Brothers and Friends good evening it’s good to see you all here on the Rubicon Masonic Society video education conference once again uh it is the month of February and we have a very special evening and presenter for you tonight we hope you enjoy and are ready to learn attentively
And become better Masons hopefully as a result on behalf of the Rubicon Masonic Society again I want to thank you and and hope you are enjoying these these episodes this is our 56th episode of our virtual Masonic education discussions since we started this in 2020 the series is entitled 21st century conversations
On Freemasonry for those of you who are joining us for the first time we thank you and for those of you who are coming back we appreciate your continued support of our Masonic journey together and finally for anyone that may be watching a recording of this video online we appreciate your support as
Well and you may continue to be notified by subscribing to our YouTube channel or rsvping to attend live at Rubicon Masonic society.com RSVP of course we need to give a special thanks to those lodges and brothers that continue to help push this boulder up the mountain so to speak Lexington Lodge
Number One William aware Lodge of research and of course all the brothers at the Rubicon masic Society specifically worship brother John bizzack worship brother Dan Kimbell and worship brother Alan my name is Brian Evans and we will now proceed with the business of the evening worship brother Allan would you
Please do the honors of delivering our open devotion sir brothers let’s pray grand architect of the universe reader of all things we ask for your blessing this evening as We Gather once more to explore Free Masonry and do us with the competency of your Divine wisdom that we may be better
En able to focus our thoughts and actions as we Endeavor to be just and upright men and Masons as we gather together we praise you for this day and your purpose for it amen so M it be so M it be thank you brother chaplain Brothers if you’ll indulge me
For a few more minutes we’ll finish some housekeeping and we’ll jump right into the education as you know our virtual Masonic education it aims to help us to become better men always devoted to our family our faith and our country so may we always come together to learn to
Subdue our passions to discipline our minds and to improve ourselves through the tools of each other and Freemasonry any opinions expressed expressed during this virtual education will be those of the presenter they do not necessarily reflect the views of any Lodge or Grand Lodge or the Rubicon Masonic Society our full disclaimer can
Be found at Rubicon Masonic society.com disclaimer as you know these are not tille meetings Masons and non-masons are welcome to attend on and participate so please be mindful brothers that anything discussed should be suitable for Masons of all degrees as well as non-masons gentlemenly manners are to be
Expected please no alcohol no smoking no eating no foul language no discussion of politics or religion uh except for any discussions that might occur with presentations of course within reason and attendees may be removed if not following protocol please remember that recommended attire for each meeting is
Coote and please type your name in your appropriate Masonic title next to your video If you’re not a Mason please type guest after your name please enable your video camera if you want us to see you which we like to see most of you except for David Cricket uh please reduce
Background noise and keep your microphone muted when not speaking please turn off all other computer programs try to eliminate outside distractions and remember David I am just kidding wor brother bisak would you please do the honors of presenting tonight’s excellent guest thank you brother worful brother David doter is the third generation
Mason he’s current Master of the Ohio logic research and past master of Washington Lodge 17 in Hamilton Ohio he holds a PhD in chemistry he instructs at the Miami University in Oxford that’s in Ohio Dr daughter is served as Grand Lodge of high as District education officer and Deputy District Grandmaster
And he’s a member of several research organizations and holds the title of Master of the craft in Ohio’s Royal scoffield Society Brother David good to have you with us tonight and the floor is yours sir thank you very much if I can uh share my figure out how to share my
Screen here um we’ll get started here uh see all right you should be seeing mostly a blank screen at this point yes sir okay very good A little housekeeping on my computer and then we’ll get started all right well thank you very much it is absolutely an honor to present for the
Rubicon Society I’ve been attending the virtual programs for quite a while I’ve joined you for seral def FES of WS so brother Evans thank you also thank you to the rest of the members for all always welcome me when I when I show up virtually or in person uh special thank
You to brother bisak and brother Kimble for coordinating this invitation tonight making it possible for me to to share my ideas uh I’ve enjoyed and appreciated every time our paths have crossed and I I look forward to many of that happening many more times um it’s already been
Said but it’s of course necessary to begin with h with a a uh go necessary to begin with a little disclaimer um I want to EMP emphasize that the thoughts and opinions expressed in this presentation are mine and mine alone they are not they do not represent
The thoughts or ideas of any other organization Lodge or Grand Lodge they are my thoughts as I understand them today however I will continue to learn and explore therefore I reserve the right to change my opinion as needed and based on any new information the title of this presentation pays homage to the
1959 essay written by Nobel physicist Richard F if you’ve read this what we’re going to see tonight is quite a different talk nonetheless he he is not amazing but he is he and his work have always been an inspiration to me because he if nothing else encouraged people to think
Differently both in science but also in life in general for those of you wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into this is a presentation about comparing Masonic lodges to naturally occurring systems to systems that will never optimize but are constantly improving and creating novelty and flexibility which allows for
Anticipation of the unforeseen needs of the future so where do we start with this my Masonic Journey like most of my life has centered on education other than trying to better understand the world around me I’m still not sure I completely understand what education really even is
In fact I’ve I’ve participated in many conversations I’ve asked many brothers to try to answer the question what is Masonic education and I want to be very clear we are not going to answer this question tonight but it is important to acknowledge that we are always on a journey to collect knowledge educate
Ourselves and attempt to understand the world better today than we did yesterday in my monic Sonic research efforts I’ve tried to explore many topics and because my interest and Curiosities are more broad than my common sense I often get myself in a little over my head frequently I have to
Remind myself and other people have to remind me to Simply write what you know I am trained in organic chemistry and biochemistry I’ve worked in academics and Industry focusing on biotechnology but I firmly believe anything we can think of not only has nature already done it but nature can do
It better than we can ever hope to achieve and that quite simply is the foundation on which I have created this presentation tonight my first and I will definitely say unfinished draft of the original paper attempted to shift the way we think about a lodge of Masons and
Consider the behaviors of a lodge as if it is a living organism rather than an inanimate object that exists in most of our minds at the point in which I was convinced to abandon that first draft it was over 20 pages long and quite frankly left no hope for the poor
