No More James Arthur Ray

I am pretty late to the party on this story, which actually took place January of last year. Self-help author James Arthur Ray passed away on that date at the age of 67. Ray was famous for being convicted of negligent homicide for three deaths that occurred at a "sweat lodge" retreat that he ran - and charged students big money to attend. I covered that story here on Augoeides back when Ray was found guilty in 2011. Ray would go on to serve two years in prison and resume his self-help industry career.

The sweat lodge deaths occurred after dozens of people traveled to a scenic retreat just outside Sedona in October 2009 for Ray’s five-day “Spiritual Warrior” event. The sweat lodge was the culminating event, touted as “hellacious hot” and a chance for participants to have powerful breakthroughs. Two people — 38-year-old Kirby Brown of Westtown, New York, and 40-year-old James Shore of Milwaukee — died inside the sweat lodge and 18 others were injured. Another person, Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, fell into a coma and died after more than a week in the hospital.

At trial, prosecutors said Ray ratcheted up the heat to dangerous levels, ignored pleas for help, and watched as overcome participants were dragged out of the sweat lodge. A jury acquitted Ray of more serious manslaughter charges and convicted him of three counts of negligent homicide, for which he served concurrent sentences for the deaths. He was released in July 2013. Ray had acknowledged that he was responsible for the deaths but offered no excuses for his lack of action as the chaos unfolded at the sweat lodge.

After leaving prison, Ray remained active in the self-help industry. He frequently posted videos on social media of himself and his wife, Bersabeh Ray, offering advice. The couple also hosted a podcast, Modern Alchemy, and maintained a website where Ray offered one-on-one video sessions up to 90 minutes for $2,500.

I also recall seeing footage of Ray in a documentary on the self-help industry, pitching his trainings to audiences for the low, low price of $45,000.00 - with financing in the back. Knowing Ray's history, it amazed me that he was back to grifting so hard. His basic pitch was that he had lost everything and made it back again, so he was the guy anyone looking to succeed should study with. When he "lost everything" because he killed three people.

The sweat lodge deaths weren't even really that accidental, as I pointed out in my previous article. Ray subscribed to the "harder = better" idea with regard to practice of whatever sort, and heated his sweat lodges higher than any Native American ever would. He didn't just do it, he was proud of it, proclaiming on his website that he didn't run a "weenie lodge." Native American cultures perfected the sweat lodge over centuries, working out high enough temperatures to produce the desired effect but low enough that people would not start dying.

This highlights a huge problem with a particularly American take on spiritual practice. American teachers like to embrace the "harder = better" idea because it is one of the founding myths of our culture. The idea that hard work is the key to success and will be rewarded is part of the mythology of the "American dream." Our country hasn't been like that for a long time now, but the story endures. It's just easier to refute economically than spiritually, since spiritual realization is hard to measure.

This isn't just confined to physical ordeals like the sweat lodge, either. Most stories I come across of Amercian students developing mental health issues from meditation are similar. A person starts out meditating for a reasonable amount of time, like say twenty minutes a day. But the meditation feels good, so they start meditating for longer and longer sessions, in some cases up to several hours a day without any direct guidance from a teacher. Then, at some point, depression or other mental health problems set in.

The truth is that moderation is a key aspect of magical discipline. It's easy to brag about undergoing some sort of ordeal once. A much harder thing is to keep up even a short daily practice, day after day, without skipping. Try it if you don't believe me and see for yourself. Meditating for hours at a time sounds great, except that without solid guidance it can be hard to know when to stop. Spending time out of the meditative state, grounding the realizations from the practice in your everyday life, is just as much a part of the practice as sitting is.

When evaluating magical teachers, always be careful to look out for the James Arthur Rays of the world. If somebody tells you their teachings are better because they work you harder, demand more money, or put you in greater physical danger that's a huge warning sign. None of those things make teachings better. Success should be your proof in all things. If you burn yourself or hurt yourself and abandon the practice, that's a failure. Teachings that make your life harder instead of easier fall into the same category.

I teach magick like a computer hacker. I always am looking for the easiest and most efficient way to get the best possible results by optimizing the technology. I have never seen similar levels of success obtained by pushing students to their limits. The latter, in fact, tends to be what destructive cults are made of. The key here can be found in understanding one simple fact - if your magick doesn't make your life better and easier, you're doing it wrong.