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The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy, Part XIII: The Business of Spiritual Growth

With two people dead as the result of a personal growth retreat gone wrong, we’re sorting out the controversy over the high cost of James Arthur Ray’s Sedona event.

 

 I’ve discussed having no charge for spiritual events; having a reasonable charge for them; or charging whatever the market will bear.

 

Option 1, not charging for spiritual events, aims to keep them uncorrupted. Sadly, they still get corrupted all the time. At the Ray event, there’s no sense that the price of the event had anything to do with the tragic deaths. He had a paid nurse on hand for the sweat lodge, which is a lot more than I’ve seen at other lodges. Yet people died.

 

Option 2, pricing events “reasonably,” doesn’t deny the host a living, but treats spiritual products and services are different from mundane items. Sadly, what is “reasonable” is virtually impossible to get two people to agree on.

 

Option 3 allows people in personal growth can charge whatever they want. That’s the current situation, of course, and the reason James Arthur Ray priced his five day event at over $9,000. Ray had offered free talks to large groups of people around the USA, in hopes of drawing a fraction of them to his high-priced retreat.

 

This issue is touchy for people, and I’d like to acknowledge all those who have felt abused or ripped off by someone using the vocabulary of religion, spirituality or personal growth. Spiritual matters create a unique vulnerability, and as an adventure guide conducting spiritual tours to sacred places, I know this well. When people come to me, they can be vulnerable, emotional, and easily influenced. Discussing spirituality with them is my joy, but it is also a responsibility.

 

 For a number of reasons, I need to charge more than others in my field, and make no apologies for it. First, although this is my passion, it is also my business. Besides the money expense the business incurs – from insurance to supplies – it means paying salaries to my staff. It would be one thing for me to earn less income, but less money is not a choice they can afford.

 

Second, I already did earn less income, and for a long time, too! Of course, this was during the first years of my business, when I was investing more than I was earning. My profits today are a delayed return on that investment. Personal growth author-speakers deserve the same opportunity.

 

Third, many people won’t know that I’m Sedona’s best private guide unless I charge accordingly. Since visitors can’t try every guide in town, the price is one indicator of value. Believe me, a personal growth event that doesn’t cost enough will make many people suspicious of its quality.  Unlike personal growth authors, however, our adventures are absolutely guaranteed: If you don’t love it, you don’t pay. For personal growth authors laying out thousands in advance for a retreat, such a guarantee may not be practical, although it would still be welcome.

 

 Fourth, my success in doing work I love (taking people into Sedona’s outdoors), has allowed me to increase my charitable giving. Donating our adventures and gift certificates for them to charitable groups, has helped them raise funding. Each year, Anthony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer give remarkable sums to charitable causes. Treating their work as a business created the potential for such charity.

 

 There’s no doubt that operating as a business has drawbacks. It’s impossible to plan a wonderful retreat that everyone can attend at a price that’s just right for them. Further, money can definitely draw too much focus, distracting people from the true goals of spiritual consciousness. Yet as a business, rather than as a religious institution, non-profit organization or government agency, the field of personal growth can marshal people, capital and resources to help the most people.

 

 As a business, it has to make a profit. As a business, it can also be regulated….and should be. In the case of the Ray retreat, because it is a business, he may be financially liable, which wouldn’t be the case if the event were free. I think that is appropriate.

 

 The tragedy will tell us more about what James Arthur Ray’s approach is. I have confidence that he’ll do the right thing, keeping in mind his business, but not being a slave to it.

The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy, Part XI: Charge for Spiritual Events, But Not So Much!

The most controversy about the deadly retreat held near Sedona, Arizona continues, with some of the discussion about the price of the event itself. The overlap of money and spirit, of business and ceremony, is touchy.

 

 Previously, we discussed eliminating charges for spiritual practices.

 

The second approach advocates charging money when necessary, but keeping prices reasonable. This recognizes the practicalities of a modern, capitalist society. At the same time, it doesn’t forget that spiritual services are a very different matter. Spiritual counseling isn’t like help with your taxes, or with your backhand on the tennis court. It should be treated differently, the thinking goes.

