Sweat Lodge History | mattschultz.com

History

My Approach to the Lodge

I am trying to help people, whether with healing, guidance or visions. I create a safe container for them to receive what they need from the Great Creator, their ancestors, and their spirit guides.

I utilize all aspects available to me in this modern world. I am thankful that so many beautiful elders have chosen to work with me and willingly shared their history, stories traditions and love. It has been an honor. The work that I perform represents the culmination of decades of spiritual, geographical, and socio-cultural journeying.

The sweat lodge is not something to be taken lightly. I am very serious about mine. I adhere to all the standards I have been taught over many years by my Lakota and Mayan elders. I was called to indigenous teachings over 20 years ago after I sat in my first lodge. The healing was more than transformative and unbelievably life-changing. I was an addict then and in desperate need of help. While in recovery, I decided I wanted to learn more. In an attempt to learn servitude, I volunteered at the American Indian Center in Chicago. Sometime later, I started working with a Lakota/Cherokee elder. I became a fire tender and spent years working and learning from him. One year, we did a lodge every single week, right through the winter. In the end, he gifted me ALL the songs. He told me, “The Lakota kids aren't learning this.” He continued, “We need someone to carry on the traditions or it will all be lost.” He gave me the name Path Keeper and told me that my job was to help people and to keep the red path alive. I honor that.

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"I have attended a couple of Matt’s sweat lodges in Woodstock. I didn’t know what to expect as I had never done one before. Matt puts in a lot of work to create the experience and authenticity of an indigenous sweat lodge ceremony. Through each step of the ceremony, Matt clearly explains what the meaning is and allows you to participate at your comfort level. After the ceremony, I felt very peaceful and my body felt amazingly purified. I would highly recommend trying one!"
- Sue D

"Matthew provides a safe place for those looking for alternative modalities and who are exploring methods of healing the heart, mind and spirit. His guided ceremonies are peaceful and provide an excellent space for reflection."
-Tabitha T

"I have had the honor of being in a sweat lodge ceremony lead by Matthew, a man who earned the right and privilege to run one. The lodge was conducted in respect for the sacred traditions. The process of honoring self within the spiritual environment of the lodge, connecting with the creator, respecting the connection to the earth itself, was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. These are spiritual events; a perfect place to let go of your negative baggage so you can go within yourself and connect on a deeper level."
- John N

“Matthew’s sacred lodges are healing and transformative experiences. They are unique and unlike any other sweats that I have experienced over the years. The Path Keeper artfully integrates multiple mediums which heighten your senses and take you deeper within yourself while plugging you into the connectedness of universal energy. What a gift! Thank you Matthew! "
- Jenn H

During this time, a friend invited me to Guatemala to study with the Mayan elders. They do temazcals there. It is their form of a sweat lodge. The Lakota or North American indigenous peoples don't own sweat lodges or the practice of sweat lodges. They are done globally, throughout many cultures, throughout all of time. In Finland, they have become so entwined in the national culture that you can still find people who were born in the lodge/sauna. The same goes for the Mayans. While in a lodge once a participant asked if kids could come in. “Come in?” Laughed the elder. “They are born in here.” He meant it quite literally. The Mayan sweats are very different and more robust than the North American ones. Allow me to explain; the Scandinavian lodges use a heater with stones and water, the Lakota lodge just uses heated stones, the Mayan temazcal has a firebox built into the side of the stone dome. They have fire tenders that just keep feeding it from the outside. These lodges are rough and can last for many hours. You are sitting inches away from a roaring fire and the only thing separating you from it is a sheet of eighteen-gauge metal. The techniques they use to generate airflow in the lodge structure are rather impressive. I learned of them and incorporated them into my lodges, as a precautionary measure, even though my lodge is cloth and naturally breathes. These elders sponsored me, and I spent years visiting Guatemala and Mexico and learning their ways. In 2010, I was initiated and had my first vision quest. Ironically, the name they gave me was also Path Keeper. They were completely unaware of my Lakota-given name. The Mayan elder told me, “We need someone to carry on the traditions or it will all be lost.” One of the things I learned from the Mayans, and incorporate into my all-day events, is their healing despacho ceremonies. It is the most beautiful mandala-building prayer ceremony. I was so influenced by this that I went on to create hundreds of mandalas and now have a book entitled Mandalas. I also scored some music for mediation with the same title. You can check that out here at mattschultzartist.com.

In addition to transmitting the knowledge that Lakota and Maya elders authorized me to teach, I incorporate elements of meditation, yoga and the Christian spirituality that I learned while walking the Camino de Santiago. Other learning processes that helped form who I am include studying sacred plant medicines with the Shipibo in Peru and working in a healing center in the Amazon Jungle.

Safety

I have heard from some people that they are worried about sweat lodges and their safety. They saw a video or a documentary on an incident in a lodge. I would like to address that and provide some insight in order to ease their mind. The sweat is 100% safe and no hotter than a sauna at your gym.