The Eighth Sermon to the Dead

http://www.frappr.com/esotericfreemasons

I'm taking part in National Novel Writing Month ( http://nanowrimo.org ). It's neat, but a lot of work. I encourage any readers to take part in it. I did it in 2003, and it was a blast. Do I even have readers?

Sign up! Represent Gnostic locations! Evidently, it has a 200 flag limit, so let's blow that out of the water. http://www.frappr.com/gnostics

It's my blog, I get to comment on the topic too. I've been learning about Sacraments as part of my formation, and they stress three things: Form, matter, and intent. If you have all three, you have a Sacrament. I would think that it's similar for the Masonic ritual. Most of us have the matter (the physical props we need, rods, gavels, etc) and the form (the words and motions), but not many have the intent. Many don't even have the form! :-) I do think that if there's ONE spiritually focused brother on the floor, you'll starting to see that kind of energy. But that's hard when you have 8 participants in the ritual, and however many observers who are also not focused. Someplace I HAVE seen that sort of energy: My lodge of research. Those gents seem to be focused correctly. I do agree with Bros:. Lon and Eric, though, that the energy pushed into the Egregore in the past is still effective, if fading. The new brothers coming in, and valuing the morals and tea...

The Masonic egregore is an almost tangible presence. As a 14 year-old DeMolay, I would sit in the semi-darkness of the lodge room after Chapter meetings almost overcome with reverie. It was so thick I could cut it. It was easy for me to feel centuries of floor work and ritual -- time and space dissolved and I believed I was sitting in every lodge room on earth in every age of the Craft's existence. (I was a strange lad.) It felt more sacred than any church I had ever attended. I hated it when Dad Cooley told me to, "Get out of there and go home." 36 years later when I finally took my EA it all came back to me -- only this time more profoundly. When I heard the words, "... who have gone this way before.'" I had a full-blown mystical experience. I didn't know whether to cry or giggle or faint or die. From that moment forward I felt I was an essential part of an infinite machine -- ecstatically locked into an irresistible moving process that carried ...

A reasonable summary of the concept of the "Egregore" can be found at the following link: http://salemos.tripod.com/index-50.html My question is this: Does anyone share my feeling that Freemasonry has an egregore that is fed by performing its ritual, regardless of the intent of the ritualists? In other words, for those of us that are inclined to find a truly deeper spiritual aspect of our Craft, is there truly a "house not made with hands" that is sustained by the many who regularly perform the ritual, but which - at least on a certain level - is only accessible to those "with eyes to see"? Many people are attracted to Masonry looking for a deeper level of spirituality than they can find in daily life, or in a merely personal, individual search. For many, contemporary Freemasonry is a disappointment in this regard. Yet the power of its symbols & rituals are undeniable. I, however, feel that Freemasonry has an inherent "built in" spiritual as...

I am reposting this with permission of the Author. I've kept his name off the post for privacy concerns. I am really not sure what to type. I really do have such strong emotion tied to the craft. Just for a little background about my Masonic journey so you guys can see where I am coming from. The reason why I became a mason was when I was in the Army my mom passed away and the person who helped me get home also happened to be a brother of the craft and my commanding officer. Then after getting out of the Army and finishing school at 6-0 Penn State J tragedy struck again and my dad passed away in Jan 05. I always tried to talk my dad into joining but he said he didn't have the time. My father was a natural leader and mentor. At his funeral about four guys came up to me and they all had square and compasses on their lapels. They approached and said their condolences being pretty active I know most masons that are under forty in my area and I was quite confused. One of them stepp...

The Kabbalah Class over at My Personal Rabbi has a new Advanced class available for download. I listened to part of it, seems very informative.

This episode contains an interview with Jason Newcomb, who wrote The New Hermetics and 21st century mage . I haven't read either of the books, but after hearing the author speak, I'm tempted to get them. Anyone have experience with either of them?

A reader asked for a post on Freemasonry. I'm a passionate advocate for the Fraternity, so I'm delighted to speak about it a bit. First off, although Freemasonry bills itself as Universal, in some respects it is very individualistic. If you are a member, you will find a great joy in visiting other lodges in other states and countries, and seeing how their rituals and initiations differ from the ones you use at home. Second, Freemasonry takes a lot of time. I don't mean there's a lot of work, simply that it moves slowly. In the UK and much of Europe, expect at least a year between degrees. In the US there's usually a couple months between each degree. Third, the memory requirments for Freemasonry have been lessened in almost all lodges in the U.S. I believe it might be a little stricter in the south than in the north. I know that in Wisconsin it's practically non-existent. Fourth, in order to become a Freemason, you don't need to be related or anythi...

