What is Reddit's opinion of Learning Masonic Ritual - The Simple, Systematic and Successful Way to Master The Work: Freemasons Guide to Ritual?

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Three books on learning how to memorize:

Learning Masonic Ritual

Solomon's Memory Palace: A Freemason's Guide to the Ancient Art of Memoria Verborum

Moonwalking with Einstein (Probably available at your local library)

In my state, you would need to memorize your degree lecture, your part in each of the three degrees, and how to sit in the East and run the stated meeting when your two superior officers are out.

Check out https://artofmemory.com/

Learning Masonic Ritual is a good kindle book on the topic.

Learning Masonic Ritual is more orientated towards the ritualists who learned and performed your initiation, but has a great memorization system that works.

Remember, the cipher is an aid to memorization. One that actors themselves use when they memorize their lines.

Rick Smith has a cram phase, then a polish phase, then a floor work phase. (The last is not applicable to a proficiency demonstration)

Cram phase goal: Get 80% of the words as quickly as possible. Cram techniques: Use the first 5 minutes when you wake up to learn one new sentence each day. Just memorize the previous day's sentence with today's sentence --just as you walk across a stream two stones at a time, you want to initially memorize the ritual two sentences together at a time. Use your smart phone to prompt you to again review the same 2 sentences 3 times during the day. But those down times inbetween are also important, because that down time (and sleep) allow your unconscious to do its work. You are more efficient if you do memorization in small bits allowing your unconscious to do its work too.

My technique working with a cipher: Occasionally you'll get stuck and not be able to remember the words you heard in lodge, leaving part of the cipher a complete mystery to you. Rather than stay stuck for a week and making no progress, try doing a websearch on the previous sentence or two, or a unique phrase that's nearby. There are multiple states that have their degree rituals printed in full on the internet that will have close (but not exact!) wording to your state's version that will be helpful to look at. If you've ever enjoyed crossword puzzles or jumble words, you're going to have a blast solving the cipher, and it's a real accomplishment when you do, one that all brothers and fellows have done before you. The accomplishment of learning how to read the cipher, then memorizing the work, then passing your proficiency, are all part of how you establish credibility and earn respect with your brothers. We all know how hard it is to buckle down and do it.

Getting it set in mind: Spell out the full words in your mind --sometimes "strange" words are chosen because they end with a letter that prompts the next word or two starting with that same letter. There are passages that alliterate (the words all start with the same letter or sound). There are also intentional rhymes. (obligation and mason, for instance). This leads to...

After the cram phase, you then build up your reading of the work one page of the cipher at a time. You'll add breaks and pauses to bring out the rhymes that you didn't hear at first.

I liked his philosophy that boredom is a sign of progress and should be embraced.

I also found "tracing boards" useful. You can print your own copies for your degree off the internet and tape them up somewhere private where you'll pass by them from time to time, or you can find larger prints (among the girly magazine covers) on ebay Looking at the symbology of my degrees in a visual, illustrated way helped me find a deeper understanding in what I was learning to say.