Transcript Of James Arthur Ray’s Conference Call To Arizona Sweat Box Victims, And Last Tweets
At the James Arthur Ray Spritual Warrior Event in Arizona, two people are dead and 19 more are hospitalized. James Arthur Ray goes on with the show. And then he calls the survivors, privately. The transcript of that call is hereunder.
AT a James Athur Ray spiritual retreat in Sedona, Arizona, for “harmonic minded individuals” two guests are dead and 19 more are hospitalised. Kirby Brown, 38, and 40-year-old James Shore died at the five-day “Spiritual Warrior Event” that would “accelerate the releasing of your limitations and push yourself past your self-imposed and conditioned borders.”
More than 60 warriors enter a makeshift structure at Angel Valley Retreat Center where hot stones create an intense heat. It’s a sweat box that looks more like a circus tent.
Christine Whelan notes:
Participants should leave when the heat becomes too intense. However, after a week of brainwashing about pushing past “self-imposed” borders, human instinct was overridden by orders from a so-called great leader…
They trusted a well-known, well-loved inspirational leader who had been given the popular culture seal of approval…
James Arthur Ray has been endorsed by the cult of Oprah Winfrey,on Larry King Live and the Today show.
On his eponymous website. James Arthur Ray says he 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.”
Let’s hear it for the true wealth, selflessly spread by Mr Ray:
James is President and CEO of his own multi-million dollar corporation, James Ray International (JRI), which was named to Inc. Magazine’s coveted Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies in the September 2009 issue, reaching a remarkable 547.4% growth over the previous three years.
While you exeperience true wealth, around $10,000 dollars gets you a stint in a sweat box in Arizona. Not lemmings, then. But Ray does seem to exert an influence over his disciples.
After the horror, James Arthur Ray is at a seminar at a hotel in Marina del Rey, near Los Angeles. He’s not in Arizona. He’s not under arrest. Before a crowd of around 200, he cries. He says he’s hired investigators to look into what went wrong:
“This is the most difficult time I’ve ever faced. I don’t know how to deal with it really.”
So should he go on to perform on stage so soon after a disaster?
“My advisers told me, ‘Don’t do that. You don’t know who’ll show up. They’re going to eat you alive… I’m grieving right now. I’m grieving for the families.”
We all grieve in our own ways. Ray does his grieving on a stage before an audience who give him a stranding ovation.
Two are dead, and Cassandra Yorgey brings news of a call from Ray to the injured – “a conference call that was only for the victims of his latest retreat-gone-wrong”.
Gather in lemmings. Come closer. Listen. Here’s what, reportedly, James Arthur Ray tells his congregation:
The Transcript
Greg calls. Greg is a James Ray staffer. He hands the phone to Katie Carlson as “an international follower of James Ray”. Now Mr Ray comes on line:
“I really wanted to be with you all on the final night and my thoughts were consistently with everyone who was having challenges…
“I just kept thinking ‘I have to take care of my people’.”
They are advised to “remember your teachings”; they “remind you of what you know… just be good to yourself. This is the most important time, it’s always important, to practice what you know, eat right… You gotta eat and you gotta eat healthy. You gotta get your workouts in, speaking from experience, sometimes you don’t feel like it but you gotta get rest and eat right.”
He goes on…and on:
“As restless as your mind might be, take 15 to 20 minutes to slow down and remember who you are. Next it’s important to surround yourself with healthy harmonic minded individuals who support you and love you. Hopefully you’ve connected with support, and if you haven’t please, please do because this community is coming together like never before and there is lots of support around the world. I’m sending [unclear] to all those who took ill and also those that transitioned and left this physical life, you can only give what you have and you can’t give what you’re not. Again lets all remind each other of what we know.”
We know that two people are dead. But what about James Arthur Ray?
“I have an incredible support group in my life and it’s been invaluable. I know Greg and Megan left me a voicemail last Friday and I saved it and listen to it several times a day. It’s important to do these things. That’s why we have Katie, she has experience and knows how to do these things.”
