THE PULPIT: No need to sweat over sweat lodges if they're done right

In June 2008, I participated in a sweat lodge ceremony in Peyton, and it was unlike anything I’d ever done.

For the uninitiated, sweat lodge ceremonies are conducted to purify body and mind. Rocks are heated to a glowing red in an outdoor fire pit, then piled at the center of a low-slung domed tent. Water is poured on the rocks to create a thick steam. Several rounds occur over a period of hours, leaving participants perpetually saturated in sweat and steam.

During the first round in the three-hour, four-round ceremony, I felt momentary panic. My breathing felt strained as the pitch black tent became increasingly hot and muggy. Where was all this leading?

But I had a dutiful guide: Jacob Anaya, a Laguna Pueblo Indian who has led thousands of sweat lodges in the past 25 years. Under his heartfelt guidance, I was able to settle in and enjoy the experience.

I’ve been thinking about that evening after hearing of the Oct. 8 tragedy at an Arizona center where three people died and more than a dozen were hospitalized after being part of a sweat lodge conducted by self-help expert James Arthur Ray. Recent media reports suggest Ray may have pushed the more than 50 participants too hard. Police are investigating the deaths as homicides.

Anaya, 49, is no lightweight when it comes to pushing body and mind for spiritual purposes, having completed numerous solitary four-day fasts in the wilderness. But he suspects his ascetic exercises have a different motivation from those of the organizers at Ray’s retreat, which included a 36-hour fast and was billed as developing “spiritual warriors.”

Anaya believes the retreat became tainted by a “warrior mentality,” because organizers were ego-driven about pushing the body. By contrast, he said, “the Native American views the warrior as someone who becomes more humble (through spiritual practice) and places the well-being of others above his own.”

Anaya also noted how Ray charged participants $9,000 each for the five-day retreat. He warns people of all faiths to be on guard for spiritual leaders who charge for services.

“They see this as a business, as a moneymaking opportunity,” said Anaya, who has never charged a dime for his sweat lodges. “Spirituality should be freely given.”

The sweat lodge has been part of Lakota culture for thousands of years, which is why Anaya takes issue with people like Ray who adopt the ceremony despite having virtually no lodge training.

At the ceremony I attended, it was clear I was in good hands.

“We understand that the person running the lodge is responsible for every person in there,” Anaya said. “That’s why no one was going to get hurt.”

To read more of Anaya’s views on what went wrong at the Arizona sweat lodge, go to my blog, The Pulpit, at www.thepulpit.freedomblogging.com.