Speakers at Cornerstone Society conferences have always probed into the deeper aspects of Freemasonry and sought to encourage Freemasons to actively ask themselves what the rituals mean at their most profound levels. But the conference this summer - opened by Chairman George Francis - was a little bit different; speakers were blunt, they directly challenged us with questions about the purpose of Freemasonry. There seemed to be a sense abroad that the laissez faire attitude is no longer working and that the pace of change needs to be stepped up.
    And why should they not be blunt? If Freemasonry does not focus upon the deeper source of meaning in its rituals and symbolism, and the insights available to every member, what then is its purpose? What distinguishes it from a dining club, from Rotary, or the Round Table?

The Master Mason’s Search

David Simms, from Thailand, gave the first presentation, and he set the blunt and direct tone for the day by observing that ‘The deeper spiritual aspects of our Craft is at odds with our popular culture’ and yet, he pointed out, we allow into our lodges those who have little interest in the deeper spiritual aspects of our culture. How, he asked, could we expect such candidates to pursue the deeper aspects of Freemasonry? It is not surprising that it has become mostly ignored.
    He stressed: there is an importance to Freemasonry ‘of Brethren with an interest in the deeper meaning of the Craft; Brethren who will take the Master Mason’s search seriously.’ He lamented that those who carry with them into the lodge the ‘ignorance and cynicism of the popular culture’ and are clearly more interested in the drinking and dining.
    But we ‘should not be concerned about a popular culture which insists that the secrets of life cannot be known; that the veil cannot be penetrated. The Master Mason’s search,’ he insisted, ‘is our raison d’être.’ Indeed, piercing the veil is possible as is shown by many examples in our literature.
    He reminded us that ‘the writers of our ritual were only too aware that a closed-minded science, and the acceptance of discoveries limited by the eye of human reason, was never going to be able to put us on the path to spiritual awareness particularly since these discoveries only concern physical phenomena.’
    ‘Will we be seen as tired,’ he asked, ‘or timeless?’

Techniques of Involvement

Trevor Stuart noted: we are ‘trying to get the dinosaur to make its first steps out of the swamp,’ and pointed at something which we all know but rarely confront directly, ‘English Freemasonry has become rather trapped; obsessed with outward materialities and baubles.’ If, when the blindfold comes off the candidate in his initiation, his life is not different then ‘we haven’t done the proper job.’
    He explained that lectures, while important to Freemasonry, were essentially a passive procedure and so - drawing from his many years experience teaching in Universities - he suggested the use of techniques of discussion. One such procedure he had successfully used was to divide the lodge members into groups and set them a question to develop, for example: ‘What working tools of today could we use to convey the same virtues as our traditional tools?’ This apparently simple task quickly turns into an exploration into the dynamic and living quality of symbolism and its use in conveying moral and spiritual meaning.

Seeking Deeper Meaning

Kai Hughes explained that lodges use the techniques of the ancient Hermetic tradition in order to build something more spiritual. He noted the four essential elements involved: The Structure: Members of the Lodge are placed about a central space within which the candidate is the centre of attention; the door is guarded inside and out with the Master of the Lodge seated opposite. An ante-room is used to prepare the candidate and should be used as a place of reflection in order to heighten the senses prior to his entrance into the lodge.
    The Ritual: Importantly, this is experiential. A specific pattern of symbolism is used which brings a different way of seeing the world. This pattern later serves as a trigger which immediately returns the Freemason to this new perspective whenever the lodge is opened in the same degree. The ritual also awakens the spirituality within the Lodge which can then grow into something which is greater than its parts, becoming a collective personality with a ‘huge store of energy’ available to all.
    The Symbolism: Traditionally a symbol is an object of perception which is naturally linked to an innate meaning - but ‘a meaning that was not simply a product of individual or collective thought, but a presence and power in a realm of its own.’ All things are interconnected and such patterns form ‘a framework of meaning by which any experience whatsoever could be interpreted and understood. Thus the whole world became a book, the book of Nature, which could be read by those who had learned the language in which it was written. That language was the language of symbolism.’ This reveals the difference between symbols and signs: symbols are ‘objects of perception innately linked to a pattern of meaning. A sign …is an object of perception that has an arbitrary set of concepts assigned to it.’
    The Secrecy: This enhances the effect by ensuring surprise. It also creates a sanctuary from the outside world allowing the lodge to become ‘a focus for conscious awareness.’ Hughes explained that ‘the method of preparation and the delivery of the ritual is a way of helping the initiate to experience the symbols in a more intense way than ordinary states of consciousness permit.’ He pointed to the example of Zen Buddhism: ‘they take an object and focus on it as a sign, thinking about its traditional interpretations and linking it to symbols or images until a higher state of consciousness is achieved and the meaning comes through.’
    The talks were followed - as usual - by the very popular Ritual Workshop, a demonstration which always provides some new ideas and fresh approaches to the working of our Degrees. This year it was aspects of the Third Degree which were performed with great skill - with such accomplished Freemasons as Second Grand Principal George Francis and Deputy Metropolitan Grand Master Russell Race as the Deacons who helped the ‘candidate’ through this important Degree.
    All of us observing this demonstration gained insights and ideas which we can take back to our lodges. In other words, it was a successful day which blended ideas and insights with action.
    The talks by David Sims and Kai Hughes are available on the Cornerstone website, www.cornerstonesociety.com