Listen several times a day. Listen:
“Now is the time to rise above the mood and use what you know. It’s OK to grieve. I feel grief, but in the midst of that you have to do the things that will keep you healthy and that are best for every one of our family members who are still ill or deceased.”
The family. Do not disappoint the family.
“We all know the power of prayer, studies prove it. [Let’s have a] moment of silence for those who have taken ill and for those in recovery and for those that are family members of those who transitioned. A moment of silence to do what we will to send our brightest intentions and love to all those involved including ourselves. Envision all of us in a circle if you will. Let’s take a deep breath in. Breathe in. And out. You know what to do. Be the light in the darkness for ourselves and each other for all involved. Envision ourselves standing together in a circle, as we have so many times before, and as we stay in that circle we can press *6 to mute out our line if we’re being noisy.”
Transitioned is an expensive way of saying “died”.
“Take a breath in. Out. Remembering who we are and what we know. Remembering that we are here in this special time in world history to make a major positive difference in a world that needs it so much. Knowing that we can and that we are. Next breath in. And out. Loving ourselves and allowing ourselves to experience whatever we experience and loving ourselves because the only way to go beyond it is to [unclear]. We [unclear] energy in this circle, breath in and out. Remembering all that we’ve learned and experienced and knowing the laws of the universe that every [unclear] chaos comes order that never existed before the chaos, moving elegantly through chaos to facilitate the order. Knowing a higher power than what we know consciously is guiding and directing us. No matter what we feel in the moment we are guided and protected always. Imagine ourselves standing in a pyramid of light and on the next breath take all intentionality and experience into the heart and crown chakra. Through the heart of each of us here now, into the crown, out through the heart, connecting all of us here and now. Breathe in and out. Irrelevant who is here, the unconscious mind knows and the universe knows. Now that we are connected I [unclear] to heartfelt energy [unclear] infinite [unclear] to still hospitalized. To their highest good and rapid healing at whatever level that may be. Breathe in and out through heart and all those who may still be hospitalized breathing in an out. Send out to all those how have taken ill for their rapid healing and breakthrough for new level – breathe in and out through the heart. We just feel the energy going out. Individuals who transitioned out of this physical life feel love and support of God and energy to assist them in this time of grief and challenge. Breathe in and out through the hearts of families, bathing them and supporting them in this moment. Final breath back to ourselves. Support each other, re-bond this community. In and out to the hearts of each other. Vibrating and pulsating through our bodies in this moment and we step forward acting upon this moment and the laws of the universe. So be it and it is.”
This is bigger than two people dead. Keep breathing. Keep listening. Listen:
“Let me say one more thing before I turn it over to Barb. Barb, *6 again to share. I did an event in L.A last night, last thing I wanted to do, would rather stay home and meditate and heal but it was the right thing to do. It was a commitment and same with San Diego tonight. Many are discussing [attending] summit, and the bottom line is I made a commitment and people are flying in. There has never been a more important time to stay dialled in to thoughts of hope, thoughts of possibility and to be reminded of the things all the greatest teachers [have taught]. I know most of you are going. It will help you to be there. It will feed your soul. What we’re doing is necessary so I’m gonna be there and give it my best. Barb, will you now tell us a little about what you experienced during the closing ceremony?”
Yorgey notes:
This, I think, is the worst part of the entire conference call. Barb is one of James Ray’s staff members and she goes on to talk “of the two that had passed and they left their bodies during the ceremony and had so much fun they chose not to come back and that was their choice that they made.”
They chose to transition. Listen. Breathe. Listen…
“There were a number of us that were still there Friday afternoon. We had all been sharing and working through the processes and Angel Valley and [unclear] and Friday evening one of them did [unclear] with cleansing for various sights they had been on and a session with everyone still on site. I gotta say they opened up their hearts and [unclear] he opened up, got into her mode and I believe she was channeling some of the spirits from Angel Valley and she opened it up for questions that anyone wanted to ask, but I don’t remember them all.
“This is bringing attention to how sweat lodges should be used. The next morning the police had cleared the site and then Angel Valley could take the shelter down and burn it.
