Sedona Sweat Lodge Deaths

The death of two people in Sedona, Arizona hits close to home for me in many ways. One of the deceased is from Milwaukee Wisconsin, not far from where I live.
I obviously was not in attendance at James Arthur Ray's Spiritual Warrior Retreat in Sedona.
James Arthur Ray was featured in The Secret. He is considered a self help guru that has appeared on Oprah and Larry King Live. Some people call him a new age snake oil salesman and a con artist.
There is no secret that this man has become extremely wealthy off of spiritual seekers. It is reported he was charging between 9000 to 10000 dollars for the 5 day retreat he led in Sedona.
Here's the thing, he was leading people through some very intense spiritual practices that he had no business doing. I know this from experience. I have attended and helped put on several sweat lodges in the past.
A sweat lodge is a very sacred event. A sweat lodge, as conducted in a Native American way should only be led by a trained Native American Elder. Unless he was given specific training and permission by an elder he is violating a spiritual law that could carry dramatic repercussions!
Many people do not understand these things and think that it does not matter. Many people think that spiritual matters are nothing more than pure bullshit and do not have to be respected.
I have found through my own personal experiences that Native American spiritual teachings are very powerful and very wonderful and open to all to learn, however it can not be stressed enough that disrespecting the teachings can have dire consequences! It is very clear that by the mere act of charging exorbitant fees he corrupted sacred traditions. Many Native Americans believe that entering the sacred lodge is the same as entering the mother earths womb. Thus after the purifying you are reborn anew. So if you are charging large sums of money you have desecrated the lodge and turned the mother into a whore.
It is also reported that other Native practices were participated in. There was talk of a group vision quest being conducted. This is performed in traditional ways in solitude with a trained spiritual person overseeing the quest. While this also involves a fast, that traditionally would include no food or water during the duration of the quest. If this was done prior to the lodge ceremony many would be in a dangerous situation due to lack of food and water. If that was the case the leader was willfully negligent in combining two very powerful ceremonies in a very dangerous manner. I have never heard of someone fasting before a lodge. I can not believe a leader would be trained in this manner. It looks to me like arrogance and ego got in the way and would be further proof of incompetence and negligence. I have not been trained in the ways of the warrior however, as our lodge was a bear lodge or healing lodge.
The reports of the lodge proceedings themselves are also very suspect. It is reported that there were 55-65 people in the lodge. The most people I have ever seen go in at once was 12! Sounds to me like someone was more concerned with profit than the well being of the participants.(65 x 10,000 = 650,000 dollars!)
Another report stated that 8 rounds were to be conducted. I am only aware of 4 rounds. A round is when the doors or flaps are closed after the grandfathers(Heated stones) are brought into the lodge. Depending on the amount of grandfathers brought in determines the heat and or intensity of the round. Also, was everyone offered water and adequate access to fresh air in between rounds? The only way you can understand these things is to experience them, and I can assure you this lodge was not conducted under proper supervision. Remember this was billed as a warrior training, I'm sure the mentality was to push it to the limit.
Stepping back to the construction of the sweat lodge, it is reported that plastic tarps and blankets were used to cover the lodge. If plastic were used it would assure proper ventilation would be next to impossible to provide for 65 people crammed in the lodge.
What of the construction itself. Building a sweat lodge is a complicated ceremony in and of itself. Much care must be taken in observing the proper respect, prayers, and offerings during the construction process. Was there an elder overseeing this process?
The Native American spiritual teachings are a way of life for many. It is so very important that if you wish to study and incorporate them as your way of life you must be taught in proper, respectful, manners. This can only be achieved by Elders who have been trained in traditional ways to help others learn these ways. Part of the problem is the attempted merging of traditional native ways with other beliefs. It is possible, but one should always exercises care and caution in attempting to do so.
Finally you can't completely absolve the participants themselves from their own share of responsibility in this tragedy. Sometimes people can get so wrapped up in their own spiritual agenda that they forget others around them. A true lodge is a community. All are concerned with each others well being. All are constantly watching over each other. It is easy to get caught up in the moment when seeking, but it should never come at the cost of another, and should always be done with eyes completely open, discerning for ones self, instead of blindly following another, someone who very often turns out to be someone very different then who you think they are!