A Mason's Work

This episode examines fear as the first of the Ruffians Within—not as a villain to be destroyed, but as a psychological function that can either protect or paralyze. The discussion focuses on how fear becomes destructive when it limits speech, suppresses self-expression, and quietly reshapes behavior. By learning to notice fear’s disguises, the work of reclaiming agency can begin.🔑 Key TakeawaysFear is a useful alert system that becomes harmful when internally manufacturedSuppressed speech is one of fear’s primary behavioral consequencesNoticing how fear disguises itself is the first step toward reducing its control💬 Featured Quotes0:00:29–0:00:33  “Fear is super useful in what it does.”0:01:25–0:01:38  “One of the greatest enemies of free speech as a concept… is that they will essentially use fear to try and control that speech.”0:02:03–0:02:09 “Every time you essentially surrender to that fear, you are limiting your speech.”0:02:43–0:02:51  “Noticing is really the first step to all improvement.”0:03:18–0:03:36  “Fear oftentimes masquerades as other things… it can masquerade as anger… strangely enough, it can masquerade as flattery.”0:05:42–0:05:48  “It expresses itself in other ways… in a way that is really, really quite subversive.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the CraftExplores how internal conflict distorts behavior, aligning with fear’s tendency to suppress honest expression.Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and ResultConnects to this episode’s emphasis on remaining present with discomfort rather than allowing fear to dictate avoidance.Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

This opening episode introduces the Three Ruffians as internal forces that quietly undermine growth and agency. Rather than treating them as external villains, the episode reframes them as psychological patterns that sabotage development from the inside. By naming these forces and understanding how they operate, the work of self-awareness can begin. 🔑 Key TakeawaysThe Three Ruffians can be understood as internal psychological forces, not external enemiesFear, uncertainty, and doubt diminish agency and constrain expressionNaming internal saboteurs is the first step toward regaining control and movement💬 Featured Quotes0:01:14–0:01:23  “But when we start talking about what that really means for us as people trying to grow and develop, the conversation gets a lot more interesting.”0:02:58–0:03:24  “Each of the roughions might represent fear, uncertainty, and doubt… these are the three things that will detract from your agency as an individual or potentially paralyze you.”0:03:47–0:03:59  “Each bad guy in a movie can represent essentially a function of your own psychology that you are maybe letting drive the bus too much.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the CraftExplores the internal contradictions that arise when behavior and values diverge, aligning with this episode’s focus on hidden internal forces.Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and ResultExamines how unresolved inner tension can either stall growth or become a catalyst for development.Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

In this concluding episode of the series, Right Worshipful Brother Michael Arce shares a lived example of how the symbolic “world” manifests in unexpected places—including digital ones. Through a story of cooperation, conflict, and moral choice inside an online game, he reveals how the same patterns of trust, effort, equality, and ethical testing found in Freemasonry appear in the wider world. The result is a reflection on belonging, character, and the universal human search for connection.🔑 Key TakeawaysDigital spaces recreate the same moral tests and relational dynamics found in real lifeEquality and contribution can flourish when identity and status fall awayFreemasonry provides a durable, real-world framework for connection that transcends digital interactions💬 Featured Quotes0:01:32–0:01:39 — “We were able to become friends through the evening… I spent more time hanging out with strangers than I did with real friends that week.”0:03:07–0:03:14 — “In this digital video game environment… that equality that we seek in life… it exists.”0:03:21–0:03:28 — “In this world, this digital world, we're only judged by our effort and our contributions to the game, just like in Freemasonry.”0:03:40–0:03:47 — “Your sense of decency gets tested when your squad is just randomly attacked by another squad.”0:04:39–0:04:46 — “We fear that we might also act just as selfishly as other people do.”0:05:12–0:05:18 — “We're ultimately the player in this game.”0:06:03–0:06:10 — “The digital quest… confirms that hunger that we have, that we're looking to find a sustainable real connection.”0:06:26–0:06:34 — “You're listening because you're seeking that same light too.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the CraftExplores the gap between who we believe ourselves to be and how we act—mirrored in this episode’s exploration of moral testing within anonymity.Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and ResultReflects the ongoing, imperfect work of growth, paralleling how digital interactions expose real blind spots and opportunities for refinement.Creators & Guests RW Michael Arce - Guest

