A Mason's Work

Esotericism promises hidden power—but Masonry’s real strength comes from truths that have always been present. In this episode, we strip away the romantic fog of secrecy to uncover what remains when the illusion of “hidden knowledge” is gone. The conversation challenges listeners to anchor their work in what is real, enduring, and already within reach.
🔑 Key Takeaways
  • Hidden knowledge is less about secrecy and more about timeless truths that precede any system
  • Masonic work should focus on grounded transformation, not mystical performance
  • Peak performance in the Craft emerges from clarity, not concealment
💬 Featured Quotes
  • 0:00:14 – “Esotericism is nonsense.”
  • 0:00:21 – “What esotericism basically is, it suggests that there's hidden knowledge.”
  • 0:00:28 – “But what we need to understand as Masons is that while there may have been at one point codified hidden knowledge, the knowledge itself exists before the messaging of it.”
  • 0:00:49 – “They still existed. We have attached labels to them and then sometimes we hide those stories about the way the world works in these systems of esoteric hidden meanings.”
🔗 Explore Related Episodes
  • The Trowel: Building Connections That Last – Explores the role of connection and care in the Craft’s work.
  • The Square: Aligning Action With Virtue – Examines how right action and moral clarity keep us on the level.
  • Beyond the Apron: Living Freemasonry Outside the Lodge – Discusses how Masonic principles translate into everyday life.
   

Creators and 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.

So I was talking with a colleague from the lodge of the day and we got into the conversation

about esotericism.

And I want to make a couple things clear for the listeners here.

Esotericism is nonsense.

I know that's an aggressive statement.

What esotericism basically is, it suggests that there's hidden knowledge.

But what we need to understand as masons is that while there may have been at one point

codified hidden knowledge, the knowledge itself exists before the messaging of it.

For example, you look at the way human beings reproduce before we understood that there

were sperm and eggs and all of that.

They still existed.

We have attached labels to them and then sometimes we hide those stories about the way the world

works in these systems of esoteric hidden meanings.

But that is all haguash.

You will not develop magical powers.

You are not going to shoot laser beams out of your hands.

That's not what this is about.

It feels a lot like that.

As you approach peak performance, you see through all of the behavioral systems that are holding

you back, you're able to make a decision that look prescient, that look precognizant kind

of things.

You're able to make better decisions because you can see the systems of human behavior at

play.

But this is not to be confused with psychic friends network or any of that kind of space

wizardy stuff.

As you're looking at some of the esoteric stuff, understand that they're talking about working

with thoughts and emotions and behaviors.

They codified it because they did it because it was cool.

But also they did it in a lot of ways because the things that they were communicating in

some ways were heretical.

You had to hide the story or the message inside different systems of sort of cryptography,

ancient cryptography to keep large organizations of a religious nature or of a governmental

nature from getting up in your pursuit of the better version of yourself.

With all that said and the strong assertion that there is no esotericism, so understanding

that all of that messaging is essentially self-help materials just codified in different

ways.

What do you look for then?

Why would you go study this the hard way?

That's an awesome question.

What I would tell you in the terms of the esoteric pursuits is this.

You should work the developer yourself in conventional terms.

If time management is your issue, go get the time management books.

You find that you are impulse control is your issue.

Go get books and go watch YouTube's on how to manage impulse control.

Then as you pursue the esoteric sort of conversations, look for those echoes in the work you've

done.

What you might find is that they can deepen and enrich what you know.

But they again will not be meaningful or near as sort of useful study tools as what we

currently communicate.

It's an accessibility problem, right?

So if I have to go look at a picture and figure out what every single gesture and symbol

is, sort of, contacts that they're all implying, essentially you've just made it really hard

to go get that information for no real extra benefit, right?

So when we start looking at this esoteric information and this esoteric content, don't

dismiss essentially backfilling from a place of higher knowledge.

Go watch your favorite YouTubers, go look for information that's been validated scientifically

or validated by your own personal experience and then evaluate that esoteric content for

residents, see what you get.

And in that way, you'll be able to turn this esoteric, overblown encoding into something

sort of functional and useful and practical for you.