 

 Advocates site Ray’s price for the Angel Valley retreat (over $9,000 per person, with room and board, for 5 days) as an example of abuse. “Who is he to charge so much money?,” I have heard asked. People who believe in this approach don’t begrudge James Arthur Ray’s right to make money, but they don’t think he should become rich either. Citing his best-selling books and CD’s, they also feel his approach strikes of greed.

 

The underlying fear here is that the speaker is becoming rich in a way that impoverishes others. The language of spirit and soul is potent, and people are afraid that growth celebrities can take advantage of others. Worst of all, the ones they might take advantage of are those who are most in need. With huge promises (Ray promised a life-changing retreat) but no accountability and no money-back guarantees, a personal growth speaker whose rates are sky-high can rip people off.

 

Let me know your thoughts on this approach. In my next post, I’ll discuss my own suggestion.

The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy, Part X: Should You Charge for A Spiritual Event?

On Thursday, October 8, 2009, two people died and others were hospitalized during a sweat lodge ceremony held by personal growth speaker James Arthur Ray. One of the items that has provoked the most controversy about the retreat held near Sedona, Arizona is the price of the event. The overlap of money and spirit, of business and ceremony, is one that bothers people in many different cultures and societies. Let’s sort it out.

 

Before we do, let’s acknowledge this is a tragedy regardless of the financial price. A 38-year-old woman who loved to hike and a 40-year-old father of three are dead. No matter what the event cost financially, premature death is tragic, and the cost to those who loved them is inestimable.

Pausing to be clear on this is important. The sadness of the tragedy is great, especially for those of us who love and teach the exploration of spirit and consciousness. We’re not only sad, we’re angry and frankly, a high-priced guru makes an easy target.

 

The question is not about the tragedy, therefore, but about the interplay of money and spirituality: In other words,

·    Should any retreat cost this much?

·    Are people being ripped off? and

·     Is it appropriate to charge this much – or any amount – for a spiritual event?”

 

 James Arthur Ray’s “Spiritual Warrior” retreat took place over several days, and cost the participants over $9,000. Given the remote setting, we can presume it included food and accommodations, since Angel Valley is set up to provide both.

 

 I hear three kinds of arguments.

 

 The first says that people shouldn’t be charged for spiritual growth and sacred ceremonies. No fools, folks advocating this point of view realize that in the modern world, stuff costs money. But they say there needs to be a clear line separating the worlds of faith and money. When there isn’t, corruption occurs, and they have plenty of examples to show it.

 

They advocate, instead, the practices of preachers, healers and religions around the world: Accepting donations. Saddhus (holy men) live by begging in India, and Christian churches and Jewish synagogues rely on the charity of their congregations. Everyone participates according to their interest, not according to their wallet. This keeps sacred ceremonies sacred, and untarnished.

The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy, Part VI: Native Traditions, New Age Rites

The tragedy at Angel Valley for James Arthur Ray’s retreat reveals how the personal growth community treasures but adapts ancient traditions. How does this work?

 

It’s not uncommon for New Age and other personal growth events to take Native traditions and re-create them to modern sensibilities. A traditional vision quest that would last for weeks is now offered in a few days. Fasting, which traditionally could last for many days, can now be offered for hours. A sweat lodge for a few people is today offered to many.

 

This was the case at James Arthur Ray’s Spiritual Warrior retreat last week. Participants paid over $9,000 for a five-day event, including food and accommodations at a remote site west of Sedona. We now know that around Wednesday, participants were involved in a “Vision Quest,” which included fasting. The quest that commenced on Wednesday would last for 36 hours, with the fasting already broken by Thursday. 

 

Many ancient rituals intertwined the practical and the spiritual. They offered cleansing or healing with a chance to communicate with the Divine. Today, in an area of tremendous abundance, the survival needs of the average person are easily handled. However the spiritual intent behind native traditions remains highly valued in the personal growth community.

 

My opinion is that there is no great crime, but in fact a lot of good, in adapting ancient rituals to modern settings. The key is to make sure we understand what we are doing, why we are doing it and the differences between now and then.

 

Therefore we need to understand (or explain to those about to participate), what native peoples once did, or still do. In doing so, we will appreciate the intensive physicality of many of those rituals. We will grasp how focused on basic survival the ceremonies were, while also acknowledging the esoteric nature of the spirit. We will appreciate the innate power of the color, music, dance and chanting that people performed.

 

Most of all, doing so honors those who have come before us. Even if they are not closely tied to us by blood, this is worthy.

