Friend of Oprah, Larry King & semi regular guest on MSNBC new age con man James Arthur Ray charged 9K per person to cook 3 people to death in a bogus sweat lodge ceremony on October 8. He has not yet been charged with any crime.
"Wasichu" is the Lakota word for white man. It has nothing to do with the color of a person's skin, the word wasichu literally translates to "fat taker" - a greedy person who cravenly takes "the fat" of the land or the best parts of all things for himself. Perfect name for this asshole. Why he has not been charged with murder and taken into custody in my opinion is likely due to his powerful friends and his huge fat bank account. Just like the Ramseys and OJ. Certainly if I pulled this shit in my back yard I would be in the hooskow right now, nu? Money buys him "respectability"? Well not with me.
We have been talking about this story since it happened on the threads here. I lived with the Lakota in 1986 and participated in actual sweat lodge ceremonies, which are nothing like what is described here. First of all, THERE WAS NEVER A FEE. Spleen poster Q-Burn also has had years of experience with the Lakota and participated in many real sweat ceremonies. Q-Burn was the one who told us of this horrible story in the first place. Both of us know this guy is a criminal and he should be charged with murder. This article says it was a "simulated Native American ceremony"
Exactly what I did 24 years ago. I was the first one out of my first sweat. There was no shame in it. And you never, never never go without food and water for FIVE DAYS like that asshole had them doing before entering a sweat - this should be common sense, dehydration is the least of your problems at that point... you do not fast and go with out water at all before doing a sweat in my experience... So, thanks to James Arthur Ray, wasichu deluxe, (and the man who plays GOD in your exclusive 10K vision quest) we now have 2 dozen foolish people hospitalized and three dead:
"He poured a 5-gallon bucket of water over the rocks, sending a rush of steam throughout the makeshift structure. "
uhhhh too much.... we used to do it WITH A LARGE LADLE. He is lucky he did not steam cook someone to death...
Bunn lasted the entire two hours in the sweat lodge
uhhhh too long - I do not ever remember ever staying inside a sweat that long do you Q?
When participants exhibited weakness, Ray urged them to push past it and chided those who wanted to leave, she said. "I can't get her to move. I can't get her to wake up," Bunn recalls hearing from two sides of the 415-square-foot sweat lodge. Ray's response: "Leave her alone, she'll be dealt with in the next round."
uhhhhh - too big, too many people, I have never seen anything on that scale have you Q? Denying people exit? She'll be dealt with in the next round? There ain't gonna be no next round for her. As people were writhing on the ground begging for water and dying, "Ray was standing about 10 feet away, watching, Bunn said. "He didn't do anything, he didn't participate in helping. He did nothing. He just stood there."
MITAKU OYASIN!
Shawna Bowen, a Cottonwood substance-abuse counselor, was invited by friends to the sweat-lodge event. She said Friday that when she got there, people were lying outside the makeshift enclosure and that those frantic to pull people out apparently had torn down part of it."They were like, 'Screw it, we're ripping it apart,' " she said
Howard Bragman, a spokesman for Ray, said many people at the "Spiritual Warrior" event had "amazing experiences," and noted that people should not rush to judgment about what occurred during an ongoing investigation.
Sure, Brag Man.... certainly dying is an amazing experience, you total piece of shit. Rush to judgment? Good luck at yours. Here is the great Ray's lame statement on the event. Note - the second word in it is ME. He is being disparaged and accused! Criticized even! It is all about HIM. This "statement" is vile. Any sensible person should be able to read the staggering arrogance in it immediately.
For me, for the families and friends of the sick and deceased and for many people who believe in the important work we do, these have been the most difficult ten days of our lives.
People are throwing out accusations and disparaging me and our mission. Yet despite that, and despite considerable criticism, I have chosen to continue with my work. It's too important not to. One of the lessons I teach is that you have to confront and embrace adversity and learn and grow from it. I promise you I am doing a lot of learning and growing. I have taken heat for that decision, but if I chose to lock myself in my home, I am sure I would be criticized for hiding and not practicing what I preach.
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Surely he has not refunded dollar one, to anyone, either. His work is too important not to continue! What a piece of shit this guy is. Wasichu is the PERFECT word for him.In order to help reduce time spent obtaining the right photo or logo, we have supplied you with various photos of James Ray in this section.
Mighty white of yez.
It's all about HIM ya know... The Associated Press: Guru says he's being tested by AZ retreat deaths
"I'm grieving right now," said Ray, who received a standing ovation at the end of the seminar. "I'm grieving for the families."
UCCCHHH!
Ray stopped short of apologizing to participants for not being at the Angel Valley Retreat Center the morning after the deaths, saying "I hope you understand it certainly wasn't my wish not to be with you and bring you some kind of closure."Oh they had an out of body experience allrighty. Permanently. FUN!
Ray declined to be interviewed by the sheriff's office on the night of the incident and returned to California, where his company, James Ray International, is based.
A woman identified as Barb told the callers that a channeler at the retreat last Friday said the deceased had an out-of-body experience during the sweat lodge ceremony and "were having so much fun that they chose not to come back."
