Space Weather & Energy Driven Evolutionary Change

The Celestial Deluge &
Arrival of Cosmic Fire

News of the Imbalance

Best of the Blog – Inside The Cultic Milieu

Best of the Blog – Inside The Cultic Milieu Archives

A New Year's Resolution - Don't Trust New Age Psychics
UFO Digest, 31st December 2011

I am naturally cynical about ANY new age psychic these days and for a solid, good reason. Fifteen years ago, on a Thursday night, at bedtime, I was meditating on angels and protective prayers, right before sleep.

I tried a creative self healing metaphysical technique learned from someone I admired, Sylvia Browne. After many abductions I suddenly suffered from enigmatic, diagnosed degenerative spinal disease of my neck's seven discs. Chronic back pain would be alleviated, psychic Sylvia Brown assured me, if I followed her directions for creating a "Healing Room" where healing spirits could enter, a comfortable ornate room within which a spiritual healer could enter to heal you.

Comment: Actually, this is a difficult one for me because I agree with the sentiment... I hate all the alien abduction stuff and I simply don't want to study this area.... Whatever, I think this is very good advice from my own limited experiences with the New Age community because I sometimes wish I had never ever met some people. But, then again, I would not know what I do today if I had not suffered.... Whatever, this is a horrible 'alien' related story. If you frighten easily, please do not read... All I can say is that I have also had a few horrible experiences from doing visualisations and that is one of the reasons why I generally stay away from them, but I have lapsed a few times until the next horrible one comes along. I think I would need to study more psychology to understand what is really going on (don't have time). Whatever, I am quite sick of all the amateur psychology that is going on in the guise of modern spirituality by people who either have no idea what the hell they are doing or others who know exactly what they are doing in their attempts to take control. I will repeat the warning, this is not a nice story.

Rival Clerics In Brawl At Jesus' Birthplace [VIDEO]
SkyNews, 28th December 2011

A fight has broken out at the church built on the spot where Jesus is said to have been born. Palestinian police stormed the basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem after rival groups of Orthodox and Armenian clerics clashed in a row over the boundaries of their respective ancient jurisdictions inside the church.

Armed with brooms, around 100 priests and monks came to blows during the cleaning of the church in preparation for Orthodox Christmas celebrations. The former Palestinian minister of tourism and head of the Palestinian forces in Bethlehem were slightly injured.

Administration of the church is shared by Catholic, Orthodox, and Armenian Apostolic clerics. The relationship between these groups has often been difficult, and there have been similar scuffles in previous years over jurisdiction.

Comment: These fights happen on a regular basis, but I have to say, the police beating these priests with batons is quite something to see...

Among the psychics
Psychics say they can talk to the dead. Alex Clark has a few questions she'd like answererd
The Observer, 18th December 2011

[...] But I've come to Potters Bar because Colin Fry and fellow medium Derek Acorah have asked me to; and they've asked me to because of what happened to Sally Morgan one late summer's evening earlier this year. Morgan is (in her own description) Britain's Best-Loved Psychic; her most celebrated client was Princess Diana, whose death in a car accident she almost foretold (she thought, at the time, that it was the Queen herself who was to die, although, as she points out, Diana did like to be known as the Queen of Hearts).

This September, Morgan was playing to a customarily packed house in Dublin when an audience member sitting near an open window heard voices that, she claimed to an Irish radio station the following day, seemed to eerily prefigure the revelations that emerged on stage a few seconds later. The inference, and subsequent accusation, was that Morgan was being fed information about her audience, which she swiftly recycled as evidence of visitations from the spirit world, a charge she has robustly denied ever since – the theatre has supported her claim that the voices were technicians chatting.

Although not, her critics have noted, to the point of accepting a Halloween challenge by science writer Simon Singh that she submit her powers to scientific testing.

Comment: I am pretty fed up with the Red/Purple end of the Cultic Milieu, so I am not going to comment much, but there is discussion of the Sally Morgan fiasco here. It seems fellow psychics have realised that when one of their own high profile frauds gets caught, it tarnishes the whole business of being psychic.

“Asseh Lecha Rav”: A Journey Through Clergy Abuse
Tikkun Daily, 13th December 2011

Several years ago I thought I met the Rabbi of my dreams. He identified as Orthodox and also purported a deep spiritual life. He appeared warm and accepting and he seemed to understand my struggle to figure out how I can blend Judaism with the needs of my personal spirituality. At the time I felt lost in between two Jewish worlds. On one extreme, in my junior year of college, I had become religious under the Orthodox Jewish perspective. On campus, I spent most of my time praying and learning at the Chabad House. I ceased to have physical contact with women (shomer negiah), kept strict kosher laws, prayed three times a day, kept as much of Shabbat law as I could manage, began to grow out my beard, and wore white shirts and dark pants. After college, I went to study at a strict Orthodox yeshivah. I learned Talmud for most of the day and mostly limited my social sphere to people who were engaged in a similar commitment to a “Torah life.

Comment: Marc Gafni was run out of Orthodox Jewish circles and so made a home amongst New Agers, (even though they may want to call themselves something a little bit more high brow...), but I can think of one other character that was chased out of Catholic circles to be welcomed with open arms amongst New Agers, but he has not repeated his offences to my knowledge... Anyway, this personal testimony gives a wonderful insight into someone who I think was totally genuine coming up against someone who has proven himself to be a power hungry mobster... I can't believe that Gafni complained about sitting on the same kind of chair as another community leader, because it made them seem equal... What the hell is going on in this person's mind? Staying up all night reading the emails of his community members and then sending replies, to then having sexual relationships with lots of his female students whilst married... The mind boggles... Whatever, the issue is about spiritual betrayal. I have been there and I will never allow it to happen again. If there is even a whiff that I have got involved with someone who does not have the right motives, there is zero point hanging around waiting for the betrayal that is sure to come. This is a saying that I think is relevant: If people show you who they are, believe them! - Maya Angelou.

Book Excerpt: The American Guru, The Dark Side of Enlightenment
American Guru, 24th December 2011
Well, I know what it is like to make a commitment to someone who turns into a monster and makes life unbearable. Monsters do not know how to be reasonable, it's not in their genetic make-up accept when they are looking for prey when they will be charismatic and charming, so the only thing to do is to walk away and warn others. Then the next thing is make sure you don't get out of the frying pan into the fire with the next monster that appears and that means doing some work to learn how to identify these people. Yes, learn how to use discernment because otherwise you will get involve with people who will make your life a living hell.

Ray claims indigence as state cross-appeals
Daily Courier, 12th December 2011

PRESCOTT - James Arthur Ray hopes to rely on a court-appointed attorney to further the appeal of his negligent homicide conviction, according to a request filed Monday.

Also on Monday, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk filed a notice of cross-appeal that outlines her intention to do more than merely defend allegations in the upcoming appeal of Ray's conviction, sentence, restitution and fines.

Ray, convicted in June over the October 2009 deaths of three participants in a sweat lodge ceremony he conducted near Sedona, began serving a two-year prison sentence in November and filed a notice of appeal on Dec. 5. He had been represented during his trial by Munger, Tolles & Olson, a Los Angeles firm, and Prescott attorney Tom Kelly.

[Note: Indigence - a state of extreme poverty or destitution; "their indigence appalled him"; "a general state of need exists among the homeless".]

Comment: Go Sheila Go! The State of Arizona doesn't think 2 years in jail is long enough... Here is a summary of the Spiritual Warrior meme that so many people find appealing, but from the viewpoint of someone who really understands the nuances. Erasing Personal Integrity and other ‘Sorceric Techniques’. In terms of human behaviour and development, I think the must useful way to explain the Spiritual Warrior mentality and James Ray, is a theory proposed by Professor Clare Graves in the 1950s. It was called: "The Emergent, Cyclical, Double-Helix Model of Adult Biopsychosocial Systems Development", but Graves later modified the name to: "The Theory of Levels of Human Existence". This was later more simplified by Don E. Beck and Chris C. Cowan, who have published the essence of his research in the book, Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change (Blackwell, 1996), and have successfully promoted this theory. I would like to add that this was originally thought of as a model of ethical behaviour see an original 1959 article AN EMERGENT THEORY OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR: BASED UPON AN EPIGENETIC MODEL. For me, it has been a primary source of information to help me understand what kind of people are out there in the world and why I might have some difficulties with those who don't know that my level of consciousness even exists. In this system, those with a strong negative Red meme are described as ruthless and will exploit those who are strong Purples. The problem I have found is that to most Reds anyone with any kind of modern spirituality is considered Purple and fair game. That's a problem for me as I am strongly Yellow/Turquoise, but I am no longer fair game because I have educated myself to recognise (and smell the stink of) these people. Actually, I have been accused by someone for being elitist and I presume they had never studied Spiral Dynamics or read any of the original research by Graves and their enlightenment was by Wikipedia. Well, if you want to call me elitist then so what? Dangerous Reds will rob and hurt you, put you in a mental institution or even kill you by accident and not bat an eyelid because they are ruthless. It's the law of the jungle and they have infested the Cultic Milieu because they see Seekers as easy prey. From the book Spiral Dynamics, chapter 11 RED PowerGods The Egocentric Meme and the section RED: Life is a Jungle, we read:

Simply put, living in the RED zone is like survival in the jungle. The weak will lose and they deserve to because they are weak. Each person is an island, though they they can draw together for strength when it is mutually useful. When no longer convenient RED groups fragment and relationships cast aside: loyalty is transitory. it is a world of victims and predators, eaters and the eaten. [...] This lack of concern for others is taken as demonstration of toughness and self-control - 'I don't need anybody. Nothing gets to me.' (The old term 'sociopath' may apply to Closed RED at an unhealthy extreme, but other 'MEMEs' are equally eligible to insanity; they just act out differently.)

You can read the Spiral Dynamics book online about Reds here. You can read the Spiral Dynamics book online about Purples here.

The fact that James Ray is now being called an 8th Grade Shaman is extremely interesting. I have noticed that the Purple/Red End of the Cultic Milieu has absolutely no problem continuously plagiarising ideas and others people's work, and James Ray is no exception as he was bright enough to learn how to repeat.... Purple people love hocus pocus, mysteries and all that, so being able to waffle on about a subject you don't understand must seem attractive to those who think their audience won't really care about the subject matter being incomprehensible. James Ray was considered 'charismatic' and he had no problem attracting 'Purple' who thought the Spiritual Warrior meme was a valid route to empowerment and enlightenment. Unfortunately, little did his followers know that they were really on a journey of spiritual enslavement instead. In his aim of becoming a billionaire, he realised that his 'craft' was 10% reciting enough New Age/Spiritual Warrior material to act as bait, and the other 90% was the dark arts of people manipulation. Apparently, if you are ruthless, it's not that hard and an 8th Grade White Plastic Shaman can do quite well....

The Never Ending Upward Quest
Evolutionary Collective, 2002
This is a very good introductory article on Spiral Dynamics. I don't think it stereotypes people because it is all about HOW people think and that influences how they behave. I am interested in spiritual evolution so this helps me understand my interest in what is happening to our reality and why the vast majority of people simply don't care or those who are prepared to make up complete rubbish to sell books etc. I have tremendous respect for Prof. Clare Graves, total quality... I wish I could go back in time and listen to one of his lectures on this subject. All those decades ago he was truly enlightened and he warned that the next big evolutionary bomb was on the way...

Lawsuit Against US Psychologist for Careless Hypnosis
Medindia News, 4th December 2011

US psychologist, Mark Schwartz, has been accused of carelessly hypnotizing a patient, Lisa Nasseff, 41, in order to keep her there long-term and run up a bill that eventually reached $650,000, while she was seeking treatment for anorexia at the Castlewood Treatment Centre in St Louis, Missouri.

Under hypnosis, Ms. Nasseff was led to believe she had multiple personality disorder (20 different personalities),she had been sexually abused and raped multiple times and had participated in various criminal and horrific acts of abuse. She was led into believing she had once eaten babies as part of a satanic cult.

Comment: Quite frankly, people need to watch out.... I have spent a huge amount of time in the last three years working out how to recognise when the predator "guru" types are using a variety of different controlling techniques, because this sort will do ANYTHING to gain control over people. The main aim is to get people spending HUGE sums of money or giving their time away in service to the 'grateful' guru for free... I suppose this hypnotherapist was installing all sorts of false memories as a type of job creation, i.e. screw someone up and then pretend to fix them... $650,000... yep, I don't think anyone will argue about that. Basically, that is what most of these LGAT guru types are doing. Btw, any spiritual "leader" can do the same thing because the same techniques can be used in different settings. As I say, people need to watch out... For anyone who is concerned and has a few hundred hours to read, read, and read, I recommend the Rick Ross Cult Education Forum and particularly the threads on James Ray and Bryon Katie who seems to be ranked as one of the top offenders, link1 & link2. Now that JR is locked up and we find out that he is barely literate, this man's background, methodology and rise to fame is an essential case study for anyone who wants to know learn how to recognise the 'fakes' out there who appear to be numerous, but 'spider woman' deserves some serious attention too.

Lisa Nasseff claims therapist Mark Schwartz brainwashed her (VIDEO)
KSDK News, 1st December 2011

Sean Stephenson: Diploma Mill Yoda
Celestial Reflections, 2nd December 2011

It was probably apparent in my previous post that I really took a scunner to Sean Stephenson. Aside from finding him appallingly arrogant, he struck me as something of a phony. When I first looked at his website, I thought it was a little sketchy on the details of his education, but I didn't want to go down that particular rabbit hole. His testimony constituted a small part of a very long post. My husband, however, couldn't let it go. It probably has something to do with the fact that he holds a doctorate from a legitimate institution, but he's a little touchy when it comes to people arrogating to themselves the title of Doctor without the proper educational credentials.

Comment: So, JR had to turn to this little creep with bogus credentials to get some sympathy with the judge.... Sigh! I am so sick of these people with bogus credentials in the Cultic Milieu that just lie, lie lie... Well, even though JR is locked up in prison, he is still being stalked by JR 'haters' and due to the joys of the internet, we have been provided with some very interesting information that will help many more people understand JR's actions. According to the folk at Salty Droid [profanity warning here...] (relevant comments about here) , he has been educationally assessed and he has come up with a very low score.

PrisonTalk.com user 1031 says Edu. 4 means his education needs are “Functional literacy needs (8th grade).” This is one step above “E5 Low IQ (possibly exempt)/ Foreign national.” Once he learns how to read at an 8th grade level, he can move up to “E3 GED needs,” and when he completes his GED he’ll be at “E2 Completed FL/GED.” Only at that point will he be eligible for Work Based Educational programming, and then he’ll get a Voc. score.

I am not familiar with the American education system, but it seems that he is not even at the reading standard of an average 13-14 year old. This is a man who was claimed being “four hours short of a psychology degree” and having spent “ten years studying quantum physics”. I keep thinking this JR saga can't get any worse and then it does... Excruciating....

Observations on James Ray's Sentencing
Celestial Reflections, 30th November 2011

Comment: I missed this post by LaVaughn, and we get confirmation that JR has the ability to cry on cue, but I have also decided to add this to my online collection because she highlights the Benkowski letter that she believed indicated that some of JR's supporters are clearly nuts. (I will try an find it amongst the court documents.) This is a quote:

"Polk did well in singling this out from the pile of dross that is Ray's support letters. The scariest of the letters came from Ray's most ardent supporters and this one is deeply nuts. The unmistakable implication that the deaths of three people were a necessary sacrifice for some undefined "lesson" is disturbing enough. But it gets even worse if you read the subtext. Her reference to the "shadow side of Harmonic Wealth" is chilling. It implies that there is loss penalty for gain -- something I know Ray was teaching. You can't manifest light without manifesting dark."

Yes, I have heard one particular person, who I now consider to be dangerous, doing a Gollum impression and muttering about the 'Shadow Side'. At the time, I had NO idea what was being suggested, but now I do. If you have read my article Spiritual Evolution in the Cultic Milieu, I talk those who are so warped that they live by the phrase: 'The End Justifies the Means' and this talk of light and dark is just an extreme form of this. After my dealing with a few folk in the Cultic Milieu and the strange emails that I get on regular basis, I have come to the same conclusion that a fair percentage of people involved in the CM have badly suffered and are clearly mentally ill.

Wacky conspiracy theorist David Icke cashes in from world tour and booming book business
Daily Mail, 25th November 2011

He claims he's the son of God and that the world is run by invisible aliens.

Moreover he contends the Queen and most of the world's leaders are the result of humans breeding with reptiles who live inside the moon which is actually a giant spacecraft.

But when it comes to cashing in on his wacky ideas, former sports journalist and all round oddball David Icke has proved he's far from crazy. [...]

