Gaylord Z. Thomas, 32°
1212 Tanglewood Trace, O'Fallon, Illinois 62269–3111
zeeby@shrineclowns.com

Masonry is the best self-help agent available to the good man wishing to be better in the new millennium.

People today are energized by the prospect of self-improvement! The Franklin–Covey Institute in Salt Lake City is sending out a message to the world about What Matters Most and teaching The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Anthony Robbins is packing them in for his Results seminars. People desire and search for ways to self-improve, and they pay a lot of money to have the chance to do so. Masonry has been teaching it for a long time, at least three centuries by the written record and since time immemorial according to tradition. We have more to offer, when we do it right, because these one-day seminars, as good as they are, are only temporary. Freemasonry, in contrast, is a lifelong process of reinforcement, repetition, and encouragement that takes place every time we initiate, pass, and raise a new member or attend a Masonic meeting.

So, why aren't people excited about Masonry and beating down our doors to hear our message? Have we lost the real "secrets" of our brotherhood? Have we lost our fundamental teaching, self-improvement through education?

When I became a Mason, I remember one of the Brothers standing up at the end of the meeting and saying: "Masonry is like your wallet. You won't get anything out of it, unless you put something into it." It all begins with the individual. He must bring the desire to grow, and we must go beyond memorizing ritual to realizing fully what the ritual means. The rate an individual discovers Masonry's values and accepts them as his life's goals differs from person to person. Yet each Brother must become aware that he makes choices in his life, and that his choices should reflect his values and personal goals, not so much what others think of him or wish him to do. Masonry does not tell us what our values are, but causes us to reflect and discover them for ourselves. This is the foundation on which other lessons are built. As an Entered Apprentice represents a youthful man entering the world to become a more active living and thinking person, he craves direction and "light." In the Degrees, we symbolically assist with these life steps. We spur thought in this man groping in his own moral and mental darkness. We help him realize his own values and point him in a path that leads to duty and God.

On the scale of what individuals have control of, our own self is the one thing we control the most. People who do not know themselves and what's important to them are not as trustworthy as those who do, and you cannot mask how well you know yourself. It shows. The self-confident person who knows where he's going and knows what his values tell him to do in various situations usually exhibits a calm in all situations. Those who are not as sure of themselves do not exhibit this same kind of calm.

As this type of calm is recognized by others, they come to depend on this person. He begins to have more influence in his interpersonal relationships. It all starts with the individual and his own desire to realize his values. Thus Freemasonry starts in the Entered Apprentice Degree with the individual, asking him questions and laying the required foundation. As Albert Pike wrote in Morals and Dogma, Masonry's purpose is "to teach men to know and practice their duties to themselves and their fellows, the great practical end of all philosophy and all knowledge."

We teach our Masonic lessons by degrees or steps. The steps, essentially, are to look within; discover your values; determine to live up to them; and then make all our actions consistent with these new values. This is known as building a character ethic, a life philosophy which creates sound relationships by practicing right principles.

The symbols of our Degrees have helped the Fraternity capture the important lessons, the basics. Our mentors and coaches should expand on these basics, adding personal experience and knowledge. It is then up to the individual to apply these principles—live them and share their own examples of application. This cycle of learning and then teaching these lessons reinforces what we have learned. As you explain something, the light becomes even brighter.

What are some of the deeper lessons, in lay terms, possible in our Working Tools? The Twenty-Four Inch Gauge surely teaches key lessons—balance in our lives, time management, prioritization—the substance of every self-improvement course today. The Common Gavel represents moderation, the Plumb uprightness, the Square virtue and morality, the Level equality, the Trowel spreading good example within the Compass of our circle of influence. There are numerous other symbols, and these are but possibilities to consider among deeper meanings to be discovered by the individual.

In Freemasonry, the individual takes an honest look at himself, maybe for the first time in his life. We are accustomed to tuning in to what other people think about us, listening to what others say and how they act towards us. We overlook the fact that this is their opinion and very well could be wrong. They only see our outside. Our values are within. We know more about ourselves than these reflections could possibly capture. It is more important that we act based on our own perception of ourselves—our values—rather than what other people seem to think about us.

As we begin to act based on our solid, self-realized values, we exhibit a higher level of integrity and maturity. Couple this with good balance and an assumed level of competence (knowledge and ability in our chosen careers, for example), and the trust others place in us will naturally increase. Our interpersonal circle of influence will enlarge. It doesn't happen overnight. Trust is gained by many acts and lost by only one.

The goal of Masonry, then, is truly to make good men better. If we reach a man in the Degrees and cause him to realize his own values and commit to taking responsibility for them as he makes his life's choices, then Masonry has succeeded. But, are these lessons coming through? Do our members leave our Degrees and get the coaching they need to embark on this improvement process? Perhaps in some Lodges more so than in others. We must never forget, however, that this is the purpose of the Craft, and it is our obligation to understand and to be even more dedicated to that purpose than any of the many self-improvement courses sought by men today. Tested by time and proven by generations of Brethren, Freemasonry is the best self-help agent available to the good man wishing to be better in the new millennium.