We Must be Charitable

BY: NATHANIEL P. WARREN

Have you ever found yourself destitute?  I have.  I have been both destitute in terms of coin and of spirit.  It is was an invaluable experience, one which I hope to never find myself in again, but if I do, I fear it not.  My only hesitation with being destitute is that it hampers my ability to assist others.  You can never fully comprehend the power of charity, until you are the necessary beneficiary.  The feeling of being helpless and dependent upon another feels very vulnerable indeed, like standing in a crowded room without clothes and without the ability to dress.  You can feel exposed and weak.  It can feel like the whole world is looking on at our dire situation.

There was a time in Masonry in which this lesson was given to me.  At the time I understood it only from a financial standpoint.  Of course, I would contribute to a brother’s relief financially if that’s what he needs.  We are brothers, after all.  A few years passed after my initiation into the fraternity before this lesson would crack from the seed and implant roots into my soul.  I never met a brother in those first few years that needed any charity.  I had helped a few guys move and clear trees, but never any real need.  How fortunate.

It struck me one day that this charity must extend beyond money.  It must extend beyond the help to move from one home to another, providing an ear to listen, furnishing clothing, or granting a place to stay.  Our charity must be not only from a place of love, it must be love, manifested.  We must practice spiritual charity.  We must employ empathy and embrace the pain of others.  We must strip ourselves down and stand with those in need upon the darkened square. 

One day I came to realize that the practice of charity must apply to everyday situations with everyday people.  After this realization, I looked around and saw the suffering of others in a whole new way.  I saw people with body issues, people with inferiority complexes, people who were unsure of themselves, and people who withheld the beauty of who they are for fear that they simply were not good enough, as measured against what they perceived as normal.  I saw people who were told that they were different and that different was no good.  I saw people who didn’t feel like they could or should, write, speak up, or tell a joke in a crowd.  I saw these people all around me in daily living and I saw it within the fraternity.  My heart broke.

Charity is to include everyone, not just our brethren.  We must empower everyone to succeed, and we MUST make sure that no one stands alone with their emotions.  We as Masons are duty bound to help a brother as well as those who are not initiated.  We are to be a light in the community.  We cannot be content to rely upon the legacy of trustworthiness and generosity of our grandfathers, which we inherited by the donning the same apron, ring, and appellation of “FreeMason.”  We must act every day, in every way, as if our fellow humans are entitled to the full bounty of spiritual loving-kindness that we all muster for our brothers. 

We know that we will do just about anything that a brother asks, but if we are content with waiting until he asks we are missing the point.  The charity we need to be practicing cannot be measured in simple dollars or organizing festivities for a cause.  This charity is measured in feelings of worthiness, validation, comfort, smiles, gratitude and enlightenment.  We are in the business of being generous men, not for the sake of strengthening the bonds of brotherhood, but for strengthening the condition of the human spirit at large.  The goal should be to share a piece of yourself, of your spirit, and to truly connect with another person on a deeply personal and intimate level.  This is charity.  This is the warm feeling that washes over you when you first realize that your brethren are here to support you both inside and outside of Lodge.   This is the feeling of love.  To make another person that has been scattered upon the rocks of life feel like their plight is not a singular struggle; to comfort the ones that are shaky in their resolve, and to bring warmth to those that need it, is Charity.

Charity extends beyond the grave, through the boundless realms of eternity. [2] We must be charitable, brethren, or there is no point in being a Mason at all.  If we do nothing in this life to improve the lives of others, then we have done nothing.  This is why charity is the first great lesson of Masonry.

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 [2] The Official Monitor of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, State of Texas. Waco: Gayle Printing, 1921. Print.

Conspiracy Theories: The Product of Paranoia and Ignorance

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

                                                                                                             Photo Credit: Wor. Matthew D. Anthony

I don’t know about you, but I’ve enjoyed about all the conspiracy theories I can stand. I’ve personally been accosted by them since John F. Kennedy’s assassination in the early 60’s. I really feel for the poor chaps who have had to endure them all the way back to Pearl Harbor.

