The Secret, a Sweat Lodge, and STILL MORE Tragedy

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

If you missed the Nightline coverage of James Arthur Ray's sweat lodge gone wrong (originally covered here), it is available for viewing on the ABC website. I didn't think I could be more shocked and horrified by this story than I already was. I was wrong. Now we learn that there is a pattern of gross negligence on the part of this self-styled guru -- whose appearance in The Secret catapulted him to fame -- and his company JRI. The death toll is even greater than the three who died as a result of that abomination of a sweat lodge. An earlier death at a James Arthur Ray seminar has now come to light.

Colleen Conaway plunged to her death, an apparent suicide, during a bizarre exercise, in which people who paid thousands of dollars to JRI, were dressed up as homeless people, stripped of their money and identification, and dumped in downtown San Diego. No one interviewed seems to know quite what they were supposed to learn from this experiment, in abject poverty, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't compassion. I say this, in part, because so little compassion was extended to Colleen Conaway or her family. Just as would later occur with Liz Neuman, the third sweat lodge participant to die, the family was not notified, by JRI. Both Liz Neuman and Colleen Conaway spent time listed as Jane Does; one critically ill in a hospital and the other on a slab in the county morgue.

Tragedy in Sedona

Article first published as Book Review: Tragedy in Sedona by Connie Jay on Blogcritics.

On July 25, 2009, Colleen Conaway plummeted to her death in San Diego's Horton Plaza mall; an apparent suicide. She had no history of mental problems. She was by all accounts very happy with her life and her direction. So how did the Minnesota native meet such a sad and inexplicable fate so far from home? She was participating in a James Arthur Ray "Creating Absolute Wealth" seminar for which she had paid thousands of dollars.

The exercise was one in which seminar participants were directed to dress as homeless people and wander around downtown San Diego. They were not allowed to carry money, identification, or cell phones. In what would become a pattern for those who had the misfortune to be severely injured during James Ray seminars, Colleen Conaway spent many hours listed as "Jane Doe."

Connie Joy's daughter Erica participated in that same seminar and both Connie and her husband Richard attended the final dinner. None of them were aware that a participant had died. Only Ray and his closest staffers knew that Conaway was lying on a slab in the San Diego County morgue. And they weren't telling. People who asked about why she hadn't returned were told that she was fine but wasn't coming back to the seminar. It was over two months later, in the wake of yet another horrific tragedy on Ray's watch, that his long-time followers learned that the unnamed woman who had died in the mall that day was the seminar participant who had never returned from her homelessness adventure.

James Ray's Presentencing Hearing: Week 1

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Where were you when you first realized that James Arthur Ray was a colossal fraud? It's not a game I can play because I never thought he was up to much. But God knows I've experienced similar disillusionment so I can relate to the sense of loss, pain, confusion, and catharsis, that I hear echoed in so many of Ray's former students. That dawning realization theme figured heavily into the sweat lodge trial as survivors of Spiritual Warrior 2009 shared their tragic experiences -- many of them still conflicted and confused over how it could have gone so horribly wrong. The presentencing hearing, which heard the prosecution's case for three days this week, brought still more stories of disillusionment and realization.

In the protracted pre-sentence hearing for James Arthur Ray, the state has presented eight witnesses over the past three days in its effort to prove additional aggravating factors that would convince Judge Warren Darrow to sentence the motivational speaker and author to the maximum allowable term of nine years in prison.

Led by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, the prosecution seeks to show that Ray exhibited a pattern of negligent conduct that led to harm, that the victims in the case placed trust in him to keep them safe, that he lacked qualifications to conduct his events, and that many people were harmed, both physically and emotionally, by his actions and omissions.

As I'd assumed from her appearance on the prosecution's witness list, Kristina Bivins has become disenchanted with Ray. Bivins, who notoriously supported him during media interviews after the sweat lodge deaths, finally reached the breaking point. So what was it that shattered her belief in her teacher? Well. It wasn't her post-sweat lodge hospitalization.

"I couldn't see anything except for shapes and light, and I didn't know where I was," Bivins said. "It felt like my body and mind weren't connected. I couldn't get out of that state and I didn't know what to do."

