The Joy Of Freemasonry

(Our Adventure In The Beauty Of Discernment)

by Fratre Gerard T. Lyle Jr.  "Tom" February 12, 2015

My brothers, like Michelangelo chipping his David from its block of marble, is it not our Masonic challenge to forever discern those benevolently-harmonious possibilities within ourselves? After discerning these possibilities, and prudently choosing the best among them,  we implement them in our lives, and become grateful for them. Grateful that is, if we have accurately discerned, accurately chosen and accurately implemented those possibilities. 

Perhaps, my brothers, you have intuited the formula for the sane, which whispers that an increase in discernment leads to a decrease in pain. The seeker of Light ever strives for, and cherishes, the on-going sharpening of his mental sword of discernment, in order to personally identify his mundane as well as his esoteric possibilities. This essay sheds further light on the sharpening of our sword of discernment.

My brothers simplicity1 is preferred by the Hierarchy of Light, which is composed of God and his helpers, because harmony1.1, something we Freemsons are very familiar with, is an offspring of simplicity. The start of all consciousness is awareness, from which we evolve our discernment, a function which we cannot afford to overlook or ignore, for without it, our fate is that of a kitten at sea. No one can advance on the Path of Freemasonry without advancing their understanding and application of discernment.  No one. 

Most of us intuitively know that questions can be door openers. The right questions can lead us to enlightenment.  Therefore, let us now ask a beautiful question.

What Is Meant By Discernment?

The wise, in addition to starting with the Great Architect, define their terms before exploring for further knowledge. Therefore, let us not fail to define discernment2 as "The power or faculty of the mind by which it distinguishes one thing from another; acuteness of judgement; power of perceiving differences of things or ideas; insight; acumen; as the errors of youth often proceed from the want of discernment." The same source shares that a synonym for discernment is penetration. Now let's continue our exploration with another beautiful question. 

Where Do We Find Discernment In World Culture?

Discernment in Buddhism4 is one of the five wisdoms. In Egypt's ancient Temples of Luxor5, we find that, "Never believe a word without putting its truth to the test; discernment does not grow in laziness; and this faculty of discernment is indispensable to the Seeker. Sound skepticism is the necessary condition for good discernment... "

In addition to the many places which directly use and speak of the word discernment, there are those that indirectly refer to discernment or the process of discernment. Many of these indirect comments are truisms that appeal to our worldly experience and even have a catchy quality to them that has the reader nodding yes, and saying "That's right." For instance, consider this from the Dakota Nation. "We will be known forever by the tracks we leave6." Amongst the more familiar authors we find Shakespeare sharing that, "There's small choice in rotten apples7.", and "Don't waste your love on somebody who doesn't value it8."  And now, another beautiful question -- perhaps the most pertinent of all as a springboard from the definition of discernment to understanding its value in our everyday life. 

Why Should We Focus On Discernment?

Discernment functions on the physical, emotional and thought level. A simple example of discernment on the physical level is a dark area on the sidewalk in the late afternoon. Is it a shadow or a hole in the sidewalk? Not discerning accurately could mean walking around for a month or so with an itchy cast on your leg. Discerning which emotion to identify with could be the difference between a happy and an un-happy day, week or life. Emotions can distort the information that the senses report. Often witnesses to a vehicle accident report different versions of the same incident. The seasoned boxer, race driver, Astronaut or golfer, know, beyond a doubt, that if they get angry, fearful, or involved in any other emotion distracting from their purpose, they will lose. 

Quite often our emotions are imported from our interactions with the world. We might identify with a sad, fearful or suspenseful news item, and instead of radiating joy, we may adopt a mood associated with the content of that news. 

It will be no surprise then that our responses to what the world presents to us dictate the quality of our future. Making a business deal in a sad, bad or foreboding mood may not be as efficient as when making the deal in a more balanced mood. The effects from mood decisions may have many future ramifications, which could range from obvious to subtle. Because moods are not permanent, we may have forgotten the mood we made the decision in, and yet have to deal with the consequences from that particular mood decision for many weeks, months, years, and possibly incarnations to come. In short, moods and emotions are significantly fair game for our discernment. Happy hurts less than sad. 

As for discernment on the thought level, Shakespeare warns us to be careful with the quality of our thoughts as follows. "There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so9." The discerning and choosing among the hundreds of thoughts we experience daily will direct our lives accordingly, for like the head waters of a river, thought gives rise to feeling, and just as significantly, thoughts become things. Disneyland was just a thought in Walt Disney's mind, before it became a "buy a ticket and go for a ride in Southern California". What would have happened if Disney did not discern that thought accurately, or not at all? An ephemeral event like a bout with the common cold can seriously diminish the sharpness of our discernment.  The quality of our thought constitutes the design of our future. Like the plant in the seed, action stems from thought. Beautiful thoughts are seeds of happiness. Beautiful feelings are the flowers of happiness. Beautiful actions are the fruits of happiness.

