The Path of the Esotericists Among Us

By: Robert G. Davis, 33*, Grand Cross

View fullsize

The German Hermeticist, Franz Bardon, observed; "there is a fundamental problem with truth. It depends on the insight of the individual." Bardon was right. Each one of us sees truth from the standpoint of our particular environment, education, maturity, religious training, cultural lens, and family upbringing. Thus, to an extent, truth is always an illusion.

That's just the way life is. One of the challenges of the seeker is that, knowing there are different paths to truth, he wants to explore all of them simultaneously. While he must ultimately survey the field of options available to him to understand the ancient traditions, he has to guard himself against making only an intellectual pursuit.

The world is full of academic esotericists.

One of the first things we must come to understand about enlightenment is that each of us is on his own walk. Our personal path is the path to greatest harmony within ourselves and with the world in which we experience. The shortcoming of almost every proscribed system of thought is that it fails to recognize the importance of the awakened consciousness; or the limitations of its own notions.

Religion and science are two classic opposites. At the outset, religion generally demands the unshakable belief in a spiritual fact that its own truth lies in its religious tradition. Thus, it always poses a dogma. Beyond that, it requires the faithful to lead a good and pure life under the certain prescriptions it defines for its followers. Science, on the other hand, is independent of such demands. It merely asks that one investigate things without prejudice to gain knowledge and understanding. But, in so doing, it tends to conclude that what is not known can become known; else it cannot exist. Science rarely accepts the metaphysical. Therefore, science is often atheistic in principle.

To me, this gap between science and religion mirrors the conflict between rational thinking and inspiration. Reason becomes a control of inspiration when inspiration seems to fly away into the vague unknown. Yet inspiration is the impulse for rational investigation.

The esotericist accepts the value of both these opposites. He seeks to unite both paths using an entirely different approach. He engages in the "spirit of the old Initiates." He investigates the means of science as far as its facilities reach, but he is also not afraid of applying those traditions which are not (or not yet) in the grasp of orthodox points of view. To affect this kind of work, he often labors in small circles for the precious things which lead him to the genuine experience. The bottom line is that the work on one's self cannot be taken over by anyone else; nor can it be invested in any one organization. The seeker can only be guided, but not carried, by his spiritual friends.

This is the first rule of all esoteric study.

And this is the covenant Initiates make with each other. It can't be any other way because only what a man accomplishes by his own work becomes real to him. After all, we can only know certain aspects of absolute truth. There is life, there is free will; there is memory, intellect, and intuition. Beyond these obvious characteristics of truth, most everything else can be argued (and, indeed, have been debated throughout the history of recorded thought.)

This brings me to another important rule of esotericism. It is useless to argue with those who are not adepts of the higher leanings of truth. No sincere adept would impose his truth on someone who is not otherwise ready to contemplate it. There is a Biblical reference for this idea from the Master of the New law himself: "Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under your feet." (Matthew 7:6)

There is also a Masonic parallel to this dilemma. We all know Masons who believe with all their heart there is nothing spiritual about the rituals of Masonry. There are those who claim there is nothing to learn beyond the ritual words. There are even more who are appalled when it is suggested that Kabalistic, Alchemical, or Hermetic associations might be made from a study of the Degrees of Masonry. Never mind that every aspirant is told before he receives the very first Degree that Masonry is a course of hieroglyphic instruction taught by allegories. Oh well. As obvious as this may seem to the esoteric minded among us, there is little to be gained by arguing with those who aren't listening.

Thus, for the Initiate, it is wisest for him to do the Great Work quietly. He will likely never be in the popular current of societal thought anyway. And that's okay. The true seeker has no reason to affect the natural balance of things by becoming disruptive.

It is enough for him to come to know the truth for himself.

Thank you for reading The Laudable Pursuit!

If you enjoyed this piece, please feel free to share it on social media sites and with your Lodge.

For more information on Bro. Robert G. Davis, please CLICK HERE

Also, visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLaudablePursuit

Three Upright Steps

By: Wor. Jason Eddy

View fullsize

As I have traveled upon this Level of Time towards that undiscovered country, I have personally experienced, and witnessed others as they experience, three progressive and critical levels in the Masonic Journey.  These levels can be linked symbolically to each of the three degrees, but can also be viewed independently of Masonry as simply stages in a man’s life.  I feel it is important to highlight these three levels in order to both offer guidance for those seeking to improve themselves in Masonry, as well as potentially admonish those who are missing this progression due to their inability to subdue the Ego.  These progressive stages are Knowledge, Intelligence, and Wisdom.  Now an explanation.

As an Entered Apprentice, we are offered our first glimpse at the Light of Masonry.  All five of our senses are bombarded by an Initiatic Experience that our Profane life has left us ill-equipped to comprehend.  Strange words…ancient Rituals…Character tests…after which (under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Ohio) we are offered what appears to be an explanation of everything that has occurred.  As the Entered Apprentice sits and listens to the Lecture and Charge of the Degree, he will either consciously, or unconsciously, decide whether or not he is going to seek to learn more.  This gives us a glimpse at the first phase in development.  Knowledge.

