DORMER MASONIC STUDY CIRCLE #156

THIS PECULIAR SYSTEM OF MORALITY

by W.Bro. B. C. Pottinger, LGR

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no
power but of  God, the powers that be are ordained of God

Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of
God - and  they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will
thou then not be  afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and
then shalt have praise of the  same:

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that
which is evil, be  afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain for
he is the minister of God, a  revenger to execute wrath upon him
that doeth evil.

Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also
for conscience  sake.

(Romans ch.13 vs. 1 5)

During the ceremony of our Initiation we were informed that it was
customary at  the erection of all stately and superb edifices, to
lay the first, or foundation,  stone at the north-east corner of
the intended building, and that, being newly  admitted into
Freemasonry, we were placed in the north-east part of the Lodge, 
figuratively to represent that stone, and on the foundation laid
"may you raise a  superstructure, perfect in its parts, and
honourable to the builder." The Charge,  which is given by the
Initiating Master, then proceeded to conduct us through a  very
dramatic episode concerned with Charity in the form of a trial to
educe, in  the Socratic method, the fact that at that point we had
nothing to give. It was an  embarrassing moment which almost
certainly is indelibly impressed on every  Candidate's heart, even
though we were immediately told that it was not done  with a view
to sport with our feelings but for three especial reasons; firstly,
to put  our principles to the test; secondly, to evince to the
Brethren that we had neither  money nor metallic substances about
usno money to buy our way in, nor  weapon to fight our way out;
thirdly, to ensure that we were oriented to cheerfully  embrace the
opportunity of practising Charity at any future period when called 
upon so to do by a distressed Brother.

 Having successfully gone through the trial, the Working Tools of
that degree  were then presented to our notice, and it is obvious
that there are several  reasons why they should have been presented
at that particular stage. Briefly we  can say that as we had been
obligated and entrusted in the approved manner,  the working tools
were then presented to our notice to enable us to upgrade 
ourselves in order to qualify for further advancement in due time.

In connection with these working tools we were informed that being
free and  accepted, or speculative, Masons we apply these tools to
morals, and as the  word speculum = mirror or reflection, by its
meaning as intuition, spiritual or  mental vision, the Hermetic Law
of Correspondence "As Above," so Below, but in  a different manner"
is implied.

The fact that the Initiating Master handles the Working Tools, and
presents them  to us in the East, is an indication that our
acceptance of them was by mental  apprehension only. This appears
to be borne out in the Lecture on the First  Tracing Board in which
it is said: "That immovable Jewels are the Tracing Board,  the
Rough and Perfect Ashlars . . . they are called immovable Jewels
because  they lie open and immovable in the Lodge for the Brethren
to moralise on."

This idea is further strengthened at the Long Closing of the Lodge,
which  commences with the words: "You are now about to quit this
safe retreat of peace  and friendship, and to mix again with the
busy world; amidst all its cares and  employments, forget not those
sacred duties which have been so frequently  inculcated, and so
strongly recommended in this Lodge . . .", bearing in mind  that
the Lodge is Closed from the West, and it is through the Western
Gate that  we enter from, and emerge to, the mundane world against
which the Lodge is  Tyled, but yet it is this realm in which we
should put our principles into practice.

The moral indications of the Working Tools were stated as relating
the 24-inch  gauge to the 24 hours of the day, which are divided
into three sections: part to  be spent in prayer to Almighty God,
part in labour and refreshment, and part in  serving a friend or
brother in time of need. The common gavel was said to  denote the
force- of conscience and there are three gavels in constant use in 
the Lodge. While the work of education, symbolised by the chisel
which removes  the darkness of ignorance to convert the rough
ashlar into a perfect one for the  Craftsman to try and adjust his
Jewels on, of necessity must be spread over the  three degrees to
enable us to become members of well-organised society.

So far we have been considering particular aspects of the First
Degree as they  would have appeared to us at our Initiation. In
order to set the scene for this  current study it is apposite to
quote a philosophical axiom: Simple means suffice  for simple ends;
integral means are required for integral ends. Let us therefore 
expand our understanding by taking a more penetrating look at the
first set of  Working Tools, and retrace our steps with deeper
understanding, adding facts 

and inferences in order to arrive at possible conclusions, or open
doors leading  to new avenues of thought or study (the daily
advancement in Masonic  knowledge), from our vantage point of
Fellowcrafts and Master Masons, ever  bearing in mind another
philosophical axiom that the end is always in the  beginningwithout
which there would be no purpose or will to proceed.

According to the First Book of Moses, called Genesis, ch. 1 vs. 3
5 "and God  said. Let there be light; and there was light. And God
saw the light, that it was  good; and God divided the light from
the darkness. And God called the light Day,  and the darkness he
called Night. And the evening and the morning were the  first day."

The Bible is, as are all sacred writings, an esoteric manual. To
those who can  interpret them, the correspondences, symbols and
allegory are a mine of  information from which can be garnered
deeper understanding and an elevation  to higher levels of
consciousness. In common with Freemasonry the secrets are 
incommunicable save to those who are worthy as we say in our
ritual: properly  prepared. We would be exceedingly foolish to
equate God's six days of creation  with six of our Earth's days!

An Earth day is the period of a complete revolution on its axis
ordinarily divided  into 24 hours. The mean solar day, used in the
ordinary reckoning of time,  among most modern nations begins at
mean midnight; its hours are usually  numbered in two series, each
from 1 to 12, but sometimes now more  conveniently in a single
series of 1 to 24, known as the civil day. The  Babylonians and
Hindus began their day at sunrise, the Athenians and Jews at 
sunset, the ancient Egyptians and Romans as midnight (Webster
dictionary ) .  Some Qabalistic astrologers start their day at
midday.

It was the Egyptians who devised the calendar of 12 months with 30
days in  each plus 5 additional days at the end of the year, and
divided the day into 24  hours, 12 for daylight and 12 for
nightthough these hours were originally not  of even length but
were dependent on the seasons. These seasonal hours were  replaced
by theoretical hours of constant length by Hellenistic astronomers,
and  at this period all astronomical computations were carried out
in the sexagesimal  (pertaining to sixty) system. Our present
division of the day into 24 hours of 60  minutes each is the result
of the Hellenistic modification together with the use of 
Babylonian numerical procedures of an Egyptian practice.

As an aside it is interesting to note that Pythagoras, who received
training from  the Egyptians in astronomy, geometry and numerical
symbolism, related odd  numbers to spirit and even numbers to
matter (however tenuous the matter), and  was thoroughly acquainted
with the Euclidian 47th theorem dealing with the 3-,  4-, 5-sided
triangle, has been associated with the 12 hours each of daylight
and  night and 60 minutes each hour because 3 + 4 + 5 = 12 and 3 x
4 x 5 = 60.

 As this two-fold division of the 24 hours was a common factor
world-wide when  our rituals were first recorded why do we use a
three-fold division of the first  working tool presented to our
notice? Why is the second working tool the single  common factor or
symbol used by the three Rulers of the Lodge? Why does the  third
working tool appear to have fulfilled its function by the time we
have  completed the Second Degree, yet our education (to educate
means to bring out  or lead forth) obviously continues in the
Third, and other Degrees?

To try and answer these provocative questions let us move to those
questions  we answered in the First Degree prior to being entrusted
with the test of merit  leading to the Second Degree but first some
observations on them: The  questions and answers are formal, or in
other words "strictly ceremonious,  having the form without the
substance" (dictionary definition of formal); the  answers cannot
be educed from the Candidate for Passing (even supposing he  had a
photographic memory) because the necessary information to enable
him  to answer the questions is not contained in the Ritual he was
taken through at  his Initiation. Regarding the "tokens", those
given in the degree are on "hills"  whilst those given between
degrees are in "valleys" this indicates a change in  the faculty
used, or a change in the level of consciousness, or both.

The questions we are going to consider tot the present (others will
be  considered later) are: What is Freemasonry? alld, Who are fit
and proper  persons to be made Freemasons?

The answer to the first question is: A peculiar system of morality,
veiled in  allegory, and illustrated by symbols.

The answer to the second is: Just, upright, and free men, of mature
age, sound  judgment, and strict morals.