Reader I had tried to make every possible connection between chemistry biology and Freemasonry I could conceive in one story and admittedly it became rather incomprehensible with some sound counsil with in my ear I decided to focus on one idea complexity anyone who has studied chemistry biology science in general
Understands why we are interested in and why we are concerned about the complexity of science we live in a complex world and science is simply an effort to simplify that complexity into understandable and digestible portions or said another way even when we consider topics such as Freemasonry complexity really is the underlying
Challenge of most questions we attempt to answer there is too much information to process and quite frankly we get overwhelmed very easily for example leadership is complicated under the best of circumstances the head of any group has to consider Personnel organization and management he has to make sure that
The bills get paid communication is critical to leadership both effective both effective internally and externally a good leader knows that he has to keep his his workers motivated and ironically I’m not even going to attempt to describe the necessity of time management in the few minutes that I have
Tonight among many other challenges the challenges that are often intangible are the ones that are the most difficult to confront then if we add to this the concept of masonry it gets even more complicated one of the greatest challenges I’ve ever faced was making my way to the east of a
Masonic lodge in addition to all of those normal challenges of being the leader of any other group worold Master needs to ensure his officers are properly trained he of course Bears the responsibility of ensuring quality ritual performance by The Lodge there are numerous ceremonies that must be
Performed and of course all that comes with a great deal of memorization and a good Mason should always be reading and continuing his education unfortunately every Mason also needs to be prepared to address those numerous misconceptions about the fraternity and what is a Mason if he does not properly
Care for his family before all else and of course time management is such a challenge it needs to be mentioned again of course there are me many Masonic intangibles you can’t even consider until you are sitting in that chair in short leadership of a masonic lodge is is a complex
Thing but at its core the Masonic Lodge is simply a group of individuals trying to achieve a common goal while simultaneously working toward their own individual goals every group of people struggles with social interactions and personal goals that get in the way of the goals of the group in some ways however Masonic
Lodges may be more likely to succumb to the negative social interactions despite the idealized principles on which we believe the fraternity is based of course you should be asking why well number one a secret initiation means many members join without even understanding what they’re really getting into officers oftentimes progress
Through the chairs as a result of attendance rather than ability leaders once they get into that chair often have one year to accomplish everything they’ve ever hoped to accomplish and because of that frequent leadership change focus of the lodge changes every year previous leaders may even become unwanted Advisory board if they keep
Repeating the phrase well that’s not how we did it in my year hopefully these issues do not describe your Lodge but we all know of lodges facing these challenges or similar ones interestingly though all of these issues are manageable if only lodges will start operating a little differently one of the reasons we’re
Challenged by the complexity of leadership and management is we typically plan for the worst we assume something is going to go wrong therefore we spend most most of our time fighting fires or set another way we assume failure while claiming to prepare for Success my humble opinion this approach
To leadership and management is very unmas by which that by which I mean it is based based on a system of distrust recall what I said earlier I have this belief that n that anything we can think of Nature has already done it and done it better better than we can
Ever hope to achieve from that perspective nature is very Masonic natural systems assume success while preparing for failure or said another way it is based on a system of trust and I don’t think it’s too difficult to say that nature is far more complex than a
Masonic lodge we look at a few examples of how nature deals with complexity and cooperation consider the any ecosystem thousands or millions of organisms existing together with their lives intertwined some are working together to survive others exist at the expense of the species around them but in either
Case they are dependent on one another and although this little image that I have may seem very complex even the ecosystem in the average backyard consists of over a thousand coordinated species relying on one another for survival consider a flock of birds anywhere from 500 to 25,000 coordinated individuals working together for many
Reasons most commonly protection and survival of the group is the one one of the many advantages that we consider from this flocking behavior of course not all systems consist of sensient or animated individuals Riverbanks account for millions of particles per cubic foot and the process of erosion accounts for adaptations spanning generations and
Impacting the Earth forever our circulatory system consists of anywhere from 20 to 30 trillion blood cells of course delivering the essentials that our body needs at the very moment they are needed with no immediate control other than the simple laws of physics so what do all these
Examples have in common they are all complex adaptive systems a complex adaptive system are groups of individuals working separately but together such that the individuals learn from one another in a process that improves the whole we’ll over the next few minutes we’ll look at a few examples and some illustrations of complex
Adaptive systems but the qualities of these systems can be summarized as follows supervision is not necessary or organization derives from a few Simple self-governing Rules successful strategies originate from the individuals however those individuals are often unaware of their impact on the greater good no individual is capable of overwhelming the system because a
Positive effect will not immediately benefit the whole the advantage of that is also that neither will a negative effect ever be catastrophic to the system and flexibility from numerous individuals inhibits or excuse me individual inputs allows the system to quickly adapt to changes in the environment how this differs from other
Systems is that individuals have an opportunity to respond to the immediate conditions in which they exist and therefore they follow their own course of actions as long as it does not interfere with the actions of any of the individuals of of the other individuals therefore individuals constantly revise and rearrange in order
To gradually improve the system the revision and arrangement of a system can be as simple as geese choosing the best flight path as each bird flaps its wings it creates an uplift for the bird that follows which allows for a 70% increase in the flight range of the group compared to the
Flight of an individual bird and if a goose falls out of formation it feel it immediately feels the drag of flying alone and adjust it path its bath in order to Aid itself as well as the group on the other hand the revision or rearrangement can be more involved like
Army ants building Bridges to span distances 10 to 20 times their own body length the ants can use this to coordinate Dynamic constructions to acquire otherwise impossible food sources or they have even been known to use their own bodies to create a highway over rough Terrain in order to
Accommodate more efficient travel for an invading Army as a result of this constant revision and adjustment every individual in a complex adaptive system has the opportunity to learn from its own successes and failures as well as those of its counterparts as a result the system continuously improves likewise each individual in a
