Loge of the Standing Skull-1613 Nation

Join us in rejoice, the newest lodge to be constituted within the 1613 Nation. Lodge of the Standing Skull, located in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. This lodge works the Craft degrees of the Rite of Memphis. This marks the second 1613 Nation lodge in the nation of Bolivia. They are working hand in hand with our other Bolivian lodge, Logia Los Tres Iniciados.

IN LVX,

The Three Kayas

By Bro. Manolis Stamatakis
Worshipful Master
Lodge John Yarker-1613 Nation
London, England


These three kayas are actually aspects of enlightened being.
They are the Buddha reflected in three different ways in order to help sentient beings.

The meaning of the Sanskrit word Buddha is awakened or fully realized one. What is realized?
The original nature is realized perfectly as it is, with nothing changed or exaggerated but as it is at both the relative and absolute levels or as relative and absolute truth. One who is awake to this understanding is a Buddha. This realization involves the complete transcendence of obscurations. We haven't fully awakened to our true nature because of these obscurations whereas Buddha Shakyamuni realized the original nature perfectly because he was purified of obscurations.

The word 'buddha' refers to all realized beings. It is not that only one particular enlightened being is known as Buddha. Those who realized their true nature in the past are known as Buddhas, those who realize it now may be called Buddhas and those who come to this realization in the future will be known as Buddhas. 'Buddha' is a general term which does not merely refer to a single individual but to every realized being.

The whole purpose of enlightened beings is to benefit sentient beings. In order to do this, they appear in many different forms or bodies. The principle emanations are known as the three kayas; Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya. There are even four and five kayas, divided further to qualify other manifestations of enlightened being, but it is all one Buddha. 'Kaya' is a Sanskrit word which means body in the sense of many qualities gathered together, joined and united as one. Kaya here refers to the embodiments of loving-kindness, compassion, wisdom and skillful means which appear in the world to help sentient beings.

DHARMAKAYA

The Sanskrit word 'dharma' means phenomena, both external and internal, subjective and objective. Dharmakaya refers to the primordial or true nature of phenomena which is beyond conception or dualistic thought. It is not partial. It does not discriminate. It is Great Equanimity. This embodiment of wisdom is known as Dharmakaya.

We are all aware of a great variety of phenomena. There are many things which we know and feel. However, they all can be summarized into two categories; subjective phenomena and objective phenomena. Both develop through the interaction of the elements. If we look carefully at the elements, each of them are aggregations of many sub-units. Every element is composed of individual atoms and these consist of many subatomic particles bound together as the atomic structure of that element. None of these particles are independent things. Each is dependent upon others for its existence. If we look deeply and carefully into any single element, we will find our investigation in terms of subject and object ultimately dissolves in the intuition of Great Emptiness. This is the ultimate examination we can make. To go further is beyond our dualistic conceptions. Understand the real nature of the external world to be no other than Great Emptiness.

If we look at subjective phenomena, we find that it is similar to the elements. Mind can be conceptually divided into eight categories or many more but it functions as a single aggregate. If we search for where our present thought comes from, we will not find an exact source. If we look to where it goes, we cannot know it's destination. We cannot even find the spot where it exists. In this way, we can see that mind, the subject, is arising in Great Emptiness, inexpressible by mundane conceptions or speech.

Both the internal and external are based in one primordial nature. Outer or inner, there is no distinction, all are one Emptiness beyond dualistic thought, beyond existence and non-existence, both and neither. It goes far beyond the conventional notion of emptiness or vacuity. It is not some 'thing' to which we can cling. It is always here, never increasing or decreasing, but remaining as it is, as it was and how it will be all the time. Circumstances cannot change the primordial nature. Perfect realization of this nature is realization of Dharmakaya.

SAMBHOGAKAYA

Great Emptiness is our primordial nature. This Emptiness is not like a black hole or a state of nothingness. Emptiness is more like a state of fullness. By means of the primordial nature, everything is arising without effort, without thought, spontaneously appearing with clarity. That is the sign of Emptiness. If there were no Emptiness or primordial truth, everything would be blocked, nothing could move, nothing could develop and nothing could manifest. This spontaneous radiance of unceasing clarity is the meaning of the Sanskrit term, 'Sambhogakaya' .

