Self-help guide continues mission
Sweat lodge deaths under investigation
DENVER - The story that self-help guru James Arthur Ray loves to tell his new audiences is a modern-day parable, a tale of overcoming adversity. The key character: James Arthur Ray.
In 2000, he was living in a house on Soledad Hill in San Diego’s La Jolla (“higher than Deepak Chopra’s,’’ he says) with ocean views from seven rooms. “I was carried away with myself,’’ he told 300 listeners on a chilly night in Denver last week. Then, a stock market plunge wiped out half his assets. His live-in girlfriend moved out and demanded half of what was left. “I went from the king of Soledad Hill to the bottom of the heap,’’ he said.
The moral is that the secret to personal success is overcoming hardship. Just last month, Ray’s motivational business was ranked one of America’s fastest-growing private companies.
Earlier this month, Ray found himself with a new, troublesome chapter for that personal story of adversity. Three people collapsed in a sweat lodge during one of his $9,695-a-person “Spiritual Warrior’’ retreats in Sedona, Ariz., and later died. The sheriff is investigating it as a homicide; no one has yet been charged.
Ray was interrupted in Denver by a man who stood and shouted: “Tell people the truth, James. You are being investigated for murder.’’ A man next to him added, “Tell them what really happened in that sweat lodge.’’
The hecklers were shouted down by others in the audience, who told them to “go home,’’ while Ray repeated, “This is not a press conference.’’ After about two minutes, the men left the hotel conference room, trailed by two security officers.
The sheriff says his investigation includes a look at Ray’s role, but he has drawn no conclusions. Authorities have also searched his headquarters for medical information on the participants as well as risk waivers they may have signed.
Ray uses the sweat lodge, a spiritual feature of some Native American traditions, to show participants that they can gain strength and confidence by mastering physical discomfort. Some Sedona survivors have said Ray discouraged them from leaving the sauna-like lodge. One said Ray seemed unmoved that some participants were vomiting and appeared desperately ill during the two-hour ceremony.
After the hecklers were removed, Ray asked the audience to observe a moment of silence for the victims, whom he described as friends. As he launched into his 90-minute talk, his first bit of advice seemed directed at himself. “Let go of the illusion that you’re going to have a life without challenges,’’ he said.
Though shaken by the deaths, Ray has quickly returned to the road, teaching his secrets of success even as he uses them to cling to his own.