Perhaps my brothers, it is becoming clear why discernment is so highly indispensible to our Masonic joy, creativity and decision making. Behind the human stamp on the world is discernment, or more specifically, and most significantly, the lack of it. 

Yet, in addition to the subtleties of life which affect us, this process of discernment itself is quite subtle. It is so close to us that most of us are not aware of it, until it is pointed out that we operate on it continuously in the waking state. Like the shadow of the earth in our night sky, we do not always discern that which we produce, until we experiece an eclipse of the moon. 

Discernment assists us in detecting deception, because every successful lie contains enough truth to make it believable. The Navajo Nation has a very catchy saying about deception. (Another one of those indirect comments on discernment.) "You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep10."  The very experienced and profound British mystic Raymond Andrea reinforced this fact when he shared that, "To unlock the gates of the mystery you must not only lead a life of the strictest probity, but learn to [discern] truth from falsehood11." A strong echo of this aspect of discerning from the Agni Yoga philosophy is that, "Besides higher vigilance, a conscious discernment of the forces of Light and darkness is indispensable12." Discernment takes a concentrated effort to grasp in order to make it a conscious tool for the Mason to fulfil his goal to become a better man. And yes, the ancients knew about this absolutely necessary human process. 

Discernment Was Taught (To Some) In Ancient India.

The following from the Bhagavad-Gita instructs us as to the basics of discernment. It goes like this.

"Thinking about sense-objects
attaches you to sense-objects;
grow attached, and you become addicted,
Thwart your addiction, and it turns to anger;
be angry, and you confuse your mind,
confuse your mind, and you forget the lesson of experience;
forget the lesson of experience, and you lose [discernment];
lose [discernment], and you miss life's only purpose13.

Here, in line seven, we find that discernment is lost when we forget the lesson of experience. So discernment depends on our remembered experience. Here we have another beautiful question. Why is this so? Why does discernment depend on our remembered experience? When we burn our finger on something hot like a stove, the lesson of experience is strong in our memory. In the future we are sure to be careful around hot stoves. Why? Because our experience has taught us that it is non-beneficial, (and painful), to touch hot stoves. The memory of the incident plus our evaluation of it becomes a lesson of experience. When we are reasonably calm, we remember this lesson and use it as a reference point to refer back to when we are considering a similar action. 

 We use our memory of past experiences as data input for our reason and/or our intuition in making present decisions. When we are reasonably calm these memories are readily available to us; however, when we are upset, these memories are interfered with, and, depending on how upset we are, (the degree of emotion with which we are identifying with at the time), the memories are proportionately blocked. It is like a person, who, playing the radio very loudly, does not hear someone talking to him, because the person listening to the loud music is distracted by and/or focused on that music. If we are to hear that voice, we must keep the radio volume at a level which will allow us to hear that voice. So too when we confuse our mind with anger as stated in the verse. That anger has a will of its own, (so to speak), and reaches over and turns up the volume of the radio of our emotions so that we cannot hear the memory speak to us about our past experience.

When that memory is, to a degree, blocked, we are back in the original condition when we didn't realize the stove was hot and may burn our finger again. This is called learning the hard way. We do this enough times until the memory of the pain is so strong that no volume of music can drown out that warning voice of experience. (However, we may run out of scar tissue in the time it takes to learn everything the hard way). 

When we play the radio of our emotions with the volume at a moderate level, this voice of experience is available for our use in decision making. We can compare an action which we are considering to similar actions in our memory banks. This puts us in a position to differentiate between our past experience and a considered action. This is discernment.

My brothers, it must be said here that emotions are one of the greatest gifts of life on this planet. The higher emotions of joy, love and gratitude are to be cherished. They minimally interfere. However, the lower emotions of anger, hate, jealousy, greed and lust are the noisiest and should be considered as rough spots to smooth in order to discern better.

Discernment is only possible when we can use the lessons of experience as a reference point. In other words, when we discern, we differentiate between two things. One of these things is an action, thought or feeling we are considering, the other of these things is the lesson from experience. We compare one with the other. This comparison will give us valuable information in relation to the assets or liabilities being considered. Of course, we can refer to as many lessons from our experience as we can recall. This again would depend on the degree of calmness that we can manifest. In other words, we remember more lessons from experience when we turn the volume of the radio of our emotions to a soft and gentle level. The lower the volume, the greater our potential will be to discern at the maximum capacity that we are capable of.

