The atmosphere in the Grand Temple was electric from the outset; those masons who had assembled on a bright summer morning carried with them a palpable desire to increase their masonic knowledge with information and insight. Yet, even that vast and impressive space seemed barely sufficient to contain the enthusiasm of the audience.
    Since its formation in 1999, The Cornerstone Society for Master Masons has established itself as the major masonic organisation in England dedicated to the renewal and revitalisation of the Craft. It was founded in order to increase the awareness within Freemasonry of the deeper meaning, inner spirituality and beauty of our masonic ritual and symbolism.
    This Saturday morning in June, a large group of Master Masons – all keen to further their understanding – waited quietly as music welled forth through the Grand Temple. David Dew, Chairman of The Cornerstone Society, began the conference by introducing the title, That Bright Morning Star – "whose rising brings peace and salvation to the faithful of the Human Race". He established the aim of the conference: to share perspectives on the evolution of ideas within Freemasonry and to consider personal interpretations of the deeper symbolism of the "Star".
    John Acaster spoke first: stressing that Freemasonry, "promotes our deepest needs for meaning in life, and beautifies them with order, kindness and good works. I know of no other organisation which can do this so fulfillingly across international divides". He concluded: "It seems to me that Freemasonry has evolved to celebrate significance. Virtues are significant. Friendship between Brethren of good report is significant. Good works are significant. In our times, in our hectic, consumer and media-driven age, significances of all sorts are too easily eroded."
    The Pro Grand Master, Lord Northampton then rose: he began by explaining that the Cornerstone Society was formed to provide a forum for Brethren to learn together about the true purpose of Freemasonry and what it was designed to accomplish. He "wholeheartedly" supported this initiative because, while he accepted that many Freemasons do not pursue an interest into the deeper meanings of the Craft, it is "nevertheless important that at the centre there is a core of Brethren who do understand the spiritual message that our rituals contain." And speaking of Freemasonry’s purpose, he exclaimed, "It is my fervent hope that through this Society and other similar initiatives, it will rediscover its spiritual heritage and become an active catalyst for the transformation of Man’s consciousness."
    His talk was direct and moving; filled with wisdom and insight. Freemasonry, from the perspective he gradually opened up, was seen as a graduated system leading towards light and wisdom – towards enlightenment. He analysed the three Degrees, showing how their message accorded with statements made by spiritual teachers from all ages and persuasions: the First Degree focuses on the heart; in the Second the emphasis is on the intellect as a prerequisite for enlightenment; and the Third Degree has the message that "We have nothing to fear from death because the soul is immortal." He quoted a Shakespeare sonnet which ended with the timeless lines:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Following his talk, Lord Northampton remained at the podium and took questions from the floor. He responded to all with his customary charm and disarming candour. By the time he had finished speaking it was as though all present were old friends – all were brothers, all felt at ease, felt that all was well with Freemasonry from the grass-roots to the leadership. Cornerstone Committee member, Andrew Montgomery, thanked Lord Northampton, observing that, "In an age cursed by management, are we not fortunate, Brethren, to be blessed with leadership".
    Dr. Dominic Selwood, then spoke on "The Templar Knight – an Inner Crusade". His was a popular talk as he was both intriguing and deflating: he did not shy away from the mysteries associated with the Templars but neither did he have need to invent more, a trait which seems to be the occupational hazard of almost every popular writer on the subject. His talk was followed by a lively question and answer session.
    Lunch was provided but the entire company was again seated in the Temple well before the stated time for the beginning of the afternoon session. One hunger had been satisfied but another remained still keen-edged.
    Julian Rees spoke first: "Freemasonry", he explained, "teaches moral lessons and self-knowledge." And it is upon these principles that we stand. "From this point, we as Freemasons start our journey, our quest for self-knowledge, a path leading us to the inmost parts of ourselves, our own psyche and our own soul. Against the imperative of this self-knowledge, all other activities in Freemasonry in which we engage, whether social, charitable or ritual, must take second place, however laudable they are and however much they may act as adjuncts to the main quest."
    Dr. Jan Snoek, from the University of Heidelberg, gave a dissertation on the Master’s Word which was a masterly piece of accessible and well-illustrated scholarship in which he showed the later misunderstandings concerning the early use in Freemasonry of the Hebrew name of God and the profound implications of its appearance in certain masonic symbolic designs. Which fact, in turn, produced an unexpected revelation concerning the Third Degree which was not lost on the Master Masons present.
    The day ended with a Ritual Workshop, conducted with great elegance by David Dew, which concentrated upon the central section of the Third Degree ceremony and incorporated some highly effective innovations – the main one being a wonderfully subtle and evocative musical underscore.
    None who attended could have left less than delighted, enlightened and moved, by the experience. The Cornerstone Society goes from strength to strength.

The next conference is being held in Cheshire, on November 9th. For details, visit the website: www.workingtools.org.

LORD NORTHAMPTON
    "Life is a continual process of initiation and in the masonic system there are three major steps leading to enlightenment…The first question we are asked in our initiation ceremony focuses on the heart. It is, we are told, where we are first prepared to be made a mason – and at the end of our journey we dedicate our purified hearts, only open for the reception of wisdom and truth, to God and the service of our fellow man."
    "Master Masons, who have experienced enlightenment are truly on the level with each other and are able to enlighten the minds of others as in the prayer to the Master-Elect when it says `enrich his mind with genuine knowledge that he may the better be enabled to enlighten the minds of his brethren’."
    "There is no doubt in my mind that the rituals were conceived and written by someone who had understood enlightenment as a means of instructing others in the processes involved. Sadly, over the years, much of their import has been lost."

JULIAN REES
    "As Freemasons, we have a unique chance, using symbols and allegory, to free ourselves from the spiritual limitations of scientific materialism and to own up to the ‘otherness’ in ourselves without which active knowledge of ourselves is not possible."
    "In each Degree he advances (...the Initiate is...) expanding his consciousness to embrace a new level in the Temple of the psyche. Initiation may properly occur not during the ceremony itself, but as a consequence of it – the ceremony plants a seed and the actual raising of his level of consciousness follows. When this is achieved, when the Initiate’s heart is open, then he is truly an Entered Apprentice."
    "Freemasonry, viewed as it should be, is not a physical organisation but rather an activity in pursuit of divinity, of greater light."

DOMINIC SELWOOD
    Dr. Selwood, a Barrister, who turned his PhD on the Templars into a very readable book on the Order, gave a no-nonsense talk: he contrasted the Templars – disciplined, personally impoverished and with a clear "mission" – to their secular counterparts who were often ill-disciplined, capricious and vainglorious.
    He exploded some myths: that the Templars did not excavate or tunnel in the Temple in Jerusalem – or anywhere else, for that matter. And he showed how some others were based on reality: the Templar Order did not support the Cathars, but individual commanders and knights did act ambiguously in their treatment of the Cathar movement, declared heretical by the Church and persecuted by the Crusade mounted at the beginning of the 13th century. Such support as was noted he ascribed, not to the Order as a whole officially favouring the Cathars as such, but to individuals within the Commanderies, usually drawn from the local population, who sympathised with their long-standing neighbours and family who had become Cathars.