Recently at a non-Masonic meeting someone suggested that a certain proposal be blackballed. I had a flashback to the first time I looked into the dark interior of the ballot box. It was a mysterious object that wasn't used all that often and usually was kept on the floor of a locker.
I never saw a black ball until I visited another lodge where they were used. In my own lodge we used black cubes, so that we could feel black as well as see it. It was a tradition in my lodge that the Master explained how the ballot was cast and the significance of the vote. For this reason voting on a candidate was never a pro-forma procedure for my BB or me.
In the many years as a Mason, I have never seen a person blackballed. That doesn't mean we were too generous with Masonic membership. It does mean that the interview committee was diligent in its task of judging the character of an applicant.
I do remember our first black applicant for the entire American Federation of LDH. If it weren't for the fact that we were in open Lodge, we would have cheered when the vote returned clear. This was about 50 years ago when much of America was prejudiced and didn't know it. A lot of credit goes to the proposers who could see in their recommendation progress for the lodge and for the Federation.
The black ball is a fearsome weapon which should be used sparingly. We didn't use it at all in our lodge, because any weeding was done before a candidate was proposed in open Lodge. I've seen one example where a Bro. made it through two degrees before an applicant was expelled before he took the 3rd. I don't know the particulars but this guy's subsequent behavior seemed to prove that while the power of the black ball was delayed, but it was still unerring.
We use black and white balls when voting. Can't say that anyone has been blackballed in my lodge. However, it would still be a useful tool should a Bro become corrupted by power, etc. Sometimes too, health issues might come to light which are not apparent to the Bro himself. Anonymity is important.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
We use black and white balls when voting. Can't say that anyone has been blackballed in my lodge. However, it would still be a useful tool should a Bro become corrupted by power, etc. Sometimes too, health issues might come to light which are not apparent to the Bro himself. Anonymity is important.
How would the health of a fellow Mason affect their suitability for membership of a lodge?
We use black and white balls when voting. Can't say that anyone has been blackballed in my lodge. However, it would still be a useful tool should a Bro become corrupted by power, etc. Sometimes too, health issues might come to light which are not apparent to the Bro himself. Anonymity is important.
How would the health of a fellow Mason affect their suitability for membership of a lodge?
Mental health issues. These can be masked enough to get through interviews. Sometimes a Bro can see what other Brn cannot. This did happen in our lodge once, I was aware of a person with a bad reputation, shared that with the Brn who decided nonetheless to admit this person. Being democratic I did not blackball. I should have. He only lasted two meetings and left anyway, which was good news.
Post by pillaraligned on May 11, 2015 20:36:23 GMT 9.5
The Ballot, is one of the most important practices of Masonry, forming the heart of Masonic Democracy. Now democracy is considered a social ideal in the current epoch, mostly because of the justice it affords individuals in participating in social processes. Each person who votes shares not only in the reward of choice, but in the social responsibility that the vote entails. The value of the ballot in Masonry lies in the fact that each Mason becomes a causative agent. By exercising their vote, the Mason cooperates with "the supreme Will in evolution" in creating an outcome. The choice of the two balls reduces the application of will to a binary state. This simplification enables the use of will under the direction of conscience or rational mind, depending on the individual Mason or the question at hand. No greater power exists in Masonry than the voice of conscience.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick%27s_Last_Resort For example there is a restaurant named Dick's Last Resort and the waitresses might ask u what the fuck do you want LOLFS in a non emotional tone And it is the funniest thing u would ever see or feel if things were not taken personally by a patron ... Me and an emotional growth back to back went through an exercise of positive emotion negative and neutral emotion stance as the same words were discharged and there is a massive difference and it is like a cute game when done with adults who understand and can execute push pull of emotions in a controlled fashion ... There are like a few in a thousand who can tell when they are told ur dam ugly and u got em laughing till they wanna pis their pants ... and it is or can be done by one who orchestrates reverse push pull ... like wrapping words around /|\ and packing emotions in contrary emotions to audio perception reverse ... The song I'm Not In Love by 10cc IF researched thoroughly by an investigator ... Exposes the reverse, forward and neutral push pull of being truthful with unconditional love love expressions ... In the divine feminine's defense ... A lady needs her emotional battery charged in a positive fashion ... ... A guy does not want to be around a full powered daughter of Eve on a bad hair day ... Might feel and manifest like the end of life if does not realize she can a normal or typical man to shreds when she is pissed off ... A few can walk in and safely shut down the emotionally out of control feminine energy operator ... But u get past the illusion of Maya to do it LOLFS Not goona xplain the how on that one as i figure "if you do not just instinctively know" You probably ought to not try it ... This might be why humans get a thousand life times for completion of the path ... So we can fuzzy walk the drift and reunify the masculine and feminine in the drift or inner silence ... Perhaps like the nakedness the bible describes humans presented with after eatin the fruit they were not ready to eat ... But there is the memory issue of what have u done for me lately verses what have u done for me ever ... Masculine vs feminine general tendencies
interesting...that resutrant is great for training lol emotional control right since women cussing and acting so to speak belligerent dose not seem to have the same impact when it comes to mundane things as eating on most people...i dont think my grandmother would enjoy that lol she would feel really embarrassed and would probably cause a harsh negitive resonance...even if its just a joke.... seems people tend to forget Hum-or is what seperates a human from a animal expressively ..... and taking things personal sets up all sorts of problems for a human... now what if instead of waitress...a marine drill sergeant or some guy with a badge who subconsciously imply authority was to rile up the persons eating i dont think it would have quite the same impact ..and the business would last that long lol....even tho i see no attachment as a liberating experience ...i noticed in my own practice humor or not ...if the core of my body feels a bit warm during a interaction even if the other party is being funny...there is a emotional leak on my part or possibly a energetic draining of my vibratory structure...kind of like the old addage IT CUT DEEP....for that i usually know that something is not vibing with me and i have to let it go as giving it any emotional cause even if its my own fault for putting myself in that situation... as usually it most likely is ....living in a major crowded part of nyc i see this daily and have fun with it....what i also find interesting is 2 restaurants that share the same type of attitude exists both in chicago ....The Wiener's Circle another chicago resturant might have a stronger emotional baseball bat in a china shop sort of place where one can either leave refreshed by these women or totally distraught....but could interacting with people in such a low vibratory place where the smell of freshly dead animals drunk humans and feisty tongue in cheek servers do alot more harm then good in most cases?..but love does have strange ways of expression in certain terms...
interesting both restaurants are in chicago the murder capitol of the USA lol maybe these restaurants should be in more areas of the city so people can vent out instead of have emotional explosions with themselves and other humans..
Last Edit: May 14, 2015 11:41:44 GMT 9.5 by elijah
Actually today I was in a meeting at the tea break and I clearly heard a voice call my name and I looked around carefully and no one was close to me or looking at me.
Do other forumites hear their name called when there is nobody nearby?
I see what you mean by multiple voices that argue with each other. I think there is something about the inner teacher that stands out above the ones that argue. It has a lot to do with service and understanding the real spiritual needs of the world.
Distant peaks emerge....clear as day. The hermit's lantern turns to guide the way. Hermit's Way - F. J. Rogers
> I think there is something about the inner teacher that stands out above the ones that argue.
And it may be that the human needs to stand above the levels of consciousness on which the voices argue to perceive the nature of the voice of the inner teacher.
Yes, you're right. It's all about consciousness. Sometimes it is easier to perceive the inner voice than at other times. It partly depends to what degree a person is being tested by the inner school.
Distant peaks emerge....clear as day. The hermit's lantern turns to guide the way. Hermit's Way - F. J. Rogers