At the systemic level, the world reveals itself as a living structure—moving with you, through you, and without you. This episode explores how the world operates as a dynamic, interconnected whole and how personal development becomes inseparable from participation in that larger motion. By seeing the world as an organism rather than an obstacle, we begin to understand what it means to contribute energy to systems in ways that create real, lasting change.🔑 Key TakeawaysThe world is an interconnected system that influences and is influenced by your actionsSystemic change requires adding energy to the structures you want to transformSeeing yourself as part of the world—not separate from it—reduces suffering and increases agency💬 Featured Quotes0:00:00–0:00:12 — “At a sort of philosophical or systemic level, the world operates kind of with you, through you, and without you at the same time.”0:00:12–0:00:22 — “When you look at the way the world is, if you will, it contains all things without definition, without holding onto them, without clinging.”0:00:28–0:00:41 — “It is a story in motion… where you can influence and be influenced by it.”0:00:52–0:01:05 — “The world has this deep and profound interconnectedness that you have to begin to at least fathom at your periphery in order for you to be able to really become part of the change you want to see.”0:01:15–0:01:34 — “You start to move out of this operator model… and you begin to approach the world in the underpinning of Gandhi’s quote about ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’”0:03:59–0:04:15 — “When you get to this level of understanding of how the world works, it immediately lowers the temperature on your suffering experience to a degree.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the Craft Reflects the systemic truth that personal narratives and collective systems often conflict, requiring awareness of how one's internal world interacts with the external one.Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and Result Parallels this episode’s systemic insights by exploring the ongoing, emergent process of becoming part of something larger than oneself.Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the relational level, the world reveals itself as a network of interacting systems—human, cultural, social, and behavioral. This episode explores how we learn from one another, how meaning emerges through interaction, and how our relationships shape the possibilities available to us. By treating the world as a relational laboratory, we learn to ask better questions, refine our approaches, and participate more skillfully in the systems that shape our lives.🔑 Key TakeawaysHuman beings learn and evolve through interaction, not isolationRelational systems—visible and invisible—shape how change becomes possibleDiscovery questions and cooling tactics reduce friction and increase insight💬 Featured Quotes0:00:57–0:01:06 — “One of the things that human beings do really well compared to most other animals is we learn from each other.”0:02:41–0:02:53 — “You can essentially lower the temperature and start asking better… more discovery-style questions and then take those discoveries back into your lodge.”0:03:43–0:03:47 — “It’s actually much more of a laboratory environment than you might think.”0:03:47–0:03:53 — “You can level up from other people’s experience and you can work to try new builds of your character anytime you need to.”0:04:16–0:04:23 — “You can give energy to that system and help things improve, help add grace, help lower the temperature.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the Craft Explores how relational misalignment shapes perception and meaning, echoing this episode’s emphasis on interpreting social systems accurately.Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and ResultReflects on uncertainty and imperfection as parts of relational growth, supporting this episode’s framing of the world as a learning laboratory.Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

