American Freemasonry, Inner Traditions, Alain Keghel,

American Freemasonry – The Noble Goal

An interview with author Alain de Keghel.

author, Alain de Keghel, American Freemasonry
Keghel is the author of the new book American Freemasonry: Its Revolutionary History and Challenging Future from Inner Traditions.

American Freemasonry, in context, is challenging to understand as it relates to the rest of the world. In many ways American Freemasonry mirrors the form and function of the lodge but, because it grew-up in the crucible of democracy that was itself, at the time, unique and new to the world at large. American Freemasonry is so different, that it has its own unique designation as “American.” But why does this difference exist? To understand this question, it would take an outsider to examine American Freemasonry. And who better than a Frenchman.

To put American Freemasonry into context I spent some time talking to Alain de Keghel, who is the author of the new book American Freemasonry: Its Revolutionary History and Challenging Future (you can read the press release on the book here) and help shed some light on Freemasonry in North America.

Gregory Stewart (GS) Why write American Freemasonry? What inspired Alain de Keghel to be the one to write it?  

Alain de Keghel (AdK): American Freemasonry is an issue which keeps rather controversial in some countries abroad,  while people writing, reporting  or simply delivering messages about it, not always simply knowing what matters. Quite often they sincerely believe to be aware but they never, by themselves, experienced American Freemasonry which is very diverse. America, as a whole, is a wide country and the addition of people of different creeds, different ethnic origins, different languages and specific cultural areas of origin, making together what we call the “melting pot.” And because I had myself the privilege to live in the USA for a long period of time, benefiting  also from the Fraternity of American Masons before of that, for example in Germany and Japan, I felt that it may be useful to share this quite rare experience in writing a book without prejudice. Even though I keep of course a specific cultural French reference simply because my basic roots are there, I tried to do it without any partisan point of view. This requires being familiar with American history which includes also the political side.

Of course any one will agree that Freemasonry shouldn’t interfere in politics — but nobody can ignore the geopolitical dimension of the origins of the American Revolution and the French-British  competition of two major powers that included important Masonic Figures like Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, La Fayette and of course George Washington. But we have to consider also other Freemasons and political actors like the Admirals Cornwallis and Grasse-Tilly who both took a decisive part along with Rochambeau in the famous battle of Yorktown (October 19, 1781) paving the way to the American independence.

Anyone may conceive that as a former diplomat and a Freemason I have indeed an acute interest in those aspects of French-American relationships as well from an international point of view as from both Masonic and historical ones. All these elements inspired me to write a book to try also to share the analysis from outside America. But I never intended to deliver a message which would pretend to be the “unique truth” which simply does not exist. Objectivity is a noble goal but I frankly believe that it does simply not exists.

GS: The French-British competition?  Do you mean the anglo war or some other conflict?

AdK: I was referring more generally to the geopolitics at this period of time where the two then “super powers ” and kingdoms where competing all over the world. And for sure in America during the American Revolution.

GS: The press release for the book puts emphasis on the fact that American Freemasonry was “deeply influenced by the experiences of many early American political leaders, leading to distinctive differences from European lodges.” I’m curious if you could elaborate on this or, perhaps, give an example of one of those influences and what difference it’s manifested into.

book, Alain De Kegel
American Freemasonry
Its Revolutionary History and Challenging Future
By Alain De Keghel.

AdK: In answering your previous question, I was just referring to major figures and early American political leaders while explaining why I choose to report and analyze American Freemasonry “with French eyes.” America, meaning the United States of America, is a young Nation and it appears to me important to refer to the early roots of this First power in the world today if we try to better understand how it evolved in the run of centuries since the famous arrival of the Mayflower with European refugees looking for absolute freedom of religion. Since absolute freedom of thought belongs to the most fundamental aims of Freemasonry, I would say that many of the first American political leaders spontaneously felt very comfortable with the political philosophy of the Enlightenment which is important for Freemasons all around the world. If you read the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence from Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, you very easily will find references to basic principles and values which belong to the patrimony of the Masonic Order. And it is not by chance because many writers of these texts were Freemasons. By the way, we see here the long lasting influence of this way of thinking since the values they referred to,  are still accurate today. It is, to me, the most convincing demonstration that Freemasonry, while preventing of mixing in politics, is by definition a place where the civil society may find some references to ideals and principles of an ethical and political nature.

But, unlike in Europe, the same American segments of the society who emigrated to preserve their sacred right to practice their belief without fearing prosecution, these segments of society have also sometimes developed “protective reactions” which may seem contradictory to their aims. I refer here more specifically to the famous Morgan affair which I explain in my book. This was a major challenge to American Freemasons leading once to the candidacy of an “anti-Masonic party” running for federal elections. Since then, we can observe that the memberships of American Freemasonry kept totally away from its involvement in the political life of the American society.

European lodges never experienced this kind of extreme challenge and still keep outmost interested in debates over new issues like bioethics, control of birth, justice or death penalty just to list a few examples. In some countries, like France, lodges used to be a kind of “laboratory” or think tank where these kinds of issues belong to, of course beside and outside of the political partisan debate. This is one of the major distinctive differences with American Freemasonry which avoids playing any societal role and privileges the practice of ritual and of charity. It is not a critique but simply a matter of fact.

Another major difference remains, of course, and reflects specific social specificities on both sides of the Atlantic. In America white and black lodges work, mostly but not exclusively, seperately. In France, Masonic lodges are places where this kind of separation simply does not exist and could not be possible. But here again it is part of different histories.

GS: I’ve had the chance to speak with both Margaret Jacob and Arturo De Hoyos, so I’m familiar with their exemplar work on Freemasonry, but I’m curious why you chose them to pen the forwards for this book?

AdK: Because I am today mainly dedicated to research and academic activities, writing books and  sharing my knowledge as a scholar all over the world. I spend  a lot of my time working with Universities and Libraries which simply belong to the natural environment to collect and share accurate information and reliable sources. Having spent many years in the USA and still keeping the good habit to visit your country at least once a year, I have an ongoing good relationships with American academics.

Margaret C. Jacob, PhD, is best known as  a professor of history at the UCLA and is one of the world’s foremost Masonic scholars. She is considered a pioneer in the field of the history of civil society with emphasis on Masonic history. For that reason it was important to me to have her delivering, also to American readers, a point of view which matters.

For other reasons, my old friend Art de Hoyos appears to me as one of the American Masons best entitled to write comments on my research since he also is recognized worldwide for his sophisticated Masonic education and knowledge. A Grand Archivist and Grand Librarian of the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction he allowed me, as a French life member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, to implement very important research activities in Washington, DC in order to put more light on the French-American Masonic ties throughout time.

But let me also refer here to my other friend, the past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of California, John Cooper, who also agreed to write an important afterword taking into account what we together did in the nineties and later on for the promotion of inter-Masonic exchanges in Sacramento, Edinburgh and in Paris.

As a matter of fact, these choices reflect a reciprocal confidence of people having different experiences but sharing the same values and one goal: building bridges among people of goodwill!

GS: The title of the book, its dust jacket and interior art leans heavily on the pantheon of American early American Freemasonry. In your work, how deeply did you delve into the other ‘American’ Freemasonry in say Mexico, Canada and further down into South America?

AdK: I am very grateful to you for this question which provides me the opportunity to embrace American Freemasonry in its diversity as I honestly did in my research. If you read my book you will learn that I was also for several years a French Diplomat in charge of representing my country at several inter-American bodies: Organization of American States, ECLAC (a specific body of the UN for economical affairs in Latin America and the Caribbean countries), the Inter-American Bank of Development and the American Regional Health Organization (OPS). My American overview includes, for this reason, a global analysis with a special focus on Latin America. But in my present book, I do not write about this specific and very important dimension. But I just have directed and published, early in July 2017, a new book totally dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean region. It may be soon also translated in Spanish.

GS: What is this book? Is it out now or is it coming soon?

AdK: This book was meanwhile published — in French so far — in July 2017: L’ Amerique Latine et la Caraibe des Lumieres, Dervy, Paris. It is about to be translated into Spanish and edited in Buenos Aires, Argentine.

One word more about Canada: the Freemasonry in this country belongs to the Conference of American Grand Lodges and I have of course also included a chapter to present it to English speaking readers.

GS: Interesting in your follow up there, you say Canada belongs to the CoAGL (Conference of American Grand Lodges) Why do you think that is?

AdK: It is not an opinion but a matter of fact. Mexican Grand Lodges similarly also included into this masonic regional conference.

GS: In the press release, you establish that there’s a difference between American and European lodges. Could you illustrate a few of what your work defines as differences? 

AdK: The answer to this important issue is in fact easy: I have honestly tried to compare both sides and readers will discover in my book what I consider as fundamentally different. So if you allow me would prefer not to elaborate here and to keep the “surprise” for those who will read. But you may have already noticed that I was referring to one major difference. The “racial issue” simply does not exist in European lodges — unlike in America. It appears to me to be a very important difference but there are others which I address in my book. Maybe some reactions of American readers and a kind of dialog could arise from that.

I must confess that this would be of outmost interest for me and some way a privilege to establish such an exchange and dialog with American readers.

GS: Do you think these differences have affected membership levels on both sides of the pond? 

AdK: For sure these differences had and still have, in my opinion, an impact on the memberships — but mainly on the influence or input of the Masonic values in the civil society. If you simply look at American statistics — and I do it also quite extensively in my book — you will realize that the memberships is steadily declining in American Lodges since the late 40s of the last century, while it is increasing in France. It is clearly one of the results of differences in addressing Masonic education, societal topics and actual issues.

Masonic education and Masonic tradition are of course both important.  But young people connected with a very demanding society expect certainly more.

GS: Do you think the European version of lodge work could be implemented straight out of the box in America?  

AdK: I would never say: “Do like us,  and you will do better.” It would be, first, very arrogant — but also inaccurate because every society has its own rules resulting from history and culture.