'Sam' means perfect, 'bhoga' means enjoyment and kaya is roughly translated as body. Thus, 'the body of perfect enjoyment' is the radiant wisdom aspect of our original nature. The Sambhogakaya is displayed as the Five Wisdoms. The first of these is Dharmadhatu Wisdom. The second is known as Mirror-like Wisdom. The third is the Wisdom of Equality. The fourth is Discriminating Awareness Wisdom. The fifth is known as All-Accomplishing Wisdom. These Five Wisdoms are the clarity aspect of our true nature.

While we are in the world of samsara or as long as we are not realized, these wisdoms are known as the eight consciousnesses. When you purify the obscurations, these eight are transformed into the Five Wisdoms. Therefore, the nature of our present consciousness is based upon these Five Wisdoms.

THE EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

I will name the eight consciousnesses for people who don't know them. The first five are the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, tongue, nose and body consciousness. These five consciousnesses function through the organs to perceive the five external objects of sense. In themselves, these five are very partial and limited. The eye consciousness is only for form. It cannot taste or hear sounds or smell. Similarly, the ear is only for sound, not for seeing, tasting and so forth. Now how can these scattered consciousnesses be brought together into one united state? That is the function of the sixth consciousness which is like the driver or a judge who makes decisions. It receives and organizes the input of the five external consciousnesses and gives meaning to our experience. The sixth combines and integrates the sense consciousnesses into one. It is known as mind consciousness.

The first five consciousnesses are very immediate. They have no continuity. They only refer to the present. They cannot sense the past or the future. They only communicate directly with the present. They are very exclusive and one-sided. The sixth consciousness not only unites these five, it can also refer to the events and activities of the past and future. It is actually structuring our sense of time.

A closer look reveals that the mind has two sides. One, which we have called the sixth consciousness, is dealing with the business of the past, present and future; making decisions based on the information received from the first five consciousnesses. It is very neutral and rational. There is another side to this mind, the seventh consciousness, which is basically very emotional and gives rise to ego-clinging. On the basis of ego-clinging, ignorance, anger, attachment, jealousy, pride and doubt develop. All this arises in that singular aggregate we call the mind.

All seven of these minds are based upon an eighth consciousness which is known a 'kun-gzhi' in Tibetan, the ground of mind. It is sometimes translated as 'subconscious storehouse'. In Sanskrit, it is called 'alaya'. The nature of the eighth consciousness is neither positive nor negative; it is neutral. Alaya retains every basic habit-pattern of individuals. Everything is stored there; our good karma, bad karma, and neutral karma. All kinds of habits and whatever actions we perform during our lifetimes are registered there. This is why it is known as a 'storehouse'. Alaya is a consciousness, but it is very subtle.

When these eight consciousnesses are transmuted or transformed, they become the Five Wisdoms. The Five Wisdoms are symbolized by the five Dhyani Buddhas. They are the radiant spectrum of clarity qualifying the Dharmakaya. The central Buddha of Dharmadhatu Wisdom is Vairocana. The eastern Buddha of Mirrorlike Wisdom is Akshobya. The Wisdom of Equality is embodied in the Buddha of the southern direction, Ratnasambhava or Rinchen Jungnay in Tibetan. The western Buddha of Discriminating Awareness Wisdom is Amitabha or Opagme in Tibetan and the northern Buddha of All Accomplishing Wisdom is known as Amogha Siddhi. These are the principle Buddhas of the Sambhogakaya.

NIRMANAKAYA

All Buddhas are emanations of one Buddha. The different levels, aspects or kayas of Buddha exist only for the purpose of benefiting sentient beings. Each Buddha can appear in any of these three kayas. Dharmakaya Buddhas such as Samantabhadra appear only to highly realized beings, such as tenth bhumi Bodhisattvas who can also receive teachings from the five Dhyani Buddhas. Beginning practitioners, or those with dualistic thoughts and conceptions, would have difficulty perceiving and receiving teachings from Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya Buddhas.