This episode examines the world as the domain of behavioral truth—the difference between what we imagine, intend, or feel and what we actually do. The world reflects our actions back to us without filtering or interpretation, and it becomes the only reliable place to refine our plans. By embracing the reality of behavior rather than the comfort of ideals, we gain the data needed to shape a meaningful life. 🔑 Key TakeawaysBehavioral reality matters more than internal intention or emotional narrativeThe world offers unfiltered data about how our actions shape our environmentReviewing daily conduct strengthens the link between planning and execution💬 Featured Quotes0:00:03–0:00:09 — “When we talk about the world, we're talking in many ways about cold, hard reality.”0:00:09–0:00:18 — “We're talking about the difference between intent and all of the stuff that goes on, you know, perhaps in your head or in your heart and emotional context versus the actuality of lived experience.”0:01:32–0:01:39 — “How you spent yesterday is a fact, not an idealized reality.”0:04:17–0:04:23 — “Look at what you are currently experiencing in the world and try and evaluate how you have contributed to what's happening right now.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the CraftExamines the uncomfortable space between how we see ourselves and how our behavior actually lands—mirroring the world’s behavioral feedback loop.Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and ResultReflects on navigating periods where behavior and outcome do not yet align, reinforcing the behavioral discipline of ongoing refinement.Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

In this opening episode, the World is introduced as the place where Masonic ideals encounter friction, resistance, and consequence. The Lodge is where tools are learned; the World is where they are proved. This symbolic frame establishes the distinction between intention and application, and positions the World as the essential testing ground for growth.🔑 Key TakeawaysThe World applies pressure that reveals the truth of our toolsIdeals must survive contact with real systems, motives, and constraintsMasonry becomes meaningful only when its work enters the world beyond ritual💬 Featured Quotes0:01:31–0:01:36 — “We talk about the world as the place where all of our work gets tested and applied.”0:01:56–0:02:11 — “As we act through the full range of our day-to-day life, we get to test all of the things we think we know and all of our skills as we move through the path of life.”0:02:22–0:02:32 — “We will use them in the lodge… but the whole design intent is not to do all of that work in the lodge room. It’s then take that out into that larger world.”0:03:04–0:03:15 — “You can't have something that works only in theory… tons of stuff works in theory that when it's met with the real friction of everyday life falls over completely.”0:04:49–0:05:05 — “It is a place of varying motives. It’s a place where not everyone’s your friend. It's a place where everyone's going to be in some level of kind of conflict either by intent or by accident.”0:05:42–0:05:46 — “A lot of the conflict that we face in the world is just accidental.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the CraftExplores the uncomfortable gap between ideals and real outcomes—mirroring how the World challenges symbolic assumptions.Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and ResultA reflection on navigating the unresolved, imperfect nature of real situations, echoing the symbolic tension between Lodge ideals and worldly friction.Everyone You Know Starts Out as an Imaginary FriendDiscusses the mental constructions we create and how we test them against the reality of the outside world. Evokes concepts of trust and other relationship dynamicsCreators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the systemic level, the Craft becomes a framework for understanding how groups build across time. This episode explores how collective work scales beyond individuals—toward lodges, communities, institutions, and generations. By linking the Craft to the Temple, we examine how long-range planning, multi-level coordination, and intergenerational stewardship shape the outcomes we leave behind. The systemic perspective demands altitude: seeing the Craft not only as workers, but as architects of the future.🔑 Key TakeawaysSystemic Craft work requires thinking across generations, not just tasksThe Craft and the Temple are inseparable symbols of long-range collective buildingDevelopment moves recursively—systemic understanding informs relational and behavioral practice💬 Featured Quotes0:00:00–0:00:08 — “When we look at the craft at a systemic level, things start to get very, very difficult.”0:00:15–0:00:23 — “We’re looking across the ways of working across large groups of people, large organizations, and how does that happen and how do we influence it?”0:00:35–0:00:42 — “When we talk about the craft in this way, we're almost forced by default to talk about another symbol in that conversation, and that is the temple.”0:00:42–0:00:49 — “The craft builds the temple. That's kind of the way it works, right? When workmen get together, they build against an objective.”0:01:13–0:01:19 — “We have to look at how we as a crew of people are creating the future.”0:01:26–0:01:36 — “Do then work backwards through the levels. What does this mean for how I interact with the people in my small group?”0:02:21–0:02:32 — “Moving up and down through the craft as a developmental sort of structure or as a scope structure more accurately will help you again better craft more meaningful outcomes.”0:02:49–0:03:05 — “We're really looking for what are the interactive, interoperative elements to make our temple, our dream, a reality.”0:03:12–0:03:19 — “What can we do to set the stage not just for the current iteration of the craft… but all future workmen on the temple?”