Masons that practice?

I started to hit on this in the thread someone mentioned about black lodges.

I am curious if any standing or past mason has practiced any true mysteries.
Like opening pineal gland/telepathy/'___' experiments etc...

I see philosophical theory with some masons that hold deeper interest but I never see any that have went the extra step. As in experiements etc

If handshakes are the only secret this should not be a taboo subject no? Or am I wrong about what is secret and what is not.

Originally posted by thebookling
I am curious if any standing or past mason has practiced any true mysteries.
Like opening pineal gland/telepathy/'___' experiments etc...

Well, as this sort of thing has got nothing to do with freemasonry, I suspect any that have have done so on their own time.

If handshakes are the only secret this should not be a taboo subject no? Or am I wrong about what is secret and what is not.

No - you are quite correct about what is a secret and what is not. What you are wrong about is what freemasons get up to at lodge.

It's all up to the individual Mason really but no lodge would sanction these actions, it would be at odds with some Masons religious beliefs, and religious tolerance is central to Masonry. I am a Mason and personally interested in the Occult, while a few of my brothers and I will engage in discussion about such topics, in no way do we practice them together as Masons. Bar talk with Masons tends to often be much more philosophical and esoteric, and one could consider such topics as you bring up, somewhat under that realm.

I find it odd along similar lines, thebookling. Masonry is a philosophical system, in part, and yet, we don't find, in the science of philosophy, a "masonic" school of thought, nor do we find any masons who are great philosophers, engaged in masonic sciences. Pike is often cited as a great scholarly mason, but outside of masonry, he's a nobody. Mackey was also a great researcher, but not outside of masonry.

You'd expect to, say, go to a bookstore, and see, in the philosophy section, lots of books written by masons, discussing masonry. Or to have departments at universities where people are students of masonry and masonic thought, but we don't. Thats because, I suspect, ultimately masonry is making use of other schools of thought, rather than orginiating much.

Where are the Washington's and Garibaldi's of the masonic academic world, so to speak, eh?

Its quite true that masonry doesn't add anything new to the mix in itself so there would be no books about this "new philosophical system" that the mainstram might have picked up from masonry.

The difference is more in how the ingredients are blended - a 'secret recipe' if you like. Inevitably the only real way to understand it fully is to experience it, which means joining.