Complex adaptive system has the opportunity to make decisions for themselves while still operating within the confines of a larger system rather than being micromanaged and controlled during every minute detail of the process individuals are given a few simple rules to follow that maintain the fundamental order of the system the
Group behavior is derived from those Simple Rules how simple you ask consider these flocking birds they abide by three rules very simply align flight with your neighbor avoid hitting your neighbor and remain an average distance from your neighbor within a flock of birds all other decisions are left to the
Individual as long as these three rules are followed and the elaborate complexity that we observe in flocks of birds is the result of those three rules going back to the army ants consider the bridges that they built they simply follow two rules if there’s an ant on your back
Freeze if there’s been no ant on your back for a certain amount of time go all other decisions are left to the individual where to go how fast to go when to go as long as he abides by these two rules and the elaborate constructions of these bridges are what we
Observe consider human behavior we of course would like to think we are much more advanced than birds and ants but watch a stadium of of tens of thousands of fans mindlessly form the wave only one rule is necessary do what the person to your left does as long as
You do that we will create the wave individuals react to the conditions in which they exist therefore the different individuals will pursue different courses and lead to varying degrees of success remember nature assumes success while allowing for some failure because each individual is free to follow their own course Success is
Not Guaranteed for any individual but no attempts are discouraged because it’s not possible to predict what success will look like for example if you were designing an animal that has to survive in the wild I’m pretty sure that not a single one of you would have drawn up the Platypus or the
Sloth or the oxal or the immortal jellyfish none of these we probably would have predicted to be as successful as they are nonetheless the successful actions of individuals become the typical behavior of the group some will fail no matter how well planned and the vision of success is
Impossible to predict and if you don’t believe me take for example this one last example of The Blob Fish one strength of such a system is that no one individual is completely responsible for the overall success of the system then no one individual can can also have an overwhelming impact on the whole
System the complex adaptive systems of nature resemble what is known in the organizational world as bottomup structures by contrast the business World which masonry often attempts to mimic typically relies on a topd down structure so there are some organizations that absolutely Thrive with a top- down structure couple of
Examples that I found from this rigid top- down structure are things like the military in which command needs to be followed or in a very different example but in an executive kitchen these are situations in which time is of the essence and delayed decisions can lead to catastrophic
Failure one advantage of top- down organization is that they lead to fast-paced decision making however making a fast decision is often more about finding an answer right now than it is about finding the right answer on the other hand what I’ve been attempting to show in in some examples
Tonight we would describe through the natural bottom up relationships between autonomous individuals working together more accurately described as a system of connections remember all complex adaptive systems are groups of individuals working separately but together such that the individuals learn from one another in a process that improves the whole
And the autonomy of the individuals result from systems in which supervision was not necessary organization was derived from a few very simple easy follow easy to follow rules successful strategies originated from the individuals no individual was capable of overwhelming the system because all results positive or negative had to be
Duplicated by other individuals in order for that to spread through the system and options followed by numerous diverse individuals created a flexibility which allowed the system to quickly adapt to changes in the environment like nature masonry is connections every Mason makes connections and every Lodge makes connections the connections are more
Important than the lodge or the individual because we learn from one another and adapt by mimicking the behaviors of other Masons that lead to success for us and for the fraternity following the connections and allowing every Mason to pursue their own approach leads to new unexpected ideas
That may be more valuable to the fraternity than anything attempted before encouraging one another and pursuing a wide range of approaches is about the right idea emerging at the right time as a result of many individuals connecting for the greater good back when I mentioned that paper
That was well over 20 pages and not reaching an end had begun this journey by asking are lodes alive but I realized through this process that the reality is we should be accepting that lodes live organically a masonic lodge is a collective of equals consisting of many excited brothers who
Want to be involved they do not want instructions to mindlessly follow they want to contribute like the flexibility observed in the complex adaptive systems the diversity and creativity of ideas will lead to unpredictable successes for the fraternity like the successful strategies of complex adaptive systems good ideas will grow naturally from the
Excitement of those Brothers rather than attempting to control every step of every task of a lodge a master will be better rewarded to relinquish the detailed control of decision-making to those brothers who have been trained in the teachings and philosophies of Freemasonry like the simple rules given to the individuals of complex adaptive
Systems each Freemason is given the simple tenants of the fraternity to guide them a master will be better rewarded to realize his best course of action is to provide Good Counsel and guidance and trust that the brothers will make good decisions for the lodge masonry is an organization of
Equals so there is plenty of room at the bottom for good decisions to be made but a bottomup management will require some cultural changes in many of our lodges the connections of the brothers should be allowed to thrive so new unplanned unexpected ideas can emerge Masters will have to accept they do not
Possess all of the answers everyone will have to accept successes of the past may not equal success in the future therefore all members should be encouraged to explore new approaches and all Masters should empower the creativity of the Brethren of their Lodge in other words we need to capitalize on the diverse
Characteristics and skills of the brothers that may have been previous ly buried and lost in our lodges however even if our lodges do begin to mimic that which I’ve that we’ve observed in the natural world world and they start operating truly as bottomup organizations I do offer at least one word of
Caution unlike many of the individual agents that I’ve described in these examples of complex adaptive systems tonight man also has the ability to discuss measure and analyze the world around him while this can be an advantage as we are trying to solve problems and create the
Future it is a unique strength but we also have to realize that we have a tendency to overanalyze one advantage of a complex adaptive system is the potential for those unexpected solutions to emerge from the actions of individuals and produce results results better than anyone may have ever
Anticipated solutions from a wide range of diverse creative and non-traditional methods may look unconventional at first glance we need to be careful not to overlook those ideas and those opportunities that arrive from atypical sources due to the misuse of our ability to analyze educate and communicate we need to avoid over
