On The Level Podcast
Some people think Freemasonry is on the decline, not if we have anything to say about it! Join On the Level Podcast as we explore that Esoteric side of Freemasonry. We talk about the inner workings of our Fraternity, how to apply it's teachings to your every day life to become a better man, and general current events. Join our host and guests as we explore Freemasonry together and bring our ancient craft into the modern age!
On The Level Podcast
Master Mason Degree: Brotherhood's Bond and the Morality of Masonic Tools
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Discover the depths of the Master Mason degree with us, Fred and Chris, as we embark on a profound journey through the heart and soul of Freemasonry. If fellowship, ancient teachings, and a touch of humor are what you seek, tune in to our latest episode, where the esoteric becomes accessible and the camaraderie of our craft shines bright. Join the conversation as we share stories that reveal the lighter side of Masonic rituals and the powerful moral lessons housed within the allegorical tale of Hiram Abiff. We also extend a warm welcome to potential live podcast recordings at the Grand Lodge session in Orlando—your chance to engage with us and the larger Masonic community.
Have you ever pondered the symbolic importance of Masonic tools or considered how Masonic education might guide you like a moral compass? This episode invites both Masons and the curious alike to explore the transformative power of brotherly love as symbolized by the trowel, the quest for harmony, and the virtues that define our fraternity. We discuss the impact of living out the principles of Freemasonry and the significance of re-engaging with our Masonic practices through 'rusty Mason' events and 'open books.' It's a call to all, regardless of where you stand on your Masonic journey, to revisit and reinforce the foundations that unite us.
Concluding with a reflection on the importance of upholding Masonic standards, we address the topic of clandestine lodges and the critical role of recognized Grand Lodges in maintaining the integrity of our traditions. This episode isn't just about the obligations and rituals; it's about the brotherhood we share and the call to action for every member to actively participate in their lodges and reinforce the bonds of our fraternity. As your hosts, we invite you to rediscover the teachings within the little red book and strengthen the connections that make Freemasonry a lifelong journey of growth and service.
Exploring the Master Mason Degree
Speaker 1Hey , chris , yeah , fred , what's a Mason ?
Speaker 2That's a really good question , fred .
Speaker 1You've reached the internet's home for all things masonry . Join Chris and I as we plumb the depths of our ancient craft , from the common gavel to the trowel . Nothing is off the table , so grab your tools and let's get to work . This is On the Level . Well , brother , chris , once again On the Level with Fred , and Chris survived another week . Wow . So I see you're adjusting the camera there as we speak in our intro . Hey , hey , ah , he's back . He's back . What's happening , brother ? Sorry about that , I don't know what happened there ?
Speaker 2It moved .
Speaker 1Yeah , we started off with a little bit of tech sorrow this morning , but it looks like we're underway .
Speaker 2Tech ghost is attacking us this morning . That's right there are tech .
Speaker 1There are ghosts in the machine .
Speaker 2Gremlins .
Speaker 1Yes , it's almost always user error .
Speaker 2Yeah , However no Gremlins . It's Gremlins Dang little things .
Speaker 1Well , brother , I gotta say , our master mason , our lessons from master mason , part one , was an absolute , overwhelming hit .
Speaker 2Yeah , that was pretty crazy .
Speaker 1Oh man , I mean the response is still coming in . I mean it's absolutely amazing to me .
Speaker 2I think people really want to talk about the master mason degree .
Speaker 1Well , and I think they also . I think we as a fraternity are just hungry for the esoteric teachings of masonry , for the basics and then on through to the upper side of it . I think I'm ready to commit a bulk of our time on the podcast to in fact teaching out of whatever manual book and or basic teaching , esoteric teaching of free masonry as a rule . What do you think ?
Speaker 2I think we can make that happen . I mean , we're here to serve .
Speaker 1That's right , that's right .
Speaker 2I'm glad that they want to talk about this stuff , because it's what we want to talk about too .
Speaker 1Yeah , that's right , and it's amazing to me how it's such a need and it kind of speaks to the you know , wherever you see a need , it immediately identifies a deficit . Right , a need . A major , overwhelming need is identifying a deficit .
Speaker 2Well , just , we're just tapping into our own desire . I mean , we really just wanted . We tried doing this in the lodge . We tried inviting people to come sit and talk , and it didn't work out . People didn't come , but we still had the desire to talk . So we said we'll do it on a podcast and here we are here . We are Okay Nineteen-ish episodes in , I think .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , I think this would be 19 .
Speaker 2What do you think we end season one with this grand lodge session ? Maybe we do it like grand lodge cycles . Okay , new grand master means a new season .
Speaker 1New grand master , new season . We have not confirmed it yet since you mentioned it , but we will be at grand lodge in Orlando coming up here . We're not sure if we're going to be invited to speak on the big stage , but we will be having a booth there and we will be attempting to do some live not live broadcasts but podcasts from there and interview some brothers . I've already asked a couple if they could make themselves available .
Speaker 2They said they would , so I'm pretty excited about that , and then we'll see If you listening want to be on the podcast , maybe you should come by .
Speaker 1Yeah , that's right , come on by .
Speaker 2Just do a bunch of little quick spots of listeners that stop by to say hi . Yeah , that'd be a lot of fun they would send out their name and lodge number position , if they have one . That would be awesome , that'd be very cool .
Speaker 1Yeah , so we're deaf , we're going to be there . Our tech guy is he struggles , he struggles . So that'd be me , but I'm going to do my best to set it all up and get it running . I used to run sound and I've got a lot of experience in live radio . But the tech side , it changes so much . Anyway , let's not talk about that , let's talk about the master Mason degree , something that doesn't change , something that has not changed for well at least 350 years , so I'm pretty excited about that .
