Looking to Freemasonry for the future
Bill McElligott [PM] [PZ]
www.lodgeroomuk.com
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Lodge No. 3907 Prov. Essex. UGLE
posted by Bill McElligott at
5:05 PM
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posted by Bill McElligott at
3:13 AM
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by: Julian Rees 
Publisher: Lewis Masonic
Product code: L82726
ISBN: 9780853182726
£ 9.99
For any enquiring mind, whether Freemason or not, this little book sets out to help answer questions not so much: 'What does it mean?' but rather: 'What can it mean?', since the journey is concerned not with learning other people's answers, but in working out answers for yourself. This is a book about what it means to walk the path of a Freemason; to be inspired by its rituals, to live your life by its precepts and to cultivate virtue within yourself.
If you are not a Freemason, you may want answers to questions such as the following:
Why can I not become a Freemason by reading about it in a book? What would initiation do for me?
What is the point of secrets in Freemasonry?
Why are the square and compasses in Freemasonry such a universal symbol?
What are Masonic symbols for? Do they mean anything?
Can Freemasonry be as meaningful for me as my religion?
By being a Freemason, can I be closer to God?
If you are already a Freemason, you may want answers to other, but similar questions:
Why are we called Free Masons?
If secrets in Freemasonry are not to hide something, what are they for?
What does the ritual mean when it talks of avoiding fear and rashness?
How can symbols best be used?
Can working tools really be used to make me a better person? If so, how?
Why is it said that lodges stand on holy ground?
How am I to understand light in a symbolic sense?
direct to Purchase Link:
http://lodgeroomuk.net.wwwebserver.net/catalogue.php?exp=&cat=41
posted by Bill McElligott at
3:10 AM
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Those who have a "Hero Complex" tend to feel that the current life they live is insufficient. For most, the need will ebb and flow. There will be days where they will ask questions like why they have had the role thrust upon them, if what they're doing is really going to make a difference, and sometimes even why they care in the first place.
Many believe that they could do more if they had the means to, whether it is in terms of money, power, or something else held in prestige. Most wait quietly believing that someday they will find these means, although some go out to "find" them on their own. They also often ask the question 'is this really enough?' or 'am I doing the right thing?' Usually such questions have a demoralizing effect, but many who have the Hero Complex will be motivated to find these answers. They are very loyal and dependable, and when given a challenge will almost always find a way to complete it...if they see it as a useful challenge. These traits make them great leaders and friends, for their extensive thought process makes them great at giving advice and opinions in addition to lending their abilities and talents when they can. However, the universal respect societies have for such people leads many to ignore the negative implications. Their high standards might not only carry the risk of overextending themselves and causing depression and withdrawal, they might lead the individual to become destructive (see "Villain-Complex" below).
In fulfilling these desires, they will take on a more benevolent behavior, and 'unlock' the true meanings of themselves. This is the true need of those who have a Hero Complex. Excellent examples of this are David Dunn of Unbreakable, Harry Potter, Goku from Dragon Ball Z, and Batman.
The person suffering from true Hero Complex will have hullicinations of saving the people they care about most. They have day dreams that include saving friends/family from fires, drowning, etc. They can also get a feeling inside of them like their stomach dropped ten feet. This usually occurs when they view someone in pain. Whether its a movie, video game, or real life, their Hero Complex can be triggered by someone elses misfortune. Crying is a big weakness for those with Hero Complex. Even if the person in need is an enemy, a Hero Complex will try to help. As stated above, this is not just having a "big heart" it is a compulsion to help others. If they dont they feel horrid and think they arent good people.
Causes
While not everyone who has been disappointed at some point in their lives will develop a hero complex, almost everyone with one has been in some way or another. One cause may be trying to atone for a sense of worthlessness. This sense may be caused by underlying stress from the inability to complete certain everyday tasks. Alternatively, because of the lack of modern-day heroes, the sufferer may be trying to compensate for a loss of 'icons' in modern societies, and they look inward instead of outward for their own gratification. They may feel guilt for not helping others in the past, or they may have felt pain at a previous point in their lives and are motivated by fear of seeing that pain inflicted on others.