“We were in the dining hall the next day and got a circle together and did prayer pouches to put on fire to honour the process the participants went through on their vision quest. We had tobacco, material, and strings that varied people had and Angel Valley gave cornmeal and we sat in a circle and talked about who and what we wanted to do with all the pouches. We made a pouch for those who passed, James Ray, James Ray International, the hospitalized, all the participants, and last is all encompassing for everyone on the globe being affected by this. Saturday in circle we held hands, took hot breath, and sand for each pouch took intentions and [unclear] that pouch for intentions and prayers for that particular person represented. Instead of leaving in the string we tied it in a circle to represent togetherness. After that we went to the sweat lodge area and everything had been taken off except the wooden structure. We gathered around and all the participants of the dream team who were left stood in the north, at that point some Angel Valley people spoke and opened up to anyone who [wanted to speak]. People really spoke about embracing the dark and the light.
“Some spoke of being next to those who were dead or sick, others of the teaching the rest of the week and [how] it was exactly what they needed to [unclear] higher evolution. Some spoke of the use of sweat lodges in the future. Everyone was quiet for a bit. Everyone spoke of embracing the light if anyone had anger or frustration [unclear] that they really need to not hold that within ourselves. I can’t remember if anyone spoke but I think if [unclear] it was expressed in themselves and not spoken words.”
Barb speaks of dismantling the sweat lodge.
“The traditional way is to cut or untie the strings that held the wood together. It took a while to take it down but we [unclear]. After we had that kind of filled we took the grandfathers and put them in the shape of a heart around the pit. Participants [unclear] on the ground and that was tied through the circle of pouches we created that morning that [unclear] held up and put both pouches on [unclear] and that represented our intentions for [unclear] and the other string of pouches from [unclear] represented all of the participants that didn’t make it to the fire [unclear].
“And then matches were passed around for everyone and we all struck a match and helped to light the fire and watched the fire and said what was in their hearts.”
Not a possible crime scene. A cleansing moment. No-one tossed themselves on the pyre. No-one chose to.
James Ray comes on the line:
“Hopefully all of you appreciate hearing that as well as I did reading it and hearing it again. Greg you were gonna say something?”
Greg:
“Thank you very much Barb, that helps a lot. I did want to acknowledge Katie, she is available and [unclear] contact us to be in contact with Katie, everything you have she can help with. At this point Katie, is there anything you want to add or say?”
Katie:
“For the most part it is OK to feel what you’re feeling and don’t do it alone. You guys really know how to journal, get those feeling out of you. Make sure you connect with anyone, especially Harmonic like-minded individuals. There’s a ton of people out there for you.”
Greg:
“Thank you Katie”
Katie:
“My pleasure.”
Greg:
“I would like to open up to anyone, I know there’s a lot of you, I want to be sure that out of respect we stick with our own feelings and how we can best support each other.”
People give testimony. They try to recall the moments of horror. James Arthur Ray hears their versions of what occurred.
James Ray ends the call:
“I love you guys with all my heart. I’ve thought about each and every one of you. The families. Nonstop. I would have loved to have been with you that night. Please, please let me remind you since [retracted] said she was late, as a reminder, take care of yourself. Now more than ever stay plugged in. As hard as it was for me I told Megan and Greg it was every bit as healing to go speak to those people last night as it was for them. Stay plugged in, eat exercise, talk to Kaite and stay connected with this community. I give you 110% of what I have. Thank you so much for who you are and what you are doing for each other and the world. Highest prayers for the families and those taken ill and a speedy recovery. Love you lots.”
Tom McFeeley, cousin to Kirby Brown’s cousin wonders:
“He was someone people believed in, people paid good money to get his advice. It’s a person we all wanted to believe had our best interest in mind. Quite simply, that didn’t happen.”
She says Ray exhibited a “godlike complex“.
Ray is not in jail. Ray is not in Arizona. But before the deaths, James Ray posted this to Twitter:
”Still in Spiritual Warrior … for anything new to live something first must die. What needs to die in you so that new life can emerge?”
What died in James Arthur Ray?
No charges are pending.
Posted: 15th, October 2009 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comments (16) | TrackBack | Permalink