When we are in the calm eye of our personal hurricane, our heart opens its treasury of beautiful possibilities. Our response to the difference between "what is" and what we feel "should be" will dictate the degree of our personal harmony and therefore the quality of our lives. The excitement of ignorance leads to pain. In other words, the calmer we are the sharper we are. The sharper we are the more successful we will be in our decision making. The more successful we are in our decision making the less pain we will be in. The less pain we are in the happier we will be. The happier we are, (because of our discernment), the more we can assist others to sharpen their swords of discernment. The more that others sharpen their swords of discernment the more civilization will advance, for as the individual grows, so grows Humanity. Now let us ask another beautiful question. 

Can Our Level Of Discernment Be Increased?

If we were born with perfect discernment, then we would make perfect decisions with respect to the lessons of experience, not only as an individual but with respect to the history of Man. But, of course, we are not born with perfect discernment, and thus repeat many mistakes that man has made every generation in history. Our most vulnerable area with respect to discernment is the inaccurate information, due to faulty observation (that we have taken in through our five senses) from past experiences. 

We are all familiar with the optical illusion of parallel railroad tracks, and how they appear to converge. Another example of the unreliability of the senses is a mirage in the desert. But these are well known and do not give us trouble once we are aware of their nature. A more subtle illusion, universally extant, is the blue illusion, for at dawn we exchange our perception of a star filled universe for a day time stage with one star. Yet beyond our illusion of the Earth's mostly blue sky (that interaction of our sun's rays with the Earth's atmosphere) the stars continue to shine in the dark of space.

My brothers, there are some who relate illusion quite closely to discernment. One source even labels it the Law of Discernment14 as follows. "The Law of Discernment, otherwise known as the law of knowing what is real and what is not, is our tool to neutralize the power that illusion has over us... To sharpen our discernment skills, we must engage in a nonstop process of critically assessing ourselves to arrive at the truth as to why we are doing, thinking, or feeling the way we are."

 it must be said here, that emotions and illusions are not the only things which affect our discernment. Uncorrected vision and hearing definitely (in varying degrees), affect the quality of the information we take in through those senses. The most extreme examples are blindness and deafness. Smokers can verify that the quality of taste is adversely affected by smoking. Some people have a better sense of smell and taste than others, such as perfumers and wine tasters. Also genetics, accidents, illness and war may play a part in the quality of the operations of the five senses.

More so, basic science shares with us that each one of our five senses has a threshold, above or beneath of which we cannot be aware, and thus we cannot discern the particulars that exist beyond our thresholds, such as ultraviolet waves. These are mentioned here for completeness of understanding, for as Sir Francis Bacon, (philosopher, statesman, essayist, and leader of the Rosicrucian Order A.M.O.R.C. (Ancient mystical Order Rosae Crucis in Europe at the time) has shared, "... the greatest hindrance and aberration of the human understanding proceeds from the dullness, incompetency, and deceptions of the senses15." Thus we comprehend that there are obstacles, or challenges, to our discernment: yet the quality of our discernment is absolutely vital, not only to our survival, but also to our growth in Freemasonry. Now let's continue our penetration of discernment, with another beautiful question.

What Are The Three Roots Of Discernment?

Precise knowledge requires precise observation. We could easily say precise discernment requires precise observation. Why? Because the three roots of discernment are:

1. observation,
2. reflection on that observation,
3. and the memory of that reflection. 

So if the observation (any perception with the five senses) is to a degree innacurate, then the reflection upon that innacurate observation will be, to a degree unreliable, because it is based on the faulty information in the observation.  Thus the memory of that innacurate reflection will contain innacurate information. Later on when memory assists us in identifying an object we are perceiving, that innacurate memory will give us, to a degree, a false reference concerning the perception. (Real roses with real beetles are less common than real roses with imaginary beetles.) 

My brothers, considerations of observations are nothing new. Many centuries ago Sir Francis Bacon16; focused his thought on the process of observation. Being a genius, and well skilled with the written word, he recorded his observations on observation for those, with an inquiring mind, who prudently walk the planet after him. In his book Novum Organum we find this piece of wisdom.

"Man, being the servant and interpreter of Nature, can do and understand so much and so much only as he has observed in fact or in thought of the course of nature. Beyond this he neither knows anything nor can do anything." This may remind us of Protagoras' famous saying, "Man is the measure of all things.17" The Lakota Nation added a characteristic as a result of not knowing nature as follows:  "When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard18." 

Shakespeare shares that this hard heart engages in deception, as follows: "False face must hide what the false heart doth know19." It is an echo of the idea that to Man the process of discernment, of which observation is a vital part, is essential to life. Without it there is only repetitive pain, (we would keep burning our fingers). Most likely it would be the demise of Mankind. In short an esoteric consideration may well be that discernment is a self-earned gift of the Great Architect of the Universe as necessary for the survival of Humanity.

