Aegslenaarthes
Bluelighter
I've been interested in Freemasonry for a very long time. Unfortunately there's a lot of obscure/exaggerated claims out there which I could never be certain are true or false. I often think the values on the surface are a good idea, and being an agnostic I'm not too fussed about saying that I believe in a supreme being. Given the vague identification within Masonic entry requirements of 'supreme being' that could very easily be myself, this is something I know to exist (at least in this dimension) and therefore believe. My mind is open always when it comes to philosophy, but not so to McPhilosophy (e.g. organised religion) - I just think that this is far too idealist and a well formed life philosophy is based more on personal discovery, interpretation in my opinion and observation, rather than just teachings of morals and values. As for fundamentalism, I'm not even going to go there.
I like the values that Freemasonry advertises on the surface, and have a very good opportunity to join them and get to know 'the craft' coming my way quite soon. That's never been a problem for me, until now.
As above, I'm an agnostic. This begins to open up a problem for me that verges on the brink of a spiritual dilemma, for it is often said that the rites of initiation in many degrees of Freemasonry involve submitting ones self to curses where evil spirits are both attracted to pour in the body, or certain vital parts of the body. While it is said that curses can be renounced, I am quite put off by doing so in the name of "Jesus Christ" and wonder if this is a result of things like opposition from the Catholic church and other religious groups.
I have always been open to the idea of spirituality, or what I believe to be my interpretation of spirituality. There is just not enough evidence available in this reality for us to truly know. While there is absence of evidence of spirituality and/or a supreme being (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I welcome it), I cannot take this as evidence of absence and so would not like to be taking on any curses anytime soon since if I am open to the idea of spirits I must accept that there are those good and bad spirits as well.
This is a legitimate concern to more people that I had once thought. I have had atheists sit there and tell me about their understanding of the universe, quantum phsyics etc etc and explain to me how there is no god, or at least a certain interpretation of god, and no spirits, just this and nothing else. That said, plenty of people amongst them have also told me to keep a permanently wide berth from ever having anything to do with the Ouija board. Is this just hypocrisy? Or is there really a fear that the body or the mind cannot let go, even after accepting the perfectly understandable reasons to be an atheist or nontheistic by nature?
I have always wanted to talk to a medium, get a reading. There are a lot of phenomena surrounding me that warrant such an investigation. I have been interested in Ouija board, because I just want to know something beyond. I get a lot of funny looks when I say this, and profound serious warnings of abandon hope all ye who enter here.
I cannot live from the spook stories of others because of the lack of ever experiencing anything I can reasonably interpret as supernatural myself, aside from little things which put curiosity firmly in mind. I am very mindful of how easy it is to succumb to confirmation bias and a misinterpretation of co-incidences, especially when such a misinterpretation occurs in others through their stories to me. I also have a very good knack of rooting out cold readers, so I am sceptical about seeing a medium too although I have never found the right kind of place or people to go and do this.
Back to my original musing, if Freemasonry is not cursed and I'm not going to attract misery and suffering on myself, family and friends then I would be very interested in joining to personally develop myself, get to know people and live a more charitable life, maybe make some new friends as this year marks a huge change for me. Yes I may be breaking the law at times and therefore bringing myself into disrepute (contrary to membership requirements) but there's just certain shit in this life you don't go around telling people. I'm not a bondsman either but that's debatable since I'm currently on Jobseeker's Allowance.
However, if there is something untoward, or there would be something I could be deeply missing I would like to know now rather than regret it later. I cannot weigh this one up so the scales are on the table for you, feel free to add the missing pieces to the balance 8(
I like the values that Freemasonry advertises on the surface, and have a very good opportunity to join them and get to know 'the craft' coming my way quite soon. That's never been a problem for me, until now.
As above, I'm an agnostic. This begins to open up a problem for me that verges on the brink of a spiritual dilemma, for it is often said that the rites of initiation in many degrees of Freemasonry involve submitting ones self to curses where evil spirits are both attracted to pour in the body, or certain vital parts of the body. While it is said that curses can be renounced, I am quite put off by doing so in the name of "Jesus Christ" and wonder if this is a result of things like opposition from the Catholic church and other religious groups.
I have always been open to the idea of spirituality, or what I believe to be my interpretation of spirituality. There is just not enough evidence available in this reality for us to truly know. While there is absence of evidence of spirituality and/or a supreme being (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I welcome it), I cannot take this as evidence of absence and so would not like to be taking on any curses anytime soon since if I am open to the idea of spirits I must accept that there are those good and bad spirits as well.
This is a legitimate concern to more people that I had once thought. I have had atheists sit there and tell me about their understanding of the universe, quantum phsyics etc etc and explain to me how there is no god, or at least a certain interpretation of god, and no spirits, just this and nothing else. That said, plenty of people amongst them have also told me to keep a permanently wide berth from ever having anything to do with the Ouija board. Is this just hypocrisy? Or is there really a fear that the body or the mind cannot let go, even after accepting the perfectly understandable reasons to be an atheist or nontheistic by nature?
I have always wanted to talk to a medium, get a reading. There are a lot of phenomena surrounding me that warrant such an investigation. I have been interested in Ouija board, because I just want to know something beyond. I get a lot of funny looks when I say this, and profound serious warnings of abandon hope all ye who enter here.
I cannot live from the spook stories of others because of the lack of ever experiencing anything I can reasonably interpret as supernatural myself, aside from little things which put curiosity firmly in mind. I am very mindful of how easy it is to succumb to confirmation bias and a misinterpretation of co-incidences, especially when such a misinterpretation occurs in others through their stories to me. I also have a very good knack of rooting out cold readers, so I am sceptical about seeing a medium too although I have never found the right kind of place or people to go and do this.
Back to my original musing, if Freemasonry is not cursed and I'm not going to attract misery and suffering on myself, family and friends then I would be very interested in joining to personally develop myself, get to know people and live a more charitable life, maybe make some new friends as this year marks a huge change for me. Yes I may be breaking the law at times and therefore bringing myself into disrepute (contrary to membership requirements) but there's just certain shit in this life you don't go around telling people. I'm not a bondsman either but that's debatable since I'm currently on Jobseeker's Allowance.
However, if there is something untoward, or there would be something I could be deeply missing I would like to know now rather than regret it later. I cannot weigh this one up so the scales are on the table for you, feel free to add the missing pieces to the balance 8(