Speaker 1Okay , so we left off last week at 5.2 . We're working out of the Florida Grand Lodge Mentors Manual . We are on page 20 , which is subsection 5.3 , which talks about preparation , and of course I left the door to the studio open , which is always a bad idea . Let me fix that . Oh wait a minute . We have someone who jumped in , an angel jumped in and closed the door for us . Look at that . Wow , that's pretty awesome . I don't know how that happened but it happened .
Speaker 2Jada and mine powers are strong this morning . Jada and mine powers , that's right . You want to close the door ?
Speaker 1All right , so enough of this , chris .
Speaker 2Oh fine , I'm telling you they're yelling at their phones right now , shut up .
Speaker 1Master Mason degree . Master Mason degree . Let's focus . So I'm going to read from 5.3 , 5.4 and 5.5 . Not in a row . We'll start their paragraph . So I think they're very , very informative . We'll land on 5.5 , which is the obligation . I don't know if we'll get to 5.8 if you're following along in your mentors manual . 5.8 , of course , is Masonic explanation of dodig , fool , libertine and profane , and I think it's going to be a great teaching . I kind of dug into that one a little bit , but I don't know if we'll get there Maybe we'll save that for episode number three .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 1Preparation Okay . The observing candidate will discover several differences in his preparation for this degree when he compares it with the other two . Through the clothing , he is again reminded that he is to be humble . He is also taught that his obligations become more extensive and binding each time he advances . He is again reminded that he attains many of his desires only with the assistance given him by a friend and brother . Preparation brother , what do you think about that ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean , I think by the time you get your master Mason degree you start to feel like I know what's going to happen . I have this under control .
Speaker 1Right , right yeah .
Speaker 2This preparation isn't totally foreign to me . Now I came to expect it . I'm laughing about it . It's a cool , normal thing by this time . But hopefully in your educations you've learned to try to look at what's happening and start to put the pieces together in your mind of why am I being prepared this way ? I think this time when you go through the actual ritual and the ceremony , you're probably connecting the dots better of what's happening to you and why you were prepared this way Better than you did in the past . So it makes a lot of sense why people are really interested in the master Mason degree . Because their experience , they were much more aware of it . They were probably more felt , a little less afraid of it , a little more in control of it , and so this first half of the master Mason degree is probably a very exciting . You know they've been building this for six months .
Speaker 1Right right .
Speaker 2And everybody tells them what a big day it is and so , yeah , I don't think they're completely shocked in the preparation room . I think it's probably a rhythm . You know , they've been with these guys now for months that they're getting prepared with if they're doing it together with somebody and they've gotten the education and they've gotten all the preeducations . So , from what I recall , the master Mason preparation time was an exciting time .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2It was not nearly as nerve wracking as the first two .
Speaker 1Yeah , I agree . I agree . When I entered apprentice in the preparation room , I had no idea what was going on .
Speaker 1And the dear brother who read the pre initiation mentor out of the mentors manual . There's a pre entered apprentice initiation talk that you give and he had . This dear brother , whom I love dearly , decided to write his own and did not read out of the manual and though I think it had I been more knowledgeable of the basics of Freemasonry , that would have been helpful . But I knew nothing . I had no idea what was about to happen at all .
Speaker 1So I went into this not only a little fearful and apprehensive , but completely clueless Because you didn't get properly mentored . Correct , correct , and there are reasons for that , legitimate reasons for that .
Speaker 2We've gone over that in other podcasts , but I think that's probably an issue many , many , many Masons have faced .
Speaker 1Yes , I agree , I've spoken to many Masons and they've said the same thing that the the pre-initiation talk for the entered apprentice degree is paramount . You got to get that right . In your lodges you don't write your own .
Speaker 1Don't write your own , get the manual out , study it and give them the time . Also , what was happening is that everything was happening so quickly that there wasn't time to just sit and digest what was being said . I think that's . I think I don't know if this is possible . I don't know why we're talking EA here , but I don't know if it's possible . But I think that perhaps that pre-initiation thing should be done the day before , or perhaps at a meeting of just those guys coming up sitting down in a very calm coffee shop kind of way and give them the overall things about it .
Speaker 1So to your point , by the time I got to the inner room for Master Mason degree , I completely understood , because I took the time to go back and understand EA , understand fellowcraft , and now I was looking forward to Master Mason and I was able to completely understand what was being said to me . And then , going in , I was very , very keen on what was being said and I was listening very intently to what was being said , which of course , is part of the progress . So , ea fellowcraft to Master Mason . We come out of darkness into light . Then we are given education and knowledge and now we're being raised to this sublime degree , this final but not final degree of a fellow of Master Mason . Chris is touching the wires and they're going crazy , so he's going to stop doing that .
Speaker 2Very sensitive technology .
Speaker 1And since you knocked me off my thought , Chris , go ahead . Wow .
Speaker 2So apologize , it was this connector right here . So , yeah , I mean , the format of the three degrees becomes familiar , right To you , as you , as we both just said , and that gives you a level of comfort , familiarity and more presence of mind . So I think , probably your third degree , the first section , is your most prepared , most aware , most engaged degree you're going to get Plus . At that point you already understand this is the last biggest one that you're going to get , right , the most important one . Everybody tells you there's no degree better or bigger than the third degree . Right , so you're just . It's one of those moments in life where it's going too fast and you just want to enjoy it , you just want to soak it up so much .
Speaker 1Right yeah .
Speaker 2Whereas that first degree especially feels like an eternity . You're just so confused to the whole time and you just have no idea and you're like you don't know if eight hours just passed or one .
Speaker 1It's so true .
Speaker 2That is so my experience Right . And then by the time you get to the master Mason degree , you just want to just soak up every moment of that and it just feels like it's over in the blink of an eye and it can even be a little disappointing to people .
