The Third Degree

      We have discussed, the First Degree is all about physical and the world outside us and the Second Degree is about mental/emotional and the world inside of us.  Now we must look deeply into the Third Degree and the spiritual world into which we are conceived.  You have been at the altar twice now and each time more is asked of you.  This time what is asked of you is all of you.  You must now be totally committed to and willing to place your whole self at the service of creating the best man you can possibly be in this lifetime.

            
      As you have done in the past, you will need some quiet time to think about your “being” and what you are to attain.  By now it easier for you to sit quietly in your chair, feet on the floor, hands resting in your lap or on the chair arms, your back comfortably straight, and to let your breathing settle into the slow rhythm you know so well.  The things that are outside of you leave you and the things that are inside of you come easily to mind and feelings.  Now you need to take a long search of your “self” and locate your soul; the home of your spirituality, and the connectivity to your Supreme Being. 

      You know that your heart is the home of your emotions and that your head is the home of your mind but where is your soul?  Every one of us has a soul and that part of us is always connected to our spirituality and to our God at the other end.  We have all put off for so very long in our life any attempt to find our soul and to become on good working terms with it.  Your soul can be very small, indeed, as you have ignored it or thought it unimportant.  Now you must correct that.  It is there, lurking behind something, peeking around the corner at you because of all the times you have told it to be quiet or to go away.  Now you must become friends before you can learn to trust one another. 

      That small voice is there, quietly waiting for you to show some attention.  It is there to help you make correct decisions for yourself and to push you onto the paths that you need to travel. It will help you with determination to persevere and strength to overcome.  The more work you do together, the stronger will your relationship be and the faster will you advance.  It is a positive spiral instead of the negative spiral that you have been using.

      Aristotle kindly gave us the notion that “Nature abhors a vacuum.”  This is easily seen by us when we try to stop smoking or drinking, or any other addictive habit.  Each habit has taken up quite a bit of your life and when you stop there is a vacuum in that space.  You begin to fill it with other things like chewing gum or eating.  Soon you find that you have lost one habit only to take on another.  The vacuum of space and time created by quitting your habit was filled with a new habit.  As you leave the old habits of materialism, unsubdued emotions and tunnel rationality behind, you will need something better to occupy that time or the vacuum will be filled with other things you do not want.  Fill it by relating with your soul.  Make new habits, the ones that are good for you and fulfill your life, using your soul as your help and guide.  Eat what you need to eat, drink what you need to drink, study what you need to study, act as you need to act, and love with all your heart your God and your neighbor.

      Naturally, when you think that you are done and at the end, nature has a way of stepping in, out of nowhere, and teaching you that there is still more to learn and/or more cleaning to do.   As you gain more you get even more but the obligation also becomes greater.   You will also become more responsible and secure and have a greater respect for yourself; each step of the way removing the vices and superfluities, creating that home not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

This article first appeared in the Missouri Freemason Magazine in 2011.