X-Oriente

Welcome Binah Blue!

This is little Binah. We got a new puppy this weekend. She is a Border Collie, blue in color, and she is a credit to her breed. (8 weeks and wicked smart, and very sweet.) She's named after the 2nd (or 3rd, depending on which direction you count) S'firah on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Binah means "Understanding" and that is the trait that seems to characterize Border Collies. Binah is my third BC. The first, Kayla has gone on to her eternal reward, and our second Gif (named after the web graphic format) is doing fine and just a little freaked out by this little blue whirlwind. Welcome, Binah!

Happy Birthday to the Masonic Society

Early yesterday morning, the Masonic Society went online, and unveiled itself to the world. What is the Masonic Society? It is an intellectual Society of Masons dedicated to not just focusing on the Masonic past but to its present and Future. I was honored to be a Founding Fellow, but don't let that put you off. ;-) This, brethren, looks like the real deal. The difference between this group and other research societies is twofold.

First, this Society looks not just to the past but to the present and future of the Craft, and secondly, it is poised to take advantage of the net in a way that other societies are just not set up to do. The Masonic Society already has an active Forum and a print publication is in the works now. I will be lending my talents to the Society in any way I can both as a designer and as a podcaster, as its mission and X-Oriente's mission are essentially the same.

I encourage you to check out the site and join. For $39, you'll get the quarterly Journal, a lapel pin (it's just not Masonic without a lapel pin, right?) and access to the forum and a place in Washington at an event each year. It promises to be intellectual, fluid and the most interactive of the Masonic salons. I'll see you there!

Here, read this!

I've never been a huge fan of Ken Wilbur, mostly because I haven't read his works. But after reading this, I think I may have to go back and take another gander at his work. I like that his conception of mysticism does not rely on magical thinking. There is enough real magic in the natural world without us having to get lost in the supernatural. I found this interview with Wilbur in Salon.com.

From the interview:

So where does God fit into this picture? Do you believe in God?

God is a perfect example of how these two types of religion treat ultimate reality. You asked, "Do you believe in God?" In exoteric religion, it's a matter of belief. Do you believe in the kind of God who rewards and punishes and will sit with you in some eternal heaven? But in the esoteric form of religion, God is a direct experience. Most contemplatives would call it "godhead." It's so different from the mythic conceptions of God -- the old man in the sky with a gray beard. The word "God" is much more misleading than it is accurate. So there's a whole series of terms that are used instead by the esoteric traditions -- super consciousness, Big Mind, Big Self. This ultimate reality is a direct union that is felt or recognized in a state of enlightenment or liberation. It's what the Sufis call the "supreme identity," the identity of the interior soul with the ultimate ground of being in a direct experiential state.

Read the entire interview here.

Thoughts? Stay tuned for the next episode which I will record as soon as I recover from this blasted headcold.

Shriners' Hospital Needs your help

The Shriners childrens hospital in Chicago needs your help to win an online contest. If they win, they'll get two new game systems (with tvs) for the kids to use when they're stuck in a hospital bed. Between now and monday (march 31st), please go to this Colgate website:

Click on Illinois, and please vote for the shriner's hospital. You can vote once each day, and you do not need to give any personal information to vote.

As you control the digital printing presses, please help get the word out to brothers that their votes are needed asap -- the contest is very close. As we say in Chicago, "vote early, vote often!"
Thank you!

026: An Evening with Bro. "Iceman"

Listen Now

Back in November I had the opportunity to sit down with M.W. Bro. Jerry Butler. Bro Butler is one of the founding members of the Impressions, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, A Past Grandmaster of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge in Illinois, and a Cook County Board Commissioner. He is also a wise, compassionate and wickedly funny guy.

I went to see him to learn more about how Prince Hall Masonry differs from my own. What I found is that we many more similarities than differences. Special thanks to Bro. Butler, to Bro. Ryan Priester, To the guys of North Star Lodge No. 1 and to Arc Music for granting permission to play some of Jerry's Music. If you'd like to explore, it can be found on the iTunes Music Store

This episode was brought to you by Stone Guild Publishing, publishers of Morals and Dogma for the 21st Century . Please visit them and help support X-Oriente!