Nov
21
2011
James Arthur Ray, plastic shaman, is now a convicted felon held responsible for the sweat lodge deaths of three people in Arizona.
There are two organizations locally who sponsor sweat lodge experiences, The New Warrior Training Adventure and the Victories of the Heart Shadow weekend.
I have written about the Shadow weekend so called sweat lodge and do not recommend it.
The New Warrior’s sweat lodge has trained leaders and follows strict protocols and is likely to be the closest version of a Native American sweat lodge experience including the respect for the spiritual and cleansing purpose of the lodge.
While I believe the New Warrior training program’s sweat lodge to be better organized, my positive comments should not be seen as an endorsement.
Nov
20
2011
How do you spell relief? D-I-S-C-L-O-S-U-R-E
Therapists and clients alike understand the relief provided by the disclosure of sad, angry, fearful memories. Therapy is a place where people should feel safe enough to disclose anything they choose, significant or insignificant.
In dysfunctional families or organizations, people are often exposed to behavior which shocks
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Nov
13
2011
Examining the religious right wing activism defending catholic clergy sex abusers and the response of the church, it’s pretty easy to understand why Joe Paterno didn’t do anything to protect the children being raped by Jerry Sandusky.
He’s Joe Paterno and probably feels entitled to do whatever he wants, just like Bill Donohue, Bishop Finn of Kansas City, the catholic pope, and the entire catholic church hierarchy.
Bill Donohue, Executive Director of Catholic League Center for Religious and Civil Rights,
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Nov
05
2009
A video of Reynolds talking about his gullibility and feelings of betrayal by James Arthur Ray. Watch it here.
Nov
05
2009
Read his article here.
If you carefully evaluate the structure of his words and sentences, you will see that he is appealing to the ultra conservative, wealthy Americans who probably hate people on welfare.
Ray takes some very, very cheap shots at people on welfare, as well as people who are sick, need healthcare, or obese.
To him, these are all lazy people
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Nov
05
2009
Would you stay in a sweat lodge where people around you are vomiting, passing out, and you are beginning to feel yourself losing consciousness?
It’s easy for us to say “no”, but people just as smart as us did not out in Arizona. Three of them died, and almost half of the other participants became very ill.
Mind control. These people weren’t taken into a room and hypnotized. They still had the ability to think and make decisions.
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Nov
05
2009
You may know by now the police are treating the three deaths in the Arizona sweat lodge led by James Arthur Ray as homicides.
Ray is not a licensed therapist of any kind, so he did not have the help of any professional ethical code to guide his behavior.
Whether he will ultimately be viewed as a huckster operating a sweat lodge wildly out of control or a thoughtful professional who led an experience where three people were killed accidentally remains to be seen.
There seems to be a lot of evidence right now pointing to the former possibility. Here are just a few of the ethical principals (see NASW Code Ethics) he may have violated:
- Helping people in need to solve problems
- Respect for the integrity and worth of human beings
- Acting with integrity and competence as a professional
Also, here are a few ethical standards which he may have violated:
- Commitment to the well-being of clients
- Provide full explanation of services so client can make an informed decision about their participation
- Competence in whatever service offered as demonstrated by completion of educational, training, and professional experience
Based on the information gathered from police, participants, James Arthur Ray and his
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