There is an old occult maxim which declares that—" Nothing is concealed from him who knows." No Mason is bound to conceal that which he has never learned in the Lodge. All else he receives as he learns any thing, places his own estimate upon its value, and becomes individually responsible for its use. It must be a matter of conscience, and be weighed in the balance of duty, and every one must abide by the result. If Masonry has lost the Royal Secret, or if it never possessed it, or if it was wrenched away in the very name of Religion little more than a century ago, all the same, it belongs to the Craft as the Heir-apparent of the Old Wisdom. But the time has come when no cable-tow can bind it. It now belongs to Humanity equally with the Mason. To this end has it been preserved throughout the centuries.



Thursday, July 21, 2011

Why Is Membership Down - Think About It

I just finished reading a post on Facebook where the brother expressed his concern about the dwindling numbers in Freemasonry, a concern that has been around for years (yet we are still here).
It is my belief that Freemasonry mirrors most spiritual traditions and has suffered a great loss of interest and membership, the tide is ebbing, the reason being we are stuck in the “lowest common denominator” level. The more we dummy down the symbols, the more we fall prey to dogmatic fundamentalism in religions and ignorance in Freemasonry, a place I believe we may have found ourselves at this present time.
As a Scottish Rite Mason I have always been saddened by how few actually read the writings of Albert Pike, or even acknowledge the esoteric aspects within the rituals.

My personal feeling, most brothers have not removed their hoodwinks!

That is not necessarily a dire prediction of our future, it’s just a warning. The remedy can be found in many directions but first we have to acknowledge the esoteric side of Freemasonry, the side that speaks of levels above that of the “lowest common denominator”.

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