Companions,
This marks my final message to you as your Thrice Illustrious Master. It has been a year of profound labor, and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together. We have been faithful stewards of our building operations, our finances, and our ritual. Because of that dedication, we have successfully qualified and submitted for the Zerubbabel Award.
On a deeply personal note, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Council for awarding me the Cryptic Triangle Award. To be recognized for time and labor dedicated to our craft is a privilege, and I am humbly appreciative of your support.
Our administrative stability was never just about spreadsheets; it was about building a foundation so that we could freely explore the intellectual and philosophical depth of our Rite. At our last meeting, we did exactly that by exploring the Select Master Degree through the esoteric lens of George Steinmetz.
In Steinmetz’s framework, there are three “Sentinels” of the inner vault: Speech, Thought, and Impulse. Mastery of these three elements is what defines a Mason as truly “Selected,” transforming him from a man who simply performs a ritual to a man who has transformed his own nature.
- Speech (The Discipline of Silence): This is the ability to maintain silence, not just to keep a secret, but to conserve what I like to call our “Emotional Currency.” Just as you wouldn’t frivolously spend your retirement funds, you shouldn’t waste your emotional currency, which is far harder to regain. The goal is ensuring that when you dospeak, your words are in perfect alignment with Truth.
- Thought (The Focus of Mind): Most suffer from “scattered thinking,” but in the vault, thought must be singular. We can train this through intentional focus—whether through exercises like those in C.R. “Chuck” Dunning’s Contemplative Masonry, where we focus entirely on a single object for ten minutes, or like the focus I find when working on my ’77 K5 Blazer, blocking out the noise of emails and texts. The goal is to hold the “Sacred Deposit” of Divine Truth without mental noise.
- Impulse (The Quest for Equilibrium): This is the deepest work. It is the ability to feel a sudden surge of emotion and, instead of acting, observing it from the quiet of the Vault until it passes. If you have heard any of my educational ramblings, you know this is the ultimate key: balance, equilibrium, and mastery of oneself.
A Select Master places a “Guard” at all three stations, ensuring nothing enters or leaves his Inner Vault without conscious permission.
My hope is that the diligent work we have done this year has secured our outer vault, giving our future leadership the freedom to focus on this vital inner development.
To that end, I want to congratulate our incoming officers who will carry this torch forward: our new Thrice Illustrious Master Jeff Goolsby, RDIM Johnny Davis, IPC Jeremy Hogan, Secretary Tanner Cooper, and myself as your Treasurer. I look forward to another great year of cryptic masonry under their leadership.
Thank you for the honor of serving as your Thrice Illustrious Master. Let us continue to guard the vault, preserve the Word, and do the work—both of the hands and of the mind.
Fraternally,
James A. Clark
Thrice Illustrious Master
Vernon I. Bartlett Council No. 183