The breakdown of the answer to the first question was given in
Transaction No.  148, but as each Paper stands on its own, even
though they are part of an  overall pattern, it is restated as
follows:

Peculiar: An exclusive privilege; exclusive quality. 

System: An aggregation or assemblage of objects united by some form
of  regular interaction or interdependence . . . arranged in
regular subordination . . .  a complete exhibition of essential
principles of facts, arranged in a rational  dependence or
connection; a regular union of principles or parts forming one 
entire thing. 

 Morality: That which instils moral lessons. An allegorical play,
so termed  because it consisted of discourses in praise of morality
between actors  representing such characters as Charity, Faith,
Death, etc.

Allegory: The representation, by means of a figurative story of
narrative, of some  thing metaphorically suggested, but not
expressly stated.

Symbol: A visible sign or representation of an idea or quality.

(These definitions were taken from the Webster dictionary.)

The breakdown of the answer to the second question under
consideration is to  be found as follows:

Firstly, being just and upright. In the Fifth Section of the First
Lecture of the Craft  Lectures on the Three Degrees, where, in
moralising on the three Movable  Jewels, it says: "The infallible
Plumb Rule, which, like Jacob's Ladder, connects  Heaven and Earth,
is the criterion of rectitude and truth. It teaches us to walk 
justly and uprightly before God and man, neither turning to the
right nor left from  the paths of virtue. Not to be an enthusiast,
persecutor, or slanderer of religion,  neither bending towards
avarice, injustice, malice, revenge, nor the envy and  contempt of
mankind, but giving up every selfish propensity which might injure 
others. To steer the bark of this life over the seas of passion,
without quitting the  helm of rectitude, is the highest perfection
to which human nature can attain.  And as the builder raises his
column by the level and perpendicular, so ought  every Mason to
conduct himself towards this world; to observe a due medium 
between avarice and profusion; to hold the scales of justice with
equal poise; to  make his passions and prejudices coincide with the
just line of his conduct; and  in all his pursuits to have Eternity
in view. Thus the . . . Plumb Rule teaches  justness and
uprightness of life and actions. 

A point was made earlier in the use of a philosophical axiom which
stated that  the end was in the beginning. In the three-fold
constitution of Man as being of  Spirit. Soul and Body through
which the consciousness descends from and  ascends to God there is
of necessity an hierarchical order of beginnings and  endings
related to levels of consciousness and the gnostic powers of man in 
which parts are related to each other, to the whole, and to the
ends for which  they exist. Each level of consciousness is a
reflection of that which is above it  to quote the Hermetic axiom;
"As Above, so Below, but in a different manner" and a foreshadowing
of that which is to follow.

You will have noticed that the three Movable Jewels explained in
the First  Degree Tracing Board are the Working Tools of the Second
Degree.

 Secondly, in response to the question why the privileges of
Masonry were  restricted to free men, the Second Section of the
First Lecture gives the answer:  "That the vicious habits of
slavery might not contaminate the true principles of  freedom on
which the Order is founded."

An even fuller answer was given in the preceding Section of the
Lectures where,  after the answer that we had left the West to go
to the East "To seek a Master,  and from him to gain instruction"
(we should be aware that this does not refer to  the Master of the
Lodge), the question is put: "Who are you that want  instruction?
A Free and Accepted Mason" "What manner of man ought a Free  and
Accepted Mason to be?A free man, born of a free woman . . .,and 
"Why free-born?"

The answer to the last part of this catechism has a distinct
bearing on the theme,  so after the exoteric explanation given in
the Lecture which is quoted in full, we  will consider a possible
esoteric explanation or allegorical interpretation:

"In allusion to that grand festival which Abraham made at the
weaning of his son  Isaac, when Sarah, Abraham's wife, observing
Ishmael, the son of Hagar the  Egyptian bondwoman, teasing and
perplexing her son, remonstrated with her  husband, and said: Put
away that bondwoman and her son for such as he shall  not inherit
with the freeborn, even with my son Isaac. She spake as being 
endued with aprophetic spirit, well knowing that from Isaac's loins
would spring a  great and mighty people, who would serve the Lord
with freedom, fervency, and  zeal; and fearing that if the two
youths were brought up together, Isaac might  imbibe some of
Ishmael's slavish principles; it being a general remark in those 
days, as well as the present, that the minds of slaves are more
vitiated and less  enlightened than those of the free-born. This is
the reason we as Free Masons,  give why every Mason ought to be
freeborn but in the present day, slavery being  generally
abolished, it has therefore been considered under our Constitution, 
that if a man be free, although he may not have been freeborn, he
is eligible to  be made a Mason."

In sacred writings, myths, and parables there is constant reference
to two  mothers, to mother and daughter, or to two sisters. One
such pair is that of the  Great World Mother or Mother of Wisdom,
and the Mother or Mistress of Nature.  The World Mother is ever-
virgin, pure, spotless, eternal and unchanging; while  from the
Mistress of Nature proceeds the ever-changing forms of Nature 
according to time, place and circumstance, which are manifested
from the Sixth  World or realm of Nature, likewise known as the
Astral World.

Man cannot alter the prototypes of the World Mother, but can, and
does, alter  the manifested forms of the Mother of Nature by such
processes as selective  breeding.

 There is also constant reference to two brothers. One stays at
home or is bound  by his natural duty; the other travels and is
free. These are references to the  secondary principles of the
Soul, one in the Astral World, and the other in the  physical
world.

In the allusion to that grand festival which Abraham made, it is
suggested that  Sarah, the nobly born, was spiritually conscious,
as her son Isaac was destined  to be, and she did not wish him to
be contaminated either by identification with  the astral world
through association with and assimilation of Ishmael's slavish 
principles or by identification with that realm inherited from his
mother, Hager,  whose consciousness was bound to Nature. If these
names are translated into  principles, which every man has and can
identify within himself if he so wishes,  then it can be readily
appreciated why the passage we are refering to, ends "....  it has
therefore been considered under our Constitution, that if a man be
free,  although he may not have been free-born, he is eligible to
be made a Mason."

To continue with our breakdown of the question of who are fit and
proper  persons to be made Freemasons, and having dealt with the
formal answer as far  as "Just, upright, and free men, . . ." we
have the further questions put in the  Lectures: "Why of mature
age?_The better to be able to judge for ourselves, as  well as the
Fraternity at large."

This warrants the passing comment that "mature age" is taken as the
full age of  21 years, below which one cannot be intiated into the
Craft, and 21 is the  product of 7 x 3, indicating the sphere of
Objectivity of Soul, Nature and Matter  with which the Lodge deals.

And the final question: "Why of sound judgment and strict morals?
That both  by precept and example we may the better be enabled to
enforce due obedience  to those excellent laws and tenets laid down
in Freemasonry."

This last answer is an integral part of our Circle's Closing
Invocation which says  "May the Light from the Inner Sanctuary
shine forth through this our Dormer, that  men without may see our
goodly works of Heart and Mind."

It is also an echo of various parts of our Rituals which, in
several ways and  stages along the Path of Spiritual Regeneration,
remind us that our inner  condition is manifested outwardly.

This objective manifestation of our subjective condition may be
consciously  directed at any stage, but it requires a steady
perseverance and vigilance until  the "Dormer" window is
permanently opened a stage of advancement  associated with a real
Initiate whose third eye, or ajna chakra, is fully operative 
(Transaction No. 27)or it may occur spontaneously according to mood
or  conditioned reflex, such as when we clothe ourselves previous
to entering a 

Lodge. It is basically completely unconscious until the "will to
be" is brought to  conscious recognition.

The basic tone or condition emanating from each personality may be
said to be  occasioned by the moral quality of that personality. It
is revealed for all to see by  the way we walk, our general posture
and bearing, the way we wear our clothes,  our manner of speech and
timbre of voice, the gestures we use, and so on.

Obviously, if we possess a moral quality which varies according to
our spiritual  growth and level of consciousness, it must be
derived from a Moral Order to  which it is related by a
corresponding faculty. It would also follow that if our  Masonic
system is universal, it must of necessity use universal principles 
applicable to all mankind irrespective of his evolutionary status.
If this reasoning  is valid and correct there will be moral
indications in all our degrees, which, of  course, is apparently so
with just a cursory appraisal. On a closer examination it  is
revealed that our moral character is considered from the time of
our  application to be admitted, and is the subject of one of the
Working Tools in  each degree.

