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Post by paul on Jan 13, 2012 13:15:58 GMT 9.5
If Masonry were starting anew, how would we:
- identify its purpose - establish the metaphor(s) and culture(s) for the ritual(s) - identify landmarks - structure it organisationally - manage its quality - monitor its effectiveness
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Post by paul on Jan 15, 2012 7:21:50 GMT 9.5
Would a restarted Masonry have a different metaphor? Perhaps God as a property developer is a bit passe?
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Post by LorrB on Jan 17, 2012 9:01:39 GMT 9.5
Can we just take one thing at a time... ie identify its purpose?
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Post by paul on Jan 17, 2012 12:00:45 GMT 9.5
Purpose: Pour poser - literally " placed for.."
So is Masonry placed? That might be so given the difficulty in determining its origins.
For what might it be placed?
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Post by LorrB on Jan 17, 2012 13:19:22 GMT 9.5
To lead from darkness to light? To lead individuals to an understanding that what they sense with the five senses is not all that is?
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Post by paul on Jan 17, 2012 15:41:59 GMT 9.5
That certainly would be a good start, but if that were all why would a Freemason's lodge extend from East to West etc.
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Post by LorrB on Jan 18, 2012 7:31:25 GMT 9.5
.. which they do not actually do in lots of cases .. ?
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Post by paul on Jan 18, 2012 7:54:59 GMT 9.5
It is fair to say that if the brethren are not reasonably united in a commitment to the GAOTU then their lodge will not easily extend from E to W etc.
Still, when the lodge does so extend, there must be some function for the brethren to perform in that global context.
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Post by LorrB on Jan 18, 2012 8:37:16 GMT 9.5
So a lodge should channel its combined energies to affect the entire globe.
Sounds so simple. From experience, it is difficult enough to get a group of people think as one at any time, lodge included. I find it hard to meditate a lot of the time, ceremonial work makes this somewhat easier as we have to be focussed. However, worrying about forgetting out parts counteracts the advantages sometimes.
If Masonry was starting anew and admitted only those capable of channelling their energies in such manner, I think that there would be a lot less Freemasons in the world. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.
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Post by paul on Jan 18, 2012 8:44:34 GMT 9.5
So a lodge should channel its combined energies to affect the entire globe. Well it is perhaps more correct to say that when a lodge is functioning correctly its energies naturally extend from E to W etc. I would be reluctant to encourage too much applied intent until after the 7 Masons Who Make a Lodge Perfect have shown some interest in the lodge and its workings. And, certainly if we had new bottles for Masonry we would probably be careful to find new wine to put there.
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Post by paul on Aug 17, 2016 11:58:38 GMT 9.5
I think one of the reasons that Freemasonry is declining is that the brethren lost most of their inner knowledge (genuine secrets) after 1717 and that later the inner sponsors of Masonry largely turned away.
I await signs of their new attention and therefore their new Masonry.
Here is an example of what it might include:
"we will do a lot of work with the ecosystem to set up telepathic communications with humankind. We will be focusing on salt and fresh water, and algae to start. We will work upward from there to set up a cooperative system that aligns with Creation.
When all life forms are honored, eternity automatically works out through the Creator’s plan. It is time to enhance humanity’s ability to perceive its role in the Divine plan and to communicate with all aspects of Creation."
I think that the metaphor of Great Architect has had its time and that Masonry should now reflect more clearly human responsibilities for planetary stewardship within a greater scheme
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Post by fjrogers on Aug 17, 2016 14:34:22 GMT 9.5
I think in the mainstream order of Masonry, the supporters on the inner planes have withdrawn their support. There would be reasons for doing this. Perhaps they feel that people are not responding appropriately. It may be time for a new order
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Post by pointwithinacircle on Aug 18, 2016 23:56:27 GMT 9.5
To lead from darkness to light? To lead individuals to an understanding that what they sense with the five senses is not all that is? I think that the first purpose of ancient Freemasonry was to teach mankind to understand exactly what their five senses were telling them. It then went on to teach people how to understand the things that their five senses were not telling them. For example, in my opinion, gravity is not detectable by the five senses. By this I mean that one cannot see, smell, taste, hear, or touch it. What the five senses are capable of detecting is the effect of gravity. By carefully observing these effects in different situations it is possible to hypothesize that they have a common cause, to understand how that cause effects objects, and to give that cause a name; gravity. Of course I am speaking very specifically. In the common, casual way that people normally speak we do not distinguish between what we actually sense and what we infer from those sensations. However, I feel that making those fine distinctions is necessary of we ever expect to truly understand our world.
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Post by paul on Aug 19, 2016 9:38:37 GMT 9.5
>LOL That's a sin removal command Psalm 103:12 ► as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Not quite.
In Masonry we are told that the lodge extends from E to W and N to S and from the center of the Earth to the Heavens.
This is quite a big space and indicates that Freemasons in group formation, in principle, are working throughout the planet and solar system.
But what is the work?
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Post by fjrogers on Aug 19, 2016 16:09:38 GMT 9.5
The work of Masonry should be directed towards the perfection of humanity, after which there may be a new heaven and a new earth.
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Post by paul on Aug 19, 2016 17:15:51 GMT 9.5
Is the perfected humanity to be a display item in the art gallery of the cosmos?
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Post by fjrogers on Aug 20, 2016 15:08:02 GMT 9.5
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Post by paul on Aug 20, 2016 19:27:17 GMT 9.5
I do hope the human race is going to be more useful than an artistic exhibit.
By some accounts if the human race does well on Earth - while being deprived of the ability to see the spiritual Light, then it will be posted to some really disturbed systems where there is not much Light at all to see if it can to sort them out.
What a reward that will be.
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Post by paul on Aug 21, 2016 9:32:09 GMT 9.5
So what is the work in group formation?
It may be relevant that the lodge officers can be seen as representing the Spirits of the 7 Sacred Planets.
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Post by fjrogers on Aug 21, 2016 11:32:38 GMT 9.5
I do hope the human race is going to be more useful than an artistic exhibit. By some accounts if the human race does well on Earth - while being deprived of the ability to see the spiritual Light, then it will be posted to some really disturbed systems where there is not much Light at all to see if it can to sort them out. What a reward that will be. When the human race progresses beyond the earthly realm it will of course continue on to work and dwell in the higher realms thus doing service where required.
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