The self-obsessed polygamist, who believes he can talk to hills, received a standing ovation despite claiming that 9/11 was an inside job and that Barack Obama is a reptile

Comment: Please no email asking me about David Icke... I am NOT a fan but even I think this is a 'hit' piece. I suppose the real fear is that 'normal' intelligent people will see through some claims as being exaggerated and that he is really characterising certain people as psychopaths for which there is plenty of evidence... He mixes ~~quality~~ other people's research with crap [??? I watched the documentary linked below that suggests that Icke heavily relied on the work of others and some of it really has no credibility, but some people do rate Jordan Maxwell's research that is also, apparently, incorporated], it's a formula used by many because it attracts people who like controversy... People are sick of the Elite and so are attracted to someone brave or stupid enough to give them the dirt on these people, it seems absolutely obvious to me... Being a fan of David Icke is the ultimate act of rebellion, he acts like a meter, guaging the p#ssed-off factor.... So, what's this about him being a polgamist? I know he has separated/divorced from his ex-wife Pam but that's quite normal these day, but polgamy? Er, the Daily Mail were being kind, The Sun really goes for it... Pictures of the Queen and everything.... hellfire... There is stuff about his relationships and I think the description of polygamist is probably accurate enough for most people... Get on yer bike, David Icke . As I keep saying, crap sells as long as it is mixed with a bit of truth... Apparently, that is what most people want and there is plenty of evidence that this is a winning formula, perfect for those who don't have much in the way of integrity...

David Icke Debunked (Full Movie)
YouTube, 28th March 2010
I found this 2:27:14 documentary a jaw-dropper.... Obviously it's only one person's perspective but the book quotes and interviews with David Icke are eye-opening...

A journal entry after the James Ray sweat lodge tragedy
Colorado Springs Spirituality Examiner, 22nd November 2011

On October 8, 2009, almost a month had passed since I had attended James Arthur Ray’s “Harmonic Wealth Weekend” in Las Vegas. That evening, I read a CNN news alert about a “sweat lodge ceremony” where two people had died and many others were injured in Sedona, Arizona. I was stunned when I realized it was James Ray’s “Spiritual Warrior” event that I had heard so much about only a month before.

As details began to leak out about the tragedy, I was sickened to hear that James Ray (JR) fled the scene and did not follow up with those still hospitalized. That’s all it took for me to completely open my eyes! [...]

I was very turned off with the bullying to purchase more weekend experiences. The sales pitch after sales pitch to buy the Spiritual Warrior package for a mere price of $22,000.00. If your spiritual growth was worth it to you, it was a small amount of money. Unfortunately, the money was going in JR’s pocket. Something in the back of my mind was telling me that James Ray was not all he claimed.

Comment: It just amazes me that I keep learning new things about how James Ray operated... I have never heard of this money game before... I actually think a lot of people want to be New Age gurus because they are mostly interested in power, for those who have never seen this awful photo, this sums him up exactly, Harmonic Wealth Weekend JR Photo - March 2009. My advice is watch these types carefully and if you catch these people lying and cheating RUN! Btw, this is standard LGAT operating procedures, JR called this following the "syntax", a very highly developed way to control people.

"He was very theatrical and even said that he had hired someone to stage and choreograph his every move. He kept the room at a very cold 68 degrees and ran 16 hour days with breaks few and far between. He wanted to be introduced like a rock star after every break. The doors remained locked, with this staff guarding them until it was time to start again. He was announced and ran out dancing to high energy music."

Even after everything I have read, I still don't get the attraction to someone who acted like a nasty greedy ignorant pig monster. I just can't see the how he could provide basic spiritual advice (that no doubt can be found in hundreds of books anyway), and then be shouting and screaming at people to sign up for extremely expensive courses. I just don't get why people would be "attracted"...

The James Ray Trial Sentencing 18th November 2011 (2)

9 Years
8 Years
7 Years
6 Years
5 Years
4 Years
3 Years
2 Years
1 Year
Probation

The countdown got stuck on 6 years, 2 years for killing 3 people. (Colleen Conaway was not even considered in this trial, verdict or sentence). However, it's 2 years each concurrent, so he only will need to serve 2 years behind bars with 4 years of probation. Not enough. He will come out telling people that he spent his jail time in silent meditation or other such baloney.
JR Sentencing: CNN Live CNN showed all of JR begging for forgiveness and cut the live feed when the sentence was handed out....

James Ray Court Apology - 18th November 2011
YouTube, 18th November 2011
JAR's oscar winning performance, that any psychopath facing the possibility of 9 years in prison would give.... this is not very good footage because I think it's a camcorder recording of the original court video that seems to be projected onto a screen, but I think it's better than nothing. Part 2

Camille Kimball is doing a great job tweeting Bob Ortega not so. There are 2 reporters sending out info on the James Ray trial via Twitter, Bob Ortega & Camille Kimball.

James Ray trial, 18th November saved Camille Kimball tweets (text only): here

AP: Families Tearfully Tell of Sweat Lodge Deaths
YouTube/AP, 18th November 2011
"The families of three people who participated in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony tearfully pleaded with a judge to give James Arthur Ray, the self-help author convicted in their deaths the maximum sentence."
James Ray faced the family of the people who died and told them in court that he is sad that he lost three friends. How can he say that now when he actually left them for dead and went off for his dinner and got angry when paramedics were called? Normal people don't leave their friends in the dirt displaying medical symptoms that indicate that they are obviously dying. Words fail...

Judge Warren Darrow Speech - James Ray Sentenced to Two Years
Celestial Reflections, 18th November 2011

James Arthur Ray :: Life Sentence
Salty Droid, 18th November 2011
"Two years isn’t fair … and it isn’t right. But this celebri-trial wasn’t a disaster :: far from it. It was an eye opening :: professionally run thing … that ended with a verdict. Ms. Polk and her people :: and Det. Diskin and his people :: managed to remind us that :: so many times :: good people in the government really are doing a surprisingly good job at doing a good job."
This is the victory speech from the Salty Droid, of course the language is bad and those in the comments are worse, but the overall message is the fight goes on... I totally agree about the Sweat Lodge deaths being an an eye opener. For me, it was the start point for really understanding the dynamics in the Cultic Milieu... It really is not what you think, it's far more evil than that... After thousands of hours of study, I have started to recognise the enemy, so maybe I should thank JR for the enlightenment, but of course it's not what he intended, I am sure about that...

Sentencing Ends with a Wimper not a Bang (CNN Video: 'Deadly Cover-up?' )
My Gratitude Project, 19th November 2011
James Arthur Ray The Hollow Man

The Jury said Guilty: This is the way James Arthur Ray's privileged world ends

James Arthur Ray cried: This is the way James Arthur Ray's privileged world ends

The Judge gave him 2 years: This is the way James Arthur Ray's privileged world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

with apologies to T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men"

Comment: Thanks Jeannika for posting the CNN video 'Deadly Cover-up?' link about the death of Colleen Conaway. I actually think the cover-up of Colleen's death is important because it demonstrates exactly what JR and his company were prepared to do to maintain a good clean public image... Quite frankly, it means that if people had not died very publicly at the sweat lodge event, then there would have been a trickle of people dying silently caused by the flaming used by JR and his staff of 'death' angels to break people down mentally and emotionally. In the LGAT business, deaths like this are called collateral damage and they are expected, which is why course participants are required to sign such lengthy disclaimers and waivers. Salty Droid (lawyer turned vigilante) made a YouTube video of the phone call of JR staff calling Colleen's phone asking her if she is OK when they KNEW she was already dead. Sick. I can't even see where there is suppose to be spirituality in any of this kind of behaviour.... The LGAT style personal development business model is really warped and sick, but it's attractive to sickos like James Ray who brag about wanting to become billionaires. Simply, there is a lot of sheep out there that can be easily fleeced if you know how to say all the right things and press all the right buttons... Upshot: This is all so frightening because the same methods employed by JR are widespread. Those with a sense of entitlement and no integrity are using methods that work against the unsuspecting because it gets what they want, despite working against people who they are supposed to be nuturing... sick, sick sick... Education is the only answer.

James Ray: Locked Up for 2 Years
Spirituality Is No Excuse, 19th November 2011
"Motivational torturer, James Arthur Ray, has been sentenced to two years in prison for three of the four lives he snuffed out. [...] The legal justice system has been kind to James Ray. The court excluded relevant evidence from previous life threatening sweat lodges and decided Ray was unaware of the danger of cooking people to death, as he was merely trying to cook them to within an inch of their lives."
From the comments here:

Yes, he has taken a powerful fall for the industry. An industry that does absolutely nothing to police itself also does nothing to protect it’s big names from getting themselves into hot water. It’s all cross promotion and absolutely no standards whatsoever. None of those who vouched for Ray bothered checking on any of his credentials – of course, because their credentials are just as bogus. The result is, of course, a culture of absolute and unconditional denial – and despite four deaths, it’s still in denial. [...]

But prison time at least sends a message, if not to Ray, then to his apologists who are still trying to claim it was an accident.

by Yakaru November 19, 2011 at 18:56

The standards are too low, there are just too many things wrong, but nobody seems to care either, enlightenment by heat stroke? Yes, crap sells...

James Arthur Ray gets prison time in sweat-lodge deaths
AZ Central, 18th November 2011

PRESCOTT - James Arthur Ray was sentenced to prison on three counts of negligent homicide in the sweat-lodge trial. He was sentenced four days before his 54th birthday.

Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow imposed two-year sentences for each of the three deaths, but the sentences are to be served concurrently.

"I see and I find that the aggravating circumstance of emotional harm is so strong and such that probation is simply unwarranted in this case," Darrow said.

Ray must serve at least 85 percent of the term before being eligible for release. He's already spent 24 days behind bars and thus would need to serve a minimum of 600 more days in prison. He was also ordered to pay a total of $57,000 in restitution to the families of the victims.

Comment: Well, I think the message is clear. If you get involved with 'gurus' who think they know how to give you some enlightenment but instead mess up and kill or maim you, then society simply does not care very much. What is really sad is that 2 of the people who died were Dream Team members who had spent many thousands of dollars following James Ray over many years and thought that James Ray really cared about them. He showed how much he cared when he cooked their internal organs because he believed heat stroke would give them a bit of enlightenment. After his hellaciously hot 'sweat lodge', he stood around surveying the chaos of people who were obviously in serious trouble, some of who were blue and clearly dying and then went off for his dinner. Most people have absolutely no idea what JR was doing with all the high pressure sales techniques, NLP, persuasion techniques, hypnosis, suggestions, LGAT style conversion processing etc. Basically, if these LGAT guru types play amateur psychotherapists (which is part of the process of breaking you down so that you can be mentally reconfigured as they want) but instead cause a complete mental or emotional breakdown, then nobody gives a damn. My suggestion is be very careful around people who profess 'spirituality' of any kind. My experience is that some of these people are mentally ill, others are pure narcissists and some are extremely dangerous. Do not make any assumptions on their values because due to their 'conditioning' over many years, too many have very little in the way of integrity. As James Ray stated over and over again, 'Balance is Bogus' and that is the problem. Crap sells very well amongst people who are trained to stay ignorant. Beware!

CBS VIDEO: Sweat lodge families speak, October 20, 2009
CBS VIDEO: Sweat lodge horror eyewitness, October 16, 2009
CBS VIDEO: Sweat lodge tragedy, October 16, 2009

The James Ray Trial Sentencing 18th November 2011

The James Ray Trial Sentencing will be filmed live 9am (MST, AZ does not observe Daylight Savings Time, GMT/UTC - 7h)and there will be pool TV coverage whatever that means. Saved Twitter: Bob Ortega : This means the countdown has started!

This is not just about the lives of 4 people. This is about the general principal of psychopaths like James Ray pretending to be spiritual leaders whilst using heinous and dangerous "techniques" on people in order for them to be controlled and manipulated. A jail sentence will send a loud and clear message to all those other fraudsters out there that society is no longer interested in tolerating their dangerous behaviour. Oprah are you watching? Your New Age 'prince' is about to get his sentence. I hope Judge Darrow gets this right.

This is a new blog to me from PR professional Thomas McFeely about the JR trial, but I have not read enough to know whether he is related to any of the victims, but the name is familiar. here

James Ray trial, 15th, 16th & 17th November Camille Kimball tweets (text only): here

Sweat lodge trial: Ray's sentencing to take place Friday
Daily Courier, 17th November 2011

In her closing statement to the court, Polk reiterated her stance that only prison will prevent Ray from putting more people in danger, calling him "a dangerous man without internal boundaries who needs to be locked up for the next nine years."

She reminded Darrow that, because of his lack of knowledge and qualifications, Ray "focused on creating the hottest sweat lodge ever," telling his clients that the altered mental state which is a reliable sign that someone is coming down with fatal heatstroke was instead a beneficial condition that brought about enlightenment.

Ray, she said, violated every tenet of leadership and, for added measure, continued after the tragedy to sell his materials online, learning nothing from the deaths he brought about.

"Individuals who offer themselves as experts and leaders must act responsibly," Polk said. "There has to be justice in the sentence you impose - justice for the family members of James, of Kirby, of Liz."

Comment: I would like to remind people who are unfamiliar with this case and the background story that the Rick Ross Cult Education Forum identified James Ray as dangerous, a full 2 years before he was made famous by Oprah. He was on the radar because he was reckless and many people were being injured at his events. The following report provides some detail:

These seminars were "much more intense, way more metaphysical, way more esoteric," Lauren said. "You're in kind of an altered state when you're in there."

It was during that altered state that Kurt and hundreds of others did something most people would see as reckless, he said. Participants were required to sign a waiver that released Ray of any responsibility if someone got hurt.

"They had us put the sharp side of the arrow … (a) true, real archery arrow right on the soft part of your neck," Kurt said. "There's no bone behind it, just the real soft area .. your trachea is right there and your spine behind it, and you lean forward into the arrow."

As Kurt leaned into the arrow -- a challenge designed to make him face his fears -- his fear was realized.

"When the shaft snapped, a large piece went up under my glasses and penetrated my eyelid," he said. "(It) just missed my eye by an eighth of an inch. It was a deep cut -- probably needed stitches."

"I was greatly concerned," Laura said. "We could not tell if his eye was intact. It was a bloody mess."

Kurt and Lauren said they believe Ray was not prepared for anything to go wrong.

The event did not have the proper medical staff, and it took time for them to dig around for a first aid kit, Kurt said.

"I thought, 'Wow, they are not prepared for the potential there,'" he said. "At that point I thought, 'This is reckless.'"

Original source: Man: Sweat Lodge Leader's Actions 'Reckless'
Former James Arthur Ray Followers Speak Out About Another Incident
kpho.com News, October 21, 2009, link content has gone, copy: here

Please note that people even realised that they were placed in an altered state by JR but few realise that their judgement is also impaired whilst in this state and continue to follow commands.... Moving to the present, what is really interesting is those who continue to support JR despite the fact that 'normal' people can immediately see that he is a dangerous con artist. The only conclusion that a psychologist could give is that these people have been experiencing 'thought reform' or brainwashing. The popular New Age belief is that there are no victims, people "attract" their fate, but this is very convenient if you are a predator and you want to con as many people as possible and blame them for being prey. It's a very slow burn, but the continuous thought reform process does have the same impact in the end as those who go through traumatic quick conversion processes. So, how are these people going to cope now that this New Age 'Hero' has been found by 'normal' unbrainedwashed people to require incarceration? Whatever happens, I now believe that there is a serious need for widespread deprogramming in the Cultic Mileu. It is the only sane conclusion that is possible when all the facts and details are examined.

Ray to be sentenced in AZ sweat lodge deaths (Video)
KPHO.com, 18th November 2011
James Ray video of him finally saying sorry, but it has taken 2 years for this first sign of remorse...

Mitigating James Ray’s Conduct: What Can We Expect
Twinkie WranglerNews, 14th November 2011

What we haven’t heard very much about is the most crucial item of the sentencing phase — the probation report. The Judge relies heavily on the information provided in the pre-sentencing report prepared by the probation officer which contains his recommendation on how guidelines apply to a particular case and provides the judge with a baseline score. The public, and usually the attorneys, don’t get to know what James Ray’s baseline score is, but the judge depends on it heavily. A defendant must be sentenced under provisions passed by congress and the U.S. Sentencing commission. From everything I’ve read, it seems that the probation officer’s base adjusted level used for sentencing is quite high. If so, the dream team must convince Judge Darrow that the probation officer was wrong.

Acceptance of responsibility will give Ray a slight adjustment in the deduction of 2 points. This may not affect the length of sentence applied very much. The fact that his remorse came only after he was convicted is not in his favor. Usually, remorse is considered as a mitigating factor only if it is displayed before conviction. Also, from what I’ve heard Ray is claiming that he’s very sorry that an “accident” happened at Sedona and is not accepting any personal responsibility for the deaths. Judge Darrow still has discretion to go above or below the baseline sentence. Darrow can apply a harsher sentence if he finds an aggravating circumstance which has not been admitted in the case. The memorandum also suggests that Judge Darrow is free to think up mitigating factors himself that he use as justification for a more lenient sentence. This is all this highly paid legal team can come up with? Hey Judge, we’re fresh out of ideas. Do you think up some reasons to let our client off yourself? http://is.gd/hpYkVD

The fact that the defense has filed strong objections to the language in the probation officer’s report suggest that they are aware that the probation officer has recommended a stiff sentence. They want this sentence stricken from the report:

“While it does not appear that Mr. Ray’s actions were intentional. This officer would suggest that he does need to be held responsible for the deaths of three individuals. His actions appear to this officer to be reckless, dangerous and negligent and he should be held accountable.”

Because of the numerous documents the defense has filed in this case, we already know what arguments they intend to present on Monday. It looks like the dream team had a hard time coming up with mitigating factors.