Speaker 2I think like dang , I wish I could have hung on to that a little longer or something else happened that I wasn't expecting , which is a great setup for the second half , which , for me , I had no idea what's going to happen and I was completely shocked , which is probably why I had such an impact on me and still has a lasting impact on my brain , just because it was such a shock , a complete and total shock . Then , when you see what's happening and you're going through it , it was like just a new surprise after a new surprise . I was like , oh my gosh , this degree . People understated what I was going to experience here today . I was completely shocked that there were brothers trying to act .
Speaker 1It seemed to me that they were trying a lot harder to act and costume to help with that . Dressing up probably helps a lot you hear that from actors .
Speaker 2once they put on the costume they felt like that part .
Speaker 1That's right .
Speaker 2That could have something to do with it . In our lodge we use costumes . I know not all lodges do , but if you can get your hands on some it really enhances the ritual , both for the performer and for the person going through .
Speaker 1I didn't know that some lodges don't use costumes in the second part , because to me that would be . That would totally negate the entire thing . To me , the costumes were huge .
Speaker 2I mean , the costumes are huge to me .
Speaker 1You know , being a master Mason and going to other lodges or even in our own lodge and witnessing the degree as a master Mason and seeing the spectacle , and I think that's probably the next level , right , you go through it yourself , yeah , and then when you have the opportunity and privilege to sit amongst brothers who are going through it , coming up behind you , then you really get you . Really that's when I got it the first time .
Speaker 1I sat through the master Mason degree and saw the raising right that part of the raising right and we're gonna go through the Mentor's Manual does talk about the legend of Hiram Abif in there . Which is about as far as I'm gonna go as connecting the dots there . But that part of it was meant a lot to me .
Speaker 2Yeah , even that I wasn't understanding the significance of it in the moment , because no one had prepped me for that or told me about it .
Speaker 2So in my mind this was just another step in what I was going through . I didn't realize how monumental that moment was , Right and the connection the person was trying to make with me . That was actually in that part of the ritual with me in that moment . It took some months before I realized to looking back at how important that was , which was also a cool experience , you know , yeah , To have the awareness come much later and then looking back going , oh my , yeah , that's right . Wow , that's my mind's going right right .
Understanding the Masonic Rituals
Speaker 2Crazy is this ritual ? Keep surprising me and still , like you said , the more you go back to it , the more you uncover and discover hidden within it . That's maybe not so obvious and not explained to you so plainly .
Speaker 2Yeah , right , right you start looking for that in these things . As you go more and more to them and start participating more and more in them , you're looking for those little things that you missed . Or you're like , oh , what was that ? What was that ? What was that ? I never thought about that before . And you start to really become a more of a what's the word ? Archeologist . You know how there is hunting to try to uncover the mysteries .
Speaker 1Right , yeah .
Speaker 2That's you . You're hunting through these degrees trying to find clues and little things maybe nobody's talked about that are in there and some of those we'll be talking about here . But the preparation itself shouldn't be alien . It shouldn't be new . You shouldn't be surprised much by it .
Speaker 2That's right Details of it are very interesting , and especially when you look at it as a whole , not just this one , but when you look at the first , the second and the third and the preparation itself and start to see the bigger picture of how there's a pattern and a complete system here between the three degrees .
Speaker 1Yeah , and one thing that I remembered about the Master of Masonry . Before we went through the door , just as the door was open for the second time and we were being led in , somebody whispered in my ear . I know who it was . It was a dear brother whispered in my ear and he said to me I want you to . He didn't say I want you to . He said who is Hyram Abiff ? Really ?
Speaker 1Yeah , Someone whispered that yeah , and so and of course , by the end of the night I did not know Really . But the second time I saw it and witnessed it , that's when I realized it . And I'm not gonna say and if you're a Master Mason and you know , and you've done your studies and you've been paying attention , you know exactly who he is . And that's all I'm gonna say about that .
Speaker 2But what this degree is trying to use Hyram Abiff as the vehicle of is teaching . He's the focus , but he's a vehicle to teach the moral lessons that are supposed to come through in this degree .
Speaker 1Right , yeah , that's right .
Speaker 2We're not worshiping Hyram Abiff as a deity . In case you're listening no no . Hyram Abiff is a character in the overarching story that helps the story culminate in the largest moral lesson , which is gonna be talked about here . So if you're not a Mason , you're listening to this . We by no means are worshiping someone named Hyram .
Speaker 1Abiff as any kind of a deity .
Speaker 2We don't have his severed head , we don't do circles around it . That's right , yeah , and it's just a character that's , I think , pulled from the Old Testament . It is and fleshed out for the purposes of telling a really strong moral lesson .
Speaker 1Yeah , hyram Abiff's boss , the king of Tyre would have , is in the scriptures . Anyways , if you're listening to this podcast and you are not a Mason , good on you , man .
Speaker 2Good on , you go down to your local lodge .
Speaker 1They have an open house and talk to those men and see if this is something for you . See if this is something for you All right .
Speaker 2We get a lot of emails that say , hey , I don't know how do I join , and always I have to tell them just Google Freemason Lodge Near Me . So if you're listening , you're not a Mason , just Google Freemason Lodge Near Me .
Speaker 1That's right and you'll probably have options and then more than one , and then , if you did that , please email us and let us know what your experience was . We'd love to talk to you about it .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 1So let's move on to 5.4 , which is the reception , and I like the way this reads . Is a little , and I like the way this reads . And it reads like this Ooh , as in the preceding degrees .
Speaker 2Before you get into the reception . I'm so sorry . I just had an image in my mind because this is the last preparation we're gonna talk about . So I was steward in a degree wasn't mine , but these guys one of them was a good friend of mine , so I was paying special attention to them . As you do when you top line sign , you wanna make sure your person's prepared and you've got them ready . So I kept popping in on the preparation room and they were getting ready . And the last time I popped in , before they came in to read the education , there's three of them and one guy's sitting in a chair and he has both of his legs behind his head and I said what in the ?
