Watch this video.  Pay special attention to the segment located at 5:28.  The description of Awumbuk is a particularly powerful illustration of the power of ritual.  This is a power that you can harness and exploit for your own purposes.

I have written two other articles that should be combined with the information below.  They all form the critical elements of fraternity and their essential benefits.  This article could be taken as a stand-alone concept.  Rituals can have more than one application.  However, if you want to understand the context in which I have placed this specific article, you should read this article on sharing secrets and this article on why hazing is a good thing.

So, particularly in the context of fraternity, I have laid out this equation for you:

(Secrets + Hazing = Indestructible Unity) + Rituals = Timeless Fraternity

Rituals are to the human psyche as magnets are to recordable media.  This means that by performing a ritual to commemorate an event you are committing everything about that event to your long-term memory.  This includes not only the specific details of that event, but the emotions that go with it.  Rituals are not just a repetitive recital of the mundane details, like cramming for an exam.  Rituals encapsulate all of the important feelings and symbolism that represent the significance of your achievement.

By performing a ritual to commemorate an event, you not only capture the memory of that event, but you are also creating a landmark in your life.  This is why so many cultures perform rituals for major life-changing events.  The most commonly known rituals that are performed by societies around the world are for things such as puberty and marriage.  These events are significant “Rites of Passage” for members of the human race.  That is why so many cultures celebrate these events.  It generates a specific moment in your life where you can look back and say, “I was once uninitiated, but now I am a member. I remember the specific day and moment when it happened!”  Being able to point to a specific moment of “becoming” has a tremendous psychological benefit, as it removes any ambiguity of your passage.  There is never any question as to whether you are what you say you are.  You KNOW you are what you say you are, and this causes you to behave accordingly.  You assert the right to behave as one who has been initiated.  Furthermore, the initiation was public, and thus your right to assert your status is confirmed by the other members of your group, organization, society, etc.

Rituals can also be used to solidify your memory and your understanding of important topics.  Therefore, your ritual should incorporate some form of education.  Your rituals should contain many references to your stated values, or to the lessons that are directly related to the purpose of the ritual.  If your ritual is related to personal character, then make sure your ritual incorporates clear references to values like love, charity, sacrifice, and self-discipline.  Drive home the specifics that are related to your initiation.  Remove any ambiguity in regard to your way forward.  Illustrate that you have ascended from one level of existence into a new, greater level of existence.

Rituals are powerful because they employ some really basic psychological tools.  Rituals are visual.  Human beings are visual learners.  Words and explanations are useful in their own way, but nothing can drive home an idea like a good visual aid.  It is like the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  Visuals are also persuasive.  If you are trying to persuade the initiate that their induction is meaningful, using visual aids to illustrate your point is going to score much higher than mere speeches.

Rituals are also experienced-based events.  Another old saying is, “Experience is the best teacher.”  You PERFORM a ritual.  You PARTICIPATE in a ritual.  Instructions via exegesis can be viable forms of learning, but they will never be as instructive as a personal experience.

Your rituals can be simple, but the more elaborate, the better.  If you are limited in time, space and resources, then do a simple ritual.  A simple ritual is far, far better than no ritual at all.  But if you really want to drive the point home and make the moment a significant landmark in your memory banks, do it with passion and flare.  Build elaborate rituals that incorporate as many participants as possible.  You – and those who participate with you – are going to remember this moment for the rest of your life.  Make is awesome!

You can use rituals for yourself and that would be very effective.  However, I am suggesting that you use them in the context of your friends.  Rituals in the context of a fraternity will generate a concrete foundation of purpose and a lasting adherence to the ideals and values of the fraternity.  Every member, having participated in a ritual in their honor, will remember who they are and what they stand for.  Your fraternity will never die.

-Sisyphus

Watch this video.

Hazing is bad – unless you use it to accomplish something good.

Hazing has gotten a bad rap because we generally only hear about it in the context of some college kid drinking himself into an alcohol induced coma.  This might fit in the category of hazing, but it is poorly executed.  Hazing is not effective if it causes irreparable damage.  This includes psychological as well as physical damage.  Hazing does not have to be life threatening to achieve its benefits.

