Self growth in the news.

I was shocked when I read the news article detailing the tragic deaths of two people attending a sweat lodge ceremony during a spiritual retreat in Arizona. The retreat, a five day event called Spiritual Warrior, was hosted by James Arthur Ray, one of the teachers featured in the movie, The Secret.

The sweat lodge ceremony took place on the final day of the retreat, an event that guests paid almost $10,000 to attend.

There aren’t a lot of details at this point about what actually happened inside the sweat lodge, but the end result is that 2 people died and 19 others were hospitalized. One person remains in critical condition.

While the police and other authorities are continuing their investigation into this tragedy, trying to discover exactly what happened and what went wrong, I can’t help but wonder if this was another case of bad judgment being influenced by group or peer pressure.

Before I talk about that though, I want to offer my condolences and sympathy to the victims and their families. My heart goes out to them and I know that any answers or causes or blame don’t change the reality of this loss.
It is hard to make sense of a tragedy like this, and as I said, the police investigation is continuing into the causes of it, but I hope that this story in some way causes you to look inside yourself and see how alike or different you are from the people who suffered this event.

There are a couple of very basic truths at play here.

First, sweat lodges, saunas, hot tubs, and the like all have inherent risks involved with their use. There are very real dangers. You can die from overheating or heat stroke if you overuse them or use them when you are ill. But on the other hand, there are also very real dangers simply driving your car to work too, aren’t there? It is all a matter of using your judgment and making good decisions.

Second, when people are in a group situation they act differently, they lose a little of their boundaries and they are more likely to engage in actions or behaviors that they normally wouldn’t do. You see that all the time in teenagers, but it is just as true for adults.

When you are with a group of your peers and everyone else is doing something, you want to be a part of it. That is natural. You find yourself suspending your personal judgment and doing things you never thought you would.

Now this is precisely the reason that self help seminars like the retreat put on by James Arthur Ray are so uplifting. As a participant at one of these events you find yourself being swept along with the energy of the crowd and you may surprise yourself by moving forward in positive, empowering ways that you never thought you could.

Your desire to do what everyone else is doing, to feel the same rush of success, actually allows you to lower your resistance to yourself. You find the courage to move past those self-limiting beliefs that have been holding you back, or you look closely at the excuses you have been using and decide that they are no longer valid.

These types of growth are possible because of your desire to be a part of the moment, to fit in, to be accepted.

But there is a dark side to this phenomena. The same force, the same response to group pressure that allows you to go beyond your self-limiting beliefs doesn’t discriminate, it lowers your resistance to ALL of your beliefs. Including the ones that keep you safe and well.

Learning to maintain your control over yourself in those situations is critical, whether you are talking about being a part of a self growth seminar or about finding yourself in an angry mob of people.

It is easy to allow yourself to get swept along in a feeling of euphoria and it can have profound effects on your life… if you stay in control and move in positive directions.

I’m not sure if there is a lesson in this tragedy, as I said, the police are still looking into the causes, but every event in life offers you an opportunity to pause and look inside yourself… to examine your beliefs and dreams… and to see if you are headed in the right direction.

I hope you’ll join me in sending love and healing energy to all of the people involved in this terrible event.

Peace,

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