Religion of Success is Religion of Death

The recent tragedy surrounding “self help” author James Arthur Ray’s sweat lodge ceremony in Sedona, Ariz., which killed three people has stunned the spiritual community there and left many across the nation condemning the author for abusing a culturally revered ceremony that he knew little or nothing about not to mention violating city codes which he made no attempt to adhere to.

But what nobody is talking about is the bigger problem, and the bigger issue that Ray represents – a cancerous culture of success that has permeated the American psyche, if not the world’s, and has practically become a religion unto itself. It’s an addiction that Ray and countless others like him have tapped into for profit – one which promises that you can have anything you want, whenever you want and however you want it or as the cover of Ray’s book Harmonic Wealth reads, “The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want.”

Well, as a Catholic self-help author, who does not ascribe to this point of view, I think it’s high time that we call this ridiculous charade for what it is – snake oil salesman claiming to sell the elixir of life when what they are really selling is death – usually spiritual but in this case actual.

For God’s sake have we not evolved enough to realize that our happiness cannot wait for the good times to roll around in a world where tragedies and tough times never cease?

The bottom line is that for all of us, there is a reality, and no amount of positive thinking or perception twisting rhetoric is going to make it go away.

We can make that reality meaningful and constructive, not by becoming obsessed with changing it, but by finding a noble purpose in the way we deal with it, that purpose is to love and be loved by others.

What if our problems, our inadequacies, our imperfections and our failures don’t make us less worthy or less important but even more important because they give others the opportunity to reach out and love us – giving their lives even more meaning – and they give us the opportunity to reach out to God?

That means none of us are dysfunctional or any less worthy of life, no matter what we do or don’t do, no matter how many mistakes we make, no matter where we go right, where we go wrong, how much we succeed or fail or how well we fit or do not fit into society.

Or as Author and psychologist Viktor Frankl put it, “We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed.” Frankl suffered the atrocities of a concentration camp during World War II where his entire family lost their lives, culminating in his wife’s execution in front of his eyes. After overcoming the compulsion to end his own life, he realized that the pain he was experiencing because of their deaths was proof of his extraordinary ability to love, and he wanted to go and love some more.

I guess sometimes only death reminds us of the value of life, and that every day is one more day alive, a miracle, and an opportunity to experience that miracle in oh so many ways.

Hopefully these three deaths will not be in vain but will remind all of us that’s life’s value lies not in whether the glass is half full or half empty but in the value of the glass itself. That glass of our lives is always valuable.



Chris Benguhe, author of "Overcoming Life's 7 Common Tragedies" available at bookstores and on Amazon.com, is a columnist for the Catholic Sun. His website is OneMoreDayLive.com.