I had originally planned to begin witting about my perceptions and experiences with freemasonry prior to my initiation. I found this difficult to do, as I was no longer really in the same frame of mind as the events that led up to my initiation. I, in fact, just last night became an entered apprentice in Island City lodge no.215. Last night a fellow brother asked me more than once, after the initiation had ended, how it was. Given how instrumental his role in my becoming a Mason has been, I didn’t feel that I had answered his question in the manner he was hoping for. To be honest, I feel that the enormity of it all is only hitting me at this very moment.
While during the ceremony there were very audible clues that made me feel that I was in another place, it was not until this morning that it began to feel as though I had been both in another place and time. It was a feeling that I had been transported and was living or reliving, to a degree, the experiences of all those men who had been through this initiation before me. There were certain parts of the initiation, in conjunction with the language used, that not only lent itself to that feeling of another time and place, but also made me want to learn more about motions and meanings behind what I was going through.
It’s hard to explain all that is involved with the initiation. This is not solely because it is a secret ceremony. I think it is because that while all before have been through the same steps, it truely is an individual perception of the event that you are left with. Based on the advice of a friend and now brother, I did my best to avoid readings that dealt with any sort of explanation or description of the initiation so that I could truly experience it as it should be. Granted along the way I came across certain bits of ignorant information that most were likely put out there to install fear or misgivings about Masonry. For the record I fail to see how anything thing that I have I experienced in my initiation could have elicited such a response.
I truly feel like I have become a part of something larger and greater than just myself. It’s a long road ahead but it’s a journey that I look forward to continuing.
Welcome to the fraternity! I am just going through my Fellow Craft Degree in a few days time and I’m looking forward to reading about your experiences. You experiences during your Entered Apprentice degree are somewhat similar to mine. The word that I used was “surreal” in describing mine.
Best of luck in your Masonic future.
Comment by Shoes and Grenades — March 22, 2007 @ 7:37 pm