Analysis and de open minds because preconceived notions can lead to missed opportunities putting this as a conclusion in much simpler terms Freemasonry produced by modom up connections may not be the Freemasonry of our fathers but it can be the Freemasonry of the future it will be adaptable flexible Freemasonry capable
Of guiding and preparing good men to lead the Next Generation thank you very much for youren attention I appreciate it thank you wor Brother David what an interesting enjoyable lesson that was um forgot how much fun science and biology actually can be uh I wish my old teachers used to
Teach it that way with a little bit more enjoyment maybe I would have gotten a better grade so this you know this is interesting um brother let me actually let me share my screen again excuse me for one moment while I get that set back up okay so Brothers if you have a
Question or a comment uh please raise your virtual hand or enter it in the chat box I’ll try to get to it just some housekeeping for that if you have a comment please try to keep your comment uh brief uh questions are certainly preferred more than anything to engage
The speaker so if you do have a comment as well uh just please try to keep that brief um so we can continue to proceed accordingly bless you wor Brother David um I have a couple questions so I guess a lot of what me personally I I I
Think I agreed with and grasped what you were saying but there were a few that not not as much so you said that masonry were all equals we’re an institution of equals I believe is what you said is that accurate okay that sounds right y so are
We really equals and and how are you defining equals and I and I asked that question just to get your your scientific perspective on that analogy because it seems as though there are some Masons that certainly put in a lot more time and effort and energy and
Commitment than other Masons so I guess I your perspective on that yeah I I think I mean there’s a couple of ways to answer that and and we are we should be all equals I think to your point we we are not all equals because we all don’t
Behave the same and probably a better way to say that is that we should strive to be equal but what we really have is equitability in other words we should all have the same opportunities we do not have all we all don’t have the same skills we all can’t
Achieve the same goals but we should be given the opportunity to achieve those and I think that’s largely what what I’m trying to get at here is that es you know we all know some lodges where it’s truly a top where the master sits upon high and tells everybody what to do and
There are many of the Masons in that Lodge that have a lot of really good ideas but they we never get to hear them and so it’s the idea of the of being Equitable so that more ideas are expressed okay I got you makes that makes sense so from your scientific
Perspective going back to the the uh origination of masonry however you want to Define that time period how did nature how what was Nature’s role or how did nature impact the creation of masonry in in your in your scientific perspective well again that’s that’s that we could spend the next few hours
Just talking about that the uh um I think at least from my perspective The View that we had meaning man had of Nature and of the world around us a few hundred years ago was quite different just in the simple idea that we lived in it and it was part of
Us and our world as opposed to today I think most people operate from a sense of manipulating the world around us we we rather than adjusting to it we expect it to to adjust to us and so I think if nothing else that’s kind of the basis upon which masonry Freemasonry was was
Likely originated was there was already this um symbiotic relationship if you will now if you then I mean the other way you could approach that is you know there is definitely an alchemical uh connection to Freemasonry and the origins and the philosophy and so forth and um again I
Could I risk going too far down a rabbit hole here but um what Alchemy really was not it wasn’t about turning lead into gold what Alchemy really was was a way of understanding how we how man fit into nature and how man fit into World both mentally and physically and uh and
Spiritually so I think that absolutely was wrapped into what the the what I view as those origins of Freemasonry okay my perspective and this is my last question Brothers for now open so my my perspective comes more from uh economics so my background is economics so when I think of of this I
Think of supply and demand and always going towards equilibrium on some levels so is the F how do you think nature is going to affect the future of masonry and are we are we transferring to equilibrium at this point um so I mentioned that uh when I
First sat down to write this I it it just overwhelmed me I had too many ideas and and I have this this was the first kind of con thing that I brought to to fruition along this idea I have this Vision that there will be several other
Parts that will hit some of the other ideas equilibrium is one of those ideas that I I want to come back and and talk about partly because of just some of the different definitions and descriptions of what equilibrium is and and I think I think it definitely wraps together fits
Together at least with my U take or my interpretation of what equilibrium is from a biological biochemical standpoint which is is is what do we need in order to maintain stability in other words we we can’t let it stagnate we have to keep putting energy in we have to keep
Feeding it in order to keep it alive and that’s I think largely how I think of the equilibrium and think of that aspect to to Free Masonry as well is we have you know there are too many of us too many of our brothers who who join and
Then stagnate and we need to figure out how to help them keep it alive as well good appreciate your input on that sorry to to take the floor all of a sudden uh brother CH you have a question go ahead H sure brother Dar Chad gansky uh
Nobody of any real um importance but one of the questions I have um I really liked your your explanation but where I was trying to kind of make sense out of this is in nature who sets the vision for lack of a better word right so we I
Mean is it just this imperative to keep going is the but if we’re going to use this analogy of like a natural system for a lodge doesn’t something have to kind of set the vision or the the the where the organism is going or what the organism’s ultimate goals are I was
Trying to figure out how that fits into the model you’re talking about well I think um so Vision vision is a a challenge of course for um for any Organization for any Lodge and from a very simplistic Viewpoint the way that I see the vision being set in these
Natural systems is quite simply survival now obviously we want to do more than just survive but that’s what it comes down to is the which whichever organism whichever group gains the biggest Advantage survives the most they win so to speak but the one thing that we often forget about that
And I think this is how we we tie it into to masonry is that as I mentioned a minute ago the world is not stagnant right what you have what the the skills you need to survive today in nature are quite different than the skills you might need to survive a
Year from now or 10 years from now or whenever you know think about it you know you know from a very simplistic Viewpoint you know being here in Ohio yesterday it was 20 degrees outside and today it’s 60 right if you’re uh if you’re an animal living outside you
Better be able to adjust to those temperatures very very quickly if you don’t have that ability you will not survive so what what skills are necessary is constantly changing and so that’s where this idea of having many ideas pursued at the same same time creates a flexibility when one group one