Comment: This is a very good long read, but from what it says here and I have highlighted above, it looks like the judge is going to give JAR a tough sentence... There is a lot of things that raise concern, but the talk of JAR's involvement in a new New Age numerology scam is enough to make you heave...

“Law of Attraction” and “The Secret” are elitist disinformation
QBit.cc, 17th November 2011

Unfortunately there’s a big steaming piece of disinfo that I thought we put to bed which is making the rounds again, called the Law of Attraction. You may have seen the video called The Secret on YouTube, or read the book. I had a few friends send me links so I watched it and found it to be rife with faulty logic, but it goes far beyond just being incorrect. This time someone sent me an audio series called Your Wish is Your Command, which is The Secret dressed up in a more conspiratorial tone with some references to secret societies and elite agendas, but essentially the same idea. The premise of the Law of Attraction is this: Whatever you think about in your mind will manifest itself in reality. We’re not just talking about the very real and profound effect a person’s mental attitude can have on their life, health, and others’ perception of them. This takes it several steps further into the realm of superstition, occultism, magic, and general hokus pokus. Thru some unexplained cosmic force, if you visualize things in your mind they will come true, and of course if you don’t visualize things this will cost you dearly, because you’re obviously not visualizing correctly. They apply this to any and all aspects of life, including seemingly random events.

Comment: This article is useful if you are unfamiliar with this very popular New Age idea designed for people who are simple and unsophisticated and don't have much in the way of reasoning abilities. On investigation, it is clear that New Age gurus who promote this concept, do not follow their own advice because it does not work. Instead, they employ a wide variety of techniques that manipulate people whilst providing the appearance of free choice and simple people think they are getting help with applying this spiritual law in their life. The game is to manipulate simpletons into thinking they are a failure and they need the services of a guru who will show them the way for a fee. This is a game that can go on and on until the 'simpleton' has been drained of finances and therefore the principal can be applied to other promises to help people with xyz. More and more books, CDs, DVDs, trainings, seminars. However, I believe that due to different types of business models, not all guru types will try and create followers for life by using the most dangerous methods that can result in emotional and mental problems, injuries or even death.

James Ray's Presentencing Hearing: Week 1
celestial-reflections.blogspot, 13th November 2011

There comes a moment, in dealing with a personality like Ray, when it suddenly dawns that you've been making a lot of assumptions. You've assumed that they're like you. You've projected your own values and emotions onto them. You've rescripted all the inappropriate things they've said and done, telling yourself, Oh he didn't mean it like that. It just came out wrong.

And then the penny drops. The person does something so egregious that your increasingly tested state of denial shatters. And over a period of months, or even years, you recollect all the things that were gnawing at your subconscious all along.

Comment: Bingo! This was my no. 1 problem with certain people claiming to be spiritual, too many assumptions, but I could not figure this out into I learnt about how people can be manipulated using a vast selection of techniques and the existence of psychopaths, sociopaths and malignant narcisists etc. Btw, LaVaugh reveals the whopping great lie that Ray claimed that he was only a few credits short of being a psychologist. Wow. Judge Darrow what are you going to do about that! Update I have read the document filed by Colleen Conaway’s family in July, 2011 of her wrongful death (.pdf) here and I thought I knew all the circumstances but it turns out that Colleen was verbally abused, berated, humiliated, ridiculed and shamed by James Ray and his staff and it seems she was not strong enough to take it.... Well, at least the Judge Darrow now knows the background story and for the first time, I am thinking JR might get the maximum sentence of 9 years.

News flash!

Comment: There are 2 reporters sending out info on the James Ray trial via Twitter, Bob Ortega & Camille Kimball. So, just when you think that James Ray would do everything possible to portray himself as an 'angel of light' as psychopaths do, apparently, it has been revealed that he has been shooting energy in the courtroom using a 'triangle' hand technique that his dream team members were taught to do routinely in seminars! Apparently, a woman called Marilyn Moss, sent a letter to the State of Arizona who were the prosecutors and Detective Diskin read some of the letters out in court and confirmed/testified that James Ray has been firing 'energy' at witnesses on the witness stand!! See saved relevant Camille Kimball tweets Gobsmacking stuff! Unbelievable!! I wonder if Judge Warren Darrow will take this revelation into consideration... So.... psychopath James 'Death' Ray shoots 'death rays' that he also taught his 'death angels' who are also psychopaths in training to shoot at completely hapless seekers of enlightenment... Well, this is what the innocenti are up against.... Extra: This is for those who have been following this story and will apreciate the sentiment of playing "full on" see Twitter for the 16th Camille Kimball tweets.

Can you trust anything James Arthur Ray says?
My Gratitude Project, 12th November 2011

Over the years I've learned NOT to trust Mr Ray's statements. A lot of the things he states as fact, are pretty easy to check up on. As he's currently fighting so hard to get probation time, I thought I'd run a quick background check on some of his more recent statements.

James Arthur Ray has stated he has no company and that his corporation is no longer active. I ran a corporation search on the California Secretary of State's website, which still lists James Ray International as an active California Corporation. Additionally his corporate website has been redesigned with new graphics, a video showing him being touted by Oprah (I wonder if Oprah knows he's using her image and videos to sell himself online), and is offering James Arthur Ray products for sale.

Comment: There has been some sensational news, here is the snippet posted on the Rick Ross Cult Education Forum:

'Incidentally this was just on twitter from @TomMcFeeley:
Just an FYI for #jamesray watchers: Thursday in the courthouse he was served w/ a wrongful death lawsuit by Colleen Conaway’s family' .pdf here

(Tom McFeeley is the cousin of Kirby Brown, one of the sweat tent victims of James Ray)

Quite a lot of new information has emerged regarding Colleen's very mysterious, unexpected and unexplained death at another James Ray event, just a few months prior to the sweat tent event that killed three others. Witnesses who were previously in thrall to Ray and his 'superior man' posturing have broken free and come forward.

This comment string is interesting as it makes clear that the cover-up by JRI and its employees started immediately--no-one 'in the know' was in shock, they were prepared for just such an eventuality and moved smoothly into damage control. link

There are some links to the Salty Droid, but Salty has gone back to his old foul mouthed ways, so be warned, but this is where I found the details of the cover-up about Colleen Conaway's death and for me it is totally shocking. JR and his team of 'death angels' covered up a 'suicide' and then spent the night partying. This is not speculation it is fact. Totally sick.

If you have been following the JR trial and the background story, you may have come across a woman called Jeannika who JR badly verbally abused, there is a link in the archives. Jeannika is physically disabled but not mentally disabled and she is on the warpath in her attempts to bring down this monster. Therefore, I am highly amused that she has called her website My Gratitude Project, A Fat Old Woman's Opinionated Views on Life ~ Death ~ and James Arthur Ray -- Love it! Hilarious, Jeannika has posted an extremely long list of law suits against JR! Watch out New Age fraudsters that exist in abundance, you will be exposed! New Age packaged crap sold very well in the past, but with the acceleration of the evolution of consciousness on this planet, those days are over!

Sentencing in Single Sentences
Salty Droid, 14th November 2011
"Clancy (WOS): #JamesRay told us he was a few credits shy of being a psychologist."
What! This surpasses by a mile the total bullsh#t claim that he was a "Practical Mystic"...

LOUIS THEROUX and the INDIAN GURUS Part 1
YouTube, 2 Sep 2011

Comment: This BBC documentary is about 55 minutes long and broken into 4 parts. It is filmed in India and I think it is quite informative about the enlightenment business, but only if you have done your homework and can spot the techniques being used. I was amused by the day 2 wake up call, a classic NLP command of "Wake-up without your mind!" These manipulators must have to train themselves in how to keep a straight face! Whatever, once you have done the research, all this sort of stuff follows a basic pattern... Read my essay Spirtual Evolution in the Cultic Milieu and especially the bits of "Techniques of Experience" and then research Werner Erhard who apparently is still on the run from the authorities for tax evasion... He is famed for his New Age packaging and sharing his "honed techniques" with other cult guru figures, East and West... I must say, I was really creeped out by Swarmi G... But don't have a solid opinion about Amma who started her hugging campaign at an early age and after hugging so many people, she must have something about her to keep herself from being contaminated by so many people's energy. This is in contrast to someone who went after the feet of another guru and he was beaten off with the excuse of not letting all these people near you with their bad energies and I can see a point to that if you simply can't take it... India must be a wild place to be...

Victim statements carry weight in Ray pre-sentence proceedings
Daily Courier, 11th November 2011

PRESCOTT - In the protracted pre-sentence hearing for James Arthur Ray, the state has presented eight witnesses over the past three days in its effort to prove additional aggravating factors that would convince Judge Warren Darrow to sentence the motivational speaker and author to the maximum allowable term of nine years in prison.

Led by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, the prosecution seeks to show that Ray exhibited a pattern of negligent conduct that led to harm, that the victims in the case placed trust in him to keep them safe, that he lacked qualifications to conduct his events, and that many people were harmed, both physically and emotionally, by his actions and omissions.

Comment: I can't wait for this trial to be over, apparently Judge Warren Darrow will sentence Ray, who was found guilty on three counts of negligent homicide, on Nov. 18. The sentencing possibilities range from probation to as long as nine years in prison. Here is the court document pleading for JR to be given probation Court doc pleading for leniency. I think it's the fact that when people were on the ground blue and virtually dead after the sweatlodge and JR walked off to have his dinner that I think shows just how heartless he really was. To think he was angry that the ambulances were called for and he only got concerned when the police turned up and he decided to blame the fire tender and then go on the run. There are people on his staff that should be prosecuted to for allowing people to be sent to hospital without ID, where they died as a Jane Doe. Words fail... and yet, there are still brainwashed people out there that think this kind of behaviour demonstrates "a spiritual warrior".

State witnesses criticize guru Ray
Guru's ex-backers: He lacks remorse
AZ Central, 9th November 2011
There is a picture here of JR supposedly wiping away a tear because his mother has cancer but since it's still hard to believe that he is anything but a psychopath and it's interesting that as time passes, more and more people who have been involved with him have realised this fact.

Sweat lodge victim's mother laments Ray's charisma
Daily Courier, 9th November 2011
"Earlier in the day, Margaret Clancy, a former Ray client, completed her testimony with a wish that some kind of regulatory agency existed to oversee the self-help industry. "There should be some kind of regulation," she said, "and certain standards that have to be met."
I don't agree with regulation despite my own awful experiences with the worse kind of New Age fakes. It is simply a matter of the whole of society teaching each other that there are people who are evil who act like 'angels of light' and they will prey on people (given the chance). The real professionals use a vast array of techniques to squeeze as much out of people as possible. If victims don't have cash, then they will try and get them to work for free. Unfortunately, I truly believe that if I did not have some bad experiences, then I think I would have remained naive. It's been painful, but I have been forced to study human development and spiritual evolution, education is the only way to avoid these manipulators.

Egypt closes Pyramids over 11-11-11 'Ceremony of Love'
Jerusalem Post, 11th November 2011

November 11, 2011 – EGYPT – Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) closed the Great Pyramids on Friday after protesters said various groups, among them Jews, planned to attend a numerologist ceremony on the Giza Plateau. Egyptian media reported that some Egyptians feared that the event would be used by Jewish Masons to reclaim the Pyramids as ancient Hebrew structures, denying Egyptians their claim to the pharaonic monuments.[...]

According to a report from British daily the Telegraph, a Polish numerologist group had, in fact, received permission from the Egyptian government to hold a ceremony at the pyramids in order to protect the world from “cosmic forces” aimed at destroying Earth next year. The resulting commotion surrounding the event, including the attendance of Jewish Masons, pushed the SCA to cancel the event, called the “Ceremony of Love.”

Comment: This is very typical New Age 'let's all jump up and down' justified by a corrupted Gregorian calendar.

"The art of devotional lying"
Cult Educational Forum, 2nd November 2011

"To them, telling the truth would have been the easy way out, and they even looked down on me when I advocated telling the truth, as if I were just not advanced enough to understand the subtleties of the art of devotional lying."

An honorable, honest guru needs no enablers.

Only a dishonest and abusive guru needs repeated apologists and needs a network of celebrity enablers. And a retinue of secret keepers

Adi Da was the first guru Ken Wilber endorsed--before he went on to endorse Andrew Cohen and Marc Gafni.

Broken Yogi, a former disciple of Adi Da, and a member of his inner circle has some most interesting things to say. That around Adi Da there developed a culture of 'devotional lying'.

Comment: I used to get scandalised but I think I have got to the stage where I have realised that there is absolutely no way that there can be any serious spiritual evolution until people wake up (I include myself here) and start to recognise the manipulators and the lying bar steward psychopaths. Well, I still spend time over at the Rick Ross Cult Education Forum, that has now become a little cult of it's own due to the general high levels of enthusiasm for exposing gurus and cults, but I have been so educated.... Anyway, I have decided to highlight this particular thread for a few reasons. 1) I hate "rude boy" guru thugs that think they can beat their followers up and get away with it. 2) I hate the idea of good research on human development being used by people to create a sense of elitism, but at the same time used to support predators. After spending at least 1 thousand hours over the last three years studying gurus and cult tactics, I now realise why so few people have any idea what the hell is happening on this planet and why so many so-called spiritual leaders are so clueless. The desperate search for followers and understanding how to manipulate them precludes any serious time spent on understanding spiritual evolution. Start at the beginning of this thread, for some people it might be quite a revelation.
Update So, Marc Gafni routinely uses blackmail to keep people in check... I don't know about you, but I think this kind of behaviour whiffs of the same methodology used by world controllers to control minions... Hence, I appreciate the full 'hilarious' confession (bad poetry?) of someone who has decided that blackmail will not work on them and that they are at liberty to tell the truth... Whatever, recognising the psychopaths at the helm of organisations by people seriously seeking spiritual truth, really has to become a serious priority... The reason being is that the traits of a psychopath can be transferred by the charismatic, hence those who are already Dharma-Lite become corrupted and warped, hence the occurrence of "devotional lying" and general deceitful behaviour. As far as I am concerned, this explains the New Age Law of Attraction hype and the 'blame the victim belief', initially promoted by psychopaths and then by their adherents who become 'psychopaths in training'. Of course, if you are ignorant of the machinations of the guru-culture then none of this makes sense and some effort is required to do some basic research.

Thoughts of God Make Us Slackers, Study Suggests
Live Science, 28th October 2011
No matter if you're a believer, thinking about God and religion may turn you into a slacker, according to a new study.

"More than 90 percent of people in the world agree that God or a similar spiritual power exists or may exist,"study researcher Kristin Laurin of the University of Waterloo in Canada, said in a statement. "This is the first empirical evidence that simple reminders of God can diminish some types of self-regulation, such as pursuing one's goals, yet can improve others, such as resisting temptation."

Even for those without a personal belief in God, U.S. culture is saturated with religious references and imagery that could impact them, Laurin said. The study's results were independent of the participants' religious beliefs. Even without knowing it, these signs and signals can have a psychological effect.

Comment:I found the choice of engineering students for this research quite interesting but the conclusion I have come to is rather more harsh than talk of Santa Claus. Another way to look at this result is that religious 'conditioning' actually sabotages people. It says this quite clearly with the statement: "When prompted with religious imagery or language beforehand, the students came up with fewer words, regardless of their religious background, than those who hadn't been primed with such imagery." Yes, that means that some people were literally pushed into another mental or even "trance" state and so were literally mentally incapacitated. I think this research should be linked to that of people who literally shut down their brains when listening to religious speakers They have the power to switch off your brain, my comments from April 2010 are in the archives. So, why do you think religion is such big business? For those who understand the dynamics, you can become very wealthy from finding hapless easily manipulated religious followers, but of course, this is a very major problem for genuine truth seekers, surrounded by those who can't see the dynamics in play.

Evidence For The Existence Of A Hypnotic State Found
Nano Patents & Innovations, 25th October 2011

A multidisciplinary group of researchers from Finland (University of Turku and Aalto University) and Sweden (University of Skövde) has found that strange stare may be a key that can eventually lead to a solution to this long debate about the existence of a hypnotic state.

One of the most widely known features of a hypnotized person in the popular culture is a glazed, wide-open look in the eyes. Paradoxically, this sign has not been considered to have any major importance among researchers and has never been studied in any detail, probably due to the fact that it can be seen in only some hypnotized people.

This study was done with a very highly hypnotizable participant who can be hypnotized and dehypnotized by just using a one-word cue. The change between hypnotic state and normal state can thus be varied in seconds.

Comment: Don't you find it amazing that there are people who make a good living hypnotising people without their consent and then brainwashing them with a whole range of commands (you know who I am talking about), yet, social scientists have been arguing for 100 years about whether this state actually exists... For those people who want to be savvy, learn how to recognise those who are using hypnosis, persuasion techniques and suggestion, so that you can defend yourself against these people. Get feisty, that is the best practical advice I can give...

Eyes reveal true hypnotic state for the first time (Video)
New Scientist News, 27th October 2011

Phoenix Goddess Temple Church Is A Brothel: Police (VIDEO)
Huffington Post, 9th September 2011

Police busted members of a church authorities say was actually a front for prostitution.