But you raise a good question. Would it make sense to try to experiment with other practices? This is what some American Grand Lodges have already have begun to implement with some impressive success. It is the case in California, for example. No one has a miraculous recipe to offer. But “building the bridges,” a principle I was several times referring to in the run of this interview, may be part of the solution. It is my conviction that everyone has something to learn from encounters in a global world or a “world village” as someone once said. It is part of cross culture, a reality of modern times.

GS: Are there, or do you know of any examples of this implementation?

AdK: Of course yes. I know that specifically at least one Grand Lodge has recently engaged in this policy. It is the Grand Lodge of California.

GS:  What do you hope American’s take away from reading American Freemasonry? What do you hope European (or non-American) Masons to take away from it?

AdK: In writing American Freemasonry, first in French, I had mainly in mind to explain to my fellow European Masons what I have learned from my American Masonic experience because they too often have a poor knowledge of  America in general and quite often misunderstand it. I had claimed, in a previous answer, to build bridges, and my book is part of that. As an American Publisher, Inner Traditions (American Freemasonry’s publisher) accepted the idea to have my book also translated into English and edited in the USA. I was of course delighted to contribute this way to entertain a dialog with my American Fellow Brethren which is also part of building bridges and reciprocal confidence. At a period of time where the flow of information obeys the law of instantaneity and of superficiality, within the so called social networks with their “like” and “friends” who never encounter beside on the networks, I do hope that my writings may help to develop a better understanding founded on knowledge and not on prejudice.

Maybe, American Masons eventually could also be interested to discover how a French freemason sees them? But I may be mistaken and possibly nobody cares? Let us try!

I remain modest in my ambition.


You can find Alain de Keghel’s new book American Freemasonry: Its Revolutionary History and Challenging Future, published by Inner Traditions – Bear & Company, on its website American Freemasonry, and at American Freemasonry on Amazon.

fingerprints of the gods, magicians of the gods, Graham Hancock, book review

Footsteps of the Gods

fingerprints of the gods, magicians of the gods, Graham Hancock, book review
Having just finished Graham Hancock’s Fingerprints of the Gods and Magicians of the Gods, I feel as though I’ve been walking in the footsteps of the gods, and it’s made me a believer.

Seldom do I binge watch more than a few TV episodes at a time. When I do, it feels like an information overload that makes the whole thing hard to process and nearly impossible to enjoy. The same could be said for books and reading. When I finish one book on a particular subject I like to move on to another, to cleanse the mental palate and process what I just read.

I thought about this when I picked up Graham Hancock’s Fingerprints of the Gods. Fingerprints was one of those books I’d spent the better part of 30 years avoiding just out of sheer will because, I had thought, it was an alt-history cavalcade and the well-spring of countless conspiracy, cryptozoology and pre-history anecdotes. This hesitancy in picking up Fingerprints was on the heels of an Art Bell fascination and right around the time I became a Freemason.

Still, like the mantra emblazoned on Fox Mulder’s poster — I wanted to believe.

The idea of a pre-history has always fascinated me. I had my own theories from history courses in college. Early on, I considered a minor in Greek and Roman art history, but sufficed myself on being an armchair historian consuming academic and literary explorations of ancient history. Field work on the subject, however, wasn’t in the cards.

But all the while, nagging at the back of my brain (along with Fingerprints maybe) was the notion that the timeline of history couldn’t possibly be sufficient to achieve some of the marvels that spawned out of a few short centuries only to go so silently quiet.

So, I’d passed on Fingerprints… and waited. I waited so long I had, for the most part, forgotten about it and lost myself in studying Freemasonry. Fingerprints of the Gods had receded so far in my head that when I caught a YouTube video with Graham Hancock presenting his ideas and theories, it all came back to me such that, within a week I was out at my local book seller buying a new copy to start reading on the spot.

So, in the span of a few weeks, I consumed Fingerprints of the Gods, feeling as though I was right there with Graham climbing the steps of the Giza pyramid and digging around in the water worn stone of the Sphinx. Reading it slowly, I measured every word of every chapter and gave considerable thought to the ideas he put forth — ideas, I’ll add, that while on the fringe of academic study, are not outside the philosophical reality as they intersect the realms of the history before history. Isn’t that part of the great mysteries of the human species? How did we build the pyramids? Why did we build them?

In Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock sets the theoretical stage for a cataclysmic event at about the period of Younger Dryas (about 14,500 years ago) that wiped out a civilization more advanced than its contemporary hunter-gatherer counterparts. His theory is that this civilization, in collapse, struck out across the globe establishing megalithic monuments and reorganizing the hunter-gathers enclaves they encountered into porto-civilizations turning them into agricultural-socities. Hancock’s theory in Fingerprints was an earth crust displacement that moved and sizable landmass from a habitable zone into an inhospitable one — destroying in an instant an ancient advanced civilization. Upon its demise, this great civilization fled the disaster zone and seeded themselves around the globe erecting megalithic monuments to memorialize the event and warn subsequent generations of the cataclysm that happened to them and it’s recurrence in the future.

Immediately I was sucked into the text with the mention of an ancient map accurately depicting the coastline of Antarctica. It was compelling, and took me down the rabbit hole I’d so long resisted — loving every word of it. While some of the conclusions were broad in their scope, I had to admit that the conclusions were plausible and worth greater consideration. Why couldn’t a species that’s been on the planet only have created a “modern” society in barely the last 7,000 years. Personally, I don’t take this to mean there were flying machines in antiquity or weapons of mass destruction that wiped out society. But, notion of history before history was just as intoxicating to think about in consideration of the imaginings from the sundry religious texts Hancock sites as parallels to his theories.

Finishing Fingerprints, I was compelled to immediately start reading his follow up book Magicians of the Gods.

Written in the same mesmerizing fashion as his earlier work, Magicians was different. Published 22 years after Fingerprints, Magicians of the Gods felt in one hand a mia culpa (on the earth crust displacement and link to the Mayan calendar 2012 debacle) and a in the other a substantiation on the cataclysm of the Younger Dryas period, illiterated across the globe in the surviving (and reachable) megalithic structures, in particular the nascent discovery of Gobekli Tepe in the Anatolia region of Turkey. As in his earlier work, Hancock paints an even greater detailed picture of the province of ancient antediluvian culture. In Magicians of the Gods, with the aid of science and observational inputs, Hancock adds further mass to his scaffold of an ancient civilization being wiped from the memory of time. I don’t want to give too much away but Hancock’s arguments are compelling and worthy of deep consideration and, dare I say, exploration further.

A point in the work I did find of great interest was a reference in the text to the esteemed Masonic author Timothy Hogan and his observational analysis of marks in Temple of Bacchus in Lebanese megalithic structure at Baalbeck. Another was, much to my surprise, was a broad weaving in of the Hermetic texts, expounding the very oft mentioned “as above, so below” but with great consequence in his meaning. In a very brief encapsulation, resting on Hermetica, the thrust of his hermetic connection is that the universe affects life on Earth, and the Earth reflects the effect of the universe upon it. This reflection is encoded in the megalithic monuments of that share uncanny similarities in their construction and in the sheer mass of their existence from a time before recorded history.

In a general reference, Hancock writes of the cataclysmic events that they were,

…embedded in myths and legends and in mathematical and architectural precepts that would be passed on and renewed again and again by the different cultures that received them, thus boosting the signal and allowing it to remain intact for thousands of years. Even if those through whose hands and minds the signal passed no longer understood its meaning, the weight of sacred tradition, hoary with age would ensure that they were continued to transmit it and would do their utmost to keep it free from interference.

Throughout Magicians, Hancock seems reflective of what on what he’s discovered — different than the tone of the Fingerprints when the reporter turned author was carving out a Hyperborean like view of humankind emerging out of the era of hunter-gathers in the prehistoric Clovis period. Maybe the reflectiveness comes at the realization of what he’s proposing is very real and, again, set in a framework of a very clear and present danger in the annual annual passing through the Taurid meteor showers.

Yet, the cycle of the universe moves slowly, and the mysteries of processional time and the rise and fall of the human species is forgetful — it’s an informational overload at a glacial pace. Hancock’s declaration may be a solitary voice in the wilderness with the message of Fingerprints of the Gods and Magicians of the Gods. But science, it seems, is teasing points of validation to both works, if even in validating ancient comet strikes or finding ancient megalithic sites bedecked in astronomical corollaries dating to near the period of the Younger Dryas event. Hancock made me a believer, or at least validates my suspicions of ancient history and the history before history, whether upon the shores of Antarctica or the now underwater regions submerged in the great flood, a point Hancock brings into full focus with the mystery of Atlantis.

Yes, it’s extraordinary. Yes, it’s a lot to take in. And, no, it isn’t a scientific treatise. Fingerprints of the Gods, and it’s follow up Magicians of the Gods, are fantastical works about the fluid history past, present and future of humankind. And, just as Hermetica (and Hancock in the conclusion) reminds us,

The forces do not work upward from below, but downward from above…All the world which lies below has been set in order and filled with contents by the things which are placed above… The source of all earthly things are on high: those sources pour forth upon us by fixed measure and weight; and their is nothing that that has not come down from above.

Graham Hancock knows it, his Fingerprints of the Gods and Magicians of the Gods illustrates the points. You should probably know it, too. Even if you have to binge read it like I did.

Building Janus

Building Janus is another catechism primer from Coach John Nagy. Building Janus is where the Master Mason builds insight. Nagy tells us that, “in Roman Mythology, Janus is the god of Bourne, Passages and the rising and setting Sum. In general, he was the patron of all beginnings, concrete and abstract.”

What does the Third Degree do for Masons? Well, Nagy tells us that it directs Masons into “learning how to learn.” He says that it “assists them in recognizing things that most ordinary thinkers would not.” “Men are prepared to see things that unprepared men cannot.”