I've actually had a few dreams lately. Normally, I don't dream. I actually went to the Doctor, and she said there might be some sort of recurring physical motion (sleep apnia or restless leg syndrome) that's keeping me from truely sleeping. That might be the reason I feel about the same after 4 hours or 10 hours of sleep. Anyway, one of the dreams I had simply was a phrase that I woke up with. "How terrible it must be to be French, always doomed to failure." Not a clue as to what that was about. The second dream was a little more involved. I was playing poker, dressed in a tux with the tie undone and suspenders. I had just finished playing poker, and was ready to go down and hit the casino. I got in the elevator, and went into this huge lobby that was one floor up from the casino. It had a lot of guys standing at the tops of escalators, I think they were supposed to be hotel check in guys. The only way down was to take the stairs, way on the right. Now,...

Shouldn't Christians Know Better was posted on one of the crazy right wing sites that I like to read. Mostly, I got this article because I have a Google Alert for the words Gnostic or Gnosticism popping up in the news. This gentleman, unfortunately, can't tell the difference between fiction and scholarship. Say it with me "THE DA VINCI CODE IS FICTION." It bears as much relationship to reality as Tom Clancy's work, which is to say, it's loosely based in the world we currently inhabit. So, most of his criticisms are moot. What I found interesting was towards the bottom: The average high-school educated Christian would have known that the Gnostic gospels represent the legendary phase of Christianity. Jesus Christ, among other things, was a human being, lived a human life at a specific point in human history, was sentenced to a particularly hideous death on the charge of blasphemy and, according the records left by his followers, rose triumphant over death itsel...

Fantastic Planet has a very cool post about a gnostic dream Jeremy had. Part of it really struck me. 14. Gnosis is not for Gnostics. You cannot be enlightened if you do not own a dog. I think this part is extremely accurate. Gnostics think too much. Gnosis isn't the product of thinking, but rather realizing that there are times when you can't think. Gnosis is about realizing, and doing, and loving, and living. And a dog is the perfect gnostic: Loyal, friendly, occasionally dominant, occasionally submissive. Usually Energetic. Unselfconcious, yet always aware of their place in the scheme. Always, always, full of love. Love the comes back, again and again.

The convention was opened by the Pope , no less. They are going to be running classes at the Regina Apostolorum on the medical, psychological, and religous aspects of Exorcism. Not a lot else on the convention, but I wonder if you have to be an Ordained Roman Catholic Priest to take the class. I can't read the university's website, because it's in Italian, of course. Yet another language I should pick up.

You scored as Mystical Communion Model . Your model of the church is Mystical Communion, which includes both People of God and Body of Christ. The church is essentially people in union with Christ and the Father through the Holy Spirit. Both lay people and clergy are drawn together in a family of faith. This model can exalt the church beyond what is appropriate, but can be supplemented with other models. Mystical Communion Model 89% Servant Model 72% Sacrament model 72% Herald Model 39% Institutional Model 33% What is your model of the church? [Dulles] created with QuizFarm.com

With the current chaos seemingly enveloping the US, I thought I'd draw everyone's attention back to the supposed time traveler who was posting on message boards back in 2000, John Titor. http://www.johntitor.com/ He lists 10 things you can do to help yourself survive a disaster of huge proportions, and Hurricane Katrina made me think of it again. Whether or not he was actually a time traveller, his ideas are a common sense approach to surviving when things get tougher than $4 a gallon gasoline. His advice is in black, my comments in blue. Here are the 10 things: 1. Do not eat or use products from any animal that is fed and eats parts of its own dead. We now know that CJD and Mad Cow are problems. 2. Do not kiss or have intimate relations with anyone you do not know. This only makes sense in the age of AIDS. 3. Learn basic sanitation and water purification. Humanure Handbook , OA Guide to Water Purification 4. Be comfortable around firearms. Learn to shoot and cl...

"that only those fully indoctrinated into their mind-cult can judge it." That is what John Horgan says in his comment section about Freudian Psychologists and String Theorists. The whole article is an interesting read, and I encourage you to read it and the rebuttal. However, I'm thinking of Gnosticism. Lots of folks 'don't get it', thinking it's all about dualistic material/spritual divides and pretty much useless. Until they learn about it, and see the complexities and questions it raises. But they can't do that, until they learn about it. So, is it true that "learning about it" is necessary for understanding, or is it simply switching our premises, so that the outlandish theory makes sense from a given premise? Or, in true Gnostic fashion, is it both?

http://the-philosophers-stone.com/articles/charlatn/magus.htm Wow. It blows one's mind. The idea that spiritual purity is not necessarily in step with spiritual purity. Or rather, that spiritual progress is not always made by remaining among the pure. I need to digest this one a bit.

Found a Neat site detailing how the bible/gospel relates to astrology and the zodiac. Haven't had a chance to dig into it, but I will. Thought I'd share.

Gnostic Desktop! And another one, also cool.