 

The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy, Part V: The Role of Rituals for Ancient Peoples

James Arthur Ray’s Spiritual Warrior retreat demonstrates how the personal growth community has adapted ancient rituals for modern purposes. Sadly, the retreat’s sweat lodge ceremony led to two deaths at Angel Valley, outside Sedona. Let’s examine the roots of native traditions that today are utilized by the personal growth community.

 

In the modern era, it’s worth realizing that we frequently misunderstand the practices of ancient peoples. (Here I generalize greatly, but I think it will help make my point.) Among the most common misconceptions is the nature of ancient ceremonies and rituals, a core component of the spirituality of the ancients. For many native peoples of the past, subsistence was a nearly constant state. Rituals were universally aimed at enhancing tribal survivability and well-being, even if some practices did so better than others.

 

So it’s good to remember that often practical well-being and esoteric spirituality were not such separate items for ancient peoples. A sweat lodge helped you connect with the Divine, but it also detoxified you so that you could hunt without being detected by your prey. What was most important to surviving was most frequently ritualized. Rituals accompanied births and deaths, healing, harvests and hunts. They aided adult initiation and through the bonding of man and woman, pro-creation. They could broker peace among enemies, attempt to alter the weather and predict the future.

 

In the ancient world, if something was important to surviving and thriving, it was worth emphasizing, commemorating or making routine with a ritual.

 

In my next post, I’ll examine how the New Age community has adopted and adapted native traditions.

 

The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy, Part IV: How Do You Build A Sweat Lodge?

James Arthur Ray’s retreat at Sedona’s Angel Valley resulted in the tragic death of two otherwise healthy people. To understand what might have gone wrong, let’s look at how a sweat lodge is traditionally built.

 

First, a sweat lodge is usually a temporary structure, and that’s worth noting. Although they had very practical benefits (see my prior post, “What Is A Sweat Lodge?”), the truth is that it isn’t only being in one that is the ritual. Even building it is part of the ceremony. In such a tradition, a ceremony doesn’t only have a beginning: It must have an ending. So the ceremonial tradition dictated that just as a sweat lodge is constructed, so it must be de-constructed once the healing is complete.

 

Second, a sweat lodge is traditionally constructed of the most basic elements. The structure often looks like a small dome. In the American Northeast, this is the essential structure of a Native American wigwam; in the Southwest, we call it a wikiup (also spelled, wickiup). It contrasts with the tall, narrow top of the traditional tipi (or tee-pee) of native peoples of the American plains. On top of the structure of sticks and branches, blankets and brush provide a covering.

 

Third, as the structure is being built, the critical rocks are prepared. Stones are heated in a fire pit through the day, reaching high temperatures over many hours. Then the stones are carefully placed in a dug-out area at the center of the dirt floor in the lodge structure. Participants sit on the ground, and with the simple pouring of water on the stones, an intense, hot steam fills the lodge.

 

With the structure built and the rocks in place, the tribal healer – who had supervised the building – would then invite the person or people required for the ceremony.

 

The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy, Part III: What Is A Sweat Lodge?

With two people dead and dozens sickened by a ceremonial sweat lodge at Angel Valley Retreat outside Sedona, the largest and most important question is entirely unanswered: “What went wrong?” The retreat, hosted at Angel Valley by growth celebrity James Arthur Ray, has led to wild speculation about what was going on.

 

I’m about to add to the wild speculation.

 

To my credit, I reside in Sedona, and have been to Angel Valley, scene of the tragic event. More importantly, I’ve experienced sweat lodges and I’ve even helped build one. I have also experienced a large group sweat, not unlike what happened at Angel Valley. As such I know the challenges that the modern version of this ancient ritual presents.

 

So before speculating about what went wrong, let’s explain how sweat lodges came to be.

 

Around the world, native peoples understood the importance of cleanliness to human survival. In addition to the fact that fire could help them cook food, they also realized that heat could help them stay clean. The sweat lodge began as a tradition among Native Americans which is still practiced today as a ritual of cleansing, and by extension, of healing.

