Death and Intent
I am saddened and angered by events this week in Sedona, AZ.
Two people are dead and one is in critical condition after an ill-fated "sweat lodge ceremony" during a "Spiritual Warrior" retreat hosted by James Arthur Ray. Ray is one of the many self-styled "Power of Attraction" gurus that appeared on the movie "The Secret".
The following is a of a Sunday news conference held by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office from Prescottnews.com:
The participants, having paid between $9000 and $10,000 each, originally arrived at the retreat on Saturday, October 3, and checked in around 4 pm. On Sunday, they started with time spent in lectures and seminars. Tuesday night at 10 pm, they were led into the surrounding canyons to start their "Vision Quest" - a 36 hour period of time on their own, during which they fasted and completed spiritual exercises. Thursday morning at daybreak, the participants were fed breakfast which included eggs, fruit and cereal. They were encouraged to drink water. Upon finishing their breakfast, they attended more seminars that afternoon before their sweat lodge experience.
They had no idea that within two and a half hours, what began as a spiritual quest, would end in death for two of them, and hospitalization for many more.
According to the Sheriff's report, "The initial experience began with 12 cantaloupe sized shaped rocks brought into the lodge and place in a pit. The rocks were then saturated with water to create steam and sandalwood was thrown on the rocks to give the effect of incense. At the end of each designated time period, the dome’s door flap was raised and additional rocks were brought inside. Investigators found 58 rocks in the pit. Investigators have not determined the temperature inside the dome at the time of this exercise. Investigators are still in the process of determining how many people were actually inside the dome when at least 2 people, who fell ill, were dragged to the dome’s doorway."
The Wildhunt Blog has a number of other links, including a screencap of live tweets Ray made during the seminars and just before entering the "sweat lodge". These other sources report that there were more than 60 people in the structure (I'm sorry, I just can't bring myself to associate this thing with a real sweat lodge), that is was covered with plastic tarps and blankets and that an unknown number of people were treated for minor burns (suggesting that the water was splashing on to them). There are also reports that participants were challenged to push past their boundaries and stay inside as long as possible.
There is so much wrong with this it makes me weep. First and foremost is that any time I have attended a true Native American ceremony that was challenging in any way, the leader's first concern was my health. The first question anyone asks whether you are well enough to accept this, and the understanding, especially with a sweat lodge, is that you may leave at any time without anyone thinking ill of you. The sweat is about purification, not pushing beyond limits. Ray obviously didn't understand the purpose or the mechanism behind it. There are comments by Natives throughout the articles and blog posts that point out that Ray's use of the sweat was irregular and not in keeping with any tradition. Plastic tarps? Sandalwood??? 60+ people in one lodge???? It's a wonder only two were killed!
I know many people who read this blog complain regularly about government interference in daily life. Well, this is how it starts, or as my friend karjack puts it, "this is why we can't have nice things." I've never been a fan of selling enlightenment in the first place, but, on this occasion, Ray's karma has caught up with him in a deadly way. He took a ceremony he knew very little about completely out of context, charged an outrageous amount to participate in something that has always been free, and now a bright young woman and a father of three are dead.
And what has Ray had to say about it? He tweeted his condolences to the families, and had his spokesman make a similar statement. He left the state refusing an interview with the Sheriff's office. His website has no mention of the incident, and another Spritual Warrior retreat is still being offered for 2010.
After all, any publicity is good for business, right?
Two people are dead and one is in critical condition after an ill-fated "sweat lodge ceremony" during a "Spiritual Warrior" retreat hosted by James Arthur Ray. Ray is one of the many self-styled "Power of Attraction" gurus that appeared on the movie "The Secret".
The following is a of a Sunday news conference held by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office from Prescottnews.com:
The participants, having paid between $9000 and $10,000 each, originally arrived at the retreat on Saturday, October 3, and checked in around 4 pm. On Sunday, they started with time spent in lectures and seminars. Tuesday night at 10 pm, they were led into the surrounding canyons to start their "Vision Quest" - a 36 hour period of time on their own, during which they fasted and completed spiritual exercises. Thursday morning at daybreak, the participants were fed breakfast which included eggs, fruit and cereal. They were encouraged to drink water. Upon finishing their breakfast, they attended more seminars that afternoon before their sweat lodge experience.
They had no idea that within two and a half hours, what began as a spiritual quest, would end in death for two of them, and hospitalization for many more.
According to the Sheriff's report, "The initial experience began with 12 cantaloupe sized shaped rocks brought into the lodge and place in a pit. The rocks were then saturated with water to create steam and sandalwood was thrown on the rocks to give the effect of incense. At the end of each designated time period, the dome’s door flap was raised and additional rocks were brought inside. Investigators found 58 rocks in the pit. Investigators have not determined the temperature inside the dome at the time of this exercise. Investigators are still in the process of determining how many people were actually inside the dome when at least 2 people, who fell ill, were dragged to the dome’s doorway."
The Wildhunt Blog has a number of other links, including a screencap of live tweets Ray made during the seminars and just before entering the "sweat lodge". These other sources report that there were more than 60 people in the structure (I'm sorry, I just can't bring myself to associate this thing with a real sweat lodge), that is was covered with plastic tarps and blankets and that an unknown number of people were treated for minor burns (suggesting that the water was splashing on to them). There are also reports that participants were challenged to push past their boundaries and stay inside as long as possible.
There is so much wrong with this it makes me weep. First and foremost is that any time I have attended a true Native American ceremony that was challenging in any way, the leader's first concern was my health. The first question anyone asks whether you are well enough to accept this, and the understanding, especially with a sweat lodge, is that you may leave at any time without anyone thinking ill of you. The sweat is about purification, not pushing beyond limits. Ray obviously didn't understand the purpose or the mechanism behind it. There are comments by Natives throughout the articles and blog posts that point out that Ray's use of the sweat was irregular and not in keeping with any tradition. Plastic tarps? Sandalwood??? 60+ people in one lodge???? It's a wonder only two were killed!
I know many people who read this blog complain regularly about government interference in daily life. Well, this is how it starts, or as my friend karjack puts it, "this is why we can't have nice things." I've never been a fan of selling enlightenment in the first place, but, on this occasion, Ray's karma has caught up with him in a deadly way. He took a ceremony he knew very little about completely out of context, charged an outrageous amount to participate in something that has always been free, and now a bright young woman and a father of three are dead.
And what has Ray had to say about it? He tweeted his condolences to the families, and had his spokesman make a similar statement. He left the state refusing an interview with the Sheriff's office. His website has no mention of the incident, and another Spritual Warrior retreat is still being offered for 2010.
After all, any publicity is good for business, right?