‘Of mind in me’

   

My lodge didn’t hold a meeting last night, but instead planned a casual social evening with some Masonic learning, and Worshipful Master Diego flattered me with a request to provide that education. I figured it would be best to avoid the lecture format and opt for my interactive lesson in “The Exercise.”

The Exercise was imparted to me at the School of Practical Philosophy years ago; the tutors there call it a mindfulness exercise, and not meditation. To be honest, I’m still uncertain of what the difference is. Anyway, with Winter sunstay only hours off, and Christmas just days away, and St. John’s Day next Monday, and New Year’s near, I thought I should introduce the brethren to this easy and portable technique for focusing the mind to protect against the modern tensions built into this mystical month.

I’m sure some previous edition of The Magpie Mason has a detailed description, but in brief, The Exercise causes one to regulate his Five Physical Senses before settling into a moment of peace.

Perhaps it isn’t meditation because it is quick and requires no lotus position, chanting, or other demanding ritual. It is, in fact, a technique one may employ spontaneously and in practically any place, as I emphasized during my talk.

I also told the story of how a visit long ago to Kite and Key Lodge 811 initialized my interest in this kind of thing for lodge life. It was there that I experienced the surprising power of a moment of silence immediately following the lodge opening. I think it spanned about 120 seconds, and it was a revelation. After the rush rush rush of getting to lodge, setting up, clothing ourselves, and the many potent stimuli of greeting one another and the rest of the routine, a mere two minutes of quietude sharpens the mind and relaxes the body, readying everyone even further for their labors.

Maybe I convinced Diego to introduce this to our meetings at Publicity Lodge.

I concluded by urging everyone to seek out Chuck Dunning’s books concerning Masonry and meditation, so I may as well recommend them to you too. (My review of his latest will appear in the upcoming issue of The Journal of the Masonic Society, due out this month. And I’ll publish it here as well.)