Getting the Phone Call

by Senior Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Gregory J. Knott

 
Fellow Midnight Freemason Brian L. Pettice sent me a text and wondered if I would be able to talk with him and Valley of Danville Commander in Chief Sean P. McBride later that afternoon about an idea they had for a project at the Valley. The Valley of Danville was hosting a small reunion that day (in accordance with all public health rules), but I was unable to attend. My son Hayden and I were working on Hayden’s Eagle Scout project trying to finish it up.

After Hayden and I finished up our work, I took off for the afternoon and went to Camp Robert Drake, our local scout camp. Because of the crazy year 2020 has been, like Freemasonry, almost all of the scouting events for the year have been cancelled. This was my first opportunity to visit camp and it was great being back and seeing the scouts enjoying the great outdoors.

Upon returning home, Brian called via FaceTime and said Sean was live at the Valley of Danville reunion with an announcement they wanted me to be able to hear. Sean asked what I was doing next August, 2021 and said I had been elected to receive the 33rd degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite at next year’s annual meeting. I was left speechless. It was a great moment. The rush of emotions came over me and I admittedly slightly teared up.

It takes a while to process something like this. I asked myself, what was it I had done to be chosen, when there are so many others who are equally deserving? Whatever the reason, I am extremely both honored and humbled to have been chosen. This fraternity means the world to me. I have met so many amazing fellow Masons from literally all over the world. I have grown both personally and professionally from the experiences I have gained since joining over a decade ago.

Freemasonry isn’t about titles or degrees, it is about using the working tools of the lessons learned for self improvement of the individual man with the expectation that he will go back into the community and make it a better place. My only hope is that I have applied these lessons in my community and helped strengthen it.

I am very much looking forward to next year's annual Scottish Rite NJ meeting in Cleveland. Joining me in receiving the 33rd degree from the Valley of Danville are my brothers Robert Allen Gill and Michael John Puhr. All three of us were officers at the same time in the Danville Lodge of Perfection line, which makes it all the more special.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make my Masonic journey so rich and meaningful.

 

~GJK

 

WB Gregory J. Knott is a founding member and Senior Contributor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a member of ANSAR Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and The Philathes Society. He is a charter member of a new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter U.D. and serves as its Secretary. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts—an Eagle Scout himself, he is a member of the National Association of Masonic Scouters. You can contact him at gknott63@gmail.com

 

Working On Your Rough Ashlar

by Midnight Freemason Emeritus Contributor 

Brian L. Pettice, 33°

“Working on my rough ashlar” is a phrase used by Freemasons to mean they are trying to apply the lessons of the fraternity to improve themselves in some way, perhaps morally or spiritually or, hopefully, and most importantly, behaviorally. Freemasons using this phrase are indicating that they are trying to change something about themselves, trying to change how they behave. You have probably heard this or even used said it yourself. But what does it really mean? Do we ever really change ourselves, especially our behavior, or do we just pat ourselves on the back for the “good” men—the perfect ashlars-- we already are?

Let’s look at the ritual. The rough ashlar in the first degree is that “stone taken from the quarry in its rude and natural state” to remind us of our own rude and natural state. The rough ashlar is “made ready” or perfected to be of use to the builder in constructing his temple. How does this happen? For operative masons, the rough ashlar is perfected by subtraction. The common gavel is used to break off the rough and superfluous or unnecessary parts leaving only the beautiful and useful behind. The symbolism is clear, but do we see ourselves in it? Do we see that we are the rude and imperfect rough ashlar that needs to be perfected to fortify and support the building of our own temples? Do we see the rough and superfluous parts that we need to break off and get rid of? Do we see that we have behavior that needs to change? I think an honest look in the mirror will tell us that we don’t.

When you look in the mirror, do you see a man who is full of pride or a Mason who has humility? Do you see a man who clings to and defends his every opinion or a Mason who keeps an open mind? Do you see a man who regularly provokes others to anger or despair or a Mason who is more circumspect? Do you see a man who would fight every fight no matter how petty or a Mason who walks away? Do you see a man who sees things only from his own point of view or a Mason who seeks to understand and easily empathizes with another? Do you see a man who demonizes those with whom he disagrees or a Mason who recognizes that the Divine which lives within him lives within them as well?

So look in the mirror. Do you see the Mason you want to be or the man you don’t? Better yet, look at your Facebook, Twitter, and social media—your post and your comments—do you see there the man that you want people to think of when they think of Freemasonry? If not, get to work with your gavel. Breakoff and subtract those superfluous parts-- your passions and prejudices. Change your behavior and change your heart. Get rid of the rubbish that you need to remove so that the man that you are can become the Mason you want to be.

My Brother, now more than ever, your country needs you to do this. Your fraternity and your lodge need you to do this. Most importantly, YOU need you to do this. If you think that you don’t, what are you doing here?