The third Buddha, is known as the Nirmanakaya Buddha. Nirmana is a Sanskrit term which means manifest in form. Not just in one style or form but in all kinds of ways, in order to benefit all sentient beings whether they are highly realized, beginners or even heavily obscured. The Nirmanakaya Buddha is for everyone. The Nirmanakaya can be divided into four groups:

1. Supreme emanations
2. Birth emanations
3. Artisan emanations
4. Emanations of various things

The Supreme emanation takes birth in the world as a unique person. Buddha Shakyamuni and Guru Padmasambhava are examples of this kind. They have special forms of body, speech and mind. The special qualities of the body are known as the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor marks. For instance, their bodies have a radiant glow and are free from old age and sickness. They also have a subtle blue light called akanistha going up from the crown chakra and merging into the sky as well as special patterns of the wheel of Dharma on their palms.

They have sixty qualities of speech which most people do not have. For example, when Buddha gave teachings, as soon as his voice was heard, it would give a soothing, relaxed, peaceful feeling. At the same time, whatever words he spoke could be heard at once in many different languages. Students from other lands would hear the Buddha's voice in their native tongues. Also, his speech was not affected by distance. An audience of hundreds or thousands had no problem hearing even though they were very far away. Buddha's voice could reach to ten thousand students as clearly as to those sitting right in front of him.

The mind of realization has the three qualities of love, compassion and wisdom, as well as the ten powers and eight kinds of fearlessness. Altogether there are thirty-two qualities of mind. A Buddha has no obstruction to seeing the past, present or future. Everything is clear to the eye of wisdom. A Buddha's speech and body qualities are somewhat more obvious, but many people doubt such wisdom. They think it cannot be exactly as it says in the sutras. Even in Shakyamuni Buddha's time they investigated this. They closely examined whether Buddha was totally enlightened and perfectly clear in relation to objects or not.

Buddha renounced his father's kingdom and went to the jungle where he did six years of ascetic practice. Upon becoming enlightened, he turned the wheel of the Dharma many times for many students and so became very famous in India. After awhile, his family invited him to come back to his homeland to teach. Buddha said he would not come to the palace, but that he would stay outside the main city. So the Buddha's father and a local ruler named Zangdon who was under his dominion, had a special retreat built for the Buddha and his students. Buddha came and stayed there and began giving regular teachings.

Buddha was already known as 'The Omniscient One', being knowledgeable about every aspect of the past, present and future. But King Zangdon had his doubts about that. In order to test him, Zangdon collected one grain of rice from each of two thousand five hundred families. Each grain was wrapped individually, numbered and put into a common basket which was brought before the Buddha. King Zangdon wanted to see if the Buddha could tell him which grain came from which family So one by one, the Buddha examined the grains and told him which households they had come from. The king observed his list of numbers and names and saw that the Buddha's answers were all correct. There were no mistakes. He bowed respectfully to the Buddha and declared, "Now, I know you are omniscient. You are obviously enlightened." Finally, Zangdon became very devoted. This is just an example of the qualities of the mind of a supreme emanation.

The second Nirmanakaya or birth emanation incarnates even in the animal and non-visible realms, using different names and forms, male or female as they are needed. There are many Jataka stories of Buddha taking birth in animal worlds as a fish, a turtle, a bird, a monkey, a bear and a lion, as well as among humans and even in the god realms. These are all birth emanations or tulkus. They may or may not appear in the traditional way, wearing robes and all. Tulkus may not even necessarily be recognized as Buddhas but in every case, they are born to remove obstacles and dualistic conceptions, to free sentient beings from ignorance and bring about the perfect understanding of primordial wisdom.

The third Nirmanakaya is called the artisan emanation. These appear as objects of art and the artists who make them for the benefit of sentient beings. Thangkas, statues and even music are some of the forms these emanations take. Beautiful, inspired works of art which bring clarity, peace, joy and something special which seems to touch the heart center, are all known as artisan emanations.

There was a famous musician called Rlanga who felt that he was the supreme guitarist. And he was a very special musician, but he was also proud and arrogant. He thought he was incomparable to anybody in the world. He was always playing his music and never had any opportunity to see Buddha or receive teachings. He appreciated the Dharma but he was attached to playing music and felt he should spend his time practicing. He really thought he was the greatest.

