Walking the Mosaic Pavement of Life with Faith in Deity, Recognizing Our Unity
in a Seen and Unseen Universe.
"All that man has here in
multiplicity is, ONE. Here, all blades of grass, wood, and
stone... All Things Are, ONE. This Is the Deepest Depth."
Meister Eckart, 1260 A.D. - 1329 A.D.
As we begin a new year, I am inclined to reflect on the last which
continues into the present. A year broiled
with taught angst seared in flames of rage while at the same time immersed in seas
of invisible illness and no one knows who will be stricken next. This is how it has been this year at the Valley of St Joseph. And with this observation, adds
to all the Great Men, not only at our Valley, some forty-three of them, but all
the other Valleys who have lost their Great Men, passing through the veil of
physical to eternal rest in spirit. We
can not act as if life goes on and we must take time to recognize them, and that
life in the physical is but a short span of time. As Scottish Rite Masons, there is now more
reason than ever to contemplate upon the lessons within our Degrees to guide
our path while walking this Mosaic Pavement of Life with Faith in Deity.
We - at times, complacently caught in
our perceived view of the world - are compelled to feel and act as if we knew
everything about the world. And so, it is of utmost importance to remove this
complacency made up of exterior accumulated perceptions of thoughts, feelings,
sensations Dr. Carl Gustav Jung, calls the Archetypes of the self; Those
aspects of our selves that form the superfluous exterior individual
character disconnected from the Inner True Self, that unites the
individual with his material surroundings. Mystics call it stopping the
internal dialogue. Alchemists call it uncovering the Alchemist's Stone
concealed within the individual's True Self.
Recognizing this complacency over time,
one recognizes that the material-self has lost his connection with his inner True-Self.
Recognizing this disconnect, with one's
Inner True-Self, one becomes more internally focused and mindful of one's surroundings
and the world where one lives. And,
doing so, one finds greater harmony and balance within. In other words, one
becomes more balanced in life and more the master of their own consciousness. This also enables one to understand the
symbols found within the Scottish Rite Degrees with greater clarity. Pike refers to this outer or material-self a reflection
of the inner soul, or True-Self, a "Garment", a substance, or connection,
that unites the two. One reflects the other, the Outer reflects the Inner. (M&D, p795,
A.∙.M.∙. © 5632). Though noted here in the latter, there are more than two
references extending to Kadosh and Perfection Degrees, and I would implore
all, with earnest intent, to study how a balance is obtained through this
understanding.
A way to experience this study, the connection
with one's True Self called the "garment", is through contemplation. When
contemplating, we analyze certain states of mind by concentrating upon an
object. In this case, the object is found
within our Scottish Rite Degrees. The
object creates impressions causing certain feelings or emotions. And through reason in consciousness, the experiences
draw forth understanding with one's Inner Self.
Through contemplation, we find greater harmony and balance. So, is it not possible to begin this new year
returning to the roots found in the Degrees of our profession? Remembering who we are as Scottish Rite
Masons and, remembering all those Great Men, who have passed into the beyond
never to be seen again. As Scottish Rite
Masons, there is more reason now than ever, to contemplate upon the lessons
within our Degrees using the lessons to guide our path while walking the Mosaic
Pavement of Life with Faith in Deity, recognizing our Unity with one another,
in a seen and unseen universe.
Brother Wesley F Revels 32°
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