I am a Master Mason. I was raised to the Sublime Degree of Masonry on November 12, 2002 at Old West Lodge #813 in Newhall, California.
I was dubbed a Knight Templar on October 2, 2004 in the Los Angeles Commandery #9. The Order of the Knights Templar was 886 years old in 2004.
Masonry does not recruit. You have to seek Masonry out and ask to be considered for membership.
The basic requirements
to be considered for membership as a Mason consist of two questions
only. One need not elaborate upon their answers. These are simple
yes or
no questions:
Do you
believe in God?
Do you
believe in an Afterlife?
If you answer “no” to
either question, the interview is over; you will never even be
considered for membership as a Mason.
It is interesting to
look at the people who belong to Masonry. Given the powerful people
throughout history who have been Masons, Masonry’s two key questions
become of interest: Why do the beliefs in God and an afterlife form the
pillars through which one enters Masonry?
I will give you my
answer in terms of my teaching only. Although I am a Mason, I do not
speak for Masonry, any of its concordant bodies, nor for any of my
worthy brother Masons. I speak only for myself. Furthermore, I am not
any kind of Masonic authority. Although I greatly admire the man and his
work, I am hardly the Worshipful Albert Pike.
GOD AND
THE AFTERLIFE
Essentially, belief in God and an afterlife are characteristics required to interact with Divine Power. I do not qualify this term here on my website, but rather discuss the Divinities in great detail in my book. I unapologetically believe in, and have directly experienced the Spiritual World. Through good times and bad, my existential, real, and actual relationship to Divine Power has been true for my entire life. While the outward forms of my beliefs and relationship to Divine Power have changed throughout my life as I deepened in my Realization of the Divine Nature, the centrality of my faith has never changed. For me, there is nothing but the Divine in all of its temporal, phenomenal forms. In my particular case, I was called to Masonry by a series of extraordinary dreams.
There is a spiritual World and groups such as Masonry open doors into that World through initiation by degree. If one does not believe that a spiritual World exists, then it is pointless for them to do spiritual work, particularly initiatory work focused on death, burial, and resurrection. Such work aims to awaken the individual so that he or she can become available for even higher levels of spiritual instruction. These two requirements are not unique to Masonry but go back thousands of years into the Mystery Schools. One of the keys to activating inner power is based upon these beliefs being sincerely held and practiced.
I am not opposed to Atheism. Indeed, if I had to choose between conventional religion and Atheism, I would be an Atheist. Fortunately, I have an unconventional, mind-blowing alternative form of spirituality. My book is a vivid journey that takes you to the center of the secrets and mysteries I learned in the course of my search for Spiritual Enlightenment.