Rlanga heard the Buddha was going to enter Mahaparinirvana and thought that he should visit him soon to receive teachings and have some contact. But he was still very involved in music and maintaining his pride. So right before he entered Mahaparinirvana, the Buddha thought, "Now what is it I still have to give sentient beings with this body? Who may I serve? Who is left?" Through his wisdom he saw Rlanga in his present condition. So Buddha emanated one very special musician and went to the door of Rlanga with a thousand-stringed mandolin. When Buddha started to play and the famous musician heard that music, he began to listen closely and thought, "Who could that be?" He had to come outside and bring his mandolin. Soon, he noticed Buddha hardly even moved his fingers. Plucking one string resonated all the others. Rlanga was unable to do this. The vibration of the music seemed to separate out the whole of space into many different voices of the Dharma which were of real benefit to this famous musician. He thought, "So there is someone more accomplished than myself! I am not the best..." At that moment his arrogance and pride dissolved. He felt very grateful to hear the Dharma through that mandolin.

Any kind of art which provides temporary or ultimate help for sentient beings by awakening love and compassion is known as an artisan emanation.

The emanations of various things manifest in a variety of ways. These can appear as rain, fire or wind. During times when sentient beings are troubled with diseases, they may come in the form of special herbs and medicines for healing or perhaps when beings are in danger of losing their lives, suddenly something miraculous occurs and saves them. All of these things are various forms of the Nirmanakaya.

There is really just one Buddha. Every person who becomes enlightened has the ability to transform or emanate in these three kaya states. So basically again, Buddha means one who has fully developed love, compassion, wisdom and skillful means, one whose obscurations and habit patterns have been purified, one who has realized a totally free, devotional state. That sentient being, that person, that individual is known as an enlightened being or a Buddha.

This is the teaching of the Three Kayas.

My Kundalini Rising

I sat for years contemplating the fact that Moses raised the "serpent" in the deserts of Egypt so long ago in the ancient world. On this one particular occasion I closed the windows and doors to my mind and attempted what i have been training for most of my life.. My turn to raise 'KUNDALINI" has come.For those of you who dont know,its the coiled energy sitting at the base of the spine and raising it through the chakra's and channels through your body is said by yogi's and many masters to be the pinnancle of enlightenment.It coils up your spine like a snake(hence the ancient name of serpent) and ends in your brain opening up your pineal gland in the brain.Through many different kinds of initations and cleansing rites,i deemed myself ready for the experience and i was certain that my initiation into Egyptian mystery schools had prepared me.

AFTER TAKING THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF BREATHS AND FOCUSING ON A CERTAIN INNER SOUND WITHIN MY BEING,I FELT THE FIRST SIGNS OF AROUSAL.THE SERPENT WAS AWAKENING.DURING ITS AROUSAL,I FELT TERRIBLE PAIN IN MY LOWER CHAKRA(GROIN AREA).IT WAS TO LATE TO STOP AS SHE(the energy)WAS ALREADY COMING OUT OF ITS LONG SLUMBER.THE PAIN WAS DUE TO REPRESSED SEXUAL ENERGY THAT HAS NOT FULLY DISSOLVED.AS THE KUNDALINI ENERGY PASSED THROUGH MY FIRST CHAKRA,I FELT AND INTENSE BURNING SENSATION.THEN SUDDENLY IT COOLED AND WITH MY MIND I MENTALLY SUCKED IT UP MY SPINE LIKE A FLUID THROUGH A STRAW.LIKE A GUSH OF WATER IT COILED AROUND MY SPINE AND AT AN INTENSE UNCONTROLLABLE SPEED SHOT INTO MY BRAIN.WITH THE INVOLUNTARY CLOSING OF MY EYES,I WAS IMMERSED IN TO PURE WHITE LIGHT.THE PLEASURE WAS SO INTENSE THAT IT BECAME UNBEARABLY ADDICTIVE FOR A MOMENT.AFTER WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN INCONSISTENT AMOUNT OF TIME PASSING RISING THROUGH DIFFRENT PLANES OF CONSCIOUSNESS I BEHELD THE VISION GLORIOUS IN ALL ITS MAJESTY AND NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY TO CAPTURE THE IMAGE IN MY MINDS EYE TODAY,I CANNOT DESCRIBE IT.VOCABULARY FAILS.FEELINGS ARE ITS LANGUAGE.