Bacon further shares that, for progress to occur, there is a requirement of obedience. Yes, obedience (a word not appreciated by most of the profane world). Basically he is telling us that science would be useless without obedience. Let's try to gain a glimpse of his meaning in this next aphorism20 as follows. "Human knowledge and human power meet in one; for where the cause is not known the effect cannot be produced. Nature to be commanded must be obeyed; and that which in contemplation is as the cause is in operation as the rule."

My brothers this just may be the most esoteric piece of pragmatic information, both mystical and scientific that has ever been allowed to be shared with the general public. Serious meditation, on cause and effect by a student on the Path, will reveal how powerful it is. Those not on the Path will quickly find reason to dismiss it as illogical and not making any sense.
I tested it out once on a PHD  professor of philosophy. He dismissed it as foolishness. Dismissed it that is, until I translated it into wording that resonated with the contents of his consciousness. My explanation went like this. To launch a rocket, the rocket motor lift (exploding chemicals) must be more powerful than the force of gravity. This he understood, especially when I shared that the escape velocity from Earth20.1 ( lift off) is 11.2 Kilometers per second. For those not yet comfortable with the metric system, this is translated as 25,038.72 miles per hour. I like to round it off for easy remembering as 7 miles per second.
The lift off cannot take place unless we "obey" Nature by understanding  the force of gravity and devising a way to overcome that force. This echoes back to observation, for someone had to observe gravity and experiment with it in order to numerically identify, demonstrate then promulgate the escape velocity from Earth. Bacon further emphasises the value of observations in scientific inquiry21 as follows. "It cannot be that axioms established by argumentation should avail for the discovery of new works, since the subtlety of nature is greater many times over than the subtlety of argument. But axioms duly and orderly formed from particulars easily discover the way to new particulars, and thus render sciences active."

My brothers, not by argument or debate do we find the particulars of nature that we need in order to obey her, but by accurate observation. These accurate observations are then used to observe and gain more accurate observations and thus the process of science works well, and things like escape velocity in combination with telescopes make the moons of Jupitor stepping stones of excitement, and science when morally undertaken with its fundamental observations becomes a working tool for Mankind.

Let us remember that we are quoting Sir Francis Bacon, the Father of the Scientific Method, to emphasize the absolutely necessary value of observations. It is hopefully assisting us to understand that observation, which is a vital part of our discernment, is not only germane exoterically, but  esoterically as well for without observation (perception through the five senses) there can be no discernment, and, as we shared previously, no discernment, no growth, no refinement (no smoothing of the stone).

The beautiful question then arises.  Can we always have 100% accurate observations as well as 100% accurate reflections upon those accurate observations in order to have 100% accurate memories in order to have 100% accurate discernment in life? The answer is that it is possible, but more than likely less than a handful of people, that have ever lived on the planet, operated on such a level as perfection of discernment. 

However, and this is the critical point of the Masonic esoteric life, in order to become a better man, we absolutely need to increase our level of discernment. On a scale of one to one hundred, a person may have no clue as to what level of discernment he is operating on, but if he is on level 30, then his striving will bring him to level 31, and if he is on level 86, then his striving will bring him to level 87. Striving is the key. It is no different with increasing our level of Virtue, such as prudence or charity. Striving to greater accuracy of observation is the first step. Striving to greater accuracy of reflection upon that observation is the next step. These will assure more accurate future memories. This is the process. The next beautiful question is, so how long will it take? 

My brothers, don't count on it being achieved in a weekend. It just may be that each of us has had more incarnations than there are stones in the Great Wall of China. Now that, you will agree, would be a huge amount of innacurate observations and inaccurate reflections. But incarnations or not, the true Initiate in the Mysteries of Life knows that he is on the Path for the long haul of perfection, no matter how many years (or incarnations) that takes. He will never give up, for he knows that discernment is the master key to happiness, which he understands as the smoothing of his stone.

The great secret of accurate observation is the degree of calmness of the observer at the time of the observation. In short calmness facilitates concentration. The calmer we are the greater the possibility of a more accurate observation.  The uncalm generate confusion. If we calmly look closer we may see more. The un-calm have trouble concentrating. Calmness allows for quality of thought, and especially quality of concentration. Like the "old cowhand", we must ride heard on those thoughts which go astray, for they just might be the noisy ones.

We can sum up the three roots of discernment as follows. Accurate observation through the perceptions of our five senses gives us accurate information with which we can (hopefully) accurately reflect on to give us accurate memories of the lessons of our experience. If we have accurate lessons of experience in our memory, our discernment will be more accurate, especially when we are calm, thus giving us an advantage in evaluating those possibilities, which life presents to us. 