Speaker 2God , his name , is going on in here and these other two guys are looking at me like help us , oh God what . Help us . Apparently , this guy just decided hey look what I can do . Well , they're prepared in their degree .
Speaker 1And this brother is still at the lodge . He's still in our lodge . He's a member of our lodge . Yeah , yeah , yeah , don't reveal his name . Great brother , do not reveal his name .
Speaker 2And you'd be shocked when I told you , because you would not believe this person was doing that .
Speaker 1Yes , I would be .
Speaker 2But that was probably the funniest thing I ever saw in a preparation room was just shocked by a guy who's doing some kind of contortionist stuff Just probably to make the other guys uncomfortable because they probably weren't like I said . And the third degree you feel more confident , so something like that will . Oh wow , this is interesting .
Speaker 1For I find myself speechless . Which ?
Speaker 2doesn't happen very often . So , yeah , yeah , next time I see the guy I'll see if I can get him to do it for you .
Speaker 1No , I'm going to .
Speaker 2I'll probably pass on that , brother , it's all good , no worries man . I'm sorry , I don't want any injuries you know to be occurred here . Time has passed . You can become less flexible , that's right .
Speaker 1Bringing new meaning to the word flexible here , on the level with Fred and Gretz Mason , flexible . All right , please , 5.4 . Everyone's saying please , please , 5.4 . 5.4 is the reception . So preparation inside . Reception opens up outside . As in the preceding degrees , reception is meant to include all of the ceremonies transpiring at the inner door . The instrument to which attention is called reminds one that all of the tenets of Freemasonry must be implemented in the heart if they are to serve their ultimate purpose and become a part of your way of life . To be fully effective in all of these , to be fully effective , all of these must bear fruit through their practice in our daily lives . So a little bit difficult to understand if you don't know Freemasonry , because it says right , the instrument to which attention is called . Well , that's protected .
Speaker 2They're being a little vague .
Speaker 1Yeah , they are for a good reason , because that's something we can't actually talk about . That's privileged information for master masons only Wink wink . However , whatever it is , it does speak to the fact that everything up to that point is is is part of your education , and what it's reminding us is that EA , fellowcraft , master Mason Teachings is a complete system that encompasses your entire life . If you truly want to walk in the way of a Mason , then you're going to implement , like , for instance , the working tools , all of them .
Speaker 1And of course in the Master Mason degree , the main working tool is a metaphor for all of them , that we use all of them in life to make us better men , better husbands , better churchmen , whatever it is that you do in life , better at your work . We use all of the tools , all of those things , and I really wish we could give more information , because that particular part and I'm tantalizing , tantalizing , titillizing , tantalizing , I don't know .
Speaker 2Both work .
Speaker 1If you're not a Mason , and this is causing you to want to know more than good .
Speaker 2I hope you will .
Speaker 1Again , google Masonic Lodges near me . Go down , talk to them , send us an email and we'll talk further about it .
Speaker 2But anyway , if you are a Mason , if you are a Mason , then think about this You've been given five core working tools right Two in the first degree and three in the second Correct Up until this point , and you're coming into the very beginning of the third degree , and there are a lot of working tools involved in this degree . If you think about it , there's a sixth core working tool that you're gonna be shown in this degree , which is the one , not the one we're talking about right now . This implement is from a previous degree , but you will have six core working tools by the end of this degree , but at the very end we cover many other symbols and emblems that are related and some of them are working tools and some of them are just symbols and emblems .
Speaker 2But there's a lot of that in the Master Mason degree . But at the very beginning , I like what this is telling us that that experience of being received and the implement that's used is supposed to be putting in your mind , that all of these tools and all of the methodology that you've learned up to this point contain the whole of Freemasonry and it's alive within your heart . Basically , you are Freemasonry now . You contain it within you , you carry it into the world , you carry it with you everywhere you go . You should be , by the time you leave this degree , a full-fledged Mason that understands all of the core principles , tools and tenets of this fraternity Correct , and you should have accepted it in yourself by the time you become a Master Mason .
Speaker 2You've dealt with your instructor , your catechism person , your classmates . You've toiled in the quarries with them , you've proved your proficiency , you've learned a lot of lessons and hopefully , you've actually been applying some of them to your life by the time you go through the Master Mason degree and you're prepared to become an actual , full-fledged member of the oldest fraternity on earth . I amped it up a little bit too much . When I have a catechism class , I start texting them like a few days before their Master Mason degree , telling them to enjoy their last few days on the earth as a profane , because they're about to become something more than a man . And I keep that going right up until the hour of their degree . So I just the expectation's so high .
Speaker 2I love it In their mind by the time they get their degree . But that's what this reception is basically telling us . You're different now , right , you are a free Masonry . It's inside of you and it's a reminder at the very beginning that everything that you need is already inside your heart .
Speaker 1Yeah , that's right . So you're in the inner room right In preparation . Inside the room , the door is open and you come in and you are different . Yeah , you are in a different place , and in 5.11 of the manual we'll talk about the working tool of a Master Mason , which obviously we can talk about because it's published in this book , which is the trial , of course , which represents a lot of different things . I don't want to go too deep .
Speaker 1I don't like giving away too much , I don't want to ruin it first thing for anybody . And also it's ours . It's ours , these esoteric teachings , the teachings that you can only get within a lodge . They're ours . They don't belong to the world , they belong to us . If you're a Master Mason today and you're listening to this , we share something in common that the world is not privy to , and to me that means a lot to me . And I'm sorry , I know it's a little . Maybe it's a little well , I wouldn't say clicky .
Speaker 2You're a revolutionary .
Speaker 1I would say that it is . This is my tribe , this is my clan , my tribe , my people , and we have a very old tradition that has been handed down through these generations and I do like to protect it . I am offended by people who want to go out there , even though most of them are a joke .
Speaker 2Go out online and listen to some of these knuckleheads . I hear it at the dinner table at my wife's family's house .
