It has been almost a year for me since I entered the mysteries of Freemasonry.  July 27th will mark my first year as a Master Mason and it is one of those occasions that will stick with me for the rest of my life. What I found most remarkable about this adventure was that all of my preconceived notions about “the craft” were, of course, incorrect.  Unless you’ve actually been through the process, you can’t really appreciate what it means for those who take it upon themselves to join this ancient order of brothers.

Freemasonry is not what most people think, especially since its been sensationalized so much in books, movies and the media.  It is absolutely exciting in its own way, but we don’t spend our time guarding the lost bloodline of Christ or vast treasures hidden beneath our nations capital.  But, we do guard a certain intangible treasure, more valuable than all the gold in King Solomon’s mines; the treasure of brotherhood, truth and unconditional love. I had thought that these concepts were in danger of vanishing from the face of our beautiful planet, but now I know that they are alive and well in the hearts and minds of those I call “brother”.

As I sit here writing this article, looking at the square and compasses over my desk, I smile recalling the night I made it Master Mason.  Each of the steps I’ve taken along this path have been memorable, partly because of what was involved in getting me there, but mostly because from the moment I first stepped into the lodge as an initiate I am always surrounded by people who are genuinely happy to see me and who have never treated me as a “stranger”.  My brothers give willingly of their time to bring others into the craft, not for money or personal gain, but to help us all become better individuals. Beyond the lodge, they continue to build a sturdy foundation for all the world to build upon, a foundation built with the strongest stones of morality and truth.  There is nothing about my life that has not changed and improved as a result of my membership in the lodge.  I see the world with a compassionate and patient gaze, realizing the totality of my participation in the whole of society.  For me, Freemasonry represents all the best qualities of being a man, of being a HUman.  My path to Master Mason reminds me to be more cognizant of my interactions with my peers, friends and family.  The lessons I have learned have helped me through rough times, lighting the way to the end of the tunnel in times of darkness.

The Lodge I belong to is located in Colonial Williamsburg, one of three privately owned buildings in the historic town.  Whenever I go to the lodge, the entire experience intensifies for me since we’re steeped in such a historically rich area.  Some of the members of my lodge are characters for the Colonial Williamsburg experience, such as a brother who plays George Washington, one of the most famous American Masons.  Though our lodge has been rebuilt over the years, time ravaging all things, it still retains that air of history and mystery from the 1700s, in which it was originally built.

Being a Mason, whether I’m in Lodge or in my home, has enriched my life beyond the ability for words to articulate.  The lessons and experiences keep me warm even when I am not there.  I know that no matter how long I stay away, as life has a way of pulling us in so many directions, I can walk into my Lodge, or any other Lodge in the world, and I will be welcomed as brother and friend.  I know that I can implicitly trust any of my brothers and I know that when I am in trouble, they will be there.  And they know that when they are in trouble I will be there. 

Freemasonry is not what you think.  It has its “secrets” and “mysteries”, which I will not reveal to you because that is not our way.  But, again, the secrets are not what you would expect and they have no meaning when they are simply printed.  The mysteries are not written down because words are not enough, words are seldom enough, to completely articulate what it means to be called “brother”.  There are many books on Masonry, such as “Born in Blood” and “The Idiots Guide to Freemasonry”, which is where I began my journey.  The best way to understand and learn about Freemasonry is by talking to a Mason. 

If you are interested in Freemasonry, I have a few words to consider before you seek out myself or my brothers.

-- Do not worry about how much time you can commit, but understand about how much of your heart you can share. 

-- Do not worry about the dangers of the rituals, but understand that you are always among friends. 

-- And do not worry about embracing the path blindly, but understand that your inner light will guide the way.

To be a mason, you must be a man over 18, you must believe in a supreme being, and you must be sponsored by two Master Masons.  Being a mason is much more than showing up for a meeting, turning in an application and paying your dues.  In the beginning, just as when Deity created the universe and all its wonder, your path to Master Mason will require work before you can rest on grass among brothers.

I have really tried to curb my commentary on the war, because its such a touchy subject.  I have met and interacted with many people directly and indirectly affected in this war.  I have friends with family in Baghdad, I have friends who have done two tours in Iraq, I have colleagues that have done time in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I have colleagues who lived in Iraq and Pakistan.  It is impossible for me to personally get away from this war, even if I boycott the news media.