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the CraftExplores the tension between current state and ideal state—mirroring the systemic Craft’s focus on long-range alignment and evaluating gaps across levels.Building your Craftsmen’s CouncilFocuses on organizing people and structures to support large-scale objectives, directly resonating with systemic coordination and future-oriented planning.Beyond Titles: What the Craft Teaches About Leading WellExamines leadership as a systems function—how influence, structure, and distributed responsibility shape the long arc of collective building.Dynamic InsertsCreators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the relational level, the Craft reveals the subtle architecture of how people work together—how strengths complement weaknesses, how frictions become information, and how feedback loops shape collective effort. In this episode, the Craft becomes a lens for understanding the interplay of personalities, preferences, and values within shared labor. Working together is not just coordination; it is the ongoing, reflective practice of becoming better collaborators.🔑 Key TakeawaysCollaboration requires understanding how others work, not just how you workFriction, preference, and feedback are core parts of relational Craft workHealthy Craft relationships balance self-awareness with awareness of others’ strengths and limitations💬 Featured Quotes0:00:00–0:00:09 — “The Craft as a relational and reflective lens means that we look at the interplay of how the workmen work with one another and how they interact with the lodge.”0:00:24–0:00:33 — “This is about understanding that everybody has different capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, preferences, values, and that all of these interact to create a dynamic working environment.”0:00:56–0:01:06 — “When you look at the Craft relationally, you’re looking at how friction arises. You’re looking at how you create synergy, and you’re looking at how you avoid unnecessary conflict.”0:01:32–0:01:46 — “Feedback becomes one of the most important relational tools. Not for correction alone, but for understanding how your behavior lands on others and how theirs lands on you.”0:02:10–0:02:18 — “A lodge is not just a group of people; it is a living system of relationships. Every action affects the whole.”0:03:05–0:03:15 — “When you embrace the Craft relationally, you begin to notice the architecture of collaboration—how people fit together, how they misfit, and how those patterns can be improved.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the CraftExplores the internal relational friction between expectations and outcomes, mirroring how Craft members navigate interpersonal misalignments.Beyond Titles: What the Craft Teaches About Leading WellFocuses on relational leadership—how understanding people’s strengths, limitations, and working styles matters more than positional authority.Building your Craftsmen’s CouncilDiscusses assembling a group of trusted collaborators, directly paralleling the relational Craft emphasis on synergy, trust, and feedback.Dynamic InsertsCreators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the behavioral level, the Craft is the body of workers engaged in shared labor—and the habits, reliability, and presence each person brings to that work. In this episode, we explore how the Craft functions as an organism that delivers shared outcomes, and what that means for how you show up inside the system. Working together becomes less about abstract fraternity and more about concrete behaviors that either support or stall the work.🔑 Key TakeawaysThe Craft reveals how individual behavior supports or disrupts shared workBehavioral awareness includes understanding how work flows through the lodge as an organismGood leadership means matching people, tasks, and timing so the Craft can actually build💬 Featured Quotes0:01:13–0:01:23 — “The craft also represents the reality that no meaningful work is ever accomplished alone.”0:01:52–0:02:08 — “And a behavioral level, it means that we would look at our actions and behaviors relative to working in a team, that sort of practical awareness of how work flows through the organization.”0:02:19–0:02:25 — “It involves an understanding of other people, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.”0:04:16–0:04:27 — “So in this way, when we take a behavioral lens on the craft, we can look at the way our brothers work. And from that way of working, from that understanding, we can begin to figure out how to best leverage their support and effort to help you achieve the objectives you have for the lodge at large.