I have no idea how old these things are in our culture. Someone told me they started in the 1920’s. If that’s the case, we’ve now gone through 4 generations of Americans being duped by someone else’s ignorance. And that’s my point. With few exceptions, conspiracy theories are born out of ignorance. My favorite exception, of course, is the theory that Freemasons are out to establish a New World Order. Being a Mason, I rather like that one. I’ll clarify what we are up to a little later on.

For now, let’s say that a conspiracy theory is when we attribute the ultimate cause of an event or events to some underlying secret or deceptive ploy that is held from public knowledge by some powerful individual or alliance. Usually such individual or group is purported to have a sinister purpose which is why the whole thing is secret to begin with. We tend to lose sight of the fact that those who subscribe to these theories are usually convinced the world has always been dominated by conspirators who manipulate political, economic and future happenings behind the scenes. The events themselves eventually fall into the category of folklore or urban legends.

The perplexing thing is why so many of us believe them to be true! Unfortunately, there’s no good answer because these things are so often driven by paranoia and ignorance. They can be a form of scapegoating where people with diverse or politically questionable points of view identify other people or groups as being the blame for their own political, social or economic shortcomings. It’s the old blame game. The idea is that, if only we remove those who are harming us from positions of popularity or power, things will be better. If we can get enough people to believe like us, then we, the scapegoater, will be seen as the hero for sounding the alarm.

Conspiracies are also a way for people to respond to events or circumstances which have an emotional impact on them. The events or topics most often talked about fall under the areas of religions, disasters, morality, politics and science.

Now, I don’t have a problem with people trying to make sense of things which cannot be easily explained. What I do have a problem with is assigning blame to other people when these unexplainable events occur. It didn’t used to be this way. A couple of centuries ago, it was popular when a disaster occurred to say it was “an act of God.” It seemed reasonable enough to blame God for something so large that a mere mortal could not possibly have created it. But that brought on a new challenge. It gave God a kind of undeserved and seedy reputation. To neutralize this potential spiritual blunder and ease our sense of unworldly guilt, it became easier to suggest that such events were really a manifestation of God’s anger toward the sins of the world. Alas! This didn’t work either because most people were not willing to place a part of the blame on themselves. Disasters then quickly became acts of nature. This worked out fine until technology finally reached a point where almost anything seemed possible for man. Ah! Even better, since it then became easier for us to blame almost anything on human action or irresponsibility. Now when almost anything painful happens, the first question is, “who is there to blame?”

The sad fact is we now live in a world where we no longer accept that accidents, disasters, circumstances, or misfortunes just occasionally happen to people. Obviously, no one’s to blame for acts of nature. Neither can we, in honesty, blame anyone else for our own negligence, superstition and ignorance. Yet, more than ever, we keep applying our own distorted perspectives to the cause and meaning of catastrophes and circumstances without regard for individual accountability. Of course, the media exacerbates the problem by its own rushed and short-sided receptivity to personalized, dramatic accounts of social and natural phenomena.

All this creates a multiplier effect. If we can’t accept that things happen occasionally which are not the fault of anyone, then we are bound to live in a world full of bitterness, fear, suspicion, isolation, and confusion. Now that is a catastrophe.

My suggestion is that we start using some common sense in assessing the likelihood of truth in these matters. Does the theory meet the test of rational thinking? Are the events upheld by structured and institutional accounts, or only by individuals or special interest groups? Are the media keeping it alive for its sensational appeal? Does the basis for the theory appear, at best, to be unfounded or speculative? Are the proofs offered for the theory well constructed, using sound methodology? Are any clear academic standards prevalent as evidence of proof or disproof? Who and what kind of people appear to be the loyal conspirators?

The bottom line is that conspiracy theories are not really worth our time if they can’t meet these basic tests of verification. You are free to believe that the federal government is in league with space aliens to enslave humanity if you want. Just don’t make a public nuisance of your nonsense.

And, as for the Masons being out to bring about a New World Order, I can attest to the truth in this. That was indeed our task during much of the 17th and 18th centuries when the world desperately needed to organize a model for civil society based on liberty and equality. Once we accomplished that, we have spent the last couple of centuries trying to keep it that way. You can call it a new world order if you like; we prefer to think of it as order in the world.

