1 week before the vote.....

It has taken more than a week to compose this latest entry. I have always found it difficult to put my feelings to print or to words. I think it mostly come from having so many thoughts and emotions that it can sometimes be hard to form them together in a consice, logical format. As the month has rolled by and I have thought of the brethren of the Lodge I have petitioned get ready to come back from summer, one of their first duties will be to vote on my request to join them. I have struggled to find the words to describe what joining such a fraternity has meant to me. So like I'm sure many men have done before me I have tried to read what other masons have put to paper, and one man's writings keep pulling me forward; Manly Hall. I think I have read the Lost Keys of Freemasonry at least a dozen times, that is only up and to the end of the exerpt about the Entered Apprentice. I just can't bring myself to read further. I don't want to spoil the 'suprise'. The emotions that he describes match my own, it is sometimes un-nerving, but comforting at the same time. How does a man at 25 write so beautifully and so sussinctly about feelings shared by men from all over the world, from so many creeds, religions, and cultures.



I would guess that the comfort I get comes from knowing that I am not alone as I stand at the beginning of my journey. I can close my eyes and feel the presence of men all over the world standing at my back, not pushing me forward, but not letting me retreat in fear of not living up to my own expectations. The story of Chillon pacing in his cell, listening to the waves swish and lap, yearning to feel the warm light of the open sky, is not unknown to me. I have felt like I had some kind of unfinished work to do, but never could put my finger on the means to continue it. And in 1 short week it will be decided whether or not I will be presented the tools to begin that work!



'Many have read the story of the prisoner of Chillon who paced back and forth in the narrow confines of his prison cell, while the blue waters rolled ceaselessly above his head and the only sound that broke the stillness of his eternal night was the constant swishing and lapping of the waves. We pity the prisoner in his physical tomb and we are sad at heart, for we know how life loves liberty. But there is one prisoner whose plight is far worse than those of earth. He has not even the narrow confines of a prison cell around Him; He cannot pace ceaselessly to and fro and wear ruts in the cobblestones of His dungeon floor. That eternal Prisoner is Life incarnate within the dark stone walls of matter, with not a single ray to brighten the blackness of His fate. He fights eternally, praying in the dark confines of gloomy walls for light and opportunity. This is the eternal Prisoner who, through the ceaseless ages of cosmic unfoldment, through forms unnumbered an d species now unknown, strives eternally to libe rate Himself and gain self conscious expression, the birthright of every created thing. He awaits the day when, standing upon the rocks that now form His shapeless tomb, He may raise His arms to heaven, bathed in the sunlight of spiritual freedom, free to join the sparkling atoms and dancing light-beings released from the bonds of prison wall and tomb.'
exerpt from The Lost Keys of Freemasonry; the Candidate, Manly P. Hall

My Friend Receives Light!

Good luck(like he needs it) to Freddo tonight! He is being initiated Jerusalem Lodge #506 tonight! This good man receives his first rays of light this evening, and I just wanted to post how glad I am to know him, and what a great friend he has been! You the man Fred, soak it all up! I'll be following quickly behind you!

Weird Dream!

Had the weirdest dream last night! Drempt I was present at some kind of Lodge meeting where a vote was taking place. The room was dimly lit and I could make out many men sitting around the edges of the room. I was holding some kind of ballot box and members were coming up and placing their votes. Then one of my customers from work appeared, not one I would immediatly think was a Mason, and whipped out a pack of cards to help him make his decision! I was freaked, he was using the fall of a card decide his vote! He then took a seat outside the room we were all in, but still within my line of sight. Then an elderly woman entered the room from another doorway across from me. She was dressed in white with a shawl over her head but not covering her face. Suddenly someone turned all the lights on, and I was was bekoned out to the foyer by my customer who had been waiting there since he cast his 'vote'. I went over and sat down beside him. The next thing I know I am being introduced to all the men inside as they file out of the room.

That was basically the last thing I remember about the dream, it was incredibly real. It was kind of unsettling as the vote on my petition takes place in about 3 weeks! I have had these kinds of dreams all the time since I was a kid, always before some important event! Not that I am worried about the vote going negativly, but I guess the possibility is always there. I must admit I can be a pessimist, usually doubting my own abilities and worry about how people view me! Not that I have any specific reasons, I almost always rise to the occasion when push comes to shove, and always put forth the best face I can and give all that I am able to complete any task given to me! Maybe it is the fear of failure that makes me even more aware of the fact that I must try and do my best to go above and beyond what is expected? With the vote coming up fast, I am expecting more of these kinds of dreams. I just hope that I can actually get some sleep!

Interesting Beginnings!

Since my journey began I have run across some interesting stories of how different Lodges aquired their names. Most have been named after geographical areas, cities, persons of note etc. One story related to me is of South Africa Lodge #6742, in London England,founded by returning veterans of military service in S.A., see here http://southafricalodge.co.uk/history.html.

