Masonic Meat

"The true Mason is not creed-bound. He realizes with the divine illumination of his lodge that as Mason his religion must be universal: Christ, Buddha or Mohammed, the name means little, for he recognizes only the light and not the bearer. He worships at every shrine, bows before every altar, whether in temple, mosque or cathedral, realizing with his truer understanding the oneness of all spiritual truth. All true Masons know that they only are heathen who, having great ideals, do not live up to them. They know that all religions are but one story told in divers ways for peoples whose ideals differ but whose great purpose is in harmony with Masonic ideals. North, east, south and west stretch the diversities of human thought, and while the ideals of man apparently differ, when all is said and the crystallization of form with its false concepts is swept away, one basic truth remains: all existing things are Temple Builders, laboring for a single end. No true Mason can be narrow, for his Lodge is the divine expression of all broadness. There is no place for little minds in a great work...

When confronted with a problem involving the use of the reasoning faculties, individuals of strong intellect keep their poise, and seek to reach a solution by obtaining facts bearing upon the question. Those of immature mentality, on the other hand, when similarly confronted, are overwhelmed. While the former may be qualified to solve the riddle of their own destiny, the latter must be led like a flock of sheep and taught in simple language. They depend almost entirely upon the ministrations of the shepherd. The Apostle Paul said that these little ones must be fed with milk, but that meat is the food of strong men. Thoughtlessness is almost synonymous with childishness, while thoughtfulness is symbolic of maturity.

There are, however, but few mature minds in the world; and thus it was that the philosophic-religious doctrines of the pagans were divided to meet the needs of these two fundamental groups of human intellect--one philosophic, the other incapable of appreciating the deeper mysteries of life. To the discerning few were revealed the esoteric, or spiritual, teachings, while the unqualified many received only the literal, or exoteric, interpretations. In order to make simple the great truths of Nature and the abstract principles of natural law, the vital forces of the universe were personified, becoming the gods and goddesses of the ancient mythologies. While the ignorant multitudes brought their offerings to the altars of Priapus and Pan (deities representing the procreative energies), the wise recognized in these marble statues only symbolic concretions of great abstract truths. In all cities of the ancient”

~ Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages

~ "Manly Palmer Hall (1901 – 1990) was a Canadian-born American author and mystic. He is perhaps most famous for his work The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy (1928) published when he was 27 years old. It is considered a classic work of esoteric literature, divided into hundreds of entries examining aspects of myth, religion, and philosophy from around the world and throughout history." ~ Wikipedia

"Manly P. Hall, has been talking and writing for years about things that interest him: Atlantis, astrology, Plato, the Cabala, Siva, tarot, reincarnation, dreams, karma, liberation, Buddha, the arts, the mystical, the magical, the great Masters and more.

He's witnessed most of the twentieth century and could live to see it all. Hall is what you might call a research investigator of the mystic unknown. He also enjoys sharing what he discovers. Although he entered public life in 1920, he is as active today as he ever was. At a lecture in Los Angeles on November 1, this year, he enchanted an audience of 250 with a talk entitled: "Scientific Dilemmas: What's Lurking Out There in Space?" His amiable style, laced with wit and a slight southern drawl, turned a potentially sober subject into a verbal deliberation of insight and humor. Yet, his message was resolute.

"There are six billion people on earth right now. We've got a big problem-waste! We put it in the water; we put into space. Now, there's a limit-and we're just about there...The problem is not that the mystery can't be solved. The problem is that man's faculties are not developed enough to find the solutions."

Hall's fascination is man's yet-unused potential. His strength is his keen, inquisitive mind. And his motivation is his relentless quest to understand. With a seemingly inexhaustible energy he has delved deeply into a wide variety of realms from occultism to philosophy to religion. Now, having seen four generations come and go, he is a veritable reservoir of arcane knowledge.

His inquisitive eye has fallen upon Hinduism more than once. In his beguiling novel, The Guru, he paints a word-picture so penetrating in its impact and genuine in its presentation that readers are led to wonder if it is fiction or reality.

"His snowy white hair hung about his shoulders to his waist," says the character Nadu in The Guru. "On his forehead was the yellow caste mark with the trident of Shiva. Instantly, I recognized him. It was the Lord of Lords, the sublime rishi, Aqurelama, the Master of my beloved Guru. His great soft eyes were looking straight into mine."