Three Years Ago Today...

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

In Memory of James Shore, Kirby Brown, and Liz Neuman

Today I find myself contemplating where I was and what I was doing when I first learned of the sweat lodge tragedy that took the lives of James Shore, Kirby Brown, and, ultimately, Liz Neuman. I was enjoying the long weekend with my husband's family when I read about the shocking deaths in the news. I thought, what a horrible, horrible accident. I was only barely aware of James Arthur Ray and thought his crime to be one of the kind of ignorance so typical of The Secret, with its stripped down versions of complex myths and traditions.

I was wrong. Ray's actions and inactions were so much worse than I could have ever imagined. The James Ray I came to know through watching every broadcast moment of a very long trial was a power thief who exploited the vulnerabilities of wonderful, beautiful people -- those who died and those who courageously testified about what they had experienced under his tutelage. Ray's was a very long trail of wreckage leading up to that stunning tragedy in the Arizona desert.

A year ago, I found myself waiting seemingly endlessly for the sentencing of James Arthur Ray, found guilty by a jury of his peers for causing these three deaths. Then as now my heart goes out to the family and friends of three very bright lights, snuffed out because of James Ray's recklessness. It goes out the family and friends of Colleen Conaway who also came to a tragic end at a James Ray seminar. And it goes out to the many people who were injured physically or emotionally by Ray's myriad abuses. Blessings and peace to you all.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 22

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

James Ray Sweating in Court

There is much to report on the trial today. But first, this fascinating item from reporter Tim Geller. Ray may be on trial but that doesn't stop him from sell, sell, selling.  Nor from relying on the adage, there's no such thing as bad publicity.  A sales letter to James Ray's email list went out for a product called Mind Movies:

You know, when I first started to study the laws that govern our Universe, I diligently practiced daily visualization. If I had the Mind Movies technology, it would have added a whole new powerful dimension to my "going 3 for 3" practice!

Gee wiz James, are you saying that if you'd had Mind Movies technology you wouldn't currently be  on trial for reckless manslaughter?

But here's the catch...

The team at Mind Movies are only able to offer the incredible Mind Movies 2.1 software at a MASSIVELY discounted price with all the extras to the first few thousand people to take big, bold, fast action.

Oh! There's a catch? And time pressure... What to do? What to do? Tick, tick, tick.

So they're sweating it out, because there is a good chance they will sell out today.

Did he say "sweating?" He did, didn't he. Bad taste? Perhaps. But we can't let all that great media attention to the sweat lodge trial go to waste, now can we? Not if his current website is any indication, where news videos of the trial are featured prominently. But a sweating reference? Seriously?

Well, this is the man who featured death as the prominent theme at a seminar only a few short months after Colleen Conaway died at another of his seminars. Some might find that to be in bad taste as well. But they don't know how the universe works.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 24

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

James Ray: Hunk or Charlatan? Discuss.

Connie Joy and Lori Lovens are two of the bright, capable survivors of James Ray's self-improvement program who give the lie to stereotypes of Ray's followers as weak, gullible, and desperate. Both have written books sharing what drew them in to Ray's web and the events that caused them both to extricate themselves.

Connie Joy is a veteran of numerous James Arthur Ray events and seminars, including the 2007 sweat lodge. Like many people that year, she was made quite ill by the heat. Even so, it took the discovery that money she and her husband Richard had "invested" in the World Wealth Society all went to lining Ray's pockets, instead of charitable purposes, to finally break from Ray. In this wonderful interview on A Book and a Chat Joy breaks down the realizations she had before and after separating from Ray. I highly recommend taking in this one hour discussion which can still be heard on BlogTalk Radio.

I originally posted on Connie Joy here after hearing her interviewed on In Session. I find her first-hand observations on Ray's machinations to be astute, insightful, and compelling. She speaks from a place of having been immersed in something only to later understand how much she and her husband had manipulated. In this interview she explains how Ray utilizes Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and group hypnosis in his seminars. She and her husband, who have always been cautious and conservative with their money, found themselves very uncharacteristically paying out huge sums to Ray before having their rude awakening.

