Ivanović Desimir: Psihološki i duhovni osnovi slobodnog zidarstva

Desimir D. Ivanović: Psychological and Spiritual Foundations of Freemasonry

The field of Freemasonry or Freemasonry is mostly treated historically in our community and in domestic literature, while in the media and public appearances this topic is mostly treated superficially and sensationally, so in the general public, in addition to the dominant lack of information, ignorance and mystification, a distorted and wrong view of this topic is noticeable.

Book "PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS OF FREEMASONRY", as the title itself says, deals with this area from a deeper level. It talks about modern man and his needs for better self-knowledge, development of personal potential and more efficient functioning in his business and wider social environment.

For the members themselves, this book is a practical guide for work in Masonic workshops, and it enables interested readers to see more objectively and fully understand the Masonic idea and its application in terms of personal development, as well as the place and role of this movement in the development of Serbian society.     

"Psychological and spiritual foundations of freemasonry" is a collection of essays that will be a real treat for every reader, especially if he is already an initiated freemason. We all once wondered how this process of "hewing the stone" actually works, how progress is made on our spiritual level and how gradual positive interventions on our inner being lead to the building of a better person. Desimir Ivanović prepared material for us from which we get the answer to this extremely interesting and complex question. In a simple and acceptable way, we learn how this fine mechanism of Masonic improvement works. Why is Desimir Ivanović the right person and where does he have the capacity to come to grips with clarifying this issue?

The answer lies in at least three strong reasons that I will state here:

The first reason that supports his competence is the fact that in a professional sense he is a clearing coach, a method that leads to the improvement of an individual's communication, emotional and mental abilities. Clearing cleans and removes everything that causes tension, stress and conflict behavior. After a kind of mental detoxification, the individual achieves the desired inner peace, self-awareness and openness in relations with other people, which then directly increases his success on the private and business level. Thanks to his skills in this field combined with knowledge in the field of psychotherapy, Desimir Ivanović has the necessary prior knowledge to understand the mechanisms of the spiritual construction of man and the experience to use this knowledge in a kind of analysis of the Masonic path.

The second reason that makes these essays interesting is the author's many years of experience gained by working in a large number of different freemason workshops. For years, he visited the works of all three relevant observances in Paris and had the opportunity to see on the spot, in the birthplace of the Scottish Rite, how this ritual is performed by the GLDF, VOF and VNLF. Active participation, observations and data that the author obtained during trips to work in these lodges, combined with the author's personal experience and impressions, are particularly interesting questions. The author's experience in Masonic work in Serbia, his knowledge of Šreder and other rituals, as well as his knowledge of various Masonic organizations are added to the Masonic internship abroad.

The third important reason that qualifies Desimir Ivanović as a top analyst of Masonic topics is his friendship with Sveto Bižić, Joco Maručić and Svetozar Vulić, masons with decades of experience and great reputation in France. What he learned and found out in conversations with these brothers is especially valuable and interesting for every reader. The result of such professional and freemason experience is the undoubted ability of Desimir Ivanović to analyze and comment on the most complicated Masonic topics.

In the essays before us, he succeeds in simple, with an understandable vocabulary, explain the core of the question that many authors avoid. His observations of well-known symbols, allegories and interpretations of ritual parts may seem unusual to the reader at first, but in the next moment the reader realizes that everything is actually very logical and clear and is surprised that he did not think of it earlier. For all of this to be just like that, great knowledge and skill is needed to pass that knowledge on to others.

That is why I strongly recommend everyone to read this book.

Čeda V.