Nagy speaks about the Bourne, the passage, and how Masonic study opens doors. “Masters (Master Masons) perceive Doors unseen by others, “he says. He goes on to say, “Masters open Doors locked to others. Masters Pass through Doors impassable by others.”

But to make this journey, to travel in foreign lands, to experience new ideas, a Master Mason must prepare himself for travel. “Improperly prepared Masons venturing into such lands are likened to individual hands making effort to clap against nothing.”

Nagy explains to us the eight foreign lands a Mason is introduced to. To make these journeys a Master Mason needs to “pay attention to the ritual and do the Work required of him.”…for those who are Properly Prepared and who possess suitable proficiency, Traveling never ends.”

From there Nagy tells us, “The working Tool that is my favorite is the one that exists within a truly Raised Mason. That Working Tool is his Ordered brain.” Nagy speaks strongly here about bringing men to Order from Chaos. He tells us of the benefits of the three degrees:

  1. “Masons trained by Entered Apprentice Work are less likely to strike out personally at other people when it is pointed out that the quality of their work lacks Integrity.”
  2. “Masons trained by Fellow Craft Work are less likely to accept the illogical, irrational and unsound premises and conclusions that lesser trained people offer up as credible.”
  3. “Fully trained Masons recognize specific Patterns that denote others who have been brought to Order from Chaos. They also recognize those people who are still in Chaos.”

Coach Nagy is a very spiritual man. He shows us that in his Ordering Catechism.

John “Coach” Nagy

“The second task is understanding how both the internal and the external worlds interrelate. The foundation of this understanding is also laid by doing the Work spoken of in the first two degrees.”

“How do Masons benefit from this knowledge? They accurately perceive the interconnections of both worlds and between both worlds.”

“The third task is to apply these understanding Metaphorically toward worlds conceived by imagination that lie beyond those known by humankind’s physical experience. Such ability allows Masons to obtain and communicate deep and profound truths with others who are likeminded.”

Now that is most profound.

But, “Ritual provides to Masons only the barest of bones. What is received by one’s efforts is only the beginning of Mastery.”

More Work is required, says Nagy. What follows in the book is explanations of The Widow’s Son and The Master’s Word.

Nagy tells us, “The more I explore the Allusions offered by Masonry, the more expansive and interconnected I find my world.”

A most interesting chapter is the one on the symbolism of the Lion in Masonry. And again Nagy urges his reader to pause and meditate on the meaning of such symbolism.

“Masons pausing to Perpend what is before them have an advantage over those Masons that don’t. It takes a certain amount of discipline to remove oneself from the game and reflect upon its different aspects. Insight into any game often depends upon Perpending elements not considered by those who do not take the time to pause.”

The history of the symbolism of the Lion in society through the ages is most interesting and reflects on why Masonry has included it in its ritual.

Nagy points out, “During the Greek and Roman period, the Lion was the Symbol of the fallen hero. It also was often used as a guardian figurine for Gates, Temples, and Buildings. In Christian art, the Lion represents the Redeemer. The Lion is also Emblematic of the Gospel writer Saint Mark the Evangelist. The Lion symbol was also used in medieval heraldry and is still currently used on seals, flags, shields and banners and is also depicted on the flag of Jerusalem.”

The fallen hero, eh? Now refer to the Legend of Hiram Abiff! How do we raise the fallen hero?

Nagy goes on to further catalog the use of the Lion during the Lion period in the 1700’s. “During this time, British artisans and craftsmen took to carving Lions’ masks on the knees of cabriole legs and the arms of chairs and settees, and Lion’s paws on furniture feet. This was the same period when the  ‘Lion’ was carved into the foot of the Third Degree.”

But Nagy isn’t through with the lion. He points out the popularity of Sphinxes in ancient Egypt. “In ancient Egypt, Sphinxes were placed at the entrances of Temples to guard the mysteries, by warning those who penetrate within, that they should conceal the knowledge of these mysteries from the uninitiated.”

This Lion symbolism goes a long way to explain the meaning of the strong grip of a Master Mason.

Nagy concludes his book with a chapter on Speculative Masonry and why the term Speculative may be a misnomer.

I have to say that this is my favorite Building book by Coach Nagy so far. This is where the Master Mason gets down to the nitty-gritty. This is where our request for some meat is answered.

Nagy reminds us that Masonic Ritual is just a road map. It is up to us to take the road map and explore all the ramifications and applications that can broaden our world and truly make us better persons. This is where true Mastery begins.

Once again Coach Nagy advises us to think, to contemplate, to explore and ask questions and seek answers. Building Janus is the GPS to new discoveries. But we, as Master Masons, must learn how to learn and do the Work necessary to obtain the prize – those deep and profound truths that enable us to travel to foreign and uncharted venues. This is the real secret or mystery of Masonry, and Building Janus is the book for every Master Mason to take on his journey.

 

You can order your copy of Building Janus at the link below:

http://www.coach.net/BuildingJanus.htm

mph, secret teachings author, Great Work

Manly P. Hall – Freemason and Philosopher

Manly P. Hall, 33º Scottish Rite Freemason, raised November 22, 1954, passed to the celestial lodge 1990.

The true Mason is not creed-bound. He realizes with the divine illumination of his lodge that as a Mason his religion must be universal: Christ, Buddha or Mohammed, the name means little, for he recognizes only the light and not the bearer. He worships at every shrine, bows before every altar, whether in temple, mosque or cathedral, realizing with his truer understanding the oneness of all spiritual truth.
-Manly P. Hall

mph
Manly Palmer Hall

Manly Hall is an icon of sorts to Freemasonry. His name and memory today are falling into some obscurity to many newer Freemasons, but his works remain important to the Masons education.

Born on March 18, 1901 in Peterborough, Ontario. Studying early on the ancient mystery and wisdom schools, he began a public role as a speaker and writer on philosophy, religion, and science. Much of his work has transformed the Western Mystery teachings that we recognize today. His philosophy is summed into a note he signed into a student’s book that reads, “To learn is to live, to study is to grow, and growth is the measurement of life. The mind must be taught to think, the heart to feel, and the hands to labor. When these have been educated to their highest point, then is the time to offer them to the service of their fellowman, not before.” Self Unfoldment By Disciplines of Realization.”

Much of his work, specifically about Freemasonry, was done before he was initiated and raised. Using the materials available to him at the time in public institutions, his works delved the many writings from history to find the essence of their connections in word and meaning, collected specifically in his work The Secret Teachings of All Ages in 1928. This work collected and brought back to light wisdom from forgotten “sages” whose ideas, faiths and societies had been long forgotten and ignored by modern scholarship.

In 1934 Mr. Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society, dedicating it to the ensoulment of all arts, sciences, and crafts, and devoted to the one basic purpose of advancing the brotherhood of all that lives, to meet all lovers of wisdom on a common ground. The society still exists in a limited capacity today in its same location in Los Angeles now designated as a Historical Cultural Site. Around it has evolved the University of Philosophical Research, a distance learning graduate program nationally DEAC accredited program offering degrees in Consciousness Studies and Transformational Psychology.

Hall, writing several books on the subject of Freemasonry put himself in the vanguard of Albert Pike and W.L. Wilmshurst with his works The Lost Keys of Freemasonry, Masonic Orders of Fraternity, Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptian and The Secret Destiny of America. This last focusing on his belief that our continent was set aside for a great experiment of enlightened self-government by ancient philosophers, and that the seeds of this plan for the founding of America were planted one thousand years before the Christian era and is partly revealed in the symbolism of the Great Seal of the United States. This same idea is tied to Francis Bacon’s book The New Atlantis from 1624, of whom Hall had a particular interest.

Hall passed onto the the celestial lodge on August 29, 1990. While his final years attracted a degree of turmoil and mystery, the legacy of his Great Work lives on in the Philosophical Research Society and in his writings. One of the great aspects of Hall is that his work transcended Freemasonry finding resonance in all of the ancient wisdom and thought including Rosicrucian’s, astrology, the Bible, Tarot, dreams, mysticism, Eastern and Western philosophy, religion, psychology, symbology and reincarnation.

Of all of the lessons that a Mason can take away from his work is to open our eyes and be aware of the depth and light that we have before us from ALL ages of the great mysteries. Freemasonry is but one channel to that light, and thanks to Brother Hall, we have a new lens from which to view more.


The Secret Teachings of All Ages – Reader’s Edition

The classic work since 1928, Hall’s masterful encyclopedia of ancient mythology, ritual, symbolism, and the arcane mysteries of the ages is available in a compact and easy to read edition.

Like no other book of the twentieth century, Manly P. Hall’s legendary The Secret Teachings of All Ages is a codex to the ancient occult and esoteric traditions of the world. Students of hidden wisdom, ancient symbols, and arcane practices treasure Hall’s magnum opus above all other works.

Probably one of the best primers into the Western Mystery Tradition, you can find Manly P. Halls opus on Amazon.

Master of the Mysteries: New Revelations on the Life of Manly Palmer Hall

To understand the depth of Hall’s life and work, Louis Sahagan has assembled one the best biographies on the Master of the Mysteries, breathing life into dark recesses of life that was both remarkable and tragic.

This new edition contains dozens of previously unknown love letters from his wife Marie Bauer. They are the closest we will come to an autobiographical portrait of these Los Angeles mystics in love.

Building Hiram

Building HiramI recently completed digesting Dr. John Nagy’s book Building Hiram. It is another in a series of Catechism Primer formats that Nagy has published for increasing Light in Freemasons. This method of instruction follows what many Masons received as they went through the Degrees. Yet I must admit that since I last had that pleasure 27 years ago, I have not again come across this format until becoming acquainted with Coach Nagy’s work. At first it was difficult to adjust to this style of imparting information, but in Building Hiram it all seemed so natural and I have come to appreciate what the Catechism style has to offer. It makes learning follow a sequence where one building block is added to another and then another, yet at any time one may jump into the middle of the book, randomly picking any page, and jump right in without discomfort.

