002011-08-12T11:38:30.512-04:00Policing Ourselves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nEm8SpZ40Co/TkVGXyY5FLI/AAAAAAAAAbY/jPs2uhwmGSQ/s1600/Policing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" naa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nEm8SpZ40Co/TkVGXyY5FLI/AAAAAAAAAbY/jPs2uhwmGSQ/s200/Policing.jpg" width="190" /></a></div><em><span style="color: yellow;">(Saddle up, I'm getting on a high horse!)</span></em><br /><br />As a self professed history nerd I can openly admit to reading old minute books from my lodge and with a lodge nearly 250 years old there are a lot of these. I have generally stuck to reading the ones from poignant moments in history both of my lodge and of my country but I always end up reading and skimming through them <strong>all</strong> just to satisfy my curiosity. These humongous leather bound tomes are themselves works of art as it seems everything from our earlier age was done with much more attention to detail. The handwriting is exquisite, the paper heavy and of high quality, and the binding for something as trivial as a lodge minute book had the quality of an heirloom bible. I have spent many hours with plastic gloves leafing through meeting after meeting in days gone by and there is one thing that happened quite often in those times that never occurs now. This missing piece of everyday Freemasonry in the past calls into question how we now run the order now and how seriously we take the vows we make to each other.<br /><br /><br />In between degrees, funerals and processions there were many times that brothers were brought up on charges of un-Masonic conduct. The minutes themselves are very discrete about the nature of these offences but their occurrences were often and penalties swift. It seems to me that Freemasons in the earlier generation of the craft were more serious about maintaining the code of conduct that we as Freemasons all swear to live by. They were willing to police themselves in order to maintain the reputation of the fraternity. It seems like a lifetime ago but I touched upon this subject in a post titled <a href="http://thenortheasterncorner.com/2008/05/desire-for-knowledge.html"><strong>“A Desire For Knowledge”</strong></a> in 2008 and even though it was a very brief part of the thought I was trying to convey, I was hammered on the thought by a couple of friends from the Blogosphere who thought I was being too romantic with the past. I in turn was very cranky (I was just a baby blogger back then) and became very defensive about my thought process and never really argued the point I was making that I can now, as a wise and thoughtful Past Master, better expand upon. <br /><br />During the three part initiation process we swear upon a volume of sacred law that we will live by ever expanding obligations to ourselves and the Fraternity. Most of the things we swear upon are keeping the modes of recognition secret, but within the ceremonies and later in the obligations we have more and more specific codes of conduct asked of us to live by. All of these obligations are taken with the penalty for infraction of these obligations fully explained and then we are reminded of the figurativeness of the original penalties and that the only real penalties are reprimand, suspension, and expulsion. These therefore are the only tools that Freemasonry uses to weed out men that can and will reflect badly upon the craft as a whole. At the same time, we are also told to use whispered council in the ear of a Brother before any of these paths are to be taken and this is the course of action that is the most widely used now, if any at all. <br /><br />More often, <em>and I am the first to admit to this glaring fault</em>, it is much easier to turn a blind eye to un-Masonic conduct and wish for something better. This non confrontational approach is easier on all parties because you are not put in the position of accusing a Brother that could damage a relationship and no one is put on the spot to defend themselves. This symptom is an indicator of a modern societal sickness. In an age where competition and excellence are frowned upon in order to protect the feelings of those who loose and all types of behavior are condoned and explained away regardless of their depravity, what can we expect? It is the absence of accepted excellence that has forced everyone to lower their standards and seek out the tiniest faults in a persons history or demeanor in order to destroy what ever personal temple of merit and virtue they have constructed, in the name of leveling the playing field. No one is allowed to be better than anyone else and the ones who seem to be better HAVE to have something bad locked away in the closet waiting to be unveiled. Nobody is safe. Even icons of earlier ages continually face the onslaught of personal degradation by historians seeking dirt on anyone who was thought to be excellent. We are not allowed to have heros anymore, or more like we are made to believe even the best of us is in no way better than the lowest of us, they just do things a little differently.