By Brother Christopher Jooste
Worshipful Master
Lodge Helios
1613 Nation
Johannesberg, South Africa

Some 1613 Facts

Crossposted from the Chequered Pavement: I would like to thank Bro. Steve Foley for encouraging factual information regarding all Masonic orders and communities to be out there for public consumption. He has been a close friend and true Brother who stands as a pinnacle of Masonic behavior. Thanks Brother. Anyway, I thought that some of this may be useful to some of you so in that spirit I hope you enjoy. Cheers, BC Well basically the 1613 Nation is a community of independent lodges (self originating, not holding or requiring charter ) who work together out of a sense of cooperation and mutual Brotherhood. We are not a Grand Orient or Grand Lodge in any way and we do not claim to be. So, what does this mean? In a nutshell we are all friends who share a common passion for Freemasonry and the betterment of Mankind through a set of common principles. The specifics are outlined on the 1613 Manifesto, although that in no way is ever intended to be a source of "set in stone" dogma. Think of the 21st century in relation to different movements. Commonalities between the 1613 and the open source software movement or the Do It Yourself ethic are numerous. In a nutshell we are those movements within our mutual love, Freemasonry. It all started from one lodge, that was itself started by an idea fueled by a desire to practice a ritual that we had a mutual fondness for. That lodge, Lodge Napoleon Bonaparte was founded expressly to work the original Rite of Misraim, a Rite that had previously been unavailable to work. Those four founders of LNB, of who I am one originally had the idea to receive a charter for the lodge from a Grand Lodge in Europe who offered the Rite of Misraim. After a lot of contact and discussion we always found something that for us was not what we desired. Whether that be the $400.00 annual "tribute" to the Grand Lodge, or having to comply 100% with their rules for visitation, voting protocol in French or what have you we decided that was not the road to go down for us. So, we decided to be independents and do our own thing. We wanted to be a worldwide lodge that would gather annually for ritual. While this worked we where running into Brethren who still wanted an in person lodge every month so we decided to explore that option. So, what we decided to do was to set up a community where we would be able to share information. We would also dedicated ourselves to helping others within the community with traveling to do degrees, redacting ritual, creating new ritual on and on. The first step was the establishment of a Post-Modern Freemasonry group on FB. This allowed us to connect with interested people from all over the world. It has been a wonderful success today with almost 500 members in harmony. This lead to the Establishment of individual lodges in Georgia and South Africa. An established lodge in Mexico working Memphis Misraim and a lodge in Germany working misraim also caught on to what we where doing so we found ourselves growing. The way that our lodges come about is two ways. A currently establish lodges expresses sincere interest in joining the community. They resonate with the manifesto and the ten point program found within it. We establish them within the community, provide full web support etc. The second method is that those who are Masons currently and who resonate with the 1613 inquire about forming a new lodge. Then we do the same thing by plugging them into the community etc. The final way is an individual seeker inquires about the community. We get them introduced. We get to know each other and whatever the best solution to get the candidate initiated when identified is put into action. Practicality is the key of the day. Our Rites are what is currently available and desire to be worked and then what can be created new and added to the current of Masonic Rites. We feature long established rituals like Memphis, Misraim, AASR (REAA) French Modern Rite, Schroeder, National Mexican Rite. As well s the newly formed Hellenic Rite. We also encourage the modification of current rites based upon the will of the lodge. The 1613 Nation is an open and free community. That means that we encourage those who are members to share the current with whoever they can. We encourage the exchange of ideas and the implementation of new best practices. We are not a dues paying organization. No lodge pays to be a member of the 1613. That means that this is strictly a volunteer effort. All of our support (including web design and hosting, intra-net, blogs, redacted rituals etc.) come at zero monetary costs to it's members. But all members are expected to be active in the community and to offer assistance to other members/lodges when required. For an example our lodges in the UK- Sanctum Sanctorum and John Yarker work together on a regular basis. Both of our Lauderdale lodges are closely linked. Our NY, NY and DC lodges work together for mutual benefit etc. The desire to be a true community is our ultimate goal. IN LVX.

Logia Jose de San Martin-1613 Nation

Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1613 Nation-Post-Modern Freemasons.

How wonderful to see our Brotherhood growing worldwide.