The zealous Entered Apprentice soon finds himself studying the Lecture, Charge, and Degree work that he has experienced.  Eventually, he finds himself able to recite with precision the entire Lecture, the entire Charge, and explain in detail the steps required to confer the Degree that he has now had the honor of experiencing.  He has now achieved the first level:  Knowledge.

As his journey continues, he finds himself, as a Fellow Craft, being encouraged to study the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences.  Now faced with yet another Lecture and Charge filled with unfamiliar words that carry with them an air of importance.  He applies the same zeal to this Lecture and Charge and soon finds himself with the ability to confer, with exceptional skill, this Degree as well.  He has now achieved, or rather maintained, the first level: Knowledge.

Finally, that night is upon him.  The night that he has been anticipating since he signed his name to the Petition for Degrees.  He is Raised to the Sublime Degree.  He is finally in possession of the “secrets of Masonry”.  Not wanting to break the streak, he soon becomes proficient in the Master Mason Degree.  He has risen in both honor and esteem within the Lodge.  Lauded as a Masonic Scholar, he is called upon any time a degree is conferred due to his uncanny ability to deliver each with such precision that the others in the Lodge, or even Masonry at-large, can only aspire to.  At last, he has arrived at the first level:  Knowledge.

Sadly, this level is where most men end their journey.  They feel, and are often told, that they have reached the pinnacle.  This is most certainly not the case, and yet, the majority of these men have little chance of ever realizing just how far they still have to go on their journey.  It is difficult to fault these men, for they are reassured with regularity that they are scholars.  That they have done all that can be expected.  Ego allows them to believe this poor counsel.  In most circles they are held in extremely high-esteem, and often attain the highest titles bestowed upon members of our Gentle Craft.  Yet, in reality they are nothing more than Entered Apprentices who have not yet learned to apply the Working Tools that have been provided.

Out of those few who put for the effort to learn the Lectures, Charges, and Degree work, there will be a small group of men who seek to not only “know” the work, but to “understand” the work.  They are in the truest sense, Speculative Masons.  They will seek out ancient texts, symbolic interpretations, and even converse with “more knowledgeable Brothers” in an effort to really understand what it all means.  Many of these men then take it upon themselves to share this Light with the Craft.  They write papers, books, articles, and are often found speaking to not only their own Lodge, but to any other Lodge seeking Masonic Scholars.  These men have taken the knowledge that they were gifted with, and done the work required to understand the meaning behind it.  They have arrived at the second level: Intelligence.

These men can not only identify each and every symbol, allegory, and allusion within the Degrees, but can most likely speak to the symbolic meanings, history, and intention of our Masonic Forefathers who put them there.  As with those at the first level, Knowledge, this is where many end their journey.  Many are well intentioned and carry themselves as simple seekers of Light.  They increase in intelligence, not to outshine those around them, but to illuminate their own personal path with little regard for the esteem to which they are now privy.  Yet among some Brothers at this level, Ego is often found to be in control.  They fabricate around them, with the help of less informed Brethren applauding them at every turn, an impenetrable wall of Masonic knowledge that few dare to challenge.  They speak with not just confidence, but with arrogance.  Humility is a concept about which they can pontificate with amazing skill, all the while doing so in a condescending tone.  They are given not only the grandiose titles bestowed upon those who have mastered “Knowledge”, but now venture further into the Light by being not only revered, but sought after as experts, or men of extreme “intelligence”.

These Brothers are not difficult to pick out of the crowd.   In fact, they will most likely do all that they can to stand out and be noticed.  Ego is what feeds them.  They do not seek answers because they believe, and are constantly reassured, that they have already found the answers.  They pose a significant risk to the long-term stability of not only our Noble Order, but to society as a whole.  They avoid or oppress open debate whenever they are faced with it and, in general, do more harm than good for the Order.  I once read that one should seek out those who ask questions, and be cautious of those who claim to have all of the answers.  I would admonish all who read this to follow that counsel.

At last, there are the very few who arrive at the third level of our Masonic Journey.  Wisdom.  These men have spent years laboring in the quarries of Freemasonry to find that which was Lost.  What they find, I cannot say, because I have yet to find it.  What can be said is that at a very minimum, these men have not only learned the lessons of Freemasonry, but have put them into Practice.  That is the journey, Brethren.  In keeping with the number three, which resides in nearly every corner of the Mysterious Temple, we find that the progression of our Masonic Status is from Operative, to Speculative, to Operative.  A man enters the West Gate as a man who lives his life each and every day without regard for the secrets behind the veil.  He is Operative in that he resides only in the terrestrial world.  As he labors, he finds himself upon that Level of Time that leads to Speculation.  He becomes a Seeker of Light.  Alas, he arrives at the Inner Chamber and finds that he must now take what he has learned, and apply it…not only in the terrestrial, but in the spiritual realm of his existence.  He now applies that which he has discovered Above, to that which he has discovered Below.  He has achieved the third level.  Wisdom.