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesCognitive Dissonance and the Work of the CraftLooks at the internal tension between who we are and how we act in the lodge, echoing the behavioral demands of showing up as part of the Craft.Beyond Titles: What the Craft Teaches About Leading WellExplores leadership as a function of how you work with people—not just what office you hold—directly tied to the behavioral responsibilities inside the Craft.Building your Craftsmen's Council Focuses on intentionally organizing people and roles to support lodge objectives, mirroring this episode’s emphasis on matching behavior, capacity, and shared work.Dynamic InsertsCreators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the systemic level, the Rough Ashlar represents the philosophical recognition that imperfection itself is the engine of growth. In this episode, we explore how unfinishedness creates motion, why discomfort fuels innovation, and how a wider, compassionate perspective emerges when we see that all systems—including ourselves—develop because of the tension between what is and what could be. Here the Rough Ashlar becomes a lens for humility, interdependence, and the continuous unfolding of change.🔑 Key TakeawaysImperfection is the source of growth, innovation, and systemic changeHumility arises from recognizing roughness as a universal human conditionA systemic view reveals how imperfections generate the structures and opportunities of the world💬 Featured Quotes0:00:00–0:00:08 — “If the sort of second level or relational reflective understanding of the rough ashlar is the foundation of charity and compassion, the third level of the rough ashlar is the beginning of understanding of humility.”0:00:25–0:00:41 — “As we pursue the systemic understanding of the rough ashlar at a kind of holistic level, you come to grips very quickly with the notion that it is the rough ashlar itself which creates the impetus for all change growth and development.”0:00:41–0:00:52 — “Without the imbalance of the idealized solution, the perfect ashlar and the current state, nothing would ever progress in the world.”0:01:57–0:02:12 — “It is the discomfort or example of sitting on rocks on the ground that gave rise to things like chairs. As you start to look around the situations in your life, you'll begin to get a much more systemic understanding of how these imperfections feed each other and give rise to the systems we have.”0:03:24–0:03:34 — “Have compassion and create emotional space for the imperfections of the world and how they interact and how they give rise to the present moment.”🔗 Explore Related Episodes1. The Ashlar and the Question of GrowthExplores how unfinishedness and imperfection form the foundation for Masonic development, directly paralleling the systemic perspective of the Rough Ashlar.2. Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and ResultReflects on the continuous process of becoming, resonating with the systemic “perfect mistake” framing in this episode.3. The Master Mason Series – Part III: The Workman and the WorkExamines non-duality and the unity of creator and creation—a natural extension of the systemic, compassion-oriented view of imperfection described here.Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the relational level, the Rough Ashlar is revealed through feedback, friction, and the way our unfinished edges land on other people. This episode explores how to invite honest feedback without collapsing into people-pleasing, how to ask better questions that generate real insight, and how compassion grows when we remember that everyone else is also in their own rough ashlar phase. Here, growth becomes a shared project: our work on ourselves is informed and refined by the people around us.🔑 Key TakeawaysUse specific, open-ended questions to turn feedback into real relational insightBuild a trusted “feedback team” to help expose blind spots and growth opportunitiesRemember that others are also rough ashlars, and meet their unfinishedness with compassion💬 Featured Quotes(All quotes verbatim from the transcript, with start timestamps.)0:00:00 — “The relational interplay of the rough ashlar is very, very interesting when you start to sit down and think about it.”0:00:12 — “There is a lot going on when people give you feedback or when you solicit feedback or when you interact in the world that it's really difficult to put names and causes and origin stories behind all of the things that are happening.”0:00:29 — “If you're trying to create meaning in this world and understand what's happening, you need to begin to develop relational understanding with how your behavior might be perceived and that could be creating outcomes and etc. etc.”0:00:58 — “Those feedback loops first and foremost as we talked about in the previous episode can be done on your own. It can