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Post by Thegnostic on Apr 11, 2005 16:28:40 GMT
All,
Lets have a new discussion. The "Three entrances of the Temple"
Thoughts as to what this means to you?
Gnostic Have no fear of perfection - YOU WILL NEVER REACH IT
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staffs
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Post by staffs on Apr 11, 2005 16:45:57 GMT
Gnostic,
This question can possibly mean several things to different people,
What about:
1.The Porchway or entrance on the south side
2. The open door which led to the middle chamber.
3.The door to the inner Sanctum.
but are you talking about the entrances of our own self inner temple ? or
The entrances in King Solomons Temple at Jerusalem ?
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Post by foxcole on Apr 11, 2005 17:39:51 GMT
"The entrances in King Solomons Temple at Jerusalem"
This is what I thought of first, and I'm still working out their symbolism. I'm only lightly grounded in the story of Hiram Abif, having run across it once or twice in reading, and having heard it once from a friend, all of which spread over a few years' time. But it seems that, because this is what first came to me, there is something worthwhile to explore in it that I haven't found before... relating to the inner as well as the allegorical Temple.
Three entrances... meaning entries? Another word for an entry, or way in, is 'path'. Another meaning of the spelling 'entrance,' as a verb, is 'transport.'
The word roots themselves are interesting---entrance as a noun, meaning way in, comes from and Old French word "entrer" that is itsef based on the Latin "intrare," root "intra" related to "inter," meaning among or between. "Entrance" as a verb, to put in a trance, is based on Old French "transe" (fear of coming evil) which itself is from Latin, "transire" meaning cross over or pass away (literally trans-, across, + ire, to go).
Although the two words are different in definition and etymology, it is easy to draw similarities in their root meanings, a means of or relating to passage.
Very interesting. This bears much thought.
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staffs
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Post by staffs on Apr 11, 2005 17:51:52 GMT
Gnostic,
What a great subject you have started here.
I am really going to enjoy this one .
My Wife tells me that her body is a temple but we wil leave that one alone.
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Post by foxcole on Apr 12, 2005 0:58:11 GMT
It's also easy to see 'among or between' on the plumb, and 'across' on the level, and all on the square.
Which paints an obvious connection to the original question, in my lowly EA understanding, but adds a dimension of meaning that I couldn't see before.
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Post by Thegnostic on Apr 12, 2005 9:02:39 GMT
All,
Well some first thoughts from me.
Exoterically, the reference in our 3rd degree ritual is to the three main entrances of Kings Solomons Temple, which figure in the Craft central legend. However, we are expected to read behind the veil of allegory which conceals an allusion to the make up of our personality, and the meaning of which is essential if we are to follow the directive given to us in the ritual “guide your reflections to that most interesting of all human studies – the knowledge of yourself” So, this leads to my question – Why, then, has the symbolic Temple of the Craft three principal entrances? And in what sense are they deemed to be present in the person of each of us? I believe an answer to these two questions involves considerations of certain facts relating to the evolution of our racial consciousness. Man consists, so the Initiation teaches, of an enduring soul which manifests in a transient body. During our existence the soul is held to suffuse the entire body, but there are traditional points or regions of the body at which the union of body and soul is specially intimate. These are known as the “Points of Entrance” where the soul most deeply enters the body and finds anchorage. Initiatiatic schools commonly use the term that the points of entrance in the temple of the body are located in the regions of the Naval, Heart and Head – so does that ring a bell with us freemasons?
TO BE CONTINUED……..
Gnostic Does the road wind uphill all the way Yes to the very end Will the days` journey take the whole day long From morning to night – my friend….
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Post by Agent J on Apr 13, 2005 9:22:44 GMT
I'd go along with that...this topic may get a little tricky as there are references to the deductions you have made in areas of the Craft and HRA ceremonies which may be better left veiled, but...for me, it's the item that connects the three which gives the game away. It reminds me of a previous thread which dealt with KST as a representation of the body.
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Post by Agent J on Apr 13, 2005 9:35:42 GMT
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staffs
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Post by staffs on Apr 13, 2005 17:32:31 GMT
Gnostic,
giving new meaning to the question "How do you demonstrate the proof of being a mason to others"?
A : .................................................and the perfect points of my entrance.
And also the quetsion "Where were you first prepared to be made a mason ??
Now theres something for all of us to think about.
