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At the Feet of a King
By: Bro. Aaron Gardner, 32°, MPS
It’s amazing what pure exhaustion can do to ones mind. People have been known to hear voices, see things that aren't there, headaches, the list goes on. Once someone finally gets some rest, they may or may not dream. If they dream it may be a wild ride. While stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma I was suffering from Sleep deprivation.
My unit was revving up for deployment, I was a busy Soldier and I was a brand new Master Mason trying to learn the Craft. I rarely slept at night and during the day I was busy preparing all my gear, equipment and self to go over seas. I had to take my Soldier to CIF (Central Issue Facility) to receive some of his gear, I told him I would wait for him in my car, left the windows cracked, shut the car off and kicked my seat back so I could get some rest. It wasn't going to be anything more than a half hour or so, but when you get the opportunity to rest in the Army— you rest.
The dream came almost instantly. There I was driving in my car with my NCO (Noncommissioned Officer) on a street I drove frequently in Lawton, Oklahoma. My NCO is a PHA Freemason, but that never mattered much to either of us. He was a brother in my unit and a brother in an apron, regardless of where he attended lodge. While driving in the dream, I was pulled over by the Police. Unsure of what I did wrong I asked the Officer the purpose. The Officers didn’t respond, instead told my NCO to stay in the car and for me to step out and follow. Just as the Officer began to pull his cuffs, I noticed a necklace poke out from his shirt. It wasn’t so much of a necklace as it was Masonic regalia. The Jewel on the chain was a Square and Compass, the other Police Officer had one too. I saw the cuffs being pulled out, and I gave the GHSD, What was I being arrested for?
My NCO, seeing the whole ordeal and my hand signals, jumped out of the car. “What’s going on Bro?” He asked in more of an authoritative voice than a question. The other officer grabbed him, threw a black bag over both of our heads and threw us in the back of van. The sirens blared as I felt the van whip in and out of traffic down the road. When we stopped I found us in a darkened room. No police in sight. Just a spiral stair case.
Investigating our new surroundings my NCO and I wandered the stairs. From what I could gather the stairs were perfect resemblance of what you learn in Freemasonry. At the top were two hollow pillars and a large double oak door. I knocked with no response. I tried to open the door and it was unlocked, we wandered in to find a rather large, dark lodge room, the floor mosaic in nature. My NCO told me that we shouldn't be here and that we should we leave, yet I felt right at home. I walked in, sat down in the Northeast corner and took in the magnificent view. He sat next to me and told me we should get going. I looked at him, and it was as if he knew that I didn’t want to leave. I walked to the altar in the middle of the room, knelt and prayed. What I was praying for, I am still unsure. I just knew I had to pray. I wasn’t expecting an answer or any sign, just felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
When I finished my prayer, I returned to the seat I was originally in and waited. I don’t know what I was waiting for, maybe for the lights to turn on by themselves, I don’t know. I told my NCO we will wait a little while longer and leave. He agreed silently and walked out of the lodge room to give me space and allow myself to reflect on my thoughts.
Just as I was walking out the door, an entourage of men in robes were walking past me. They wore white aprons and took seats in the lodge room. I continued to walk in the direction of the stairs when another group of men in robes were walking past. I felt the sudden urge to kneel before one of the men. Being a proud man, I am not one to bow to anyone, but this man had an appeal toward him that I knew too well. He dressed like the others, looked like the others, but I knew he wasn’t. I began to speak to the silent man on my knees, “Your Majesty King Solomon how I am honored to be graced by your presence.”
He took my hand in the grip of a Master Mason and still did not speak. I followed him into that chamber and took the only seat available— my original seat in the Northeast corner. How lucky I am, about to impart on knowledge and enlightenment. The King took his seat in the East and gaveled the lodge to open. The Master was about to speak, my journey was about to begin.
He spoke in something I could not understand. His words were not of any language in this world. His tone was loud, as if he were yelling. He spoke to everyone in the room, but what he said was directed at me. His words were not just words, they were images and symbols. He spoke of different countries and wars. Wars that had not yet begun. His voice was speaking to my heart, and though I couldn't understand what was happening, I understood what he was saying in my heart. His images were of my life, the worlds future and the worlds past. I felt overwhelmed with emotion from the words, images and symbols he spoke of my personal journey.
I awoke by a call on my cellphone. I wiped tears from my eyes, looked at the time and realized what felt like hours in my dream had only been twenty minutes. My Soldier was ready to go and was looking for my car. I tried to find a reason for my dream, tried to understand how I could understand pictures and symbols that seemingly applied to me at the time. It was as if the tone deaf King was speaking directly toward me.
