opened eyes

First things first. I had heard about Masons my whole life and had no idea what they were. I understood stone cutting masons, but I had no idea what this mysterious creature, the Freemason, was. All I knew was that only men could be a Freemason. So I figured, if I can't be one, I don't really need to know that much.

Then I met a lady, and slowly our conversations started to gravitate towards philosophical topics. She knew a lot and I always enjoyed our talks. Over time the things she was discussing with me seemed to be pointing towards there being some group in which she was involved. I asked her what she was talking about and she said Freemasonry. Of course I said, "but you're a female!" She just laughed. It turns out that all of those silly masculine Masons were perpetuating a mistaken belief. Women could be Masons and there were many out there.

I applied to the Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry in December of 2008. My first time in Lodge was in February of 2009. It was pretty cool, a bit unnerving, but a great experience.

One thing to note is the use of the word "American." This does not mean the USA alone, it means the Americas, i.e. South, Central, and North. There are Lodges all over the place. There are many more masculine Lodges, but my personal opinion is that this is due to masculine Masons being far more inclined to recruiting, while this Co-Masonic order tends to wait for the people to show up. When I was at headquarters, I had the opportunity of looking around the library and there was all kinds of memorabilia. The earliest documentation I found was for 1916, I believe, showing the Order's status as a not-for-profit organization, so they've been around for quite a while.

You can find all kinds of things all over the internet in regards to Masonry. Some Orders seem to be free with information that would be considered protected in Co-Masonry. It's a bit shocking to me what you see out there in books (I've stayed away from internet searches). For my level of knowledge, there are certain things that even I should not be reading and I've had to put down more than one book when it was going places I was pretty sure I wasn't ready for.

I have an easy time with this idea of waiting to be exposed to knowledge. Partially because I have an innate belief that growth is required before going certain places and partially because I am also a Reiki student. In Reiki you are not supposed to 'read ahead,' so to speak. There is nothing to be gained by accessing knowledge that is not given to you in due time. You may see certain symbols and be able to 'learn' them, but they will have no meaning and thus no power. I would rather wait, personally.

Not to mention that you don't know if you're getting the truth or if it's tainted or full-on bullshit. :)

Masonry is all about becoming the best person you can be. So far it's been exactly what I was waiting for in my life. No religion made sense, but I knew there had to be something out there that would connect me with my higher self and present me with steps to mold myself into a truer reflection of that inner, divine being. I look forward to working towards that self and documenting what I can discuss.