James Ray Trial Jury Foreman Speaks

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

The foreman of the James Arthur Ray trial jury has spoken to the press. Val Ripley shares the sense of agita of so many who are awaiting Judge Darrow's decision on new trial. But that's not all he shares with the friends of family of people who lost their lives in 2009. He was among the eight jurors who wanted to see Ray convicted for reckless manslaughter rather than the lesser charge of negligent homicide.

Ripley said he was at a loss as to why the defense would want to risk another trial, feeling that the negligent homicide verdict was more than fair, even as it leaves Ray liable for as long as nine years in prison.

"We were very close to the manslaughter conviction," Ripley said. "Eight of us wanted manslaughter, and the other four felt that he wasn't aware of all that those people were going through."

Mark Duncan makes the point that because Ray was acquitted of manslaughter, it's unlikely he'll be retried on that charge in the event that this goes to a new trial. As with the conditions of the recent release of the West Memphis Three, it's a sobering reminder of what a pale reflection of justice our court system is.

In Memoriam

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Two years ago today, James Shore, Kirby Brown, and Liz Neuman, entered an abnormally hot sweat lodge officiated by James Arthur Ray. Along with a number of other participants, they were severely injured by the high temperatures. They did not survive their injuries.

On July 22, 2011, James Ray was convicted of three counts of criminally negligent homicide. He is still awaiting sentencing and remains free on bond. Said former Ray student, and survivor of an earlier sweat lodge, Connie Joy:

"When this trial started, never in my mind did I think we would be here at the two-year anniversary. I just feel like it's such a limbo. I want this to be resolved."

To the families and friends of James Shore, Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman, and Colleen Conaway, who died on July 25th of the same year at another James Ray event, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

The Jury: James Ray Caused Emotional Harm

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

The jury deliberated for the better part of two days over charges of aggravating circumstances. This afternoon found them deadlocked on a number of issues and unwilling to deliberate further. The one thing they all agreed upon: James Ray caused emotional harm to the families of all three decedents. That is to say, guilty on three counts of the aggravating factor of emotional harm.

They also agreed that Ray held a unique position of trust in the case of Liz Neuman. So one count of unique position of trust. On the rest of the aggravators, the unique position of trust for Kirby Brown and James Shore, and pecuniary gain, they were hopelessly deadlocked.

Judge Darrow has set a sentencing date of July 25th, 2011. He declined a motion from prosecutor Sheila Polk that Ray be taken into custody immediately. 

A little reminder from Cosmic Connie: July 25th will be the second anniversary of Colleen Conaway's death in a San Diego mall; or as she was known on that day, Jane Doe. How darkly fitting. 

A very special thanks to April Santiago of Dateline and Rachel Stockman of NBC Channel 12 in Arizona, for tweeting the news live from the courtroom. And my heartfelt thanks also to the rest of my James Ray trial peeps for being an excellent grapevine of information, even during the near media blackout on this trial.

James Ray: I'm Sorry, Now Give Me Probation!

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

James Ray must be getting very, very nervous. Know how I know that? He's all apologies and remorse all of a sudden.

A self-help author convicted of negligent homicide expressed extreme remorse for the deaths of three people following an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony he led and vowed never to conduct another one, a probation officer wrote in a presentence report obtained by The Associated Press.

. . .

Ray told the probation officer that he was responsible for the sweat lodge but that he is not a threat to society. He said he wanted to apologize to the victims' families but he hasn't been allowed to contact them, nor did he think it was appropriate to do so at an earlier time.

I guess it was also inappropriate for him to contact the families of the dead and dying when they were rushed to area hospitals after his 2009 sweat lodge. And it would have been positively crass to hand over their identification and paperwork to medical personnel so that they could be admitted as something other than Jane and John Does. And Ray would never have been so forward as to call 911 just because people had stopped breathing. If James Ray knows anything, it's how to respect other people's boundaries when they're in a life and death crisis.