From experience, many (too many to count), who are not on the path, or are early on it, have a tendency to say that, "This discernment business is just too hard". The truest answer to the ignorance, or more kindly the un-knowingness, of such a comment is that life is infinitely harder (and infinitely more painful) if we do not increase our discernment in order to make wiser choices from the possibilities that everyday life presents to our consciousness. A situation viewed as a problem feels like a very high dull grey wall.  Viewed as a challenge, however, it becomes an invitation to a very green victory. We are constructing our high-way of discernment, let us never forget that an increase in discernment leads to a decrease in pain. 

Well, perhaps most of you will agree that we have now penetrated, or discerned discernment to a serious degree, and surely after asking the Great Architect for further illumination, and then meditating on it, we will be able to discover more about this most vital yet subtle subject. 

That being said, however, imprudence would border on criminal if we ended here, for we have yet to consider two aspects of discernment which are so far beyond our five senses, that Man is in the kindergarten of not only learning about them, but also in learning how to deal with them.  As if our personal emotions and thoughts were not subtle and or frequent enough to challenge the most discerning, science has imposed even more subtle, and perhaps insideous aspects, with very serious potential consequences.  So let us now ask another beautiful question.

Is Science By-Passing our Discernment?

We must now deal with modern media challenges to our discernment. By media challenges, we are not referring to those catchy musical jingles, learned in our youth which train us to buy a product for the rest of our lives, although these provide ample opportunities for us to practice and sharpen our discernment. The media challenges we are about to briefly explore, are more like what science calls the insideous gases, which are colorless, odorless and tasteless. Those which our five senses cannot detect -- those which we are not humanly wired up to detect. 

My brothers, it has been alarmingly said and as well agressively denied, that the advertisement field has introduced (hopefully long past) the concept and application of subliminal advertisement. In general, if it is subliminal it suggests that it cannot be detected coming into our conscious mind. In short we cannot discern it. Subliminal messages then become part of the contents of our consciousness in order to program our activity, particularly in acquiring a product, or worse yet, how to vote. 

More specifically, "The word subliminal22 literally means 'below threshold'. To elaborate on this it means that you are not aware of the message – it is below the threshold of your conscious perception. However you will still take the message in on some level as your subconscious mind processes it and stores this information. Subliminal messaging therefore refers to the action of sending a suggestion directly into the subconscious mind." Carl Jung (b. 1875- d.1961), the founding father of modern psychology, shared that, "The subliminal aspects of everything that happens to us may seem to play very little part in our daily lives, but they are the almost invisible roots of our conscious thoughts22."