Though each degree is separate and distinct, it is clearly stated
that the First  and Second are conjoined, which could be given as
the inter-relationship  between moral truth and intellectual truth.
The Third Degree deals with a totally  different form of mentation
while still dealing with intellect but this form is above  the
level of discursive reasoning, although we are re-united with the
companions  of our former toil, for they are a necessary part of
our mundane existence on  Earth. Royal Arch Companions would know
from the Opening Prayer of the  Chapter that the three Craft
Degrees are welded into an indissoluble whole or  unity. This is so
of any form of advancement. We focus our consciousness on a 
particular aspect of our being in order to actualise its
potentiality, and then  proceed to integrate it into the fabric of
our existence, each level of  consciousness being unitive to those
below it.

It has been stated many times in our Transactions that the First
Degree is  equated with Truth, the Second Degree with Beauty, and
the Third Degree with  Goodness the ancient philosophers would, in
my opinion, wholeheartedly  concur in this. In the preceding
paragraph it was said that the three Craft  Degrees are a whole or
unity. Truth, Beauty and Goodness are a triad or triangle  enclosed
in the Circle of unity. We can focus our attention on one aspect of
this  triad, but the other two aspects.are also present. One aspect
may bedominant in  our consciousness (and usually is) but cannot
act in an executive capacity  without the consent and co-operation
of the other two: Three rule a Lodge, and  although it is the
function of the Master to rule and direct his Lodge, he cannot 
Open the Lodge in due form without the assistance of two regularly
invested  Wardens.

 Truth, Goodness and Beauty are Eternal verities, beyond space and
time;  primary attributes of the three aspects of the Godhead in
Whose Names we  Open the three Degrees. In order to communicate
truth, goodness or beauty we  must possess an appropriate faculty,
either in the regulative or assimilative  mode, to allow us to
distribute or receive. Each faculty, again separate and  distinct,
needs to be related to the other two, and yet again we find this to
be so  in the three degrees, with the emphasis changed accordingly,
where we are lead  by graduated stages to the final goal of using
knowledge with wisdom and  understanding.

We will look at the primary triad in the order they are presented
to us in the three  Degrees: Truth, Beauty and goodness.

Truth is approached by the illative faculty, or reason.

Beauty is approached by the aesthetic faculty, inner taste or
heart.

Goodness is approached by the moral faculty, conscience or will.

Once again we have a demonstration of the axiom quoted that the end
is in the  beginning, for our entrance into Freemasonry was
governed firstly by a  favourable opinion preconceived of the
Institution an apprehension of the  goodness manifested by those we
knew to be associated with the Institution  and a due enquiry into
our moral standing in the community of which we were a  member;
secondly, we were placed in a situation calculated to allow the
heart to  conceive through inner taste; thirdly, we were allowed to
perceive intellectually  that which the heart truly dictated. In
another manner the Hermetic axiom As  Above, so Below, is implied,
for the Supreme Triad of the Lodge is reflected in  the beginnings
of the Craft Journey.

Obviously our peculiar system of morality covers a very wide
spectrum (and the  word spectrum is used advisedly), for humanity
is composed of human beings  with differing racial backgrounds with
the attendant collective unconscious mind  field, differing
psychological types within each field, and differing levels of 
understanding.

Our rituals use the word "moral" in different guises, which
demonstrates an  inherent knowledge of a moral order. The moral
faculty, conscience or will, is  concerned with goodness, and
goodness is the very ground of our being. From  being, life
proceeds through our various vehicles or bodies of manifestation,
is  guided by the aesthetic faculty of inner taste or heart, the
traditional seat of life,  .and seeks the beautiful or perfection
of form with which to identify and express  itself. The illative
faculty, or reason, with which we make inferences or  deductions,
perceives the connection between two ideas and forms conclusions, 
and directs the manifesting life towards the end for which it
exists in conformity 

with the purpose of the Soul as it is revealed in our progression
through the  degrees, and walk steadily along the mystic path.

Each of these faculties has a two-fold application the twin pillars
of  manifestation which, when conjoined in stability, frees the
consciousness to  ascend to higher levels and, at the same time, to
radiate that joy in creation  which is the ultimate birthright of
all human Souls, as is so amply illustrated in  the Installation
Address to the Brethren: "I therefore trust that we shall have but 
one aim in view, to unite in the grand design of being happy and
communicating  happiness. May you enjoy every satisfaction and
delight which disinterested  friendship (impartial brotherly love
or non-attachment) can afford."

The two-fold, or positive and negative (force and form) aspects,
when held in  balance, allow our aspirational nature to develop
towards our ideal perfection  and expand our communicative energy
in goodwill towards all men; this two-fold  expression again being
held in synthesis and characterised by devotion. The  positive and
negative aspects may be briefly stated as attraction and repulsion, 
desire and antipathy, expression and repression.

The word "moral" has several interpretations in addition to
conscience or will.  Webster's dictionary defines it as
"Characterised by practical excellence, or  springing from, or
pertaining to, man's natural sense of what is right and 
properchiefly in the phrase 'moral Virtue', which, in the medieval
doctrine,  derived from Aristotle's, is distinguished from
intellectual virtue. " It means  quality or character; a tale or
writing; inference, meaning or lesson; a kind of  allegorical play;
rectitude of life; conformity to the standard of right. While Bacon 
says "the end of morality is to procure the affections to obey
reason, and not  invade it": an admixture of will, heart and mind.

When the subject of morals is introduced in general conversation,
the concensus  of discussion usually revolves around sexuality in
its various ramifications  outside the marital status. This points
to an overall use of the opinionative mode  of mentation by the
majority of people, who have not had either the opportunity  to
learn to use the process of reasoning from principles for
themselves (the daily  advancement in Masonic knowledge), or prefer
to be carried along in the stream  of mass opinion under the
pressure of Nature and the collective unconscious  mind.

Half a century ago sexual instruction and the discussion of sexual
relationships  were strictly taboo. In these days we are bombarded
with sensuality by all the  media. It is a curious situation that
shows clearly how the pendulum swings  backwards and forwards
between the two pillars of manifestation, likewise  symbolised by
the black and white flooring of the Lodge.

 Whatever our personal views are on the subject, it has to be
acknowledge that  we are at present dealing with one of the three
most powerful forces in Nature.  In the Platonic disciplines the
main channels of the personality were known as  self-preservation,
self-assertion, and self-expression. In present-day terminology 
they would be acknowledged as survival techniques the acquisitive
function, and  the sexual tendencies.

But it is all too easy to fall into the opinionative trap by the
assumption that the  moral code in relation to the sexes in vogue
in that land from whence we derived  our birth and infant nurture
is acceptable world-wide. An examination of racial  customs extant
since the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England shows 
that a great variation continues. Monogamus marriages then and now
are in the  minority. In the frozen northlands where population was
sparse and isolated it  was a custom for some tribes to offer a
traveller the services of a daughter. In  some parts of Tibet a
woman married into a family. In some desert lands a friend 
visiting was offered the services of one of the wives. In some
countries a man's  mistress was accepted socially, whilst in others
she would be ostracised.

There is a perfectly natural reason for these variations in social
codes; such as  the introduction of new stock to off-set in-
breeding, a low fertility rate, high death  rates in childbirth,
and a high child morality rate, and so on.

Other factors emerge, such as the increase in the percentage of
male children  born during a war, and the acceptance by many women
of male partners from  the armed forces of other countries.

Nature is truly wonderful in the way she manipulates us with a
prescience not  generally recognised and even less understood.

Dion Fortune in her book The Mystical Qabalah makes the point that
if the word  polarity was used instead of sex we would have a much
better understanding of  the subject, for sex is particular to this
world, but polarity extends throughout all  realms The joys and
sorrows of this, our mortal existence in the mundane world  of
Earth, is symbolised, as already stated, by the black and white
squared  flooring of the Lodge, as are all the positive and
negative effects derived from  the causes stemming from other
realms, for manifestation, or the objective world,  is the
threefold sphere of Soul, Nature and Matter as symbolised by our
pillars  which are themselves three-fold, consisting of a base or
pedestal, a column, and  a chapiter.