Most of Hall's work is not fiction. Paaracelsus, His Mystical & Medical Philosophy; Sages & Seers; Occultism & Philosophy; Dream Symbolism and Man, Grand Symbol of the Mysteries are some examples of the main stream of his work. His forte is research and scholarship, and his innovative skill is exercised in drawing together the insights of others to form unique conclusions of his own. And he does it well. Even his earliest works have not been forgotten. His knowledge is pertinent, dynamically attuned to the present-and the future. Hall seems intuitively tuned to the important topics of the times.

Yet, from this man who has explained many things, we have heard little about Hall himself. He's a mystery-much like what he himself seeks to understand. His name is behind everything that the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), the Los Angeles institute he founded in 1934, says and does, but Manly P. Hall, the man, is not there. His lectures are on-the-spot monologues and his books are uniquely resourceful. Yet, he mutes his own merits, perpetually disclaiming credit while putting others forward.

For instance, when he writes about the psychic nerve system, he quotes Madame Blavatsky (founder of the Theosophical Society): "The sympathetic [nerve] system is played upon by the Tantrikas, who call it Shiva's vina or Kali's vine."

In describing the pineal gland he quotes Rene Descartes (considered the "father of modern philosophy"): "The peculiar place of the soul's residence is the Conarion, or Glandula Pinealis, a certain kernel resembling a pineapple, placed in the midst of the brain. This kernel is the seat of the soul because this part of the brain is single and one only, whereas all other organs of the senses are double."

Elucidating the miracle of sight, he quotes Swami Vivekananda (Hindu spiritual leader and reformer): "Eyes do not see. Take away the brain center which is in the head, the eyes will still be there, the retina complete, and also the picture, and yet the eyes will not see. So, the eyes are only a secondary instrument."

Another unique feature of Hall's publications is the uncommon collection of graphics he has assembled through the years. To show the proportions of the brain and the head he chose a rare and exquisite pencil sketch from the personal notes of Leonardo Da Vinci. To depict the kundalini he found a flawlessly crafted woodcut (artist unknown) depicting a man encased in the coils of giant snake. To present the mystery of birth he drew from the art of China. A beautiful pen-and-ink rendering by Kano Hogai shows mother and child connected by a silver cord of life.

PRS is a non-profit organization featuring a regular program of lectures and workshops, a research library with rare source material on ancient philosophy and comparative religion and one of the largest bookstores in Los Angeles which includes, in addition to a wide assortment of publications, over 100 books by Hall himself. PRS also owns a gift shop featuring unusual jewelry, gemstones, crystals, cards, incense, oriental prints and works of art, both originals and reproductions.

Hall enjoys a philosopher's philosophy of life. The inscription on the cornerstone of the auditorium at PRS reads, "Dedicated to the truth seekers of all time." He values an "open mind" suffused with a quality he refers to as "non-specialization."

"It is my opinion that the intense specialization which disfigures modern learning has produced too many specialists," asserts Hall. "A specialist is a person who knows more and more about less and less until he knows all about nothing."

Although he favors an expansive approach to learning, he emphasizes non-abstraction and practical application.

"I learned that it was unwise and impractical to assume that the average person reacts favorably to profound scholarly abstractions," Hall claims. "He wants help on the level of his own problems. He may have already learned that the higher intellectualism has brought him very little spiritual consolation."

Hall delves deeply into a detailed understanding of the world's major religions but asserts that it is also important to contemplate life without a commitment to the restrictions of a single set of religious beliefs. PRS is a reflection of his mind on this.

About PRS Hall says: "We feel that there is a pressing need for a nonaligned institution, without creed or dogma, where persons of all beliefs can seek a better understanding of life's plan. We hold friendship with all sincere persons and organizations."

Hall continues to be active in lectures and writing. His most recent book is entitled Wit and Wisdom of the Immortals. The Secret Teachings of all Ages is generally considered to be his most impressive work.

There is moral strength in the wisdom of Hall's message. His advise is sage-like and worthy of note: "In these troubled limes millions of confused individuals are seeking inner guidance. To these we have taught self-discipline, purity of living, and charily to all beings. We have supported this advice by the testimonies of those teachers of the past most widely venerated and honored. This has been my way for nearly sixty years and it must be my way to the end of life."