So, my brothers, attainment of accurate discernment is, as you can imagine, prudently necessary when these subliminal suggestions later manifest as thoughts and desires in us urging us to acquire the products (contents) of these insideous suggestions. Will we simply identify with the subliminally manifesting thought or feeling, or will we be able to consciously distance ourselves from it and decide whether we choose to operate on it or not. Most will fail to discern in this area, and thus act on the thought and or feeling from the subliminal experience thinking it to be their own. In short they identify with it; think it is their own; and act on it.
Research advises that, "There’s disagreement on the degree to which these messages are used, understood, or accessed23. The idea of these messages has been around since the late 19th century, and by the mid 20th century, the use of this messaging in advertising was considered standard fare, especially visual messages where something would  flash for a split second on a screen that would subliminally convince the viewer to act in a certain way. People became afraid that subliminal messages could be used to 'brainwash' themselves or others. This fear became so great that by the 1970s, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned the use of subliminal messages in advertisements."
Psychologists have researched this field under the name of subliminal stimuli, as follows. "Subliminal visual stimuli24 are words or pictures that are presented so as to be unidentifiable to the viewer's conscious perception. For example, images may be flashed before the eye too quickly for the conscious mind to apprehend. Such stimuli can nevertheless exert an effect on judgment and behavior. The study, which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, represents the largest and most definitive such test ever conducted. Studies of visual subliminal materials carried out at the Univ. of Washington from 1989 to 1992 also have led to some firsts.
"An infamous example of the phenomenon is the alleged case in 1957 of the drive-in theater in New Jersey, where messages such as "Drink Coke" and "Eat Popcorn" were flashed on the screen. Sales of those refreshments were said to have increased as a result. [The researcher] Greenwald regards the case as something of an urban legend, and notes the alleged effects were not scientifically verifiable. Greenwald and colleagues have since established rigorous scientific methods for investigating the phenomenon of subliminal activation. They invented a statistical method for establishing that subliminal visual stimuli indeed exert their effect by acting through the subconscious mind." "Subliminal stimuli are usually so weak that the recipient is just not aware of the stimulus25." 
My brothers some research has been done which basically determined that it is possible, I repeat possible, to detect some of this subliminal stimuli. However, the ingenuity of Man went immediately to work and found a way to re-hide the stimuli. This re-hiding is technically and officially called masking26. Science describes it as follows. "Stare directly at a light for a few seconds and then close your eyes. The image you see when your eyes are closed is called a visual afterimage, the temporary footprint left behind after retinal activation, which poses a small problem for subliminal presentations. Anything presented to the visual system will leave a trace on the retina, allowing a person to "see" an image long after it's disappeared. One solution to the afterimage problem is a visual mask. These are generally meaningless words or images, presented immediately following the critical stimuli, that are intended to "erase" the afterimage. You'll still experience an afterimage, but it will be of the mask, not the critical stimulus, allowing you to present stimuli for longer durations. These masks are usually random strings of letters if you're presenting words (e.g.XQFBZRMQWGBX), or simple meaningless patterns (e.g. cross-hatched lines) if you're presenting pictures." 
And now, my brothers, so we will not think that subliminal stimuli are visual only, here is some audio subliminal research27 and at least one existing and quite successful application of it in the real world. "Audio, transmitted subliminally does reach the subconscious mind. Peoples' thoughts, feelings and actions can be influenced by stimuli processed, without any awareness of perceiving. In these studies, people were simply asked whether or not they were aware of perceiving.
"For example, subliminal audio was used; letters of the alphabet or numbers were whispered so faintly that observers claimed that they were unable to hear any sound whatsoever. To test whether they had been perceived subconsciously still, the observers were asked to make guesses regarding the stimuli. For example, the observers were asked to guess whether a letter or a digit had been spoken.
"The result was so consistently seen that the observers' guesses regarding the stimuli were more correct than would be expected on the basis of chance guessing. So, despite the observer’s saying they were unaware of perceiving the stimuli, their guesses indicated that they did in fact perceive sufficient information to make accurate guesses regarding the stimuli. This style of experiment has been repeated 100s of times and when compiled, they leave no doubt that we can subconsciously perceive subliminal audio stimulus. 
So How is Subliminal Audio used In The Real World?
"Subliminal messages reduce shoplifting. By 1979 nearly 50 department stores in the U.S. and Canada had been using subliminal messages over their music systems which had resulted in a significant reduction in both customer based shoplifting and employee theft. One East Coast chain saved $600,000 over a nine-month period.
Another story in the Wall Street Journal in 1980 stated that subliminal messaging in a New Orleans supermarket resulted in an all time [shoplifting] low within 6 months of use - from $50,000 per six month period to a figure of $13,000! Furthermore cashier shortages dropped from $125 per week to below $10 per week. Basically a sound mixer is used like those used by disco deejays, the box mingles bland music with subliminal anti-theft messages."

Well my brothers, by now, some of us may be thinking that, if subliminal stimuli by pass our conscious mind, and if discernment is a conscious process, then how can we protect ourselves from something we cannot detect? It is a good question and one that led to the banning of subliminal advertisements by the FCC.  Surely, with prudence and patience, such a question can lead us deeper into our penetration of discernment as a working tool to smooth that stone which, as the famous Irish poet William Butler Yeats would say, "troubles our living stream28."

There may be some conflicting desires, habits etc. in the contents of our consciousness which would make us suspicious of the subliminally manifested thought or feeling. For instance, It is very possible that someone for some reason does not like, or is allergic to popcorn. The subliminal manifesting thought of "Eat Popcorn" may just find resistance here, from an aversion of taste etc, or the understanding that if I eat something that I'm allergic to, I will seriously suffer the consequences. Not wanting the consequences may be stronger than the subliminal thought can overcome.

Most of us can imagine the battle of will power (or more descriptively won't power) versus subliminal dessert thoughts and feelings, which will occur in a serious dieter who has chosen to reduce the quantity of desserts. Furthermore, some of us do not watch TV and thus not commercals, which would reduce our exposure to subliminals. But let us remember that the mention here of subliminal stimuli is only to share the more subtle aspects of the challenges to our discernment, and not to discourage anyone from sharpening their discernment. Before the world ever heard of subliminal stimuli, the challenges to personal discernment were more than enough to cause consistently profuse confusion and bloodshed in the world. But we should now ask an esoterically beautiful question. 

Is There An Esoteric Challenge To Our Discernment?

The answer is yes, there is an esoteric challenge to our discernment that is certainly not new in the world, yet disbelief, or worse yet fear, has blocked investigation into it until more modern times. Enough research has now been done in the world to establish that thought transmission is a fact. "The Rhine Research Center explores the paranormal and phenomena like hypnosis and telepathy29. It stands as testament to Duke’s[Duke University] historic connection to parapsychology research."