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Death: An End and a Beginning

By: Wor. Jason E. Marshall

                                                                                                              Photo Credit: Wor. Matthew D. Anthony

(Originally Published in the March 2012 Edition of Living Stone's Magazine)

This piece will explore Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of death (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance), in order to explore how the Masonic system prepares us for our current physical and spiritual state of existence, while simultaneously preparing us for whatever awaits us after we shed our mortal coil.

Death and resurrection, “your last great change- your transition from Time to Eternity”[1], are prominent themes in the Masonic system. On the physical and material level, the Masonic system  provides valuable lessons and tools to each brother so that he can live a full life, as well as prepare him for the inevitable death of his physical body.  In the Entered Apprentice degree because your old self must begin to wither away and die so that you can leave the world of darkness and ignorance in order to pursue the path of light and knowledge. The spiritual world, where we each go after death, is present in the Fellowcraft degree because the brother must leave the material realm in order to undertake intellectual, philosophical and spiritual pursuits during the staircase lecture, only to once again re-enter the material world in order to apply that knowledge for further work and refinement. Finally, both physical and spiritual death and resurrection take center stage in the Master Mason degree, where the Master must complete his spiritual transformation by dying in the material realm, so that he may be resurrected in the spiritual realm.

The first stage of death in Kübler-Ross’ model is “Denial”, during this stage the person does not want to admit that they are dying, so they tend to try and will themselves back to good health.[2] This sense of denial could come from the fact that many people don’t ever think about death until they actually have to confront it. So when someone finds out that they are terminally ill, this might be the first time that they have been confronted with the reality of their own mortality. Part of this uneasiness and fear about death could be caused by the fact that many of us wrap ourselves up into our occupations and material possessions to such an extent that these things become our identity, they become our earthly treasures. When we spend all of our time focusing on our earthly treasures, we neglect our spiritual treasures, and therefore tend to avoid thinking about the fact that our earthly treasures will be useless to us when we die.

Just as we first entered the Lodge poor and destitute as an Entered Apprentice, we will leave this world poor and destitute, without any material possessions. According to the Gospel of Luke Jesus taught, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys”.[3] By gaining an understanding of our mortality, and using the working tools provided in the degrees, we can focus on living a full and productive life, as well as develop our spiritual treasure in heaven.

The second stage of the Kubler-Ross model is that of “Anger”. The person who knows that he is about to die becomes angry at himself, his current situation, those around him, and sometimes the entire world.[4] This anger could often be the result of his own feelings of a wasted or unfulfilled life, or a feeling that his life has been too short. According to Bro. Albert Pike, “We think, at the age of twenty, that life is much too long for that which we have to learn and do; and that there is an almost fabulous distance between our age and that of our grandfather. But when, at the age of sixty, if we are fortunate enough to reach it, or unfortunate enough, as the case may be, and according as we have profitably invested or wasted our time, we halt, and look back along the way we have come, and cast up and endeavor to balance our accounts with time and opportunity, we find that we have made life much too short, and thrown away a huge portion of our time.”[5]  The key to not looking back at our life and being remorseful, is to live our life to the fullest, which includes spending time with friends and family, as well devoting time to earnest study and reflection. The working tools of an Entered Apprentice allow us to make the most of our life by “divesting our minds and consciences of the vices and superfluities of life”, as well as teaching us to correctly divide our time.[6]

The third stage of the Kubler-Ross model is that of “Bargaining”. During the bargaining stage the individual may try to bargain with God to extend his life somehow by doing good deeds, reforming his life, or helping others.[7] This could be the result of either a selfish desire to continue living, or a fear of what happens after death. The well prepared Mason, like our Grand Master, will not need to bargain for the extension of his life, because he will have already lived a full life, helped others, and become comfortable with the journey that he will take after his physical death.  The working tools of the Fellowcraft degree assist us in living a moral, just, and fulfilled life, no matter how brief, by instructing us to live and act virtuously, morally, and uprightly in our interactions with God and man, as well as reminding us that we are each constantly, “traveling upon the Level of Time, to that undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveler returns."[8]

The Fourth stage of the Kubler-Ross model is that of “Depression”. After the person realizes that they are going to die and that they cannot extend their life, or somehow bargain their way out of death, they become depressed.[9] This can be caused by their belief that they are abandoning loved ones and friends, or that loved ones and friends have abandoned them. The Master Mason’s use of the trowel, which spreads the “cement of brotherly love and affection”, can ease this stage during physical death because his brothers will not only support him during his transition, but he has the assurance that his brothers will be there to support his family after his passing.[10] On the Spiritual level, the brother can use the bonds (the mystic ties) created by the trowel in order to learn spiritual Truths from his brothers, as well as share his own wisdom, which will not only help his current spiritual development, but will continue to help others after his passing.