James Arthur Ray On How To Leverage Self-Pity

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

James Arthur Ray is declaring himself an expert on the career comeback, which is weird, because he really hasn't made one. Don't tell him that, though. His marketing angle, ever since he was released from prison, has been an evolving narrative about how well he's been able to make killing people work for him. Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman, James Shore, they just had to be "sacrificed" so that he could rise like a phoenix from the ashes of their lives. It "had to happen" so he could "learn and grow." Noticeably absent in this new pitch is any reference to the "full and complete responsibility" he previously claimed to have taken for those deaths. Now it's a nameless bad thing that damaged his career. Every single element of this pitch is a study in self-pity and exploitation. What follows is a trip down that page.

Click Image to Expand

One teensy, little mistake! You cook a few people to death and no one'll let you forget it. It's just so unfair!

CNN Still Soft-Soaping James Ray

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

A magician never reveals his secrets... unless he's a down on his luck, ex-con, trying to mount a comeback, and you stick a camera in his face.

Sometimes I miss New York. This is one of those times, because this week's debut of Enlighten Us: The Rise and Fall of James Arthur Ray at the Tribeca Film Festival is an event I'm actually sorry to miss, if only for stunning reveals like the above. You want to see how I played my followers like fiddles? Watch my hands, as I subliminally conduct your thoughts and feelings. See? ACTING!!!

This is not to say that it's a great film. I'm hearing not very good things about its effectiveness in conveying the horror of James Ray's actions, or holding him to account. For starters, the families of his victims were never even contacted by the filmmakers, so their voices and continuing concerns are notably absent. According to The Verge, Virginia Brown, mother of the late Kirby Brown, took it upon herself to contact the director, Jenny Carchman, and met with her over lunch. Kirby's sister Jean Brown's calls were unreturned, and Carchman declined to interview any family members on film. Ginny has posted a letter under the auspices of SEEK Safely, Inc., the organization of which she is a founding member.

We were disturbed to see clips of Ray “at work” before and after his incarceration serving as an infomercial for his comeback. The film failed to look critically at the tactics Ray had used prior to his incarceration and continues to use that put his customers at risk of emotional, financial,and physical harm; the film even omitted important facts such as the suicide of another attendee at a Ray event just months prior to the three deaths in Sedona. Many of these tactics, such as encouraging participants to share about personal trauma in a group setting, are commonly used in the unregulated selfhelp industry and are exactly the sorts of “red flags” SEEK wants to alert consumers to.

When asked at the end of the film how and why Sedona happened, Ray’s declares, “Sedona had to happen. It was the only way I could experience and learn… A test of character. I think I did ok.” Unfortunately, the people who were injured and traumatized, and especially those who died, are not so “ok."

James Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Aggravating CNN

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Where's Waldo? Where's Megan? And Where's CNN?

Despite their having the James Ray "aggravation stage" on their schedule all weekend and up to 12:16 EDT today, CNN did a runner. Turns out the gouge on Connie Joy's Facebook page -- that they'd pulled their equipment and skipped town last week -- was correct. CNN's own employees who even confirmed via email were wrong. But that sort of total incompetence is par for the course when it comes to CNN's coverage of this trial.

And Megan Fredrickson whose testimony we were hotly anticipating? In the wind. Both she and her husband Josh took a powder. They are nowhere to be found. Through their attorney, the State learned that she was refusing to cooperate. She and her husband are afraid of being indicted. I expect they'll be avoiding the state of Arizona indefinitely.

Throughout the early part of the day, there were legal arguments which kept the jury in a holding pattern outside the courtroom. In an unsurprising move, the defense made another motion for mistrial. I'm starting to think that shouting "mistrial" is just some strange verbal tic that Luis Li can't really control.

Motions had already been flying back and forth with the defense moving to strike four of five aggravating factors proposed by the State. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss two: presence of an accomplice and the heinous, cruel, and depraved nature of the crime. No doubt these things would have been hard to prove without Megan Fredrickson's testimony.

The list of witnesses offered by the State was winnowed down to three; all family members of the deceased. Andrea Puckett is Liz Neuman's daughter. Ginny Brown is Kirby Brown's mother. Alyssa Gillespie is James Shore's widow.

