staffs
Administrator
Staffs
Posts: 3,295
|
Post by staffs on Jan 6, 2005 21:01:57 GMT
i realise i have little experience but it interests me as to what path in Freemasonry people take.
I obviously like the spiritual awakening of myself and mu mind that Freemasonry has given me and seem to be being drawn deeper into the esoteric side.
BUT: A brother i know (not myself) oftenquestions where does freemasonry lead to and what ropute he should take to discover the true secrets.He is quite into The venus stuff and stone circles but to me seems quite lost at times.He has recently gone into RA maybe not knowing quite why but he has enjoyed being exalted none the less.I prefer to research and ask questions and then act on my belief and with the assistance of others knowledge and experience.
His point is that if he continues his journey paying for various degrees etc will he find out the end.I say categorically NO as there is no end and it is a continued quest and journey and you go as far down the road as you feel you should as well as time dictates and without detriment to your work and family and without it becoming an obsession.
But he says the moment he finds out that he may be being strung along he will immediateky cut all ties associated with FM.
any further ideas or opinions please ?
|
|
|
Post by rich9999 on Jan 6, 2005 21:17:58 GMT
Myself, I am interested in the esoteric side of Freemasonry and I really enjoy it.
but,
It is the journey that's important, not the destination.
You are always searching for more light, till you take your last breath.
My thoughts.
RichN
|
|
staffs
Administrator
Staffs
Posts: 3,295
|
Post by staffs on Jan 6, 2005 21:19:26 GMT
i agree Rich entirely.
be worried though when you DO reach the destination as that may well be the Grand Leveller which reduces us to the same state.
oR is there a need to worry?
now that is another topic and nopt here i think
|
|
|
Post by leonardo on Jan 6, 2005 21:28:46 GMT
Very interesting choice of topic. Looking forward to reading the replies.
|
|
|
Post by middlepillar on Jan 6, 2005 21:34:31 GMT
I've been thinking about this, and heres my 2 pennies worth;
Firstly; You never come to the end of the journey, no matter what path you take.
You can stay as a normal Craft mason and never take another degree and a True mason wil never finish the journey, there is so much to learn from each new EA and each ceremony can teach you new things, and has the ability to switch on a light within.
You can take lots of Orders/Degrees and if you do this I can assure you as you open one door at least two more open once your inside!
And finally I believe when your light finally goes out , your spirit then start its journey on another plane.
Never ending!
Lee
As I have PM you, your friend needs a little guidance and you may be junior to him but it doesnt mean you cant guide him. Good Luck
|
|
|
Post by leonardo on Jan 6, 2005 21:45:22 GMT
Lifes journey itself is never ending. I suppose this can also be said of the Masonic one.
|
|
staffs
Administrator
Staffs
Posts: 3,295
|
Post by staffs on Jan 6, 2005 21:47:48 GMT
Leo,you seem to be quite a spiritual person and k you seem to know already your chosen path.I will look forward to you further enlightenment from the masses you already have.
|
|
|
Post by rich9999 on Jan 6, 2005 21:56:13 GMT
Well said........middlepillar
It is a journey that never ends in the physical, and continues on in the spiritual.
A never ending quest for light.
RichN
|
|
|
Post by Hubert (N. Z.) on Jan 6, 2005 23:27:14 GMT
Staffs, Only your friend can decide if "he is being strung along" because he is the one taking such action. As others have said above, life is the journey. Freemasonry is but one "tool" by which to achieve this. Reincarnation into this realm is purely to exerience such pathways. The only time to leave freemasonry is when it no longer provides us with the facilities to achieve our aims. That, I suggest , would be only if something better had presented itself. No "LORE/LAW" prevents any individual using more than one pathway at a time, tho' prudence would caution not to take on too many burdens consecutively. ALL paths lead to the same result - a better understanding of ourselves, and I posit the next rung on our personal ladder.
|
|
|
Post by taylorsman on Jan 7, 2005 4:15:25 GMT
We all need to find our own path in Life Lee and your friend will have to do so too. Sometimes others can help, be they Priests, Vicars, Imams, Rabbis etc, or Philosphers, or some Religion or System of Morals such as Freemasonry (of whatever variety) may hold the key. Others prefer to find their own way.
It may be that your friend may find that Freemasonry is not the key for his particular lock, that is neither his failing nor that of The Craft.
If and when he asks for your assistance, I'm sure you will help him as best you can, but in the end he has to find his own way and I wish him well.
|
|
Agent J
Member
On a Mission from God...
Posts: 127
|
Post by Agent J on Jan 7, 2005 8:19:58 GMT
Staffs, I'd say that you hit the nail on the head already. Ultimate light will only be experienced when we are reunited with the GAOTU. But Freemasonry is one way of attempting to short-circuit a lifetime's journey.
|
|
|
Post by whistler on Jan 9, 2005 9:46:03 GMT
The path leads to the reuniting with the creator, and as the creator created all that must be perfection by any measure.