Part of the group or one person may not be able to to to um to survive in the sense that they they have reached an Optimum another set part of the group will step up and take over and I think that’s where we have to relate that or
Where I would like to relate that to this idea of the lodge and Freemasonry is that there there is no one I’ve never met one person who can do everything that is needed to run a lodge there is nobody who is good at ritual who is good
At bookkeeping who is who is good at paying the bills who is good at the administrative who’s good at membership who’s good at everything we need to take advantage of the many different skills that are out there so that when one aspect becomes at least momentarily more
Important than another we already have a group or a set of people who are skilled to achieve that goal so the vision kind of sets itself by the needs now I think the you know where this kind of I shouldn’t say falls apart but where we have to go beyond the
Analogy is as I said earlier in Freemasonry we want to do more than survive we want to we want to push forward and so that’s where the vision of the lodge the vision of the of free masonry needs to be expanded Beyond just that idea of survival interesting Chad does that
Answer your question do you any followup I tend to not argue with uh brother Dary when he’s right so I it got none of that habit all right very good uh brother Daniel uh yes um when I hear Brother dhy talking about the inherent flexibility of nature as an essential element to
Survive you know the the flock of birds tends to have a an awareness that surrendering the focus on the self to the betterment of the group has a wonderful effect of supporting the self in the long run but there’s not much of a a self-centered ego nature about that
Where humans on the other hand with our great cognitive capabilities are can twist things around into becoming focused on serving the self so how do you deal with the human tendency to put the self first which inadvertently puts the group last and the ability to overcome that to
To be able to recognize that serving the common Good Will in the long run be in the best interest of the self that is a great question um you know I think you know like and I kind of even made a reference to that in my caution is that you know
Unfortunately one of our biggest issues is unfortunately we are human and therefore we behave like humans you know if uh you know the biggest problem with any organization Freemasonry included is sometimes the people involved and all we can do is ENC encourage the group as a whole to behave to operate in
The what is best for the group and those who don’t fall in line those who are more focused on the individual I think over time will’ll it’s not the right phrase but they’ll almost be weeded out right their influence will will diminish um but like you said there will always be people who
Are more interested in the self than they are in the group but as you pointed out in your question oftentimes what is good for the group is very good for the Self make sense it does and uh you know there’s a balancing point if I take care of me by serving the group the group takes care of me if I’m giving to the group to the point that I’m exhausting my resources there’s a detriment to that and if I
Draw from the group without giving anything back there’s a detriment to that and so that kind of brings in that concept of equilibrium giving and benefiting in a balance at various times so that all are served well yeah and I think you kind of related to that we we’ve all seen uh
Brothers who have assumed the East taken over a lodge and they give it everything they’ve got and by the end of the the their term they’re so exhausted we never see them again they’ve burnt themselves out and that’s a really good example of what happens when somebody gives too
Much they don’t rely on the group and that’s part of what I was trying to get at is is that you know the the the leader of any group but the master of a lodge does not have to have all of the answers they do not have to solve all of
The problems they just have to put the right people in place who can solve the problems and who do have all the answers and it makes it a it would make it a whole lot easier and a lot less exhausting for all of us if we did it that
Way good point very good point brother Mario go ahead good evening brother and Brother David it it was a great talk I really enjoyed it because it it’s really hard um for me to find people who actually like to bring this scientific aspect of life which is undeniable uh
Into Freemasonry actually I’m working in a paper um or yeah on a paper which is to based on the scientific principles applied in Freemasonry and um I was I was sort of expecting a different talk I couldn’t really figure what what you were going to but um but I mean I I
Really enjoy the way you presented your idea and the way the complexity becomes just a a nice image of how nature presents uh the way it does its process and it’s just a a I think it’s a great guide for us to try to work in unison in
The same way that nature develops its its own mechanisms to you know to survive to evolve to become better um I I seriously have a little dilemas and have sort of um talked about them here with with the brothers in this discussions uh one of
The things I I always try to balance is the the way we see for example mysticism and philosophy and we try to bring that together to this new world that is in front of us every time like we’re getting different type of of knowledge and it’s every it’s ever more precise or
More n intuitive and it’s like um it becomes very complex um and absolutely I you can see that for example something that it’s taught and in you know like it is encouraged by all by by our fraternity is that we deepen into the seven liver art art Arts and Sciences
And in this sense um like for example geometry and astronomy are are very important for us just in the way we should look at that to appreciate iate what the universe is and how it behaves and so and how it shows its patterns to us um so my my question is more like
What is your your thought what what are your thoughts on how to merge this past teachings that we have and this new um wave or trend of knowledge that it’s that as I said is ever more um precise and and beautiful at the same time and and how can we make something of
Masonry and and simplify that complexity for all Brothers to participate because it’s always great to have these talks I mean not everybody but at least the people that are interested so what would be your thoughts on on how to put this two things together that our fraternity
Is really strong in I mean we we have all this philosophic and moral aspects of of behavior as a collective and at the same time we have for example for me the great unifier of men is that even though you may have a different religion and and I might understand the origin of
The universe since from this religion my from my religion that is different from yours in the end we all live under n natural and physical rules so it’s it’s it’s very challenging for me to ask people to look into nature and at the same time um you know not get too far
Away from from our our systems of morality and philosophy so could you give me a um a thought about that thank you yeah I I think that you know you’re you’re you’re in you’re kind of verging on an interesting idea and and at some level this conversation if I’m
Understanding it correctly has has been going on for for a long time and you know and it’s really I don’t want to go too far down that road but it’s you know it’s almost the the science religion conversation and you know do we you know how do we
Deal with both of them and I can only answer obviously from my own perspective which is I don’t see a difference between them I see the philosophy or religion or or whatever term you want to use that as simply one way of describing the world and science as another way of
Describing the same world doesn’t mean one is right and the other is wrong they’re just two different perspectives it’s kind of like the old story of the The Three Blind Men with the elephant right you know they each they each were were grabbing a hold of a different part
