Masters Banquet Speech

March 22, 2003

I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR COMING. IT IS ALWAYS GOOD

TO FELLOWSHIP AND BREAK BREAD TOGETHER. I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO THANK OUR SPEAKER, MRS WASHINGTON, FOR THAT WONDERFUL TALK. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US YOUR TIME AND WORDS OF WISDOM.

I HAVE BEEN THE WORSHIPFUL MASTER OF PRIDE OF THE SOUTH FOR ONE YEAR NOW. I MUST SAY THAT THE EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN BOTH CHALLANGING AND REWARDING. PERHAPS YOU HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT, BUT ON ONE LEVEL OR ANOTHER, ALL OF US ARE MASTERS. WE ARE MASTERS BECAUSE WE HAVE THE POWER TO CREATE AND TO RULE OUR OWN LIVES.

WE CREATE OUR OWN MYTHOLOGY IN OUR LIVES. OUR PERSONAL MYTHOLOGY IS POPULATED BY HEROES AND VILLAINS, ANGELS AND DEMOMS, KINGS AND COMMONERS. WE CREATE AN ENTIRE POPULATION IN OUR MIND, AND THEN WE MASTER THE IMAGE WE ARE GOING TO USE IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. WE MASTER WHATEVER WE BELIEVE WE ARE. WHEN WE MEET PEOPLE, WE CLASSIFY THEM RIGHT AWAY, AND ASSIGN THEM A ROLE IN OUR LIVES. WE CREATE AN IMAGE FOR OTHERS, ACCORDING TO WHAT WE BELIEVE THEY ARE. AND WE DO THE SAME THING WITH EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING AROUND US.

EACH OF US HAS THE POWER TO CREATE. OUR POWER IS SO STRONG THAT WHATEVER WE BELIEVE COMES TRUE. YOU ARE THE WAY YOU ARE BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT YOURSELF. YOUR WHOLE REALITY, EVERYTHING YOU BELIEVE, IS YOUR CREATION. YOU HAVE THE SAME POWER AS ANY OTHER HUMAN IN THE WORLD. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND SOMEONE ELSE IS HOW YOU APPLY YOUR POWER, AND WHAT YOU CREATE WITH YOUR POWER. YOU MAY BE SIMILAR TO OTHERS IN MANY WAYS, BUT NO ONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD LIVES THEIR LIFE THE WAY YOU DO. REMEMBER, YOU HAVE PRACTICED ALL YOUR LIFE TO BE WHAT YOU ARE, AND YOU DO IT SO WELL THAT YOU MASTER WHAT YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE. YOU MASTER YOUR OWN PERSONALITY, YOUR OWN BELIEFS; YOU MASTER EVERY ACTION, EVERY REACTION. YOU PRACTICE FOR YEARS AND YEARS, AND YOU ACHIEVE THE LEVEL OF MASTERY TO BE WHAT YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE. SO, ONCE WE CAN SEE THAT ALL OF US ARE MASTERS, WE CAN THEN SEE WHAT KIND OF MASTERY WE HAVE.

WHEN WE WERE CHILDREN, AND WE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SOMEONE, WE GET ANGRY. FOR WHATEVER REASON, THAT ANGER PUSHES THE PROBLEM AWAY; WE GET THE RESULT WE WANT. IT HAPPENS A SECOND TIME – WE REACT WITH ANGER – AND NOW WE KNOW IF WE GET ANGY WE PUSH THE PROBLEM AWAY. THEN WE PRACTICE AND PRACTICE, UNTIL WE BECOME MASTER OF ANGER.

IN THE SAME WAY, WE BECOME MASTER OF JEALOUSY, MASTERS OF SADNESS, MASTERS OF SELF-REJECTION. ALL OF OUR DRAMA AND SUFFERING IS BY PRACTICE. WE MAKE AN AGREEMENT WITH OURSELVES, AND WE PRACTICE THAT AGREEMENT UNTIL IT BECOMES A WHOLE MASTERY. THE WAY WE THINK, THE WAY WE FEEL, AND THE WAY WE ACT BECOMES SO ROUTINE THAT WE NO LONGER NEED TO PUT OUR ATTENTION ON WHAT WE ARE DOING. IT IS JUST BY ACTION-REACTION THAT WE BEHAVE A CERTAIN WAY.

SO, WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS BECOME MASTER OF LOVE, AND TO DO THAT, WE MUST PRACTICE LOVE. IN CLOSING, THE MASTER READ A POEM THAT HE FOUND ON THE INTERNET, TITLED: TEN MASTER MASONS.

YOU CAN VIEW IT ON THIS WEBSITE.