The dream proved to be beneficial, It did speak of my personal quest and journey and answered a lot of the questions I had at the time. It still is answering some questions as time goes by. When something happens, I have to try to remember why I already knew something about it and I remember kneeling before a King.
What I experienced some would say is a symptom of sleep deprivation, or that I had been studying Freemasonry too hard and should take a break. Some may even want to throw me into the looney bin. Though all this may have been true at the time, I have to believe that it came to me at the perfect time. That I had a true esoteric experience with my conciseness and myself answered the pending questions through a way that only I could appreciate and understand, my "Burning Bush" moment. Through a way my mind would grasp the lessons I would be learning, and that was at the feet of the wise King Solomon in the Sanctum Santorum.
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Brothers in Aprons for Brothers in Arms
By: Bro. Aaron Gardner, 32°, MPS
https://www.facebook.com/BrosinAprons4BrosinArms
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Honor and History of the Prayer Cap
By: Bro. Aaron Gardner, 32°, MPS
Wearing the white lambskin apron is the most honorable privilege a Mason has. It is more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle. There are, of course, many versions of the apron to include aprons that state a lodge officer’s position, Past Master aprons, aprons with the significance of Scottish Rite and York Rite symbols and aprons specially designed, such as those designed by Brother Juan Sepulveda. Yet, to remember our purity, nakedness and equality when standing in front of the Great Architect of the Universe the plain, blank, lambskin is buried with us. There is nothing more honorable then to represent the symbology of that apron.
When you are first handed that apron in your Entered Apprentice degree, you learn the significance of it, how to wear it and to never let it be tarnished. You further your quest for light and relearn how to wear it and the symbols behind it all the way through the Master Mason degree. If you decide to go into the appendant bodies you learn of more aprons, their symbols and the meaning behind them.
Yet, in the Scottish Rite you earn the right to wear more than aprons, once you earn your 32° you earn the right to wear what is known as a Prayer Cap. This is another honorable privilege within the Scottish Rite degrees. Like the Lambskin Apron, it has historical and spiritual basis behind the honor.
In I Kings 20:31 Jeremiah wrote, “ And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have hear that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventures he will save thy life.” It can be noted the scriptural context of “ropes on our heads”. The practice of clothing ones head with ropes can be seen in Egyptian monuments by a cord around long, flowing hair. It can also be seen by the Bedouin tribes in Arabia known as a Keffiyeh. The Keffiyeh is found in many forms that can depict region of origin and have their own symbology and history behind the headdress.
Today, the most common practice outside of Islamic lands you can find the Kippah. The Kippah, of course, is the traditional headdress of those who practice Judaism. It was originally used in the Middle Ages of Europe to distinguish themselves from others. The color and fabric of each kippah signifies ones belief in a different sect. Crocheted Kippahs are referenced to Religious Zionism, Suede relates to the Modern Orthodox and Satin is more conservative.
In Catholicism, you will see red caps donning the heads of Cardinals and a white cap worn by the current pope. There is even a black cap worn by all ordained members who have gone through the Roman Rite. These caps are known as zucchettos and date back to the Syriac and Malankara Orthodox traditions.
These traditions and history behind the caps are not the only representations of wearing a headdress. However, these are the most common practices that one would see a man wearing a headdress for spiritual recognition. They are all precursors for the cap worn in the Scottish Rite degrees. All related to each other in some shape or form.
Much like the Catholic zucchettos, the black prayer cap is designated for all members who have gone through the Scottish Rite. It is embroidered with the symbols of the Scottish Rite, the double-headed eagle, a red triangle with the number 32 decorated by golden rays, signifying the light given within 32nd degree. It is surrounded with a black band, trimmed in gold and has a gold cord across the top, attached by a gold button on both sides. Like the Catholic Cardinal zucchettos the Knight Commander of the Court of Honour caps are dressed in red silk. It is similar to the Black prayer cap with differences in the color and the emblem. The embroidered emblem is of the jewel of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour
The distinctness in caps differs with each position held. White caps signify 33° Inspector General Honorary, Grand Cross of the Court of Honour and the Deputy of the Supreme Council; each having their own unique differences in symbols included. The violet cap represents the Sovereign Grand Inspector General and the purple cap is the Sovereign Grand Commander. Yet again, all these have different insignias and emblems attached to the symbology of the Scottish Rite.
Even if you never hold an office in the Scottish Rite, you will still be forwarded the opportunity to change cap colors. Once you have been a member for 50 years, you can change your black prayer cap for a light blue cap. The embroidery shows your commitment to the Craft for the past 50 years.
