‘Moments of Vision’

     

Magpie file photo

Eighteenth century French engraving depicting First Degree ritual on display at the Livingston Library in Masonic Hall.

On Friday, Garibaldi Lodge 542 will meet in the Grand Lodge Room to confer its famous Entered Apprentice Degree. This is the French Rite ritual, entrusted to Garibaldi by l’Union Française Lodge 17, that Garibaldi works in Italian. It is heavy with alchemical and Rosicrucian meanings that one would expect in a European Masonic initiation, and near the end of the ceremony, the Youngest Entered Apprentice has thrust upon him a jolting moment of clarity.

Today is the last day of National Poetry Month. Launched in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, the celebration highlights the importance of poetry to us all by reading, by honoring poets past and present, by sharing books of poems, and by organizing support for poets and poetry. With this in mind, here is a great from 100 years ago.

Moments of Vision

Thomas Hardy

That mirror
     Which makes of men a transparency,
     Who holds that mirror
And bids us such a breast-bared spectacle to see
     Of you and me?
     That mirror
  Whose magic penetrates like a dart,
     Who lifts that mirror
And throws our mind back on us, and our heart,
     Until we start?
     That mirror
   Works well in these night hours of ache;
     Why in that mirror
Are tincts we never see ourselves once take
     When the world is awake?
     That mirror
   Can test each mortal when unaware;
     Yea, that strange mirror
May catch his last thoughts, whole life foul or fair,
     Reflecting it—where?
     

‘The Rosicrucian mirror’

     
I have been neglecting the Rosicrucian Cultural Center in New York City for some time. No real reason, just scheduling, but this is one event I must share, and I aim to be there. It has been said Rosicrucian wisdom serves as does a mirror. In Masonic ritual of the French Rite and other Continental systems, we see a mirror employed poignantly near the close of the Entered Apprentice Degree. I don’t know what this workshop entails, but let’s check it out. From the publicity:

The Rosicrucian Mirror

with Pat Downes

Tuesday, August 11

6:30 p.m.

Rosicrucian Cultural Center

2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd.

New York City

The mirror used in the Rosicrucian student’s home sanctum is an invaluable tool for holistic growth and development. Perhaps students can make better use of this tool as we use this mirror on a daily basis and/or on Thursday evenings during the weekly study period. This workshop is designed to help the seeker explore what happens when the student gazes into the mirror and what one does with what is revealed.

Courtesy AMORC

Over the years, Rosicrucian students have been described as “walking question marks.” We have been taught to ponder our teachings, to examine what we read in our laboratories. The mirror gives us the opportunity to gaze directly into our eyes—the window to the soul—as we communicate with the God of our Heart and the Master Within with honesty and integrity. How can we better use this mirror to gauge how we are proceeding along the path and whether we are growing in wisdom and understanding of universal law and our application of these laws?

This workshop will examine, discuss, and explore pertinent and relevant questions we can and should ask of ourselves as we work with the mirror in our Sanctum. Patricia Downes is a Certified Life Coach, a Relationship Coach, an Organization Development Specialist, with a doctorate in that field, and is trained as a Positive Psychologist also. She has been a member of AMORC for 31 years and has designed and delivered many workshops and conference presentations for AMORC and other organizations over the years.

In addition to her work in organizations and consulting firms in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean and in Washington, DC, Downes also served as the Head of Training and Organization Development at the OAS in Washington for eight years.

Her passion and life work focus on supporting people in reaching their full potential and helping them realize the amazing and wonderful contributions each of them can make to the world.