by: Brother Kirk W. Borowski, P.M., Principal-8th Masonic District School of Instruction

I will never claim to remember much from the night that I was initiated into Freemasonry, but I do remember asking myself “how much of this will I remember” and “how was that guy able to recite so much from memory?”  The first question I was able to answer through mentoring sessions that happened every Monday afterwards, while the second question took considerably longer. 

To effectively perform the ritual and degrees you need to start with a good understanding of that ritual and then put in the time and effort to memorize everything.  You may shudder at the thought of “memorizing” the ritual, but to memorize is to “commit to memory or learn by heart.”  Everyone has their own techniques or tricks to help with the work and I have compiled a list of suggestions to hopefully make learning the ritual a little easier and a more manageable part of your journey to the East.

Try to understand the information first.  While this suggestion may make more sense in a classroom setting it can certainly apply to Masonic ritual, especially during lectures or recapitulations where a story is being conveyed.  This also creates the opportunity to generate dialogue between a learner and a mentor as a deeper understanding of ritual, verbiage, and structure is investigated.

Utilize the “Chunking” Method.  In its simplest terms the chunking method involves breaking down the material you are attempting to learn into smaller parts, or obviously chunks, that allows your brain to handle a more appropriate amount of information.  Trying to learn too much at once is an easy way to overload your brain and therefore reduce the effectiveness of your work.  Each person is different in this sense but if you are struggling with remembering that last sentence then perhaps it is best to stop and come back to your memory work later.  Personally, I learned this firsthand during the Third Degree.

Repetition.  I know what you are thinking, of course there needs to be repetition to learn the ritual work, but I mention this for two reasons.  First, there is a recommend repetition schedule suggested by experts: repeat immediately after learning, then 15-20 minutes after learning, then again 6-8 hours after learning, and lastly 24 hours after learning.  Secondly, when practicing you should practice as if you were delivering and do not rush through the passages merely for the sake of another round of repetition.  Practice does not make perfect, but rather perfect practice makes perfect.  In the middle of the degree, you will revert to how you practiced, and if you rush through the work it is really the candidate who loses.

Talk to yourself.  Another no-brainer, right?  Certainly, but not for the reasons you may be thinking.  Colin M. MacLeod from the Department of Psychology at Waterloo says, “when we add an active measure or a production element to a word, that word becomes more distinct in long-term memory, and hence more memorable.”  This is the Production Effect, and simplified it tells us that by seeing, speaking, and hearing the ritual we provide our brain three different ways to remember. 

Focus on one thing at a time.  In the world of distractions in which we live this may seem borderline impossible most of the time.  Psychology Today reports that we have about 70,000 thoughts per day on average and the Mayo Clinic recommends you do not multitask while trying to learn.  When it is time to learn ritual, it is time to put down the phone, find a quiet place if possible, and dedicate the time to hone your practice.  From a personal experience I would add in the recommendation of finishing whatever you start.  If you start working on a charge, then finish it and do not switch to another part of the degree if you become stuck or frustrated.

Sleep on it.  Remember above where we learned that our brains can only handle so much information, and we should avoid overloading our brains by chunking that information?  This is that magical reset button for our brains!  I cannot stress this suggestion enough, and honestly if you talk with other brothers who learned the degrees, they will probably offer this suggestion as a solid top choice in tricks of the trade.  When you get to the point where you feel like you are making no progress, stop, try it one last time as you are getting ready for bed, and then see what you remember in the morning.  I have a multitude of personal experience with this suggestion, admittedly many times over, and this trick comes highly recommend.

Do not stress.  Stress not only takes a toll on you physically but also mentally, and this creates a horrible environment for learning.  Everyone has their own techniques for unwinding or mentally preparing for a memory workout, but I fully understand that somethings are unavoidable.  The point I want to make around stress is simple, do not wait until the last minute to start working on, or finishing, whatever piece of ritual you need or want to learn.  As I write this, we just welcomed in 2021 and those brothers who need ritual to continue their journey to the East have a solid 10 months to learn it.  Sadly, there will be many brothers who wait too long to start, or take a few months off during the summer, and ultimately it will be November and they are rushing to finish.  Do not be that brother.  That is the stress that is avoidable if you start early and stay on task, even if it is just a small amount of work during potential rough weeks in your personal life.

I did not include this following, and last suggestion in the list as it is a personal suggestion with no expert backing as far as I know.  Do not quit.  I mentioned it briefly in point seven about not stressing but really it deserves its own paragraph.  Too many times I see brothers start a degree and never finish.  Too many times I see brothers finish a degree and not start on the next one.  I wish I knew what ultimately causes this to happen, but all I can do is warn against it.  Your brain gets in a routine of learning the ritual, and the more you learn the easier it will become, but once you stop and lose that momentum the harder it is to start again and the easier it is to become frustrated.  Do not go a week without learning something, even if it is just a few sentences, and once you have learned it all then it is time to start helping someone else learn!

If you so desired, you would easily be able to find a multitude of other suggestions online.  Some of those suggestions go so far as to recommend studying in the afternoon (there is a Brazilian study that points to this time as a critical learning time), lots of exercise, plenty of sleep, certain foods to eat, and many other recommendations.  I wanted to pick just a few of the most common, most recommended, and suggestions that worked personally to provide a starting point in your journey of learning, and more specifically, remembering.  When in doubt you can always talk with brothers from your lodge who have learned the work or reach out to me at kirk.borowski@gmail.com.