Speaker 1Right and it goes on and on and , frankly , I hear it too from people and I just kind of smile and it's like I've said this before on another podcast . It's kind of funny to me to listen to them talk about people they've heard on the internet who say this , that and the other about Masonry . But here's a live human being that you have a relationship standing before you saying , no , it's nothing like that . And they're like oh no , you've got it all wrong .
Speaker 2It's like wait , hold on , hold on .
Speaker 1Anyway , let's just stop right there .
Speaker 2By living this you can change people's hearts a little bit .
Speaker 1Absolutely true .
Speaker 2I have seen it Like . My wife's family hates Masonry . They're very religious and I'm not saying that because religious is bad . I'm saying that because , being very religious , they heard bad things about free Masonry .
Speaker 1Correct , yeah .
Speaker 2And they don't even know where they heard it . But they know stuff and it's not good and they have this really negative view and so I like you , they like to make fun of it . They like to always go over the line on the negative side , and I don't fight anyone anymore . I just try to do what free Masonry tells me , which is don't engage in it . Keep focusing on myself and my time , and so my actions show who we are .
Speaker 1Yeah , that's right .
Speaker 2I always show up when they need help . If I can help with money , with time , with a borrowing or finding somebody's job In the family , I'm always the guy that's trying to be helpful , and when political things come up or religious things come up , I just don't engage . And now they're at the point where they're curious and so they're having their conversations , and it's religious , political , whatever , and they say what are the ? Free Masons . Think about that and I'm like nah . I'm not really at liberty to talk about that .
Speaker 2And now they're very curious that they've gone from being angry and hostile to the way I present myself is different than it was before free Masonry . So they're very curious , like how did I get this way and how did they help me , and what do I really know ? And the less I tell them , the more they think I know . Right , right , yeah , and I love that .
Speaker 1I just absolutely love
Spreading Brotherly Love in Masonry
Speaker 1that kind of stuff . All right , so the trowel . To me , it's a perfect metaphor of spreading the cement of brotherly love and affection .
Speaker 1And to use that trowel one must have a working knowledge of all the other tools . And I will say that we are speaking April 29th up in Hillsborough and one of the other speakers is brother John Negi and he goes through the working tools in a really , really powerful way . If you ever get a chance to listen to some of his stuff online it's really powerful and he kind of brings through the working tools up to the trowel , which is , of course , spreading the cement of brother , love and affection . And again , the three degrees are out of darkness into light , then preparation , education and knowledge . And then taking the knowledge , taking everything that you've been given and implementing it into your life , into your world and into the people around you , into your lodge and the metaphors . The work that has gone into this ancient craft is and I get it .
Speaker 1Lately we've been getting a lot of requests for Chris and I to come speak about esoteric teaching , masonic esoteric teaching , and I get it .
Speaker 1I understand why Because it's so deep and it's so necessary right now in this country , especially in the lives of our young men , who really need to find some moral compass and a tribe to belong to and a good purpose to put themselves into .
Speaker 1We see it , we get all kinds of people writing in and talking to us about hey , we need this in our lodge , we want you to come and talk to us , and I think I don't know how I got off on this tangent , but I just think that , again , as we look into this master Mason degree , getting to that place in Masonry where you have what you need to begin the actual work in the world is just extremely powerful . And I encourage every man listening right now , regardless of whether you're EA , fellow craft or master Mason maybe you're a master Mason who's been one for a long , long time go back to the fundamentals , go back to the principles and the principles of making yourself that good man and spread that brotherly love and affection , relief , all of the things that our craft teaches . Let's all of us make that determination that we're going to study it and then we're going to go out and live it .
Speaker 2That would be fantastic , because I think it's coming .
Speaker 2Well , this degree in particular is about old age you could say manhood . It's about that point in your life where you've achieved some wisdom through experience and , ultimately , age and death . And the one thing that this degree aside from that which is a highlight of a point in Masonry that I think is never left behind , which is that your mortality is something you need to keep in the forefront is harmony . Okay , that's like the tool that is given to you in this degree Does say all the implements of Masonry that you've learned so far are important , but this degree is about learning how to be harmonious with people , how to stick together , how to have decency and love for each other . This is what we're really .
Speaker 2I mean the world is sorely missing this , and our political leaders , our religious leaders , our business leaders wish they were Masons , because back when Masons were involved in those things government politics and religion we were a stronger , better people .
Speaker 1Absolutely .
Speaker 2And we're now the opposite of harmonious in most of those positions I just mentioned . We don't care to work with each other , we don't care to hear each other , we don't care to understand each other . It's the opposite . It seems like we're rewarding people that are inflammatory and defamatory and accusatory and all these nasty things are being virtuous in our society now , yeah .
Speaker 2So really , if you're gonna get into Masonry , you got a tough journey ahead of you , because the world doesn't value the things we value anymore , and so we have the hard job of trying to bring that back into fashion and trying to bring integrity , courage , love , harmony , working together , respecting each other , back into the world .
Speaker 2Masonry isn't meant to . We talked in the early degrees , if you recall , about the EA degree , basically putting training wheels on you , right , and saying , okay , this is how you're supposed to live your life , and you do it in the lodge because you learn and that's how everybody behaves and so you behave that way . That's training wheels . Those wheels need to be off in this degree , right , you're supposed to be able to take all that stuff you do in the lodge , which is be courteous , understanding , respectful , loving out into the world , and do that with your neighbors , with your coworkers , with your bosses , with people that you don't like , and so I hope that people really take that message that this degree is trying to tell you , which is it's time to grow up , it's time to go out into the world and it's time to bring harmony everywhere you go and to everything that you touch as much as you possibly can .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's a good summation , this degree hammers harmony and how important it is to society .
Speaker 1Yeah well , and harmony is of course the other two notes that coincide in the chord right . So the A chord is the A note , and then C and E are those two harmonies . So if I were to sing an A and you were to sing in E , we would be singing in melody and harmony . We're not gonna do it and any music people out there .
