Fighting James Ray’s Latest Attempt to Rewrite His Story

James Ray

Driving along Rt. 17 from Phoenix to Camp Verde, watching the sun turn the sky pink and orange with blazes of gold as it ends another day, I am transported to 2011, the year of James Ray’s trial for his role in the deaths of 3 people in his “sweat lodge.” We are here once again to watch the court struggle with the conflict of law vs. justice, manipulation vs. truth.

 

During the trial, we took five trips to Arizona to witness fancy, high-paid lawyers defend Ray at the expense of truth. Those old sensations of rage and disgust wash over me as I remember all the motions for mistrial and the lawyers’ attempts to blame the compromised and eventually traumatized victims of Sedona for not taking action to save the lives of Kirby, James and Liz.

Now, 5 Years later, James Ray would like the court to set aside his conviction of guilt to facilitate the international expansion of his business–the business he is rebuilding by rewriting his personal history. This story describes James Ray as the victim of Sedona who has suffered and was wrongfully accused, but has arisen from the ashes to teach others about overcoming adversity.

James Ray Sedona

James Arthur Ray at his trial

I feel nauseous, and want to scream and yell,

“Look at the facts! He left them in the dirt! He set them up to believe the signs of heat stroke were monikers to success! Five days of sensory deprivation stripped them of their ability for true rational judgment! She didn’t choose death! He knew she was unconscious and ignored repeated pleas for help!”

Years ago on a family camping trip across the country, I remember stopping in the middle of Iowa, getting out of the car and urging the kids to experience the vastness of the plains swallowing up their voices. No sound, no echo, no one to hear. Our voices just disappeared into the thin air. That same sense of futility threatens to swallow me up in this courtroom. “Listen!” I internally scream, “His narrative is false!”

We cannot allow him to publicly declare himself innocent of his actions, which caused the death of 3 people. He was the victim? No. He was the architect who made death inevitable due to his actions and inactions. Is he deliberately deceitful or simply delusional? Psychopathic or so blinded by his own declaration of omnipotence that he cannot see the reality of his own behaviors? Either way, he refuses to recognize his role in the deaths of 3 of his customers, and that makes him dangerous.

We have returned to the Camp Verde courthouse once again to plea for truth.  We issue our objections to the granting of this motion and pray to be heard.

Thirty-six hours later, as we return to Phoenix, the sun is lighting the sky once again as it rises.  The mountains are awash in pink and peach reminding me that the sun always follows the dark of night. We have prevailed, the motion to set aside guilt was not granted this time, leaving us to battle another day.

9 comments on “Fighting James Ray’s Latest Attempt to Rewrite His Story

  1. Kim on

    I’m relieved the motion was not granted. I just watched the documentary and knew nothing of the story. I understand you feel things have been left out re: what happened in Sedona… please be reassured that at the end of the film, I for one, had no doubt of Mr. Ray’s guilt in the deaths at the sweat lodge. Since his release, he is also presented as pathetically attempting to use the tragedy to make money for himself. It is clear there is no authentic remorse on his part. I’m sure I am not alone in this interpretation of the film and feel this was the director’s intent.

    Have faith on the integrity of the film and keep up your important work. My condolences to your family and the families of the other two victims at Sedona.

    Reply
  2. Laura Marshall on

    First, I want to offer my sympathy for your loss.

    Second, I want to thank you for moving enough through your pain to create this site to help protect others from the grief you have.
    I watched the documentary about this man on Netflix, and felt uncomfortable with what was missing from it- I ran a google search on reviews of the movie, and found a review on the site The Verge, which mentioned how you and your family’s input was left out of the movie. The article covered his past accidents at his events, including prior sweat lodges, and the creation of this site by you.

    I want you to know that in this case, at least, your voice did not die out on the prairie, but has hit off a reporter, and echoed into my computer.

    Though I have no connections to the self-help movement, I will not forget your loss nor your generosity in making those who are more safe.

    Reply
    • Virginia Brown on

      Laura,
      Thank you for letting me know my voice was heard. In this cyber world, it is hard to know if I’m still on the prairie. We will continue to share what we have learned about the self-help industry to have Kirby’s death save lives!
      Gratefully,
      Ginny Brown

      Reply
  3. Marc van Delft on

    I saw the movie and searched further. I found your website. Continue with your good work God’s blessing..
    Marc . (Netherlands)

    Reply
  4. Carlos Soriano on

    I am really sorry for your loss, what a tragedy. God Bless your family, and keep your daughter´s soul by his side. Thank you for putting this website together. I am constantly looking into avenues for “self Help”, for becoming a better person, and for ways to learn how I can help other as well, and its hard to know who is really qualified to help and who isn’t at first, until you dig deeper and things start to come out. God Bless.

    Reply
  5. A. on

    I just watched the film and I am so sorry for your loss. Please be rest assured while the film was lacking in some respects (mainly the voice of you and the other victims’ families), the overall message was just how truly narcissistic and callous James Ray really is. I left that film disgusted by him and I truly think that was the director’s intent. It was pretty obvious she wasn’t as hard on him as she could of been because she wanted that unfiltered access. However I think that access was his ultimate downfall and he felt comfortable enough to show his true colors.

    Please keep up your wonderful work and I hope the film brings more awareness to your cause rather than his so called unwarranted and dangerous come-back story.

    Reply
  6. Jason on

    Thank you for sharing the truth and for fighting for justice. I’m very sorry for your loss and I hope that we can all prevent this from happening to others in the future. I am very glad the motion was not granted.

    Reply

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