And then the testimony began.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 2

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Well, if I wanted to write about the Casey Anthony trial, I'd have plenty of fodder. Yes, infanticide makes better television than a killer sweat lodge. That probably goes without saying. Of course it may also be that in day 2 the James Ray trial is bogging down over issues like what is the best and least prejudicial way for the state to mark and display evidence. Pretty dry. I'm just disappointed at how little of yesterday's opening arguments are being shoehorned in during breaks in the Florida trial.

So far, between what I've been able to find in articles and what of the prosecution's opening argument I've been able to see when the Casey Anthony trial has been on breaks, I have grokked that the prosecutors intend to use Ray's own words to hang him. After audio of the 911 calls -- always disturbing -- prosecutor Sheila Polk played long excerpts from Ray's recorded speeches to his "spiritual warriors."

Much of it is repetitive and nonsensical gibberish. But even in these snippets there are some major red flags.

Welcome to spiritual warrior. Time is short. Time is short. If you're not going to die, it is. Some of you went to bed last night. That's okay. Time is short. Tick tok, tick tok, tick tok, tick tok. It's getting shorter. Better clean it up while you can. You don't have a lot of time left. A spiritual warrior. From the time they were born until the time they exited this particular lifetime, they were told and trained and prepared for the ultimate battle. It was their purpose. It's why you're here. So the battle is coming. That's why you're here. You didn't choose it. The choice has already been made. You were born and that's who you are. And between the time of birth to the exit in the final battle, the ultimate battle, you either live an honorable life, you live with impeccability, you devote yourself with 100% of every ounce of energy you have to the perfection of all that you are involved with, or you exit dishonorably. So the question is not whether or not you are going to physically die. You are. The question is how did you live? How did you live?

Breaking the TEAL SPELL -- UPDATE: The Noncasts

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Comment overflow: page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6, page 7,
page 8, page 9, page 10, page 11, page 12, page 13, page 14


Update: The Noncasts (See Below)

Further Update: Blake Addresses Jason Freedman Mystery (See Below)

Yet Another Update: Kicking "Tealers" Down the Memory Hole (See Below)


Some years ago, when I was doing the Flower of Life teacher training with Drunvalo Melchizedek, one of my fellow travelers shared with me that he was troubled by what he called the "Drunvalettes." The term was his own invention but there was no mistaking his meaning. He even pegged a few of our classmates with that term. He liked Drunvalo quite a bit but that there was this kind of adulation by some Flower of Life folks made him uncomfortable. He had some concern that Drunvalo might have been fostering this unquestioning sycophancy. So one day when we were enjoying a break, he asked Drunvalo very directly how he felt about his Drunvalettes.

Dru shook his head and sighed. "I just try to stay out of it," he said.

That's one approach. There's a conversation to be had, for sure, about whether ignoring the phenomenon and trying to distance oneself from it is enough. Is it necessary to more actively discourage such behavior? But I think the one thing we were all in agreement on -- Drunvalo, myself, and the gentleman who raised the concern -- was that such hero worship was not a good or healthy thing.

The term "tealer" has similarly been thrown around to describe those who've drunk the "teal-aid." Some of her more passionate and angry defenders who've posted on my blog have been quite pejoratively labeled "tealers" by other commenters. So imagine my horror when I read this in a recent TEAL post about her seminar in Atlanta.

I am struck by how much the imprint of the days of slavery still remains on some of the older buildings and railways here in town. It has soaked its way especially into the old wood that dots the brick walls. The venue for yesterday’s workshop was one such a building. It was a fitting energy, seeing as how the theme of the entire workshop was self-liberation.

This group which is being called the “Tealers” is the most open minded, eccentrically intellectual group I have ever beheld.  I think it is now my favorite part of holding these workshops.  Long-term friendships are formed.  People find their place to belong. And I get to witness the fact that this world is in good hands.  All across the globe, they form a supportive web of awakening.  They touch the lives of the people in the cities they live in.  It is like a little legion of enlightened spirits, whose practice is that of non-resistance and expansion.