Building Hiram is for the Master Mason and Nagy says, “The Word before you is what I wish I had been given when I was Raised.”

Nagy goes on to say this for newly Raised Masons and I suppose even those who were Raised many moons ago:

“Should Masons take a step back and reflect on the actual picture painted before them, much more may be gleaned. In fact, further Masonic Benefit occurs only by considering the interconnections between the symbols, the overlap of themes and the rhythm of the patterns continually played out from beginning to end.”

In a paper written by Worshipful Brother Alphonse Cerza titled AND GIVE THEM PROPER INSTRUCTION Cerza says:

There is no question that the Masonic ritual is the foundation of the Craft. In it we find the message that Freemasonry has for the candidate, its philosophy, and its moral teachings. If one knows these lessons fully and complete- ly, he is indeed a wise man. Too many of us are concerned more with perfection of the words rather than securing a full understanding of the spirit and the meaning of the ritual.

Let us not make the mistake of believing that the ceremony of initiation makes a man a Mason. True, this ceremony is vital and necessary, but unless the lessons of the ceremony and the spirit of the ritual is understood it is nothing. For example, for hundreds of years in the ancient world there were a number of associations that we now call the Ancient Mysteries. These organizations had a number of things in common. One element stands out above all others: the belief that the ceremony of the Mystery purified the can- date. This basic belief more than any other factor brought these organizations to an end. Let us learn one lesson from this page of history: The ceremonies of the three degrees are of no value unless they are understood by the candidate and are grafted into everyday life. An informed and enlightened membership is a better and more successful one. This is not idle talk. Brother William H. Knutt, in 1952, at the Mid-West Conference on Masonic Education, gave a report in which it was clearly shown that when the great depression of the thirties came along, the jurisdictions in which the Craft had been offering educational programs lost the least number of members.

 The Craft should be put to WORK. That there be perfection in the ritual, that members receive instruction in the ceremonies of the Craft, and that our degree work be retained is of vital importance. No fault can be found with the ritualistic work for it is the foundation of our Order. Fault should be found with the view that we stop our efforts with the conferring of the degrees. We are amiss in our duty to the Craft when we do not properly prepare our candidates and then abandon the newly-made Mason to his own devices. Lodges that devote their entire time to conferring degrees will soon find that quantity is not a substitute for quality. The quality of the membership is determined not only by the careful screening of applicants for the degrees but also in making the new member Mason in fact. This can be done by putting the new Mason to work.

John "Coach" Nagy

John “Coach” Nagy

And this is what Nagy has consistently done in all his books maybe with a bit of a modification. Instead of putting Masons to work Nagy puts them into thinking and realizing what it all means. He connects the dots so that a Mason can get an idea of the whole picture. He puts all the pieces of the puzzle together so the Mason can now see the big picture.

Nagy works a jigsaw puzzle, one piece goes here, one piece there, then another and in the end you have a picture that forms concepts and paths to betterment and a philosophy.

Nagy tells us, “ One of the sad results that discovered Light gave to me was a picture of Masonry that was filled with gaps. The vast majority of practicing Blue Lodge Masons I’ve encountered have no more Masonic Education than what they learned and did during Degree Work. They memorized and repeated back what had been memorized and repeated to them; they had no real fundamental understanding of the wonderful Light and guidance being offered to them.”

So Nagy sets out to weave a tale of the integration of Masonic symbols, Masonic tools, Masonic illustrations and Masonic concepts into a better understanding of not only what Masonry is all about but how to use Masonry.

He starts with the Ashlars and ends with The Master’s Wages. Along the way we learn in depth about the Stone Builder’s Tools, The Orders of Architecture, The Staircase, The Four Ruffians (yes I said 4), The Ancient Penalties, The 3-4-5 Triangle, The Sacred Triad, The Square and Compasses, The Temple and The Lost Word.

On the Ashlars he says, “There is nothing whatsoever that is added to any stone selected. Removal merely reveals the Beauty that is already there within the Stone.”

On the Stone Builder’s Tools he says, “The Working-Tools are specifically designed to make sure the Work we do as Masons has Integrity. No structure, however, grand, can stand long and well if its Integrity is compromised. Masonic Ritual is a constant reminder of this truth. In fact, it is the structural theme of Masonic Ritual. As a Builder, if you do not understand this, your ability to use what you know may eventually cause your structure to fail as well.”

You are the structure, you are the stone. The Temple is you and your soul.Building Better Builders

There is a lot of talk about Wisdom, Strength and Beauty; who represents these three virtues and what they can do for us personally.

If you read this book you will learn who the Fourth Ruffian is, that the Ancient Penalties were not enacted by others upon those who violate their Word but are self-inflicted and occur without fail, what three conditions are necessary to give the Master’s Word, what season is silently represented,  What the Sacred triad is, the meaning of ABN, why you descend the winding staircase, what three Tools, when one is missing, still have three, what Officer maintains the etiquette of the Lodge, who was Gomer, what is the Death Triplet, the significance of “As Above, So Below,” how the Word is made flesh, what the Last Wage is, and much, much more. But we don’t want to tell you everything about the book for then you might not read it. And that would be a shame since it is the way in which Nagy connects everything together, the reasoning used to make a whole, that leads to the light bulb coming on for you.

This is by far the best book I have run into for Masonic education of Master Masons both individually and in a group at the Lodge. Its crowning glory is the ability Nagy has to combine many individual teachings and concepts into one big one, to make the whole of Masonry, what constitutes its nobleness, righteousness and virtues into a philosophy. What Nagy does is explain Masonic philosophy by explaining and connecting all its component parts. This philosophy we call Masonry is a way of life. A Freemason cannot live this way of life unless he can understand it. And that’s the job that Nagy does. He articulates the philosophy of Masonry so that Masons are able to practice it because they understand it. For that reason alone this book must be part of your library and the library of your Lodge.

You can order the book here: http://www.coach.net/BuildingHiram.htm

 

Building Athens

A book review by Wor. Bro. Frederic L. Milliken

Building Athens

Building Athens

Coach John Nagy has written a most important book for the Fellow Craft, Building Athens – Uncommon Catechism for Uncommon Masonic Education – Volume 3. It is about the winding staircase with emphasis on the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences. In case you have forgotten (heaven forbid), the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences are Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy.

The first three are categorized as the Trivium, the latter four labeled the Quadrivium. The Trivium, Nagy tells us: “ …is to convey to students an understanding of how Words are used as Symbols. Study of such matters includes the eventual ability to decode and encode meaning and intent using Words as a base.” The Quadrivium “… is to convey to the student and understanding of how Numbers are used as Symbols. Study of such matters includes the eventual ability to decode and encode meaning and intent using Numbers as a base.”

But the larger question I am sure you are asking by now is why is the book titled Building Athens? What does Athens have to do with the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences?

Nagy tells us:

Masons unfamiliar with the legacy of Athens hamper their Masonic progress. To participate in Masonry at the Fellow Craft Level without having knowledge of Athens’ most famous citizens and, more specifically, their Works is to see and experience Ritual as a shadow show likened to that depicted in Plato’s Cave.

Most of us know about Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Pythagoras. But how many of us have heard of Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Parmenides and Democritus, to name a few?

John "Coach" Nagy

John “Coach” Nagy

Actually, when Nagy first envisioned this book it was going to be more of an explanation of the rich symbolism in the Second Degree but the end result took a turn when reality dawned on the Coach.

First, in observing other Masonic writers he noted how some produced the unfolding of layers of symbolism.

“Through this insight, I realized that these Brothers had constructed writings that hid things in plain view through Symbolic Layering. They Masterfully conveyed Light without hiding it. They shared it knowing that Brothers would see Light that profanes couldn’t. Trained Brothers knew what was conveyed.”

Symbolic Layering is one fascinating aspect of this book and one which the reader must discover on his or her own. That led Nagy to his conclusion that Trained Minds are so important to understanding Symbolic Layering and the meaning of Masonry.

I quickly realized that a Mason’s mind must be first ‘readied’ to receive such information before he can benefit from it. I also realized that no matter how I might go about my initial focus, without a ‘readied mind’, my actions would be equivalent to discussing colors with a blind person. No such sharing would have relatable significance.

But how is this done? How are Freemasons readied to receive this information?

“Fellow Craft Masons that diligently invest in the education pointed toward by Ritual physically reshape their ‘Ashlars’, a.k.a. ‘brains’, toward what is required by the Builder. They furthermore reinforce natural affinities that their brains already have and cultivate interconnections that change how reality is experienced. This training transforms each mind’s ability to sort, uncover, discriminate, differentiate, distinguish, decide, detect, project, create, evaluate and a host of other mental talents that would otherwise lay dormant or poorly used if not otherwise nurtured.”

Once again Nagy emphasizes Trained Minds in Trained Masons.

“Information challenged individuals, unable to deal effectively with information overload, become lost within information. Trained Masons know what is pertinent. They furthermore know how to see through illusions offered up as a fact to see Truths hidden within and fallacies veiled in truth.”

So in Catechism form Coach Nagy sets out to retrain our minds in order that we may separate the chaff from the wheat, see the layering of symbolism and discover the meanings of Masonry and its application to our daily lives.

Nagy talks about the great Greek philosophers and their contribution to symbolic thought and the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences.

In regards to Plato, Nagy tells us that,

Plato was influenced by Socrates, along with Pythagoras, Aristophanes, Protagoras, Homer, Hesiod, Parmenides. Aesop, Heraditus, and Orphism

As we start into the specifics Nagy tells us,

Masonry is a training ground for Symbolic understanding. Without an intimate knowledge of Symbols, Masons become malnourished by the inability to absorb what is presented.