Police claim the alleged brothel generated tens of thousands of dollars a month, according to CNN. The church's website, which appears to have been taken down, was one of the factors that led to the indictments of 33 people, CNN reports.

"Sex is a holy, sacred and divine healing force at the core [of] our beings" the site claimed, according to CNN. "Once we embrace this force instead of deny it, we become successful, happy and powerful manifestors."

Comment: Let's say, I was surprised by this report. This is a great quote from an accused male: 'At my church, I am called a practitioner...' Wow... don't you just love all that new agey talk... LOL!

Survival Of The Stupidest
Science 2.0, 5th April 2011

Is stupidity rising? Are we witnessing an alarming proliferation of irrationality and an exuberance of ignorance? Stupidity seems a concern to a growing group of scholars. Last month alone two arXiv papers (here and here) appeared that both refer to a 35 year old essay by the Italian economic historian Carlo Cipolla entitled "The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity". In this humorous yet thought-provocative treatise Cipolla warns against the power of stupidity. [...]

Key feature of stupidity is that its power lies in its abundance. One stupid person is helpless, a herd of stupid persons can be invincible. Place a smart individual in a group of stupid persons and you will witness the smart person succumb to stupidity. In an environment infested by stupidity 'being the smartest' does not equate to 'being the fittest'.

Comment: This is a great read if you are not stupid.... Actually, this is something I think about all the time. Since I started to research and write my book, I have had to deal with people who can only be described as stupid. I know I have an honours degree, but I never really thought I was exceptional but I have been forced to wonder when approached by people who are obviously very dumb, but don't seem to know it. I mean people with no qualifications at all who try to claim they they know more than you, with no research or any study! I had one stupid woman turn round and tell me: "You understand this [space weather], don't you". It's almost like they are so stupid they don't understand what is required to actually get to go to a real university. They simply don't have the mental equipment to do an evaluation and just assume that I must be as stupid as them. At times, it is really depressing... I think this is made worse by people brainwashed into thinking that being stupid is a good thing, not realising that a lot of so-called metaphysical teachers need followers, not people who would cause too much trouble by thinking about what they taught... This means people who think that repeating crapola as often as possible means that it must be right, despite the evidence that it can't be right... I used logic and intuition over 7 years ago to work out that certain metaphysical messages were warning the citizens of planet Earth what we should be expecting in the future and so when I discovered space weather, it was a no-brainer as some of the pieces fell into place immediately. Unfortunately, I came up against extremely stupid people who knew sh#t about what was happening, but somehow thought they should get credit for my research. I work really hard, but at times I wonder what difference does it make when for many people being dumb works for the individual but not for the collective as this article tries to explain... This awareness of working at a collective level is the hallmark of advancement but so far few realise that humanity is being given this test... This is why I admire a few early bird individuals who understood the impact of space weather and worked hard to get folk to wake-up.

"The art of devotional lying"
Cult Educational Forum, 2nd November 2011

Thoughts of God Make Us Slackers, Study Suggests
Live Science, 28th October 2011
No matter if you're a believer, thinking about God and religion may turn you into a slacker, according to a new study.

"More than 90 percent of people in the world agree that God or a similar spiritual power exists or may exist,"study researcher Kristin Laurin of the University of Waterloo in Canada, said in a statement. "This is the first empirical evidence that simple reminders of God can diminish some types of self-regulation, such as pursuing one's goals, yet can improve others, such as resisting temptation."

Even for those without a personal belief in God, U.S. culture is saturated with religious references and imagery that could impact them, Laurin said. The study's results were independent of the participants' religious beliefs. Even without knowing it, these signs and signals can have a psychological effect.

Comment:I found the choice of engineering students for this research quite interesting but the conclusion I have come to is rather more harsh than talk of Santa Claus. Another way to look at this result is that religious 'conditioning' actually sabotages people. It says this quite clearly with the statement: "When prompted with religious imagery or language beforehand, the students came up with fewer words, regardless of their religious background, than those who hadn't been primed with such imagery." Yes, that means that some people were literally pushed into another mental or even "trance" state and so were literally mentally incapacitated. I think this research should be linked to that of people who literally shut down their brains when listening to religious speakers They have the power to switch off your brain, my comments from April 2010 are in the archives. So, why do you think religion is such big business? For those who understand the dynamics, you can become very wealthy from finding hapless easily manipulated religious followers, but of course, this is a very major problem for genuine truth seekers, surrounded by those who can't see the dynamics in play.

Radio prophet gone from airwaves on new Judgment Day eve
Reuters, 21st October 2011

(Reuters) - An evangelical broadcaster whose end-of-the-world prophecy earlier this year stirred a global media frenzy has vanished from the public eye and airwaves ahead of his recalibrated doomsday date, set for Friday.

Days after the apocalypse he originally predicted for May 21 conspicuously failed to materialize, Harold Camping emerged from a brief seclusion to say he had merely miscalculated by five months, and he pronounced a new Judgment Day, October 21.

The following month, the now 90-year-old former civil engineer was said by his California-based Christian radio network to have suffered a stroke that left him hospitalized.

Comment: When are the Christians going to get that they have not got the full picture about our reality and what 'Christ' actually represented. The 'Christ' energy is back on the planet, but most people have no idea that religion was originally focused on the heavens and then became anthropomorphised. Many modern religious scholars KNOW that what has been passed down as religious text has been adulterated and they know that it was written on two levels, one for the "initiated" and at another level for the "uninitiated". For most of the last two millenia, most people could not even read anyway (the ignorant rabble), so what do you think is being taught by the uninitiated for the uninitiated? I was sent to Sunday School at age 5, I know what Christianity is supposed to offer, but I would say that the evidence suggests this is not the complete picture and most Christian beliefs are distorted truths. People like Camping, belong in a long line of doomsday ~~profits~~... err prophets. This is spiritual teaching for the simple minded so they can be exploited. Meanwhile, for people interested in real spiritual truth, I believe the 'Christ' energies are back on the planet and have been gaining momentum for over a century. Once you understand there is a link with astronomy, then you will need to study to reach another level of enlightenment, but if you are a real seeker of truth, then the study is worth the effort.

Beards, hair cut off in Amish-on-Amish attacks
All Headline News, 7th October 2011

A group of Amish castoffs have allegedly been attacking fellow Amish neighbors over the past three weeks in a feud involving 18 Amish families, 17 of which are related, over a spiritual difference, a Jefferson County Sheriff said on Thursday.

No injures or charges have been reported, but the disavowed group is alleged to have cut off the beards of men, and hair off of both men and women. The Amish traditional reluctance to turn to law enforcement has hampered the investigation.

Comment: The fight is over a spiritual difference.... Well, after my experiences of dealing with people who claim to be spiritual, this kind of extreme fanatical behaviour is no surprise to me... I realise that most think this kind of behaviour only happens in sects, but I disagree... there are some who prefer to use more subtle means to inflict damage... Anyway, I hope you like the image icon, but I would like to add that there are many claiming to be spiritual that frighten me too...

Psychic Sally Morgan hears voices from the other side (via a hidden earpiece)
Evidence 'Britain's best-loved psychic' Sally Morgan may not be all she seems is unlikely to deter her fans, writes Chris French
The Guardian, 20th September 2011

Let me describe what happened so that you can make up your own mind. On Monday 12 September, a caller named Sue phoned the Liveline show on RTé Radio 1, an Irish radio station. Sue said that she had attended Morgan's show the previous night at the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin and had been impressed by the accuracy of the readings she made in the first half of the show.

But then something odd happened. Sue was sitting in the back row on the fourth level of the theatre and there was a small room behind her ("like a projection room") with a window open. Sue and her companions became aware of a man's voice and "everything that the man was saying, the psychic was saying it 10 seconds later."

Sue believes, not unreasonably, that the man was feeding information to Sally through an earpiece attached to her microphone.

Comment: I'll make this very easy... This woman is a fraud, there are lots of them out there, but many simple people love the show business of it all. It reminds me of one of my favourite films the classic Steve Martin film Leap of Faith about Jonas Nightengale, a fraudulent Christian faith healer. Wikipedia has the plot. I am sure there are people who attend these events who genuinely are desperately looking for some comfort, but I suspect others enjoy the entertainment and feed off the emotional charge that is generated.

Btw, just in case you don't understand why I love this film... Jonas Nightengale is 100% fraud and he believes that he is providing top class entertainment for people who come to his revival meetings, but when Jonas is confronted by a genuine miracle, he is completely freaked out. Now, the moral of the story is that universal energies do not care about HOW people are brought into a state where they BELIEVE miracles are possible. I do not even pretend to understand why this happens but we known that UNIVERSAL ENERGIES can sometimes intervene and REAL MIRACLES can happen. I wrote in my book that Russians scientists have been shocked by energies that appear from nowhere and re-order energetic processes that they have deliberately put into a disordered state for experimental purposes. Now, I only know a little about universal energies due to my experiences with Kundalini energies, but I know for a fact that humans have access to special types of energies, the scientific term is negative entropic. So whilst people have always been manipulated by fake spirtual leaders, it does not mean that there are not greater truths and realities for us to understand. In my opinion, Seekers need to step over the dead bodies and keep searching for the divine, it's out there, I know I have experienced it...

SWEAT LODGE TRIAL breaking news: Ray hearings vacated because of attorney illness
The Daily Courier, 18th September 2011

UPDATE, 1 p.m. PRESCOTT - Judge Warren Darrow called off a weeklong mitigation hearing in the case of James Arthur Ray after one of Ray's attorneys suffered a heart ailment over the weekend.

Tom Kelly's family issued this statement: "Tom is being treated for a heart condition He is in good spirits, surrounded by family and friends and looks forward to returning to work soon. The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers."

Comment: Oh well... Salty Droid has decided to profile the rogues gallery of LGAT specialists that are prepared to support JR. Salty is back to his expletive loaded blog entries, so please be warned...

Ray sentencing hearings to begin next week
Daily Courier, 20th September 2011
"PRESCOTT - After an attorney's health emergency shattered the scheduling of James Arthur Ray's presentence hearings, Judge Warren Darrow decided to get the proceedings back on track beginning next week, despite a defense request for a longer delay."

No new trial for James Arthur Ray
Verde Independent, 15th September 2011

PRESCOTT - Without elaboration, Judge Warren Darrow on Wednesday denied a new trial for motivational speaker James Arthur Ray.

Ray, 53, was convicted in late June on three counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman after an October 2009 sweat lodge ceremony at a retreat center near Sedona. He faces the possibility of as long as nine years in prison.[...]

Wednesday's hearing was set as a scheduling conference for a weeklong pre-sentence hearing that is to take place next week prior to sentencing on Sept. 26. Ray was not in court, and his attorneys appeared telephonically, as did Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk.

During next week's proceedings, the defense plans to present as many as 19 witnesses on Ray's behalf. The state, Polk said, will have seven witnesses and 11 representatives or friends of the victims who wish to address the court prior to sentencing.

Comment: The judge has been mistreated throughout this trial by JR's defence team, so I don't think he will be doing JR any favours in the sentencing either... Soon, JR might have lots of time to ponder the Law of Attraction and all that popular but erroneous metaphysical jazz...

Psychic scam: Rose Marks And Eight Family Members Pleaded Not Guilty
DigTriad.com, 3rd September 2011

Fort Lauderdale, FL -- Rose Marks and her family of fortunetellers offered people hope. Prosecutors say it came at a steep price.

The Florida family claimed to confer with gods, spirits and even Michael the Archangel to cure diseases and break curses, asking for and accepting jewelry, gold coins and luxury cars in return.

In all, authorities say, the family amassed a $40 million fortune from a psychic scam dating back 20 years. The victims included a best-selling author who gave them $20 million.

Comment: The psychic scammers are everywhere, but this was major league....

Dangerous Trends in Personal Development
The Emotion Machine, 27th July 2011

There is an ongoing trend in personal development that seems to ignore the consequences of reality and instead focus on wishful-thinking and excessive optimism. Although I am certainly not the first to criticize works like “What The Bleep Do We Know?,” “The Secret,” or “The Law of Attraction” – I believe there is real damage being done by fostering these unhealthy beliefs, and people who know better have a duty to dispel these myths. [...]

An alternative approach to personal development – acknowledging reality.

Listen. I’m a big advocate of taking responsibility for your life. But I also acknowledge that sometimes bad things happen to good people for no good reason. This is because our mind – however positive our thoughts and noble our intentions – is not the only thing that exists in this world.

Instead, there is a whole other reality that exists outside of our minds that affects our lives. And sometimes that reality can be incredibly cruel, harsh, and impersonal.

It’s important to acknowledge this reality for several reasons:

1. We don’t have to blame ourselves for everything bad that happens in our lives.
2. By accepting these other facets of reality, we can better respond to them.

I know this isn’t the most positive and optimistic thing you want to hear – but it’s true. And accepting reality is more beneficial in the long-term than ignoring it.

I truly believe that. I’ve been hurt by wishful thinking before, and I’ve become happier and better off once I dimmed my optimism and became a little more practical.

Personal development fueled by science, reason, and honest self-analysis.

I think if the term “personal development” is going to restore any of the integrity it once had, then individuals within the community need to make an earnest effort to distinguish truth from fiction. And there are resources and tools out there to help us do this (that is one of the primary reasons I write on this blog).

To start, paying attention to scientific research in psychology and neuroscience is a good way to stay privy to many of the biases and imperfections that riddle our minds (and there are a lot of them, believe me).

I’ve written before about some of these biases and how they can negatively influence our thoughts and decision-making – these are the kinds of findings we should try to be more mindful of (not pseudo-scientific bastardizations of quantum mechanics).

Comment: I truly believe that the James Rays Sweat Lodge disaster has shocked many into waking up... Of course, there are those who believe in 'blame the victim' and will plan to make sure there are even more.

The lies I told as a psychic
I thought it would be an easy part-time gig. But faking out strangers was much trickier than I ever predicted
Salon.com, 10th July 2011

[...] I attended one short training session, where I filled out a 1099 form so I could become an independent contractor. (That sounded so glamorous, until I learned that this meant I would get reamed when it came time to file my taxes.) The trainer said that some of their contractors made thousands of dollars and worked constantly. He stressed that we didn't necessarily have to be psychic to do the job; we could learn how to perform a tarot card reading to achieve the same effect. I bought a deck along with an instruction booklet at one of those psychic specialty bookstores that sells more crystals than books. I also had to get rid of call waiting. Aside from the obvious distraction, it posed too big a risk of disconnecting conversations. Callers got my undivided attention. Considering I couldn't tell the future, it was the least I could offer.

The main thrust of the job entailed keeping clients on the phone for as long as possible. At $5 per minute, some lonely, needy or desperate person could pay hundreds of dollars for a chat. (By the time I joined the 1-900-number business in 1998, laws had been passed to automatically end the calls after an hour. Too many sad sacks had racked up thousands of dollars in phone bills they would never be able to pay. After lots of complaints, the government intervened.) The company lured callers with the promise of three free minutes, but as soon as they heard the beep, the meter started

Comment: There are people who are naturally very psychic, but many are not genuine and consider being a fake just business. Most of these people have NO empathy with the people who are being conned and fall into the category of sociopaths.

He’s back: An interview with Australian cult leader ‘Jesus Christ’
Dangerous Minds, 26th July 2011

Remember Alan John Miller AKA “Jesus Christ,” the smiling Australian cult leader who claims to be the son o’ God? Australian TV’s Today Tonight recently did an investigation of Miller and his flock and it’s fascinatingly strange.

Until I watched this, I was unaware that he’s predicting an impending apocalypse next year, but apparently if you’re with him in Queensland’s bible belt, you’ll be safe. But of course!

Comment: Actually, I see very little in the alternative media about cults, but I am currently writing my next long essay on the Cultic Milieu which is about the academically recognised "Society of Seekers" that have a permanent place in society. Hence, I am spending more time than normal over at the Cult Education Forum where I have already spent hundreds and hundreds of hours. Watch the video here when A.J. is interacting with his followers, note that he is bringing up people's pain and they are all crying... this guy is a professional and he knows what he is doing... this is a text book cult tactic approach, but I still think he is not even a good conman because he looks like he is constantly lying when he is being interviewed, not convincing... Anyway, this guy is not even on the radar at the Cult Education Forum who seem to have spent a lot of time discussing another major Christian cult in Australia run by a monster, but I have found a website that is keeping watch, see www.aj-miller.com/. Well, there is a surprise right at the end of this TV news report and we actually get a few comments from the great Rick Ross who runs the Cult Education Forum. This is probably the best cult resource on the internet by a long way, but it links to many other good sources of info. Rick Ross is not alone as he graced with an advisory panel of world experts in cults, but sadly, he has lost the well respected late psychologist and cult expert Dr Margaret Singer, who has recently died.

At the temple of James Arthur Ray
The Guardian, 8th July 2011

James Arthur Ray was on track to become the first new-age billionaire, thanks to his self-help teaching and promises of personal transformations. So how did three people end up dead on his watch in the Arizona desert? Christopher Goodwin reports [...] As the authorities and others started looking more closely at Ray, it became evident that a lot of his claims were untrue. People with whom he said he had studied and worked insisted he had lied about it. The Peruvian shaman with whom he claimed to have studied turned out to be a tour guide. Even his claims of childhood poverty were undermined by people who grew up with him. Ray was also denounced by Native Americans for abusing their rites and traditions. Some years before the 2009 tragedy, Ray had been "approached several times by native leaders and told he was not trained to run Native American ceremonies", said David Sitting Bear, a Cherokee Indian who lives in Sedona.

