An instrument made use of by operative Masons to measure and lay out their work. But we, as Free and Accepted Masons, are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of dividing our time.

The intentional use of our time is emphasized at the beginning of our Masonic journeys. Yet, it is curious that such a description of balancing time in three parts is something increasingly difficult in the modern era. Furthermore, the application of how to establish rituals that build ourselves to those rituals that consistently hamper us remains an ongoing exploration within and outside the Craft.

I found “Atomic Habits,” to provide insight into both the process and purpose of rituals or habits in this context. The author suggests that the essence of habits are inner aspirations for the type of person we wish to become rather than simply the action. It is the inner drive to our aspirations that make habits or rituals part of our routines towards organizing and directing our energies. Masonically, it is a reminder that all ritual and habits are touching upon the daily act of discovering our innermost self and, in response, finding habits that correspond to our identity.

For Brothers, Clear’s book has several practical applications that give insight into perfecting ourselves within and outside the Craft. One of the most practical suggestions from “Atomic Habits” is to do the bare minimum pursuing a habit to build upon with greater energy and duration as the habit or ritual becomes part of our routine and persona. In his “Two Minute Rule,” Clear recommends doing the smallest amount of effort towards our desired habit to reduce the barriers to begin the process.

Through daily application, increasing our duration of the routine becomes instinctual and natural. In the context of Masonic ritual, this principle has important applications in approaching ritual and making it less daunting. It suggests doing small portions and practicing overtime can develop an affinity and natural attention to the ritual. For Brothers like myself, this is an area of the Craft that can be difficult to approach if one’s affinity is outside ritual and other areas of the Craft. Yet, it is a powerful method to begin one’s journey within the Craft.

Clear’s writing has other such useful tools. He suggests that focusing on the systems towards our goals, making small changes, building habits focused on the desired identity that we wish to embody, and fostering a supportive community all work together to establish rituals that are not only beneficial, but meaningful to the larger story within the Craft.

In closing, in context of the 24-inch gauge, Atomic Habits frames that the process of dividing our time can be reframed as dividing our rituals into manageable portions. This allows us to strive towards greater unity, Fellowship, and appreciation for Masonic ritual that bind and guide our Fraternity.

“Buddha believed that the less you judge things—including the contents of your mind—the more clearly you’ll see them, and the less deluded you’ll be.” ― Robert Wright, Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment

Within our Lodge rooms, we are taught about controlling our passions and desires within bounds. Yet I wonder if the imagery focuses more on the spectrum of our emotional sates or actions rather than the underlying cognitive biases or mental blocks that prevent us from appraising the situation accurately and responding accordingly? According to Wright, Buddhism’s interpretation of the human mind—including our propensity for selfish goals and the transient nature of pleasure—acknowledge that our minds have a remarkable ability to not only think, but delude ourselves based upon our limited sensory perceptions. A fundamental principle of Buddhism implies that our perception of a fixed self is a delusion, and acknowledging this might assist us in letting go of our attachment to experiences and desires.

Wright’s book frames these cognitive biases as evolutionary baggage from our collective pasts. Rather than seeing our biases as personal flaws, his book assess them as part of our human nature that we are still working to manage, contain, and, hopefully, let go as we progress. Within the Craft, the process of keeping these biases or passions within bounds is the art of inward reflection or meditation. Beyond the ritual work and business of the Lodge, to be a Mason is the art of understanding our consciousness, including our imperfections. Through working together as a fraternity, those imperfections become seeds of understanding and opportunities to practice managing our tendencies towards something better. Removing the emotive element of our imperfections allows for a greater willingness to address those imperfections with a gentle spirit towards ourselves and others, regardless of our respective religious traditions.

As Robert Wright referenced in Why Buddhism is True, “The Dalai Lama has said, ‘Don’t try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a better Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are.'”

For most, religion provides an avenue for exploring this question. The organization and structure reduces the fear of those larger questions and gives some semblance of control and ease. But life has a way of popping the bubble so to speak. Although many people find stability in religion and growth, Siddhartha sees this as a stifling of his inner self, which is the real mystery he wishes to understand. As Hermman wrote:

Perhaps, as I suspect, we find our imperfections and mortality as reflections of something abhorrent or unworthy to being a vessel of knowledge. In our deepest thoughts, we perhaps think that our “self” isn’t worth the exploring. What if I’m truly unremarkable? Reflecting on my Craft as a physician, I’ve come to the conclusion that each person has a remarkable and unfolding story to share. Not because of their own individual story. But how their story is interconnected to everyone else. It is the interconnectedness of life within ourselves and the universe that embodies the unfolding nature of the divine and love that Hermann writes through Siddhartha:

And everything together, all voices, all goals, all yearning, all suffering, all pleasure, all that was good and evil, all of this together was the world. All of it together was the flow of events, was the music of life. And when Siddhartha was listening attentively to this river, this song of a thousand voices, when he neither listened to the suffering nor the laughter, when he did not tie his soul to any particular voice and submerged his self into it, but when he heard them all, perceived the whole, the oneness, then the great song of the thousand voices consisted of a single word, which was Om: the perfection.

It may be that Siddhartha was a reflection of Hermann’s own journey to understand himself. What did Hermann discover? I believe it is the main answer we learn in Freemasonry: love. For it is the human heart and our relationship to all of the universe that defines our journey and the divine journey as one. It is learning to see our journey as a part of the larger journey of God to discover itself. And to understand what that means.

The drama of the human condition is fully encapsulated with the mystery of death and what lies beyond. Yet, how we approach the mystery itself is a question that requires a deeper and more intimate appraisal of our own mortality. And more deeply, our personal story leading to that point. It is these questions that the physician, Dr. Atul Gawande, approaches in his book, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.”