Knights at the Bookshelf By Sir Knight George L. Marshall, Jr., PGC
Michael Schiavello, Freemasonry’s Hidden Brain Science, Lewis Masonic, 2019, Softbound, 230 pages, ISBN: 978-0-85318-565-9.
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his is a most fascinating book in that it presents the concept of God, Solomon’s Temple, Masonic ritual, and symbolism using a variety of neurological, psychological, physiological, and metaphysical interpretations. I do not necessarily agree with everything the author espouses, but his ideas do make for interesting reading and are certainly thought-provoking. The book is divided into two parts, Part 1 deals with esoteric interpretations and Part 2 with exoteric interpretations. (Before starting Part 1, I strongly advise first reading Chapter 25, “God and Supreme Consciousness, a Synonymity,” for a better understanding of this part.) Part 1 uses as its leitmotif Proverbs 25:2, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but it is the glory of a king to discover it.” With this in mind, the author then uses allegory, symbolism, numerology, and spirituality to interpret Biblical events and passages and Masonic philosophy and ritual. Chapter 8 is particularly intriguing, where the author argues that the ritual is a “neurological handbook” and proceeds to compare the structure of the Lodge and its various officers to an assortment of bodily organs and bones. Part 2 is more concerned with the author invoking the philosophic and didactic aspects of Freemasonry. Here he presents his ideas concerning such things as the cable tow, why the desire to become a Mason is important, the divine spark and the moral law, the need for purging the Lodge, the winding staircase and the spiral of life, managing your time effectively, avoiding suspicion, the ethic of reciprocity, caution in one’s
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march 2020