In February 2010, James Arthur Ray was arrested and charged with three counts of manslaughter. "This was a terrible accident, but it was an accident, not a criminal act," Ray's attorney said.

Comment: I laughed really hard at the obvious bullshit story of James Ray "...finding himself in the cave where Moses is said to have rested before receiving the Ten Commandments." James Ray is an Anthony Robbins clone who also once aspired to become a billionaire. Watch the videos of both these characters and you will easily see this fact. These salesmen have moved into the New Age arena because it is well known amongst predators that this community is full of especially gullible, sheep ready to be sheared. It's a shame the Guardian missed the opportunity to state the classic James Ray quote: "I am the Alpha and Omega", but we do get the seriously glib and callous comment from a "channeller" who said that those who had died "were having so much fun that they chose not to come back". I suppose this would be typical response from someone who has completely switched off life support to their brain and heart.

Fighting James Ray with James Ray
Celestial Healing, 7th July 2011
James Ray ... shouting
"You'll never be anything but a fat slob and looser if you don't attend my retreat."

Comment:I have already highlighted how JR was completely ruthless in demanding that people borrow large amounts of money to pay for his seminars and this is highlighted here again. Well, after studying human development and human evolution I have been struck by the fact that predators like JR pretend they are offering spiritual evolution but then work to create an energy shift to implant themselves into people's psyche. There is no genuine advancement, instead people are placed in a very vulnerable position and some people are so delicate that they will fall without much pushing into a downward spiral. Incredibly, once you study this subject, you realise just how many people are doing the same thing but with varying degrees of ruthlessness or subtlety.

$11 billion treasure revealed beneath temple in India
CNN News, 4th July 2011

A court-ordered search of vaults beneath a temple in India has turned up a treasure worth at least $11 billion, according to reports from the Indian state of Kerala.

An inventory of what lies beneath the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, as reported on the website Business-Standard.com and others, reads like a prop list from an "Indiana Jones" movie: [...]

As word of the find has spread, Kerala police are asking for help to safeguard the treasure, according to media reports.

"It is too big a challenge for the police. We have no trained personnel to manage such a huge treasure. We have sought the help of several agencies who can really help us," Jacob Punnose, director general of the Kerala police, told India Today.

Comment: Maybe they could sell some jewels quickly, feed some people, clean up the rivers and deal with sewage... just a few ideas... I have found a short article written by someone with a similar view, see below:

A Severe Lack Of Toilets And Lost Treasure
Or, Does The Indian Belief System Care About Its People??
Rense.com, 5th July 2011
"A few days ago, a cable channel aired a Vanguard documentary about the lack of toilets in India. It was graphic and disgusting to see people defecating outside. This isn't their fault as these people are born into the caste system at the lower levels and destined under 5,000 year old Indian culture to live a hellish life. A lack of toilets for miles won't stop nature's call. Clearly the Indian government has shown little regard for the health and well being of its own people, but we'll see that so have temple priests, too."

Comment: Over at the Rick Ross Cult Education forum, this question has already been discussed and the conclusion from intellectuals like Carl Jung who have travelled to India and investigated the culture, is that the lack of interest in the sick and the poor is institutionalised. That is because religious belief in the laws of Karma pre-ordain caste, rank, wealth and health, hence the total indifference to the plight of the poor and sick. In a more western view: it's every man for himself. This is one of the most interesting and enlightening threads that you will read on this forum, it's a short thread but the link here is for page 3 when it starts to get interesting and very informative: Abuse in the Name of Advaita - Charlie Hayes et al.. This is something that I have suspected for many years, but it's good to see that other intellectuals have come to the same conclusion.

APNewsBreak: Weak defense in guru case, juror says
Huffington Post, 3rd July 2011

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Four jurors who heard months of testimony in a self-help author's criminal trial were convinced he was guilty on three counts of manslaughter, but couldn't sway the other eight who didn't believe prosecutors had proven the charges.

The jury spent about 10 hours deliberating before settling on the lesser charge of negligent homicide, placing the blame on James Arthur Ray for the deaths of three people following Ray's sweat lodge ceremony near Sedona, Ariz.

Juror Phillip Lepacek, a retired iron worker, told The Associated Press on Friday that the jury believed that Ray was guilty but initially disagreed on what charge. [...]

"It was a no-brainer there was heat," Lepacek said. "These people were baked."

Comment: This account is for the record.... By the way, the jury found that James Ray had a duty of care towards Liz Neumann because she had been a follower for many years and had actually volunteered her services as a member of the "Dream Team", at the fateful 2009 Spiritual Warrior retreat. Yet, JR staffers held her in such contempt that she arrived at the hospital with no ID and was admitted as a Jane Doe and her family only found out she was close to death through the media. Yet, JR wants probation so he can continue his mission to the world....

Newsmaker Sunday: Sweat Lodge Verdict (Video) [26:01]
My Fox Phoenix, 3rd July 2011
"PHOENIX - Dwane Cates, of Cates Law Group, talks about the verdict in the James Arthur Ray sweat lodge trial with John Hook."

Comment: This is some very interesting discussion about this trial. The manslaughter charge was really about aiming high to make sure there was some kind of conviction and the strategy worked. I really don't agree with defence of James Ray here, but I agree with the thought that he should have taken responsibility and that at the verdict, there was a distinct lack of any 'warrior' in his demeanour and his complete lack of remorse. Well, Dwane Cates thinks JR will get two and a half years behind bars. If that happens, I don't think many will complain because those who believe that JR is a fake pseudospiritual salesman see the bigger picture and his conviction and sentence as a massive blow to the New Age 'Crookiness' business. In my opinion, the continuous abuse of 'innocent' spiritual seekers is vile and needs to be dealt with. Interestingly, at about 18:30 Cates talked about people using psychological principles to get people to do things that they would not normally do. Yes, that's refering to the NLP, hypnosis and suggestion that is widely used these days. My recommendation is learn how to recognise when these techniques are being used and then run... that's some real empowerment...

An Insider's View of The James Ray Trial
Nhne Pulse, 1st July 2011

Most of you know that for the past several months I’ve been running audio for the James Arthur Ray trial in the neighboring town of Camp Verde. Many people I’ve run into have asked me out of curiosity, how I landed this gig and what my take was on James Ray and the trial. [...]

Gotta add this — I found James Ray’s energy peculiarly strange, dark and yet overtly charismatic — more than the dangerous type — the kind of man that one could imagine women fawning over due to his presence. When he’d walk into the courtroom you knew it. I often imagined how he must have been when he was conducting his seminars when he was really “on” running his own show. What could he have been like with an air of power, fame and financial wealth when he was really riding high? The kind of authoritative figure that could trigger certain people to do whatever was put in front of them in order to make him proud of them. There were several witnesses that confirmed my original feels with their testimony to this. Wanting to show off for him as to get recognized out of the crowd so as to meet his approval. Even under the tensions of the circumstances in the courtroom, a bit of arrogance emanated from him.

Passing by JAR in the hallways, his opening the courtroom door for me once as well as walking down the stairs of the courthouse on the last day shoulder to shoulder with him, I felt oddly uneasy. I found myself taking precautions not to make eye contact with him but tried my best anyway to at least act relaxed and casual around him as my cohorts appeared to be but had no success with it.

Comment: Well, watching and studying what happened to cause three innocent and trusting people to lose their lives has focused my attention on those who I have trusted in the past. Simply, there are too many people dabbling in 'pop' psychology but it is not done to help, rather the opposite. As James Ray stated, he wanted his followers off-balance and so he deliberately did everything he could to get them in a torrid state and one of the things was telling people not to sleep but to spend their time journaling.... That is encouraging people to dredge up their old memories of being traumatised in the past so this can be used to re-traumatise again. When people are emotionally vulnerable, a predator finds it much easier to re-program their minds with the aim of making people MORE dependent and ready to have more stuff upsold to them, because this method creates a downward spiral that most people have real difficulty recovering from. Now that I know what these nasty people are doing, I will walk out of any 'training' that tries this tactic on me. For me it's all over, this is just passé. And guess what? I refuse to work with people who are doing this. I will repeat. For me it's all over, this is now passé.

The Jury: James Ray Caused Emotional Harm
Celestial Blogspot, 30th June 2011

"The jury deliberated for the better part of two days over charges of aggravating circumstances. This afternoon found them deadlocked on a number of issues and unwilling to deliberate further. The one thing they all agreed upon: James Ray caused emotional harm to the families of all three decedents. That is to say, guilty on three counts of the aggravating factor of emotional harm.

They also agreed that Ray held a unique position of trust in the case of Liz Neuman. So one count of unique position of trust. On the rest of the aggravators, the unique position of trust for Kirby Brown and James Shore, and pecuniary gain, they were hopelessly deadlocked.

Judge Darrow has set a sentencing date of July 25th, 2011. He declined a motion from prosecutor Sheila Polk that Ray be taken into custody immediately.

A little reminder from Cosmic Connie: July 25th will be the second anniversary of Colleen Conaway's death in a San Diego mall; or as she was known on that day, Jane Doe. How darkly fitting. "

I think he will be going to jail...

Mind Games
ABC News, 29th June 2011

Participants paid thousands to attend retreat that would end in tragedy.

Comment: This is a repeat of this documentary. The reality is that predators do not actually believe in The Law of Attraction. James Ray taught this very popular idea, but he himself obviously did not actually believe it, as we know he used a plethora of well known techniques to literally mind control his followers. What I find most interesting is that he played a numbers game and made sure that he set strict criteria for sorting out those who were most likely to become ardent followers. As they say in the LGAT business, you can fool some of the people all the time, and they are the ones you need to concentrate on... Predators KNOW that if you believe this teaching, they have found someone who is more likely to be easily manipulated and can be pushed to pay large sums of money in the hope of using this so called spiritual law. I am sure this revelation is upsetting for some, but I personally want to understand how someone who claimed to be a spiritual guru (actually, he was a salesman of pseudo spirituality), could cook some of his own followers to death and then show no remorse. If this link does not work due to being outside of the USA, you can try the ABC Mind Games video clips, but there are adverts. Here is a link James Ray Convened Fateful Retreat . Interestingly, the person who has produced this documentary explains some of the classic LGAT techniques, but if you have not done the study, you may miss the important facts.

Heartwrenching Testimony During Ray Sentencing Phase (Video)
My Fox Phoenix, 28th June 2011

James Ray Guilty of Negligent Homicide x3 (28th June latest update)
Spirituality Is No Excuse, 28th June 2011

James Arthur Ray, motivational tweeter and “philosopher” from the film The Secret has been found guilty of three counts of negligent homicide.

Ray has so avoided being investigated by police in San Diego in relation to the death of his first victim, Colleen Conaway who died in one of his seminars barely two months before he negligently caused three further deaths at a further seminar. Colleen’s death was inadequately investigated by police after Ray and some members of staff lied to police about the circumstances of Colleen’s death, after they had abandoned her body in a shopping plaza in San Diego. [...] The cover up has been covered extensively on this site (see previous link), and a more complete description of events can be found here in a comment posted by a member of Colleen’s family.

Comment: Many people are refusing to forget about Colleen Conaway's death. I have heard the calls to Colleen's mobile phone (c/o Salty Droid) by James Ray Staffers pretending to care about her welfare when she was supposed to be doing the 'homelessness' exercise. In reality, these JR staffers knew she had already committed suicide and were ignoring the fact that since they had taken the mobile phone away from her for this ridiculous and pointless exercise. These people are so stupid... Whatever, it's just so sad that this was supposed to be a seminar organised by people claiming to be spiritual, but it must be realised that this operation was a complete sham.... awful... The JR staffers involved in the cover up of Colleen's death need to be prosectuted too. There is a long month wait for the final sentencing of JR.

CNN Reports on Indian Country’s Reactions to James Arthur Ray Verdict
Indian Country Network, 24th June 2011

CNN reported on reactions throughout Indian Country to the verdict of self-help guru and author James Arthur Ray.

“He deserves to pay for the lives he took,” Valerie Taliman, a Navajo who serves as the West Coast editor for Indian Country Today Media Network, told CNN. “Our prayers go out to the families who lost their loved ones because of his greed and wrongful exploitation. He had no right to create the false illusion that he had any connection to Native ceremonies,” she said in an e-mail to CNN. “He is a worst case example of charlatans selling spiritual snake oil.”

Taliman hopes that when jurors determine Ray’s sentencing next week, they persecute him to the extent of the law. Convicted of negligent homicide on June 22, although prosecutors pursued manslaughter charges, Ray could face anywhere from probation to as long as 11.25 years in prison for the deaths of three of his followers at a sweat lodge ceremony outside Sedona, Arizona on October 8, 2009. [...]

“He took something we hold sacred and broke every rule we go by, then sold his desecrated version of our ceremonies to people that he actually profited from, then killed,” Taliman told CNN. “I hope they make an example of him and give him the maximum sentence.”

Comment: ~~CNN are broadcasting~~ ~~today (28th)~~ the aggravation phase of this trial to determine sentencing and there are pleads for ex JR followers to send email details to the prosecution about their JR induced injuries. I am glad the Native Americans feel that some justice has been done, but this is going to be a very interesting part of this trial (2 days) as the prosecution is going to be able to say exactly what has been going on, without the defense trying to steer the jury away from the truth. Update Another mistrial motion and uncertainty with CNN, most think live coverage this will not happen. There are rumours on the Droid that Megan Fredrickson did not turn up to testify in court and has done a runner with her husband... since she has only lied to cover up for JR, she might end up going to jail to be in sympathy with her master.

What Went Wrong? (Video)
Fox News, 30th April 2011
"How did Arizona sweat lodge turn deadly?"
Fox News interviews Dawn Medicine Wolf a retired MD. Native American opinion is given.

Heartwrenching Testimony During Ray Sentencing Phase (Video)
My Fox

Ray negligent in deaths, jury finds
verdict: Guilty of negligent homicide, not manslaughter
The Arizona Republic, 23rd June 2011

CAMP VERDE - He became a best-selling author, made millions and gained fame for his self-help claim that you attract into your life whatever happens to you - good or bad.

On Wednesday, James Arthur Ray was convicted by a jury on three counts of negligent homicide, placing the blame squarely on him for the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38; James Shore, 40; and Liz Neuman, 49, at a sweat-lodge event he led near Sedona in October 2009. [...]

"Mr. Ray has acted recklessly for years at these events," said Thomas McFeeley, Brown's cousin and her family's spokesman, speaking by phone from Illinois. [...] Several participants said they hope the verdict sends a broader message.

"This is about more than one man's actions on one day," McFeeley said. "The self-help industry is a huge industry, and it needs watching."

McFeeley said the Brown family is launching a non-profit organization to educate people about the self-help industry and what questions they should ask.

Comment: I have had some involvement with the New Age/Self-help industry and what I discovered has shocked me and I have been traumatised by own experiences, but I have learnt that some of the methods used by those who operate Large Group Awareness Trainings (LGATs) can also be applied in more traditional religious groups. In the so called self-help industry, there are people who have no interest in others, they do what they do to obtain power and control over people, they will do nothing unless they get some immediate benefit and they will lie, steal and cheat and will justify this to themselves because they believe the end justifies the means. To understand how these people operate requires education, so I am pleased that someone has made the decision to educate the wider public about the business of enlightenment. Update Here is the Seek Safely website.

New Age Guru Guilty in Sweat Lodge Deaths
New York Times, 22nd June 2011

PHOENIX — A jury found James A. Ray, a self-help guru, guilty of negligent homicide on Wednesday in the deaths of three of his followers during a botched sweat lodge ceremony near Sedona in October 2009.

The decision, delivered after a nearly four-month trial in Yavapai County Superior Court in Camp Verde, Ariz., means Mr. Ray was found to have caused the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y.; James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., but did not necessarily recognize the risk he put them in. He could face anywhere from probation to more than 30 years in prison on the three guilty counts as court proceedings continue next week.

Comment: The State of Arizona has won.... but most importantly, this is the death of The Secret... No doubt there will be many of his most ardent followers trying to work out how he "attracted" this conviction, but anyone who has studied LGATs and the guru culture will know that injuries and even the death of followers is considered collateral damage. Mostly these predators have literally got away with murder, but today, the State of Arizona has finally dealt a significant blow to the LGAT business. If you want to understand how this works then I recommend at least 200-300 hours of study and you can start off with a James Ray thread over at the Cult Education Forum , where the experts recognised that James Ray was dangerous and pointed this out 2 years before he got his mega star break when he was invited onto The Oprah Show.

Sweat-lodge case: Ray guilty on 3 counts of negligent homicide
AZ Central, 22nd June 2011

James Arthur Ray Verdict (Court Video)
YouTube, 22nd June 2011

James Ray Trial: In the Hands of the Jury (Video)
Celestial Blogpot, 21st June 2011

As expected, Sheila Polk's final rebuttal was brilliant. Despite the nearly four hours she had available to her, she took only a couple... and managed to cover more ground than Luis Li did in over six. This is because Polk is a good public speaker, where Li -- and I say this as a former competitive public speaker -- is terrible.

