Sweat Lodge...

[Gaillo]

I've been invited by a native American friend to participate in a traditional sweat lodge ceremony. I'll probably go.
Anyone here done this? Thoughts?

[Skirnir_]

Drink plenty of water before doing so.

[mick silver]

and dont pee on the hot rocks

[gunDriller]

I've been invited by a native American friend to participate in a traditional sweat lodge ceremony. I'll probably go.
Anyone here done this? Thoughts?

does it involve Peyote ?

i agree, i would treat it a bit like a half-marathon or something. maybe have a humongous smoothie or something beforehand so you're hydrated and your brain cells have vitamins etc.

[Horn]

Yes, its very dark. you will sweat profusely, so pick someone not smelly to sit next to.

[Cebu_4_2]

Bring lot's of vodka.

http://www.suttonwine.com/images/products/detail/CIMG3232.1.JPG

[Serpo]

Whats taken you so long...............

[Gaillo]

Whats taken you so long...............

Oh... You name it. Drugs and alcohol. Women. Chess. Guns. Music.

Never ending distractions of every variety... ;)

[PlatinumBlonde]

I've been invited by a native American friend to participate in a traditional sweat lodge ceremony. I'll probably go.
Anyone here done this? Thoughts?

Drink plenty of water well before the time you go. It takes the body 45 minutes to absorb 4 ounces of water, you may want to include coconut juice and even consider aloe vera juice.

[Serpo]

Oh... You name it. Drugs and alcohol. Women. Chess. Guns. Music.

Never ending distractions of every variety... ;)

me too except the guns of course ( not American )

[Tumbleweed]

I've been invited by a native American friend to participate in a traditional sweat lodge ceremony. I'll probably go.
Anyone here done this? Thoughts?

I did one with the Crows along the Little Big Horn river where part of the battle with Custers men took place. I thought I was going to suffocate before I got out of there. I'm glad I did it but I don't ever need to do it again.

[TheNocturnalEgyptian]

You should absolutely go. It will probably be very rewarding.

I have done hand built sauna before, sweating feels good. But I have not done it with native americans, it sounds like a great experience. Many cultures have sweat lodges and all do it differently.

Have fun, stay hydrated. It is a cathartic feeling.

[Libertytree]

Or just take a vacation to South Florida in August :)

[Gaillo]

Report:

I'll NEVER be hot again in the outdoors, even 120 Degree weather will feel cool by comparison when I remember the lodge. Very dark and claustrophobic, hard to breath, miserably hot, dirty, and an absolutely SHATTERING experience mentally... I sobbed uncontrollably for 15 or 20 minutes afterwards. Good times.

I'm definitely doing it again... at the FIRST possible opportunity! ;)

Seriously... I was invited back and I intend to do this again.

[sirgonzo420]

So did you have fun with the Lamanites?

[Gaillo]

So did you have fun with the Lamanites?

Who are the Lamanites? I was with Apache and Paiute on "da Rez".

[iOWNme]

Did you see the White Spirit Horse?




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5ZP1m4J0H4&feature=relmfu
:)

[Gaillo]

Did you see the White Spirit Horse?


:)

I don't know what that is. I can't tell you what I saw, not because it's any kind of secret... I just wouldn't know how to describe it with any words I can muster, and I'm fairly adept at using the language.

Last night will be in my memory for a LONG time.

[vacuum]

I'm interested in the mentally shattering aspect of it. Why did it have that effect?

[Gaillo]

I'm interested in the mentally shattering aspect of it. Why did it have that effect?

Like dying and coming back. I don't know why it had that effect. Closest I can come to describing it in terms I understand is to say it was like some of the high-dose LSD experiences of my youth, but without the associated "druggieness". There were NO drugs (Peyote, etc.) at the lodge I went to.

[sirgonzo420]

Who are the Lamanites? I was with Apache and Paiute on "da Rez".

lol it's a mormon name for "Indians"

I'm apparently still in a mormon mood.

:D

[JohnQPublic]

lol it's a mormon name for "Indians"

I'm apparently still in a mormon mood.

