my SECRET thoughts on ritual...

I would first like to make the disclaimer that if I have any thoughts that I feel are so sacred that I need to keep them SECRET they will remain as so. I have no problem speaking my mind but what ever I feel should be private will stay that way. So with that said I would like to reword the question of this blog to "What are your thoughts on SECRET ritual?" rather than " What are your SECRET thoughts on ritual?"

Now, I will start by expressing what I feel a SECRET ritual is. A SECRET ritual is one that you share only with your organization. Only members of your organization should know and take part in these things. It is a way to bond with one another and it is something that you all know makes your organization different from others. They are practices that you all not only memorize but LIVE, LEARN and UNDERSTAND. These SECRET rituals do become a way of life. You and members of your organization know what they are and should hold you accountable for upholding these rituals.
There are rituals that organizations have that are not SECRET. These things include upholding your personal and organizations values. As a member of the NPHC I feel that we do a great job of educating the public on what our values are. Now whether or not we do a good job of upholding these values is a whole other topic. We should all hold ourselves and each other accountable for upholding these values set up by our founders.

Our SECRET rituals only become a problem when they go against our values and public rituals. I hold my SECRET rituals near and dear to my heart but if they were to ever go against Scholarship, Service, Sisterly Love and Finer Womanhood, they are no longer sacred and just SECRET. It is very important to me to carry out the goals of my founders and to carry out my personal goals while never letting go of my values.

Another problem arises when a non-member tells me or someone else that our SECRET rituals are inteferring or going against our values and all our rituals should be laid out for everyone to see (and yes this has been said to me). I would first like to say that if my SECRET rituals are truly SECRET then a non-member does not know what they truely are and cannot judge whether or not they go against my values or not. I strongly feel that everything about your organization should NOT be laid out for everyone to see. There are always incentives to joining an organization and learning our secrets is one of them.

Having secrets does NOT mean that you are being SECRETIVE. There is a huge difference. SECRETIVE, implies that you are keeping something away from people in a sneaky manner to hide something. I can speak on my chapters behalf by saying Xi Gamma has nothing to hide. There are always the fun a friendly secrets like who may be the newest members of your organization or even if you will be having new members any time soon. This just adds to the thrill and excitement of revealing the new memebers. Its like when you go to get your hair done you dont want anyone to see you until you are fully polished and complete. That is how joining NPHC organizations are. You dont want anyone to know that you are joining an organization and not be able to tell them anything about it. Joining these organizations is a lifelong committment and therefore you should devote the time needed to learn about them because you cannot live out rituals and values that you do not know.

*As another dislaimer I would like to say that I am not making any excuses for Hazing because well Hazing is Hazing and Rituals are Rituals. They are cut from a different cloth and there are different intentions behind them.

So in a nut shell I feel that there is nothing wrong with SECRET rituals. I love mine and I live mine everyday.