what do sweat lodge tragedy survivors have to tell of the horrors of the event?
More than 50 followers of spiritual guru James Arthur Ray had just endured five strenuous days of fasting, sleep-deprivation and mind-altering breathing exercises when he led them into a sweat lodge ceremony. It was supposed to be a religious awakening, the culmination of a $9,000-plus-a-person retreat outside Sedona, Ariz., aimed at helping people find a new vision for life. But it wasn’t long before the ceremony turned into a terrifying experience. People were vomiting in the stifling heat, gasping for air, and lying lifeless on the sand and gravel floor beneath them, according to participant Beverley Bunn. One man was burned when he crawled into the rocks, seemingly unaware of what he was doing, she said. Ultimately, three people would die. When participants exhibited weakness, Ray urged them to push past it and chided those who wanted to leave, she said. “I can’t get her to move. I can’t get her to wake up,” Bunn recalls hearing from two sides of the 415-square-foot sweat lodge. Ra
Survivor of Ariz. sweat lodge ceremony speaks out FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – More than 50 followers of spiritual guru James Arthur Ray had just endured five strenuous days of fasting, sleep-deprivation and mind-altering breathing exercises when he led them into a sweat lodge ceremony. It was supposed to be a religious awakening, the culmination of a $9,000-plus-a-person retreat outside Sedona, Ariz., aimed at helping people find a new vision for life. But it wasn’t long before the ceremony turned into a terrifying experience. People were vomiting in the stifling heat, gasping for air, and lying lifeless on the sand and gravel floor beneath them, according to participant Beverley Bunn. One man was burned when he crawled into the rocks, seemingly unaware of what he was doing, she said. When participants exhibited weakness, Ray urged them to push past it and chided those who wanted to leave, she said. “I can’t get her to move. I can’t get her to wake up,” Bunn recalls hearing from two sides of th
One man who died after an overheated Arizona sweat-lodge ceremony had already brought another sick woman out of the stifling tent, before re-entering the lodge himself, a participant in the ceremony told the New York Times. Beverley Bunn, a 43-year-old orthodontist from Texas, said James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, helped a sick woman to safety before going back inside. Shore died later that evening at a Sedona, Ariz. area hospital. In all, three people died, and nearly 20 others have been treated for injuries suffered in the Oct. 8 ceremony during the “Spiritual Warrior” retreat led by New Age guru James Arthur Ray. Kirby Brown, 38, also died that evening. Liz Newman, 49, died on Oct. 17 after falling into a coma. Sheriff’s investigators in Arizona’s Yavapai County are treating the deaths as homicides but have yet to determine the cause. Ray has hired his own team to investigate, and vowed to continue with his work despite criticism.