Thank you for reading The Laudable Pursuit!

If you enjoyed this piece, please feel free to share it on social media sites and with your Lodge.

For more information on Wor. Jason Eddy, Please CLICK HERE:

Also, visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLaudablePursuit

Can You Step Back From Your Own Mind?

BY: NATHANIEL P. WARREN

View fullsize

I was doing a little late night sitting tonight.  I have worked my body hard the last two weeks, all while fighting an illness.  Tonight I zoned out, watching the tip of a candle flame dance.  My thoughts came and went, smoothly, and without alarm.  I didn't even seem to notice when one ended and another began.  Eventually my mind flashed to Masonry, as it always does. 

I am a problem solver by trade, luckily, since I had already adopted problem solving as a way of life before I was ready to find a trade.  I often fight the impulse to step in.  I put a lot of thought into how and why I do things, and it is pretty difficult to not insert my way into someone else’s task.  My way is not always better, particularly when I am not the one completing the task.  Over the course of several years I began to develop protocol.  There is a certain way to do all things in my life, and I generally stick to those methods.  Sometimes I don’t though, and that is where the magic happens.

I developed these pathways in my brain, they were old and familiar.  Nary an obstacle dared to enter these roads, for they were well traveled.  I began to see the world a certain way because I believed one thing which happened to support another that supported yet another.  By the time I reached the third echelon of belief formation I was already in a pretty narrow spot.  There wasn't much to choose from.  Even though I had made these choices, I thought, I had little say in where my subconscious arrived.

Masonry blew the doors off of that cage.  From the day I began as an Entered Apprentice I often repeated the mantra “open your mind."  I purposefully challenged everything I thought I knew.  I questioned my religion for the sake of others.  I questioned my perception of personality types and stigmas.  I questioned myself all they way down to the deep dark core.  Everywhere I allowed myself to float, I found merit.  And everywhere I opened myself to new possibility I found something worth changing for.

Suddenly the world became more colorful.  Relationships and understandings deepened.  Where I found that my beliefs were substantiated there was richness and vibrancy.  The creator was in everything.  The creator was in me.  I found that he wasn't at the end of some long and arduous road of trials.  The creator was in my friends, nature, and my brothers; she permeated my life already.

When we allow people to be themselves, discover themselves, and act for themselves they become who they were intended to be all along.  Just as the perfection of nature cannot be improved, there can be no improvement made by an external source upon a person who is discovering themselves from within.  A goat cannot be a good or bad goat.  A tree cannot be a good or bad tree.  Likewise a person will become perfection if only all influence, both external and self imposed, is stripped away. If we can do that, we can connect in the truest and most intimate way with ourselves, each other, and more importantly our origin.  

We can begin to experience others, only after we first experience ourselves.  If we can find those sorts of connections, there you will find god.  It is a deep and rich wonderment, the beauty of the spirit.  When you glimpse yourself, late at night, when you are tired and a little beat down from the day, you are seeing the creator.  You begin to feel empowered, limitless, and strong.  This is who you were intended to be.  That reunion can be an emotional one, similar to embracing your lover after a long absence.  What is that feeling? Relief? Love? Happiness?  That feeling is the very reason for your forming the relationship to begin with.  We call it love, but really it is simply the experience of connecting with another person as we were intended to.

So often, especially in Masonry, we project ourselves.  We attempt to lead, but more often than not, Masonic Leadership is akin to herding or an attempt at conversion to the leader's view.  If we love our brethren, we must let them be.  If you are the one elected to lead you must lead yourself.  The lodge is not “your” lodge.  It is not “your” year.  The lodge is the lodge and this year is simply 2015.   It doesn't belong to you, or me, or the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the State.

We must step back from our own minds, brethren, and discover what perfection lies within.  We are all on the same path.  You might ask, “well what is the point of having a leader then?”  That is a very good question.  I believe that our Worshipful Masters are here to provide a spiritual center to the group.  The tone of the frail egregore is in their charge.  They are to take care to preserve and foster an environment where we may come together and learn from each other so that we may work upon ourselves more efficiently.  They are here to run the meetings and facilitate the structured business dealings we must attend to.  They are not here to dictate your Masonry.  We must be so very careful to maintain the space where spiritual experience can happen.  We must be attentive and wise to allow it to take different forms.  It is quite possible that the direction of the lodge will go in the complete opposite way than you imagined, no matter how noble your intention.  Give it space.  Be a student at all times; you never know what unknown experience will change you forever.

Peace,

Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from your own mind
and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue. [1]

________________________________

Thank you for reading The Laudable Pursuit! If you enjoyed this piece, please feel free to share it on social media sites, or with your Lodge.

For more information on Nathaniel P. Warren, CLICK HERE
You can email him HERE

Also, visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLaudablePursuit

End Notes:

[1] Tzu, Lao, and Stephen Mitchell. "10." Tao Te Ching: A New English Version. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. 23. Print.