Another tale that will put a smile on your face goes, 'the lodge was started by a group of men who had built a tavern in the Gold Rush town of Rich Bar. Their wives had been less than enthused, and quickly burned the place to the ground. The Masons chose "Sincerity" as their name to let their women and state dignitaries know that they were sincere in their desire to better themselves in the virtues still taught in lodges today: temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice.' see here http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2009/07/californias-sincerity-lodge-no-132.html

And my personal favorite, in the wake of Aldrin's Masonic space mission, the Grand Lodge of Texas formed Tranquility Lodge No. 2000, named after Tranquility Base, the location of Apollo 11's landing. According to the lodge website,
On July 20, 1969, two American Astronauts landed on the moon of the planet Earth, in an area known as Mare Tranquilitatis , or "Sea of Tranquility". One of those brave men was Brother Edwin Eugene (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr., a member of Clear Lake Lodge No. 1417, AF&AM, Seabrook, Texas. Brother Aldrin carried with him SPECIAL DEPUTATION of then Grand Master J. Guy Smith, constituting and appointing Brother Aldrin as Special Deputy of the Grand Master, granting unto him full power in the premises to represent the Grand Master as such and authorize him to claim Masonic Territorial Jurisdiction for The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Texas, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, on The Moon, and directed that he make due return of his acts. Brother Aldrin certified that the SPECIAL DEPUTATION was carried by him to the Moon on July 20, 1969. see full story posted here http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2009/07/apollo-11-freemasons-and-moon.html#links

I would like to ask anyone who reads this blog and has an interesting, funny, obscurely named Lodge, I would like to know about it. In fact feel free to post any weird or half way interesting tales, ghost stories(I'm sure there is at least one haunted Lodge out there), rumors etc about your Lodge, I love'em all! Feel free to post in the comments section or e-mail it to me and I will include them in a future posting.

Meeting new friends!

This weekend I had the opportunity to meet face to face with a pair of brothers,Drew and Rob, during some free time while attending my sister-in-laws wedding. Let me start off by saying that these two gentlemen are shining examples of what I percieve to be the best reasons to join Freemasonry. After meeting both of these men via the 'intra-net' and getting past the basic introductions both were more than happy to extend themselves, and their time to me. Having some free time away from wedding prep, I was able to meet them downtown Edmonton, and spend an hour talking about how we all were led down the different highways in life, but met at the same crossroads.

One a son of missionaries, punk rock band member, the other a freestyle skier, and downhill longboarder. As we gathered together over drinks at a local coffee shop, I remarked of how I thought the 3 of us were definetly NOT the face of FM today, and could not have been corrected more quickly by these two fellows! I should mention that until this day both men did not know each other, and they quickly related to me that at least in their own Lodges, that the face of FM has indeed started to become a younger one and one continuing to be filled with many different roads and experiences that have led these men to their Lodges.

It was really cool to be able to spend an hour with these two gentlemen, and hear their personal experiences while exploring the world since discovering FM. Drew had a great story about Cuba, and although he never was able to confim that his relief came directly from a brother there, it had to have been more than mere coincedence! When the three of us parted company that afternoon it was very apparant that I had gained not only two good friends, but if all goes well at my Lodges vote on my petition, I have gained two brothers of man as well. Cheers to you both!

False Representation!

Has anyone seen somebody wearing or displaying the symbols of FM, but they weren't a Mason at all?

I had an experience yesterday which left me with a couple of questions. A man approached my desk with a beautiful belt buckle displaying the square and compass. As a petitioner it immediately caught my eye and I began to ask him a few questions during our business to broach the subject without being completely overt. I asked him where he lived, he answered with the same city I live in. Sweet, I thought. Then I asked what lodge he belonged to, to which he replied, 'Oh you mean my belt buckle, I got it in Mexico. My name is Gordon, I like the G in the middle.' He also said he gets asked quite frequently about about, and more or less the same queries: Where are you from, what lodge etc.

I was kind of disappointed, I thought I had a Mason from my hometown and possibly the lodge I was petitioning standing in front of me. Was pretty bummed for the rest of the day! Why would you continue to display symbols such as these and be questioned on a regular basis only to reply in the negative everytime? Maybe he had no idea of the richness of the symbols and the close brotherhood that keeps and guards these symbols. Too bad!

Update Time!

Ok, its update time! Since my last entry, I met and recieved my petition from one of the local lodge members. I filled the petition out right away and handed it in in time to be presented in lodge before the summer break. My petition was in fact read and the Investagative Committee was formed and visited on Monday night! What a nerve wracking experience, I have never done well with job interviews or the like, but the whole thing went very well. There were supposed to be three gentleman but only one was able to make it! A very nice guy who asked my all the usual questions and adressed a couple of my wifes concerns. Took about an hour, swapped a few stories about football and logging, overall a very positive experience! The next day a recieved a letter in the mail from the Secretary of the Lodge letting me know basically the details I have described here. So if everything goes as described my petition will be balloted on Sept 1 and confirming the EA degree on Sept 15! Never thought I would say this but, I wish summer was over already!