Asking for help is the manly thing to do.

Making a good man better ...

It takes a real man to ask for help.  As men, in my generation, we were taught that men suck it up and deal with their problems.  We had images of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson and their super macho swaggers shown to us over and over.  I remember being told, boys dont cry or if you want to crt, ill give you something to cry about, all common sayings in my era.  If you were in the military, it was re-inforced, almost to the point where you become un-emotional.  You are the stoic rock that can be depended on under stress.  You learn to control...or rather suppress your negative emotions very well so that you can function under pressure.

Years of bottling this stuff up has a very negative effect over time and in men, it is even more difficult to diagnose.

One of the biggest things a man can do is seek help.  Veterans, seek out a brother veteran that knows what you have been through.  Brother Masons, seek out a true and trusted brother.  Anyone, EAP at work is a great option, programs at your local medical center, etc.  There is no reason to not seek out that help.

It isnt about sucking it up, it IS about dealing with it, in the proper way.  Hiding from it, denying it, just makes the monster bigger and harder to deal with.

Andrew Solomon: Depression, the secret we share | Video on TED.com:



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Wayfarers Lodge #1001 AF & AM

In November of 2013 I was blessed by being elected as Worshipful Master of Wayfarers Lodge #1001 AF&AM.  To date, it has been a great experience with some of the best Brothers, a man can ask for.

We started off the year with a brilliant installation ceremony that was open to friends, family and the community.  Doric hall was a buzz of activity and the formal installation was well received by all those in attendance.

from that point, we have been quite busy as a Lodge and Brothers are coming out to support their Lodge, Brothers who we haven't seen in some time.  We have put on some quality degrees and have had a great time with Carson's days at the last sale day, and one more to come in March!

January, we kicked off some Masonic Education, featuring Brother Charles Harper Sr., author of Freemasonry in Black and White.  We had a full house and a discussion that lasted until 11pm and could have gone longer.  I was impressed with the turn out and didn't think we could top that.

February, we hosted Sigma Chi Fraternity from both Loyola and Northwestern Universities.  Dinner was put on by Justin Langwell and got rave reviews by all those in attendance.  After dinner, we moved up to Doric Hall, our home, as Wayfarers.  It was standing room only.  Brothers Frank Welter and Russ Schlosser educated us on Masonry and the Knights Templar, which was a treat.  Once again, another successful event, put on and attended by our Lodge and visitors from the area.  Thanks to members from Oriental Lodge, Evans Lodge, Bloomington Lodge, and even Sigma Chi members who are Brothers from Lodges out of state, who we have invited to visit!

Coming up!  March we need to focus on Degrees.  We need to put on a third degree, we have some new petitions, so some firsts for sure.  Dave Woods has his work cut out for him.

April, we will host a Past Masters and Awards Night.  The showcase will be the Illinois York Rite College #15 putting on the Society of Past Masters Degree for all our Past Masters.   This is a new chair degree, open for all to see, just approved by the Grand Master and written by the Grand High Priest.  

May, we will host the New Presentation of the Cup of Brotherly Love.  To introduce the Masonic tenets of Truth, Charity and Brotherly Love to the new Masons who have yet to experience the Cup and its tremendous story.

June and July, I can assure you that we will have degrees and programs to keep the momentum going and to give you as Wayfaring men value for your membership.  To feed your enquiring Masonic Minds, that education which you have been seeking.  August, we will not go dark, I intend to maintain consistency and hold Special Meetings on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, I am certain we will need to put on degrees.

Not too long after that, My Masonic year will be over.  The time flies by, but we will not let up.  I assure you that we will continue to host Masonic Education and discussion, put on quality degrees and then pass the torch to s Senior Warden who is just as motivated to keep and maintain this momentum.  My hope is to make Wayfarers the premier Lodge on the North Shore.  To be the Lodge in the area that brings brothers together in unity, through our diversity.  To take all the good we each have to offer and  do what the Craft preaches, to make good men better, by sharing all our best qualities as Brothers with Brothers and Fellows. To bring Brotherhood back to the Lodge and walk the walk as we travel to the light, together as Wayfaring Men.

The First Degree and the Path of the Mythological Hero

  As I reflected on my recent initiation to the First Degree in Masonry, I remembered a book I had read years ago. In Joseph Campbell’s magnum opus, The Hero With A Thousand Faces, the eternal path of the hero in mythology is laid out. Campbell wrote, “The standard path of the mythological adventure of the hero is a magnification of the formula represented in the rites of passage: separation—initiation—return." In the First Degree initiation, the candidate follows that well-worn path of the mythological hero.   

  Like all the great heroes of folktales, myth, and religion, the candidate being initiated into Masonry travels out of the sphere of the familiar into an expanse of the supernatural. Extraordinary responsibilities are taken on and a significant triumph is won. The hero returns from his mystifying journey with a great boon.

    The story of the Great Struggle of the Buddha is a representative example of the typical hero adventure that recurs in cultures all over the world.  Prior to setting out on his quest, the young prince dressed himself in the robes of a monk. He then left his fortune behind and began his adventure as a beggar. A candidate begins his quest for light in Masonry neither naked nor clad. Like the Buddha donning humble robes, this is done because Masonry regards no one for his worldly wealth or honors. Just as the Buddha left his fortune behind, a candidate is first divested of anything of a metallic nature, having any intrinsic worth. Like the Buddha and other heroes, the candidate begins his journey in an extremely poor and penniless state – entirely destitute.

  A candidate in Masonry prepares himself to leave the mundane world and enter the “Ground Floor of King Solomon's Temple“. This preparation is done in a room adjacent to a regularly constituted lodge of Masons.  “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors.” The candidate first meets with resistance at the doors, but afterward gains admission to a supernatural space. The space is not of the work-a-day-world, but rather it is a space erected to God. This ends the separation portion of the hero’s journey and the initiation phase begins.

  As the moment of the Buddha’s enlightenment drew near, Kama-Mara, the force of love and death, met him with the points of a razor-sharp instrument – a discus. The Buddha responded by reaching out and touching the ground in a prayer to the Divine. His trust being in God, his faith was well founded. His antagonist was overcome and the Buddha could proceed fearing no danger. The parallels in this part of the story are obvious and clear.

  Following this success, night fell. In total darkness, the Buddha sat with a firm and steadfast resolution on the Immovable Spot beneath the Bo Tree. He had undergone a strict trial and he had not been moved. As the first light of the sun crept over the horizon, the Buddha experienced perfect enlightenment. The candidate being initiated to the First Degree in Masonry, hoodwinked in darkness, must also obligate himself to be steadfast and unmovable. Following the solemn oath, the candidate is brought to light.   

  It was not enough for the Buddha to have enlightenment; he then had to “return to the cities of men where he moved among the citizens of the world.” After receiving light, an Entered Apprentice Mason is reconducted to the place whence he came. The return of the enlightened hero to the mundane world is the concluding part of the adventure.

  The Buddha’s story is only one of many that detail the hero’s quest. The myth of the Greek Titan Prometheus stealing and returning with fire or the familiar tale of Moses ascending the mountain to receive the rule of his faith are but two more examples. All Entered Apprentice Masons have shared an experience with each other and with the immortal heroes of myth, legend, and the great religions. The path of the hero - separation, initiation, and return - is one that is familiar to all who have been introduced into the first principles of Masonry.

Sources:

·         Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. 2nd edition, Princeton University Press, 1968.

·         Duncan, Malcom.  Duncan's Ritual and Monitor. 1.0 edition, Evinity Publishing Inc, 2009.