The Fifth and final stage of the Kubler-Ross Model is that of “Acceptance”. During the acceptance stage the dying person will have come to accept their fate.[11] The acceptance stage is the most critical stage because it allows the person to die peacefully. If the person does not come to the stage of acceptance before their death, the process of death might be harder not only on themselves, but the loved ones who will be by their side. Again, reaching the stage of acceptance is much easier if the brother has already spent time contemplating this inevitable moment, lived life as fully as possible, and is comfortable that his spiritual house is in order. Brother Ben Franklin conveyed this well when he wrote his own epitaph, although it was never used, “The Body of B. Franklin, Printer, Like the Cover of an Old Book, Its Contents Torn Out and Stripped of Its Lettering and Gilding, Lies Here, Food for Worms, But the Work Shall Not be Lost, For it Will as He Believed, Appear Once More In a New and More Elegant Edition Revised and Corrected By the Author”.[12]

The Kübler-Ross model can also be applied to the drama of the Master Mason Degree, which instead of being interpreted as the physical death of our Grand Master, can be interpreted as the completion of the spiritual transformation that we each began to undertake as an Entered Apprentice. When viewed in this light, the actions of the three ruffians represent the last vestiges of our old self desperately clinging for control. The denial and anger stages are represented by the ruffians as they commit their acts out of anger and frustration, because they cannot be a part of the Master’s transformation, because they are the final rough edges that must be cleaved from the Master’s ashlar. As the Master’s transformation becomes more eminent, the ruffians enter into the bargaining stage as they try to bargain and even threaten our Master in an attempt to gain that which they seek. However, their attempts are useless because the Master does not fear death, and if need be he is even prepared to embrace death. After their deeds have been committed, the ruffians know that the final stages of transformation have begun, so they flee and enter into the depression stage, hence the recital of their lamentations, which leads to their capture. Finally, when brought before King Solomon, they enter into the acceptance stage, and receive punishment for their crimes. After the three ruffians (the remnants of the old self) are permanently dealt with, the Master can be resurrected in his new form, thus completing the spiritual transformation.

Almost every religion teaches that the soul will be resurrected either in a spiritual realm, of one form or another, or reincarnated into another form after the death of the physical body. Death is also present in our spiritual transformation, because parts of our old self (our old psyche) must die so that we can continually resurrect ourselves into higher states of consciousness (awareness). Since death always has a resurrection aspect associated with it, it is not an end, it is a beginning. Death is merely a transformation from one state into another.  The beauty of the Masonic system is that it provides teachings and support that will aid the brother during physical and spiritual deaths, as well as the brother’s subsequent resurrections, so that the brother will continually evolve as a living stone, and even a spiritual stone, until his work is ultimately completed. This is accomplished because the Masonic system provides spiritual Truths that aid the brother in this current material realm, as well as in the spiritual realm, where all resurrections ultimately take place.

_______________________________________

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[1] Shaver’s Masonic Monitor – E.A. Preparation Room Language

[2] Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1970. Page 51

[3] Luke 12:33, NIV

[4] Kübler-Ross. Page: 63

[5] Pike, Albert. Morals and Dogma. Washington D.C.: Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, 1872. Page 115.

[6] Shaver’s Masonic Monitor – E.A. Working Tools Lecture

[7] Kübler-Ross. Page: 93

[8] Shaver's Masonic Monitor–F.C. Working Tools Lecture

[9] Kübler-Ross. Page: 97

[10] Shaver’s Masonic Monitor –M.M. Working Tools Lecture

[11] Kübler-Ross. Page: 123

[12] Mapp, Alfred J. The Faith of Our Fathers. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005. Page: 31.