Of the elephant and describing it and but they were you know they thought they were looking at something completely different and so you know this the connection I make here is that the you know if we go back through time you know the question was asked earlier about you
Know how does this fit with the origins of Freemasonry what we really going doing is looking at a time that was for all practical purposes pre- science right the the Royal Society in the 1600s were was kind of where the scientific method began and we started approaching it and by the way
Many of those were Masons and um so you know they were very much involved in that process and as the knowledge of science continued to increase it wasn’t that the need or or knowledge of religion decreased it wasn’t like a give and take it’s not a zero some game it’s just that
Different descriptions were available for the same things and in some cases one may fit suit your needs better than the other now when they contradict is when we have to be cautious and and and worry and and see and kind of come up with a different approach there um but
More often than not I don’t think there there needs to be a contradiction instead it’s like I said different perspectives different sides of the same coin not sure if I completely answered what you were getting at but those were the the thoughts off the top of my head
Anyway yes I mean um I understand completely what you’re saying actually I I I don’t even think they’re the different interpretation of this of the of the of the same thing I think that they’re complimentary to each other because there’s some things you don’t never know and you actually get into
Most of the time you will try to get into deeper knowledge by using philosophy you know so it’s it’s very interesting in the way that that you know like how if you’re thinking quantum mechanics they all feel like it starts becoming a little dogmatic because you have to believe in the uncertainty
Principle and this is just like there is something going on that you don’t know you don’t understand can’t predict can’t really uh tell how it’s going to go but you have to believe that it is true and you know it presents itself as a Dogma
So in the end it’s it’s it’s kind of philosophical in the same way but I do agree I mean I just I just wanted to to hear you talk about it since you are you are involved in this world of of you know like because patterns and and
Complex mechanisms in nature are just beautiful to watch and and I think that should be a little bit more in in I have a little more presence in our fraternity just in the sake of appreciating what what it has been created for us to enjoy
And you know like sort of a become an awe of what we have in front of us but I thank you I thank you so much and I I’m sorry I apologize because I didn’t turn on my video but I’m not in the correct attire but I didn’t want to I don’t want
To miss the presentation thank you so much for sharing your points of view with us brother thank you very much thank you appreciate it thanks brother Mario good to hear from you brother Bruce go ahead thank you worshipful brother Brian and also thank you worshipful Brother David
Uh as you were talking I was reminded of something and I’m going to date myself a little bit but here recently I discovered the old kung fu video or show and uh I was watching One recently and the blind master was sharing with qu Chang uh and he started off by saying
Simply was talking about that we can learn something from the children in their simple games and it was rock paper scissors and he then related that to the lessons and the Elder said that there are three Treasures that he had held uh and he passed this on and I don’t
Remember the exact I wish I’d have already transcribed this so I could read it to you but it was basically he said you know this leads to this and this leads to this and I think the last one was about humility and that it leads to being willing to
Serve and I was like that to me is what we’re talking about learning to Humble ourselves and not get such big heads so that we can serve and truly be of service and uh being retired now in my life I am learning that my biggest I guess gift is that I’m
Trying to network what I know to those who are around me and help serve them by sharing that knowledge and the one thing that I would uh I don’t know if you had the pleasure but I would hope that everybody could watch this I think it was on National Geographic but Bob
Woodruff who’s the national uh news reporter that was injured in the War uh it’s called operation Arctic cure and to talk about seeing a group that were totally unknown to one another because they were all veterans but didn’t really know one another and they came together and learned to serve one another in
Their various skills and ways is exactly what we’re talking talking about because the one gal who was uh uh had lost a leg I guess one day she didn’t prepare properly and the metal started hurting her to the point from her prosthetic and the connection it made with the bone
That she couldn’t walk any further and the teen first nurtured her and met her need and then they work together and help continue on the course so that she could still be part of the group and didn’t have to turn you know the them as a
Group they didn’t have to turn back they continued on their Journey so you know I I think that’s a lot of it is we just need to learn to Humble ourselves an awful lot and not have such big heads uh I am like brother Mario I am sorry that I am not showing
Myself but I do am inappropriately dressed so I apologize for that but I did want to hear this and um I’m right down the road from you in Cincinnati Brother David and I look forward to uh meeting you sometime in the near future and uh if you can share your PowerPoint
I would love to have a copy of it because I I’m the lodge education officer for my LGE and I think there are some points I’d really like to share with my brother Mason’s in my Lodge so very good and thank you all there you go thank you brother Bruce um this is
Being recorded So that presentation will be on YouTube as well just just so you have it um wor brother bisak I believe you mentioned you had a comment or question uh yes thanks um David what an interesting and refreshing presentation and approach to exploring masonry and
Its many facets seems like um just a comment I have is the message um maybe the lesson from nature is that it’s the absence of ego in nature that makes it Thrive and the comparison of the lesson that perhaps masoner could use that same principle thank you for taking your time
Time and putting this together I know you whittel it down a lot from 20 Pages yeah well thank you very much yeah I I think you’re right I think you know I haven’t phrased it that way but the absence of ego is is is a big part of it
And uh you know I I’ve I have a few of my friends and I we we often joke that you know when we show up to a meeting or we uh you know go to a conference or something what we we we assume that we try to assume that we are the dumbest
Person in the room and uh because it doesn’t matter who you are doesn’t matter what your education is doesn’t matter what you know there’s always somebody in that room from whom you can learn there’s always something you don’t know and and I think that’s really kind
Of what I’m you know part of what I’m trying to get at here is that you know when you look at when you go to a lodge when you look at all the brothers sitting on the sidelines in the colums there there are a lot of people there
Who have good ideas and we need need to start for lack of a better word mining them in order to to bring those ideas out because I think in many lodges for too many years they’ve effectively been told to to sit on the sidelines and be quiet when we’ve missed some really good
Opportunities so you know not only get rid of the ego but try to uh to build up and support many of those other people who whom we can learn from thank you again David thank you yeah well said um Brother David you made a comment and