You might be saying to yourself “But why do it at all?  Why assume the risk?”  First of all, there is no risk.  The idea that hazing is risky is a fallacy.  Hazing is only risky if you pursue an activity that is inherently risky and dismiss that stupid idea by calling it hazing.  Hazing is not about endangerment.  Hazing can be accomplished in any number of ways.  The hazing process is only limited by the imagination.  The only reason some people use physical abuse or dangerous acts to haze their probates is because they have no imagination.  They cannot be bothered to come up with something unique and effective so they just say, “drink this until I tell you to stop”.  It is dumb.

Second of all, hazing has an important psychological effect on the one being hazed.  This effect is a critical element to building the unity that fraternities are known for.  No one who joins a fraternity is looking to join a club.  If you want to join a club, then go join a club.  The purpose of joining a fraternity is to experience a deep bond with other like-minded people.  You do not just want a group of knuckleheads to hang out with.  You want a brotherhood that will have your back when you need them the most.  You are looking for brothers, not buds.  Casual acquaintances and friends come and go.  They are carried in by the breeze and carried out just as easily.  Brothers remain.

Fraternities are built on a two-part bonding agent.

A Shared Secret + A Common Experience = Indestructible Unity

This blog post will explain the benefits of hazing and the reason for having it as a part of that two-part equation.  Read this blog post to understand the reasons for including a shared secret.

Hazing, done properly, will contain some very specific elements.

It must be difficult.  It does not have to be life-threatening or immensely harrowing.  It does need to be difficult enough to require the participant to get off of his fucking couch and actually try.  If no effort is required, no benefit will be implied.  The fact that he has put forth an effort to complete the task will assert the impression that what he is hoping to obtain is actually worth more.  When we exert effort to obtain something, the value of that item is increased – even if it is only a product of your own imagination.  This increase in value may only exist within the mind of the one who has worked for it, but that does not matter.  What is important here is that you, the probate, believes in the value of the fraternity.  Forcing yourself to endure a trial to obtain membership will force you into a state of cognitive dissonance.  That is right.  When you are entering a fraternity, you WANT to experience this psychological event.  You WANT to be in a state of cognitive dissonance.  This mental conflict tells you that what you are trying to accomplish must be worth the extra effort, or else you would not have endured the trial.  This will cause you to assert a greater value on the prize.  That is exactly what you want!  Remember that the other initiates will be thinking and feeling the same way.  Together, you will value your fraternal family far, far more than if you were handed your membership on a silver platter.  You and your brothers will always hold your brotherhood in a high regard because you all worked for it.  The work you put into obtaining your membership is the source of the value you assign to it.

It must be consistent.  It must provide a similar experience from event to event.  Hazing provides a sense of having a shared experience.  Even if you did not go through your trials with another member of the fraternity, you know that they have endured the same experiences by virtue of their membership.  A shared experience is a source of respect and camaraderie.  Think back to an experience that you shared with others.  Don’t you feel a closer bond with those who were there with you?  What is it like when you talk about that experience with them?  Don’t you feel a stronger sense of understanding with those who know exactly what you are talking about when you share your thoughts about that experience?  These are the same feelings that hazing will provide.

Consistency also provides a sense of justice, impartiality, and equality.  You did not endure more, or less, than any other member of the fraternity.  You were all tested the same way and you all passed.  You are all equally capable and trustworthy.

It must be educational with respect to the values of the fraternity.  You might see this as brain washing, since it is essentially based on the concept of drilling stated values while enduring a difficult experience.  You are right.  The difference between Vietcong POW camps and a fraternity is volunteerism.  You joined this fraternity because you already believed in their values.  You already associate yourself with their ideals.  Now you want to share them with others.  You want the peace of mind that comes from knowing that those values will not shift or fade.  You came here to be brain washed into maintaining the standards that you already have and you want to know that your fraternal brothers, present and future, will maintain them as well.

