I may have walked away from organized religion but when New Age gurus are mentioned, I run. The fact that three apparently healthy adults have died in the aftermath of a “Spiritual Warrior” sweat lodge ceremony in Sedona this month just reinforces that reaction. The guru in this case was James Arthur Ray, a man who combined prosperity gospel, astrology, numerology and Native American teachings into a multi-million dollar business. They still haven’t released an official cause of death for his victims but I already know what it is… Greed.
If Ray had done even a cursory search of traditional sweat lodge ceremonies then he had to have been aware that they use natural materials and limit participants to 10 or 12 people tops. This son of a bitch charged almost $10,000 a pop to cram over 60 people under a plastic tarp,. What the fuck?!? You tell me what explanation there is for endangering people’s lives just to save a few bucks on material and personnel other than greed. The subtitle of his best-selling book, Harmonic Wealth, is The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want. I guess the secret is to exploit as many spiritual seekers as possible for your own gain.
I have to admit, I enjoy some New Age games like astrology or numerology but that’s all they are, games. Playing with Tarot cards isn’t that different from Crazy Eights to me. I did take my parents to one of the vortexes in Sedona not long after I moved to Arizona to see if we could feel the spiritual energy. The car door handle shocked the shit out of me and Mom said she was feeling gassy but other than that, it was pretty much a bust. After seeing what happens to people who actually give a shit about these New Age theologies, I'm glad me and my family were just farting around.
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