These three-fold pillars have several symbolic correlations. One
that is of use to  us now is the three-fold constitution of Man of
Spirit, Soul and Bodies (mental,  emotional, vital and physical),
for in the Ancient Mysteries Spirit was regarded as  being
androgyne in nature, Soul as hermaphrodite, and the physical body
as  particularised male or female with the secondary sexual
characteristics of the 

opposite sex. This equates with the anima/ animus principle of the
psychologist  Prof. Carl Jung.

The vital and physical bodies were (and still are) regarded as one
unit, for the  vital or etheric body is considered to be the mesh,
pattern or template on which  the aggregate of physical molecules
is held to form the physical bodyhence  the dissolution of its
natural constituents when the etheric vehicle withdraws at  death.
This is why the Tyler, who symbolises the physical body, is
stationed  outside the door of the Lodge, for although there is a
principle of body, the  physical body is not a principle. In this
sense it can be said that the vital or  etheric body is the
principle and the physical body merely a collection of  substance
or matter of the physical world through which the principle works.

The various bodies or vehicles in the constitution of Man are
predominantly  masculine or feminine, or positive or negative, or
to put it another way force  initiating or form limiting the
locking of force into form to fulfil a function:  otherwise the
force or energy would merely be dissipated, of which the atom, in 
itself a miniature cosmos, is a prime example. These individual
bodies of Man  are said to be of alternating polarity in an
ascending scale: hence a man is held-  to be positive in his
physical nature, but negative in his emotional nature. A  woman is
of the opposite polarity.

In the myths about the human Soul a myth being an allegorical story
from  which much can be learned or intuited concerning spiritual
principles, for these  principles never change, irrespective of
mans knowledge or the changes in  languages it is recorded that the
Soul, being hermaphrodite, needs to  differentiate into male or
female to consciously learn how to use these two  aspects of her
nature; and this is why man needs the companionship of a woman  and
vice versa, so that they may educate each other and harmonise their 
polarities in balanced stability to elevate their forces, powers
and energies to  higher levels of consciousness rather than
frittering or dissipating them  downwards at the behest of Nature.

Freemasonry is a balanced and ideal system, ever presenting by
precept and  example in its dramatic morality plays (more of this
later) a portrayal of the ideals  inherent as innate ideas within
the deeps of every Soul. To rephrase this in  modern parlance one
could say that the Candidate in each degree, together with  the
primary and secondary officers, and the brethren within the
columns, are  portraying the emergence of the spiritual principles
within themselves as they  are presented to their consciousness in
a sequential unfoldment.

With the conscious recognition of these principles they can be
exercised,  according to our understanding, outside the Lodge in
the "popular world" where,  removed from their ideal setting of the
peace and harmony of the Lodge, they  are far more difficult to
manifest and maintain in an established stability.

 We quite often use the expression "popular world" in a somewhat
derogatory  manner, as if we, being "peculiar" in the sense that we
are of an "exclusive  quality", are therefore superior to and apart
from the popular world. In our outer  nature we, too, are part of
the popular world,and form part of the aggregate of  human Souls in
manifestation, among which are many of different persuasions  who
seek the Light with diligence and perseverance and follow a
particular off- shoot of the Mysteries congenial to their
understanding and purpose in life.  They, too, are engaged in
building a superstructure, perfect in its parts and  honourable to
the builder the perfect ashlar so that it may be utilised in the 
building of the New Jerusalem, the Eternal City in the heavens that
will ultimately  be built here on earth.

They are every bit as much our brethren in the Great Work, and
equally entitled  to our regard although specialising in a
different department of the work.

All mankind is destined to assist in this Great Work sooner or
later in  accordance with the Divine Plan. Even when we are within
the precincts of the  Lodge we act as if we had already actualised
the spiritual principles within  ourselves of which we are becoming
conscious, we find, if we are honest with  ourselves, that when we
leave the Lodge theory and practice do not always go  hand in hand.
Another aspect of the work is that as we assimilate, even in part, 
one aspect of our Ritual, others disclose themselves, so that in
the progress  through the degrees with an earnest intent to build
our superstructure, we are  not only elevated in rank, but also
extended outward in service and responsibility  to all who may
solicit our assistance on all levels of being. If this were not the 
case, would we ever have had the chance to knock on the door of the
Lodge to  seek admission under the qualifications required of us?

Let us look at the situation in which, as a Candidate for
Intiation, we were  placed, and let us try to follow the ideal
progress which we could have made  over the years as we identified
with successive candidates through the degrees  in the light of
increased awareness and understanding, against a background of 
morality.

The affirmation of a belief in a Supreme Being is the first end-in-
the-beginning  that is presented to us, and one which we
unknowingly accepted, for our real  aim is the actualisation of all
our potentialities in order to attain Union with God  while
entombed in a body of flesh our earthly temple. This is a goal and 
purpose in life seemingly so unattainable, so remote, and so
unexpected, that  the cable tow would probably have put an end to
our endeavors in this life but  it is our goal and purpose in life,
and we will accomplish this end eventually, if  not in this
lifetime, then in another. As Lao Tsze said: "The journey of a
thousand  miles begins with a single step "!

 The first prayer given on our behalf was to the Supreme Governor
of the  Universe. Supreme means highest in power or authority. The
Supreme Governor  is therefore the First Person or Most High of the
Trinity, whom we can approach  in the initial stages only through
the Third Person. It is by a continuation of the  aid of the
Supreme Governor that we were introduced to the concept of the 
Second Person. Yet if we take a closer look at the initial prayer
we see clear  indications of the three Grand Principles on which
our Order is founded:  Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth and of the
three Pillars supporting our Lodges:  Wisdom, Strength and Beauty.
We did not take exception to the prayer. Frankly,  we did not even
realise its purport or implications. But why did we so readily 
acquiesce?

In addition to the three Grand Principles on which our Order is
founded, and the  three Pillars which support our Lodges, we can
perceive a third veiled triad in  this brief prayer of heart, mind
and will. Bearing in mind that we are dealing with  an ideal level
of consciousness in a Candidate for our mysteries, it behoves us 
to enquire why so much classified information though heavily veiled
and not  easily seen even in retrospect should be presented to our
consciousness. But  when we examine the ideal qualifications any
Candidate is said to possess, the  position becomes clearer.

Freemasonry is a peculiar system of morality, and every Candidate
ideally  should be just, upright, free, of stature age, and of
strict morals. This raises the  question that if this is so, what
is implied by these qualifications, and why should  it be necessary
to give further instruction?

Our original belief in a Supreme Being is usually a very nebulous
concept  carried over from childhood as an act of faith, and of an
opinionative mode  without any real understanding of levels of
consciousness or faculties which  must of necessity be attained to
or developed for a real appreciation of the Fount  of All Being,
Life and Intellect. This immature act of faith is not necessarily 
derived from childhood instruction, which is normally identified
with the religion  extant in that country in which we derived our
birth and infant nurture, for the  idea of God is indigenous to
every human Soul.

We may be just and upright men of strict morals by a passive
conformity to the  moral code of our country of origin, ever
remembering that it is held by many  systems of philosophical and
mystical training that a soul is born into the  physical conditions
it has earned by past endeavours and which will be best  conducive
to her progress in this life. The moral faculty, conscience or
will,  addresses itself to goodness, and good people are just and
upright quite  naturally.

The will may be divided into many aspects for the purpose of
delineating its  action and field of use, each aspect being related
to a faculty and/or a level of 

consciousness. But the main divisions derived from the ancient
teachings is a  triad of the nature will, the personal will, and
the spiritual will. Will is the power of  self-determination and
self-conduct the ability to say yes or no in the choice  between
two or more alternative choices of action or inaction. Life would
be  extremely difficult if, on each occassion, we had to go into
the pros and cons  before making a decision to do or not to do
anything, either for our own good or  for the good of the
community. We therefore have an inherited will-memory, and  acquire
a personality will-memory during our life; and this will-memory is
our  conscience, which can be modified and trained as our
understanding of  goodness is expanded.

