Esoteric Freemasons and Conspiracy Nuts are driving me to Distraction
I listened to my first ever podcast last evening. I've heard about this 'podcasting' thing but it has never been on my priority list to choose from any one of the scadzillions of streams of audio blather produced by random people. That is, until Brother Greg Stewart of the Masonic Traveller weblog was featured on one.
His interview was showcased on a site called 'truthlovefreedom.org'. I have no idea what the site is actually about. I only had time to listen to the interview which was, suprisingly, very interesting. The interviewer did an excellent job and was very well spoken. Brother Stewart, in turn, was very open, honest, and informative.
The only thing is, the whole time Greg was answering I got this itch where I wanted to say some things for myself. The entire focus of the interview kept revolving around so called 'esoteric' topics which, to be frank, was driving me crazy.
I respect Brother Stewart's interest in esoteric topics. I too have a lot of interest in that subject matter as well. However, the thing is for me, I only understand 'esoteric' topics from a detached and intellectual perspective. Well, to be honest, I don't understand it at all. I read the books but I have no clue what these people are talking about. I think trying to explain esotericsm to someone who is incapble of experiencing these phenomena is akin to trying to explain the world in visual terms to a blind person.
I simply don't 'get it'. Moreover, the vast majority of all Freemasons, past, present, and future, don't 'get it' either.
This whole affair motivated me to go off on a lengthy rant, which I posted as a 'comment' on the other website. However, having not posted anything new in a while I figured I would just throw it up here as well.
I wrote this post dead sober and I was pretty relaxed. This rant is for all of the non-esoteric Freemasons in the world who are, in fact, in the majority.
-------------- R A N T B E G I N ------------
This conversation is starting to head into some rather strange territory for my taste.
Freemasonry has nothing to do with the 'occult' and there is nothing about it that is particularly esoteric either. To be frank, I don't even know what 'esoteric' means. I have tried to figure this out before and the only thing I have sort of concluded is that 'esoteric' means 'paranormal'.
You know, people who claim they are psychics, or feel 'energies', and 'vibrations' and the like. Those who convince themselves they are accessing other 'planes' or whatever.
A part of me wants to refer to this as a bunch of kookiness but, I suppose, that isn't fair. You see, I myself am *not* psychic, I don't 'feel energies' or anything else. When I perform a ritual all I feel is the satisfaction of having done something right and well.
What do I know, maybe some people are attuned to other 'esoteric' realms. Good for them. But, you see, I am not. Neither are the vast majority of all Freemasons past, present, or future.
The vast majority of all Freemasons are attracted to, and involved with, the Institution for the reasons that have been stated over and over again. It is a Fraternity at its heart and what binds us together is not wild keggers, or other such nonsense, but rather a ritual that instills within each of us a strong sense of morality and acts as a regular reminder in repetition.
I like and respect Brother Greg Stewart. If he says he gains some 'esoteric' benefit from Freemasonry, I'm happy for him.
Yet, I must point out, that the vast majority of all Freemasons in the world have no clue what 'esoteric' means and have no time, patience, or interest in the concept.
Moreover, the vast majority of all Freemasons in the United States are devout Christians. And, if they are not Christian, they usually subscribe to some other conventional religion.
Of course the host of this interview tends to meet 'esoteric minded' Freemasons, clearly that is the subject he is interested in.
For my part, I wish he would interview a whole bunch of regular joe Freemasons, the kind that I meet with in my own lodge and am proud to call my friends.
The fact of the matter is that, in America at least, Freemasons meet upon the level and have always done so. These allusions to various occult and esoteric orders make for good DaVinci Code style mysteries but are so far divorced from the reality of how Freemasonry is conducted it is silly.
Let us take this one case in point. Even in the podcast the interviewer is careful to point out that Brother Greg Stewart isn't a 'regular low level' Mason but, in fact, a high-level super supreme 32nd degree Mason. And, while Brother Stewart does point out that the 3rd degree in the Blue Lodge is, in fact, the highest degree one can attain, he doesn't really explain the reality behind being a '32nd degree' Mason.
Do you know what it takes to be a 32nd degree Mason? Do you think someone progresses from 3 to 4, from 4 to 5, and then so on; each time being initiated into 'secret' knowledge?
Heck no. Instead you show up at the lodge on a Friday night, have a nice dinner, and receive the 4th degree. On Saturday you see a few more degrees performed and, at the end of the day, your buddies put on some costumes and act out a final little dramatic play, therefore, making you a great and awe inspiring 32nd degree Mason.
The initiation fee is generally around $150, which covers your meal and a little cap that you get.