Nagy talks a lot in the book about Shibboleths which he defines as “a word, phrase, motto, slogan, or saying used by adherents of a party, group, sect, organization, or belief, also a widely held belief, truism or platitude which can be a linguistic tool that allows for identification of a specific group based upon pronunciation  of specific words.”

The subsequent chapters of the book take each of the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences in detail.

“Grammar is many things. It is the Strength aspect of the study of Symbols as words. It is a fingerprint, identifying sources with such pinpoint accuracy that no masking can obscure it. It tells its observer the history, culture and attitude of its source. It develops the left Temporal, Occipital and Parietal lobes of the brain thus providing pattern recognition skills to those developed. As a Mason, I recognize that Grammar knowledge allows Masons to Travel in directions that hold back illiterate men.”

“Rhetoric is the Beauty aspect of the study of Symbols as words. Moreover, as only things of Beauty can do, it invites those affected to experience its Beauty by merely taking in what is offered. Any Persuasion that occurs is not forced though; it is not put upon those so invited. It is put forth to partake in and its recipients are wholly responsible for what they do with it.”

“To Master influences such as these, Masons must know what persuades. Rhetorical study cultivates understanding, insight and planning into this. It also requires Craftsmen to know what future such Work shapes. With such training Masters duly Craft its ends. As Centers of Influence, their Work creates Spheres of Influence.”

“Logic is essential in Building anything having Integrity. Non-reason condemns people to unnecessary, damaging and life-threatening conclusions. Ritual informs Masons that Logic is important. Masons must apply Logic in their Work to assure that what they have wrought is both sound and viable in supporting their aims. Sadly, Masons receive only a shadow of what is required Logically to Raise them Above the norm.”

“Logic is the Wisdom aspect of the study of Symbols as Words. Logical abilities allow Masons to discern Truth from fallacy. The power of right reasoning is deemed essential to Masons. Without Logic, Masons cannot comprehend their rights and duties. Without Logical faculty, men are considered insane; viewed as madmen and idiots; and denied admission into the Masonic Order. Lack of Logic also limits Travel.”

“Arithmetic lets Masons see the world in such dramatic detail that they appear to be sighted to the blind untrained. It requires foundational understandings of how Numbers manifest and what can be done with them. Arithmetic is the Strength aspect of the study of Symbols as Numbers. Through Arithmetic, the world becomes a familiar place.”

“How does this happen? Arithmetic study develops the abilities of Masons to recognize relationships and reveal patterns. Its study also forces Masons to understand, confront and deal effectively with concepts related to zero and infinity. Through its Strength, Arithmetic enables Masons to have real impact through development of analogy.”

“Geometry is one of two Wisdom aspects of the study of Symbols as Numbers. Geometry puts dimension to those concepts revealed and accepted during Arithmetic study. It also facilitates dealing with irrational quantities. Geometry trains the mind to imagine things that exist, things that may exist and things that will never exist. It’s amazing how much Geometry is part of our world.”

“Masons studying Geometry bring ordered thinking to their physical world. It also hones their critical thinking; sharpness portable to other disciplines such as Music and Astronomy. Of all the aspects of Masons developed by such study, the one applied toward the measure of man may very well be its most important.”

“Music is intimately dependent upon Arithmetic and Geometry. There is Logic behind its construction. Music has both a Grammar of its own and it is itself the Grammar of sound! Most importantly, its purpose is identical to that of words when employed as Rhetoric, through its use, it persuades. Lastly, understanding of Music supports a Mason’s understanding of Astronomy.”

“Music relates to internal and external motion and requires a firm understanding of how motion Works under certain conditions. Builders who know these basics can then both evaluate and devise systems that employ such motion.”

“Ultimately, the capstone of Liberal Art and Science studies opens up a Mason’s ability to seriously study of Theology and Philosophy. Astronomical information is often times conveyed within such texts and it takes a trained individual to identify when such information is present. This requires all the skills developed by Liberal Art and Science study.”

Building Better BuildersThese are only the chapter headings – a tease. Where you mind really gets challenged is in the catechism of each chapter. There is where the general becomes the specific; there is where the learning takes place; there is where the mind is expanded; there is where you must commit much time and energy.

Once you have completed this expansion of the mind an overview of the big picture illustrates the importance of such study. Nagy tells us:

“To look deeply without toward what constitutes the makeup of your world is to put forth an effort to see and seed the possibility of knowing the very essence of Creation. Of all the actions that Masons can take, except for ‘sincere and searching self-reflection’, this action has the deepest impact. It permeates everything thereafter done.”

Finally, we are told:

“Next to the Entered Apprentice Degree, no more demanding Work in all of Masonry can ever match what is ordered upon Masons within the Fellow Craft Degree. It’s most unfortunate that the Work specified as important to Masons within the Fellow Craft ritual is ‘skipped over’ by far too many Masons as they pursue the title of that ‘next’ degree. Mentoring Master Masons would do well in tempering the enthusiasm of those Fellow Crafts desiring the next level, as well as their own, especially if they have yet to earn the title.”

Leaping over this specific Work has damaging consequences for the Mason, the Brothers who have to deal with that Mason, the Fraternity as a whole and future Masons who Enter and expect proper guidance from Brothers.

Building Athens is not just an information book but a challenge. I consider myself reasonably well informed, no Rhodes scholar mind you, but time and time again I felt a need to consult further research on some of the points Coach Nagy was making and some of the references he alluded to. This is the kind of book you might want to read twice. Once you mind has been expanded it makes much more sense the second time around and you will “get it” finally.

The only question left: ARE YOU READY TO RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN?

You can find John Nagy’s book, Building Athens – Uncommon Catechism for Uncommon Masonic Education – Volume 3, on Amazon and on his website.

A Masonic Journey

A Masonic JourneyI have read many a Masonic book in my time. Some of them are so complicated, grandiose and difficult to read that sometimes I think I am back in school reading a textbook. That is why reading Nelson Rose’s book, A Masonic Journey, is a welcomed change of pace.

Rose has written a book that reads easily and comfortably and you are able to move right along. As Rose says, “I would like to focus on the journey itself.”

He continues, “Perhaps while you read this you can reflect on where you fit, not just within the walls of your lodge, but in your community or even you own home. All of us are bricks in the temple of humanity. When one considers the differences in the bricks used on the outer walls versus the inner chambers, it is easy to see that our diversity does not prevent our unity and that while we can choose to stand alone, we miss out on the grandeur of being a piece of something greater.”

So we get to read how Rose felt being raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason and how he felt being the Worshipful Master of his Lodge.

We also get to read how Rose feels on Masonic subjects. On education he feels the study of Masonic Philosophy is more important than learning ritual.

On Brotherly Love he says, “Our membership is suffering not because of changes in society, but because of our inability to keep the normal cut-throat attitudes of society outside the lodge.” Society isn’t doing so well in Rose’s eyes. “Then I look at our fraternity,” he says. I often wonder if society is suffering as a result of the watered down state of the Craft.”

We can do it; we can be great Rose concludes as he takes us through the concepts of From Darkness to Light, Brotherly Love, Further Light, On the Level, Achieving Balance, Toleration and the Path to Perfection.

“When properly applied all the lessons of Freemasonry will enable a man to find that balance which enables him to spread his influence and love like the mortar of friendship and Brotherly love in all aspects of his life,” Rose exhorts us.

Again he reminds us, “The hopes and fears of all humanity are universal; how we deal with them are not. The lessons of Masonry are designed to help, aid, and assist a man along the journey of life.”

Rose continues, ”We should let the world observe how Masons love one another and we should show the world our love for ALL our fellow man. Of all the organizations known to man, it is Masonry that has focused on a communal and fraternal system of morality. We work together for the good of all, not just ourselves.”

We get a glimpse of Masonic education after Lodge as Masons of Rose’s Lodge go out for pub and grub afterward. This is a very common phenomenon in Freemasonry. A great back and forth and bonding occurs over libation and breaking bread together. Rose lets us in on a bit of that after Lodge conversation with his Brothers.

He also describes some of his in Lodge doings. But the best part of the book comes when Rose waxes philosophical. He actually spells out what he is thinking, saying,

Nelson Rose and Son

Nelson Rose and Son

The Creator or Grand Architect only designs – thus the name architect. It is the individual choices that a man makes that dictate what will become of his life and what direction he travels is based on his own moral compass. Among us are the hints and clues that the Architect has placed in the most sublime ways.

And then there is, “It is no coincidence that the many men of science who are credited with redefining what was thought of as divine or supernatural, into the laws of nature and science, were Freemasons.”

Followed by, “The ability to learn how to think versus what to think is perhaps the greatest lesson I have learned from my studies in Freemasonry.”

There are a lot of Rose-isms in this book. We can’t give them all to you; you’ve got to read the book yourself.

The last third of the book is devoted to a detailed explanation of Masonic lessons that are a part of Masonic education. So we see the importance of the Five Senses and The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences,  followed by some of the prominent symbols of Freemasonry – The Square, The Compasses, The letter G, The Quadrant, The Sun and finally The Tenets of Freemasonry. Rose concludes the book with some words to the wise for Freemasons and what we should be standing for.

The real gem in this part of the book that we haven’t touched on yet was Rose’s Masonic Education lecture that he delivered in Lodge. So all the non-Masons that read this book if you want to know what goes on inside the closed doors of the guarded Lodge Room, here is your chance. And what makes it so great is that it was an unprepared lecture as Rose was drafted at the last minute, so it was delivered from the heart.

In his lecture, Rose told his Lodge,

The open Bible reminds us that it is the moral law and the essence of deity that sits in the center of the Lodge. Without either, the lodge could not be opened or any obligation be taken. It is this symbol that reminds us that we as individuals are not the center of the Lodge and that we should govern our actions to a higher standard.

A Masonic Journey is not only a book that should be in every Mason’s library, but it is also a great book to give to someone who would make a good Mason or is contemplating becoming one. Very rarely do we get to follow the personal thoughts of a Freemason and learn from him personally how the Craft has benefitted him and society as a whole. It makes this book differ radically from a theoretical treatise on Freemasonry and it is an opportunity you should not miss.

