GRAND LODGE WOMEN OF GREECE

Existential Thought and Freemasonry Principles

Human relationships are a fundamental pillar of mental balance and social cohesion.

Despite the unprecedented communication capabilities offered by modern technology, there is increasing evidence that people are experiencing increased levels of loneliness, emotional alienation, and difficulty in forming meaningful connections.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that approximately 17-21% of young people (13-29 years old) report loneliness. The rate is higher in countries with lower-income (~24%).

This paradox — more communication, less closeness — brings back to the fore the question of the authenticity of human relationships.

With this text I attempt to record some of the thoughts based on my experience both on a personal and professional level and to approach the distinction between “true” and “superficial” or “false” relationships through an interdisciplinary lens, combining existential and humanistic psychology with the philosophical thought of Nikos Kazantzakis and the fundamental values ​​of Freemasonry.

The goal is not moralizing, but understanding the deeper mechanisms that make a relationship a space for meeting or, conversely, a space for escape.

Existential psychology, as developed by Irvin D. Yalom, places relationship at the center of human experience. Yalom points out that, beyond social isolation, humans face a deeper, existential loneliness: the fact that no one can live or die for them. Relationships often serve as defenses against this condition. But when they are built solely to relieve the anxiety of existence, without reciprocity and truth, they become superficial bonds that temporarily relieve but do not fulfill.

An authentic relationship, according to Yalom, is an encounter where the individual exposes themselves without the safety of a mask, accepting their vulnerability. In contrast, “fake” relationships are not necessarily intentionally insincere; they are often contracts of mutual avoidance of depth.

The philosophical thought of Nikos Kazantzakis offers a particularly fruitful perspective in the analysis of relationships. In Asceticism, man is called to reject the illusions that reassure him and to take full responsibility for his existence. Relationships that function as refuges from struggle, as mechanisms for avoiding the truth, are part of what Kazantzakis would call spiritual escape.

In Alexis Zorba’s Life and State, relationship is not idealized but stripped of its social conventions. Zorba embodies radical authenticity, while the tragic relationships of the play highlight the cost of truth in a world that often punishes authenticity. Kazantzakis’s perspective meets existential psychology at the point where relationship ceases to be a place of safety and becomes a field of testing, inner struggle, and elevation.

At this point, the principles of Freemasonry offer a symbolic but clear moral framework. Brotherhood, integrity, and constant inner work constitute a conception of relationship as a process of evolution rather than consumption. Masonic life does not favor casual connections, but demands consistency of word and actions, honesty, and personal responsibility—values ​​fully aligned with psychological theories of authenticity.

In an attempt to converge existential psychology, humanistic thought, Kazantzakis’ philosophy and Freemasonry principles, it leads to the following common conclusions:

1. The quality of a relationship reflects the principles and internal attitudes and pursuits of an individual.
2. True relationships are not free from conflict or pain, but are characterized by honesty, presence, taking responsibility, and positive intentions.
3. On the contrary, superficial relationships function as temporary substitutes for meaning, failing to meet deeper existential needs, are short-lived, and most often motivated by personal interest.

In conclusion, the distinction between true and false relationships is not about intention but about depth and, above all, the inner work that precedes any meaningful connection. True relationships do not sustain themselves; they require constant cultivation, self-observation, and moral consistency.

At this point, the Freemasonry tradition offers a particularly essential contribution to the creation of true, authentic relationships.

Among the most important requirements and commitments required in the Freemasonry life are inner work, self-improvement and the constant processing of personal motivations. The rawer the inner world remains, the more fragile and superficial external relationships become.

The Freemasonry concept of working on oneself — the gradual “sculpting” of the inner man — is directly linked to psychological theories of authenticity.

The capacity for honest relationship presupposes awareness, self-restraint, and acceptance of personal responsibility.

There can be no true brotherhood without self-knowledge, truth, inner search, nor a stable human connection without moral discipline and consistency.