The innate Idea of God and conformity to the moral code of the
country of our  origin has a three-fold derivation. From the unity
of Spirit which is, was, and  forever will be perfect and
indivisible and at one with the Triple Logos or Trinity,  we have
a perfect, though veiled, knowledge of our relationship with the
One  and only Good and with all spiritual beings throughout the
universe. From this  unity of Spirit we are differentiated into
individual Souls who are capable of  turning their attention
upwards to Spirit, capable of living a life within themselves  in
an intellectual manner, and capable of turning their attention
downwards  through secondary principles to the realms of Nature and
Matter or Body. All  individual Souls are parts of the Great World
Soul to which they are conjoined in  one indissoluble wholeness;
but their field of awareness is narrowed down to  race or country
when a Soul is identified with the realm of Nature; and still 
further isolated to town, family and self in the realm of
personality.

We are all aware that in the process of growing up children develop
self- assertion and establish themselves within a pattern of
leaders and followers;  they next develop self-expression in line
with their particular personality traits  according to the vogue
currently in use at that time. But as they appear to  possess an
inherent sense of immortality, selfpreservation is developed last.
one  has only to view nature to see how self-assertion can lead the
immature young  to stray too far from the protection of the mother
or herd to court disaster from  which, if they survive, they can
become leaders within the social code, or  deliquents and social
outcasts. With an established sense of self-preservation  coupled
with self-expression, the leaders can eventually become pillars of
the  society of which they are an integral part.

The condition of being free men of mature age is one of the
questions answered  with an affirmation and the utmost sincerity of
conscience, but freedom and  maturity are in actual fact the
hallmarks of relative perfection. From the most  exoteric point of
view we are indeed free inasmuch as we were not born slaves  in the
generally accepted sense of the term; and we were considered, 
historically, to be or mature age in our society when we reached
the age of 21  years. But as was shown earlier in relation to the
grand festival given by 

Abraham at the weaning of his son Isaac extracted from the book of
Craft  Lectures, from the esoteric point of view far more is
involved.

We are only free in conformity to the law. To quote an aphorism in
full: "Freedom  under the law is in proportion to conformity to the
law." The moment we step  outside a law or misapply it, whether by
ignorance or desire, trouble ensues  through excess, deficiency or
confusion.

Misuse comes about by wrong identification, taking the word
identification to  mean "to become the same; to coalesce in
purpose" which can apply equally  well to the will, the heart, or
the mind.

The Soul, like all principles, is triple-aspected. It can abide,
proceed, and return,  and these aspects can be variously indicated
in the sacred mythoi handed down  from epoch to epoch. In this case
it is suggested that Abraham represents the  abiding principle in
the allusion quoted, Sarah the proceeding principle, and  Isaac the
returning principle. But as we need a vehicle or body consonant
with a  particular realm of manifestation, Abraham would still
remain the abiding  principle, but Hagar would represent the
secondary principle of Sarah in the  Astral World or World of
Nature, and her son Ishmael the returning principle in  that realm.

The Astral World is the world of desire and appetency, the fount of
our animal  nature, being symbolically covered by our pure white
lambskin apron which  denotes innocency. Innocency is defined
(Webster) as "Freedom from guilt or  sin, especially through lack
of knowledge; purity of heart; blamelessness. You  win it, not
through innocence, but through the consciousness of virtue. " 
Identification with that realm therefore implies that Ishmael, the
elder half brother  who "knew" his father was still a slave or
bondsman to that realmit could not  be otherwise and he could, by
association, ensnare Isaac.

And the Lecture goes on to make the point that "in those days, as
well as the  present, the minds of slaves are more vitiated and
less enlightened than those of  the free-born," for the level of
mentation is that of pictorial images related to the  senses. Hence
Isaac when he reached maturity, the 3 times 7 (the 7 being the 
number of divisions or planes in each world), would be able to
extend his  consciousness over three worlds, while Ishmael would
remain bound to two  worlds.

Earlier in this discourse it was said that the moral faculty,
conscience or will, is  concerned with goodness, and that goodness
was the subject of the Third  Degree, yet it was the tongue of good
report in relation to our moral standing in  the community that
allowed us to be recommended for entrance into the Lodge.  We will
now look at the first question asked before we were entrusted in 
preparation to being admitted into the Second Degree: "Where were
you first 

prepared to be made a Freemason?" and the answer was given: "In my
heart." It  was also earlier said that the heart, or inner taste,
was the aesthetic faculty by  which we approached beauty, and
beauty is the subject of the Second Degree.

This enigma is a little puzzling at first sight, but if our good
moral standing was a  natural one, would we not also have a natural
inner taste for what is beautiful?  Beauty is the revelation of
perfection, and perfection is the complete  manifestation of an
idea. But this question "Where were you first prepared to be  made
a Freemason?" is asked at the commencement of the Second Section of 
the First Lecture, and the catechism goes on: 'Who brought you to
be made a  Freemason? A friend, whom I afterwards found to be a
Brother."

It is not fitting to go through all the questions and answers, but
in relation to the  Tyler it is said: "Being armed with a drawn
sword to keep off all intruders and  cowans to Masonry . . ." and
"Having sought in my minded I asked of my friend .  . .- and the
door of Freemasonry became open unto me." ". . . who came to your 
assistance? One whom I afterwards found to be the Inner Guard."

The sword symbolically teaches us to set a watch at the entrance of
our  thoughts, place a guard at the door of our lips, and post a
sentinel at the avenue  of our actions, thereby excluding every
unworthy thought, word, or deed, thus  preserving a conscience void
of offence towards God and towards man. This is  the discriminative
power of the mind with which we control our outward actions in 
life in accordance with our inner taste and conscience as governed
by our  mundane appreciation of truth. Our mundane appreciation of
truth is the subject  of the First Degree, through which we
perceive unqualified imitations and  intrusions which if taken
symbolically could be interpreted as the phantasy  working of the
lower mind in relation to our sensual nature and appetencies which
have to be kept at bay if we are to pass through the "door" and
move our  consciousness inwards to our vital principle or etheric
body, symbolised by the  Inner Guard, who admits us in due form and
hands us over to the Junior  Deacon, the returning intellectual
principle of the etheric soul.

What we have been considering is a demonstration of the Hermetic
axiom As  Above, so Below, but in a different manner.

In the descent of Spirit through Soul to Matter through the six
worlds or  conditions of existence which are encompassed by the
Circle of God, the  subjective triad of Being, Life and Intellect
are the fount of Goodness, Beauty  and Truth which manifest as
will, heart, and mind. Will is reflected into Matter or  Body as
the moral faculty of conscience, heart is reflected through Nature
as the  aesthetic faculty of inner taste, and mind is reflected
through the dianoetic mind  of Soul as the illative faculty.

 This is the condition of natural innocency of an ideal Candidate
who comes of  good report and with a favourable opinion
preconceived of the Institution through  the agency of a friend,
and knelt to receive the benefit of a blessing invoked, not  only
on his behalf, but on behalf of all present as a unity.

From this stage we had a conscious recognition of our situation
presented to us  in such a way as to create an interior
illumination of the subconscious guidance  previously received from
a higher aspect of ourselves, which permitted us to  freely
undertake the necessary obligation in full knowledge of our
condition  before the next level of consciousness was revealed to
us the translation from  the natural level to the personal level.
We were then taken through a recollection  to more firmly impress
this knowledge on the consciousness, and then taken  through
another short morality play within the larger whole in which we
were  entrusted with the necessary knowledge to enable us to
consciously traverse the  same interior journey under our own
volition up to the stage of being invested  with the Badge of
Apron.

This Apron is a symbol of the spiritual body we are in the process
of furnishing  and adorning. It has always been with us, but, it is
assumed, we have been  completely unconscious of it until we were
formally invested with it. On no  account should we enter the Lodge
without being properly clothed, for in the  process of preparing to
enter the Lodge, we are deemed to be moving our  consciousness from
the mundane level of existence, which is left outside in the  care
and guardianship of the Tyler.

The next stage is that of being placed in the north-east part of
the Lodge, and  we were informed that it is customary at the
erection of all stately and superb  edifices, to lay the first, or
foundation, stone at the north-east corner of the  intended
building. Why?

