My take on the to pardon or not to pardon bit would be that the GA planned that when we reach a degree of maturity we would be given responsibility make our own decisions and be held responsible for the outcome. Bad outcomes would induce us to make better decisions and thus we learn and grow.
Godlings in the making. So the quote from Amos could be a rites of passage thing... a key to the door.
You can get some sense from the image above that the ankh can be used as an energy transmitter - flows down both sides of the arm with the flows using the loop to unite in a spiral that goes out the bottom of the ankh.
In addition when the flow comes up the ankh, the cross piece can be used to block the flow and the loop to reverse the flow. Thus an etheric ankh can be used to block and reverse energy flows in the landscape.
I can imagine the ankh being used as a tool in the manner you describe ... but how would that help make good men better?
So far as improvement goes, surely the moral use as in 'extending' our consciousness to reach 'heavenly' realms with the IN-ner mind makes more sense ?
Could not the plumb line amidst the people be referring to us bringing our thought, words and deeds into alignment with what we perceive to be the GA's perfect plan for the Work?
I'm just keeping in mind here those people that are new to masonry or esoteric thought and who might not posses the inner vision or wisdom of some of you more talented Brn amongst us.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
"Ankh" means "life". The ankh symbolizes the copulation.
Right. To recap...
The diagram could allude to a plumbline being part of the tau symbol. The tau could allude to the passage of force/energy/power. The tau and the ankh could be the same thing. The ankh could allude to the physical act which brings spirit to matter. (The bible refers to marriage, marriage garments, brides, grooms, etc)
What if... the upright is considered as a radius of a circle which represents Spirit whose circumference is Everywhere.
Where the vertical meets the horizontal is a point which represents us, and with our limited consciousness it seems to us that we move along the horizontal in the diagram (which represents matter and space and time).
The relationship of the centre point to the circumference could be considered the divine marriage (once we are able to recognise that relationship). Until then we are as prodigals, children of mother earth/matter, seemingly without a direct relationship to father/spirit/the divine.
Sons of a widow one might say..... and we do meet on the level... act on the plumb ... and (de)part on the square.
I should be in politics.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
If the explanation above is plausible one should be able to attempt to expand one's consciousness (towards the circumference) probably via the traditional means of meditation, prayer, fasting etc. etc.
One should also be able to see some of what lies ahead at our level of experiencing and some of what went before... depending on how far we can stretch towards the circumference with our IN-ner mind.
This is when a speculative mason becomes an operative mason ?
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
Trouble is - one knows that people can run marathons, it is another thing entirely to acquire the skills to do so oneself. It takes a skill to inspire persons to have the confidence to attempt such feats.
Perhaps that is one of the messages of the Twenty Four Inch Guage.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
>This is when a speculative mason becomes an operative mason ?
There are of course various inner qualities and skills to be developed that progressively allow the brother to see into the hidden mysteries of nature and science. As that inner sight and other senses develop it is possible for those so inclined to observe, hypothesize, experiment and deduce and to subject all this to peer review.
... wish I had gone to University ... and how does one fit all that stuff into a day flat strap with home, family and work duties?
So far as I can see, our earthly duties which includes caring for family and community must come first. It seems once we get to the Circumference we are expected to return to help others anyway.. so may as well do it while we are 'down here' now - save time
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
.. that new knowledge can be given via the dream state .. that pendulums and dowsing rods work .. that with very little preparation lucid dreams can be achieved .. that ghosts exist .. that non corporeal beings exist .. that reincarnation is fact
I also know that unless the above has been experienced by others the testimony of such things is usually put down to eccentricity.
Who qualifies as a peer?
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
- last night I dreamed about a female friend. I rang her this morning and she had dreamed about 2 men but she was not sure who they were. I asked her to visualise me next to the 2 men and she said it was clear that I was one of the 2.
Thus:
- hypothesis: the dream was real - test1: check with perceived other participant - validation of situation but not participants - test2: compare energy structure of participants with proposed identity - validation of identification. - result: the dream was almost certainly real.
I once did something similar with 24 people in the first morning of a workshop - after we had had a first meeting the previous evening. Everyone in the group had dreamed of or been dreamed by someone else. There was 100% coverage.