It is an honor to wear any of the specialized caps signifying your place of office within the Rite; rather it be the black, white, violet, purple or to signify your years commitment in blue. Yet, the greatest honor is invested upon us from the first degree. An honor older than Golden Fleece and the Roman Eagle; as pure as the lamb and as clear as we want our souls to be when we answer that call to the Celestial Lodge above. No greater honor is it to wear the badge of Mason, the White Lambskin Apron.
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The Sinking of the U.S.S. Freemasonry
By: Bro. Aaron Gardner, 32°, MPS
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Batman’s quote in the Dark Knight can also be attributed to the fine Craft of Freemasonry. Many Master Mason’s go into the East with fantastic ideas to help bring their lodge, more light, more members, more community events, more brotherhood.
1. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. If you are comfortable with everything that occurs within lodge, it is potentially a sick lodge. Every time you enter the lodge room, there should be some sort of work done on you and the members to become better men. Remaining comfortable just means there is no work being done toward progression. It hurts the true dynamics of ones deep rooted portions of the “iceberg” when one is working on their rough ashlar. If you don’t question something about yourself while leaving lodge, you didn't do any personal reflection.
2. Take your personal quest outside of lodge. This means talk to others who may not agree with you or are completely different from your perspective on life. You can learn from their perspective and try to apply it to Freemasonry and your own personal views. These people will in turn make you uncomfortable, relating back to the first technique. From time to time we become too consumed in our own views and personal convictions, we forget there are others who we don’t have regular association with that have different views. Inside a lodge room, we tend to find individuals who relate to our own values. It may not be exact, but we can become trapped in the cave and not understand the world around us.
3. Attend other lodges. A district in Michigan awards lodges that get the most members of their lodge to attend another lodge’s meeting. This is a great concept to make others travel, creates friendly competition and creates the opportunity for one to understand the need of travel in our Fraternity. One of the greatest rewards we have as Master Masons is the ability to travel to other lodges and see their work. Not only can you receive different perspectives from different lodges, but, they can receive your perspectives as well. Learning about each other and the work done in their respective locations provides cohesiveness amongst the Fraternity and sparks ideas that ignite the flame of knowledge that we are all in search of.
4. Invite visiting brethren. Bring brothers to the lodge to see your work and to offer their ideas as well. You may have been brought to a whole new light when visiting a lodge, but, sometimes you can’t share it quite as well as the original source. Invite those brethren to your lodge to help ignite the same light that you received when visiting them. To overlap with the first two techniques these brethren could be from a different organization. If you are AF&AM or F&AM, you could invite a Prince Hall Affiliate—provided your Grand Lodge recognizes PHA as a legitimate lineage of Freemasonry; do not break the laws set by the Grand Lodge for your quest of light. Inviting a Prince Hall brother to an AF&AM/F&AM meeting, with no doubt cause some awkwardness. There are brothers who have no interest in understanding Prince Hall Masonry. Which is fine, but it is perfectly acceptable and encouraged to test boundaries. Inviting brethren from around and outside the Fraternity can spark interest and can cause tension. The goal of that tension is to turn into something constructive; learn and grow from that tension.
5. Team work. Involve multiple modes of thinking. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Surround yourself with individuals who have different ideas and talents. Work together to accomplish each others goals. The article by Jeff Degraff uses the concept of Superhero Leagues Each superhero in a league has multiple types of super heroes based on their knowledge and talents. Could you imagine the Avengers without wit of Tony Stark or the might of Thor? If you are a Worshipful Master, your Avengers have already been assembled. You have your Senior Warden, Junior Warden, Secretary, the other officers and the other brothers in the lodge to assist you in your conquests. They may agree with you, they may not. Just remember, “At the will of the Master” can work against you when you leave the East. Teamwork is key in every aspect of life, so listen to the brethren and provide a ‘give and take’ atmosphere.
6. The role of leadership is not about aligning everything. It is about using the opportunities and assets provided to accomplish a mission. When a brother disagrees with something, hear them out. Do not allow negative remarks without a formulated plan. Complaining about something can be constructive and deconstructive. By allowing an individual to voice his opinion without a fix, you are opening the lodge up for tension that doesn't belong. Positive tension and constructive criticism is how we can gauge the health of a lodge and ensure needs are being met along with consideration of wants. Understand, you can not please everyone.
By following and understanding these overlapping concepts, we can be sure our lodge will stop backpedaling. With a healthy lodge in a district it can help progress our Fraternity further into the future and we will contribute something worthwhile to the Craft. The ship doesn't have to sink.
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