Nelson Rose is a member of the Grand Lodge of Florida and the United Grand Lodge of England and writes for his Blog –

The Quest for Light, Practical Philosophy for a world in need of Light.

You can find A Masonic Journey on Amazon.

Finding El Dorado

First-time author, Mason Pratt, brings to life a story of personal growth and mentorship. Read about the world’s best kept hidden and protected secrets. A story written as a fiction novel, with underlying truths.

Could it be true that there is a path that would lead a person to an unbelievable richness of growth and self-fulfillment as a member of a truly gifted society? Join Drew as he seeks the answer to this profound question.

Finding El Dorado Book Cover

Don’t we all, or at least most of us, want to see good triumph over evil? Isn’t there an inner self that seeks out the best for the individual and humankind at the same time? The only requirement to activate that which lies deep within us is to listen closely and quietly to where one is being nudged.

Is that God working within? Perhaps in many cases it is. But isn’t it possible that those who dig deep inside themselves can activate forces that the more superficial human cannot fathom?

If you had that little extra power, that higher ability coupled with a higher calling, could you not steer humankind to the preservation and protection of those working to make society a better place to live? At the same time would you not want those who possess such powers to subscribe to a code of virtues, ethics and morality?

And so starts the book Finding El Dorado with an ordinary man named Drew Wyatt who has a burning desire to make a difference in this world we call earth. That goodness which he has brought to the surface from the inner self and displayed publicly is what makes Wyatt attractive to a group called “Strykers.”

The Strykers see in Wyatt a good man that they can make better.

Finding El Dorado Sign of the Order. The triple tau is within a triangle and that is within a circle.

Finding El Dorado Sign of the Order. The triple tau is within a triangle and that is within a circle.

Wyatt tells them:

“I know it sounds a little hokey, but I think we owe a duty to others to make this a better place to live. Especially with the way the world is nowadays. I would like to think I had higher ideals and that my ‘destiny’ is somehow still out there. I do try to help out. I have volunteered at different places, I have given blood at the local Blood Bank and work with a local fraternal group in town working with schools and people down on their luck, but nothing permanent.”

The Strykers explain to Wyatt that:

“The name Stryker is new; we have gone under other names throughout history to stay relatively anonymous. The group goes public for a while every several hundred years or so for reasons I will explain later. However, to answer your question directly, the group has had many names depending on the time of history. We have been called in the last century Ghosts and Spirits when something unexplained happened, in early America we were called Medicine men and Shamans, in the middle ages we were called Magicians, Sorcerers, Wizards and Witches, in ancient countries of Greece, Egypt and Norway we were Seers and Soothsayers, in the ancient Middle East we were Oracles and Prophets, in India and the Far East we were called Genies and Viziers. We have been called Mages, Enchanters, Diviners, Conjurers, and Healers. The list goes on and on.”

“We are convinced that you have what it takes to join our order. You have the empathy to contribute as well as the temperament to control the power and responsibility to help society. Only one in thousand are considered and then only a small portion of them are accepted into the order.” His face suddenly became very serious, as he continued: “BUT…be aware that this group is difficult to join, dangerous to operate in and is a lifetime commitment.”

And that is the beginning of a new life for Drew Wyatt. First he must be interviewed, then initiated and finally he must complete 12 tasks to hone his skills as a Stryker and prove that he understands how to use his new powers correctly and wisely.

It is this story unfolding in which we see the development of an ordinary human being into an extraordinary one. It is a path that leads him to an unbelievable richness of growth and self-fulfillment?

Finding El Dorado Blue Rose

Finding El Dorado Blue Rose

It is also a captivating story that pushes the limits of scientific study and breakthroughs. With the Blue Rose as their symbol Strykers are literally enabled to change the world we live in. They cannot eliminate evil but they can foster and guide the good so that there is order in the world, not anarchy.

While this is a fiction book it is also one with a message. Freemasons will instantly recognize the message that author  Brother Mason Pratt is trying to convey. It is exactly the virtues of Freemasonry that Strykers operate with but unlike Freemasons, Strykers have a mission to be deeply involved in the inner workings of society, to preserve and protect society so that it continues onward and upward on its path.

This work can be a tremendous tool to explain how Freemasons think. For that reason, it is a great gift to those men deemed worthy of Masonic membership. It is very difficult for most Freemasons to explain their Craft. Through the use of fiction intertwined with philosophy and morality Pratt has written a book that will give deep understanding as to the nature of fraternal virtues and callings for all who read it. It is written for the Mason and the non-Mason alike.

As Pratt says about the Stryker movement:

Brother Mason Pratt

Brother Mason Pratt

Their direction is accomplished by forming new leaders using several ancient arts and sciences that move their initiates past the petty struggles of money and power. In this knowledge, Drew discovers a ‘worldwide’ unity of humanity which is held together by these constructive ideals.

I call Finding El Dorado the “Atlas Shrugged” of fraternal societies.

For more information see the Finding El Dorado website: http://www.findingeldorado.net/index.htm

The Finding El Dorado Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/findingeldorado

For updates by subscription: https://ganxy.com/i/107364/mason-pratt/finding-eldorado

To purchase the book:

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-El-Dorado-Mason-Pratt/dp/1518631622/ref=sr_1_2_twi_pap_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445177431&sr=8-2&keywords=mason+pratt+el

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-El-Dorado-Mason-Pratt-ebook/dp/B016TJTROK/ref=sr_1_7_twi_kin_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445177410&sr=8-7&keywords=mason+pratt

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1122813823?ean=2940150871243

To help the author finance a sequel: https://www.gofundme.com/xu5r7fyg

Building Free Men

A book review by Frederic L. Milliken

 

“ Do men exist who cannot see Past Surfaces? Ritual repeatedly tells us they do. They only Grasp the Superficial Aspects of Life and this includes other males. They cannot See ‘in Depth’, nor do they Seek to See anything other than what is Seen upon the Surfaces when they gaze. They cannot Cross Perpetual Bournes and are themselves unpassably hampered by their Burdens and lauded Weaknesses.”

No one else can transform their thoughtless ways. Their choices create their Limitations. Their Progress lessens each day they refuse to do Rudimentary Work intended to Improve them. Corruption eventually Ruffian’s its way through their Every Manner and, in time, even their very Looks Betray them. No overall good comes by Passing Brothers Unprepared to take Manhood’s reins. Doing so Pollutes our Numbers and Sabotages our Aims.”

“Yet, Choices to do so, based upon fears of doors closing and coffers shrinking, directs our ranks away from our Professed Principles. Titular Progression is to these Brothers’ detriment and to our collective Body as well. Bestowing Youths with unmerited titles rather than Maturing them toward Manhood is the Antithesis of Craft Ideals and Goals. For the Craft to regain its original Value, it must as a whole ‘grow up’ and do so unapologetically and without fear of losing lost boys. Restoration demands that it ‘man up’ in every way and to do so Masterfully. It shall not occur though until each member does so for himself. Only Men can lead Youths into Manhood, Without Manhood, males are Bound and not Free.”

So begins Coach John Nagy’s book, “BUILDING FREE MEN, Uncommonly Freeing Masonic Education.”

And this is what Nagy has dedicated himself to convey:Building Free Men

“Far too many Brothers truly believe that what they are told during their Craft training is the whole of what needs to be conveyed to them. They don’t realize that this training was only laying a foundation for further learning and that it was not their entire education.”

Adding to the confusion, misunderstanding and misinformation according to Nagy is not realizing the true meaning of many Masonic words and their historical context.  Chief among those Masonic words is the distinction between Masonry and Freemasonry.

“Masonry is about ‘making things,” says Nagy. “In essence, Mason are Builders.”

“To be called a ‘Freemason’, one must belong to a duly Recognized Organization and, furthermore, one does not require anything more from oneself than this legitimate association to wear this label.”

That is why a Freemason pledges to improve himself in Masonry (not Freemasonry).

Nagy goes on to say, “As membership exists in this moment, a Freemason does not have to Build anything whatsoever. He does not have to Speculate in any way. He does not even have to do anything other than pay his dues on time and be moral in his actions; he only has to be an Accepted Member. In essence, today Freemasons are Members.”

Nagy then proceeds to destroy the myth that Freemasons were named after Masons who worked with Freestones. This leads to a whole discourse on the original meaning of the word “Free.”

Nagy tells us that the word Free comes from the French Franc or Franche which means superior or excellent.

As he says, “What is not clear to most Brothers is that how the word ‘free’ is used and understood within words today is not how it was used and meant originally. The word ‘free’ as it was originally understood and used years ago referred solely to the superiority or excellence or both.

We then get into the definitions of “Accepted,” “Initiated, “ “Received,” and “Entered.” All these terms refer to Brothers coming into the Lodge, non-Masons being “made” Masons. Accepted is one who has already joined, Nagy reports.

So why go through the historic meanings of words that have different meanings today? We do so because it changes the history of the Craft and today’s understanding of its origins.

Nagy tells us that because of not understanding the original meanings on the words Free Masons and Accepted Masons that we now erroneously consider that – “’Free Masons’ were Operative and ‘Accepted Masons’ were speculative.”

Not true says the coach.

“As shared previously, the word ‘Free’ came from the word ‘Franche’, whose original and now obsolete meaning was ‘Superior; Excellent’. Masons who wore the title ‘Free Mason’ were Masterful Craftsmen. Our current modern day label for such Brothers is, ‘Master Masons’.”

“Contrast this with those Masons who were only beginning their education in the fraternity. These newly ‘Made’ Masons were initiated, but had yet to begin learning. These Brothers were ‘Accepted’ but they were far from being masterful in any way.”