My brothers, telepathy is a field of study that may well be inexhaustible. For some people, what is about to be shared may be quite scary, perhaps terrifying. However, at some point of time on the Path, telepathy crashes into the category of serious discernment. Why?

It has been established that a person, or a group of people can send a telepathic message to another person or persons. It has also been established that a person, or persons can receive a telepathic message. So here is where discernment comes into play. If we can receive a thought message, whether we are aware of it or not, then all our thoughts are not our own. Let me repeat that: not all our thoughts are our own. Let me also repeat that this is not meant to scare. Of course the scare factor may be diminished since we have already discussed this effect through subliminals, which were/are, as well, not our own thoughts. So there are at least two sources of our thoughts not originating with us as individuals. Hypnotic suggestion is a third, but we'll save that for another researcher.

At this point one may be wondering why the understanding of discernment and its specific mechanics was brought up if discernment can be by-passed scientifically with media instruments as well as telepathically using only the human mind. Has this revelation about discernment, as vital to our becoming a better man, been an exercise in futility? Well, as you have probably guessed by now, there is one other aspect of discernment to investigate, one that takes an esoteric step into the familiar and yet perhaps, in varying degrees, unknown territory of the Mason -- the heart. And now, my brothers, let us ask the most beautiful esoteric question of all for the discerning Mason.

What Is The Esoteric Aspect Of Discernment?

How then do we distinguish which are an individual's private thoughts and which are not, when the mind is still in the Kindergarten of discernment? The answer from esoteric literature is that the heart is the university of discernment to which all who wish to advance on the Path must specifically attend, and graduate Magna Cum Laude (with high honors). The sincere Mason has been enrolled in the classroom of the heart, and looks forward to greater illumination in order to be closer to the Great Architect of the Universe as well as increasing the quantity and quality of his service to his family, Lodge, and Humanity. In short the sincere Mason is learning to let his heart warm his mind. He is regularly searching for new ways to use his working tools to increase his prudent participation in the realm of Charity. He knows that the quality of his future depends upon his cultivation of Brotherly Love. In short he is in active pursuit of the Masonic Virtues within himself thus bringing him knowingly or unknowingly closer to hearing that still small voice within. 

Ralph M. Lewis30 (past world wide leader of the Rosicrucian Order A.M.O.R.C.) helps us understand that still small voice as follows. "Intuition is termed 'insight' in most modern psychological texts. This is what we might term an inner perception, a kind of immediacy of knowledge. In other words, an influx into the conscious mind of ideation, a chain of ideas which have not been labored upon by the reason and are suddenly realized. This intuitive knowledge principally rises from our subconscious mind. It consists mostly of a kind of higher judgement and subconscious organization of our knowledge so as to compose new ideas or concepts which are then realized." Whether we call it insight, a hunch or gut feeling, it is our best friend. The more a Mason uses his working tools the less un-virtuous noise will be interfering with or blocking that prudently-loving as well as most discerning still small voice within, which the wise have also called the voice of conscience. 

So What Does The Esoteric Culture Say About The Voice From Within?
My brothers, a pithy proverb from the Cheyenne Nation contains a most prudent guidance as follows. "Our first teacher is our own heart31." The Holy Scripture speaks of insight as well. "And this is my prayer:  that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and be pure and blameless...32" Some very insightful discerning-heart wisdom is also shared in the Agni Yoga philosophy, as we can see from the following short but fascinating compilation on the heart. 
"... the means of [discernment] are contained in the heart33." "... the heart will discern a great deal before the reasoning of the brain dares to begin thinking34." "The sense of [discernment] must be developed at all costs, otherwise man will fall prey to a particular kind of barbarism35." "Receptivity to subtle energies is always accompanied by refinement of the organism. Thus on the path to the Fiery [Highest] World it can be affirmed that the fiery consciousness will bestow the key to [discernment]36. "The heart is able to discern the seed of treachery37." "[Discernment] is one of the most pronounced fiery qualities. Love everything that can uplift the heart 38." 
My brothers, we have shared that questions possess the magnificent potential of being door openers to the realm of greater understanding. Sometimes a brief Q&A (question and answer) session, such as we will now close with, can be enlightening. 
Q1.	How should we discern?
A1.	"Let thy heart be thy judge and faith thy power39."

Q2.	How should we approach the abode of the Hierarchy of Light?
A2.	"Learn to approach Our Heights pure of heart40."

Q3.	What is the source of the surest knowledge?
A3.	"The surest knowledge is the heart's41."

Q4.	How should we open our hearts?
A4.	"Open thy heart through [charity] benevolence42."

Q5. 	Is the heart aware of the phantoms of the mind?
A5.	"The heart is aware of the phantoms of the mind, but it knows the truth43."