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Post by atarnaris on Apr 16, 2005 23:49:10 GMT
If the temple is our body, would the three entrances indicate our organs of sight, hearing, and nose.
Our eyes because through them we distinguish the Self from the Non-Self.
Our ears because though them we perceive the thoughts and ideas of the non-self.
Our nose since through that the divine energy is inhaled and sustain us.
On the other hand as Gnostic suggested they may indicate the naval area, heart and brain. Which reminds me of the Tao's three Chi field areas. One below the abdomen until the genital area, one above the abdomen until the neck, and one above the neck which is very similar to what the Gnostic suggests.
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Post by atarnaris on Apr 16, 2005 23:50:29 GMT
Damn,
I forgot the answer to that...
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Post by Yoki on Apr 17, 2005 6:03:10 GMT
Yes its often said that our bodies are our temples and if that's the cases then one could ask were the three entrances were located Thegnostic the above thought was you’re originally and I like it, but I am not sure about your points of anchorage being the navel, heart, and head. My first thought was he means the chakras though a second look said no.I would suggest that this system of energy points could be a candidate for gateways, of course there are more than three. Tanaris has a good suggestion also. I have given consideration to were I (as in my eternal self) reside within my body and have concluded it is within my brain. Everything we touch, taste, see, and hears is experienced in our brain we may think our leg is sore but in reality we experience the pain in our head. To take this even further I read a book that suggested that we are in essence the electrical charge that occurs between our synapses when we think, move, etc .If this is true our true being is a electric charge, neat don't you think, maybe when we die this is what is left. This can be taken even further it could be that instead of the electric charge which is coursed by chemicals we are something else, something that uses this system to anchorage ourselves into the physical.
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Post by taylorsman on Apr 17, 2005 7:00:49 GMT
I understand that in the Roman Catholic Sacrament of Extreme Unction, given to the late Pope a few days before he died, the Openings of the Body are sybolically sealed with Oil. In addition to the eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth, the two excretory orifices are also sealed. This of course makes Nine, a significant number in itself.
Anyone care to comment and perhaps Ruff would be able to confirm or refute the veracity of this information?
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staffs
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Post by staffs on Apr 21, 2005 18:32:46 GMT
Damn, Andrew,for your benefit. by S...s T.......s and the perfect points........... I forgot the answer to that...
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ruffashlar
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Post by ruffashlar on Apr 22, 2005 20:03:55 GMT
"I understand that in the Roman Catholic Sacrament of Extreme Unction ... the two excretory orifices are also sealed."
I don't know who told you that, but they aren't.
Think about: it would mean giving a priest a perfectly legitimate right to touch someone's genitals and anus, as he could always claim he was administering Last Rites. You can have Extreme Unction dozens of times if you like, it doesn't in itself mean you're about to pop your clogs. Nor is there anything really to be gained from having it done, it just makes friends and family feel better.
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Post by taylorsman on Apr 22, 2005 22:52:01 GMT
Thanks Ruff, I did think it a wee bit outre to say the least. Now what DOES happen in Extreme Unction, I assume some Prayers, Anointing with Oil and Communion? I certainly agree that it probably doesn't do anything for the Dying but like all funereal rites it comforts the Bereaved.
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ruffashlar
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Post by ruffashlar on Apr 25, 2005 17:50:34 GMT
There is partial witness of the matter Taylorsman mentioned at this link - www.newadvent.org/cathen/05716a.htm - however, as the following abstract shows, it is an obsolete and culturally proscribed practice:- "... the sacrament consists (apart from certain non-essential prayers) in the unction with oil, specially blessed by the bishop, of the organs of the five external senses (eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, hands), of the feet, and, for men (where the custom exists and the condition of the patient permits of his being moved), of the loins or reins; [...] The unction of the loins is generally, if not universally, omitted in English-speaking countries, and it is of course everywhere forbidden in case of women. To perform this rite fully takes an appreciable time, but in cases of urgent necessity, when death is likely to occur before it can be completed, it is sufficient to employ a single unction (on the forehead, for instance)"
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Post by Agent J on Apr 28, 2005 9:02:06 GMT
I've got something a bit half-baked nagging at me on this one...are we being told something by the method in which HA's body is found, and the means by which the location of the ruffians was discovered? And does this bear some relation to the Latin motto of UGLE?
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