"Judge the organization by its landmarks and teachings, not by the actions of the imperfect people simply walking their own paths within. If the organization teaches good and the people within struggle with implementing those teachings in their lives, then it is not the organization that is at fault."

There are thousands of representatives of this Ancient and Honorable Fraternity in the world today and not one of us lives up to the whole expectation of the Masonic Education. The hope is that we are all striving to deserve the title of Freemason by earning the benefits each day through action, word, and thought. Have patience with us while we navigate these austere halls.

Being A Better Man

You have likely seen the mantra, Making Good Men Better, being tossed about in relation to Freemasonry. This is a bold claim and not entirely true in its truncated delivery. You see, one of the benefits of Speculative Masonry is that each one of us Masons has access to a structured education system delivered in symbolism and allegory as well as straightforward instruction. A goldmine of insight into what it means to be a better man, this system isn't meant to teach me how to be better than you, or him, or that group over there, but it is meant to teach me how to be better than I was before I implemented the teachings in my life.

Within the Holy Books of various religions to which Masons subscribe there are lessons given in multitudes. In general, it has been the purview of organized religions to not only translate the meaning of these teachings and put them in an understandable format for the layperson, but preach them to their followers, admonish them to follow the edicts within, and in many cases judge them as well. Throughout history and even today, there are zealous interpretations who mistake the prejudices and cultural demands that are filled with hate and loathing, orders for death and destruction, and judgment to be rained down upon those deemed heathens as the Word of God (or gods).

Masonry, in its pure unadulterated form, removes the hate, removes the inequality, removes the judgment of agendas of organized religion and delivers an alternate means of implementing the revealed word of God in a man's life.

Freemasonry is not a religion, but it is a religiously focused organization. While there are bold claims floating about such as, Making Good Men Better, the truth is that the Man must take action by applying the lessons put together by philosophers, dreamers, and learned men who desired nothing more than to be better men, in order to become better men themselves.

Brotherhood

Science has proven that men and women benefit from time spent with their own gender. Studies have shown that men should spend at least two nights a week with their male friends (women should do the same with their girlfriends). The individual's health and well-being are greatly improved if they do. Additionally, if the man (in this case) spends that time with his brothers doing things together that promote like-minded interests, their mental health is greatly improved. This is where the social benefits of being a Freemason come into play.

Human beings crave connections. The nature of the science is too great to get into here but suffice it to say, we long to belong, to be a part of, to participate in and with groups of people. Without this connection, our spirits deflate, or drives dwindle, and our sense of accomplishment falters. Even people who are introverts cannot maintain healthy lifestyles by being… well, introverted. Since the beginning of recorded time, we've sought out groups of people we could be a part of, friends, a spouse, etc. Societies, Clubs, Fraternities, Classes, Politics, Churches, and even gangs… they exist because we desire to belong.

Within Freemasonry, men find brotherhood in social engagement, philosophical discussion, shared learning, similar goals, pride in belonging, and a knowledge that they always have a Brother who will come to their aid.

A brother can walk into a room of Masons and immediately feel accepted, bonded, and supported despite the many, many differences in personalities, personal life choices, politics, and religious beliefs. The argument has been made that you get out of it what you put into it. At Lodge there is a freedom to be yourself no matter your flaws, no matter your struggles, and no matter your faith. Masons meet upon the level and part upon the level, and this is a foundational aspect of our Fraternity.

Ceremonies and Goals

Take a real look at history and you'll see that every culture, every society, has implemented ceremonies into their lives at certain milestones and after great achievement. Ceremony is a huge part of growth and many who study human behavior and mental needs will tell you that without ceremony, certain developmental milestones are delayed or missed altogether.

Setting goals and marking their achievements is life-affirming. When a young man reaches a certain age (depending on the culture) there is usually some kind of ceremony welcoming him to manhood. Birthdays are ceremonies of a kind, more casual than most, but still, a ceremony recognizing the achievement of surviving another year and celebrating the individual being born in the first place.  The sad thing is that we are drifting further away from recognizing standard achievements through ceremony with each generation.

For whatever reason - be it technology or just genetics - we have become less and less capable of sitting through pomp and ceremony as a people despite the mental and spiritual benefits it provides. Young men no longer have that coming of age ceremony to mark their transition to manhood. There's no Great Hunt for them to go on to prove themselves. The man's Church might have certain achievements they can make, and some may even have solid ceremony to accompany them, but outside of Church, there are few organizations remaining today that implement meaningful ceremony into a man's life. Outside of the Church, marriage is the biggest ceremony of a person's life and even that is under attack these days.

Then there's the simple concept of goal setting and achievement. When goals are set, they are most often in relation to finances, body, and getting that degree or certification. When a person does hit certain financial marks, there's no ceremony that goes along with it. The recognition is often made by jealous people or hateful people and not positive at all. Body goals, such as those associated with weight-lifting, cross fit, etc. are great, but are again often recognized solely out of jealousy. And yes, there are ceremonies involved with getting a degree but often, having a degree means nothing in the real world. Companies are finding that colleges and universities can't keep up with the industries, teach a person not to think for themselves but rather to think according to a curriculum, and box an individual into antiquated specializations. People without degrees are performing better in the workplace than those with a piece of paper. People with degrees are then reduced to a painful amount of debt and frustration which dampens the benefits of the ceremony and achievement.

Through the regimented and structured advancements in the degrees of Masonry, a man experiences goal setting and ceremony upon achievement of things that are useful in any man's life so to positively increase his knowledge and self-worth.