I think it was related to a particular slide um you said leadership is based on a system of distrust yes that was when I was talking about the the top down specifically in kind of a traditional sense yes could you just maybe go into that a little bit
Further about what exactly you meant again and well yeah I I can try I I mean I think like I said it goes back to the comment that I I made along that same time which is that uh you know we we say that we are preparing for future or
Excuse me I misspoke we say that we are preparing for success but oftentimes what we are actually doing is assuming that we’re going to fail so you know there’s there’s a big difference between assuming failure and assuming success and and so when we assume failure when
We are the when we are the ones sitting in those leader position leadership positions and we ask somebody to do a job for us if we don’t trust them to do it to their to the best of their ability then we’re really not trusting them we you know we need to be
Able to like I said put good people in place give them a task and then get out of their way and let them do that task trust that they’re going to do it not only to the best of their ability but probably because presumably you have given you’ve put an expert in that
Position they’re going to do it better than you could probably have come up with on your own so when we micromanage when we try to control exactly how every task is completed among those who are working for and and under us we distrust them and and I think this idea of the bottom
Up is the idea of give them as few guidelines as possible tell them what the goal ultimately should be and then just turn them loose and let them go and I I believe that most of the time the result will be far better than you ever anticipated and
Um because it was done one by people who who were knowledgeable in the area but two people that were passionate about it so we just need to trust them to do it sure so I feel like I’m being the p IST of the group today but not not towards
You or your presentation by any means I think it was fantastic I guess for my experience though often times uh expectations perhaps may not have been met with when someone’s been trusted with things and you know probably more so outside of masonry than within it but H how do you what your
Comments when that happens there are definitely going to be times where expectations are not met and those are teachable moments right you know we we are here we claim that we are here to help people become better and so if someone you if you’ve given someone a
Task and they are not meeting the goal then you know that’s that’s the time where it’s it’s necessary to step in and and provide the guidance provide the counsel keep them moving in the right direction um you know the other thing we you could do is is help them find a a
Partner that was going to work with them and but again you know there are definitely going to be times where expectations are not met but you know that’s that’s that’s why we’re here we’re we’re trying to help people learn how to meet those expectations we’re trying to help people learn how to be
Better at uh at what they are trying to do because I think a lot of times at least within the lodge outside of the lodge maybe life might be a little different but my experience is with within the lodge the times that people didn’t meet expectations it was because
They didn’t understand what the expectations were and that’s where this education and and counsel and guidance comes in is making sure that they are they’re they’re hitting the Target that you expected and uh you know maybe like I said sometimes when they hit a different Target it may be because they came up
With a better plan than you than you ever thought of but the you know that hopefully won’t be a surprise at the end you’ve been kind of watching along the way and realized oh they’re already so far so far beyond where I ever hoped they would be I’m gonna wait and see
Where this lands yeah yeah I couldn’t agree more with what you’re saying my my only caveat would be that that mason or brother has to have the drive and ambition to do it not just not just pres an idea because presenting ideas is the easy part uh complain complaining about ways to
Improve is easy part but unless that person steps up and actually tries to do something or offer assistance either by themselves or with others then it really doesn’t matter uh so desire is equally important to that on on their part right so you can lead a horse to water right
But you can’t make him drink same thing so agreed uh brother let’s see Daniel let me get back to you because you’ve spoken already uh brother Marty go ahead good evening and thank you for a really unusual and very valuable approach to Freemasonry and you’ve partially addressed my
Comments but having taught masonry and worked in business for many years if a project goes wrong I as a master it’s my responsibility if a project goes right then it’s the brother who was given the uh project to uh happen it’s his responsibility uh you have to have a
Feedback loop you can’t turn anybody loose in a management situation without having monitored him and being aware of where he’s going and helping him if you feel he’s off track you just can’t walk away uh and that’s what I got to say and good evening once again thank
You thank you thank you brother martin you’re absolutely right and you know in this concept this idea of the complex adaptive systems you know we could we could spend weeks or months just talking about that topic and explaining those and one of the ideas that I didn’t put into this presentation tonight about
Those complex adaptive systems is that they are absolutely as you said based on feedback loops both positive and negative they you know there is constant feedback from one individual to another with throughout the group so that they know you know if they are succeeding or failing along the way so you are
Absolutely right feedback is a critical part of the process in any in any comparison of this good point good points uh brother Jerry uh thank you brother Brian and Brother David great presentation um I had a question regards to top down and bottom up uh Styles within an organization um are they necessarily
Mutually exclusive could be time and circumstances where uh might be appropriate for a top down type of Style versus bottom up perhaps as a lodge is maybe shifting its um leadership style from one to the other yeah personally I mean I think there’s just typically a within organizations of people there are
Typically a blend and as I you know as one of the references I made for for the top down you know typically where those work well is when it’s very fast-paced when decisions need to be made immediately there’s no time to wait and you know kind of like you know the old
Phrase you know the buck stops here at some point in time there are certain things that happen where somebody has to be responsible has to step up and say all right forget everything else this is what we’re doing um and you know so you know ideally you avoid those urgent
Situations as much as possible but we all know they arise so absolutely there’s a there will be a blending of the the strategies if you will um not only from you know time to time but even at the same same moment there you know there may be you know some things that
Are best managed top down and and other things at the same time that are managed to bottom up but the idea at least from my perspective is to get as many ideas on the table as possible and seriously considered because often times s we will end up with options we had
Never considered before if just one person is making those decisions thank you brother Daniel uh yes you know when I heard you talk about top down leaders are expecting failure and they tend to embrace an attitude of possessing the totality of the truth that must be imposed Ed on
Those around them to assure success it’s kind of like the the nature of man on lock versus hops lock basically says that if you give a person Direction instruction resources and step back that you will have success because that’s the inherent nature of man where Hobbs tends to look at the beastiality that