This “educational” experience will ensure the longevity of the fraternal mission.  The foundation of the fraternity must hold!  Without it, the fraternity is doomed to fail before it begins.  The brothers are the guardians of the fraternity’s values and goals.  If they forget, or become complacent, the fraternity will lose its way.  Even the elements of shared secrets and experiences will be seen as unimportant and will no longer be enforced, or they will only be enforced half-heartedly.  This is the death of a fraternity.  Long, painful, and sad.  It would have been better if it had never been born.

Hazing is a powerful tool.  You can wield it with skill and purpose, or you can wield it like a fool.  Your results will depend on how, and why, you use it.

-Sisyphus

If two men are standing in a room by themselves and one of those men sees a pink elephant, which one of these two men is hallucinating?

Chances are, the man who is seeing something extra is the one who is hallucinating.  But that is not the only way to tell.  You can further test this by simply asking the man who sees the “extra” element about what he sees.  If you get an immediate, triggered reaction and he says something like, “Can’t you see anything, you dumb fuck? Just open your eyes!” then you can be sure that he is the one who is hallucinating.

Typically, you do not hallucinate “nothing”.  A hallucination will not yield a null value, but rather a hallucination will show an extra element that is not there.  If you think you see something, ask others to look at it as well.  If you ask someone to look at what you are seeing and they look at you like you have a dick growing out of your forehead, you may be hallucinating.  I hope that you will be capable of having this rational thought process if you are hallucinating, but unfortunately, the only one who cannot see that they are hallucinating is the one who is hallucinating.  You will very likely be totally reliant upon others in this regard.

If you are reading an “observation” that was written by someone who is hallucinating, the first thing you will notice about that observation is just how crazy it sounds.  Typically, someone who hallucinates can read or hear a statement and get something completely irrational out of that information.  When you read/hear those words, you simply cannot see what they are seeing.  Your initial response is going to be “This sounds completely ridiculous!  How do they get that from this statement?”  If you find yourself feeling that way immediately after reading someone’s “take” on a comment or statement, there is a good chance you are dealing with a hallucination.  If you are in the context of a debate, don’t bother debating any further.  You cannot have a rational debate with someone who is hallucinating, just as you cannot have a rational discussion with someone who is drunk or on a drug-induced high.  Either change your tactic to focus on the audience, or leave that situation entirely.

One who hallucinates will also present themselves as extra sensitive to the idea that their hallucination is not real.  If you suggest to that person that what they are seeing may not actually exist, they will become visibly agitated.  Watch the expression on their face when you ask even the most rudimentary questions about what they are seeing.  If you ask even a simple, reasonable question regarding their hallucination, and you get an exaggerated response, you know you are dealing with someone who is hallucinating.  You should be able to query them for more information to help you understand their point of view.  But if they respond with something that is far greater than the situation calls for, you are dealing with a hallucination.  Your conversation will not be very productive.  Walk away now, while you still can.

If you have a theory – even if it is not particularly outrageous – you should expect to have that theory questioned.  In fact, if you have a theory on anything, you should assume that the best way to test your theory is to present it to others and encourage them to question it.  Questions will ultimately refine your theory or idea until it becomes something that can be executed or tested in a more efficient way.  You should be open to presenting your thought or concept to the arena of ideas.  If you, or someone you know, has an idea, theory, concept, or ideology that is not open to even the most reasonable discussion without insults, threats, or violence, then you are dealing with someone who is hallucinating.  Questioning someone’s point of view should not trigger them into an outburst.  If it does, back away slowly.  If that person is you, take some time to rethink your position.  Be open to the idea of being wrong, even if it hurts – especially if it hurts.  Ultimately, if you allow yourself to question and doubt until you can reconcile your understanding, you will be better off.  But the one who is hallucinating cannot see it this way.

If you spend any time on social media or in politics, you will see this phenomenon a lot.  Someone presents their thought or statement, someone else challenges that statement, this then triggers the original poster into insults and threats.

Don’t be that person.  And if you are that person, fix it.

-Sisyphus