Speaker 1If I'm wrong , please tell me . I think I'm right . It's been a little while since I did any music theory . All right , number 5.5 , the obligation , which we could definitely spend an entire episode talking about this and believe it or not . It's just a short paragraph and I think that's for a reason , because there is so much here there is a lot .
Speaker 1They just give us a blurb on it and then you can take it from there . But I do like the way it's worded . It's very good . The obligation is the heart of the degree , for by its assumption one obtains the privileges , the rights and benefits of the society in which he has sought membership . The new Mason must be reminded that a knowledge of the obligation is essentially necessary if he is to keep and perform it . Every brother should commit this obligation to memory and employ it as a yardstick by which he may measure the minimum duty toward God , his neighbor and himself . I put a box around that word minimum duty , your obligation is the minimum standard that we live by , that's a high standard .
Speaker 2Yeah , and it's the minimum , and it's the minimum . This is like yeah . It's the starting point Right . This is what makes you a Mason if you can do this minimum expectation . But , it's hope that you can do much better and greater than this Tough order yeah and I think that it says here in the stuttering , stuttering , stuttering , stuttering knock it off Not enough coffee , or maybe too much coffee ?
Speaker 1I'm not exactly sure , don't get nervous it says it should be committed to memory and employed as a yardstick . You know , I think when it says committed to memory it's in other words own it .
Speaker 2You should own them .
Speaker 1So there's the three obligations . They all work together , they all build on each other and come to this one crescendo , but it's that you should own it . So , as you go through life and as you see situations arise in your life , that obligation should be , on a subconscious level , guiding the things that you do and say , and the focus is toward a brother Mason and Masonry and a brother Mason , but it is clearly also points you to the world at large and the way we are to behave in the world .
Speaker 2I think it is geared towards the individual's relationship with the world , but it does say , most especially you gotta remember to treat your brothers this way .
Speaker 1Right , yeah , that's right .
Speaker 2Definitely try in the world , but you absolutely need to treat your brother this way .
Speaker 1And this is training for life . And I'm gonna say this I've said it before on other podcasts it just breaks my heart that you know the church that I attend as a Presbyterian . They don't outright teach this stuff . It's assumed . There is no manual . What they'll tell you is the scriptures are the manual , which is true , which is true , but there is no man who extracted from it and sat down and said okay , here's a systematic way of organizing your life in a fashion that is beneficial to God and man . And it just breaks my heart that they move further and further away from it seems . I went last Sunday . I was in church and the sermon I heard I could have been in tears at its lack of relevance in the life , in the current lives of young men . Do they take feedback ? Is there anyone you could be infallible ?
Speaker 2No , no , church is not real .
Speaker 1They're not real good at feedback .
Speaker 2No .
Speaker 1Never . That's not true . Maybe they have been , but in my experience my 35 , 38 years experience of being in and out of church ministry feedback is not really . I don't even know where you would . I guess you could have a private meeting with a pastor and tell him how you felt about a sermon , but it sounds really serious in in my in my experience I've done it more than once . At that point your relationship with that pastor generally changes right . And you are no longer you know , on the inner circle .
Speaker 1I'm sorry to sound so negative . I look I am a member of good standing at a church . I attend my church regularly and I participate wherever I can within it , simply because I am commanded to you by the scriptures . But there is no greater critic of the current state of that , of that organ , of those organizations , than I am , because I Left . I tried for 25 years to find a place where we are teaching how to do this . Hmm , how do you do this ? That's great . Okay , I get it . I understand salvation , I understand all that . I get it . But the parts where we have to go out into the world and Carry each other and help each other and build each other up and forgive each other , where , where do we teach that at ?
Speaker 1and Fortunately , unfortunately , and fortunately , I found it in the oldest fraternity that is known to society , which is known as free masonry . And again , I support the church a hundred percent . I support them with my ties and and with everything I do , but they are sorely lacking . So if you're listening to this and you're a free mason Maybe you're a Christian , maybe you're a Muslim , maybe you're a Buddhist , doesn't matter , because free masonry is not a religion you are on a pathway that is , in my opinion , sorely lacking and privileged . It is a privilege , yeah , to be a part of a systematic Tradition of of good living , of right living , right of learning how to go from darkness to , to that narcissistic darkness , to a , to become a man of who gives and cares and and does unto others as he would have them . You know , do done to himself , and you know the golden rule and all of the , all the teachings . It's all appropriate and and understandable if you'll just take the time to go through this and and learn it . Anyway . That's my sermon for today .
Speaker 2We're gonna move on they say that Free masonry is a system of morality that makes good men better . But at our open houses I often tell people it's more accurately to say that it's a system of morality that gives men the tools to make themselves better .
Speaker 1That's correct . Yeah , more accurate , much more accurate .
Speaker 2Yeah , it's , it's affirming what you just said , like you have to actually , you know , use those things do the work , they're gonna actually make a change , right
Returning to Freemasonry and Open Books
Speaker 2right .
Speaker 2Just being aware of their existence doesn't do anything if you don't use them , and so never forget that this is a lifelong Journey , that becoming a master mason in this degree is not the end of your journey .
Speaker 2The work isn't over , it's just starting . It's really just beginning , and it's something that you're gonna have to work at your whole life and you'll go through phases . I think there are times when family or work takes over your life and you just you don't have time for anything else and you got to do what you got to do . But as much as you can come back to this , I think it will help you ground yourself in your life and improve in many aspects of it . So it's a great thing and no one's gonna look down on you if you get busy for 10 years and you had kids and you got a job . If you come back every once in a while , or even after five , ten years , they're gonna welcome you , like you were there yesterday , and be grateful that you're back . A Lot of people , I've noticed are really hesitant and afraid to come back after some absence .