Basically says if you are left your own devices you’re going to be rude and selfish and all sorts of Horrors are going to happen and so when you look at that and say then top down means you’re expecting your employes to be lazy dishonest greedy and self-centered which is ironically what
The top down leadership tends to embrace as strengths and you impose things on them and as you say in certain situations that is required even in a lodge you know a master’s job is to protect a charter which means in Ohio you have to do every degree twice that’s
Not up for negotiation you know it’s not something that the lodge can vote to say oh we’re going to ignore that one and do our own thing you know but by and large if you’re looking at the men around you as people with ideas and talents and capabilities that need nurtured then
It’s your job to create that space where they have the ability to feel free to express their thoughts ask their question to share their ideas and to have that be listened to and attended to and as long as you’re providing that space as you say brother dhy things happen so the
Question is then bottom up assumes that people will look for opportunity and growth and success if you as a manager allow that to happen instead of forcing a particular strategy on them yeah absolutely absolutely and again and it is I I think it was uh um brother uh
Brian that said earlier it you know it’s almost like the pessimist versus The Optimist uh viewpoint but you know in many ways the top down is the pessimist who assumes things are going to fail the top the bottom up is The Optimist who assumes things are going to succeed and
The idea is you know I’d rather I’d rather give people the opportunity to succeed and and have to help them along the way then assume they’re going to fail and be proven right um so you know it’s you’re absolutely right well we know that I’m the pessimist
Tonight oh we’ve all got to fill that role one sooner or later I’ll I’ll I’ll take the I’ll take the bullet for you guys who are staying quiet about this you know I I think that a lot of this also is perception and it’s how you’re how you grew up too and
And how and what you do for a living and and you know how you feel and act politically and and faithfully and really you know so I just don’t I guess not in defensive way I I don’t think it’s we should paint a picture that a
Top- down leader is a pessimist either I think a top- down leader can absolutely lead by example and and start and sweep the bathroom without having to ask someone else to do it by example and whatever else needs to be done so again like nature and like economics there’s
An equilibrium somewhere the goal is how to find it it’s not one’s right and one’s wrong I think it’s about working together I think Freemasonry as a whole is a perfect institution like n like nature what’s imperfect is the men that are in it and we’re we’re trying to
Figure out how to get better which is why we’re here so um I guess I would just say that say that we need to keep looking to nature perhaps for better answers um I don’t know this been a very unique interesting topic of conversation really really interesting perspective are there any other comments
Questions for wor Brother David because if you have him and you haven’t asked him you should ask him because this is really great topic you have a expert here with with us tonight well thank you very much for for having me out and I do appreciate the
Opportunity to to express my thoughts uh sometimes I you know we we get caught in our own head and we wonder if we’re uh if we’re making any sense so so I appreciate the opportunity to to share and and see if the thoughts made sense to anybody else very nice thank you it
Was excellent thank you brother thank you very much all right gentlemen we will move on for the remaining business bus of the evening first and foremost um if you’re not aware it has come to the attention of Rubicon recently that our very own worship brother John W
Bisac uh was bestowed a very nice award or recognition recently and that is being inducted into the Society of blue Friars for those of you who may not be aware this Society was formed I believe in 1932 and it was formed specifically to recognize those Masonic authors that are
Making a tremendous impact on the trajectory of our fraternity and wor brother bisak we want to congratulate you uh tell you that to keep writing papers and books because we’re all readers of them and um serious congratulations this is an absolute wonderful honor thank you brother uh and on that
Note we are also lucky enough to have you present at our next meeting which is Monday March 25th 7M and you’re going to be talking about the great Masonic can kicking you want to give us just a brief little teaser about what we’re going to be speaking
About uh well this covers a period from 17789 through 2024 and a can that has been kicked down the road Ro uh and organized masonry in America uh for all those years and what can be done about it if we want to silence the can kicking great look forward to it look
Forward to it uh John don’t go away yet would you please let our viewers know a little bit more about the Philthy Society sure uh Brothers Philthy Society was founded in 1928 and today it’s an international Masonic research society and the oldest independent Masonic research Society in
North America it was started to serve the needs of those who we’re seeking a deeper insight into the history ritual and symbols for masonry as well as spreading Masonic light and to learn more about it uh follow the link on the screen that you see and the link will be posted in the
Chat room box after this announcement and if you have any questions about it please feel free to get in touch with me thank you great thank you John for those of you that are are are or may not be aware the transactions of the Rubicon Masonic Society volume one
Are available for purchase all proceeds go to the Rubicon Masonic society which is a nonprofit organization we appreciate your support and we are hopefully putting together a volume two here at some point with more good Masonic education and content uh within for those of you who have not
Seen our documentary the Masonic table please do so you can go to the Masonic table.com to learn more about it uh you can stream it and purchase it or rent it on Amazon Prime uh your support is equally appreciated for that this has been a slide that
Continues to stay up until I get this posted um last year last I believe it was end of August we did a conference called the classic Masonic authors conference part one and some of our very own brother were giving presentations about Andrew McBride Joseph Fort Newton
Dwight Smith Tom Jackson uh and we have a presentation that has been recorded a little over two and a half hours in length of content split up into four parts it’s a fantastic presentation it’s been an undertaking to get it completed but we are very very close so uh when
That does come out we hope you will greatly enjoy it um it will be out soon any other final comments from anyone here tonight before we part worship brother Alan Martin will you please do the honors sir Brothers grand architect of the universe we thank you for your presence with us
This evening as we prepare to close our meeting we ask you to continue to bless us in all our undertakings we ask that you guide our thoughts and actions fortifying every moral virtue within us we ask that you grant us the necessary strength wisdom and courage as we
Endeavor to work for your great purposes amen so moed be thank you brother uh Brothers thank you all for joining us uh our next meeting is Monday March 25th 2024 7M feel free to uh share this with someone invite others to participate you can RSVP at Rubicon Masonic society.com
RSVP if you’re already onor list you don’t need to RSVP just if you’re new so sign up we’ll see you then uh may we always be happy to meet sorry dep part and happy to meet again Brother David excellent presentation thank you so much everyone have a great evening we’ll talk
To you soon good night
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