Are there any Freemasons amongst us?

I did the secret handshake and 3rd degree ritual all those 45 years ago. It was fun at the time.

There are Thai, English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch and French lodges in Thailand.

 

There is a good possibility that some members of these lodges are also members of this forum.

I'm still a member of "Wiltshire Young Farmers", does that count?

 

 

Yes.

What do you want to know?

I went to a Lodge dinner in London once, it was full of cops, taxi and mini-cab drivers....................................................????

what are the motivations for people joining these groups?

according to conspiracy guys, many high-level politicians are high-level (33rd degree) freemasons.

 

the only direct experience i've had is a filipino guy back home who joined.

i think his motivation was to have power over other people.

that didn't seem to work out too well for him as he was trapped in a lowly job. 

 

 

I can't tell you anything I would have to kill you otherwise.

2 hours ago, blackcab said:

Thai, English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch and French

 

meet at the bar

Gave up being one of those fifty years ago....

plenty of buffalos members

May find this of interest.

 

https://www.morakotlodge.com/

 

https://chulalodge.org/chula-lodge

 

https://www.facebook.com/Thaifreemasons/

20 minutes ago, transam said:

I went to a Lodge dinner in London once, it was full of cops, taxi and mini-cab drivers....................................................????

I went to a Lodge dinner in Perth WA once, it was full of pissheads............................... 

The cachet of being a member of a society which has arcane rituals and a dash of elitism appeals to some. Rotarians and Buffaloes are the same.

It's really all a bit silly and jejune. Provided it does no harm, no problem.

2 hours ago, blackcab said:

There are Thai, English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch and French lodges in Thailand.

There are no Thai Lodges. There is however a Thai-speaking Lodge that is under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. 

I was a member of a lodge in the UK for many years. When I left the UK I became a country member of that lodge. I've since given up being a member but I look back on my time in masonry, fondly. I enjoyed the meetings and the festive board after. I enjoyed the social side of it too, raising money for charity. I enjoyed the camaraderie.

After I moved to Thailand, I visited Chula lodge, Bangkok a couple of times but decided (For many reasons) not to join.

I still have my regalia, in its case, on top of the wardrobe.

I know nothing of the illuminati or the new world order, and have no interest in that. I just enjoyed the 'Street level' masonry. It's not for everyone, we're all different.

I find explaining Freemasonry to someone who isn't a freemason is a bit like explaing Thailand to someone who's never visited the country.

 

 

4 hours ago, jaiyenyen said:

I was a member of a lodge in the UK for many years. When I left the UK I became a country member of that lodge. I've since given up being a member but I look back on my time in masonry, fondly. I enjoyed the meetings and the festive board after. I enjoyed the social side of it too, raising money for charity. I enjoyed the camaraderie.

After I moved to Thailand, I visited Chula lodge, Bangkok a couple of times but decided (For many reasons) not to join.

I still have my regalia, in its case, on top of the wardrobe.

I know nothing of the illuminati or the new world order, and have no interest in that. I just enjoyed the 'Street level' masonry. It's not for everyone, we're all different.

I find explaining Freemasonry to someone who isn't a freemason is a bit like explaing Thailand to someone who's never visited the country.

 

 

Same for me. It was a night out with the lads.

I was a keen Freemason and belonged to two lodges one in London and one in Hertfordshire also a Lodge of Instruction, I found it, and all the members very square 

1 hour ago, CatCage said:

I was a keen Freemason and belonged to two lodges one in London and one in Hertfordshire also a Lodge of Instruction, I found it, and all the members very square 

But always on the level ????

Love the iconography and in Sudbury UK, where I used to live, the Mason Hall had a beautiful old pub inside of it. Heavy tory membership, a lot of overlap with the Conservative Club.

 

In the American South, it's more of a networking thing, like Chamber of Commerce.

 

It's also racially divided; black and white masons to this day have separate organizations, with the black ones having trippier, more Egyptian interiors. Washington DC is the Masonic Building capitol of the world.