Speaker 1Yeah , right , which is it ? I kind of understand that and it is kind of the the onus is on us , who are active in large , to reach out to them . Yeah .
Speaker 2I think they just assume they're gonna have forgotten stuff and be embarrassed . But you know that is not the case . I don't know if that's how it was at one point , but today , if you come back after 10 , 20 , 30 years of not being around , they're just gonna be glad to see you . Nobody's gonna ask you questions or try . These are your brothers . You're . That's your lodge .
Speaker 2Yeah , I was longer than theirs , and so they . They should respect you and show you your status as an elder in that lodge when you come , and you should be treated as an honored guest . So yeah , don't be afraid to come back .
Speaker 1Yeah , I agree , come back .
Speaker 2Yeah , we do these rusty Mason things . We're gonna be doing one this month and it's for people like that . They , they forgotten . It's been so long you know they don't write the words and the signs , and so and it's a little crash course . We give them a refresher and reminder Is that at the shrine .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , so it's even better because there'll be drinks after words and before and before , possibly during . I would encourage everybody I'm waving my , my , my little red Florida Masonic codebook at the camera right now for those who are listening . I would encourage everyone to get it out and go to the master Mason catechism , where the obligation is or the blue one , which is the digest , either one and and go through your master Mason obligation again . Oh yeah , and just just go through it , just refresh you . I like using the code book because it forces me to go back in memory and do it instead of , you know , any kind of reading course . There is no actual written out reading of the catechism itself .
Speaker 2No , I'm not really , not really .
Speaker 1But unless you go to open books , which is the last Sunday of every month here in district 23 , 23 , and this month I think it's in Punagorda , which is really far away . So it's sometimes it's at our lodge and and I have yet to make it .
Speaker 1Oh really , both times we had it at our lodge . I was actually running the Lodge workday so I was out back pulling weeds right while everybody else was inside Going through the books . But I'm looking forward to doing that and I don't know how I got off on this tangent . But if you're going to open book day and you're sitting down with the , you know in our district the men You're sitting down with to go through those books are heavyweights , man , they know their stuff big time . But if you're doing that , good on you man , because you are taking an active part in , in really digging in to To what the obligation is , to what , what you're obligated to do as as a Mason for yourself , your family and society . Do we want to do one more ?
Speaker 2Oh , absolutely yeah , and you're becoming an asset to your lodge . You can take that it . You know , so many people Relay on what they were taught and they don't go verify anything for themselves , which I understand that . But in reality you make , you wind up repeating a lot of mistakes and making new ones , so they start to compound over time . If you're making , if you learn improperly and then you make mistakes and then you teach someone , you see how it gets worse through the generation . So it's really critically important that somebody is going to open books to check .
Speaker 1Yeah , that's right .
Speaker 2Everybody up to par with what the Florida work is , and sometimes they change the Florida work . So if you go to open books , you'll be notified of any changes that are made , which is going to be important for your lodge too .
Speaker 1Right , yeah , and and that is what keeps Masonry , you know speaking the same message , unified for 350 years . You know it's the same message because of the way the System is set up . You know that those checks and balances , we get off sometimes and words are inserted and and words , all words , have meanings . But then that open book brings us back to , you know , the original concept and charter of what Freemasonry is . Okay , 5.6 , real quick , clandestine lodge and clandestine .
Speaker 2Mason okay .
Speaker 1Oh boy , let's finish off with this one . Although we only got about 10 more minutes , chris , you think we can do it ?
Speaker 2sounds nefarious , I think we have to do
Clandestine Lodges and Masonic Standards
Speaker 2it .
Speaker 1A clandestine lodge a clandestine lodge is one which does not owe its existence to a charter or warrant issued by some Regular grand lodge . All grand lodges of the world seek to establish fraternal Relations with sister grand lodges . Many of these are recognized by the Grand Lodge of Florida free and accepted masons . But this is not the case with others . There are certain standards to which grand lodges must conform in in order to secure recognition . The grand lodges that are not recognized by our grand lodge and the lodges and the lodges holding under such grand lodges are considered clandestine . To this extent , visitation by our brethren in such lodges is not permitted , nor may Florida mason's receive visitors from such lodges in their own meetings , so Fratinizing with those who have not Submitted themselves to grand lodges standards right .
Speaker 2Yeah , but this is a new thing for most master mason's who are just becoming Master mason's . They never heard of this before yeah that's right .
Speaker 2And they're like what ? How would I know the difference ? And the answer is you wouldn't . Yeah , so there is a book that's published every year of all of the lodges that are recognized by the Grand Lodge of Florida . Yep , and you can obtain this book , and then you can look at it and reference any lodge that you're thinking going to , just to make sure that they are recognized , or regular as we call them . And if they're not in that book , then they are not recognized in their clandestine , which means you're not supposed to go visit them and it's .
Speaker 1It's not because we're we're necessarily Angry at odds , anything like that . It's because we we as Regular , free and accepted mason's , we hold to a standard , and and one of those standards is obedience . Yeah , to to the standard . So if you , if you're involved with a clandestine mason or or a clandestine lodge , those are people who have made up their mind that they're not going to submit they they are .
Speaker 1They're going to pretend to be Masonic and be mason's , but they're not going to submit to the grand , the the state Grand Lodge and underneath it , and you may not agree with this . The way the Grand Lodge is currently being run , you may not agree with you a lot of the people in there .
Speaker 2It doesn't matter . At some point in your masonic life that's gonna happen . It's gonna have to agree with something they're doing and some legislation they're passing , or the way that they're behaving right but you took .
Speaker 1You took an obligation before God and your brothers To not be a part of that right and it protects the fraternity that I think that's the bottom line . It protects the fraternity from those who have made a decision to be above in their own minds or or apart from the actual lodge .