I have much to say about Polk's close but I find that even after two blog posts on the subject, Li's closing argument is still stuck in my craw. I'm actually a little amazed at how much it irritated me. And not just because it was six hours of my life I'll never get back. Upon consideration, I realize that it comes down this: Narcissists really push my buttons.

Comment: James Ray's Defence lawyer Luis Li was so desperate in his epic 6 hour rant, that he even complained that the State prosecutor left pictures of the KILLED victims up on the screen in court for 11 minutes. The video here is a good selection of the drivel that was used to defend JR who looks like he will be going to jail.

James Ray Trial: As the Ending Nears the End (ABC 15 News Video)
Celestial Blogpot, 20th June 2011

The Last Words (Video)
Salty Droid, 22nd June 2011
"The trial of James Arthur Ray for the manslaughter of Kirby Brown :: James Shore :: and Liz Neuman has been completed and is with the jurors. GloryHallelujah!"
The video is of State prosecutor Sheila Polk who has the final word. A different tone, very sober...

PETA urges rabbis to overturn dog's death sentence
Ma'an News, 18th June 2011

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A leading US animal rights organization is urging rabbinical authorities in Jerusalem to overturn a "death sentence" by stoning of a dog alleged to be a reincarnated lawyer.

The sentence stems from the suspicion that the spirit of a secular lawyer, said to have insulted the court's judges decades earlier, has been transferred into the dog's body, Israeli media reported Thursday.

Comment: How ridiculous... It's amazing what some people can dream up to create a bit of excitement...

Minister looks to higher power behind church bell's mysterious ringing
Detroit News, 19th June 2011
I prefer the electrical short explanation...

Magician thrown out of pub for bending his own forks
The Sun, 20th June 2011
"Paul Fisher was first given his marching orders by a doorman after performing the trick for friends despite having his own cutlery. As he walked away a police van roared up and he was stopped for questioning."
Pathetic... desperate for control...

Eight million gallons of water drained from reservoir after man urinates in it

Eight million gallons of water had to be drained from a reservoir in Oregon after a man urinated in it.
The Telegraph, 19th June 2011
Ridiculous...

James Ray Trial Updates: Final Phase
Spirituality is NO Excuse, 17th June 2011

State prosecutor Sheila Polk made the closing statement earlier in the week. Salty Droid has edited a video of the main points of Ms Polk’s statement.

Defense Attorney Luis Li then babbled for hours and hours and hours over two days. Part of the strategy was clearly to bore the jury into not paying attention, in the hope that they would not realize how much he is distorting and misrepresenting the evidence, and to give the impression that James Ray was actually defended.

The strongest aspect of Li’s argument was the “free will” gambit, that Ray didn’t physically prevent anyone from leaving, therefore the victims were all responsible for their own fate. Further, that Ray had no reason to expect that anyone would die, and didn’t know there was any problem until it was too late.

Comment: How could any jury NOT convict James Ray after this amazing closing statement by State prosecutor Sheila Polk. However, this synopsis of what happened and James Ray's culpability (with the unbelievable lie that James Ray told a police detective that Ted did it!, is still nowhere near as bad as the full details and the amount of trauma that has been caused as a consequence. Well, it's hard to believe that the jury will not convict him of something, but we will have to see... This will be the death of The Secret... This image is typical of how JR used the marketing of The Secret to obtain his wealth and fame "Harmonic Wealth".

James Ray Sweat Lodge Trial Roundup June 11
Celestial Blogspot, 11th June 2011

So, as stated, the defense suddenly and unexpectedly wrapped up their case Thursday after having called only two witnesses. But it would appear that they will be aggressively pursuing to the bitter end their real defense strategy, which is to say, getting this case thrown out before it can go to the jury. Even at this late date, they are apparently screaming about Brady violations and mistrial motions.

Yes, CNN's dogged coverage of weather maps and the empty blackness of the void deprived James Ray trial watchers of two days of courtroom drama.

Then again, maybe I should thank them for sparing us another Luis Li law lecture.

Comment: I have not been paying much attention but others have. Apparently, The Jury are a bunch of old folks but they seem to have all their faculties in place and they have a knack of asking expert witnesses some very insightful questions, something that I have noted on several occasions. Well, I am on tenderhooks now because if JR goes down, there will be a rat's nest of vipers (sorry about the mixed metaphors) in the business of, 'the brutalisation of people in the name of enlightenment' who will have to change their ways or risk going to prison. Hopefully, a major clean-up.

James Ray Trial : The Defense Rests
Salty Droid, 9th June 2011
Do not use this link to the The Salty Droid unless you can cope with bad lanaguage and people who definitely want to see JR in prison.

Has Modern Science Bankrupted Our Souls?
Huffington Post, 2nd June 2011

[...] Biomedical research has recently toppled the widespread belief that organisms are genetically controlled robots and that evolution is driven by a random, survival-of-the-fittest mechanism. As genetically controlled "robots," we are led to perceive of ourselves as "victims" of heredity. Genes control our lives yet we did not pick our genes, nor can we change them if we don't like our traits. The perception of genetic victimization inevitably leads to irresponsibility, for we believe we have no power over our lives.

The exciting new science of epigenetics emphasizes that genes are controlled by the environment, and more importantly, by our perception of the environment. Epigenetics acknowledges that we are not victims, but masters, for we can change our environment or perceptions, and create up to 30,000 variations for each of our genes.

Comment: Actually, I think modern spirituality has bankrupted peoples' souls... Just think about all the effort to promote The Law of Attraction. A wonder teaching designed to keep people thinking there must be some Secret to success and keep coming back to learn more, the next book the next seminar, the next therapy etc... I found this over at the Rick Ross Cult Education Forum:

The Nine Steps of the Law of Extraction

1. Promise people something they desperately want, no matter how ludicrous it may be. For example, promise to show people - for a price, of course - how to get everything without doing anything.

2. Make the process for achieving this sound as mysterious as possible. For example, call it a mystery or maybe even a secret.

3. Legitimize your process by quoting a scientist or two. This way you can claim your process is actually “based” on science.

4. Assure people your process is foolproof. That is, anyone can do it and it will work every time all the time. Calling it a universal law is helpful in this regard.

5. Include a universal loophole so that when the process fails you can place the blame elsewhere.

For example, “The reason it didn’t work is because you didn’t do it right. Fortunately, there are advanced techniques that can help you.”

Notice, this loophole not only deflects blame, but also creates additional revenue streams (see points 6 and 7).

6. Sell advanced techniques in the form of high-dollar, back-end products, seminars and coaching programs using a multi-level commission structure in order to maximize revenue extraction.

7. Offer high-dollar “Certification Programs” to license others to sell your process to others. Be sure to require your licensees to also pay you a sizable percentage of any future sales they may make.

8. Focus your efforts on the right target audience. As the old saying goes, you can fool some people all of the time and they are the ones you need to focus on.

9. Express gratitude at least three times a day for all the abundance the Law of Extraction is bringing into your life.

Despite Lipton being involved promoting The Law of Attraction (just google, and you will see what I mean), he has made a useful contribution teaching people about the failure of genetic theory, the role of Epigenetics and the connection with the environment.

Camping and Climate Change
Watts Up With That, 27th May 2011

Last weekend on May 21, American Christian preacher Harold Camping, once again encountered his ‘Disappointment Day’. For years he announced the end of times, predicting May 21 to be Judgment Day. On that day, the world would be destroyed and only ‘a chosen few’ would make it to heaven.

On Judgment Day, the preacher took a seat in front of his television to await news events. He expected a live report of CNN covering a wave of earthquakes that ultimately would lead to global demise.

But nothing happened.

Comment: OK, you may have noticed that I have ignored the Camping 'Rapture' fiasco but I could not resist an article headlined with images of Harold Camping and Al Gore, because I can clearly see the similarities between these two preachers.... I realise that the Catholic Church will never admit their role in the massive problem of billions of people expecting the return of a person when Christos is really about the personification of spiritual energy. It is sad to say, that the true meaning of the Return of Christos has been been mostly lost or obscured and it seems only a select few initiates, really understand the true meaning of the End Times. Meanwhile, the Signs of the Times are all around us... From the comments section: don't miss The Mayan solution to climate change:

Harold Camping's New Rapture Date - October 21, 2011
YouTube/Young Turks, 24th May 2011
The Young Turks provide details of Harold Camping's "Invisible Rapture" and his next 'Rapture' day..."

May 21st—What’s Keeping Jesus?
Exohuman, 21st May 2011

Comment: This article examines the original text and explains why the modern day predictions are basically flawed. From my perspective, the Bible was written on two levels and really meant for those who have been initiated into the true meaning of esoteric texts. What's more, it is important to know that some of the source material recorded ancient astronomical information. Since most people could not read up until the last 100 years or so, to quote Sir William Drummond (1770 - 1828) in his seminal work Oedipus Judaicus (1811), he tells us that the Egyptian priesthood were basically astronomers, who regarded the people as 'the prejudiced and semi-barbarous multitude'. I would suggest that this attitude amongst the elite has not changed much, hence it's quite clear to see why we have problems with biblical interpretations today.

Oprah, James Ray, and the Media Effect
Celestial Blogspot, 26th May 2011

As Oprah wrapped her history-making show this week, amidst the cascade of media coverage could be found a lot of ambivalence about her impact on society. On the one hand, she had an undeniably positive impact on public perception of what a woman of color can accomplish in America. She broke a lot of ground for women, period. For that we can all be grateful. On the other hand, she foisted a lot of pop psychology and dumbed down spiritual teaching on an eager public. [....]

On the plus side, Oprah is a major force for literacy. She makes people feel good about reading which not a lot of television personalities do. She heightened attention to literary greats like Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou. On the negative side, I can never forgive her Dr. Phil and The Secret.

I just can't.

I have little doubt that Oprah believes strongly in both. Her endorsement of the pop psychology of Dr. Phil and the spiritual pornography of The Secret are a tiny, little window into the psyche of this extremely driven woman. Both of these Oprah endorsed cottage industries are a study in control freakdom.

Comment: Hmmm.. I can't disagree with most of the negatives here but I'm still thinking about LaVaugh describing The Secret as 'spiritual pornography', I think the sentiment is a little too strong.... There cannot be any doubt that the heavily promoted and now ubiquitous shallow spirituality has encouraged the 'me, me, me', mentality to the point where our world faces a deluge of spiritual energy and most interested in spirituality are oblivious to the implications. For goodness sake, the hippies in the 1960s were singing about The Age of Aquarius at the time Russian astrophysicists were measuring the build up of energies around our solar system... Today, our planet is being saturated, our modern technological world is threatened and the vast majorty are oblivious that a massive transition is taking place... Just in case you still don't understand why this situation is incredible, note the additional image icon.... There is a lot more that can be said too.

Mmmm Whatcha Say … James Ray (Video)
Salty Droid, 26th May 2011
Salty droid has made a truly cringeworthy and sad at the same time James Ray video.... btw CNN are pulling the James Ray coverage.... that's a bummer....

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 42
Celestial Blogspot, 12th May 2011

[...] Luis Li completed his cross examination of Sgt. Barbaro today without managing to discredit what is arguably the most damaging testimony yet. As I said yesterday, what Sgt. Barbaro revealed was Ray's consciousness of guilt. Li did about the only thing a defense attorney could do in his situation; try to prove that this extremely likable police officer was mistaken.

This is clearly why Li spent so much time trying to underscore Barbaro's imperfect recollection of who was receiving CPR and where. Personally, I think he wasted a lot of energy on a point that Barbaro conceded without issue. Sgt. Barbaro conveyed quite well that this was not an essential issue that required his full attention. He's not claiming a photographic memory of the scene.

What Sgt. Barbaro testified to regarding Ray's assertion that there were 40 people in the sweat lodge and that it was run by Ted Mercer, was the result of a police interview, not an observation of the overall scene.

Comment: I thought I would check out what was happening and apparently the trial is currently in recess until May 26th and James Ray's defence team are completely desperate as they have put forward 6/7 motions for a mistrial. I have not been able to watch much of the trial but I have tried to keep a breast of the reports and comments on blogs but I am thrilled to hear that the media have picked up that the trial is being watched by people all over the world.... that's good news... Anyway, I am currently enraged because I have just discovered that JR lied to a detective about who was in charge of the sweat lodge ceremony see link for police documentation. These days, I have studied the art of persuasion so much that I am truly cynical about 'New Wage' gurus, but really, during the process of cooking people to death in his endurance test that he called a sweat lodge, JR bellowed out that he is the Alpha and the Omega, loud enough for people to hear that were outside and yet when people are dragged out of his sweat lodge unconscious, he does not care and goes off for his dinner, but when he is approached by a detective, he decides to lie and say the fire tender was in charge... I watched some of the testimonies and it seems the less important the position of the people involved in this affair, the more genuine. To accuse Ted Mercer, one of the most genuine and most lowly person involved with this sweatlodge, who was only following JR's orders is truly contemptable. One of JR's sayings is that 'balance is bogus', but he proved that he was bogus by killing people in his botched efforts to take them into an alternative state using heat stroke. For anyone who wants to learn about those who misuse their power, this case is a complete classic.

Sweat lodge trial: State's expert '99 percent' certain heatstroke caused deaths
Daily courier, 10th May 2011
"As an emergency room physician in Yuma, Dr. Matthew Dickson has plenty of experience with heat-related illness. And because of the proximity of a great deal of agriculture, he also has encountered instances of organophosphate poisoning. Testifying Tuesday in the manslaughter trial of James Arthur Ray, Dickson said he personally sees dozens of patients each year who are suffering from symptoms caused by excess heat, making him all too familiar with the continuum of distress that leads to heatstroke. It is his firm belief that Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman, whose October 2009 deaths led to the manslaughter charges against Ray, died from heatstroke, and heatstroke alone. "I would say 99 percent," when asked by defense attorney Truc Do how certain he was of his conclusion."

Sweat lodge trial: Ray told detective someone else was in charge of ceremony
Daily courier, 11th May 2011
"A YCSO detective testified Wednesday that James Arthur Ray initially told him that another man was in charge of the October 2009 sweat lodge ceremony that led to three deaths. Sergeant Frank Barbaro was one of the first law enforcement officials on the scene at the Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat Center after a 911 call alerted authorities to the problems there. By the time Barbaro arrived at just after 6 p.m., ambulances carrying Kirby Brown and James Shore had already departed."

Sweat lodge trial has broad audience outside the courtroom
Daily courier, 13th May 2011
"On March 1, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk told an 18-member jury - as well as a packed courtroom and a worldwide streaming video audience - about the case she intended to mount against James Arthur Ray. [...]

This week, though, brought a higher note with the testimony of the state's expert witness, Dr. Matthew Dickson, who clearly defined the point where simple heat-related illness changed to potentially fatal heatstroke, that being the time when a person enters an altered mental state.

"The whole thing comes down to the altered state (Ray) wanted people to go into," McFeeley said. "That's where it's heatstroke and it's a point I hope they hammer home.""
There was talk that CNN were going to stop the live coverage, but I don't know what the outcome is there...

James Ray and the "Bruenett Asian"
Celestial Blogspot, 15th May 2011
I thought this blog entry was off topic but still noteworthy... I hope it comes to the point where Truc Do regrets having anything to do with James Ray, but from the sound of the above report, that might have already happened...

Judge declines to grant mistrial in sweat lodge case
CNN News, 13th April 2011

An Arizona judge agreed Wednesday with defense attorneys that prosecutors in the manslaughter trial of self-help author James Ray improperly withheld evidence, but he decided not to grant a defense motion for a mistrial.

Ray is accused of manslaughter in three deaths at his October 2009 "Spiritual Warrior" retreat in the desert. Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, New York, died that night. So did James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee. Volunteer Lizbeth Marie Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, died nine days after the ceremony. At least 15 others who took part in the sweat lodge ceremony became ill. More than 40 others were uninjured.

Comment: I watched a little of the arguments for a mistrial and I could not believe it.... Thank goodness the judge has some common sense... (LOL)... Anyway, last week, I managed to watch some of the testimony of the firekeeper and he was allowed to tell us about prior James Ray sweat lodges in comparison to other 'genuine' sweat lodges. Apparently, in the disastrous sweat lodge, 54 hot stones were used, in comparison to 20-25 used in 'normal' sweat lodges. What's more the sickness, vomiting, injuries and people literally going out of their minds only occured at JR's extreme 'spirtual warrior' sweat lodges, NEVER at other sweat lodges... I did read a tremendous amount about James Ray and this sweat lodge event before the trial, but listening to people tell their version of events and especially those who had been brainwashed is very enlightening. I very much appreciate that LaVaugh is taking the time to document this trial and provide her opinions from a more spiritual and metaphysical standpoint, she is as a trained journalist and she seems to be quite fair and balanced in her opinions. Here are some of her latest recommended reports but all her reports on the JR trial are worth reading for those who need to understand more.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 29 [Defence Tactics]
Celestial Healing, 14th April 2011
"The folks at In Session seem confused. They were all stunned, they announced this morning, that Judge Darrow didn't give the defense its mistrial. As the day progressed, they became noticeably perplexed that the thrashing prosecutors had coming to them didn't come."
Excellent read on the James Ray defence team dirty tricks.
James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 28 [Mistrial Notes]
Celestial Healing, 13th April 2011
"Today was something of an emotional roller coaster ride. I started my viewing this morning with In Session. Big mistake. Their pregame show was all about the likelihood of a mistrial and the prosecution's weak response."