~ Hinduism Today, Article copyright Himalayan Academy.

The Spirit Shall Return

"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:1-7.

"Finally death comes. We must face it without fear and, without regret, give life up. In this manner, birth, puberty, marriage, aging, and death have always depicted unavoidable trials. Whether we face them happily or despairingly, whether we celebrate them or let them go unnoticed, they map the path of human life. With each test completed, a new phase of existence begins. At the end of each season of life, the outline of a new being emerges.

In my opinion, our American culture no longer celebrates enough the various stages of life we must go through. We no longer feel with the same acuity how much we change with each trial we overcome. Little by little, we have become unconscious of our own metamorphoses. By straightening out the winding path of our lives, by removing all obstacles from our journeys, we deny truth. In a way, we lie to ourselves. Lost in a fog of the disconnected soul, we fall out of step with the indispensable vital pace, rhythm, and tempo of our lives.

Today, the distressing questions concerning the meaning of life stem mostly from the loss of this existential rhythm. Many men have told me that this, in essence, was the reason for their joining Freemasonry. To regain their footing on this path, to find once again their rhythm, and to celebrate as well as comfort each other during those life events and stages."

~ Robert Herd, The Initiatic Experience: That Led To Your Initiation Into Freemasonry

Masonic Myth

A Mason is any person who daily tries to live the Masonic life, and to serve intelligently the needs of the Great Architect.

“President Obama is NOT a Mason!

Here's the story that's being passed all around the internet. You'll find it on the websites maintained by rabid Masonophobes (those who have an unnatural fear of Freemasonry) but, curiously, nowhere else - except, perhaps, on the blog of an overly-eager but gullible Mason.

"One of their most famous members, and also a 32nd degree Prince Hall Mason, became a US presidential candidate for 2008. His name is Barack Hussein Obama."

"Written by Dzenan Causevic

Prince Hall is a first black masonic lodge in the US, named by its founder and master who was the most famous black individual in the Boston area during the American Revolution and through the turn of the nineteenth century.

Prince Hall was the slave of a Boston leather-dresser named William Hall in the late 1740s, who earned his freedom on April 9, 1770, as reward for 21 years of steadfast service. Prince Hall and 14 other free black men, in and around Boston area, approached a British army lodge of Freemasons attached to the 38th Foot Regiment, stationed near Boston. Hall and the others were initiated into the lodge on March 6, 1775. The regiment withdrew from the area a short time later, and Sergeant John Batt, who had been in charge of the initiation, issued a limited permit on March 17 allowing the group certain Masonic privileges as well as permission to meet as a lodge.

On July 3, 1775, the group formed African Lodge No. 1, the first lodge of black Free and Accepted Masons in the world, and Hall was made master. Provincial Grand Master of North America John Rowe granted the lodge a second limited permit to continue their activities.

However, black masonry remained separate from white masonry in the United States, because white masons did not freely accept their black counterparts, despite their claims to fraternity. Hall spread his organization to other cities, but since he was confined to the black population, those newly emerged lodges were called black lodges.

On June 24, 1797, a second black lodge was chartered in Providence, Rhode Island. A year later, a third one was started in Philadelphia, with Absalom Jones as worshipful master. Prince Hall died in Boston on December 4, 1807. Funeral rites, in accord with masonic rites, were performed at his home in Lendell's Lane one week later. He was buried in the 59th Street Mathews Cemetery, Boston, in late March, 1808. Within a year of his death, Hall's followers renamed their order for their former leader.

This highly secretive society continued to grow in the United States, but remained separate from white masonry until the present days.

Today, Prince Hall is a masonic fraternal order whose buildings are clearly marked, members readily identify themselves with rings, bumper stickers, and lapel pins. One of their most famous members, and also a 32nd degree Prince Hall Mason, became a US presidential candidate for 2008. His name is Barack Hussein Obama. "

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"A Lodge is not held together with steel bands, but by the silken ties of brotherhood, woven of interest, friendliness, good times, wholesome fraternal intercourse.

A Mason is not necessarily a member of a lodge. In a broad sense, he is any person who daily tries to live the Masonic life, and to serve intelligently the needs of the Great Architect.