I understand our journey on the path, is according to our behaviour, and I know it takes many lifetimes to reach that perfect end. The Moral teachings of Freemasonry, gives an opportunity to make the Journey a little less difficult
|
|
|
Post by leonardo on Jan 9, 2005 10:07:57 GMT
I know it takes many lifetimes to reach that perfect end. Why wait "many lifetimes"? I believe if we try hard enough we can actually achieve this now. Saying it takes many lifetime unfortunately gives some the excuse to procrastonate
|
|
|
Post by Yoki on Jan 10, 2005 20:31:36 GMT
To the question What Path and where does it lead to ,I would answer to each their own leading who really knows were. There are six billon (and we continue to count) people on this planet ,each with their own slant on a belief system .Some hold science up as the answer and others think that no answer is a answer .So to my way of thinking this makes truth relative and very fluid. The universe is vast enough and perhaps also fluid enough to allow everyone their own reality. Thus many realities provide a wealth of experiences to the universal mind and paths of enlightenment for us all. Having written that naturally I'm with Whistler on this one. I like the path that reincarnation provides ,were some may procrastinate and others sit passively accepting their karma many work diligently with their circumstances .They learn and grow lifting their knowledge and evolution to ever higher levels . As in all things what we do with this and other life’s is totally determined by ourselves. Reincarnation provides us the space to learn from our mistakes and a answer to some of life's riddles. Does it matter if it takes one hundred life’s or more we are eternal we have forever.
|
|
|
Post by hollandr on Jan 11, 2005 0:23:56 GMT
Answering such a question is difficult: one could answer it as a hypothetical (this is what one hopes or thinks) or as an experiential (this is what happened to oneself).
The first is suitably cautious and modest but not very convincing.
The second is not suitable except when working with brethren of that degree or above of real initiation.
I recall a friend telling me that when you come close enough to the way the Creator views things then He delegates to you some component of the decision-making - only the deciding if something should happen.
And he said at a later stage the Creator may delegate some authority to decide how things should happen.
My friend said that 25 years ago and I am still unable to discount it.
Cheers
Russell
|
|
bod
Member
UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
|
Post by bod on Jan 11, 2005 8:36:52 GMT
You can spend your whole life looking for something that is right in front of you. I suspect that is where your friend is currently - looking really really hard for something revelatory and blinding in it's truth - when the small pulsating LED in front of him shows the light he is looking for....
|
|
|
Post by leonardo on Jan 13, 2005 17:18:17 GMT
To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive. Robert Louis Stevenson Scottish author (1850 - 1894) TTT, Great quote. It like what someone else, can't remember who, said "The journey is better than the destination". Not sure I agree with this totally, though.
|
|
|
Post by hollandr on Jan 13, 2005 23:27:07 GMT
Folks
I think that the path hidden in Masonry is hard to find mainly because lodges often do not have their intended inner life.
But, briefly, the successive degrees in the craft including Mark are intended to encourage us to become sequentially:
- competent humans - actively seeking to understand the secrets of nature - actively seeking to understand the Great Plan - actively seeking to play a part in the Great Plan.
Which of us has taken seriously the second of those (injunction to the Fellowcraft)?
If we have not then we can hardly be surprised if it is not clear to us what is the Plan and what our place.
Do you note that none of the above refer to studying Masonry itself?
Are my words discomforting? If so I am satisfied.
Cheers
Russell
|
|
staffs
Administrator
Staffs
Posts: 3,295
|
Post by staffs on Jan 14, 2005 7:17:54 GMT
I personally enjoy studying and researching masonry and also my experiences in relation to the history and tradition of the craft.
|
|
|
Post by taylorsman on Jan 14, 2005 9:40:00 GMT
It seems to me, and I must thank Whistler, Yoki, Hubert, JMD and others here , that Co-Masonry still maintains the Spiritual and Esoteric aspects at Craft (Entry) Level that has been lost by UGLE Craft Freemasonry and not found again unless one enters the Higher Degrees.
There is very little about self preparedness and learning by the Candidate in our Craft Lodges, all he as to study is a page of Questions leading to the next Degree, all of which are preset and are usually learned parrot fashion. Even if he makes little effort in this regard the Deacon will prompt him. I have yet to hear any Brother accept the WM's invitation to put any other question to the Candidate nor have I seen him refused Passing to the Second or Raising to the Third Degree if he has been unsatisfactory in his learning and delivery of the Questions and Answers.
Now this lack on our part may be in part due to the adverse actions of the Duke of Sussex after the Union of 1815 when UGLE was founded, but I also blame the "Social Clubbers" for this as they are more interested in those aspects at the expense of the deeper meanings of our Rituals and Symbolism which some of them even regard as no more than a bit of hocus pocus and mummery.
I must say that I feel that Co-Masonry has the advantage in giving guidance along The Path.
|
|