That's it! It's a little social gathering over the course of less than 24 hours with your friends, who perform as an amateur theatre group a handful of skits.
Let's get real here people!
There are no 4th degree, 10th degree, etc. Scottish Rite Masons! There is only one level you achieve, 32nd degree in one day.
The 33rd degree is honorary and is awarded in recognition for many years of devoted service to Masonry. A couple of my good friends have received this honor and, let me assure you, they earned it by upholding high standards of morality and practicing untold amounts of charity over the course of many years.
As far as Freemasonry having a social and political agenda, of course it does! The United States of America was established on the principles of this social and political agenda and is codified in our founding documents!!
Freemasonry stands for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, liberty, equality, and public education. And, of course, it promotes the highest standards of morality, charity, and service. It attempts to make the world a better place by inspiring good men to become better. Did you think that was just a slogan? That is really what the rituals are all about.
You guys can go wax poetic on esoteric and occult nonsense but, I assure you, it has nothing to do with the Masonic experience we have shared in this country for the past two hundred years.
Sure, quote Pike, or Manly, or Wilmhurst. I'm not saying that some Freemasons didn't hold esoteric beliefs. Of course they did (and some still do). However, these men do not represent the views of most Freemasons; not then and not now today.
The only particularly 'controversial' idea that Freemasonry promotes is something that, to be frank, is basic common sense. Certainly these 'higher' lessons in the Scottish Rite suggest a form of Universalism. These lessons point out the simple fact that if there is, in fact, a God, a singular God who created the Universe, then there can be only that one God, no matter how many man made religions exist. All of the various religions of the world are made by men, practiced by men, and have established dogma to make men conform to a particular view of God. However, and this is the important part, no amount of dogma between various competing human religions actually have any effect on God itself.
Do you find this scandalous? It doesn't particularly bother me personally and, as I said, almost all Freemasons I know are devout Christians. The two 33rd degree Mason friends of mine are Baptists who teach bible classes at their Church.
Heck, even one of the more esoteric writers on Freemasonry (Wilmhurst) concludes that all of the symbolism in our ritual is a clear and obvious allegory for Jesus Christ.
I really think you guys are missing the point. There is no 'way back time machine'. You have no way of ultimately 'knowing' anything concrete about allegedly 'secret societies' from centuries, if not millennia ago.
So why bother? Let's look at what Freemasonry is today and how it has influenced at least American culture.
I just happen to believe in the principles that are embedded within our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These principles are the same ones held by Freemasons and, it is no coincidence, how many prominent Freemasons were involved in the formation of our nation; Benjamin Franklin and George Washington not being the least.
I am proud to be a Freemason primarily because I believe strongly in these founding principles. The expression of tolerance, morality, equality, and brotherly love meet with my hearty approval.
If someone can teach me how to 'feel energies' or any other esoteric fuzziness I would be more than happy to learn it. It sounds like an entertaining experience. However, I have a deep suspicion that all of this talk of 'esotericism' is just delusional fantasy or, perhaps, some people can 'feel energies' and others (like me) just can't.
Before I close, I want to make this comment about 'secrets' and 'degrees'. First of all, there are no secrets in Freemasonry and there haven't been for a very long time. The ritual has been published in hundreds of books and posted in thousands of places on the Internet. You can learn rituals, handshakes, passwords, you name it. So what? Big deal? Heck, an episode of 'Newsradio' used a secret Freemason password as a punch line to a joke.
To honor my obligation, I guess I won't tell you the secret password but I will gladly email you a hundred web links that contain all of the details. This is all so silly to border on the ridiculous.
What is even more silly are people who think 'degrees' somehow mean anything or give access to great sekrit hidden knowledge. Seriously, do you know what a 'degree' even is?? A degree is an amateur theatrical production produced, often times, by some very old men. A great deal of the play makes little sense. From my own perspective I quite enjoy both the first and the second degrees. The first degree impresses us with our moral duties and encourages us to become better men. The second degree informs us that the best way to 'know' God, the creator of the Universe, is through science, logic, reason, mathematics, and cosmology. The engineer in me responds strongly to this kind of rational approach to understanding the Universe. The third degree, however, I truly don't understand. I mean, sure, I understand it at the surface level. It's a very simple and basic tale that any of you can read online and be bored with just like I was. I fail to understand the significance of the 3rd degree and have yet to find anyone who can explain to me why it is particularly important.
I do appreciate that the 3rd degree does encourage a person to think about their own mortality in a contemplative yet positive way. That said, the entire tale of Hiram Abiff rather goes right past me. Maybe one of my 'esoteric' brothers can explain it to me sometime.