All our Lodges are, or ought to be, situated due East and West, for
which are  assigned three Masonic reasons The Sun, the Glory of the
Lord, rises in the  East and sets in the West; learning originated
in the East and thence spread its  benign influence to the West;
the Tent or Tabernacle erected in the wilderness  by Moses
according to a pattern shown him by the Lord on Mount Sinai was by 
God's especial command situated due East and West (4th Section,
First  Lecture) and this pattern proved afterwards to be the
ground-plan of that most  magnificent Temple built at Jerusalem by
King Solomon. It is suggested that,  allegorically, the ground-plan
is the principles contained in the Universe or  macrocosm, of which
man is the microcosm, and the superstructure to be raised 
therefrom is still evolving from potentiality to actuality, and
this is the reason why  the Temple or superstructure has to be
periodically rebuilt in a manner far  transcending our present
ideas.

 According to a Brother Mason, who is operative as well as
speculative, Temples  and Churches were carefully planned in
advance, and the materials assembled  to ensure a continuity of
work according to the seasons. From simple research it  is evident
that sites were carefully selected relevant to ley lines (psychic
lines of  force) which criss-cross the land, the cross-over of
major ley lines producing the  psychic field necessary for a place
of worship in the same way that the cross- over of major nerve
ganglion in the physical body are associated with the etheric 
chakras (the "gateways" for various energies from the (to us)
subjective worlds).  This is why many churches were erected on the
sites of pagan temples and  apparently out-of-the-way places, and
that throughout the world we find places  designated as holy.

In the old days compasses were unknown, and the position of the
rising sun is  variable according to the time of the year except
for the spring and autumn  equinoxes when the sun does rise due
east. The apprentice mason was placed  at the north-east corner of
the intended structure at day break, usually at the  spring
equinox, and his shadow carefully marked on the ground "from whence
a  line was drawn." This gave the east-west line of the north wall
of the temple or  church. By the use of the principle of the 3-, 4-
, 5-sided triangle the 90d right- angle to form the north-south
wall in the east could be determined. The  apprentice could then
hold the line at the south-east corner, and by the same  principle
the east-west wall in the south could be determined.

The placing of the apprentice in the northeast corner of the Lodge
is therefore of  a tradition based on empirical knowledge, and the
exhortation to raise a  superstructure, perfect in its parts and
honourable to the builder, wholly in  accord with ancient custom
based on spiritual knowledge.

But this spiritual knowledge cannot be imparted without due regard
to the  Ancient Landmarks of the Order, involving a sequential
following of a regular  gradation which has to be earned every step
of the way by a daily advancement,  without which the parable of
the Sower (Mark ch.4, vs. 3 11) gives a graphic  warning of the
deleterious effects of the out-of-balance four Elements of Air, 
Fire, Water and Earth.

The parable quoted of the Sower and the kingdom from Mark does not
end at  verse 11. In verse 10 reference is made to the disciples
who were the 12 (Royal  Arch Companions please note), and the whole
of the chapter (41 verses) is  replete with esoteric wisdom,
revealing a vast knowledge of the constitution of  the psyche, her
gnostic powers and the faculties through which they work,  together
with indications of the negative qualities of the personality which
bar  our progress and have to be kept at bay by the sword of
discrimination, the  working tool of the Tyler.

 Verse 35 is a particular interest, for it is an allusion to a part
of the Egyptian  Mysteries wherein the consciousness is elevated to
a higher level en masse, as  should happen in our Lodges in the
Second Degree when we ascend to the  Middle Chamber.

Verses 27 and 38 are of special interest, for they refer to two
different states of  "sleep". Verse 38 says: "And he was in the
hinder part of the ship, asleep on a  pillow . . .". The condition
of being "asleep" and the resting of the head on a  "pillow" are
frequently found in mystical writings, and the pillow is said to 
represent the level of intellect or consciousness in the setting
depicted, the head  resting upon it denoting that that level of
consciousness has been transcended;  while verses 26/27 says " . .
if a man should cast seed into the ground; (27) And  should sleep
...." which refers to the identification of consciousness with a 
particular realm so that one is ruled instead of ruling: the normal
condition of  mankind bound to the realm of Nature through the
hypnotic thraldom of the  senses to the sensible realm.

Let us rejoin our Candidate still waiting patiently at the north-
east part of the  Lodge and take a deeper look at the dramatic
morality play concerning charity.  Due to the mode of preparation
and presentation, the solemnity and instruction,  the questions and
answers, the average candidate is slightly confused and 
disorientated he is meant to be!and in a heightened state of
sensibility. It is  in this condition that it is educed from him,
as said at the beginning of the Paper,  that he had nothing to
give; no money to buy his way in, no weapon to fight his  way out.
It is an awful moment, in which we were all aware that every pair
of  eyes in the Lodge was foccused upon us. The Master informs the
Candidate that  the trial was not made with a view to sport with
his feelings, and gives three  excellent exoteric reasons for the
procedure which, it could be said, conceal  more than they reveal.
Why? Because it is another end-in-the beginning  presented to the
consciousness as a goal to be striven for, but for which the 
Candidate is not yet equipped to attain. We are more fortunate, and
hopefully  apply our knowledge to the best of our skill and
ability.

In the Fourth Section of the First Lecture we are informed that
Jacob's Ladder is  composed of many staves or rounds, the three
principal ones being the  theological virtues of Faith, Hope and
Charity (Love). By Faith we have a  continual acknowledgment of a
Supreme Being: Hope is an anchor of the Soul,  both sure and
steadfast, and enters into that within the veil; Charity (quoted in
its  entirety) "Lovely in itself, is the brightest ornament which
can adorn our Masonic  profession. It is the best test and surest
proof of the sincerity of our religion.  Benevolence, rendered by
Heaven-born Charity, is an honour to the nation  whence it springs,
is nourished, and cherished. Happy is the man who has, sown  in his
breast, the seeds of benevolence; he envies not his neighbour, he 
believes not a tale reported to his prejudice, he forgives the
injuries of men, and  endeavours to blot them from his
recollection. Then, Brethren, let us remember, 

that we are free and accepted Masons; ever ready to listen to him
who craves  our assistance; and from him who is in want, let us not
withhold a liberal hand.  So shall a heartfelt satisfaction reward
our labours, and the produce of love and  Charity will most
assuredly follow." And further in the Fourth Section, it says ". .
.  But the third and last, being Charity, comprehends the whole;
and the Mason,  who is possessed of this virtue in its most ample
sense, may justly be deemed to  have attained the summit of his
profession; figuratively speaking, an ethereal  mansion, veiled
from mortal eyes by the starry firmament . . " The  superstructure,
perfect in its parts, and honourable to the builder!

As we are looking through the discerning eyes of a higher stage, we
can  acknowledge that the answer made in the north-east that we had
nothing to give  was appropriate at that time, but we expressed a
willingness to give when  circumstances permitted it, and that was
sufficient to allow us to be presented  with the means to enable us
to commence giving the one essential thing we,  quite unknowingly,
did have to give the one thing that all Aspirants on the Path  of
Light must of necessity give ourself in service: the charity of the
heart, mind  and will.

If this is so, then why wasn't a simple logical explanation,
sufficient to convey the  facts. And what is the real relevance of
the quotations from the Bible and from  the official Craft
Lectures?

In mystical writings there is constant reference to two distinct
levels of  consciousness in man. There are, in fact, more than two,
with a sliding scale  between them, but the distinct levels require
a change in consciousness, not an  increase or diminution of a
particular type. For instance, one can think in terms  of pictures,
words, geometrical symbols etc., all of which are included in our 
Masonic system. The Chinese have a saying that a picture in worth
10,000  words: a saying that can be misleading unless qualified by
relating it to its proper  principle. One such picture well known
in the Western world has come to us from  India, derived from the
Hindu dispensation, of two birds in a tree, one high up  watching
the one lower down who is pecking away at the fruit.

These two levels are also referred to as opening the eyes of the
Soul, of moving  from darkness to light, of being asleep and
awakening from sleep, and of being  woken from sleep as in the case
of the fairy story of the Sleeping Princess. It is  difficult to
grasp the fact that according to the seers, saints and sages of all
ages  and all climes, our usual state of consciousness is, to an
advanced Soul of  enlightened man, a dreamlike condition.