 

One common reason to hold a sweat lodge ceremony was to prepare young men before going out on a “Vision Quest.” The quest deserves its own description, but for now, let us say that this was a journey away from home, into the wilderness, which would initiate a boy into manhood. In this kind of quest, the sweat lodge’s function was both highly spiritual, but also eminently practical. Because the high heat of a sweat lodge de-toxified the person, it would allow to him to move in the outdoors with less bodily smell. As such, he was less likely to be detected by the animals he needed to hunt. Away from the tribe, his ability to hunt could mean the difference between life and death.

 

Realizing that a clean body is a healed body, it makes perfect sense that a sweat lodge took on great utility as a healing ritual. So it is that a sweat could be done not only for the young, but for anyone old enough to have health issues. Such a ceremony would usually be directed by a medicine man or woman, also known as a shaman or shamaness. The high heat of rocks, placed in the center of a make-shift structure, demanded strict practices and oversight. Do it wrong, and someone could get really hurt, or a sick person could become much sicker.

 

At the same time, the spiritual intensity of the ceremony demanded its own practices, which became the rituals passed across generations. In the tradition most common of the American Southwest, the healer invites only an individual or a small number of people into the lodge. Prayers are made before, during and after, invoking the Great Spirit, as well as the spirits of ancestors, to assist. Unhealthy or unhelpful spirits maligning the person’s body may be called out and banished. It is also common to endure the intense heat, then to rest outside, and then to come in, repeating the process.

 

In my next post we’ll discuss how to build a sweat lodge, which gives us clues to what might have happened at Angel Valley.

 

 

The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy, Part II: Who is James Arthur Ray?

On Thursday, October 8, 2009, two people were killed and dozens sickened as a result of a ceremonial sweat lodge held at a retreat near Sedona. In Sedona and beyond, people are curious about James Arthur Ray, the retreat’s leader.

 

Although a little-known group, The Transformational Leadership Council includes many of the world’s most recognizable stars in the personal growth industry. Some became even more famous when film-maker Rhonda Byrne joined the TLC at an Aspen retreat several years ago to make, The Secret. She interviewed many members about “The Law of Attraction,” and included in the final cut John Assaraf, Rev. Michael Beckwith (Agape Spiritual Center, California), Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for The Soul), Hale Dwoskin (The Sedona Method), Marci Shimoff and James Arthur Ray.

 

The commercial success of “The Secret” was astounding to even the most cynical observer, and the blockbuster indie movie begat a best-selling book. Those appearing in the film received notoriety. Beckwith, for example, became a spiritual consultant to Oprah Winfrey, and was joined on her show by James Arthur Ray.

 

Ray was well-versed in the attraction concept, having authored “The Science of Success: How to Attract Prosperity and Create Harmonic Wealth Through Proven Principles.” In the movie and on TV, the handsome and humorous Ray offered clear, compelling analogies and catch phrases to viewers. He encouraged people to think of the universe as a genie that offers us unlimited wishes, and to ask oneself, “Would now be a good time to start?”

 

The son of a preacher, Ray is now 51 years old. A one-time AT&T employee, Ray’s interest in business helps explain his vigorous promotion of the attraction technique to fulfill the most mundane desires. At the same time, he sees wealth as more than monetary. In his book, Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want, he defines it as “financial, relational, mental, physical and spiritual.”

 

Although his career has blossomed on the whole, he has admitted his own setbacks. The dot.com bust of 2000 brought him “to his knees” financially, forcing him to sell his most cherished possessions in a virtual “fire sale.”

 

Today, his business model is nothing new for personal growth speakers. He offers free live events around the country and free video content on his website. The expanded outreach helps him attract people to higher-cost retreats, such as the Spiritual Warrior in Sedona. (We’ll discuss the price of this event, and the connection of business and spirituality in a later post.)

 

James Arthur Ray was in the sweat lodge held at Angel Valley as the group reached the culmination of their retreat. Today his degree of responsibility for the sad results is unclear. Officials say a Ray provided a paid nurse to be on scene during the sweat lodge. However, as Ray refused to be interviewed by the arriving police, further questions remain unanswered.

 

I wish James Arthur Ray had stayed to respond to police questioning. That he did not is a disappointment, although not a sign of guilt. Instead it’s simply a sign that a guy who has made and lost money before did exactly what his lawyer would have told him to. And let’s face it: He may soon be sued for everything he’s got.

 

In my next post, I’ll speculate on what happened in the deadly sweat lodge.