 

The black music style known as Go-Go originates from live shows played at Masonic Lodge venues.

I'm one, albeit a lapsed one, as I still pay my dues to a Thailand based Lodge but seldom go to meetings. All these people who say that there's something sinister about it make me laugh. Masonry to most people is simply a system by which you can aspire to living a decent life.

 

Of course there are people who may have ulterior motives, or who play politics, but you'll find those in any group or society  

On 4/23/2023 at 5:58 PM, save the frogs said:

what are the motivations for people joining these groups?

Same as the motivation for joining any group be it freemasonry or , say , judo or jogging or Rotary or Toastmasters or...

8 hours ago, sidneybear said:

Of course there are people who may have ulterior motives, or who play politics, but you'll find those in any group or society  

that's why i tend to avoid groups or societies of any kind.

i even try to avoid get-togethers with siblings because everyone's always pulling rank and playing politics. I can't imagine how bad those groups are.

 

The best Lodge in Thailand (IMHO) was Star in the East, an English-speaking Lodge under the (French) GLNF. The (late) Worshipful Master was an incredibly clever man, and the meetings were very spiritual and full of meaning.

 

Sadly, it closed itself down many years back - the authorities suspected that it was sympathetic to a certain political party, which wasn't the case, even though one of its Thai members was high up in that said party. People started getting harassed and wanted no part of it. 

 

On 4/24/2023 at 11:47 AM, jaiyenyen said:

I was a member of a lodge in the UK for many years. When I left the UK I became a country member of that lodge. I've since given up being a member but I look back on my time in masonry, fondly. I enjoyed the meetings and the festive board after. I enjoyed the social side of it too, raising money for charity. I enjoyed the camaraderie.

After I moved to Thailand, I visited Chula lodge, Bangkok a couple of times but decided (For many reasons) not to join.

I still have my regalia, in its case, on top of the wardrobe.

I know nothing of the illuminati or the new world order, and have no interest in that. I just enjoyed the 'Street level' masonry. It's not for everyone, we're all different.

I find explaining Freemasonry to someone who isn't a freemason is a bit like explaing Thailand to someone who's never visited the country.

 

 

Chula is one of the more upmarket Lodges - they meet in the Sukhothai Hotel, with lots of feasting and drinking. I too went there once, but it wasn't really my thing. Hard to explain why, other than every Lodge has its own "Egregore" - the collective consciousness of its members if you like. Personality is another way of describing it. Some you feel at home with, others not so much.

 

Freemasonry, definitely in my Thai built property wall and getting freer every day

2 hours ago, sidneybear said:

Chula is one of the more upmarket Lodges - they meet in the Sukhothai Hotel, with lots of feasting and drinking. I too went there once, but it wasn't really my thing. Hard to explain why, other than every Lodge has its own "Egregore" - the collective consciousness of its members if you like. Personality is another way of describing it. Some you feel at home with, others not so much.

 

I got the same feeling. Nice enough group of people and they made me very welcome but I'm more comfortable in a slightly less upmarket lodge.

1 hour ago, jaiyenyen said:

I got the same feeling. Nice enough group of people and they made me very welcome but I'm more comfortable in a slightly less upmarket lodge.

I've been told that Lodge Morakot - an Irish Lodge - might suit me. One day I'll give it a try. I do have Irish ancestry after all.

11 minutes ago, sidneybear said:

I've been told that Lodge Morakot - an Irish Lodge - might suit me. One day I'll give it a try. I do have Irish ancestry after all.

Have you been invited????

36 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Have you been invited????

I'm a paid up member of a lodge, so I can visit other lodges whenever I like, anywhere in the world. As a courtesy, I should tell them I'm coming so they can arrange catering and things like that, and I'll also have to present my credentials on arrival. There is no need to be invited. 

On 4/25/2023 at 9:46 AM, VocalNeal said:

Same as the motivation for joining any group be it freemasonry or , say , judo or jogging or Rotary or Toastmasters or...

What about bikers. ????????????