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — More than 50 followers of spiritual guru James Arthur Ray had just endured five strenuous days of fasting, sleep-deprivation and mind-altering breathing exercises when he led them into a sweat lodge ceremony.
It was supposed to be a religious awakening, the culmination of a $9,000-plus-a-person retreat outside Sedona, Ariz., aimed at helping people find a new vision for life. But it wasn't long before the ceremony turned into a terrifying experience.
People were vomiting in the stifling heat, gasping for air, and lying lifeless on the sand and gravel floor beneath them, according to participant Beverley Bunn. One man was burned when he crawled into the rocks, seemingly unaware of what he was doing, she said. Ultimately, three people would die.
When participants exhibited weakness, Ray urged them to push past it and chided those who wanted to leave, she said. "I can't get her to move. I can't get her to wake up," Bunn recalls hearing from two sides of the 415-square-foot sweat lodge. Ray's response: "Leave her alone, she'll be dealt with in the next round."
Bunn, a 43-year-old Texas resident, provided her wrenching description of the sweat lodge tragedy in an interview with The Associated Press, the first public account from a participant in the Oct. 8 ceremony.
It also marks a significant revelation in the criminal investigation into Ray over the episode because it portrays him as driving participants to stay in the lodge despite signs all around him that the situation had gone bad. Investigators are considering bringing charges against the guru and trying to learn about his actions that night in a case that has cast a harsh spotlight on Ray and his self-help empire.
Howard Bragman, a spokesman for Ray, said many people at the "Spiritual Warrior" event had "amazing experiences," and noted that people should not rush to judgment about what occurred during an ongoing investigation.
"This is only one person out of many at this point," he said.
According to Bunn, participants were given short notice before they were to enter the sweat lodge. As they readied for it, they removed their jewelry, placed prayer pouches filled with nicotine around their necks and ripped out pages in a journal they kept detailing what in life was holding them back.
A fire heating up rocks outside the sweat lodge consumed the journal pages.
Lightly dressed in bathing suits, shorts and tank tops, they received a blessing meant to cut away negative energy before crawling into the sweat lodge. Ray led the group inside and sat next to the opening. A second row formed, their bodies closest to what would be a pile of heated rocks.
Ray sprinkled them with sandalwood meant for aroma. He led the group in chants and prayers in a Native American tongue during the sweat lodge ceremony. He poured a 5-gallon bucket of water over the rocks, sending a rush of steam throughout the makeshift structure. That began a two-hour ceremony broken up into 15-20 minute rounds that some would later describe as "profound," according to a transcript of a call Ray held with participants days later.
For others, it was terrifying.
Participants began to show signs they were weakening midway through the ceremony. By the time people started collapsing, Bunn had already crawled to a spot near the opening of the sweat lodge, praying for the door to stay open as long as possible between rounds so that she could breathe in fresh air.
At one point, someone lifted up the back of the tent, allowing light into the otherwise pitch-black tent. Ray demanded to know where the light was coming from and who committed the "sacrilegious act," Bunn said. A man, yelling "I can't take it, I can't breathe, I can't do this" had crawled out, Bunn said.
People were not physically forced to stay inside but highly encouraged. "It was all about mind over matter, you're stronger than your body," Bunn said.
Bunn lasted the entire two hours in the sweat lodge but nearly two dozen others were hospitalized. Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, died upon arrival at a hospital. Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., died more than a week later at a Flagstaff hospital.
No drugs, alcohol nor stimulants of any kind used in the sweat lodge or during the retreat, Bunn said.
"These people, including myself were really just searching for a better way to live and a better life," she said. "And I commend us for that."
Looking back, she said it's easy to see how so many people were overcome. No one was well-hydrated, the sweat lodge was poorly ventilated, no safety tips were provided and appropriate medical care wasn't available, she said.
As the leader of the "Spiritual Warrior" event, Ray pushed for participants to go without sleep, enter into altered states of mind through breathing exercises and meditation, compete in a game in which he played God and fast for 36 hours during a vision quest, Bunn said.
Sheriff's investigators in Arizona's Yavapai County are treating the deaths as homicides but have yet to determine the cause. Ray has hired his own investigative team to try to determine what went wrong, and vowed to continue with his work despite criticism.
"I have taken heat for that decision, but if I choose to lock myself in my home, I am sure I would be criticized for hiding and not practicing what I preach," he wrote.
Ray has become a self-help superstar by packaging his charismatic personality and selling wealth. He uses free seminars to recruit people to expensive seminars like the Sedona retreat that led to the sweat lodge tragedy.
Ray told participants the sweat lodge ceremony would be one of the most intense experiences of their lives.
As it neared the end, Bunn said some participants found themselves physically and mentally unable to tend to those around them. After the eighth round, Ray instructed them to exit the sweat lodge just has they had entered — going clockwise, a movement meant to symbolize being inside a mother's womb.
What followed was a triage situation with people laid out on tarps and water being thrown on them to bring down body temperatures. Some people weren't breathing and had bloodshot eyes. One woman unknowingly walked toward the fire before someone grabbed her, Bunn said.
Shouts of "we need water, we need water," rang out. "They couldn't fill up the buckets fast enough," Bunn said.
