Every society has people that question what's beyond the veil. That paper thin surface surrounding the entire illusory nature of this reality. I was absolutely convinced that those who kept the agricultural tables and the star charts, who tracked the course of the planets, and the people who knew how to build a civilization from scratch existed, in little groups, spread out amongst the Lodges. Each Lodge had its own varied collection of experts in different areas and the whole concept of the Blue Lodge, to me, when I was first joining, was it was a part of this Grand Experiment. Everyone went out, did research, inquired, asked questions, and then came back to the Lodge to discuss their findings and propose additional studies. Those quasi-gray area things. Like, I remember my DEO talking and discussing how the early Brothers (contemporary formation, 1700s) went and viewed executions to determine if a man could hear the sound of a bullet before he died. And examining corpses (back when this was VERY unsafe) to determine where the human soul existed inside, if it did. There were some who experimented with divination and all sorts of wild things -- some of which dare not even be mentioned. That was the freemasonry I was interested in joining. The adventurers. But, before I joined freemasonry, I read all sorts of books. Aleister Crowley (not a follower or proponent) very crudely criticized the order of his time (early 1900s) as being little more than an affluent gentleman's club. The words, the rituals, and the proceedings were often (and at the time of reading, I had no way of knowing whether or not he was right or wrong) incorrect and there was little to no interest in correcting them. Since joining and experiencing some of the subtle features of it first hand, I still don't know enough to say whether or not he was right. This IS a subjective experience. That said, it's more than a little easy to get frustrated with a distinct lack of adventurers in my dealings. Good men, mostly. But very reserved. Silent. And decency often times pops up in the back of my head and says, "you, too, should be silent." But what's the point? What pray tell do we have to gain or lose? There seems to be no forum where we can discuss or exchange ideas in earnest. If there is a body of our research and experimentation, I've found only scant records of it hidden away in old forgotten lodge libraries and even those are so mum as to defy any expectations. And then perhaps there is the darker element of perhaps I am a lone madman and this reality I am presented with is the entirety of the experience and my job is simply to traverse this seemingly flat plane of life. There's a subtle anger that develops within that thought. And these words, like any of the others, are equally worthless and just simply subject to the same scrutiny that turns any discussion of this nature into absolute fodder for pedantics. Not precisely responding to OP. Just leaving this as a reminder that going on the internet is really not a resource so much as a hindrance if communication and teamwork are the goal.