A Journey in Stone – Extracts of Wisdom p.1

Over the next months, we will feature select extracts from ‘A Journey in Stone’ – if you enjoy these, please support Craig’s work by buying a copy.

“This book is the result of years of exploration by myself since I joined the Order of Freemasons in 2004. After following an identical story to the one expressed at the beginning of this preface, I found the process of initiation a truly transformative process.”

Craig Weightman.

​A Journey in Stone

Extracted from the Preface:

Deciding to become a Freemason is a unique experience. For a start, you have probably not encountered very many Freemasons in your everyday life.

There you are, going about your day-to-day business, perhaps having an inkling that there exists a society of people called Freemasons, but not knowing too much about them.

Then, one day, you perhaps discover that a person you have worked with for a while is a member of this Society.

If you are on friendly terms, and you wish to know more about what the organisation actually is, a conversation on the subject naturally follows, and it is at this point that you might discover how interested in Freemasonry you actually are.

This expression of interest is then perhaps followed by an invitation to one of the events which non-Freemasons are able to attend, usually a Ladies’ Night, where the members of a Masonic lodge take their respective ladies to a dinner-dance that is arranged each year.

If you have heard anything about Freemasonry then up to this point that information has probably been replete with the various myths that have been spread into the wider world.

These myths include that it is a secret society, that being a member secures special privileges and advantages in ordinary life, that the Freemasons are the secret shadow government that pulls the strings in political affairs, and that you have to be singled out and invited in order to join.

This is just a short list of the kinds of myths and rumours that are circulating the globe regarding Freemasons.

It turns out that the conversation you have had with the newly-discovered Freemason has dispelled many of these rumours.

The final one mentioned, that one has to be invited to join, is dispelled even further when you are informed that if you want to join then you have to express an interest in joining, as Freemasons cannot invite people to join because it is regarded as a Masonic offence.

This revelation sets your mind into action, and you find yourself asking whether you are really interested enough to want to join this organisation.

You realise that the person you have questioned about Freemasonry hasn’t actually said anything about what it is they actually do in their private meetings.

They have mentioned that the Society gives a great deal to charity, that it has something to do with moral development, and that it is a Society for like-minded individuals, with an emphasis on initiation.

They might even have mentioned that it derives its origin from the ancient mediaeval stone-guilds whose members used their working-tools as symbols and metaphors for moral development.

Having realised that your curiosity is certainly piqued, you decide that it might be a good idea to join and to see what it is all about.

After all, the Society seems benevolent enough, and it seems thoroughly steeped in history and philosophy.

You then fill in the application form after your new-found Masonic friend has agreed to propose you and you have met someone who is prepared to second you.

You are also informed that your application will be subject to a ballot undertaken by the existing members of the lodge, a process where Freemasons apparently put coloured balls into a bag, and in which a white ball in the bag means yes, and a black ball means no.

You are told that if there is just one black ball found in the bag at the end of the ballot then your application will be rejected.

You await the results of the ballot which, as it turns out, proves in your favour.

You are then told that you must turn up to the lodge, on your own, at a particular time, and on a particular night.

The period of waiting, as you see the days tick down to event zero, is an interesting experience and, as the night approaches, your nervousness slowly increases.

You realise that you are joining something that you don’t really know anything about, and that, given all the myths about Freemasonry that abound in the world, perhaps you should have your sanity checked.

Nevertheless, the day dawns and, that evening, you make your way to the Masonic lodge rooms where your initiation is to take place. This first point of contact with the actual world of Freemasonry involves meeting someone standing outside a door.

They appear to be wearing a smart suit and, bizarrely, a square apron, and some kind of light-blue collar.

However, despite the strange dress of this Freemason, and the circumstances of the evening, this person puts you at your ease.

Of course, the natural sense of nervous tension that you have been feeling within as a result of facing the unknown hasn’t subsided, but you appear to understand that nothing bad is going to happen to you.

You are told that what is about to happen has happened to every Freemason you will meet this evening, and that there is nothing to fear.

Every Freemason in the world has experienced a similar story to the one described above with regard to their entry into the Masonic Order.

Pretty much everybody joins the organisation without the faintest idea what Masonic initiation is all about.

It turns out that the nervousness generated by the mystery of what is about to be faced is crucial to the initiation process, as it helps one to genuinely face their fears, which is one of the particular qualities of any system of initiation.

Once a person has passed through the ceremony of their First Degree they have a tendency to feel that they have known the people that they have just met all their life.

Everyone is so welcoming, and one feels a sense that one is part of something bigger than oneself, and that one has experienced something genuinely unique.

Video Presentation

Reproduced with permission from the publisher Lewis Masonic. All rights reserved.

Follow Craig on Twitter: @WeightmanCraig

Read about Craig’s work as a Senior lecturer in Games and Visual Effects, Staffordshire University

https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-weightman-430199/articles