<br /><br />We need heros. They do exist.<br /><br />The much maligned founding fathers of the United States, as a whole, were amazing men in all ways despite the "bad" behavior they are accused of today. <span style="color: yellow;">Read their words.</span> They continually struggled to improve themselves and the world they lived in and tried to lay a foundation of a system that would eventually overcome the societal norms that they knew were contrary to the principles they espoused. It took a long time but the changes for the better <strong>did</strong> come because of the system they came up with. Countless other icons of human achievement had, in the long run, a much better tally card of good and great than that of bad or worse and we need to emulate them and improve upon their example.<br /><br />We enter the covenant of society to lay out a structure that all can follow in order to benefit each other for the good. Laws are made to spell out exactly how society needs to follow agreed upon rules. Penalties are made because some will break the rules regardless of their merit or necessity and they must be punished by the society for their transgression, to both enforce the rules and exemplify the societies collective will to live by them. When we look the other way when rules are broken, we break the pact we have made with each other and tarnish the reputation of our society. Little infractions by themselves do not destroy the foundation of good laid out by all, but collectively grow to fracture and eventually destroy what has been built.<br /><br />I am in no way perfect but I am continually trying to make myself better. It is a conscious decision I have made to live up to the high standards that I wish to extol and it is a never ending effort. When I wear a ring of a Freemason I become a walking billboard of the fraternity to those who know what the symbol on my finger represents and also to those who have no idea what it means I want them to associate that symbol with an upstanding man of integrity and moral virtue. <em>Perhaps that is why some don't wear a ring? Maybe its like the adulterous husband who removes his wedding band when cheating, as if removing the symbol of your covenant you swore to relieves you of that pact.</em> Even when I am driving my car that has the symbol on it, when I come close to doing something that would reflect badly upon my order, I think of how someone may have that symbol burned into their consciousness as the *#$hole that cut them off and drive a little nicer. But I do cut people off sometimes and I still do stupid things sometimes when wearing a Square and Compasses, <em>but I try not to</em> and when I do, <strong><em>I </em></strong>am the worst reprimander when it comes to me. <br /> <br />But what of those who do not have that self control or <em><strong>don't even want to try to attain it</strong></em>? It is then that we as a fraternity must step in and try to quietly whisper good counsel and if that fails take the next step and invoke the penalties explained to us after every obligation. If we don't do it, no one will and men like the monster in Norway will remain in good standing with the order until they do something atrocious and force the fraternity to Expel a Brother after the fact, which does more harm than simple enforcement of rules and standards everyday by every Brother.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-840211090494806682011-07-19T12:35:00.001-04:002011-07-19T12:36:37.042-04:00The Doldrums<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5gt_o-jHrSI/TiWxXM1bMAI/AAAAAAAAAa4/CaQ_mqR-0x4/s1600/doldrums.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5gt_o-jHrSI/TiWxXM1bMAI/AAAAAAAAAa4/CaQ_mqR-0x4/s1600/doldrums.jpg" /></a></div><em>Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,</em><br /><em>‘Twas sad as sad could be ;</em><br /><em>And we did speak only to break</em><br /><em>The silence of the sea !</em><br /><em><br /></em><br /><em>All in a hot and copper sky,</em><br /><em>The bloody Sun, at noon,</em><br /><em>Right up above the mast did stand,</em><br /><em>No bigger than the Moon.</em><br /><em><br /></em><br /><em>Day after day, day after day,</em><br /><em>We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;</em><br /><em>As idle as a painted ship</em><br /><em>Upon a painted ocean.</em><br /><em><br /></em><br /><em>Water, water, every where,</em><br /><em>And all the boards did shrink;</em><br /><em>Water, water, every where,</em><br /><em>Nor any drop to drink.