:D

LDS will do that to you.

[Gaillo]

LDS will do that to you.

Did Gonzo do too much LDS in the '60s? ;D

[chad]

when did 420 get added to sirgonzo? was it always like that? i am losing my mind.

[Santa]

when did 420 get added to sirgonzo? was it always like that? i am losing my mind.

Didn't it used to be sirgonzo666, the ANTI-MORMON? :)

[Dogman]

Didn't it used to be sirgonzo666, the ANTI-MORMON? :) Wouldn't it seem that instead of 666 which is supposed to be the mark of the beast, that 999 would be the anti of it??

;D

[willie pete]

how many people died in that sweat-lodge thing in Arizona a couple years ago? I've seen 'em, but I'd never do it, unless I got to sit by the door ;D

[General of Darkness]

I can see it now. Gaillo comes back and says, "These fuckers smoked me out on payotte(sp.) I passed out and woke up with a sore ass, but it was awesome".

All kidding aside, what's the point of this?

[Gaillo]

I can see it now. Gaillo comes back and says, "These fuckers smoked me out on payotte(sp.) I passed out and woke up with a sore ass, but it was awesome".

All kidding aside, what's the point of this?

Hah. ::)

The point of all what? This thread? If so, then pretty much the same point as any other thread on this forum: to talk about ideas that might be new to some people, and see if there's anything useful to be shared/learned.

[Serpo]

I can see it now. Gaillo comes back and says, "These fuckers smoked me out on payotte(sp.) I passed out and woke up with a sore ass, but it was awesome".

All kidding aside, what's the point of this?

Maybe it grabs all the accumulated crap in ones mind and body and sends it west.

Whats left is an empty vessel .......its not even up to us in some instances what crap we accumulate as it has many forms ,can come from inside(our own making) or outside of us which is plentiful.

Accumulated crap we hang onto for years and years is perhaps only an accumulation of emotional and mental BS .

Getting rid of this may open up the heart more so we again realise what is important in life.

This lodge thing sounds a bit hard and fast and people have died from it but if you dont die the first time you should be alright I guess.

[Serpo]

Like dying and coming back. I don't know why it had that effect. Closest I can come to describing it in terms I understand is to say it was like some of the high-dose LSD experiences of my youth, but without the associated "druggieness". There were NO drugs (Peyote, etc.) in the lodge I went to.

Did it have an earth floor and was being connected to the earth part of this.


And dont you mean LDS....hehe

[Gaillo]

Did it have an earth floor and was being connected to the earth part of this.

Yes. Soft dirt floor, I actually put my face down in the dirt at one point to try and cool it off a bit. No shoes, shirt, hat, etc. - I only wore cutoff jeans. No manmade objects (other than clothes) allowed in the lodge. Normal traditional lodges are often done with no clothes, but this was a mixed-sex lodge (there were 2 women there with the rest of us, about a dozen or so men) and that type of lodge is traditionally NEVER done without clothes... at least according to the Paiute guy running the ceremony.

[k-os]

Fascinating, Gaillo! It sounds like it was cleansing for your soul. I'd love to have an experience like that.

[Tumbleweed]

The sweat I took part in was all men and we all went in to the sweat lodge without cloths. Before goin into the lodge we cut a handful of brush along the river to take with us in to the lodge. While the rocks were heating in a campfire we sat around and talked. The Crows said their wives didn't like them staying out late and doing sweats. When they came home they would be all dried out and shriveled up and no fun in bed for their wives. Ha! Ha!

When the rocks were hot they were lifted out of the fire with a pitchfork and placed in a hole in the lodge. We entered and sat around the outside of the lodge. The medicine man brought in a bucket of water with a dipper in it.

We were told that the lodge was their church, prayers were said and a message about the Great Spirit was delivered. The medicine man dipped water out of bucket and poured in on the rocks. We were to whack ourselves with the handful of twigs we had gathered earlier.

