Religion: New age sweat lodge guru arrested for murder. Motivational speaker James Arthur Ray has been charged with manslaughter for the deaths of three people who fell ill during a New Age spiritual retreat involving an Arizona sweat lodge.
The deaths occurred at a retreat at the Angel Valley Retreat Center, 115 miles north of Phoenix, Az. Emergency services were called to the sweat lodge in October after numerous participants became seriously ill. Eighteen people were taken to hospital reportedly suffering from illnesses ranging from dehydration to kidney failure.
The Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony was intended to be the highlight of Ray's five-day "Spiritual Warrior" event at a retreat he rented near Sedona. He told participants, who paid more than $9,000 each to attend, that it would be one of the most intense experiences of their lives. Clearly for some, James' promise proved prophetic, but for all the wrong reasons.
Two people, Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, passed out inside the sweat lodge and died later that night. Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., slipped into a coma and died a week later.
The sweat lodge is a Native American practice that Ray corrupted, using it as a money making novelty. Hustling the gullible, taking advantage of the ignorant and superstitious, Ray made a career out of being a new age con man. His greed and irresponsibility led to the death of three innocent people. He deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Follow this link for a video of Ray in better days, working his hustle on Portland's own ABC AM Northwest Portland where James shares a little about his teachings on "Harmonic Wealth".
Comments