</em><br /><br /><strong><em>Samuel Taylor Coleridge</em></strong><br /><strong><em>Rime of the Ancient Mariner</em></strong><br /><br />I once read an allegory about coals and fire that went something like; when a coal is separated from the fire it starts to cool and loose its heat but all you need to do is return it to the fire and it blazes back to life. <br /><br />Every year our lodge goes “dim” for the summer (although sometimes called going dark, we use the term dim because the light of masonry never goes out completely). It is a two month break from the twice a month ritual of congregating with my brethren that in one aspect is a welcome break from the labor of Freemasonry but at the same time it does not take long for the break in routine to turn into outright laziness. There is no planning or practicing or communicating and although I still talk to several of my lodge brothers over the summer, unlike usual, the conversation almost never revolves around the craft. <br /><br />It is amazing to me sometimes how quickly my “coal” gets cool when separated from the fire of lodge. The more I am away from lodge the less I think esoterically and the harder it becomes for me to think the deeper thoughts I wish to explore. Even daily Facebook updates from Phoenix Masonry or Albert Pike start to loose their allure the longer I am not doing the work of a Freemason.<br /><br />It is at this tricky time that the question comes into my mind about the worth of my dedication to the fraternity. When separated from the constant labor of the craft with loads of time to spare and nary an email or call about lodge I wonder if I am better off for being a mason. This is a troubling aspect of the doldrums because it can raise doubt where normally it would not exist. <em>Would my family be better off if I were not rushing off to lodge every two weeks? Am I cheating time away from my children when my thoughts are revolving around lodge and not them? Is my membership a thorn in the side of the relationship with my wife? Are there better things that I can do with my time than being a Freemason?</em> These are all thoughts that start banging around in my head when the wind is taken out of the sails during the doldrums.<br /><br />The key thing I am learning in life and in masonry is to not view these times as stagnation but as times of calm to reflect on my journey. When I was fully employed and working 50 plus hour weeks I saw my wife and children a lot less and although our bank account was better off then, it took the shock of a layoff to make us realize that it also cost more to sustain that lifestyle.<em> Were we better off then or now with me spending more time with the kids and struggling to make ends meet?</em> There is no good answer. My extended period of un/under-employment has taught me that no matter how smart or talented you are we are all subject to the shifting winds of government and economy and it is not personal.<br /><br />So go also the doldrums of Freemasonry. Although I had loads of time before I was a Brother I certainly filled those times with other stuff and not all of them particularly productive or beneficial to my family. My dedication to the craft has brought me, at times, profound joy and many accomplishments that have made me a better man than had I not joined. The Brothers I have acquired along the way have become an extended family that I have relied on more than I care to admit and whose friendship I have come to cherish. The demands of the order have been much less than rewards I have reaped.<br /><br />I need to use this time of calm to gather my strength and sharpen my wits for the time when the winds of lodge start blowing again. It is not the time to let bad thoughts enter my head or let doubt cast a cold shadow upon all that has been built. The doldrums will pass and the coals will be gathered together again to burn as hot and bright as ever. They always have.<div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868929508219223321.post-34494885616112946582011-06-22T15:25:00.000-04:002011-06-22T15:25:14.574-04:00A Return To Freemasonry Lost<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-msJP5PsSDmU/TgI_3y3RZVI/AAAAAAAAAaw/AUY4_KJw-oQ/s1600/Toastinginsong1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-msJP5PsSDmU/TgI_3y3RZVI/AAAAAAAAAaw/AUY4_KJw-oQ/s320/Toastinginsong1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Acedemia, Esoterika, Virtruvian, Nine Muses, it sounds like an incantation Harry Potter might use, but it is just part of a list of lodges that practice Traditional Observance or European Concept that I have fawned over for longer than I care to admit. They are spread across the country and all have long lines of men at their door awaiting membership. Unfortunately I had not been able to visit any except St. Johns Lodge no. 1 in New York, which had previously been the greatest Masonic experience in my journey to date and then came <strong><em><a href="http://quintaessentiaud.ctfreemasons.net/">Quinta Essentia</a></em></strong>. For over 4 years I have dreamed about a new lodge, well not exactly new, but a lodge that was more of the kind of lodge that you see in the old paintings and pictures and read about in books. I envisioned a lodge where gentlemen of all ages and status levels congregated to dig deeper into what it is we do and try to do things better. I hungered for the lodge meeting where from the moment I arrived there was nothing but challenge and conversation that led me to something I had not thought of, or made a connection to before.