Now, as it seems, we are starting a secret war on Iran, and the Iranians are waging a secret war on Iraq. (Though they aren’t too secret, are they?) When are we going to realize that we are in a stalemate situation?  There comes a point in any endeavor where you should evaluate the chance of success and the risks associated with continuing that endeavor.  At this point, we have a very slim chance of doing anything good in that region, from Israel to Afghanistan.  We are making small victories at the price of our credibility in the world community.  I feel horribly for all the young people we’ve sent off to a lost cause.  It is obvious that our troops are coming back with physical wounds and significant mental damage. 

One of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in the last few months was a conversation with a young man who has been to Iraq, twice.  He told myself and my wife a story about a raid gone bad where he was involved in a sweep through buildings in Baghdad.  He and his squad came into a house where there was a family living, possibly harboring an insurgent.  When they tried to corral the family to question them, they scattered and tried to escape.  One young women, who was followed by the solider I spoke with, ran for her room and tried to grab some sort of weapon from a nightstand.  The solider was forced to shoot her in the chest, ending her life.  And it was clear to me that something died in this soldier with that woman.  War is not hell, its the devil himself.  The solider constantly reminded himself, and us, that he had no choice. But it was very clear that it wasn’t us he was trying to convince.

The Iraq war has begun to escalate into a festering wound of misdirection, apathy and greed.  Our troops, our children, are being used to fight in the name of conjecture.  And though we lament the war, protesting and boycotting, we are in our 7th year and no end in sight, a long season in hell. It is more apparent to me now, more than ever, that there simply is no good reaction to a warlike action.  We must find ways to peacefully resolve these persistent issues.  But, what is more important, is that we need to start paying more attention to what is happening in our own country so that we can lead the way in a more global sense.  How can we be the model when we have so many issues within our own borders?

When you get down to the root of all this strife in the world, with few exceptions, it all comes back to our perception of What God Wants.  And as the saying goes, perception is reality. So we perceive that the embodiment of Love, wants us to kill others who have a different perception.  Does war beget love?  Its obvious that love can beget war, as we’ve seen throughout history, from Helen of Troy on down. And how can we be so arrogant that we have any concept of What God Wants?  We don’t even know what we want.

So, Iran, our enduring nemesis, has once again lured us into machinations that will ultimately end in some conflict.  If we do proceed with the attack on Iran, it is not going to fix anything.  We need to stop supporting Israel’s poor decisions and we need to start admonishing them for their theocratic views.  Muslims and Jews can live together in peace and harmony, but the question was never “can” but “do they want”.  It is clear to me that there will be no peace in that region as long as we continue to throw money, fuel, on the fire of a long standing feud in the name of god.  I am not the least bit anti-Semitic, but I do think that we need to start letting Israel be accountable, alone, for their inability to compromise.  If we continue to openly support Israel, no matter how absurd their stance is, we will all suffer.  Of this you can be sure.

Life with the rest of humanity is a series of compromises.  No one should be exempt from this simple fact.

I've seen several alarmist news articles over the past few months pertaining to the evils of the new Large Hadron Collider, schedules to begin operations this summer near Geneva, Switzerland.  Many people are erroneously reporting that the LHC has a very real potential of bringing about “Doomsday” since one of the goals is to create mini black holes.  Of course, since Black Holes have been largely vilified because we simple do not understand their purpose, other than cosmic vacuum cleaners.  However, it is reckless for the media to continually present these conjectures as if they were foregone conclusions. 

The fact of the matter is that the LHC represents a huge achievement for mankind and science, as well as an opportunity to discover key attributes of our universe.  We’ve been laboring under the disjointed Standard Model for many decades now and it is time that we start to look at ways to prove the string theories so that we can gain a clearer understanding of the fabric of our cosmos.

Unfortunately, most people will not understand the theories and hypothesis behind the LHC, nor will the understand the findings.  But everyone understands that black holes = bad.  As I’ve mentioned several times before, the media does not present the entire context of their stories.  I cannot tell you how infuriating it is to see people misled by contrived news stories, meant only to get people to buy the paper, while the aftermath is continued doubt and suspicion towards the scientific community.

I felt that it was important that I blog about this today, whether my opinion gets circulated or not.  There are many scientific papers on this particular subject and it is important the people understand the truth.

If you’d like to contribute to this project, visit the LHC@Home webs ite to devote some of your CPU to the processing of this important data.