A surprise inspection, by the Grand Architect of the Universe, of the Temple of the Heart of a true Mason will probably find more flaws to be corrected but will never find rust on the Tilers sword of the true Mason

Brother, I, too, own a television set, but that does not keep me at home on lodge night. I have never yet had one of the characters on television come off the screen and shake my hand. They have never offered me the warm friendship that my lodge brothers do. They have never handed me a cup of coffee or a doughnut. No! Never!

Flattering as it may be to the human mind, and truly honorable as it is to receive from our fellow citizens testimonies of approbation for exertions to promote the public welfare, it is not less pleasing to know that the milder virtues of the heart are highly respected by a Society whose liberal principles must be founded in the immutable laws of truth and justice. To enlarge the sphere of social happiness is worthy of the benevolent design of a Masonic institution; and it is most fervently to be wished that the conduct of every member of the Fraternity, as well as those publications that discover the principles which actuate them, may tend to convince mankind that the great object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the human race… Freemasonry is founded on the immutable laws of Truth and Justice and its grand object is to promote the happiness of the human race. - George Washington

Freemasonry must stand upon the Rock of Truth, religion, political, social, and economic. Nothing is so worthy of its care as freedom in all its aspects. "Free" is the most vital part of Freemasonry. It means freedom of thought and expression, freedom of spiritual and religious ideals, freedom from oppression, freedom from ignorance, superstition, vice and bigotry, freedom to acquire and possess property, to go and come at pleasure, and to rise or fall according to will of ability.

Going to Lodge does make anyone a mason more than standing in a garage makes them a car.

I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
- Thomas Jefferson

I violate no secret when I say that one of the greatest values in Masonry is that it affords an opportunity for men of all walks of life to meet on common ground where all men are equal and have one common interest. - Theodore Roosevelt

Masonic labor is purely a labor of love. He who seeks to draw Masonic wages in gold and silver will be disappointed. The wages of a Mason are in the dealings with one another; sympathy begets sympathy, kindness begets kindness, helpfulness begets helpfulness, and these are the wages of a Mason.
- Benjamin Franklin

Not all Masons are obligated on the Christian Bible. Masonry is universal and men of every creed are eligible for membership so long as they accept the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. Therefore, the candidate should be obligated on the Book of the Sacred Law which he accepts as such since his obligation is a solemn and binding one.

The real secrets of Masonry are never told, not even from mouth to ear. For the real secret of Masonry is spoken to your heart and from it to the heart of your brother. Never the language made for tongue may speak it, it is uttered only in the eye in those manifestations of that love which a man has for his friend, which passeth all other loves.

The secret of Masonry, like the secret of life, can be known only by those who seek it, serve it, live it. It cannot be uttered; it can only be felt and acted. It is, in fact, an open secret, and each man knows it according to his quest and capacity. Like all things worth knowing, no one can know it for another and no man can know it alone.

The true Mason always carries his working tools everywhere.

The true Mason's level of discernment increases with every use of the working tools, because the true Mason is ever working on him/her self.

There are no strangers in Freemasonry, only friends you've yet to meet.

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.
- Albert Pike

Moorish Master Mason

"An Austrian named Angelo Soliman (1720-1796), who is said to be a native of Central Africa where he was kidnapped at a young age and later presented in 1734 to Prince Georg Christian. Soliman served as Georg’s confidant, however, as he grew older, Soliman became fluent in 6 languages, was a master swordsman, navigator and renowned music composer.

In his adult life, he climbed to the top of Vienna’s high society and joined Concord Freemason’s lodge where he became a major intellectual influence on Austrian Emperor Joseph II, Count Franz Moritz von Lacy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Josef Haydn. According to the Moorish Rite, he was the “Father of Pure Masonic Thought,” “First Moorish Freemason,” and a “patriarchal figure.”

In 1783, he joined the Masonic lodge "True Harmony", whose membership included many of Vienna's influential artists and scholars of the time, among them the musicians Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn as well the Hungarian poet Ferenc Kazinczy. Lodge records indicate that Soliman and Mozart met on several occasions. It is likely that the character Bassa Selim in Mozart's opera The Abduction from the Seraglio was based on Soliman. Eventually becoming the Grand Master of that lodge, Soliman helped change its ritual to include scholarly elements. This new Masonic direction rapidly influenced Freemasonic practice throughout Europe. Soliman is still celebrated in Massonic rites as "Father of Pure Masonic Thought", with his name usually transliterated as "Angelus Solimanus".

