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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Campers thought dead man was meditating |
| 2007-06-05 |
| A MAN who died from extreme dehydration after an outback purification ritual was not given immediate medical help because fellow campers believed he was astral travelling, a coronial inquest has heard. Melbourne man Rowan Douglas Cooke, 37, died on November 3, 2004, a day after being dragged unconscious from a heated tent, called a sweat lodge, as part of a native American ritual. He was camping with 10 others from Victoria on an isolated property in the Gammon Ranges in South Australia's far north, undergoing an eight-day ritual of fasting, meditation and purification. The South Australian Coroner's Court today heard Mr Cooke was undertaking a ritual called a pipe ceremony, where participants sweat out toxins and spirits to enter an out-of-body state. The sweat lodge was made of 16 bent poles that formed a dome about 1.2 metres tall, which was covered in blankets and silver insulation. Volcanic rocks, called "grandfathers", were heated in a nearby fire and carried into the tent where water was poured on them to create steam. Counsel assisting the coroner Amy Davis told the court Mr Cooke entered the sweat lodge after midnight, with two others, Adrian Asfar and Maureen Collier. Ms Davis said after some time in the tent, Ms Collier yelled out that she wanted to leave and the campers later found Mr Cooke and Mr Asfar unconscious inside the lodge. The campers dragged the two men out of the lodge and attempted to revive them by performing a series of spiritual rituals including chanting and drumming, she said. They also massaged their hands and feet, buried their feet in the soil and smashed sacred ceramic pipes over them to set their spirits free. "They believed they had been astral travelling or were in a deep meditation space," Ms Davis told the court. Mr Asfar later regained conscious but Mr Cooke did not. At daybreak, two of the campers left the isolated camp to seek help from a homestead, but an ambulance did not arrive to treat Mr Cooke until after 8am. He was pronounced dead at Leigh Creek Hospital at 11.30am after resuscitation efforts failed. The inquest was continuing. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #13 Since Vader can't take off his mask without dying, how exactly does he give mouth to mouth? And is this before or after you used the force to choke anyone nearby to death? |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2007-06-05 22:10 |
| #12 I can see it. I have seen meditating people I thought were dead and they were really pissed about the mouth to mouth too. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-06-05 22:05 |
| #11 I'm having a little problem ginning up any sympathy. Barbara, the secret is more gin. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-06-05 21:34 |
| #10 I'm having a little problem ginning up any sympathy. "Too stupid to live" really should be a valid diagnosis. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-06-05 16:20 |
| #9 "..."new age" pseudo-science hogwash ..." See also; 1) gerbil worming 2) WIFI causes cancer |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-06-05 14:56 |
| #8 The campers dragged the two men out of the lodge and attempted to revive them by performing a series of spiritual rituals including chanting and drumming, she said. Obviously CPR would have been far too mundane and a bitter concession of Western alopathic medicine's superiority. They also massaged their hands and feet, buried their feet in the soil and smashed sacred ceramic pipes over them to set their spirits free. Post mortem analysis showed that despite signs of heat prostration, actual death resulted from cranial contusions. The above entire incident is a splendid example of just how dangerous all of this "new age" pseudo-science hogwash is. Expect many more deaths from people trying to heal cancer using only ear candles, crystals and aromatherapy. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-06-05 14:15 |
| #7 silver insulation? Not part of anything native American I have ever heard of. Sounds more like something you would have in a Hansel & Gretel oven house. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2007-06-05 11:26 |
| #6 Fools! Native American rituals only work in America! Couldn't you find any Are those your grandfathers in your pocket or are you just glad to see me? |
| Posted by: Spot 2007-06-05 08:51 |
| #5 See what happens when your silver thread is cut and you can't find your way back to your body? Somewhere out there the spirit is old Doug Cook is wandering, lost, on the spiritual planes - probably forever. Let this be a lesson to ya! And aren't you suppose to take them from the sweat lodge directly to a freezing cold stream? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2007-06-05 08:24 |
| #4 The campers dragged the two men out of the lodge and attempted to revive them by performing a series of spiritual rituals including chanting and drumming, she said. How about...I don't know...throwing cold water on him? Nah...drums and beads it is. |
| Posted by: gromky 2007-06-05 07:35 |
| #3 "He's dead." "Nope. Merely astral travelling. 'E's pinin' for the 'igher planes of existence." |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-06-05 06:46 |
| #2 ratger=rather. Yes, I blame my cat. ;-) |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-06-05 06:44 |
| #1 Ah, seems thatthe OOB state he entered was ratger permanent. Demise of the pitest. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-06-05 06:40 |