~BLP

Strange Times - Two Brothers, Aliens, SkinWalkers, and Inter-dimensional Portals

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Robert H. Johnson

The actual sign outside Skinwalker Ranch

Whether you’re a History Channel junkie or just someone who likes the more fringe shows, e.g., Ancient Aliens, Oak Island, or Unidentified, you might dig this article. About five months ago, I was on the phone with my friend and Brother, Ben Williams. Ben and I share an affinity for all things strange and unusual. Having come to Freemasonry for philosophy and “occult,” we both are into some similar stuff.

This past year, on the History Channel, a new show started. It was all about Skinwalker Ranch. In short, Skinwalker Ranch is said to be the most paranormal spot on the planet. And if that isn’t enough, it’s also the one place on earth that has been examined more than any other, according to the storytellers. Billionaire Robert Bigelow had even acquired the ranch in the 1990s and started an organization called National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS). This group Studied the land for years, and while they never came away with anything concrete, they sure documented some strange things.

“What kind of strange things?” You might ask—Sasquatch, Aliens, UFOs, Interdimensional Portals, Ghosts, and many more. It’s like a paranormal buffet. This new show on History Channel documents the most recent attempt to get to the bottom of what goes on at the ranch. The phenomenon, however, is not just tied to the several hundred acres of the ranch. It’s connected to the entire Uinta Basin in Utah. Most of the basin in the area in question is owned by a group called Adamantium Holdings LLC.

After a few attempts at trying to contact the owners of the property, Ben and I became only slightly frustrated. We decided to go out to the ranch ourselves. So I got a plane ticket, packed my bags, and Ben and I headed out for a weekend of hiking over the harsh Utah basin, where we encountered bizarre things. We were two Brothers on a mission to figure this thing out, and maybe our Masonic knowledge of philosophy and our understanding of the occult would allow us to view these phenomena in a new light.

A view from an undisclosed location overlooking the ranch. Notice that odd formation...

Over three days, Ben and I hiked all over the basin. I took about 500 photographs, hours of electromagnetic field readings, hours of radiation readings, and I recorded the whole time in audio. We will be writing a more extensive article for a new publication called The Esoteric Mason, which will begin publishing later this year. What will go into that magazine is quite a bit more than I can talk about here, and there will be some links so that you can listen to the audio as we hike 7 ½ miles across the Utah basin.

What, however, does Skinwalker Ranch and the paranormal have to do with Freemasonry? Perhaps it’s not so much what these things have to do with Freemasonry, but in the unlikely team-up of two Brothers from two different states, with our own publications and similar interests who would try to get to the bottom of this. I have no problem telling you right now that I believe Ben Williams and myself solved the mystery of the extremely high electromagnetic field readings in the basin.

What could we not explain? Ben and I could not explain some of the strange lights we saw in the sky. I couldn’t explain some of the shadow people that I saw in a field at dusk. We couldn’t explain the piles of animal bones on a section of a cliff. More will be revealed in the future. But for now, I want to let you all know that there is something strange afoot out there. Something I just can’t shake from my head is the rhythmic and low-frequency hum of the landscape in the dead of night. I hear it when I close my eyes.

Keep looking up.

~RHJ

RWB Johnson is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 2nd N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Spes Novum Lodge No. 1183. He is a Past Master of Waukegan Lodge 78 and a Past District Deputy Grand Master for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focuses on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry. He is the co-author of "It's Business Time - Adapting a Corporate Path for Freemasonry" and is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon.

Expect no applause

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Erik Marks

The 57th point of mind training is clear: a virtuous life is not about me or my self-aggrandizement. In my opinion, the teaching of Shantideva have a lot in common with, and to expand upon, the symbolic understanding of the practice of freemasonry. In attempting to fully live my obligations this year, I realized my eager acceptance to write for the Midnight Freemasons had more to do with my ego (in lay-person’s terms) than service to humanity. Therefore, please accept this post as my humble resignation. There are brothers with far more experience in both freemasonry and mental health to speak to the issues in life, culture, and our craft, than me.

I am grateful to Brothers Johnson, Creason, and Lahners for allowing me a platform to attempt to express how I believe Freemasonry is relevant to men in our current iteration of culture. For the handful of brothers I have come to know through this forum, I am tremendously grateful to have made your acquaintance and we will stay in touch. My aspiration for us all is to use the tools provided to examine our actions with unflinching honesty and to govern ourselves accordingly. SMIB.  

 

~EM

Brother Erik Marks is a clinical social worker whose usual vocation has been in the field of human services in a wide range of settings since 1990. He was raised in 2017 by his biologically younger Brother and then Worshipful Master in Alpha Lodge in Framingham, MA. You may contact brother Marks by email: erik@StrongGrip.org