Although there is no "treatment", many look for ways to find release from their troubled worlds instead of having to confront it. Often, a release can be found in video games, because of their allowance for one to enact heroic roles, or in personifications of heroes (i.e. Movies and comics or role-playing). The effects are not permanent, but can lead to an addiction to false realities. Perhaps the best thing for "victims" to do is accept there are some things we cannot change and others just need time. At other times, the best thing to do is to try to make a change, as long as the goal is within reach.
A few of those who have the Hero Complex may begin to turn towards the 'dark side'. This can happen to those who either have an objective so narrow (acquiring power, defeating a nemesis) that they lose sight of everything else, or those who become so powerful they begin to use might alone to set things right. The need to help becomes the want to hurt. They often lose sight of those they are trying to help, who they might even come to despise as weak and deserving of punishment. They become intolerable of weakness and anything that deviates from their vision of a perfect world, and before long, they become the oppressors when all they wanted was to set things right. Some, like Anakin Skywalker, do not even realize they are hurting those they were trying to help and do not see the negative impact they are having.
---------------------------------
Altruism is selfless concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and central to many religious traditions. In English, this idea was often described as the Golden rule of ethics. Some newer philosophies such as egoism have criticized the concept, with writers such as Nietzsche arguing that there is no moral obligation to help others.
Altruism can be distinguished from a feeling of loyalty and duty. Altruism focuses on a motivation to help others or a want to do good without reward, while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards a specific individual (for example, God, a king), a specific organization (for example, a government), or an abstract concept (for example, patriotism etc). Some individuals may feel both altruism and duty, while others may not. Pure altruism is giving without regard to reward or the benefits of recognition.
The concept has a long history in philosophical and ethical thought, and has more recently become a topic for psychologists, sociologists, evolutionary biologists, and ethologists. While ideas about altruism from one field can have an impact on the other fields, the different methods and focuses of these fields lead to different perspectives on altruism.
posted by Bill McElligott at
12:20 PM
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Of course, we have a problem, haven't we; to try to explain that. My predecessors would not try to explain this; they were too male oriented. The fact remains that, there it is, in an ancient document of a 17th century date. That this could have been the case seems all the more likely as that in 1696 two widows are named as members in the Operative masons Court. Away in the South of England, we read in 1714 that's before the Grand Lodge of England of Mary Bannister, the daughter of a barber in the town of Barking, being apprenticed as a Mason for 7 years with a fee of 5/- which she paid to the Company.
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Women Freemasons
by Bro. Dudley Wright
The Builder, August 1920: England
Although the Antient Charges forbid the admission or initiation of women into the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, there are known instances where as the result of accident or sometimes design the rule has been broken and women have been duly initiated. The most prominent instance is that of the Hon. Elizabeth St. Leger, or, as she afterwards became, on marriage, the Hon. Mrs. Aldworth, who is referred to sometimes, though erroneously, as the "only woman who over obtained the honour of initiation into the sublime mysteries of Freemasonry." The Hon. Elizabeth St. Leger was a daughter of the first Viscount Doneraile, a resident of Cork. Her father was a very zealous Freemason and, as was the custom in his time the early part of the eighteenth century - held an occasional lodge in his own house, when he was assisted by members of his own family and any brethren in the immediate neighbourhood and visitors to Doneraile House. This lodge was duly warranted and held the number 150 on the Register of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The story runs that one evening previous to the initiation of a gentleman named Coppinger, Miss St. Leger hid herself in the room adjoining the one used as a lodgeroom. This room was at that time undergoing some alterations and Miss St. Leger is said to have removed a brick from the partition with her scissors and through the aperture thus created witnessed the ceremony of initiation. What she saw appears to have disturbed her so thoroughly that she at once determined upon making her escape, but failed to elude the vigilance of the tyler, who, armed with a sword stood barring her exit. Her shrieks alarmed the members of the lodge, who came rushing to the spot, when they learned that she had witnessed the whole of the ceremony which had just been enacted. After a considerable discussion and yielding to the entreaties of her brother it was decided to admit her into the Order and she was duly initiated, and, in course of time, became the Master of the lodge. --------------------
The Order was created by Rob Morris in 1850 when, while confined by illness, he set down the principles of the order in his Rosary of the Eastern Star. By 1855, he had organized a "Supreme Constellation" in New York, which chartered chapters throughout the United States.
