Sarenth–*nods* This is going to be really difficult for the survivors to get past, or at least a good number of them. I can’t imagine participating in a ritual that had an accidental death, never mind one that came about not due to something like natural causes, but negligence. And, while I think Ray should be charged with whatever they can make stick, I’m betting he’s in a really bad place right now, and not just for his own sake. I know a lot of people want to paint him as a money-grubbing huckster, but I’d like to hope there’s a human being in there, too.

Chas Clifton–You’ve made some good points to that effect, and generally I agree. I think there are some tangibles at stake–for example, imagine what would happen if the money that goes to people pretending to be of a certain tribe, actually went to that community instead. But there are also a lot of discussions of ideals as well, and as with anything political there’s bound to be no end of debate and disagreement. I’m really appreciative of the posts you’ve added, because while appropriation is one of my concerns, I hadn’t quite thought of it that way before.

With regards to trying to create a shamanism for this culture, there are a lot of avenues one could potentially take, just in trying to pinpoint roles that are at least somewhat analogous. My choice is the psychology route, but I could just as easily see various other medical professionals, certain clergy, and teachers, among others, as laying claim to at least some of the role. But then, it’s also a function that was created in very different circumstances, culturally, environmentally, and otherwise. Obviously I have my own ideas and practices, but I’m no expert, and if nothing else it’s endlessly fascinating to see how others interpret the overall situation.

Pam–A good bit of it is how the tools are used. My husband, for example, is trained as a life coach, though his practice is mainly tailored to businesses and social media. But he and I have had long conversations about where coaching ends and therapy begins, and he was trained in knowing when his competency ended and when he should refer to a therapist. I agree that some coaches bill themselves as the best thing since sliced bread–some of that is just part of the territory of coaching. But there are ways to do it in which you still honestly present what you have to offer, and then there are people too blinded by the money to really think about the fact that they are supposed to be serving their clients. I’d say the same thing about those offering spiritual services. Money isn’t bad, and neither is offering help. The attitude with which these things are approached, though, may be suspect.

Michele–You’re welcome, and thank you! I am glad that your experience was much better; this is the kind of thing that I like to see balancing out the tragic occurrences. There’s definitely something that people are after when they go to anyone for guidance, be that someone like James Ray, or an indigenous elder, or a therapist, or a clergy person. And while to an extent the person looking has a responsibility to do their research, the ones who are sought out have an additional responsibility to know not only what they’re doing, but why.

My time spent in a sweat lodge was very sacred, run by a wisdom keeper and tribal leader who knew what she was doing. I am so grateful for her presence.

I grieve for the loss of life and the insanity of people who give away their power over to another without asking “is this right for me, do you know what you are doing?” It’s a teaching moment.

It seems we contemporary Americans have two choices. One was outlined by the psychologist of religion Daniel Noel in his (admittedly difficult) book The Soul of Shamanism, which seems to say that writing and Jungian analysis are our shamanism.

The other is to re-pioneer that Old Stuff, while knowing what we know, and see what happens.

As I have tried to argue provocatively in a couple of recent blog posts, I do think that the “cultural appropriation” argument is more political than magico-religious and should not deter people taking the second approach.

I am not going to judge other peoples’ spiritual efficacy of these kinds of rituals; I didn’t partake of the sweat offered at the gathering, for instance, but I didn’t mind setting up the markers that led to it so they had a safe walk to and from it. I think that, despite my personal misgivings/guilt, that at your core you are right.

It really is no different, regardless of the content of the rite itself: you need to know what you’re doing, prepare for problems, have people on hand (including yourself) able to deal with people who are having problems with the rite and anything it may bring up, and a conclusion that gives actual closure to the ritual. Having a plan for an “Oh, shit” scenario is part of the deal to me.

I think what a lot of people tend to forget, is that every ritual you enter into is potentially damaging, if for no other reason than it engages the psyche. A person who continuously does rituals that honor beauty could be covering up or confirming a destructive bias against themselves just as easily as they could be repairing it. It may take longer than a sweat lodge ritual to actually physically kill you, if it even does, but doing things of this kind does not lessen the damage it does to your psyche and long-term wellbeing. I can only imagine the damage this tragedy has done to the 60-or so survivors.