August 2025 from the South

As summer is now in full session, the furthest thing from most of our minds is the thought of memorizing Masonic Ritual work. For me, the thought of memorizing anything (most of you already know how bad I am at remembering names) makes me tend to put-off doing so for as long as possible. But I’ve realized that procrastination and “winging it when the time comes” only makes me more anxious about not being prepared – and also tends to give less than optimal results…So I’m trying something different this summer; I’m actually following a variation of the advice I used to give to my students. The human brain tends to operate by repetition, and has an easier time remembering things that it has been exposed to repetitively over a period of time (which is why we find that “cramming” for an exam – or in this case cramming to memorize the Ritual – rarely works out the way we wish).

So here is my Ritual memorization experiment this summer: I arise 15 minutes earlier each morning and simply read straight through the appropriate section(s) of the material pertaining to my part. I repeat this from 5 to 10 times in a sitting. I don’t actually try to memorize anything at this point, but the repetition allows the material to slowly sink into my brain, subconsciously making me more and more familiar with the material. I repeat this process for a few days before actually trying to memorize it. After that I utilize my 15 minutes each day to actually start memorizing the material. I’ll let you know how it works out! But for now, I’ve achieved the most difficult part…I’ve started the process and it’s become part of my morning routine.

For me, 15 minutes of less sleep each day is a reasonable trade-off that results in more confidence (and more importantly, less stress) that I’m better prepared to contribute as a successful team member. And if I still miss a word here or there, I know that my Brothers are there to help me along. To paraphrase an old Vince Lombardi quote, “Strive for Perfection, Settle for Excellence.”

Fraternally,
Dominic J. Ciardullo (JW)