Narcissism and Spiritual Materialism: The New Age Legacy
Engaged Zen, April 2011

The "New Age" movement, if indeed it can be referred to as a movement, appears to be a desperate effort of people attempting to find the spirituality that is totally lacking in the dominant culture. Dominant here means more than mainstream, for domination is an integral element of the pervasive materialistic and conquest based culture of the West. The power-over dynamic and materialistic nature of Western culture is a product of conquest and subjugation that grew out of European feudalism, patriarchism, theocratic dictatorship and opportunistic desire to wield power over other beings. The entire history of what we are taught is "civilization" is in short a story of conquest, written by the conquerors with their purposes in mind.

This element of conquest is the backbone of materialism and the materialistic psychology that enables people to visualize their entire world as objects that can be manipulated for selfish gain, this manipulation includes people. Materialism and the principle of conquest are driving forces in the efforts of groups to control the lives of others. Efforts to legislate morality, attempts to mold society to arbitrary standards developed by religious groups based on belief systems all rely on the conquest principle, the subjugation of others.

What is perhaps no so apparent, is the degree to which this paradigm permeates our personal lives on a day to day basis. The conquest paradigm has disconsciously been incorporated into our psychology in ways that are far from apparent.

Comment: I agree with the assessment but I can't completely agree with the suggestions for a solution. I note the idea of The Big Picture Consciousness but again it's focusing on humans as a collective, but I think we should be aiming to understand what spirituality actually means, what spirit really means. I will also say that if you do not proudly wear the badge of a particular brand of religion, but profess spirituality, there are some really intellectually challenged people who will assume you are a New Ager and therefore are inferior stock. Well, quite frankly, I am witnessing the incredible evolutionary changes on Earth and I know from my studies that spiritual evolution is also taking place right now. Therefore, I must state that the religions have not done a very good job in preparing their followers, but neither have New Age 'evolutionary leaders' who have missed the opportunity to teach how a spiritual universe works and especially the information that relates to the 'lifting of the veil', the current ongoing dimensional shift as Earth becomes a high energy plasma (spiritual) environment.

JZ Knight Ramtha Cult Exposed
Wide Eye Cinema, March 2011

Glen Cunningham talks about his involvement with Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment (RSE). [September, 2008] In this two part video interview Glen talks about his unique experience of being employed by JZ Knight as “Ramtha’s” personal bodyguard while a member of RSE. He came to realize that he was involved In a clever and deceptive cult. In this candid interview with David McCarthy, Glen answers questions regarding, How he got involved with RSE, what his experiences were while he was employed there, especially that caused him to leave, And what he learned of the workings of RSE while he was employed there. This interview is based on Glen’s personal experiences and opinions as related to RSE.

Comment: Due to the buzz surrounding the James Ray trial, there are a lot of links being passed around hence I found this gem. I will say that this is probably only of interest to those who know about the controversial New Age character JZ Knight and her channelling of a character called Ramtha. After James Ray murdered three people in his sweat lodge I spent a lot of time trying to understand what was really going on. This led me to a selection of other questionable guru's that included JZ Knight and the Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE). I will state that this interview is more like a group of friends reminiscing about old times, a good old chin wag. Glen Cunningham admits that he likes being a storyteller, he says he is not a liar but then admits he made stories up about JZ Knight for a selection of reasons as he explains. I thought his recollection of his experiences with JZ Knight were actually quite kind and there is no way this account provides any serious dirt on this woman. Well, thinking about that.... actually, near the end of part II we get the story about JZ Knight's confession during a "wine ceremony" that she made up a story to get money out of her followers to pay her taxes... Anyway, from what I have read on blogs from people desperately trying to come to terms with their involvement with this character, I think the wine ceremonies and encouraging people to take prozac is probably the most disturbing aspect, but quite frankly, it's hard to decide because there is so much that is highly questionable. Well, from my point of view, someone supposedly channelling whilst drinking, to the point where they are sick and have to be carried off stage is off the charts. Apparently, there is proof as JZ Knight even sold videos of this spectacle. It was only years later she realised that maybe some people might think her behaviour was completely outrageous, hence she told her followers to dispose of the evidence! I am still hoping to see a video of this disgraceful behaviour to further my own investigations...

Church of England row as cathedral opens doors to tarot card readers and crystal healers in 'new age' festival
Daily Mail, 28th March 2011

The Church of England was braced for a fresh row today after a cathedral announced plans to host a 'new age' festival. The event - featuring tarot card readers, crystal healers, dream interpretation, and a fire-breathing vicar - is to be held in Manchester Cathedral in May.

But the move is certain to anger traditionalists, who feel the Church has already strayed too far from tradition. Hundreds have already defected to the Roman Catholic Church after deep splits over the ordination of gay and women priests.

Anglican leaders in Manchester decided to hold the festival in the historic cathedral in a bid to embrace alternative forms of Christianity.

Comment: Alternative forms of Christianity ???

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 17
Celestial Reflections, 23rd March 2011

I want to call Melinda Martin "Event Coordinator Barbie." Because of the resemblance and because she was the event coordinator for JRI. But also because I've always thought of Barbie as a very smart, capable, independent woman of numerous careers and aptitudes.

Martin strikes me as level headed and capable and exactly the kind of person you want in a job like that. That is, unless you're James Arthur Ray and value sycophancy over ability. Martin testified, for instance, that Dream Team members were hired based on how easy they were to get along with. And Martin, who had only a passing acquaintance with Ray's "teachings" was clearly nowhere near brainwashed enough in her short job tenure to go with the flow when all hell broke loose after the sweat lodge.

Comment: This is mainly about the witness testimonial of Melinda Martin "Event Coordinator Barbie", who worked for James Ray International. If they would produce a DVD of her appearance I would buy it and use it for inspiration in self-empowerment. This woman rocks! From the sections that I watched, it seems that Melinda was not brainwashed enough and could recognise a disaster when she saw one. This write-up does not reflect the power of her testimony, so all I can say, is read around and find out more, this woman has my full admiration.

Inside the sweat lodge: Witnesses describe a ritual gone wrong
CNN, 14th March 2011

Camp Verde, Arizona (CNN) -- James Arthur Ray's spiritual warriors journeyed to the foot of the mystical red cliffs of Sedona, Arizona, to find enlightenment. They were willing to shave their heads, meditate in the desert for 36 hours without food and water, then symbolically die and be reborn in a sweat lodge ritual.

They were seekers, not flakes. Doctors, engineers, salespeople, small-business owners -- professionals who paid $10,000 to break down personal barriers they believed kept them from achieving all they could.

But how hard participants in Ray's motivational seminars pushed themselves -- and how intensely Ray pushed his acolytes -- is one of the central questions being examined here in Yavapai County as his trial on manslaughter charges unfolds.

Comment: This article highlights the fact that James Ray turned his Spiritual Warrior seminar into an endurance test for Ninjas. Watching the trial has been quite eye-opening. Witnesses admit they were only focusing on themselves and trying to stay alive. Horrible stuff. James Ray turned his course participants into zombies and then tried to take them close to death for a peak spiritual 'experience' in his sweat lodge. Unfortunately, 3 actually died in the process hence the trial. It's interesting that some people woke up and actually left before the end of this nightmare and hence did not get their monies worth after paying 10,000 dollars. Well, given the opportunity, I would shake their hands to congratulate them. More:

Doctors feared mass suicide after deadly 'sweat lodge,' survivor says
CNN, 17th March 2011
"Participants in the October 2009 event paid up to $10,000 to seek "new areas of consciousness," Ray testified Tuesday."
Personally, I wonder how many have become enlightened about Large Group Awareness Trainings (LGATs) and the nasty folk who run them?

James Arthur Ray - Trial Discussion pg 131
RR Cult Education forum , 16th March 2011
Here we have discussion of the sweat lodge participants foaming at the mouth, dehydration, tobacco/nicotine poisonoing, hyperventilation, James Ray's lack of qualifications, adult ADD and his Narcissistic behavior disorder.
James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 13
Celestial Healing, 17th March 2011
Quite frankly, this women is making a great effort in covering this trial from a more spiritual, rational and sane perspective. I can recommend this blog.
James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 14
Celestial Healing, 18th March 2011
Comment: LaVaughn discusses the witness testimony of the Dr. Jeanne Armstrong and I am sorry that I did not see any of this. In her testimony, Armstrong points out that people being hydrated or not is not really the main factor that will kill them, it's whether they can dissipate heat through sweat and cool the body down to prevent heat stroke. Basically, the sweat lodge was too hot and humid and not the fact that people were hydrated or not was the problem and as witnesses have stated, fat and less healthy people survived because they were lucky to be in a part of the lodge that was not so hot. Simply, perfectly healthy people died because they were over cooked. Fortunately, it seems that Dr. Jeanne Armstrong has partially scuttled the case for the Defence and I am pleased about that. It also highlights the fact that some moron versed in the black arts of persuasion and suggestion, could run a sweat lodge that creates such dangerous conditions that people actually die. Guess what! When some people tried to get out because they could not cope, James 'Death' Ray pleaded with them to get back in to finish off being cooked! Not much sanity here....
Inside a James Ray Sweat Lodge – Unsafe at any Temperature?
Sauna Scape, 4th March 2011
"[...] Mr. Ray’s defense might be right: Toxins seem to us to be the cause of this tragedy. Unfortunately for Mr. Ray, it looks like he was the prime creator of the toxins, not others as his defense team alleges. It sounds to us like his participants suffered from lack of oxygen in the sweat lodge."

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 8
Celestial Reflections, 10th March 2011

Much has been made of the "cult indoctrination" question. The other day, Luis Li again tried to have all the spiritual content excluded from the trial and strip it down to matters of physical causation. He argued that including Ray's spiritual beliefs and teachings was, in and of itself, prejudicial. Then he really went off on a tangent, saying that there was no foundation for the entire cult brainwashing assertion. Personally, I would tend to think that this is the kind of thing that should go to a jury because it is not a matter of obvious fact, but rather one of interpretation.

Comment: Many commentators are in complete shock that one of the participants confessed in court that if he knew someone was dying they would not do anything immediately, because they did not want to upset James Ray. Even the defence lawyer's body language could not hide his own shock at hearing this admission. This is a nice write-up with some deeper reflection of the issue of mind manipulation.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 6
"You look at people who, who are vegetarians and by and large they're not very grounded. Why? Because they just don't have enough protein within them. However, I don't want you grounded here. I want you off-balance. [...] Haley also testified about the lack of sufficient sleep during the course. She quotes Ray as having told participants, "You'll sleep when you're dead." Comment: I wonder how many of these people have come to their senses and have realised just what a vile character they had got involved with?

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 9
Celestial Reflections, 10th March 2011
My goodness, you have to read what James Ray said to Dr Beverley Bunn about her issues related to shaving her head. Why do the people think this person is spiritual, he is just a high pressure salesman. Unbelievable.... The CNN video of a small sweat lodge event is quite interesting.

James Arthur Ray jury hears the voice of a victim
Daily Courier, 8th March 2011

CAMP VERDE - Echoes of a lost life hung thickly over Judge Warren Darrow's courtroom Tuesday after a jury heard the recorded voice of Kirby Brown, one of three people who died after a sweat lodge ceremony near Sedona in 2009.

The deaths led to charges of manslaughter against noted motivational speaker and author James Arthur Ray, who has pleaded not guilty.

"When we started the (Samurai) game, I was like you," Brown said on the recording, which was made just before she and the other attendees entered the sweat lodge. It is a segment from recordings made during four days of Ray's October 2009 Spiritual Warrior Retreat. "I was gonna be the hero, and I died right there before it even began."

Brown, 38, went on to recount the efforts she made to try to save her teammates in the game from sharing her fate, saying that she swallowed her own vomit in an attempt to lie perfectly still. Had she moved, Ray, playing the role of God, would have sentenced another of her team to death.

Comment: It's very sad to hear Kirby Brown putting a positive spin on the abuse dished out by James Ray under the guise of a "game". The Salty Droid (Update 5) has got the 230 seconds MP3 audio clip that can be downloaded here. No sanity at all.

Not a ‘Weenie-A** Lodge’: James Ray Trial Begins
The Star, 24th February 2011
Just after the tragedy Melinda Martin, a former employee of Ray’s, told ABC news that the scene was so chaotic that EMT’s thought at first they had arrived at a more ominous event. “There was vomiting, you know, moaning and crying, and it looked like a mass suicide. It looked like people were on their way out. It was crazy.”
Comment: Playing full on.... until you die

Salty Droid James Ray Trial Updates
Salty Droid coverage of the James Ray trial. I understand there has been a promise to keep the usual profanity down to a more acceptable level

Follow Elizabeth Erwin from abc15.com twittering live from court... link

Ray trial's opening statements paint divergent pictures of Sedona tragedy
Poisoned persuasion or actual toxin?
The Daily Courier, 3rd March 2011

CAMP VERDE - Nearly 17 months after three people died following a sweat lodge ceremony near Sedona, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk began her case against James Arthur Ray, the man accused of causing those deaths.

"On Oct. 8, 2009," Polk said to begin her opening statement, "three vibrant, healthy adults - Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman - entered a sweat lodge at a retreat center in Arizona. Each one was seeking to learn from James Ray. "Instead of growth and enlightenment, Kirby, James and Liz found death."

Comment: The trial has started and it's live on CNN.com!(Well sometimes). We have more court documents available see, the audio recording are in, expert testimony on 'persuasion and influence' techniques, defence tactics & defence - 'prior acts'.

The following court document should be read by anyone who wants to understand the mental state of those who were participating in the sweatlodge, defence tries to hide prior sweat lodge manipulation. I will warn you it is extremely distressing to learn about what happened to Kirby Brown but it's important for people to understand how people routinely allow themselves to be manipulated by clever psychopaths in the hope of seeking spiritual enlightenment. Rick Ross has been allowed to testify in this case and I am looking forward to what is going to be reported. This was a terrible tragedy but hopeful, millions of people may learn about 'persuasion and influence' techniques routinely used by so-called gurus to achieve their aims of acquiring a following of people who are trained to lose their critical thinking skills and just 'obey'. As I have stated before, this whole unfortunate episode will become an important textbook case history of how LGAT seminars & gurus operate.

James Arthur Ray trial: Sweat lodge survivor shares her tale
The Daily Courier, 3rd March 2011
There seems to be another article within the article here : 'State gains traction in evidentiary hearing It explains that the defence have been trying hard to avoid the airing of prior sweatlodge and other information related to injuries at other James Ray seminars, but the defence lawyers 'opened the door' almost immediately, by talking about people being injured but coming back for more! It seems they want information that helps their case but the judge and jury have to ignore anything that is detrimental...

Former follower speaks out about guru's enlightenment tactics [Video]
abc15.com, 2nd March 2011
"CAMP VERDE, AZ - As the prosecutor begins to call witnesses and former followers of spiritual guru James Ray to the stand to describe the day three people died, one former volunteer says Ray's ego took his games of enlightenment over the edge. "He enjoyed playing God," said Connie Joy, who has written a book about her experiences. "You have to picture him in the Samurai Game dressed in a white robe, pointing at people. When they say he said to die, I mean in a booming voice, pointing at you and saying, 'Die!' And if you didn't drop instantly, he really started screaming at you to die."

Follow Elizabeth Erwin from abc15.com twittering live from court... link

James Arthur Ray Trial Updates
The Salty Droid, March 2011
The Salty Droid has a new webpage up where he is posting comment etc on the trial as it happens. Apparently, it is expected that this webpage will try to keep the usual profanity down to a more acceptable level. There are tape recordings, videos clips, and various related documents. There are MP3 clips of James Ray playing god. If you are a real human, then this will not fail to effect you emotionally. Don't miss the video where JR talks about people talking about balance but not being balanced themselves, plus his other catchisms. Please do not bother if you are not interested in harsh realities of LGAT seminars and how people are brainwashed and controlled.

Video: Sweat lodge insider speaks out 4:26
CNN, 1st March 2011 Recommended

Video: Family, friends remember sweat lodge victims
CNN, 2nd March 2011
"Three people died in the sweat lodge ceremony led by James Arthur Ray on October 8, 2009. Ryan Smith takes a closer look at the victims' lives."

Sweat lodge trial fuels Native American frustrations
CNN, 2nd March 2011

Prosecution pokes first holes in sweat lodge defense
abc15.com, 3rd March 2011

James Ray Heads To Trial
Sweat Lodge Leader Faces Three Manslaughter Charges In October 2009 Tragedy
KPHO News, 16th February 2011

PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Jury selection started Wednesday in the trial for James Arthur Ray, the self-proclaimed self help guru accused of manslaughter in the deaths of three people at a sweat lodge retreat in October of 2009. The event resulted in the deaths of Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman.

"I started to look around and I saw that there were many people lying around who were not conscious. I saw eyeballs rolled back into their heads," recounted sweat lodge survivor Dr. Beverly Bunn. Her words painted a painful picture of dozens of people pouring out of a Sedona sweat lodge. Some unconscious, some already dead.