Gurdjieff, in his system of esoteric development known as the
Fourth Way,  draws the analogy that there is as much difference in
consciousness between an  enlightened man and an average man, as
there is between an average man and  a man laying asleep on a bed.

 To quote in full verses 26 and 27 from Mark ch. 4 "And he said, so
is the  kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the
ground; And should sleep,  and rise night and day, and the seed
should spring and grow up, he knoweth not  how," and verse 28: "For
the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; . . .". This is  natural
man, imprisoned within his personality as within a coffin, his only
means  of communication with the outside world being through the
five physical senses  which bind him with their reactional nature
to the appetencies and instinctual  desires of Nature to the
sensible world as a shroud. He is not aware of his  condition,
accepting it as normal, guided and guarded by a glorious hierarchy
of  beings towards his inevitable destiny.

Some, however, are more fortunate, for they register in their
sensorium a quality  emanating from certain people to which they
feel drawnthe attractive force  that led to the Candidate standing
in the north-east corner. But the problem of  waking the Candidate
up still remains, and having woken him, how to keep him  awake. It
involves a change in consciousness, so what would be more obvious 
than a conscious shock? That is precisely what Gurdjieff would have
called the  episode concerned with Charity: a conscious shock.
Similar circumstances are  quoted by Dr. Roberto Assagioli (The Act
of Will): "At a given moment, perhaps  during a crisis, one has a
vivid and unmistakable inner experience of its reality  and
nature."

And what of the quotations from the official Craft Lectures? In the
middle of the  quotation from Charity, it said: ". . . Happy is the
man who has, sown in his  breast, the seeds of benevolence; he
envies not his neighbour, he believes not a  tale reported to his
prejudice, he forgives the injuries of men, and endeavours to  blot
them from his recollection .... " These, and similar admonitions,
have been  with us from childhood, and, like water off a duck's
back, have ceased to have  any meaning for the majoity of people,
as, in the case of a portion of a prayer  used so frequently
without understanding: ". . . and forgive us our trespasses, As  we
forgive them that trespass against us. ", so glibly said, but so
very seldom  practised because it is at variance with the "one-up-
manship" prevalent  throughout the world, and is an un-understood
as the parables in the Bible,  having no apparent value other than
the justification of a meek and mild  temperament.

Those who have practised such disciplines will readily testify to
their beneficial  effects to an aspirant or initiate in the
development of will or determination; the  expansion of conscious
awareness of the needs, desires and moods of others;  and the
cultivation of an increasing vigilance towards one's own thoughts,
words  and deeds the sword of discrimination coming into use again,
and the level of  consciousness already beginning to emulate that
of the bird high in the tree  watching the bird lower down
partaking of the fruit in an endeavour to satiate its  appetencies.

 But even as the parables meant little or nothing to the multitude,
although they  conveyed a pleasing impression, unless they "had
ears to hear" they would not  pursue their enquiries further. In
like manner, the aphorisms available from  different systems need
to be supplemented by private instruction according to  one's
ability to make them a conscious integer in life, even as the
parables had  to be explained to the disciples outside the inner
circle of 12, and Masonically  speaking, we "leave the West and go
to the East to seek a Master, and from him  to gain instruction."

As Freemasonry is a universal Order based on universal principles,
we are  justified in seeking explanation and amplifications to such
principles enshrined in  our particularised Rituals from wherever
we can garner them, even as King  Solomon gathered men and
materials from all quarters to build the Temple at  Jerusalem. In
this vein we can again consider part of the Gurdjieff system with 
profit: Inner Talking. It is one of those things that is so
habitual to us all that it is  part and parcel of our lives and
passes unnoticed until it is drawn to our  attention. This interior
monologue is happening all thc time we are not engaged  in active
conversation, not employed in a task requiring our full attention,
or  when the mind is being specifically used for a particular
purpose. In this inner  talking we subject the various events of
the day to a running commentary in  which we see ourselves in the
best possible light, make excuses when we think  we did not
distinguish ourselves, so that by a process of self-adoration and
self- justification we keep ourselves in the highest degree of
personal estimation.

This triggers off the process of "making accounts" of feeling
slighted,  overlooked, not given our due etc., complete with the
appropriate associational  memories and emotional reactions. It is
a tremendous wastage of yarious  energies and forces and binds us
ever more closely to the reactional personality,  which blots out
the light from above and within as a mask instead of transmitting 
the light as a lens as a good and faithful servant illustrated in
our Lodges by  the Deacons' and Inner Guard's ready obedience to
the authority of the Master  through the Wardens.

At this juncture it would be as well to consider why it is
necessary that each  Candidate for our mysteries should come of his
own free will and accord. For  there are real dangers to be faced
by those who are persuaded to enter against  their own inclination,
or enter for mercenary or other unworthy motives. If their  will or
conscience does not freely allow them to accept our dispensation
without  evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation of any kind,
a blockage could be  caused against the protective blessing invoked
on their behalf as well as an  interior refusal to acknowledge the
fact that their consciousness was in any way  lacking or inferior
to those they sought to join.

 Usually all that would happen in such a case is that the standard
and  atmosphere of the Lodge would be lowered. But should any
member, for some  reason best known to himself, outwardly conform
without any inner commitment,  he could end up as the man quoted in
Matt. c.12, vs. 43-45: "When the unclean  spirit is gone out of a
man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and  findeth
none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came
out;  and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and
garnished. Then goeth he,  and taketh with himself seven other
spirits more wicked than himself, and they  enter in and dwell
there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

Nature abhors a vacuum, and will immediately fill one with the
first available  material that which is most readily at hand is the
very material of the  personality itself, our prison house if we
are in its control, but our earthly Temple  when we control it from
a higher level of consciousness even as the Master  controls his
Lodge.

But even as the Master does not permit the entry of any unqualified
person into  his Lodge, so too, should we so compose ourselves to
be receptive to the  beneficent powers wherewith, with trowel in
hand and sword by our side, we may  ever be prepared to defend our
holy sanctuary against the unprovoked attacks  of our enemiesthe
inimical forces. The symbolism of the sword as the  discriminative
power of the mind we are aware of; the trowel is a composite 
symbol sometimes worn by the Tyler made up of the poniard, the
square, and  the compasses, all three of which are used by the
Inner Guard.

Therefore, a state having been induced in the Candidate in which he 
consciously realises his impotence to do that which he professes to
admire, his  awakening to his condition must be maintained and
reinforced until he is given  the requisite information to enable
him to sustain his change or elevation of  consciousness. He is
therefore praised by the Master and admonished to  continually hold
on to the memory so forcibly impressed on his mind. If brethren 
carefully ponder the Ritual, they will see that even at this stage
the will, heart  and mind are operating as a unity, and it is as
this unity he is requested to  advance to the pedestal to have the
working tools presented to his notice, and it  is only the third
time during the ceremony that the Master has personally  directed
his movement without the use of an intermediary the first time was
at  the communication of the secrets of the degreeand it must be
pointed out that  in this instance it is a request, not an order,
for freewill is involved.

As said at the beginning of the Paper, the 24 inch gauge is divided
into three  sections, and not into two as one might expect from its
composition of two series  of 1 to 12. Is this merely "poetical
licence" so to speak, or is the allegory and  symbolism capable of
interpretation in such wise as to be acceptable to our  reasori,
palatable to our inner taste, and in accord with our conscience?

 The flooring of the Lodge is composed of black and white squares.
Black is  placed first for two reasons: in the creation story of
Genesis first there was  darkness and then there was light (this
sequence is a common one, such as the  black egg of akasa);
secondly, we first enter the Lodge from the West in a state  of
darkness, with light originating in the East; there is a third
reason which will  disclose itself as we proceed on our journey.

When we refer to the positive and negative qualities of the pairs
of opposites  which form the basis of manifestation the white or
positive factor is given first.