After we had sweated for awhile the cover was taken off the lodge and it was cooled down. It was then closed again and the medicine man said it was going to get hotter and steamier than the first time and it did. I was having trouble breathing in that steam and intense heat. The lodge was opened after awhile for the second time to cool off.


The medicine man said the third time they were going to close it up it was really going to get hot so I got the hell out of there. I'll be damned if i'd let those Crows suffocate me to death their along the river where Custer and his men got killed. That's when I got out of there and went down and soaked in the Little Big Horn river and cooled off. It felt damn good too even though it was running off of snow banks in the mountains.


I much prefer the little catholic church in the middle of nowhere I go to rather than the indians sweatlodge.

[Gaillo]

Tumbleweed,

Other than a few elements of commonality, our sweat lodge experiences seem to be quite different.

The Paiute and Apache that I did mine with never referred to it as a religion or church, they called it a "purification ceremony" or just a "sweat" when brevity of conversation was wanted. There were certain religious aspects to it all, it was done in a very ritualistic (ordered) way, prayers were said, etc., and the guy running it was a "medicine man" who said a bunch of stuff in his language that I couldn't understand but was apparently some kind of spell or consecration or something. We were not allowed to break (walk across) the "spirit line" which is the line that went from the fire to the entrance of the lodge, but rather had to walk clockwise around the lodge and fire if we needed to go from one side to the other. Other than those things, though, it seemed to be more of a spa-like healing regimen than a church service, even with the prayers and chants/singing.

The rocks (which they referred to as the "grandfathers") were brought into the lodge on a pitchfork, and were welcomed one at a time as each one entered the lodge. Unlike your experience, we went "maximum" on the heat/steam right from the starting round, of which there were 4 rounds total (one for each direction, north, south, etc.). The entrance flap was completely closed for all 4 rounds. We took about a 10 minute break between rounds outside of the lodge. We did not hit ourselves with branches or anything like that, we had a small bundle of sage that we breathed through when the water was poured onto the rocks, in order to keep from breathing the ashes that were released into the air from the water hitting the superheated rocks. Each round lasted I would guess 15 or 20 minutes... but seemed like an eternity due to the discomfort of the heat, steam, and difficulty of breathing.

Unlike yourself, I actually prefer the sweat lodge to the 2 times I've ever attended a Catholic Church mass... now THAT is my idea of sheer torture! ;D

[JohnQPublic]

Tumbleweed,

Other than a few elements of commonality, our sweat lodge experiences seem to be quite different.

The Paiute and Apache that I did mine with never referred to it as a religion or church, they called it a "purification ceremony" or just a "sweat" when brevity of conversation was wanted. There were certain religious aspects to it all, it was done in a very ritualistic (ordered) way, prayers were said, etc., and the guy running it was a "medicine man" who said a bunch of stuff in his language that I couldn't understand but was apparently some kind of spell or consecration or something. We were not allowed to break (walk across) the "spirit line" which is the line that went from the fire to the entrance of the lodge, but rather had to walk clockwise around the lodge and fire if we needed to go from one side to the other. Other than those things, though, it seemed to be more of a spa-like healing regimen than a church service, even with the prayers and chants.

The rocks (which they referred to as the "grandfathers") were brought into the lodge on a pitchfork, and were welcomed one at a time as each one entered the lodge. Unlike your experience, we went "maximum" on the heat/steam right from the starting round, of which there were 4 rounds total (one for each direction, north, south, etc.). The entrance flap was completely closed for all 4 rounds. We took about a 10 minute break between rounds outside of the lodge. We did not hit ourselves with branches or anything like that, we had a small bundle of sage that we breathed through when the water was poured onto the rocks, in order to keep from breathing the ashes that were released into the air from the water hitting the rocks. Each round lasted I would guess 15 or 20 minutes... but seemed like an eternity due to the discomfort of the heat, steam, and difficulty of breathing.

Unlike yourself, I actually prefer the sweat lodge to the 2 times I've ever attended a Catholic Church mass... now THAT is my idea of sheer torture! ;D

Try a traditional Latin Mass (http://tridentine.tv) sometime (especially with Gregorian chant).

