Participants say spiritual cleansing sweat lodge leader played God

October 21, 11:40 PMSF Health and Beauty ExaminerSonya Smith

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the SF Health and Beauty Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

sweatbox structure at Angel Valley resort in Sedona, Ariz

As participants begin to speak out about the events that took place during a spiritual cleansing ritual inside a Sedona sweat lodge, details become hard to swallow.

Two women who were inside the lodge say dozens of people were crowded into a pitch-black hut. Physically ill participants were told to push through their pain with self-help guru James Ray literally "playing God."

According to participant Beverley Bunn, people were vomiting in the stifling heat, gasping for air and lying lifeless on the floor. One man was burned when he crawled into hot rocks, seemingly unaware of what he was doing, she said.

"These people, including myself, were really just searching for a better way to live and a better life," she said. "And I commend us for that."

Three of those people died because of their quest.

Bunn, a 43-year-old Texas resident, described the October 8, 2009 tragedy in an interview with the Associated Press as follows:

Ray sat inside the door of the 415-square-foot sweat lodge, leading the group in chants and prayers. He poured water over a pile of hot rocks, sending a rush of steam through the makeshift structure. That began a two-hour ceremony broken up into 15-20 minute rounds that some would later describe as "profound," according to a transcript of a call Ray held with participants days later.

But for others, it was terrifying. By the time people started collapsing, Bunn had crawled to a spot near the door, praying for it to stay open as long as possible between rounds so she could breathe fresh air.

At one point, someone lifted the back of the tent. Ray demanded to know where the light was coming from and who committed the "sacrilegious act," Bunn said.

A man yelling, "I can't take it, I can't breathe, I can't do this" had crawled out, she said.

People were not physically forced to stay inside but highly encouraged, she said. "It was all about mind over matter -- you're stronger than your body."
 

sources: Los Angeles Times and azfamily.com