“They were ‘newly Made’, ‘newly initiated’, ‘newly Entered’, and, as the term clearly implies, ‘newly Accepted’. Our current modern day label for such Brothers is, ‘Entered Apprentices’.”

“When you add the two original, now obsolete meanings into the universally used Fraternal phrase ‘Free & Accepted’ Masons’, you begin to see that the phrase, as interpreted by unknowing Brothers for nearly three hundred years, does not mean ‘Operative & Speculative’ Masons. It means ‘Superior & Initiated’ Masons, or, in more modern terms, ‘Master & Apprentice’ Masons

This all has enormous connotations as to the origin of Freemasonry and helps bolster the argument that Freemasonry did not originate from the Medieval builders Guilds. For further development of this theme, I would refer you to Coach Nagy’s book, “The Craft Unmasked.”

What followed was definitions of the words “Speculative” and “Operative.” In regards to Speculative Nagy says:

“Its original meaning denoted ‘prolonged theoretical thought’ and connoted ‘the liberal arts as opposed to the “mechanic” arts (i.e., arts requiring manual skill)’. It is clear that the intent of the word  ‘speculative’ was not to engage in unfounded thinking but to use it as a bridging metaphor for building toward the application of techniques used to ‘build builders of men’ by way of the liberal arts study rather than the manual arts. In essence, Speculative Masons are supposed to be ‘Well-Founded Cultivated Thinkers’. Such Cultivation doesn’t occur without Operative elements. This means it requires work.

That leads to an interesting question posed by Nagy.

“If Operative members of the Organization did all the labor and Speculative members did all the thinking, wouldn’t the Organization need both functioning together to accomplish anything of significance?”

After all, says Nagy, “Even Rituals today in many different Jurisdictions state quite succinctly that ‘our ancient brethren worked at (wrought in) both Operative and Speculative Masonry.”

And here is where we get to a conclusion that is vital to Masonic Education.

“Unfortunately, creating a division, due the Speculative belief that Spiritual Temples require no Operative involvement to bring them forth only confuses the Builders of such Temples.”

John "Coach" Nagy

John “Coach” Nagy

This first third of the book is only the set up for the deeper discussion of Masonic Education  and Building Free Men. Now we can see why Nagy set the table as he did and where he is going with all this.

“Furthermore, what maintains members maintains organizations, but what maintains Organizations won’t necessarily maintain its members.”

I would like to frame that and put it on my wall! And furthermore, I would send it in a plaque form to my Grand Lodge.

Nagy goes on to say, “This is because Organizations are mechanical while its members are living beings. Each requires different support. Each requires different methods. Each requires different mindsets to survive and thrive. When Brothers confuse the two and try to treat one as the other, much is lost for all those involved.”

“Freemasonic teachings conceal Masonic mysteries while Masonic teachings reveal Freemasonry mysteries.”

And I will frame that last paragraph also. We now see why Nagy makes a clear distinction between Freemasonry and Masonry. This distinction is even further emphasized when Nagy tells us, “Freemasonic Secrets differ from Masonic Secrets. The former are given to members by Brothers by simply showing up and complying with what is Ordered by the Craft. The latter are revealed to Masons through diligent personal Work and are not usually directly revealed by others.”

A better case could not be made for Masonic reading, study and education outside the tyled Lodge room. Nagy really is “Uncommonly Freeing Masonic Education.”

Nagy goes on to say that this kind of investment into Masonic study will yield spiritual results. Those that come to Lodge and confine their study to only that which takes place inside the Lodge room are practicing superficial Masonry and “shall find no more with the Organization than a soul-less machine to serve.”

“When Perpended thoroughly, nurturing Fraternal activities keep focused at all times on our humanity, especially when called to serve. Freemasonry was never intended to be soulless!”

“Men may enter Freemasonry, but it is only builders who take Masonic Steps thereafter.”

“Look closely and you’ll see that Masonry is Spiritual Journey. To do Masonry any other Way or for any other Reason corrupts its intent.”

When Masonry is practiced in this manner, Nagy tells us that Brothers will have many insights into life that others may lack and that they are poised to do great things.

Then we are back to definitions again. Following the Free  emphasis of the book Nagy investigates Freeborn.

It is commonly assumed that “Freeborn” alludes to a man who has never been a slave. But Nagy’s criticism of this interpretation leads him to say, “The definitions for the most part merely break the compound word apart and then switch around the words to define itself.”

One historical definition that he points to is, Free Born: A free soul; one having attained mastery of himself by self-discipline. It is a misconception that this refers to one not born into slavery.”

What follows is looking into the derivation and interpretations of the words Able ( Able at birth, Able in all degrees), Bondman, and Freo. That led to the word Noble which Nagy says, “Freeborn, if taken for all the evidence found associated with noble within dictionaries, did not mean ‘not born a slave’ but something very different. It meant someone born into the upper classes of society.”

Here we are right back again with the previous discussion of  Freestone and Freemasonry and the word Free for Nagy continues, “it (dictionary) said that ‘nobel’ had an archaic meaning. That meaning was of excellent or superior quality.”

“On the surface, the profane world would look at the words written in these Old Charges and assume that freeborn meant free or unbound as it is understood today. They might never gather that it alluded to being from the higher tiers of society.”

“And just as the stones being brought from the quarry required careful scrutiny to assure they were free, as in ‘excellent-superior’ quality, to assure the Work that was to commence upon them was not in vain, the men being brought into the Craft needed to be just as free for the exact same reasons.”

Getting into the heart of Masonic education, study and learning Nagy informs us that Masonry teaches in Allegory.

“What is the key to Allegorical Understanding? You must accept that allegory is not presented as ‘fact’; it is presented to help realize and recognize ‘truths’. Allegory is about truth being conveyed; not fact.”

What was intended here was scholarship.

“What was the Scholastic end-in-mind for Freemasons?” asks Nagy. “To cultivate Free thinking men with the full capacity to recognize and understand symbols within theological and philosophical writings and to do so in such a way as to render their wisdom and insights into everyday use.”

“And Modified Behavior indicates learning has occurred.”

Nagy tells us that “Apprentice work transforms the heart.” Fellowcraft work deals with the head. Thus Masons, “Move from adulthood to Age and from Maturity to Wisdom.”

Unfortunately, today’s Freemasonry has dumbed down the Craft. Nagy tells us, “Within our modern Craft, Mastery no longer means a man is skilled in anything other than being able to repeat back words in the same manner that he was taught. He need not be able to explain or understand any of these words, past how he was told to understand or explain them. He need not even be what these words express, save the bare essence of him being accepted by his Brothers.”

“…there are some Brothers within the current Order who want others to believe they could do Justice to a man by making him a Brother, then a Fellow and then hang a ‘Master’s’ title upon him within hours.”

“It leaves outside observers with the impression that: 1) These Brothers did not care about Cultivating any Apprentice’s character or abilities. 2) They did not care about investing time with him or if the man has time to invest with them. 3) They do not want to be troubled by seemingly unnecessary Work. 4) They did not want to assure him that he can and will succeed in the world as a result of his Efforts.”

“Moreover, it leaves the impression that all they are interested in is ‘progressing’ him toward a title that permits him to be a dues paying member of the Lodge and potentially someone who will engage in the same activities that they endorse through their actions. All this is at the cost of each Brother’s future successes.”

Building Better BuildersAgain it is the superficiality of Freemasonry that Nagy is attacking. That is those Brothers that refuse to delve into the meanings of words, symbols, penalties and Masonic virtues and then apply them to their daily lives. Yes, we should all learn our proficiencies but in the process there should be Lodge structure to teach the new Brother how to apply them and what it really means to be a Mason.

This is a profound work that will pause many a Mason to stop and think about what Nagy is saying here. Perhaps it will spur a Brother or two or three or more to pick up a Masonic book, to ask some questions, to sit at a roundtable Masonic discussion. For the goal here is spiritual and philosophical and the development of the individual and his soul. Being a Mason is more than paying dues, memorizing and repeating ritual and doing activities. To be a Mason involves WORK. Coach Nagy has done what he set out to do. He has coached Freemasons to become all that they can be, to study, learn and educate themselves and to understand the historical context wherein Freemasonry grew. For this reason, this is a must book for every member of the Craft.

 

 You can purchase the book here:  http://www.coach.net/BuildingFreeMen.htm

The Craft Unmasked

A book review by Frederic L. Milliken

From the day I was raised 26 years ago I have always heard that Freemasonry was an outgrowth of the Medieval Stone Masons Guilds that gradually took on speculative members as church building waned. Then along came historian John J. Robinson who wrote in Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry,

There remained no reasonable doubt in my mind that the original concept of the secret society that came to call itself Freemasonry had been born as a society of mutual protection among fugitive Templars and their associates in Britain, men who had gone underground to escape the imprisonment and torture that had been ordered for them by Pope Clement V.

Those were not the only two theories of Freemasonry’s origin that existed but in my time they were the two most common theories debated. John Nagy in his book, The Craft Unmasked – The Uncommon Origin of Freemasonry and its Practice, lists many other theories:

The Origins of Freemasonry

The Origins of Freemasonry

The Craft Unmasked

The Craft Unmasked

And #13 is Nagy’s Unmasking of the Craft, his answer as to the origin of Freemasonry. And what is that answer? Oh no, that you are going to have to find out by reading the book. Besides you wouldn’t believe him without all the corroborating evidence that is in the book to back up his claim. If I printed all of that in this review I might as well have just scanned the whole book and posted that. Of course that would be cheating Brother Nagy out of just compensation. If this was a murder mystery review you wouldn’t want me to tell you who did it now would you?

Nagy warns that the book could be upsetting to some Freemasons and that, “Revealing anything in this book to others who have yet to read it, shall both ruin the intended experience of the book for them and prevent you from having a rich discussion about it with an informed person.” So take due notice and govern yourselves accordingly.