This two-fold division also refers to the Transcendence and
Immanence of God;  the Macrocosm and Microcosm; Spirit and Matter.
From the Transcendent  aspect we get the Above and the Below; from
the Immanent aspect we get the  Inner and the Outer. It also
represents the systolic and diastolic rhythm of the  universe, the
Yin and the Yang of the Taoists, the two Pillars of the Temple,
live  and its mirror reflection evil, creation and destruction,
first and second force of  Gurdjieff, force and form of Qabalists
etc. These pairs, though partaking of the  same principle of
duality while apparently unrelated due to their emplacement in  the
sevenfold scheme of creation, are paradoxical in essence and
nature, being  conjoined in stability by a third factor the apex of
the equilateral triangle Which  again paradoxically has three
apices depending upon from which side it is  viewed! ).

Man himself is a paradox, being, in this context, a duality and a
triplicity. He is a  spiritual/ corporeal being composed of spirit,
soul and matter. As a human Soul  he stands between the twin
pillars of manifestation equating with the pedestal,  column and
chapiter of each pillar. Through spirit he is at one with the 
transcendence and immanence of God; through soul he is the
microcosm of the  macrocosm; through matter he is related to all
the kingdoms of nature. Man's  superstructure is his Temple, not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens,  through which he is at
one with all realms -- but a man of the popular world is  deemed to
be conscious only of his manifested being in the world of matter.

In order to expand the consciousness inward and upward, knowledge
of the goal  is required before any attempt to eradicate inordinate
attachments is made,  otherwise, like the man in the parable, we
may end up in a worse condition of  incarceration in our coffin of
flesh, which could be said to be the pedestal of the  pillar, or
the lowest part of the threefold division of the Soul as described
by  Proclus.

The first part of the threefold division of the 24 inch gauge is
related to God, to  whom we turn in prayer. Prayer is the elevation
of the whole force of the Soul to  its Sovereign Source through its
upper part, which is always at one with Spirit.

 Why, it is sometimes asked, does an omnipotent, omniscient,
omnipresent deity  require our prayers and worship? The straight
answer is that He doesn't need  anything. But by His unbounded
wisdom and goodness He has ordained that  being made in his image
we may be assimilated to Him so that the more like Him  we become
the more can we exercise our God-given talents as the Crown of 
Creation, and rulers over all manifested kingdoms. We have only to
look around  us to see that it is an inherent part of man's nature
to imitate that which he  admires, to adore, to love, and to
worship, whether possessions, appearances,  or abilities. In
proportion as we are able to turn to God so do we consciously 
receive that which has been available to us all the timeas it says
in Mark:  "With what measure ye mete, so it shall be meted unto
you."

The second part is to be spent in labour and refreshment. This is
the middle part  of the Soul which lives in itself according to its
own nature, exercising its  regulative and assimilative functions.

The third part is serving a friend or brother without neglecting
the ordinary duties  of our station in life. This, as an ideal
situation, involves the realisation that  although we manifest in
diversity, in essence we are one or a unity. It requires  the
moving outwards from ourselves in creative works for the benefit of
the  whole, as against the acquisitiveness of selfish propensities
for mundane  considerations that have to be left behind when we
depart from this mortal  existence, for the lower part of the Soul
is related to its secondary principles in  manifestation.

It raises the question as to what period is allocated to sleep !
There are various  answers to that question, and we will dispose of
some of them as they are not  relevant to the subject in hand. It
is held by some teachings that in one sense we  are "asleep" all
the time our consciousness is identified purely with the physical 
world, and are not awake unless or until our consciousness is
elevated and  identified with the Soul.

In Cruden's Concordance it says: "Sleep is used in the Bible for
natural sleep;  for the indolence and dullness of the. soul; or
figuratively for death."

The common gavel, we are told, denotes through the moral faculty as
an innate  sense of what is right and proper in combination with an
inner taste for beauty of  the aesthetic faculty and the creative
inferences of truth perceived by the reason  of the illative
faculty. These three faculties are, according to the Platonic 
disciplines, reflections of Being, Life and Intellect. Being
expresses itself in the  archetypal forms of Life, from which
Intellect creates: They are an indissoluble  whole, repeated on
lower levels in terms of that level. This is clearly  demonstrated
in the Lodge, for when the Master sounds to order in the East, it
is  repeated in the West and South. In like manner, our conscience
of being is  related to the first part of the gauge and the upper
region of the Soul, our 

conscience of life is related to the middle region of the gauge and
the Soul, and  our creative conscience of intellect is related to
the third part of the gauge and  the lower region of the Soul in
the charity of mind, heart and will. As an  observation, it is
interesting to note the similarity of the shape of the gavel and 
that of the tau crosses on a Master's apron, and their combination
in the Royal  Arch Chapter.

The third of the triad of implements indicates the advantages of
education, the  true meaning of the word education being to bring
forth. It has always been held  that we already possess all
knowledge in the depths of our being, but that it is  not permitted
to be revealed until circumstances freely warrant it. Those who 
have qualified themselves by their purity of intention and moral
standing have  always been able to progress through the paths of
heavenly science, and the  study of the liberal, or liberating,
arts and sciences are a subject of their own. Of  the empirical
sciences we, as Freemasons, are not concerned. But the chisel is 
used on the rough ashlars to make them perfect, and perfection is
the attribute  of beauty, the work of the Second Degree, and the
final accomplishment of the  Craftsman. Why, then, does the chisel
seem to be of no further use after the  Second Degree when the
ashlar is perfect?

Is not the pedestal of our pillars an ashlar? Is not a chisel used
by operative  masons to further beautify and adorn both the column
and the chapiter? We  know from the Third Degree that we moved from
moral truth to the contemplation  of the intellectual faculties,
and from there to the principles of intellectual truth,  virtue and
science. It is enough in this Paper to point out that the
intellectual  virtues are above the processes of thought and
thereby outside the range of the  illative faculty. The liberal
arts and sciences are the steps leading to the third  Degree, the
intellectual virtues are the means whereby we are Raised.

Rejoining the Candidate, having been regenerated to a new level of 
consciousness, and in that condition had the necessary instruction
in the means  to maintain this new awareness, he is allowed to
retire and establish himself at  that level. On his return this is
demonstrated by the step and sign, indicating that  he can move and
energise himself correctly, and he is again placed in the north-
east where he is given instructional direction in priorities of
conduct and the  expression of virtues which will eliminate
negative qualities without overtly  arousing their opposition.

We can readily appreciate the fact that the Entered Apprentice is
still being  guided by, and expected to continue to be guided by,
his expanded morality in  thought, word and deed. For it is in the
next Degree that his awareness will be  focussed on the twin pole
of manifestation, when he will be expected to hold a  balanced
stability to make his passions and prejudices coincide with the
strict  line of his duty because his life drives are meant to be
sublimated in service to 

himself as well as to all human creatures not crushed and
annihilated so as to  lead to the devitalisation of all his works.

It was said that the moral faculty was the channel of will or
conscience, and  conscience was an innate idea of what was right
and proper. This raises the  question as to why the quality or
quantity of conscience varies from person to  person. Why, in other
words, do some men conform more to the moral code of  their country
than others and are therefore more fitted for advancement?

In the Third Degree we find that, from the working tools, there is
a straight and  undeviating line of conduct laid down for our
pursuit in the Volume of the Sacred  Law which, we are told
elsewhere, is a record of His revealed will; that our words  and
actions are observed and recorded, and we have to give an account
of our  conduct through life; and that by His unerring and
impartial justice, having  defined for our instruction the limits
of good and evil, we will be rewarded or  punished as we have
obeyed or disregarded His Divine commands.

In the Second Degree we have a somewhat similar admonition to
regulate our  lives and actions according to Masonic line and rule
in order to render us  acceptable to that Divine Being from whom
all goodness springs, and to whom  we must give an account on all
our actions; that a time will come when all  distinctions save
those of goodness and virtue shall cease; and in all our  pursuits
to have eternity in view.

This points most clearly to the law of kharma, the law of cause and
effect, by  which the seeds sown in any life bear fruit sooner or
later. The life we lead is of  our own making, our just deserts,
and the exact conditions requisite for our  advancement if we
continue to perform our allotted task. Our moral standing 
permitted us to knock on the door of the Lodge our inner being to
enable us  to make a further advancement in the art and science of
the perfect life, and add  to the superstructure we are in the
process of building.

And may the Most High grant us strength, life, and health so to
continue, to His  Glory, and the welfare of our fellow beings.

Amen, so mote it be.