Q6.	Where does God dwell?
A6.	"The Cosmos is reflected in the pupil of every eye. And God dwells in every heart. Woe to those who expel God. Better never to know than to betray44."

Q7.	WHAT IS THE ARMOR OF THE HEART?
A7.	"Striving is the armor of the heart45." 
 
With the armor of the heart my brothers, 
we will now conclude our paper on
 The Joy Of Freemasonry 
(Our Adventure In The Beauty Of Discernment).
Thank you, my brothers for your kind, patient, and loving attention. 
..............................................................................................
Bibliography
1.  Agni Yoga Series of books, Illumination, II:IV:4, Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025
1.1.  Agni Yoga Series of books, Supermundane 4 #943 , Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025
2. Webster's New Universal Dictionary of the English Language; Webster's international Press. New York 1976.
3. Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O.R.C.: Technique of the Master, Andrea R., P151, Kingsport Press, Kingsport, TN.
4. Rigpa Shedra, Wisdom of discernment,  http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php  

5.  Ancient Egyptian Proverb found in the Temple at Luxor, http://www.inspirationalstories.com/proverbs/traditional-there-are-two-kinds-of-error-blind/

6. Dakota Nation, North America, Indian proverb, http://www.inspirationalstories.com/proverbs/?s=tracks
7. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew,  shakespeare.mit.edu/The Taming of the Shrew/full.html, Shakespeare (b. 26 April 1564, d. 23 April 1666) , 
8. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet , shakespeare.mit.edu/Romeo and Juliet/full.html
9.  The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Hamlet, shakespeare.mit.edu/Hamlet/full.html

10. Navajo Nation, North America, proverb, http://www.quotes.net/quote/4718
11. Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O.R.C.: Technique of the Master, Andrea R., P112, Kingsport Press, Kingsport, TN.
12. Agni Yoga Series of books, Fiery World III, 313, Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025

13. 2. The Song God: by Christopher Isherwood and Swaimi Prabavananda; Vedanta Press.
14.  Spiritual Maturity, Felicity Neale, spiritualmaturityinfo@gmail.com.      
15. Novum Organum, Sir Francis Bacon Book #1, Aphorism 50, http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1432

16. A. Novum Organum, Book #1, Sir Francis Bacon, 1620, Aphorism #1,  1st Vicount of St. Alban b. (22 Jan 1561 -d.  9 April 1626).  http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1432
17. The Internet Classics Archive, The Dialogues of Plato: Theatetus and Protagoras, http://classics.mit.edu/index.html 
18.  Lakota nation of North America, proverb, http://www.rodneyohebsion.com/lakota.htm
19.  The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Shakespeare, shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/full.html
20.  Novum Organum, Book #1, Sir Francis Bacon, 1620, Aphorism #3, http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1432
20.1. http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1053 (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dept of Physics). 
21. Novum Organum, Book #1, Sir Francis Bacon, 1620,  Aphorism #24, http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1432

22.  http://www.subliminal-messaging.com/disney-subliminal-messages/

23.  http://www.wisegeek.org/what-are-subliminal-messages.htm#didyouknowout
24. University of Washington psychology professor Tony Greenwald. early 1995. www.washington.edu/research/pathbreakers/1990h.html
25. New York: Columbia University Press,  www.scribd.com/doc/142233693/Subliminal-2 ."
26. Cornell Univ.,  http://www.csic.cornell.edu/201/subliminal/#nutsbolts.
27.  : Source: A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Psychology (Vol. 7, pp. 497-499). New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.The official psychology journal write up for Ed’s researchYou can read the full research paper here  * This article is taken from Time Magazine.

28. Poem: Easter 1916, W.B. Yeats,  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1761659/Easter-1916
29. The Rhine Research Center,  www.dukechronicle.com/.../durhams-home-paranormal-activity Cached.
30. Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O.R.C.: Through The Minds Eye, page 69, Lewis, Ralph M.

31. Cheyenne Nation,Native American, Proverb, news.nativeamericanencyclopedia.com/post/104797581213
32. Holy Bible, King James version, Phil 1:9-10. 
33. Agni Yoga Series of books, Brotherhood #28., Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025
34.  Agni Yoga Series of books, Heart, #353., Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025
35. Agni Yoga Series of books, Supermundane 3, #674, Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025   
36. Agni Yoga Series of books,  Fiery World 3, #391, Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025   
37.  Agni Yoga Series of books,  Heart #39, Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025   
38. Agni Yoga Series of books,  Fiery World 1, #660, Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025 
39-44. Agni Yoga Series of books,  Leaves of Morya's Garden (1), #15,43,47,61,128,207, Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025

45. Agni Yoga Series of books, New Era Community, #55, Agniyoga.org, Agni Yoga Society, Inc. 319 West 107th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025