Beyond Freemasonry, by F Englander. ISBN No. 0–75410–741-8, published 1999, 178 pages, £6.99.

It is unclear whether the Author actually is a mason but he alludes to being so. The book has small snippets of ritual interwoven with his words, and I must admit, to good effect. Although the book was published in 1999, it seems to me to have been written possibly in the late sixties or early seventies going by Social trends mentioned including Eastern Mysticism.

I bought this book in 1999 and have read it several times and always find it interesting. The first thing that I should state is that this is a book about esoteric masonry and is very spiritual in content. While I do not agree with it in its entirety it definitely does strike a chord with me when dealing with the issue of religious intolerance.

Despite the nature of the book, the Author chooses not to become too fanciful when touching on masonic history and origins. He uses the generally accepted origin within the Mason’s Guild, you’ll find no Martians, lizards or devil worship in this book. He follows the less glamorous but more believable passage of secrets, knowledge and understanding from the Roman Collegia of Architects to the Comacine Masons though to the Medieval masons who illustrated it in their wonderful buildings.

I thought I should include some quotes to illustrate the flavour of the book:

"The rituals are meant to make every Mason aware of the guidance in-built within the Law of the Universe and how a parting from that teaching is a cause of misery and suffering."

"To perform the floorwork is to create dynamism with the forces of Nature, the sevenfold forces of life and to remove from our minds inertia, caused mainly by ignorance, by teachings of contempt, and by misrepresentation."

"The correctness of the sns teaches us how to attune to life forces, and to get sustenance, from vital powers to be used with the integrity of the spirit, drawing from transcendental peace love and harmony."

"In Masonry the Triad is continuously emphasised, the GAO, TGG and TMH, to teach to foolish men, that above the abominations and human atrocities perpetrated in the name of God, there is only a Universal God, and as Coleridge put it:
There is only One Mind, One Omnipresent Mind Omnific, His Most Holy Name is Love."

Rating 8/10