also be done with other people. You can ask for feedback on how you might handle the situation differently.”0:01:50 — “The questions that you are going to want to ask like a good diagnostic, a diagnostic, are questions like how might I have approached this situation differently.”0:02:30 — “You are looking for logic and a rational understanding of a situation and if you are pursuing self development you will get a social capital based response or emotional response where folks are reluctant to give you honest and genuine feedback.”0:03:21 — “In the same place, that relational component of the rough ashlar, this is also the origin story of compassion.”0:03:54 — “You are on your way from one place to another and so when we find someone whose behavior really drives us crazy, again look inward first to find out if there's opportunities there to grow.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesThe Fellow Craft Mason Series – Part II: The Work of Connection Explores the relational dimension of the Fellow Craft’s journey, focusing on connection, social capital, and how our work interacts with the people and systems around us.Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and Result Reflects on living inside the ongoing process of growth, echoing how relational feedback keeps us aware that we and others remain works in progress.The Lodge and the Open Space: Making Room for Growth Uses the image of the Lodge as prepared space to explore how we create room—internally and communally—for honest conversation, feedback, and transformation.Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the behavioral level, the Rough Ashlar represents the unshaped material of our habits, reactions, and instinctive responses. This episode grounds the symbol in everyday experience—how imperfection appears in our behavior, how it becomes visible through interaction, and why noticing our roughness is the first step toward meaningful refinement.🔑 Key TakeawaysRoughness shows up as unrefined habits, reactions, and instinctive responsesBeing “unfinished” is natural; awareness is what makes growth possibleBehavioral refinement begins with honest evaluation of the self💬 Featured Quotes(All quotes verbatim; consecutive fragments combined where appropriate to represent full coherent ideas.)0:00:08–0:00:13 — “There's a very good chance that you'll be running into folks that are not perfect, and you'll be looking in mirrors relatively soon and you'll find there's opportunities for yourself as well.”0:00:21–0:00:36 — “At a practical and behavioral level, the rough ashlar really speaks to the habits, reactions, and I would say emotional sort of responses—the visceral responses, all of the things that are kind of not the way that they're going to need to be to optimize your behavior.”0:01:55–0:02:06 — “Importantly, as one of our core values is charity, be charitable with yourself when you're evaluating your own rough edges. That whole approach, that whole understanding that we are works in progress should inform both your treatment of yourself and the treatment of people around you.”0:02:12–0:02:17 — “How many times have you tried to correct someone else's behavior before looking at your own?”0:02:24–0:02:41 — “In the context of a timeline or a rough order of operations, you will go back in every kind of situation where you are trying to grow and develop and look at everything as if it's always a rough ashlar.” Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host    Click here to view the episode transcript.

In the final episode of the series, we arrive at “knock and it shall be opened unto you.” Here, the focus shifts from external searching and relational asking to an internalized integration—where effort, practice, and commitment solidify into identity. We explore the irreversible nature of certain choices, the opening of heart and mind, and how the three knocks form a repeatable pattern for integrating any deep learning into who we are.🔑 Key TakeawaysKnocking is a distinct, irreversible act: once you knock, you cannot “unknock.”“Opened unto you” describes an integrative state where a domain becomes part of who you are, not just what you know.Seeking, asking, and knocking together form a reusable pattern for skill and knowledge acquisition across a lifetime.💬 Featured Quotes0:00:41 — “When you knock, you can't un-knock, if that makes sense.”0:01:03 — “When you've made the effort, when you've practiced or when you have committed, that is a real movement from the seeking process, which is external, to the asking process, which is relatedness and interactivity, and into this internalized integration model where you've knocked and it's become a part of you.”0:01:26 — “This opened unto you, this in the phrasing, the biblical phrasing, that opened unto you is really, it's an integrative kind of understanding that the entire domain is now a part of who you are and what you are.”0:01:47 — “When it is opened unto you, it is an opening of your heart, it's an opening of your mind, it's an opening of your consciousness, and it builds to this deep and meaningful, integrative understanding of a subject or a concept or what have you.”0:03:21 — “When you look through this kind of overall process, you can very easily look back through some of your own skill acquisition or some of your own knowledge acquisition and understand that it follows this process at some level.