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Post by seekinglight on Nov 25, 2015 23:47:56 GMT
Hi, I would just like to let everyone know that the extent of my involvement with Freemasonry has been the Entered Apprentice Initiation ceremony (I didn't even return the next day, so I don't know if I completed it or not), but I had some questions. 1) Is the aim of Freemasonry to provide the individual with an opportunity for spiritual enlightenment, and if so, does Freemasonry claim any authority over whether the individual chooses the left-hand path or right-hand path? The general idea that I'm getting about Freemasonry is that it does incorporate some aspects of what is commonly known as occultism (ceremonial magic), but generally at least makes an effort to steer people who have been initiated in the direction of virtue. 2) Is there any form of direct spiritual experience that everyone shares when they are raised to the degree of Master Mason? This is just a hunch and it may be completely baseless, but I think there may be something to the idea because of the phrase 'Once a Mason, always a Mason', hinting at a shared experience between all full-fledged (Master Mason) Freemasons. 3) Does anyone believe that there are deeper teachings reserved for what are called 'high-level initiates'? I have seen these claims and they are generally from unreliable sources, but I believe that the way that Masonry is structured (particularly the Scottish Rite) May give an opportunity for these sorts of incidents to arise. May God show the truth to anyone who is reading this. Thank you
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Post by peter2 on Nov 26, 2015 2:11:21 GMT
>Is the aim of Freemasonry to provide the individual with an opportunity for spiritual enlightenment,
That is a reasonable statement but not exactly using the words of Grand Lodges
>does Freemasonry claim any authority over whether the individual chooses the left-hand path
Freemasonry seeks men (and sometimes women) of goodwill. The left-hand path is not known for that quality.
>it does incorporate some aspects of what is commonly known as occultism (ceremonial magic),
Masonry does involve ritual. Most brethren do not have any interest in occultism as the term is commonly used
> makes an effort to steer people who have been initiated in the direction of virtue.
Quite so.
>Is there any form of direct spiritual experience that everyone shares when they are raised to the degree of Master Mason?
I often ask a new MM what experiences he had, and about half have some partial disconnection from the physical body at one particular stage.
>Does anyone believe that there are deeper teachings reserved for what are called 'high-level initiates'?
I know quite a number of higher degree brethren and have not detected many of them with much interest in deeper teachings.
Nevertheless the ritual, on occasions, does expose some of the inner aspects of Reality for those that are sensitive and alert.
The deeper teachings present prior to 1717 have been veiled, often by ignorant edits of the ritual and ignorant commentary, but to some extent are present for those that work hard and are inwardly qualified.
If you wish to join Freemasonry I suggest you choose your lodge carefully. Most are social gatherings of good men that like ritual. Few lodges attract much from on high.
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