That Sweat Lodge Thing

If stupid is as stupid does, then pardon me for speaking ill of the dead here. But I will anyway, because the truth of the matter is that all 65 persons who were in attendance at that sweat lodge thing in Arizona last October, both the lucky survivors and the less fortunate dead ones, frankly must have been pretty half-baked already just being there.

Those are the folks who were hustled by now-arrested motivational speaker James Arthur Ray into anteing up $9,000-plus a head for the trip to Arizona, there where they might escape toward attaining harmonic wealth and spiritual enlightenment. A five-day long recurrence that Ray lines up every year, the "Spiritual Warrior" retreat.

That is Ray's business, helping others achieve enlightenment, which I would bet took off hugely since getting so much attention a few years back, when everyone started wanting to know what exactly is The Secret. First, he was in the movie to help explain it, and then later on showed up on Oprah's show to explain it some more; that surely must have been a boon.

Anyway, the climax of the whole retreat experience was to literally sweat it out (something out) in a sweat lodge ceremony on the last day of festivities, the "most intense experience of your life" is what Ray called it. So intense it was this latest time that three people died and about twenty others ended up in the hospital from too many people in too hot of a room for too long a time.

To disclaim any mockery about the reason why they went there in the first place, let me say that I am not at all disparaging of any individual's own spiritual journey, nor whatever path he or she chooses seeking personal and spiritual betterment, getting chakras all lined up or whatever. In fact, I actually find a lot of truth in the principles that JR touts, only in a less twisted and cheaper way.

However, to my point of those people being stupid, it is this: that anyone who willingly doled out thousands upon thousands of dollars to some shyster who came along, promising to bring them to a spiritual plane unlikely to be achieved short of expending ten grand paid to his order for expert personal tutelage... well, hardly the brightest crayon. It's not like the guy was Jesus, for Christ's sake.

I didn't say it wasn't really sad how that these someones, wholeheartedly seeking and apparently desperate, got caught up in the shite this conniver slung about, but come on. Ten grand to join up is bad enough, and then to consider they still went along after being informed in writing that "the Spiritual Warrior activities could lead to serious injury, up to and including death"... not to be disrespectful, but I'm just sayin'.