Off to the side, a medical doctor participating in the retreat performed CPR on Shore and Brown with the aid of others. When Bunn asked if she could help because she knew CPR, she was told to stay back.
Ray was standing about 10 feet away, watching, Bunn said. "He didn't do anything, he didn't participate in helping. He did nothing. He just stood there."
Hey! He's a "Personal Success Strategist!" All he has to do is just stand there, you gleeking plebe! That'll be 10K. Pay the Brag Man. James Arthur Ray is transforming the way the world thinks. As an internationally-renowned Personal Success Strategist, Visionary and New York Times Best-Selling Author who has traveled the globe dedicating over two decades of his life to studying the thoughts, actions, and habits of those who create true wealth in every area of their life, James delivers his practical teachings to hundreds of thousands of individuals and business leaders every year.
When he wrote this, the third person had not died yet...
A white man, James Arthur Ray, who owns a company called Spiritual Warrior charges 60 people almost $10,000 each, or more than a half a million dollars, then directs them not to eat or drink for three days before allowing them to cook in a sweat lodge.Oprah Winfrey Should Apologize for Promoting Dangerous Fraud James Arthur Ray
Each person is then allowed only a space equivalent to two foot by 3 foot space to sit until they “see the light” or die! His Twitter site even says “something must die before something new can be born”
How many things are wrong here? Well first this traditional Native American event is truly a spiritual event, not a “For Profit Event”. Second, the true event is held by a person of native indian descent who have knowledge and understandings of the nature of the spiritual journey. It appears that once again greed interfered with common sense. Why would anyone pay these outrages fees to be conducted by someone who doesn’t even know or understand the spiritual meaning or significance? One must ask what James Arthur Ray, a self proclaimed wealth builder, of non Native American descent, from southern California has to do with Native American spiritual growth?
Ray's company, James Ray International, is based in Carlsbad, California and brags of raising profits of over 500% last year. He holds two hour wealth building seminars around the country for up to 2000 people for $2000 per person, that’s 2 million an hour, not bad! What do Native Americans have to say about this? We had to ask. So we’ve contacted the spokesperson for the Native American Indian Cultural Center. In general they are appalled and insulted that anyone would take their age old spiritual tradition and turn it into a Greed Mongers’ Money Grabbing Machine and on top of that abuse it in such an insane way that people would put their life on the line.
A spokesperson of the nonprofit cultural center in the heart of the Black Hills of South Dakota called All Nations Indigenous Native American Indian Cultural Center said this is one of the reason we are trying to help by educating everyone about the history of Native Americans. We wish to accurately inform the general public as to our traditions. Sweat lodges are not games to be played with by people that do not have the understanding of their use in spiritual journeys, quests or healing. Our hearts go out to the families of the people that have been affective in a negative way over this mater.
Arvol Looking Horse, a 19th Generation, Keeper of our Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, says, “I am concerned for the 2 deaths and illnesses of the many people that participated in a sweat lodge in Sedona, Arizona that brought our sacred rite under fire in the news. I would like to clarify that this lodge and many others, are not our ceremonial way of life, because of the way they are being conducted.
My prayers go out for their families and loved ones for their loss. Our ceremonies are about life and healing, from the time this ancient ceremonial rite was given to our people, never has death been a part of our inikag¹a (life within) when conducted properly. Today the rite is interpreted as a sweat lodge, it is much more than that. So the term does not fit our real meaning of purification.
SNIP
What has happened in the news with the make shift sauna called the sweat lodge is not our ceremonial way of life!
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This also written before the third person died -
Two people died in a distorted New Age version of a Native sweatlodge in Sedona. Dozens more were badly injured. They each paid over $9000 for a bastardized version of a ceremony which by tradition must never be charged for. Natives don't believe in "pay to pray," but apparently the New Age movement does. It is far more of a consumerist phenomena than a genuine spiritual movement. Many lost, misguided, and genuinely sincere seekers get caught up in the idea of paying cash for shortcuts to salvation, and Oprah Winfrey seems to be among them.
Winfrey promoted New Age leader James Arthur Ray on her program a number of times. It was Ray who jammed over sixty people into a "sweatbox." Traditionally perhaps a dozen people are in a sweatlodge. The lodge is made from natural materials so the heat will not be too intense. But not Ray's "sweatbox." It was sealed with heavy plastic tarp to deliberately make the heat as intense as possible. People even competed to see who could withstand the highest temperatures, making it a bizarre contest rather than a ceremony to heal. Traditionally most of those in a sweatlodge have been through it before so they could guide novices, but seemingly the clients/victims of Ray's outnumbered those conducting it by at least twenty to one.
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Yes the people who paid him 9K and bought into his bullshit were at the very least, credulous... and incredibly stupid. But they did not deserve to die for it.
As the leader of the "Spiritual Warrior" event, Ray pushed for participants to go without sleep, enter into altered states of mind through breathing exercises and meditation, compete in a game in which he played God and fast for 36 hours during a vision quest, Bunn said.
in which he played God
in which he played God
May the GOD of Israel see this incident, and recompense. Ray should be in jail, not hawking his bullshit on your TV.
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