Neither his social standing nor his membership in the Freemasons could prevent his posthumous exploitation, leading to his ultimate status as the "mummified Moor".

Instead of a receiving a Christian burial, Soliman was – at the request of the director of the Imperial Natural History Collection – skinned, stuffed and made into an exhibit within this cabinet of curiosities. Decked out in ostrich feathers and glass beads, this mummy was on display until 1806 alongside stuffed animals, transformed from a reputable member of intellectual Viennese society into an exotic specimen.

By stripping Soliman of the insignia of his lifetime achievements, ethnologists instrumentalized him as what they imagined to be an exemplary African "savage". Soliman's daughter Josefine sought to have his remains returned to the family, but her petitions were in vain. During the October revolution of 1848, the mummy burned. A plaster cast of Soliman's head made shortly after his death of a stroke in 1796 is still on display in the Rollett Museum in Baden. His grandsons are Eduard von Feuchtersleben, Austrian writer, and Ernst, Baron von Feuchtersleben, Austrian physician." -- Wikipedia

Pagan Dragon

"In the original Babylonian Eden myth, as translated from a Sumerian tablet by Professor Edward Chiera, there is the story of a great conflict among the gods. They cannot decide whether man ought to be created or not. A wise old reptile, the dragon Tiamat, opposed the creation of the human race. The dragon fought against the great god Bel. Finally the god overcame the dragon by blasting him with thunderbolts. Opposition having been crushed, man was created.

This conflict between Bel and the dragon bears a close analogy to the story of the Revolution in Heaven recorded in the Apocalypse: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought agaainst the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

-- Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth By John G. Jackson

First Principals

"What man of sense will agree with the statement that the first, second and third days, in which the evening is named and the morning, were without sun, moon and stars? What man is found such an idiot as to suppose that God planted trees in Paradise like a husbandman? I believe every man must hold these things for images under which a hidden sense is concealed."

-- Bishop Origen of Alexandria, one of the greatest Christian theologians,  is famous for composing the seminal work of Christian Neoplatonism, his treatise On First Principles. Origen had many admirers and followers, one in particular, Dionysius of Alexandria, who caused controversy throughout Libya in 259 due to his theology in regards to the unity of the trinity. Three centuries later his very name was stricken from the books of the Church; yet in the monasteries of the Greeks his influence still lived on, as the spiritual father of Greek monasticism.

Pink Elephant

Thank you Francis Fran Bennett for your audacity.
"They say an elephant never forgets. What they don't tell you is, you never forget an elephant." -- Bill Murray

"THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.....  :P

There is an elephant in the room.......an elephant in a pink and purple poke-a-dot dress, tasteful accessories, a french manicure, and sensible shoes to be exact! And I myself am that elephant! :P

The "problem" with me being a "spiritual teacher" for many folks, (or at least for some), is that they simply unconsciously feel that an LGBT or Q person cannot really be spiritually awakened just as they are......Somewhat surprisingly to me, this is often very conscious in some people and they will come right out and say it with no ambiguity or apology.....but it is often also not a completely conscious thing in everyone influenced by the assumption.....and yet can nonetheless run deep in the subconscious of many of us...even unfortunately in some of us who are LGBTQ ourselves........ If you doubt this, I invite you to just answer my email or my Facebook messenger texts for a week and see for yourself. It is sad, but all too true. :( But the LGBTQ are out of the closet and they are not going back into the closet....They are part of the spiritual community too, even if some people may not be completely comfortable with that fact. None of us queer folk are going away...We are here to stay.....and in reality, we always have been all along.

This is part of the reason God/Life has called me to this work....to help dispel this all too common assumption and prejudice.

This is part of my teaching/message. The fact that I am transgender is NOT a distraction from my teaching...it is an essential part of it..I am not going to remain quiet about it because it may make some folks uncomfortable. And it is an aspect of my teaching that is primarily taught without words, but by the very simple presence and force of my being itself..... And that simple message is this: ANY of us can awaken. It is the human heritage and birth right of us all......Gay, straight, cisgender or transgender, black or white, male or female, young or old........We are all right on the verge of seeing clearly who we are on every level of our being....and that we all personally have beautiful gifts to give to Life just by being fully ourselves..... whoever we may be.           <3 ~your fran