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesThe Entered Apprentice Mason Series – Part III: The Cultivation of WonderExplores how wonder widens perception and anchors the systemic dimension of the Entered Apprentice—resonating with the opened, integrative state described in “knock and it shall be opened unto you.” The Ashlar and the Question of GrowthUses the Rough and Perfect Ashlar to frame transformation as a choice, paralleling how the act of knocking marks a committed movement into integrated growth. The Master Mason Series – Part I: The Work of FlowLooks at mastery as a state where action and actor merge, echoing the identity-level integration that follows from knocking and having a domain “opened unto you.” Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

In this second episode, we move from seeking into “ask and it shall be given you.” Here, learning becomes relational: mentors, experts, and more capable others enter the picture. We reflect on how asking creates feedback loops that reshape our questions, refine our understanding, and gradually shift us from a purely internal process into an ongoing network of relatedness.🔑 Key Takeaways“Ask and it shall be given you” implies interaction with people who hold knowledge, capacity, or authority.Mentors and experts transform seeking into a longer-term relational feedback loop that builds skills and awareness over time.What we ask for and what we are given may differ, and that difference itself sculpts a new understanding of the subject.💬 Featured Quotes0:00:31 — “The ask and it shall be given to you automatically then implies that you need to interact or relate with the people around you with somebody who knows more or somebody who has capacity or capability.”0:03:44 — “That this this back and forth dynamic also just like in the sec and fine process through that relatedness now sculpts and crafts a new awareness about what you're trying to learn or what you're trying to discover.”0:04:16 — “This will help you track and connect with in a more meaningful way your sort of earlier beginner self versus your sort of more cultivated fellow craft self or what have you.”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesThe Entered Apprentice Mason Series – Part II: The Humility of Following Focuses on the relational dimension of apprenticeship—listening, repetition, and learning from others—which parallels the asking posture in this episode. The Fellow Craft Mason Series – Part I: The Work of Integration Examines how skills and understandings begin to interlock into coherent work, echoing how relational feedback loops integrate what is “given” in response to our questions. We Meet on the Level — But We Are Not the SameHighlights how recognizing developmental differences in others shapes how we ask, who we seek out, and how we receive guidance. Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

This episode explores the first phrase of the biblical pattern behind the three knocks: “Seek and ye shall find.” We unpack seeking as both a discovery process and a mindset—moving from raw curiosity into an iterative refinement of what we truly need to know. Along the way, we consider how openness, opportunistic attention, and the distinction between seeking and possession shape the self.🔑 Key TakeawaysSeeking and finding are linked through an iterative discovery and refinement process.“Seek and ye shall find” can be lived as a mindset of openness and opportunistic attention.There is an important difference between the desire to possess and the quieter posture of seeking.💬 Featured Quotes0:01:07 — “Seek and ye shall find, ask and ye shall be given to you, knock and it shall be made open unto you.”0:01:29 — “It implies that there is a relationship between seeking and finding.”0:02:50 — “Discovery process and then a refinement and iteration process is really kind of an important part of this seeking each of fine process.”0:03:52 — “There is a big difference between that seeking and possession”🔗 Explore Related EpisodesThe Entered Apprentice Mason Series – Part I: The Work of BeginningExplores how every Masonic journey starts with openness, effort, and the willingness to make imperfect first attempts—mirroring the seeking mindset at the start of any path. The Ashlar and the Question of Growth Confronts why we bother growing at all and uses the Ashlar to frame growth as a choice to shape the self, not the world—deepening the stakes of what our seeking is really for. We Meet on the Level — But We Are Not the Same  Reflects on how different levels of development and experience color what we seek and how we interpret what we find, using the aprons as lenses into growth. Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the philosophical level, the Master Mason transcends the separation between creator and creation. In this final episode, we explore the systemic view of mastery — where the craftsman and the craft are one. Here, the act of creation becomes a dialogue with the universe itself, a cooperation between consciousness and form. The Master Mason does not merely shape the world; he participates in its unfolding.🔑 Key TakeawaysSystemic mastery dissolves the divide between subject and object — the worker and the work.True creation is participatory: a unitive experience of cooperation with the greater whole.The Master Mason’s wisdom is non-dual awareness — the realization that being and doing are the same act.💬 Featured Quotes0:00:08 — “At the philosophical or systemic level of the Master Mason’s degree, you begin to approach the act of creation as a non-dual experience.”0:00:23 — “It is no longer workmen working on the object or the subject.”0:00:32 — “It is an integrated cooperation and collaboration with the entire universe, of which you are both instrument and material.”0:01:00 — “In a profound flow state, you are both the material being worked and the workman themselves.”Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

Relational mastery is not found in control, but in composure. In this episode, we explore how the Master Mason remains centered amid change — resilient, adaptive, and fluid. To move through disruption without losing equilibrium is the essence of stillness in motion. This is the posture of mastery: flow maintained not by isolation, but by inner stability.🔑 Key TakeawaysTrue resilience is not rigidity, but the ability to move with change while staying aligned.Relational mastery means maintaining presence even when the world demands divided attention.The Master Mason flows with others and with circumstance, guided by internal equilibrium.💬 Featured Quotes0:00:09 — “Relationally, the Master Mason’s perspective or role is very, very resilient.”0:00:26 — “We live in a world full of disruptions and distractions.”0:00:43 — “In the Master Mason’s flow state, you can process interruptions without losing your flow.”0:01:05 — “You are flowing with the materials you’re working with, flowing with the ideas you’re working out.”Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the practical level, the Master Mason represents the craftsman in motion — no longer burdened by self-consciousness, but guided by instinct and alignment. In this episode, we explore flow as the behavioral expression of mastery: when the work performs itself through you, and action becomes an effortless extension of understanding. True flow is not the absence of thought, but the presence of complete unity between thought and deed.🔑 Key TakeawaysFlow emerges when awareness, skill, and purpose converge without friction.Mastery dissolves self-conscious effort — the craftsman becomes the craft.To move with flow is to trust preparation, presence, and the work itself.💬 Featured Quotes0:00:10 — “From a practical behavior perspective, the Master Mason’s apron or role can be evaluated as one of flow.”0:00:31 — “The work you’re doing has very little self-awareness, very little mental load when it comes to the meta.”0:00:55 — “When you’re trying to figure out what to do, that’s a lower perspective — mastery moves through the work naturally.”0:01:10 — “To move through the work as a Master Mason is to experience flow — where the act and the actor are the same.”Creators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.

At the systemic level, the Fellow Craft begins to see how all learning connects. This episode explores the architecture of understanding — how knowledge, skill, and experience integrate into a coherent structure. True mastery emerges not from accumulation, but from alignment: when what you know, what you do, and who you are begin to support one another like the stones of a well-built temple.🔑 Key TakeawaysSystemic understanding is the craft of integrating new knowledge into existing frameworks.Mastery depends on harmony — aligning thought, action, and awareness.The Fellow Craft’s wisdom is architectural: each insight supports the structure of the whole.💬 Featured Quotes0:00:13 — “In the Fellow Craft degree, as in all of Masonry, there’s a behavioral, relational, and philosophical perspective.”0:00:25 — “At the systemic level, the Fellow Craft’s perspective is really about integration.”0:00:49 — “You take new information and add it to the repository of what you already know.”0:01:03 — “You’re constantly testing what you know versus what you’re learning — integrating new skill into the existing set.”Dynamic InsertsCreators & Guests Brian Mattocks - Host Click here to view the episode transcript.