<br />After meetings, no matter where I went in the Connecticut Masonic jurisdiction, I sought out like minded individuals in search of more light and somehow we always ended up commiserating<strong> </strong>together. <strong><em>Why was it that we all could not find the Freemasonry that we were promised?</em> <em>Why was it that tedious business meetings and parroted ritual were more common than meaningful gatherings of men striving for something more?</em> <em>Where were the lodges Mozart, Franklin, and Dermott gained inspiration from?</em></strong> The more I searched the more I found out that in American Freemasonry had become more akin to the American Legion than the Royal Society (and I mean no offence to that honorable institution dedicated to veterans and servicemen). Instead of a scrumptious meal with fine beverages and deep conversation, a cold cut sandwich and potato chips with a beer or soda were the victuals gathered around to hear dirty jokes or old stories, and you wonder why no one was joining or sticking around if they joined!<br />This <em>enlightenment vacuum</em> was the genesis of the modern Masonic restoration movement. It was led by Brothers who came and wondered what had become of the <strong>Order</strong> that they thought they were joining. Instead of high tailing it out of Freemasonry like so many before, these men have dedicated a lot of time, effort and dreams to bringing back <em>Freemasonry</em> in America. <a href="http://www.knightsofthenorth.com/documents/laudablepursuit.pdf">Laudable Pursuit</a> is their declaration of independence and their goal is nothing shorter than a universal return of the golden age of Masonry. Brothers started to meet regularly and fully explore the imprecations and implementation of this goal. Quinta Essentia Lodge UD is the product of such a group of Masons in Connecticut.<br />I had the distinct pleasure of being present at the inaugural meeting of the Quinta Essentia last Saturday night and I can say with all due respect to existing lodges that it is a clear shot across the bow to all slumping, muddling and in my opinion “dimmed” lodges. It started with a very short meeting which was executed extraordinarily well considering the pomp and circumstance surrounding a new lodge at its first meeting attended by a lot of purple including the sitting Grand Master and his immediate predecessor. The meeting was followed by a flawlessly executed cocktail hour with numerous toasts used to raise the level of conversation between the assembled Brethren and then a fine dinner/ festive board where the topic of the evening was <em>“Fiat lux” the meaning of Masonic Light</em>. The key note speaker was Charles Tirrell my fellow Masonic Blogger from <a href="http://masonicrenaissance.blogspot.com/">Masonic Renaissance</a> and dedicated Freemason and I can say without reserve that he outstandingly started an unparalleled conversation about Masonic Light that began in physics and led to many destinations I had no forethought of reaching. The night truly raised the vibration of all who attended (<em>I think</em>), at the least <strong>I</strong> certainly left thinking in ways that I had not when I made the drive up to New Haven.<br />The bad thing about the evening was that it is the <em>exception</em> to the rule in Freemasonry in Connecticut. There were many discussions around the room that night about how the evening’s proceedings were unobtainable in most “blue lodges” and that it was such a pleasure to be a part of this new undertaking and the “flavor” of Masonry it represented. There was a constant drumming of how not everyone in Freemasonry in CT was seeking this type of light and this was the <em>cause célèbre</em> for creating this new lodge. My argument is that if a Freemasons lodge meeting has no result of raising the level of the men who attend and simply runs through the motions of Freemasonry to get to the cold cuts and beer why do they meet? Does just saying that we make good men better as a mantra do just that, or is it a vapid hum with no resonance? If a lodge has to be formed to meet and act as Freemasons in the classical sense of the order, what do the other lodges meet as? These are things that the craft has been pondering since this type of lodge was created.<br />The thought I would like to leave for grand lodges and lodges that constantly get new men and loose them as quickly as they come is that these <em>“traditional”</em> lodges are extremely successful and are not experiencing the downturn and desolation that <em>“mainstream”</em> lodges suffer and are being formed all around the country. This is something that we all should take notice and govern ourselves accordingly.<br /><strong><em>Restore The Foundation!</em></strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">From The North Eastern Corner</div>M.M.M. from the North Eastern Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256800876052840450noreply@blogger.com1