Our Grand Inspiration

1613 Manifesto

We stand united against the forces of stagnation and institutionalised regression. As Freemasonry is a progressive science we seek to regain a fluid and flowing form. The rejection of tradition for the mere sake of maintaining the status quo. We hear-by issue in a new era. We take control of our own sovereignty. Our members are who matter not some far away "supreme council" or dictatorial oligarchy. We maintain the right of self determination. Empowerment is the new order of the day.

Preamble:

A maelstrom is rising, reaching out across the globe. The powers that have come to dominate over the last 300 years have grown tired. So bloated by their own institutional creation they have grow slow, unable to react to the needs of the twenty first century seeker of Masonic light. The traditions that they have come to rely on have betrayed them. Just as a poor diet with lead to a body ravaged with afflictions and cancer and a poor education leaves a mind dull and witless their allegiance to seventeenth century best practices have left them on life support in the twenty first century age. Today's seeker of light wants more than the stale status quo. They want more than just the social men's club but the radical progressive revolution of the enlightenment.

Where do we go from here? When will apathy and stasis be replaced with enthusiasm and emotion? Now! By who? The revolutionaries who go by the Freemasonry beyond form. We call ourselves Post-Modern Freemasons, the 1613 Nation.

Guiding Principles:

Unlike our Modern and Antient predecessors , Post-Moderns are united together not through the bonds of institutional servitude but by the genuine desire to build upon common principles. It is no the desire to form yet another among the countless institutions. It is not the feeding of ego that can so easily lead to a cult of personality. It is the genuine desire and belief that a true community based upon common sense pragmatic principles will allow us to guide ourselves in the model of the twenty first century Freemason.

The first of these principles is that of sovereignty. Sovereignty not only of our lodges as independent houses of the Craft, but sovereignty of the individual to practice the Craft how would best benefit their individual lives. As Freemasons and free men and women; we the members and 1613 Nation loudly and proudly declare our sovereignty and independence; not only as Freemasons but as collective citizens under the canopy of Heaven. We hold it within our rights to manage our affairs as we see fit, regardless of attempted outside interference.

The second of these principles is the abandonment of rigid institutionalized forms. In Order to remain effective the Craft needs to be adaptable to any situation we find ourselves in. We cannot be so dedicated to one way that it leads us right off the cliff to extinction. This is counter productive ad potentially suicidal. We need to approach the Craft with a pragmatic mindset. The growth of the Nation leads to the service of seekers of Masonic light. This is our mission, we cannot be so caught up in "tradition" that we loose focus that would lead to aspirants slipping through the cracks.

The third principle reflects our commitment to the service of all true aspirants. We must not discriminate dues to gender, race, sexual orientation, class, creed, religion or lack of faith. To do so is a gross violation of contemporary human virtue. We must build a cosmopolitan Craft, one who is inclusive and meaningful in order to build a better humanity.

The fourth principle reflects our operative focus. For being operative, our Freemasonry, conscious of accomplishing the great divine intention and transcendent teachings of the ancients, does not admit any limitation to the absolute liberty of conscience and, for its natural extension, the complete liberty of the spirit. All free and honest human beings, from all races, genders, religions, social situations, philosophical or political ideals and economic conceptions should commune in harmony and unity to be free citizens within the temple of Masonic light. The operative magicks of shall be transmitted through our workings. United in this glorious endeavour, we the custodians of this magickal Rites now open this mutual community.

It is these principles that separate us from those who have come before. We claim no superiority except when it comes to being such for ourselves. Just as we do not hold any foreign authority in supreme regard we do not hold the standards of organizations outside of our community as absolute standards. We are united in our common bond and strengthened in by our will.

1613 Nation Structure:

Cooperation, Compassion, Community we are the pillars of the Temple!

The 1613 Nation is not a grand lodge or orient. There is no grand master nor supreme council. The 1613 Nation is a co-operational community guided by principle and help together by mutual benefit and respect. The institutionalized way of doing things has given us a three hundred year old case study. This is a lot of data to process and we have come to the conclusion that an institutionalized system always leads to status. When the blood stops moving the host body dies. That is what has let to a cross divisional collapse of what once was an initiatic Craft. We are determined to avoid this path of esoteric starvation.