You're Freeeee! Wait. Not so fast.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 30

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

There were all sorts of mad doings in the courtroom today as trial resumed from its extended break. But first some extraneous In Session material you may have missed. And what could more extraneous than an interview with Bob Proctor.

Bob Proctor is standing by his man James Ray. Although he does think that Ray law of attracted this mess to himself. He's not really sure how or why but, you know, the law of attraction works every time. Proctor was interviewed on In Session last Thursday. Fairly useless but for this one deliciously laughable tidbit. Asked about the myriad of academics and professionals who think Proctor's beliefs about the law of attraction are crazy, he said, "Well they obviously don't know what they're talking about." It made me chuckle only because I distinctly remember Bob Proctor admitting in The Secret that he doesn't know what he's talking about. The relevant bit of sheer nonsense can be found at about 13:00 on the counter in the above video.

Now if you don't understand it doesn't mean you should reject it. You don't understand electricity, probably. First of all, no one even knows what electricity is. And yet, you enjoy the benefits of it. Do you know how it works? I don't know how it works. But I do know this. That you can cook a man's dinner with electricity and you can also cook the man.

James Ray on Dateline's Deadly Retread

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Buy From Art.com

Okay... so um... yeah... So they aired "Deadly Retreat" as promised on Friday night. I DVR'd it and watched it over coffee with my husband on Saturday morning. So... um... it was... yeah...

As Salty so humorously pointed out, much of the back story was just a retread of the special of the same name that they aired last summer.  So that was about as illuminating as it was then, which is to say not very. And then there was the trial footage and discussion. I have to say that I enjoyed being back in the virtual courtroom, where I spent months of my life... except when Truc Do was talking. Like nails on a chalkboard, that voice.

I know Dateline has to show both sides but I think they did so a little haphazardly and it was confusing. If I hadn't known so much about the trial and the evidence I think I would have been a bit confused as to how they brought in a conviction. I always feel that way when I watch these news magazine treatments of criminal cases. I hate watching them because I'm always left wondering how the verdict was reached based on the evidence I've just seen. But in this case, having watched virtually every moment of the trial that was streamed by CNNLive, I'm in the even more uncomfortable position of knowing where Dateline really failed to make it clear.

The biggest question I would have, after those two hours, is what about the poisoning theory? Could it have been organophosphates? They really plead the defense's case and Beth Karas quite predictably made it sound like organophosphate poisoning was a very valid theory. They never really explained how thoroughly debunked it was, especially by Dr. Dickson, whom they correctly show as having really brought the prosecution's case together.

Observations on James Ray's Sentencing

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Two months ago I whined like a petulant child that James Arthur Ray was not sentenced, as scheduled, on my birthday. Considering that when he was finally sentenced on November 18, he was given the far too lenient sentence of two years minus time served, leave say, my birthday was probably the better for not knowing. I actually had a great birthday. I think it's fair to say it was a far sight better than James Ray's 54th which he celebrated last Tuesday at the Phx-Alhambra intake center, where he remains in detention, incommunicado, for two weeks before being transitioned to a state penitentiary to serve out his sentence. I'm not prone to schadenfreude but I guess there's some measure of justice in that. Does it in any way make up for three lives lost or for the devastation of three families? Absolutely not. But at least they have some measure of closure after this incredibly protracted quest for justice. Said the very articulate Ginny Brown, mother of the late Kirby Brown:

"There are no winners today," said Virginia Brown, Kirby's mother. "No sentencing can bring our daughter back, or bring Liz or James back. But at least this will be a deterrent, to Mr. Ray and to others who might think about putting people at risk. The judge referred to common sense and there was surely a lack of common sense here."

No punishment the justice system can mete out can bring back a loved one or balance any great, cosmic scale. One hopes it will go some way to protecting society, so if Ray's doing some jail time serves as a deterrent, that's an accomplishment for which prosecutors Sheila Polk, Bill Hughes, case officer Det. Diskin, and every other person who worked that long, involved case deserves a whole lot of credit. Said Det. Diskin, “I’ve been investigating this case longer than James Ray will spend in prison.”

Laugh or go mad, as they say.