In 1866, Dr. Morris started working with Robert Macoy, and handed the Order over to him while Morris was travelling in the Holy Land. Macoy organized the current system of Chapters, and modified Dr. Morris' Rosary into a Ritual.
The "General Grand Chapter" was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 6, 1876. Committees formed at that time created the Ritual of the Order of the Eastern Star in more or less its current form.
The emblem of the Order is a five-pointed star representing the Star of Bethlehem with the white ray of the star pointing downwards towards the manger.[4]. In the Chapter room, the downward-pointing white ray points to the West. The character-building lessons taught in the Order are stories inspired by Biblical figures:
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Sisters:
In R.H. Baxter's translation of the Regius Poem or Halliwell MS, (said to be the oldest of the Old Constitutions, c.1390), we find:
1. An exhortation to improve each others' knowledge of the craft, 'And so each one shall teach the other, And love together as sister and brother' (Martin, v.1, p.6);
2. A prohibition against displacement when a job has already commenced, 'There shall no master supplant another, But be together as sister and brother' (ibid., p.,13);
3. And an injunction to take turns at being stewards, 'Amiably to serve each other, As though they were sister and brother' (ibid., p.19).
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Dame Masons:
According to Rev. Cryer (p.22): 'In the records of the Corpus Christi Guild at York in 1408 it is noted that an Apprentice had to swear to obey "the Master, or Dame, or any other Freemason"...' Likewise, Professors Rich and Reyes (p.6) report, ' a record from 1408 where newly initiated Masons swore to obey "the Master, or Dame, or any other ruling Freemason".' Moreover, A.F.A. Woodford has reported the word 'Dame' appeared in each Apprentice Charge in the Old Manuscript Constitutions (p.146). For example, we read:
1. 'He shall be true to God and the Holy Church, his prince, his master and dame whom he shall serve.' (Cox, pp.97/8)
2. 'He shall not steal or pack away his master's or dame's goods, nor absent himself from their service, nor go from them about his own pleasure by day or by night, without their consent.'(ibid.)
3. 'You shall not maintain any disobedient argument with your Master, Dame or any Free-Mason.' (Gould, v.I, p.75)
Medieval illustrations depict women involved in the building trades.
Bill McElligott [PM] [PZ]
www.lodgeroomuk.com
www.lodgeroomuk.com/forum/
Lodge No. 3907 Prov. Essex. UGLE
posted by Bill McElligott at
8:18 AM
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We are pleased to announce the latest issue is ready for download
http://wwwlodgeroomus.net/downloadcenter/index.php
Content:- Ideas for a Worshipful Master by Chris Hodapp Philosophy of Masonry By Roscoe Pound Grail of the Alchemist and the Speculative Worker By Athos A. Altomonte On Starting a New Lodge By Cliff Porter Science, Tradition and Magic By Alessandro Orlandi A Strange Little Book By Steinarr Omarsson Masonic Catechisms: Orders of Architecture By Dr. JohnNagy Ritual and Moral Points of View By René Guénon Esoteric Masonry By Ed King Old Charges of Freemasonry By H. L. Haywood Old Charges - 1723 by Dr. Robert Polk http://wwwlodgeroomus.net/downloadcenter/index.php The previous Magazine copies are also avaiable at the downlaod Center. Thank you all for your continued support.
posted by Bill McElligott at
4:29 PM
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