How to access masonic texts.

a reply to: network dude

Reality: a mirror of my vibration.

What am i: Beingness

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: muzzleflash
Also I don't think there is a guarantee for learning anything specific from anything in general.

Exactly. That is why I mentioned not having any preconceived notions. If you truly want to learn something you have to be prepared to accept the truth of the answer, no matter how much it may disagree with your current viewpoints.

That's probably the biggest block for learning anything.
Having preconceived notions.

That is for sure what held (and holds) me back more than anything.

The key seems to be practice letting go of them by putting them to the test daily and honestly examining the results to improve one's self in a legitimate and sincere fashion.

Being willing to admit defeat and find out why it happened is very important to avoid future defeat.
Also we must remain careful to separate our "self identity" from our "ideas-attitudes", because ideas or attitudes can change but the self is always the self.

Thanks for mentioning that by the way, it's very thought provoking.

Do masons have a philosophy? Do they believe in god?

I never really studied masonry. I heard that masons are interested in metaphysics. I don´t know if this is true.

a reply to: kauskau

In order to become a mason, you must have a belief in a creator. We aren't specific on that it must be God of the Christian faith, or Jesus Christ, or Allah, just "a Creator". Everything in masonry is geared towards self improvement. Stories from the Bible are used as well as allegory and symbolism. Masonry as a whole is a way to convey a message. The message is simple and has been used in almost every religion or group.

Don't try to be better than someone, try to be better than yourself.

a reply to: network dude

Thanks. I did not know that.

a reply to: muzzleflash

I was having a conversation with my son the other day about the Air Force. He asked me what I learned when I was in. My best answer was that I learned how to learn. Accept that you don't know all the answers and be ready to receive them when they are offered. I guess that information comes from lots of different places, but always ends up being the same.

originally posted by: muzzleflash

So from this, I can totally understand why the vast majority of the membership here doesn't "get" my threads yet, even if they tried to read into them. Vast amounts of knowledge, questioning, seeking, self-correction, etc are required - usually.

Yes, but...

"You do not truly understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother."

originally posted by: Saurus

Yes, but...

"You do not truly understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother."

Although that sounds cool, I risk to disagree.

How could I explain it to anyone at all than? Surely successfully explaining it to a few dozen proves a pattern is at least plausible? And my grandmothers are extremely narrow minded with boat-loads of preconceived notions.

I'll stop nitpicking, hehe!

a reply to: Saurus

This is not entirely true.

There can be simple things you understand that are so "different" from other perspectives that you can not explain that easily to others. You would have to really go through every paradim they have.

Example: for me the violent aspects of religion are stupid. God is infinite. There is no way to be right or wrong about god.

Try to talk about that with fundamentalists...


Or the good one: reality is a mirror....this is simple. But the problem is: as it is a mirror it will also reflect the disbelief of it being a mirror....

You can not explain that without being on the same level of understanding...

originally posted by: kauskau
Example: for me the violent aspects of religion are stupid. God is infinite. There is no way to be right or wrong about god.
Try to talk about that with fundamentalists...

You should see when they stumble into this forum and try to explain to us Masons why we love Lucifer.

Oh yeah, most important of all!

It's best to just understand Grandma doesn't want to be bothered by any of this.
So I won't try explaining anything other than I Love em!

Win!

a reply to: muzzleflash

It is the ability to explain the basics (first principles) of a concept without contradiction or doubt in your own mind, that means that you truly understand it. What matters is that when you are asked a question, you are able to provide a clear, concise, easily understandable explanation without getting stuck.

Whether or not others accept your explanation is irrelevant...

When I examine my postgraduate students' thesis defenses (in chemistry), they give me extremely complex explanations using chemistry jargon, and terminology that could only be understood by an expert in the field. I find they are mostly stumped by a simple question relating to the absolute basics that should be taught at first-year level. For example, I will get the most intricate explanations of bonding and intermolecular interactions that take place in crystals, with short-contact distances etc rehearsed by heart, but some Doctoral students have been stumped when I ask them to explain in detail what is meant by a hydrogen-bond.

originally posted by: kauskau

Example:

Your Hypothesis: reality is a mirror.... (followed by further explanation based on this premise)

Question the first principles: Can a mirror see into your soul?

originally posted by: Saurus
...but some Doctoral students have been stumped when I ask them to explain what is meant by a hydrogen-bond.

Easy. It is like a Treasury Bond but with even worse yield.

a reply to: Saurus

I agree completely.
Our education systems are struggling.

The Basics ! They are taught everywhere but not very well I suppose. Somethings missing.

Perhaps the best teachers need to be with our youngest rather than our eldest?

I'll try to put my $ where my mouth is and attempt to teach my kids something cool today.

it's a trap!

a reply to: Saurus

You see.

now it would get complicated. Because i dont know what you mean with the word "soul" and what you mean with the word "see into"..

I never said the mirror is seperated from my "soul". So it does not "need to see into it"..Because it is one with it..

originally posted by: kauskau

I never said the mirror is seperated from my "soul". So it does not "need to see into it"..Because it is one with it..

Why did you use 'mirror' then? You could have said Reality is a door or a shoe , since they are also one with your soul.

originally posted by: Saurus

originally posted by: kauskau

I never said the mirror is seperated from my "soul". So it does not "need to see into it"..Because it is one with it..

Why did you use 'mirror' then? You could have said Reality is a door or a shoe , since they are also one with your soul.

I'm running out of things to say it is.
Spent 5 minutes and was like wow, I have covered all of this stuff already....

Hmmm....let's see how long it takes.
It will be something new I haven't said yet so may be a little bit.

Eureka! I've got it!

My Heart/Soul is a lot like an Air Purifier, so to speak.

An air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air.

Also perhaps we can think of it as an Inhaler of the sorts?

An inhaler or puffer is a medical device used for delivering medication into the body via the lungs.

But these "lungs" are the "heart" as it's all figurative anyway.

I guess you could say I used my Spiritual Car Crusher to compact it all into one little tiny spot...

Took half an hour.