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Spirit Lodge Academy / Maarten Elout

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debbieredbear:
Timberlinewarrior was having trouble posting this so I said I would. This is what he had to say:

--- Quote ---I found this man today and he's based in Holland and although he says he's NOT copying NA sweat lodges it looks as if he is and not only that, teaching the next generation of frauds too.
--- End quote ---

http://www.spiritlodgeacademy.eu/academy/

critter - a white non-ndn person:
he says

" What I am teaching is a ritual sweat bath practice rooted in European spiritual ways, beliefs and customs and I'm doing so in a new way; combining an exploration of the mythology and spiritual legacy of the European people, 'classical western' study of various (historical) source materials, and ancient universal shamanic techniques, into a three year initiation and apprenticeship. "

my bold ..  isn't that pretty much 'new age speak' for "what we ripped off from Native Americans"?  

he says

"With the academy I'm aware that I'm breaking the mold of by whom and how these teachings traditionally have been passed on in other cultures. What I'm doing in fact, is reclaiming old ways and I'm integrating them into the present in a way that no one has done before. "

doesn't he mean by 'other cultures' the NA culture?  and yeh..  no one has done this before..   ::)

looks like a lodge to me.  I'm guessing he figures if he does something else inside of it than what is done from the culture it came from, then it is not of that culture?  

I notice he doesn't name who is main teacher is, or who taught him to 'pour water'...  but it's difficult for me to believe it's not NA.

but.. I dunno, is it possible 'ancient "Europeans"' had similar ceremony? 

critter - a white non-ndn person:
No, I can answer my own question after more looking at the site. 

I'm depressed. This is depressing.

TimberlineWarrior:
I happened across this guy Maarten Elout and although he states

It is NOT a Native American sweat lodge ceremony even though my 'remembering' was initiated by my personal journey with a few of those traditions. With the Spirit Lodge Academy program I am NOT transfering traditional pouring rights in a Native American lineage. It is not my place to do so; I am not a Native American nor do I pretend to have been given those rights. If you're interested in Native American spirituality I would suggest you seek out a Native American elder.

It has been long recognised that European people used saunas and although Druids claimed they did sweat lodges this was only to be able to sell them.
From what I see of this site, he's not only selling sweat lodges but teaching the next lot of Nu-agers how to do them.
Althought he claims no connection to Native American is sure looks like it!

^. .^

Superdog:
This guy is speaking out of both sides of his mouth.  In one side he's saying he's not Native, doesn't teach anything Native and what he's doing is not a Native American sweat lodge, but a "Spirit Lodge".  In the other side he claims that for ten years or more he participated in Native American sweat lodges and that's how he learned about the European roots of the Spirit Lodge sweat bath.....but the site is covered with imagery that is distinctly Native American and......once again....plastic tarps on his "Spirit Lodge".....


Oh brother...here we go again....how many James Ray incidents must occur before these thick skulls figure out that plastic tarps are BAD IDEA.

Sorry, feeling a little frustrated.  This is a new version of fraud, the evolution of it.  He's taken what he could from Native cultures (which apparently wasn't very good info) and repackaged it as his own.  He must recognize the backlash of claiming to be a Native sweat lodge keeper now that information is more readily available to people who 10 years ago would've been fooled easily by these shenanigans, so he took it another step.  That old line comes to mind..."You can put lipstick on a pig and it's still a pig"

Pretty much sums it up.

Superdog

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