{"id":249,"date":"2011-06-23T20:27:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-23T20:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths\/"},"modified":"2011-06-23T20:27:00","modified_gmt":"2011-06-23T20:27:00","slug":"james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html","title":{"rendered":"James Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

New Age guru and The Secret <\/i>celebrity James Arthur Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore in a sweat lodge ceremony he ran in 2009. Here\u2019s a link to a story in the Los Angeles Times<\/i><\/a>, commentary collected by Jason of The Wild Hunt<\/a>, and some good thoughts on free will and manipulation by Brendan Myers<\/a>. <\/p>\n

I did not follow the trial closely, but based on what I\u2019ve read this verdict seems right. Ray didn\u2019t intend to kill anyone, but he was clearly \u2013 and criminally \u2013 negligent. He asked a Native expert for advice on building a sweat lodge, but then modified it to make it even hotter. He failed to recognize the difference between discomfort on the part of his clients and genuine medical crises. Most importantly, he convinced his clients \u2013 and himself \u2013 that completing the ordeal was more important than life itself. Ray could be sentenced to as much as 11 years in prison. He deserves every day of that, but more importantly he deserves to be stripped of any and all credibility as a spiritual teacher.<\/p>\n

Much of the discussion \u2013 at least on The Wild Hunt \u2013 is focused on the issue of cultural appropriation, an issue I don\u2019t have a lot of passion about. Credit your sources, don\u2019t claim to be something you\u2019re not, but beyond that religions and cultures have been borrowing and blending for millennia and I see no reason to stop now.<\/p>\n

I want to focus on what we can learn from this crime. I won\u2019t call it a tragedy \u2013 it wasn\u2019t an accident and it could and should have been prevented. Let us learn from others\u2019 mistakes.<\/p>\n

First, there is a demand \u2013 a need \u2013 for authentic spiritual experiences<\/b>. These were not weak, ignorant \u201csheeple.\u201d These were intelligent, well-educated, successful people: you don\u2019t get many high school dropouts for a seminar costing $10,000 a person. They had material success but it wasn\u2019t enough. They were looking for something more, something deeper, something real. They just showed a lack of judgment in where they tried to get it. <\/p>\n

Paganism is supposed to be an experiential religion. What can we do to make our circles and celebrations more real?<\/p>\n

Real spiritual experiences can\u2019t be purchased with a week\u2019s vacation and a high-limit credit card<\/b>. Occasionally we experience a moment of ecstasy, but more often they are a product of years of study and practice. The American Buddhist<\/a> teacher Baker Roshi said \u201cenlightenment is an accident, but practice makes us accident-prone.\u201d There simply is no substitute for doing the work. <\/p>\n

What work are we doing \u2013 both in this world and between the worlds \u2013 to learn and grow in spirit?<\/p>\n

With great power comes great responsibility<\/b>. Yeah, I know, I got that from a comic book movie. It\u2019s still true. Any teacher-student relationship is one of imbalanced power. You trust that the teacher knows what she\u2019s talking about, that his methods are sound, and that she has the student\u2019s best interests at heart. The people in this sweat lodge put their lives in James Ray\u2019s hands and he failed them. A teacher has no right to take a student farther than that student is capable of going. Now, most people are capable of a lot more than they think they are, and a good teacher can inspire a student to push past his self-imposed limits. But some times those limits are hard and real \u2013 the teacher has to know the difference. <\/p>\n

Do we construct our classes and workshops and rituals with the needs of our students and participants in mind, or do we just want to make ourselves look big?<\/p>\n

We all have ultimate responsibility for our lives, for ultimately it is us and us alone who will live or die with the consequences of our decisions<\/b>. In order to do this well, we must follow the best-known of the Maxims of the Temple at Delphi: know thyself. An athlete has to know himself well enough to distinguish between pain he can push through and an injury that requires him to stop. A seeker has to know herself well enough to recognize when she\u2019s being asked to do something that\u2019s going to be harmful. There is risk in genuine spiritual exploration and we should not avoid \u201cdangerous religion<\/a>\u201d \u2013 we just need to practice it wide awake. <\/p>\n

How well do we know ourselves, and what are we doing to grow that knowledge?<\/p>\n

Back in January I wrote several posts on the topic of Pagan initiation<\/a>. I only touched on the subject of ordeals, saying \u201cinitiatory ordeals build confidence\u201d while cautioning \u201cthey are highly unpredictable\u201d and warning ritual creators that \u201ca candidate who asks for a ritual ordeal places a tremendous amount of trust in the person conducting the ordeal. Make sure you are worthy of that trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Ray was not worthy of the trust his clients placed in him. May he spend years in prison learning humility, and may these deaths stand as a warning to all of us, those who seek and those who teach.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Age guru and The Secret celebrity James Arthur Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore in a sweat lodge ceremony he ran in 2009. Here\u2019s a link to a story in the Los Angeles Times, commentary collected by Jason of The Wild Hunt, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJames Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New Age guru and The Secret celebrity James Arthur Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New Age guru and The Secret celebrity James Arthur Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-06-23T20:27:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html\",\"name\":\"James Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-06-23T20:27:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-06-23T20:27:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"New Age guru and The Secret celebrity James Arthur Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"James Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"James Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths","description":"New Age guru and The Secret celebrity James Arthur Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"James Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths","og_description":"New Age guru and The Secret celebrity James Arthur Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2011-06-23T20:27:00+00:00","author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html","name":"James Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-06-23T20:27:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-06-23T20:27:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"New Age guru and The Secret celebrity James Arthur Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/06\/james-arthur-ray-convicted-in-sweat-lodge-deaths.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"James Arthur Ray Convicted in Sweat Lodge Deaths"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}