Speaker 2Yeah , couldn't agree more . It's Again . This is one of the things that just makes us mason's . We took an obligation , we took an oath , we swore fealty to the Grand Lodge , to the Grand Master , and that's part of what a fraternity is , and you took an obligation to be part of this one , and so right . In order to keep the integrity of this meaning that we can police Ourselves , we can mean make sure that people are living up to the standards that we said is mason's , we have to be within the system . If you're not within that system , then there is no penal oversight and People can technically say and do whatever they want right with no repercussions , and that is not Freemasonry .
Speaker 1That's right . Yeah , we are all accountable , you know , to our brethren . There's a reason why we have a line in the lodge and it goes up , you know , up through your lodge to the , to your worshipful master , and from there it goes to your district deputy Grand Master and then from there it goes up into the , the grand , the grand line .
Speaker 2We should actually cover that in a podcast . Yeah , that sounds the system , the penal system in masonry , and how it's set up and how it works in the process of filing Complaints and stuff like perhaps we should ask Right worshipful district deputy grand Dubs . Sorry , no no , tom Haber , tom Haber Sorry .
Speaker 1Tom .
Speaker 2Right worshipful district . Deputy Thomas Haber district .
Speaker 1District deputy grand master .
Speaker 2Yeah , right worship district . Deputy grand master grand master .
Speaker 1I always get the grand master part wrong , I'm sorry . I'm sorry . You'll have to go slap me in the back of the head next time you see me .
Speaker 2But it doesn't care about his title , I know , I know he does not neither .
Speaker 1Neither does does Doug , but I find it important , it's important , it's . It's not the man , it's the office .
Speaker 2I want to respect the office .
Speaker 1I do respect the man absolutely , but I want to respect that office and I think all of us should . And it gets back to the whole concept of clandestine Masonry . You know they don't respect the offices and they don't respect the concepts behind Masonry . If there are any clandestine lodges out there anymore , I I'm having a hard time . Believing that there's a lot of them .
Speaker 2Perhaps there is we don't experience it ever really here . Yeah , a little corner of the world , but I'm sure at Grand Lodge they deal with it .
Speaker 1Yeah , probably something we have to ask them about .
Speaker 2Yeah , when we , when we're privileged enough to interview this , come up like is this a nice sheet that you guys are doing ?
Speaker 1I'm gonna write that down . Yeah , that is a good question .
Speaker 2It is curious Stay tuned , stay tuned fellas .
Speaker 1I bet they have stories to tell . So so , chris , this is our second Endever into lessons from the master Mason degree .
Speaker 2I .
Speaker 1I see that next week we're gonna get into a discussion about dotage , mad men and and Libertines , so I think that's gonna be it's . It's pretty in-depth . It's actually a half a page in the manual . If you look at it , it's actually .
Speaker 2I think it's a great conversation she should break into , you know some different aspects of it Um those are words we don't use much in today's go did and Libertine , libertine right , which is a very misunderstood word .
Speaker 1I'm not gonna give it away this week . We'll do that next week .
Speaker 2I'm actually curious to hear yeah what it ?
Speaker 1actually means um , I Am , I'm just again overwhelmed . I'm gonna probably end up stop saying this eventually , but I'm really overwhelmed by the reception that we've had everywhere we go . I was at a Widow sons meeting on some early Sunday morning , sitting next to a dear , dear brother , and he was just they were all just really appreciative really of of the of the show and and I had one brother come up to me and he was talking to me about he'd like us to do a . He wants us to do an episode on on the level , the concept of meeting on the level . We I think we did one , but his he went through a personal experience recently , oh , in business , outside the lodge , with another master Mason , where the concept of meeting on the level was ignored and he had a . He had a , some really good insight . So I told him that we would definitely dig deeper into it .
Speaker 1One day very , and bring it and I told him to be careful , because we might actually call you up and get you out here . So , brother , careful what you ask for , because I can tell you this once we start interviewing people , it's not gonna stop .
Speaker 2No , it's gonna roll . So many interesting people , oh yeah .
Speaker 1I'm looking , really , really looking forward to that . Well , chris , we're at 56 minutes or so , just about an hour . I do want to expand . Maybe do a after hour One , go a little deeper on things in an after hour one . I think one hour show per week is probably good . That's our goal . You guys , let us know , email us if you'd like us to try to go a little bit longer , maybe on these or do extended versions or you know , behind a wall kind of thing , anything like that . Just shout out it's Fred at on the level with Fred and Chris dot com or .
Speaker 2Chris On the level with Fred and Chris dot com spell it out , no spaces .
Speaker 1We did it for a reason . It's easy to remember , just hard to type .
Speaker 2but yeah , I also get us on Facebook , youtube , yep , spotify , app , podcast . We're everywhere .
Speaker 1Yeah , you can get us on Twitter as well . Yeah , twitter too . Yeah you , you cannot get us on tiktok and you will never get us on tiktok , because I opened it up to . Take a look at it and as soon as I saw what I saw , I removed it and deleted it . Don't need tiktok Sorry , no political reasons there just because of the garbage that came over it . The first time I opened it I was like nope , I'm done , don't want it .
Speaker 2That's why I deleted it .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2I don't know how it happened , but it's all like no inappropriate stuff I don't really want to see yeah , it's like what what ? Is this anyway , we're not gonna end the show on that note .
Speaker 1We're gonna end the show on
Reflection on Masonic Obligations and Brotherhood
Speaker 1this . On this note , brothers , get out your little red book today and go through your master Mason obligation again . You won't regret it , and and and . Meditate on it , think about it a little bit more , and and go back to your lodge and and and . Shake somebody's hand , and and , and . Tell them you know that you're , you're , grateful to be a part of the world's oldest Fraternity with them . And on that , chris , you got anything for us on the way out .
Speaker 2No , I think that's a great . That's a great thing to leave everybody with . Thank you for listening and look forward to talking more about the master Mason degree in part three . See you next week , oh .
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