John
Comments
My use of the term (and idea) was for me to say that my opinion is of a few, of whom do not conform to the main-stream, idea of what Freemasonry means. Is that right, or is that wrong, I can't say. I don't think any of us can. I can say that personally, I have found a deeper meaning of it. Having taken all three degrees apart and looked at the individual pieces, and then reconstructed them,the have come to say something more to me than their surface representation. Perhaps I am misreading my tea leaves, but when you have a system of metaphor and allegory, you have to take the whole system as a metaphor too. Some say it is an occult understanding (hidden), some say its a bunch of B.S., what ever "it" is, is still a metaphor. The degrees were not designed to represent just an oath and obligation or to be a framework for guys to just get together. They were meant to represent something. So the esoteric question is what do they represent. Where did they come from?
I can say definitively that its not a hocus pocus hoo-voodoo, magick (yes,I said magick with a K), but I am seeing a system more in line with a hinduism philosophy, perhaps in the journey to the inner divine. (Insert Carl Jung). The traditions of the alchemists, John Dee and company, are a good point of origin for how Freemasonry came about and where these ideas originated. And these guys thought they were the real deal magicians, total occultists, total esoteric knowledge, but what they though was "magic" was really just science. I can see why some other traditions branched out to do their own thing (OTO, Crowley, etc...), but you are right, they are wholly different things and NOT Freemasonry.
But does everyone see this connection? Probably not. Do they want to see it that way? Probably not. One of the things I asked in my random survey of Freemasonry was "do you believe freemasonry is an esoteric society" and 40% of those that took the survey said yes. This is out of 800+ random masons. So I think there is definitely something to think about.
(https://app.quicksizzle.com/takesurvey.aspx?id=6523)
Personally, I do believe there is a "deeper" meaning to Freemasonry. The tradition has been with is for 300+ years in its present form, I don't want to believe it is to just get guys to come out to free spaghetti dinners. We come for something... The brotherhood, the fraternity, the shared experience. Something resonates in us that keeps up coming back month after month, meeting after meeting.
Rational is rational, but like faith, it takes a less empirical analysis to look for the "esoteric".
The true freemason, accordingly, is the one who understands what she is to him and seeks an ultimate understanding/appreciation and internalization of that meaning; he makes Freemasonry his.
Bro Jonathan
Nunda #169
A lot of what you say seems to be honest, and from the heart. I do have one small issue though: you seem to not want to offend the "esoteric mason" and yet in the same breath you say (or suggest) that it's all a bunch of nonsense. First of all, I am not suprised that you do not feel such "energies". In order for you to do so, you would first have to have a sincere wish to do so, and then receive an initiation which possesses energy. An ordinary, mainstream American masonic initiation will not confer this for the simple reason that it is not meant to. To me, this energy is not something fuzzy, it is something very physical associated with the sense of touch, which I feel every day if not constantly (which I largely pay no attention to any more than someone pays attention to the act of breathing). This was not always the case, and is the result of a non-masonic initiation I received. You're correct that American Masonry by and large is not esoteric... the esoteric tradition in Freemasonry comes from, and by and large exists in, countries that do not use English as their main language. I don't really understand why you mention Christianity as if esotericism were somehow opposed to, or mutually exclusive to this. The fact is that the esoteric tradition, in the west, is Judaeo-Christian for the most part... especially that which exists within Esoteric Freemasonry. In general, one could even say that the more esoteric a masonic rite is, the more Christian symbolism you will find in it, and most of the more esoteric rituals actually require you to profess to be a trinitarian christian. I am not a DaVinci Code or conspiracy theory believer, and I do not understand how esoterica could be associated with those things, which frankly have nothing to do with esoterica. I also find them distracting. What "esoteric" means to me is not something merely paranormal, such as ghosts, ufo's, pyramid power or the like... but rather it deals with man's attempt and methods used to experience the Divine (God) for himself, rather than merely living vicariously through the writings of his prophets. This could include anything from christian monastic writings on prayer, to Kabbalistic rites. I understand very well that these ideas as well as my claim to experience something that you, and the majority of people do not, will of course be thought of as crazy at best, or anti-religious at worst, but consider that this "esoteric tradition" runs through civilization as a major stream. You find it in philosophers like Plato, scientists like Newton, and while I realize that making the claim of experiences that I do, that historically it isn't really all that strange. I also have to give a kind of sympathy to other people considered strange for the experiences they claim, such as charismatic christians, because of what I experience. I understand that you personally have little interest in it... and I don't wish to say that this is all Freemasonry is, or that you or other masons need to be interested in it... but couldn't there be enough room in the fraternity for those of us who are interested in it as well? To me, it does not feel as if there is.