Nagy tells us, “It should be abundantly clear that stonemasonry and Freemasonry are nowhere near the same.”  He goes on to say, “At one point in time in the Middle Ages, it took seven years to earn the right to be a Journeyman, otherwise known as a Fellow in the Craft. For an Apprentice to become a Fellow Craft within the Freemasonic Order, no skill development or servitude under a Mentor is required. Memorization of words, signs and grips are almost universally required. Some Apprentices are required to know the Obligations they learned during their first Degree.”

Next comes a lament you will find throughout Nagy’s book, “Candidates Entering the Society usually have high hopes of being surrounded by men who have actually developed Life Masteries. What they find is a wide assortment of males who have yet to master themselves, much less the principles of the Craft. They also find men obsessed with memorizing things that they have no desire to understand, much less apply.”

“With no true leadership or examples of what the Society can actually do to develop good men into Better men, some members soon realize that the organization is not what they expected. Couple this with meetings that provide little to no nourishment  for those who attend, it becomes very clear to any man who was initially excited about joining the Society, that if offers little more than activities that maintain the process of Initiating men three times over.”

He goes on to say this about candidates:

“They are provided an Instruction Set in the form of ritual as to what they should do to become Better men but they are provided no support to assure that they learn how to become Better men. They are only required to memorize that Instruction Set, not Execute it. It is clear that this activity and their limits do not support Freemasonic Craft in being a Progressive Science, only a stagnant script to follow that very few members understand.”

And why do few members understand Freemasonry?

Nagy claims, “Without a foundation in classical literature, scripture and related materials, there is little likelihood of any man truly appreciating anything other than superficial aspects of what the Society offers him. What’s more, when they don’t appreciate what is offered, they do not stick around much.”

Nagy is a big critic of Freemasonry’s claim to actually helping its members yet he sees in it a grand design that can change lives.

“Wouldn’t it make sense to teach men the significance of Ritual in general,” Nagy writes. “What is it supposed to activate within them? What is the significance of certain symbols, words, and gestures to as man, to what they refer within specific moments in history, and how they have been viewed in the past? Wouldn’t proper preparation include educating the man, not in what he shall experience, but in the significance of the words, phrases, gestures, symbols and allusions that he shall encounter on his journey?”

“The cultures surrounding the society today are not ones to provide unsophisticated Candidates. Not many new Candidates will willingly engage in such activities.  Today’s Candidates want continuity between the act and the reality it is supposed to improve.”

“It’s most unfortunate that the society never developed itself beyond the roles it asks its members to act out. Had it taken what its scripts espouse to the next level, and provided authentic and functional support to its members in achieving what its Rituals have pointed its members toward, its membership and surrounding structure would indeed be far grander than what is currently presented.”

“Once again, it is not ever emphasized that any member understands anything that he memorizes and repeats. It is never emphasized that he must do any of the work which any of what he is memorizing points toward. He need not understand the lessons. He need not understand what the Symbols mean toward what work they direct his attention. He is not even required to discuss how he can use what he is told to memorize to Better himself. It is only important that he be able to memorize and recite back what is asked of him by his Jurisdiction.”

But as we noted before this does not lessen the potential of Freemasonry in Nagy’s eyes one bit:

“The central power of the Freemasonic Society is the mutual agreement of all its members to play the part inside and outside the Lodge.  This means that the entire world is their theater and members are expected to play the part for the rest of their lives.”

“Perhaps the greatest service Freemasonic society can ever offer a man is the ability to release himself from the everyday world and immerse himself in a reality that offers him fellowship that’s not contingent upon anything other than wanting to be together for all the right reasons. In this way, Ritual does indeed Bring Order to Chaos.”

“Moreover, Freemasonry is perhaps the single most inclusive way for any man to freely and willingly immerse himself within a nurturing environment of Moral instruction that excludes the varying degrees of politically corrupting influences of any one religion.”

“Furthermore, there are some deeply spiritual men who shall never ever step foot in any religion based facility who desire to commune with other Seekers of like Mind and Spirit. For them there is and shall always be Freemasonry”

“And all members reap the benefit of their presence and wisdom as a result.”

“The Freemasonic Organization places a spotlight on every single Candidate going through each of the first three Degrees. Like a limelight in a spectacular production, the Candidate is both highlighted and at the same time shown what role he must play in life to better himself. At each Step along the way he is shown what he must focus upon to Build himself into a Better man.”

“For some time now  I have described Freemasonic ritual as ‘Roadmaps for Personal Transformation.’

When you come right down to it Nagy believes that ,“Simple in its deliverance and Masterful in its design the Craft does indeed do what it set out to do and in Grand Fashion.”

”Simply Masterful it is in every way and in ways that the majority have not recognized and understood until now.”

The meat of the book is the unmasking of the Craft and the discovery of its true origins, which you will have to read and digest yourself by buying the book. There is also Nagy’s critique of how the Craft could be better than it already is while paying due homage to its greatness at the same time. These are the points you don’t want to miss and that will provide hours of contemplation and discussion.

But there are other parts of the book that also spread Light. We won’t mention them all but one that Nagy finds important is definitions. He seems to feel that too many misunderstandings take place because we are misdefining (that’s a new word I just made up) the words we use in Freemasonry. The biggest offense comes in the use of the words “Masonry (and Mason) versus Freemasonry (and Freemason). According to Nagy:

Freemasonry – The Organizational Structures, Rules, Laws, Traditions, Lore and Rituals that support the Practices of the Freemasonic Society.Building Better Builders

Freemason –  A Member of the Society of Free & Accepted Masons; an Accepted Mason.

Masonry –  The Art and Science of Building.

Mason –  A Builder

While we are at we will include one other definition.

The Craft – 1. The Whole of Freemasonic Practice.  2. Those who collectively Practice Freemasonry

Nagy comments that confusion reigns when both Freemasonry and Masonry are used interchangeably and also when some assign the word Freemason to those in the Craft who practice the principles of Freemasonry and Mason to those in the Craft who do not practice the principles of Freemasonry.

Nagy further explains, “By taking the issue of practice outside the Society and assigning it strictly to practice versus non-practice, these Brothers have assigned a distinction that removes membership from the equation defining Masons. They have opted to define Freemasons as mere members of the society of Free & Accepted Masons while in the same effort defining Masons as individuals who Practiced Principles that transform males toward maturity and wisdom regardless of affiliation.”

“In the eyes of some, Freemasons were members of a Society whereas Masons were Builders.”

“None of these definitions denoted that there was mutual exclusivity between the two. They didn’t mean that members could not be Builders too or that Builders could not be members. It merely communicated a base understanding that one was not necessarily the other and one didn’t have to be one to be the other.”

Another chapter you don’t want to miss is the one on the Word.

Nagy tells us, “From the Perspective of Freemasonic Practice, the Master’s Word is Played out every time a Member Portrays Masonry Authentically.”

“The Word is not something you can hold, say or write. You cannot possess it in any way. If anything, It must be something that possesses you and does so legitimately and authentically.”

The Word is a Metaphor. It is intended to represent something other than an actual word. To understand this metaphor, one must seek not what is communicated in its normal sense but to seek the character of what is communicated beyond the words used. Hence, to seek and actual word would be foolish, but to seek the character of The Word would be wise.”

“This is why it is so crucial to understand that The Word cannot be given to anyone. It is something that a person Becomes as a result of diligently applying Wisdom, Strength and Beauty in agreement to all he does. One does not possess The Word, One Becomes The Word; and does so through dedication and commitment of specific Work.”

“The Word is Excellence from oneself to the Degree that one does all these things Masterfully. The Word is a metaphor for Masterful Achievement.”

I also call the Nagy the question man. On Facebook or in his books he is always asking questions. I bet that if I met him in person one of the first things he would do is ask me a question.  At the end of The Craft Unmasked are some questions for you to answer, or at least think about. Questions like:

“Do you know exactly what Society Ritual points toward that if pursued would continue to help transform you toward the Better?”

“If you were to step upon sacred ground, would it mean more to you knowing this fact before you stepped upon it or long after you left that soil?”

John "Coach" Nagy

John “Coach” Nagy

There is no doubt that what Nagy, affectionately referred to as the Coach, has written a book of much controversy. It will burst the bubble of many a Masonic scholar and researcher, and the Coach knows this. And I think he is ready for the flak that will come his way, as they used to say in Vietnam “INCOMING!” It does not seem to be in his nature to be confrontational, however, but rather to be an educator and he goes where his research has taken him.

It is so important that we understand our roots and where that leads us, where we began and where we are now going.

Nagy reminds us, “Yet, even though the Craft is hidden in plain sight, the Mystery of Masonry escapes the understanding of far too many of its members and non-Craft members. This doesn’t prevent individuals from practicing it and benefiting from its practice. Such benefits are a direct result of its application and it doesn’t require an awareness or understanding of the Craft, just a Mastering of it. The Craft is that empowering.”

“Many have come to its quarry. Many have Mastered its ways. Many have profited from its Practice. But, few actually Understand what they are truly doing. Somehow, along the way, the Craftsmen have forgotten what their Craft actually is and for what Purpose it is Practiced.”

But the Coach wants to put this all out for discussion not controversy. It is only through the meeting of minds that we shall discover ourselves as Freemasons and who we really are and where we are going. It is only through greater understanding of where we have been that we can figure where we must go in the future.

“When you remain even loosely active in Craft activities and have taken the time to discuss it at length and in depth with others, you shall soon become acutely aware that there are many aspects of the Craft that appear to be confusing at best, and deeply disconcerting at worst. These aspects shall continue to plague the Craft until such time that all members find themselves harmoniously discussing differences.”

Let’s hope that by adding this book to your library that you will be having those harmonious discussions and delving evermore deeper into the roots of Freemasonry in order to be able to shape its future for the better.

You can find Nagy’s book on Amazon here: The Craft Unmasked – The Uncommon Origin of Freemasonry and its Practice and on his website:  http://www.coach.net/TCU.htm.