Senior Master Of Ceremonies: Guarding the Mind's Door

Unlock the symbolic world of Masonic roles and their parallels to mental processes in this thought-provoking episode. We dive into the Senior Master of Ceremonies' role, exploring how it mirrors the art of filtering ideas and knowledge for self-improvement. Tune in for a unique perspective on mental discipline, akin to guarding the doors of a Masonic Lodge!

Key Points
• Senior Master as mental gatekeeper
• Testing ideas for life's purpose
• Fostering mental protocols
• Analogs to Masonic processes
• Filtering for lodge harmony

Best Quotes
00:02 - 00:10
• "In our exploration of the Masonic roles in the lodge and how they represent analogs for essentially the interior functions."

00:39 - 00:55
• "The examining room door is a lodge, a room in the lodge where anyone that needs to be tested to determine if they're a mason has to go through and they go through that door."

02:35 - 02:45
• "That examination function essentially is designed to help validate external data for fit, for purposeness, for the lodge."

03:00 - 03:13
• "So do I let, do I let this new understanding about the way the world works relative to my life's work, do I allow it to inform my decisions or not?"

03:42 - 03:51
• "The senior master so's responsibility in the lodge is a function that a lot of us have not cultivated well in our mental sort of analog lodge."

04:01 - 04:09
• "You might need to develop your own set of tests for, do I let this information in what, you know, what are the criteria for allowing it to inform my behaviors and my decisions."

04:27 - 04:36
• "You might want to create your own protocols for managing that moving forward so you can activate your own internal senior master ceremonies."

Creators & Guests

Host

Brian Mattocks

Host and Founder of A Mason's Work - a podcast designed to help you use symbolism to grow. He's been working in the craft for over a decade and served as WM, trustee, and sat in every appointed chair in a lodge - at least once :D

What is A Mason's Work?

In this show we discuss the practical applications of masonic symbolism and how the working tools can be used to better yourself, your family, your lodge, and your community. We help good freemasons become better men through honest self development. We talk quite a bit about mental health and men's issues related to emotional and intellectual growth as well.

00:02
In our exploration of the Masonic roles in the lodge and how they represent analogs for essentially the interior functions. I want to start with, we, we've, we've already discussed the worshipful master a little bit. We'll be coming back to that for sure over the next several episodes. But I wanna start with one that's perhaps a little bit less expected. And I wanna start with the, the role of the senior master ceremonies. Now in the Pennsylvania al, the Senior Master ceremonies responsibility is to guard the examining room door. The examining room door is a lodge, a room in the lodge where anyone that needs to be tested to determine if they're a mason has to go through and they go through that door. There's a committee that's assigned, and in that committee they are essentially tested on their masonic sort of chops. And if it's appropriate, they allow them into the body of the open lodge.

01:09
Now, I, if you look at that function for, for just a few minutes, I think you'll find that that is essentially the, an analysis function of, in a mental context, that's an analysis function that is a, a testing function to determine whether or not a concept or an idea can help you with your true purpose. So is it going to bring harmony or add value to the body of the open lodge? Now, in, in sort of broad Masonic terms, you know, the worshipful master has the right to admit or deny anyone into the body of the open lodge, so long as they are first and foremost a mason. Now, if they are not mess, if they're not amazing, they're not allowed in the body of the open lodge. The same thing's true here with the examining room. We examine only, only for sort of Masonic validation.

02:07
And as you go through this process to determine what's allowed in the body of your open lodge, what's allowed in your mental landscape, what are you allowed to consider as evidence, what are you allowed to bring in to that sacred space? You can really dig in there and determine in many ways what data to consume, what knowledge to pursue, what facts to allow all of those. That examination function essentially is designed to help validate external data for fit, for purposeness, for the lodge. Now, this is different than saying, letting external stimulus in letting, let's say news, for example, from your external landscape in this is strictly speaking about letting higher

02:59
Purpose level content in. So do I let, do I let this new understanding about the way the world works relative to my life's work, do I allow it to inform my decisions or not? That that's, that's a hyper-specific focus relative to the work. Rather than just saying, do I, do I listen to, to that dude over there? Or do I go pick up a book? This is taking a book that may be written about your life's work, your focus, your, your personal subject, and, and evaluating that book as fitness to inform your behavior. The senior master so's responsibility in the lodge is a function that a lot of us have not cultivated well in our mental sort of analog lodge. And so as you sit down to do this, you might wanna develop some protocols, some tests, just in the same way that we have tests in the examining room.

04:01
You might need to develop your own set of tests for, do I let this information in what, you know, what are the, what are the criteria for allowing it to inform my behaviors and my decisions so that you can essentially prevent, you know, malicious actors, folks that don't belong, ideas that don't belong, concepts that don't belong into your lodge landscape, your personal circle, whatever you might want to consider that responsibility to be, you might want to create your own protocols for managing that moving forward so you can activate your own internal senior master ceremonies. We'll get into more of this in future episodes. Talk soon.