[Gaillo]

Try a traditional Latin Mass (http://tridentine.tv) sometime (especially with Gregorian chant).

Thanks, Mark... I might go to one next time I'm in a big city for the experience and to hear the chants, but not for religious reasons. I've learned throughout my (mostly as a Christian) life pretty much all I need to know about Christianity - which mainly amounts to the conclusion that I am not a Christian.

BTW, in case anybody is wondering, I haven't "found religion" or anything as a result of the lodge experience... I'm just as Atheisty afterward as I was going into the whole thing! ;)

[Gaillo]

Fascinating, Gaillo! It sounds like it was cleansing for your soul. I'd love to have an experience like that.

Next time you're in the southwest neighborhood, make contact. I'll see what I can do to set you up!

[k-os]

Next time you're in the southwest neighborhood, make contact. I'll see what I can do to set you up!

Heck yeah! That would be so cool.

[General of Darkness]

Hah. ::)

The point of all what? This thread? If so, then pretty much the same point as any other thread on this forum: to talk about ideas that might be new to some people, and see if there's anything useful to be shared/learned.

Gaillo I wasn't being a smart ass, I was just curious as to the point of the sweat lodge is all. I have no idea what it's all about.

[Gaillo]

Gaillo I wasn't being a smart ass, I was just curious as to the point of the sweat lodge is all.

Gotcha... Sorry, man. MAJOR misunderstanding.

From my limited understanding of the "point" of a sweat lodge, it seems to be some kind of ritual/spiritual cleansing or purification... elimination of physical and mental toxins/impurities. If my experience is any kind of "yardstick" to measure the results by, then the shit just plain WORKS.

[Buddha]

When I first started boxing I swear that I would sweat out a yellowish brown. Years of toxins, nicotine, etc going bye bye.

[Gaillo]

Heck yeah! That would be so cool.

Don't sound too excited... you just might hate me for it if you actually end up doing a sweat lodge ceremony! ;D

[Tumbleweed]

http://gold-silver.us/forum/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by Gaillo http://gold-silver.us/forum/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png (http://gold-silver.us/forum/showthread.php?p=563900#post563900)
Next time you're in the southwest neighborhood, make contact. I'll see what I can do to set you up!





Heck yeah! That would be so cool.



K-os if you do decide to do a sweat keep your clothes on and stick a gun in your pocket. It hasn't been to long ago here there was a trial about a woman getting raped in a sweat lodge on one of the local reservations.

[Gaillo]

An interesting side note to all this.
I've been completely sober since my sweat lodge experience, not even a single beer. I just don't "crave" alcohol any more. Interesting, no?

[sirgonzo420]

An interesting side note to all this.
I've been completely sober since my sweat lodge experience, not even a single beer. I just don't "crave" alcohol any more. Interesting, no?

Interesting, but not surprising.

[chad]

if sweat lodges cure the craving for alcohol, indians should try it.

[Gaillo]

if sweat lodges cure the craving for alcohol, indians should try it.

Ahahhaaaaahahahaaaaaaa!!! ;D

[PlatinumBlonde]

An interesting side note to all this.
I've been completely sober since my sweat lodge experience, not even a single beer. I just don't "crave" alcohol any more. Interesting, no?

It is now time for you to take up Bikram yoga..

[Serpo]

An interesting side note to all this.
I've been completely sober since my sweat lodge experience, not even a single beer. I just don't "crave" alcohol any more. Interesting, no?

OK thats the downside ................;D

[Gaillo]

It is now time for you to take up Bikram yoga..

What's that?

[k-os]

What's that?

It's also called "hot yoga". They turn the room up to 105 degrees (I think), and you do yoga. It is pretty amazing, but you can smell what everyone ate and drank the day before. I preferred to go on a Tuesday, because people are usually most sensible with their diets on Monday. Hahaha. Saturday mornings were the worst!

[milehi]

“Give me the power to create a fever and I shall cure every illness.” Hippocrates