Deleted member 6403
Made It Out The Hood
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and it's demonic
07/01/2009 II – Ritual and the Candidate Having established the importance of ritual for the purpose of continuity, we need to address whether Masonic ritual should be read or learned. In Masonry, ritual is always present whether for the purpose of conducting lodge business or the conferral of degrees. Let us first focus on the conferral of degrees. No matter what the degree in question is, the candidate for that degree undergoes a powerful “moral drama”. The more powerful the impression on the candidate the more impact it will have on his conscience. When ritual is read during degree conferral, the “drama” is weakened to the point that it becomes an intellectual exercise at best. When recited however, it becomes a sequence of acts in a living “drama” with the candidate being its primary witness. The impact there is tremendous. Can you imagine yourself attending a Shakespeare’s theatrical performance where the actors would read their lines instead of acting them through recital? How disappointed would you be? A candidate to a Masonic degree would feel the same disappointment if he were deprived the aura and mysticism of that powerful drama embedded in that degree. I cannot describe to you in words the feelings I had every time I received a degree at Potomac Lodge No. 5, my mother lodge in the District of Columbia. I truly felt that I was going through something very special and unique. No reading could ever convey the power of those degrees and cause such emotional reaction. III – Ritual and the Mason: True Alchemy “Could we know what Men are most apt to Remember, we might know what They are most apt to Do” Halifax Having addressed the powerful impact that recited ritual has on the candidate for Masonic degrees, we need now to focus on the more complex question of the importance of learned ritual to the individual brother Mason. In other words, why should a Mason learn his ritual rather than simply read it? What difference does it make? The answer to this question is in two parts. First, the officers of a lodge would have to learn the ritual in order to put together the necessary degree work for candidates in the manner we discussed earlier. But since going through the chairs is conceived as a process of maturity for the individual Mason in search of light, then each and every brother would need at some time to be proficient in the ritual. But even if a Mason chooses not to seek the East in lodge, his search for further light would greatly benefit from learning the ritual. Let me explain. We know that rituals, through symbolism, make lasting impressions upon a man’s consciousness. What does this really mean? Tim Schallice, MRC Applied Psychology Unit at Cambridge, sheds some light on the importance of consciousness: “a variety of empirical phenomena, such as the blindsight syndrome, indicate that if there is to be a scientific understanding of human thought, consciousness cannot be dismissed as a mere epiphenomenon. On the contrary, it relates to some very central aspect of the human information-processing system”. In other words, consciousness plays a paramount role in influencing physical behavior, and if one were to alter his own consciousness, he could ultimately alter his behavior. Harry M. Johnson of the University of Illinois says the following on the meaning of symbol: “properly speaking, a symbol stands for a concept, general or particular. The person, thing, category, idea or event evoked as a concept may be only imaginary but may, along with other symbolized meanings in complex messages, bring about thoughts, feelings, or intentions in the decoders of the symbol.” Indeed, symbolism works very well on intuition by triggering feelings which in turn allow the individual to comprehend at a glance. Pascal put it best when he said: “those who are accustomed to reason from first principles do not understand matters of feeling at all, because they look for first principles and are unable to comprehend at a glance”. In other words, a man through ritual can affect his consciousness by letting symbols affect his senses and activate his intuition; and an altered state of consciousness ultimately expresses itself in tangible actions. In Freemasonry, that is exactly the purpose of ritual. As Masons we believe that Freemasonry takes good men and makes them better. Indeed, it is through its richly moral rituals that Freemasonry makes such a deep and lasting impact on the individual brother. By altering one’s own level of consciousness, a good man can make himself better through a gradual process of internal change. This is true alchemy and therefore the most important aspect of Masonic ritual.
07/01/2009 II – Ritual and the Candidate Having established the importance of ritual for the purpose of continuity, we need to address whether Masonic ritual should be read or learned. In Masonry, ritual is always present whether for the purpose of conducting lodge business or the conferral of degrees. Let us first focus on the conferral of degrees. No matter what the degree in question is, the candidate for that degree undergoes a powerful “moral drama”. The more powerful the impression on the candidate the more impact it will have on his conscience. When ritual is read during degree conferral, the “drama” is weakened to the point that it becomes an intellectual exercise at best. When recited however, it becomes a sequence of acts in a living “drama” with the candidate being its primary witness. The impact there is tremendous. Can you imagine yourself attending a Shakespeare’s theatrical performance where the actors would read their lines instead of acting them through recital? How disappointed would you be? A candidate to a Masonic degree would feel the same disappointment if he were deprived the aura and mysticism of that powerful drama embedded in that degree. I cannot describe to you in words the feelings I had every time I received a degree at Potomac Lodge No. 5, my mother lodge in the District of Columbia. I truly felt that I was going through something very special and unique. No reading could ever convey the power of those degrees and cause such emotional reaction. III – Ritual and the Mason: True Alchemy “Could we know what Men are most apt to Remember, we might know what They are most apt to Do” Halifax Having addressed the powerful impact that recited ritual has on the candidate for Masonic degrees, we need now to focus on the more complex question of the importance of learned ritual to the individual brother Mason. In other words, why should a Mason learn his ritual rather than simply read it? What difference does it make? The answer to this question is in two parts. First, the officers of a lodge would have to learn the ritual in order to put together the necessary degree work for candidates in the manner we discussed earlier. But since going through the chairs is conceived as a process of maturity for the individual Mason in search of light, then each and every brother would need at some time to be proficient in the ritual. But even if a Mason chooses not to seek the East in lodge, his search for further light would greatly benefit from learning the ritual. Let me explain. We know that rituals, through symbolism, make lasting impressions upon a man’s consciousness. What does this really mean? Tim Schallice, MRC Applied Psychology Unit at Cambridge, sheds some light on the importance of consciousness: “a variety of empirical phenomena, such as the blindsight syndrome, indicate that if there is to be a scientific understanding of human thought, consciousness cannot be dismissed as a mere epiphenomenon. On the contrary, it relates to some very central aspect of the human information-processing system”. In other words, consciousness plays a paramount role in influencing physical behavior, and if one were to alter his own consciousness, he could ultimately alter his behavior. Harry M. Johnson of the University of Illinois says the following on the meaning of symbol: “properly speaking, a symbol stands for a concept, general or particular. The person, thing, category, idea or event evoked as a concept may be only imaginary but may, along with other symbolized meanings in complex messages, bring about thoughts, feelings, or intentions in the decoders of the symbol.” Indeed, symbolism works very well on intuition by triggering feelings which in turn allow the individual to comprehend at a glance. Pascal put it best when he said: “those who are accustomed to reason from first principles do not understand matters of feeling at all, because they look for first principles and are unable to comprehend at a glance”. In other words, a man through ritual can affect his consciousness by letting symbols affect his senses and activate his intuition; and an altered state of consciousness ultimately expresses itself in tangible actions. In Freemasonry, that is exactly the purpose of ritual. As Masons we believe that Freemasonry takes good men and makes them better. Indeed, it is through its richly moral rituals that Freemasonry makes such a deep and lasting impact on the individual brother. By altering one’s own level of consciousness, a good man can make himself better through a gradual process of internal change. This is true alchemy and therefore the most important aspect of Masonic ritual.