Each lodge is independent, but each lodge is also tied to the community. We do not help each other out of fear of retribution but rather out of the joy and sense of purpose it gives , Craftsmen helping Craftsmen each busy building the temple not built by hands- one living stone at a time.

We are resolute that we will not adopt the self destructive habits of institutionalism or elitism.

1613 Nation: Ten Point Program of the Post-Modern Freemason

• 1.) Dedication to both lodge and individual Masonic empowerment. There is no greater lodge than the lodge of self. The four chambers of the Craftsman's heart not the four walls made of stucco and drywall. We as members of the 1613 Nation seek a high level of operative skill. We seek to reach a point of the "perpetual lodge." A state of being. We understand that it is not enough to meet once a month as Brothers than depart back into a state of a essentially profane life. It is through the empowerment of both the lodge of the individual Craftsman that must always remain in out focus or we will lose out state of perpetual motion.
• 2.) Commitment to the grow of the individual Mason as a Craftsman of Masonic and related arcana. We realize that Freemasonry is not a unique self contained system of spiritual enlightenment. In other words it was not created in a vacuum. Freemasonry pulls it's life energy from those traditions, schools and systems that came before it. It is made imperative in order for us to have a skill set in one so must we in the others. A 1613 Craftsman is a practitioner of other mystery traditions. Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, Martinism , Kabbalah, Tantra and other forms are required if one is going to be building a temple on Earth. All our tools within our familiarity.
• 3.) Abolition of the regressive policies found within Freemasonry such a hierarchical grand lodge system. To remain a community based upon cooperation. To Abolish outdated best practices such as recognition based organizational criteria. All of these things are the enemy of the twenty first century Post-Modern Freemason. We simply cannot allow ourselves to fall into regressive "headtrash." The second we do we have failed in our divine purpose.
• 4.) Restoration of "obscure" Rites of Freemasonry to a level of active practice. To be blunt we find value in all the Rites and rituals that have come before. Within every one you'll find the "golden thread" that binds us all together. We feel it is a crime that Rites be locked away as if in a museum or some perverse literary zoo. We have the honor to have all of this great body of work to have survived the centuries. Why not use them to progress our work? We make every effort to make what is available accessible to our membership.
• 5.) The encouragement of the creation and implementation of new Rites and rituals. What has come before is fantastic, build what is born a new can make the difference between something next generation and something obsolete. We need to continuously push ourselves to not only master what we have available to be create. This creativity is the very essence of the Post-Modern Freemason.
• 6.) Dedication to overall experimentation. Unless new ideas are put into action they are useless. Let us experiment with new techniques and best practices. Lets be honest with ourselves with what works and what fails. Let us find what works and build upon it.
• 7.) Active participation in the non Masonic community. To foster the role of education and tolerance in order to build a better planet. Freemasonry is nothing more than a hobby and a distraction if what we learn and are capable of is not applied to the outside world. It is up to us to be better people. better fathers and mothers, better sisters and brothers. Better employers and employees. better citizens of the worldwide lodge. The Post-Modern Freemason sincerely believes a Masonic planet is better than a profane one. make it happen, live it.
• 8.) Maintain a strong work ethic. To build instead of buy. To be self sufficient. As a grassroots movement it is up to each and every Post-Modern Freemason to get their individual hands dirty. rely on the community for help and support but more importantly be reliable. Don't buy what you can build.
• 9.) To leave no Brother or Sister behind. Be responsible for one another. We are our Brothers keepers. Brotherly love, relief and truth for the Post-Modern Freemason is not a marketing slogan. Love your Brothers and Sisters. Make time for one another and always have each others best interests in mind. There are many obstacles against the Nation, we need to always make sure that we take care of our own.
• 10.) Maintain an atmosphere of "kaizen" continual improvement. What can be built can always be built better. Improve, innovate.

The 1613 Nation is a community movement, spreading across the globe with speed and efficiency. In keeping with the spirit of a Post-Modern fluid movement dedicated to results over absolute forms we leave it up to the individual 1613 member to make their individual views know with their own personal manifesto. We need to make sure that all who seek are serviced. Everyone is just as important as everyone else. We are not based upon the ego or agenda of one person or a select group of people. We must continue to be a dynamic movement based upon skill building, growth , harmony and perseverance.

Now is the time Brethren, the birth of the 1613 Nation.