James Ray: Motivational speaker's cult ceremony killed three people but he spent just two years in prison
In 2009, the bizarre cult, 'Spiritual Warrior', started by self-help guru James Arthur Ray came under intense public scrutiny. On October 8, police officers were called into the town of Sedona, Arizona where three people lost their lives in a 'sweat-lodge ceremony' gone horribly wrong.
Oxygen's new documentary 'Deadly Cults' looks at Ray's Spiritual Warrior retreat that led to three people dying and at least 18 injured.
Who was James Arthur Ray?
James Ray is a leadership and performance advisor, life coach, and author and the founder of the Spiritual Warrior cult. He was born in 1957 in Honolulu in Hawaii and had a bit of a 'rags to riches' story.
Ray graduated in 1976; two years later, he earned an associate’s degree from the local community college. He had become a trainer at the AT&T School of Business in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1990s. Ray then decided to get into keynote speaking which he believed was more lucrative and less time-consuming.
Between the years 1996 and 2006, he struggled a lot and never had more than three employees. He also had a high turnover rate. He had been a motivational speaker who rose to fame after his inclusion in a book and film 'The Secret'. He also made several TV appearances on Oprah and Larry King which also helped boost his popularity and expand his fan base.
Being a businessman, Ray capitalized on this popularity by selling books and DVDs and tickets to his speeches and tours. His live events were the foundation on which his self-help empire was built. He would provide his presentations at a low cost and towards the end would offer more intimate, special, sessions that would cost hundreds of dollars.
The Sweat Lodge
The sweat lodge was the final stage --the graduation ceremony -- of what Ray called 'the journey of power'. There were 5 events that led up to being a "spiritual warrior", each more intense and difficult than the previous. Participants were required to pay close to almost $10,000 for the event with no refunds possible.
The sweat lodge was described as a hot structure where members of the cult were assured that they would have powerful emotional breakthroughs. The very structure itself was created with tarps and also included hot rocks that were placed in the center. The rocks would have water thrown on them and would release a cloud of steam, thus heating the structure.
Ray had told his followers that "you most likely will feel your skin is going to fall off your body. It's hot. Hellacious Hot. But you see, the true Spiritual Warrior has conquered death. You just have to let go and say 'If I'm going to die, it's okay'."
During their time on the five-day retreat, members were made to endure fasting, mind-altering breathing exercises, and sleep deprivation before the last stage - the sweat lodge. Ray would also require his participants to shave their heads.
The Victims
Three people lost their lives to Ray's sweat lodge in 2009. The victims were Kirby Brown, 38, who hailed from Westtown in New York, 40-year-old James Shore from Milwaukee and 49-year-old Liz Neuman, who hailed from Prior Lake in Minnesota.
The same sweat lodge session left around 18 people injured and in need of hospitalization due to burns and dehydration, kidney failure, breathing problems, and heat exhaustion.
Ray's Conviction
James Ray was eventually convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for negligent homicide in 2011. He was released from prison in 2013 after serving just 85% of his sentence. None of the families and friends of the victims believe that Ray's sentence was long enough.
As of 2016, Ray was trying to relaunch his career as a motivational speaker, but the taint of the sweat lodge deaths followed him wherever he went.