"It was like an absolute MASH unit, helicopters coming down. You know, well, when he came out the helicopters weren't there. But at that time it was still bodies everywhere, passed out. And then they, he walked out of there looking like a million bucks," said former Ray employee Melinda Martin.

Comment: This is another court document from the prosecution, presenting a motion for the inclusion of prior acts on the basis of a charge of negligent homicide (which is lesser offence included in the manslaughter charge) which allows for some evidence of the mental state of the defendant to be presented, the .pdf file is available here. Again, it's worth a read, as it provides James Ray quotes from the audio tape of the sweat lodge pre-briefing. Well, I did not know that heat stroke WILL put you into an altered mental state, which was one of the goals of the sweat lodge... So.... according to James Ray, risking heat stroke, is necessary to "move forward in your own evolution". Apparently, James Ray's lawyers have been pleading with the judge to move the trial, see Sweat-lodge guru ramps up effort to move trial to Valley, because they believe too many people are angry and want to see James Ray in jail, see James Arthur Ray trial: Decision on venue change must wait. Well, if you have just read the documentation that is easily available on the internet about what happened, it's easy to see why defence lawyers are trying everything to destroy the case against JR. Due to my own experienceas and after spending hundreds of hours studying this case and other New Age 'gurus', I have learnt an awful lot and I have determined that steering clear of this kind of predator is a priority, but one where knowledge of their behaviour and tactics is mandatory.

Yoga: Not as Old as You Think
…nor very Hindu either. There is telling evidence to debunk this nationalistic myth
Open The Magazine, 12th February 2011

No one denies that Hinduism’s most sacred and ancient texts, including the Bhagvad Gita, describe different kinds of yogic practices. But what does this ancient and sacred tradition of yoga have to do with what people all around the world do in yoga classes in gyms and fitness centres today?

To most Indians, such questions are nothing less than sacrilegious. Yoga is for them what apple pie and motherhood are for Americans: a living symbol of their way of life. [...]

Lately, Hindus in America have started flying the saffron flag over American-style yoga, which consists largely of yogic asanas and stretches. The leading Indo-American lobby, Hindu American Foundation (HAF), has recently started a vocal campaign to remind Americans that yoga was made in India by Hindus. Not just any ordinary Hindus, but Sanskrit-speaking, forest-dwelling Brahmin sages who learned to discipline their bodies in order to purify their atman. The purist Hindu position, articulated by the HAF, is that all yoga, including its physical or hatha yoga component, is rooted in the Hindu religion/way of life that goes all the way back to the Vedic sages and yogis.

There is only one problem with this purist history of yoga: it is false.

Comment: The author Meera Nanda who is a visiting professor of history of science at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, will no doubt upset quite a few people with a rose-tinted view of what many would assume was the ancient origins of modern yoga. It's also interesting to learn that there seems to be some kind of war of words about who owns yoga that has embroiled Deepak Chopra who has been accused of being a “philosophical profiteer”. Really, my only real concern about yoga are people who 'accidentally' have a kundalini awakening and then find out the awful truth that this was the original intention of real spiritual aspirants. From my own experience of kundalini and people who have suffered with kundalini brought about my yoga and/or meditation practices, arguing about the origins really does not help when the spiritual fire breaks out.

Defense in Arizona Sweat Lodge Case Wants it Moved
My Fox Phoenix, 3rd February 2011

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. - A judge overseeing the case of a 2009 sweat lodge ceremony that turned deadly ruled Thursday that evidence of past ceremonies led by the defendant and the conditions of the participants won't be allowed at trial.

The ruling limited the testimony to the 2009 event near Sedona that led to the deaths of three people, potentially shortening what was expected to be a months-long trial. James Arthur Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter. [...]

Prosecutors called a handful of witnesses, who testified that Ray largely ignored participants who were throwing up, shaking violently and disoriented. Defense attorneys argued that many of the participants weren't trained in the medical field and, therefore, couldn't diagnose anyone's condition.

Comment: I am grateful that the folks over at the Rick Ross Cult Education Forum are keeping a vigil concerning the upcoming trial of James 'Death' Ray. There is some disappointment that the prosecution case has has been weakened, as the court paper that summarises 'prior acts' has been excluded. This document amounts to the litany of injuries of people participating in previous James Ray events, but there is some acknowledgement that the court document has collated some very damning evidence which has now become a matter of public record. Just in case you are wondering why I am not supportive of this wolf in sheep's clothing New Age psychopath, from the 10 page document, The Supreme Court State of Arizona vs James Arthur Ray, we read the following small extract:

In 2007, two participants describe people vomiting and seeing at least one person who was unconscious. In 2008, participants describe a scene that can only be seen as a foreshadowing of the events of 2009. using terms like "carnage," "war zone," and "triage unit," particpants have told detective particpants were unconscious, vomiting, and "out of their minds." At least one participant indicated that she though she was going to die, another indicated that in addition to one person being unconscious, "about 20 people were "sick, overheated and throwing up."
Source: apps.supremecourt.az.gov

As a reminder, I would like to clearly state that the autopsy coroner reported that 2 of the people who died had heatstroke and the third person Liz Neuman, had internal organs that had been cooked by the intense heat in the sweat lodge, this is officially described as "multi-system organ failure due to hyperthermia," please see archives Best of the Blog Inside The Cultic Milieu for more details. Please also remember, these people paid nearly 10,000 dollars to be brutally mistreated, by James Ray who called himself a "Practical Mystic," the truth is enough to make you vomit.

The day when you found out that Santa didn’t exist
Om Sweet Om, 28th January 2011
"What Singleton discovered was at once remarkable yet disturbing. While perusing the Cambridge University Library, he came across a book with picture after picture of men and women in the oh-so-familiar yoga asanas, from Warrior Pose, to Downward Dog, to Headstand, Handstand, and more. But this was not a yoga book, but rather a book describing an early 20th century Danish system of exercise called Primitive Gymnastics. According to Singleton, the early 20th century marked a period during which there was a large struggle for independence everywhere in the world. Their logic was that, with stronger bodies they would improve the chances of defeating others in a variety of violent struggles. And so, the Europeans used these gymnastics to strengthen their bodies.

The Indian yoga gurus, once deeming any physical exercises or gymnastic-like postures as something the lower caste people do for a living, now saw the benefits of these exercises, and in turn melded the gymnastic moves into their yoga practices. It was about this time, in the 1930s that the famous Krishnamacharya, teacher of B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, and T.K.V. Desikachar, developed a dynamic asana practice, that combined hatha yoga, wrestling exercises, and modern Western gymnastic movement into what we know of today as the vinyasa yoga system."

Latterday Charlatans: Five Ways to Create a Cult Like Following
Exposing the Con

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in some- thing. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over ra- tionality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rit- uals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power:

THE SCIENCE OF CHARLATANISM, OR HOW TO CREATE A CULT IN FIVE, EASY STEPS

In searching, as you must, for the methods that will gain you the most power for the least effort, you will find the creation of a cultlike following one of the most effective. Having a large following opens up all sorts of possibilities for deception; not only will your followers worship you, they will defend you from your enemies and will voluntarily take on the work of enticing others to join your fledgling cult. This kind of power will lift you to another realm: You will no longer have to struggle or use subterfuge to enforce your will. You are adored and can do no wrong.

Comment: I have read quite a lot on this subject, but this article made me hoot... Obviously, I am one of the troublemakers. No self-respecting cult-leader would want me in their cult because I am a thinker, quite rational and I like to ask lots of pertinent questions! LOL. Seriously, I have wondered many times whether people go to 'Cult School' but I already know the truth. Psychologists tell us people only need to be involved with cults and their leaders (they might not even realise that they have been involved) and they automatically pick up all the nasty traits via transference. If a follower gets the chance to be a cult leader, they will just duplicate what they have learnt unconsciously. I now consider the cult meme as a self-perpetuating virus of the mind.

Elizabeth Clare Prophet & The Church Universal and Triumphant
I could hardly believe what I was reading here...

The Allure of Narcissistic Spirituality
Huffington Post, 18th January 2011

Several months ago, my wife and I attended a prayer service at a synagogue that is well known for its spiritual, and spirited, approach. As we entered, the rabbi was leading a meditation. "Close your eyes and breathe in the peace of Shabbat [the Sabbath]." she said. "And on the out-breathe imagine that you are sending healing love to all beings."

We passed a man who appeared to be deep in meditation. His eyes were closed, and through a slightly opened smile he slowly breathed in and out. As we moved to our seats, I accidentally stepped on his toe. He quickly turned toward me; his smile vanished and he angrily hissed, "Hey, watch it, buddy!"

Comment: Nice article and sentiment. I could elaborate from my personal experience, but I have decided to give the opportunity a miss... LOL!

Horoscope Hang-Up: Earth Rotation Changes Zodiac Signs
Time Newsfeed, 13th January 2011

If you're the type of person who relies on mysterious-sounding locations of stars to determine your personality and outcome in life, get ready to be shocked.

The field of astrology, which is concerned with horoscopes and the like, felt a major disruption from astronomers, who are concerned with actual stars and planets. The astronomers from the Minnesota Planetarium Society found that because of the moon's gravitational pull on Earth, the alignment of the stars was pushed by about a month.

Comment: All change please, all change! LOL! There is now 13 signs too! Well, we are most certain to find out soon the deeper implications of all this from astrologers, but the big question is: will astrologers be shocked or not?

Yes, I have heard of Ophiuchus because some believe astrologers believe it has a bearing on the dating of the Galactic Alignment and the timing of the precession of the Equnioxes. Whatever, it is a fact that astronomers retain ancient knowledge and have contributed to ancient religious text to make sure that knowledge was not lost. If astronomers are making a declaration about the constellations, there has to be a valid reason. This is a nice quote:

"The heavens are alive and they do change after a few thousand years and the astrologer who wants to maintain accuracy must change along with the signs in the heavens." Source: The 13th sign of the Zodiac,

Well, we are certainly finding out that the heavens are alive...

Age of Aquarius Actually Age of Capricorn, Thanks to Rotation of the Earth
Fox News, 11th January 2011
It all comes down to the 26,000-year precession of the planets through space, he said, noting that a variety of gravitational forces have changed the position of the planets in the sky over time. Bottom line, the astrological forecasts we've all been turning to may -- gasp! -- not be accurate at all, or at least they may be intended for other readers. "We're off by about 10 degrees or so, a twelfth of the way around," Kunkle said.

No, your zodiac sign hasn't changed
CNN Blog, 13th January 2011
"That's because the tropical zodiac – which is fixed to seasons, and which Western astrology adheres to – differs from the sidereal zodiac – which is fixed to constellations and is followed more in the East, and is the type of zodiac to which the Star Tribune article ultimately refers. Two zodiacs. That's nothing new."
Some reaction...

Haight Woman Finds Stranger Meditating in Her Kitchen
SF weekly, 12th January 2011

Here is case of not disturbing the peace. A San Francisco woman found an unidentified woman meditating on the kitchen floor of her apartment located near Masonic and Golden Gate Avenues Tuesday evening, police said.

The victim told police that someone rang her doorbell, and because she thought it was her roommate, she buzzed the person inside. After about 10 minutes she came out of her bedroom and saw a woman she did not know sitting cross-legged in her kitchen meditating. The mediating woman, 31, was not surprisingly calm and nonviolent toward the woman whose domicile she had breached. The victim went back into her room and called the police.

Comment: Maybe this meditator has fallen into the trap of meditation becoming a way of medicating themselves. It seems from the description that this person was actually stoned and therefore, did not know where they were or what they were doing. Here is a quote from an article I wrote:

Yet, we find the respected metaphysician Tom Kenyon, who describes himself as "Neo-pagan Tibetan Buddhist and part-time Taoist", with forty years experience as a meditator, who believes that many practicing meditators use it as a drug and are getting stoned! He says that this means that if they don't meditate, they get depressed because they have become dependent on the psychoactive substances produced by the brain during certain types of meditation. These people have found a way to sedate the mind, thus dulling their emotional pain but they are not obtaining any kind of enlightenment!

Spiritual Intelligence, 13th September 2007

With the strong cosmic energies on the planet, I suspect there will be a lot more of these stories to come.

Tribe of Many Colors or Tribe of Many Dollars
Racial Justice, 11th January 2011

Kiesha Crowther AKA “Little Grandmother” has garnered a lot of attention, over a thousand followers, perhaps millions in cash, and even more controversy in less than two years. Falsely claiming to be the “shaman” for the “Sioux Salish tribe,” Crowther has gathered an all white, mostly European “Tribe of Many Colors” around her with bizarre claims. Native activists and former followers have vowed to oppose her and expose her.

From Santa Fe to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, and soon to that most “American Indian” of places, Palm Springs, Kiesha Crowther draws crowds of hundreds with each gathering of ceremony selling, charging from several hundred to up to $6,000 a person. Crowther is a small red haired woman of 33, yet looks young enough to be a teenager. Adding to the strangeness, Crowther calls herself “Little Grandmother” (she is not one) and often talks in a little girl voice with fanciful (and largely false) stories about her childhood.

Crowther mixes in stories of vulnerability with dire prophecies of doom and fantastic claims, none of which are true. She claims to be the “shaman” for the “Sioux Salish tribe.” She claims to be the descendant of famous Lakota and Salish leaders, with a “fullblood Indian mother” and a grandmother supposedly on the reservation. Crowther claims to be made “shaman” by an alleged Salish elder named Falling Feathers. She claims to be recognized by dozens of tribes from New Zealand to United States to the Arctic Circle to Scandinavia to Central America. She claims to have been recognized by Native tribes at as young as age eight and to be the fulfillment of a supposed prophecy about a “fair haired girl.” She even suggests in one video that she is the returned White Buffalo Calf Woman of Lakota prophecy, a claim sure to outrage the Plains Indian tribes that hold the prophecy sacred. Yet not a single one of these claims are true. Most are extremely obvious lies. [...]

Dr. Al Carroll is a historian, professor, former Fulbright Scholar, and activist for Native causes. His first book is Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans From Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War from University of Nebraska Press.

Research for this article includes contributions by numerous activists, former followers, Sky Davis and T. Tavares, and a source very close to the Crowther family. Annika Banfeld translated articles and radio interviews from Swedish to English.

Comment: Oh dear, it seems that Little Grandmother is a Little Liar... well from the information provided here, she is actually quite a Big Liar... This article on Kiesha Crowther includes all the anti-fraud research about her to date, including genealogy and all her claims of elders supporting her debunked. The Rick Ross Cult Education Forum have a thread about her Kiesha Crowther/Little Grandmother - Tribe of Many Colors, but this is the most definitive article written by Dr. Al Carroll. I am now wondering where she got her info on 2012... as she seems to have just copied other people's work... Google had 2,370 results when I used this article headline, which I found quite surprising. It seems that quite a few Native Americans, activists and sympathisers are really upset.

Appropriation of NDN Traditions, Rites, Regalia
YouTube, 20th December 2010

Truthout Report on Military "Spirituality Test" Featured by Keith Olbermann (Video)
Truth Out, 6th January 2011

Truthout's reporting on the Army's so-called "spiritual fitness" test was featured on Thursday by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann on Countdown. Mikey Weinstein, president and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, discussed Jason Leopold's report detailing the forced spiritual testing of over 800,000 uniformed soldiers as part of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program.

Comment: It's looks like the US military want their soldiers to be fundamentalist zealots, being spiritual (whatever that means), New Agey (whatever that means), or a Christian is not good enough... The US Military do have a problem with soldiers comitting suicide and it seems the problem is there are soldiers who can't see the positive side of invading other countries, bombing them back into the Stone Age and stealing their resources. Then there are the soldiers who don't see any joy in being experimented on with nasty cocktails of drugs, chemicals and radiation poisoning, or being traumatised by the conflict of war. The female soldiers being raped by their colleagues can't be too happy about life too. Since, it's very easy to see the connection between fundamentalism and those who use cult mind control techniques to generate brain dead but 'happy' adherents, it seems the US military won't be satisfied until they have the same level of brain numbed, emotional zombie zealot types in the ranks.

Watching The Brain - A Secret History - Part 1 - Mind Control
BBC 4, January 2011

In a compelling and at times disturbing series, Dr Michael Mosley explores the brutal history of experimental psychology.

To begin, Michael traces the sinister ways this science has been used to try to control our minds. He finds that the pursuit of mind control has led to some truly horrific experiments and left many casualties in its wake. Extraordinary archive captures what happened - scientists systematically change the behaviour of children; law abiding citizens give fatal electric shocks; a gay man has electrodes implanted in his head in an attempt to turn his sexuality.

Michael takes a hallucinogenic drug as part of a controlled experiment to try to understand how its mind-bending properties can change the brain. This is a scientific journey goes to the very heart of what we hold most dear - our free will, and our ability to control our own destiny.

Broadcasts
1. Thu 6 Jan 2011 21:00 BBC Four
2. Fri 7 Jan 2011 00:30 BBC Four
3. Fri 7 Jan 2011 03:00 BBC Four
4. Tue 11 Jan 2011 23:00 BBC Four

Comment: Would you allow yourself to be injected with Psilocybin mushroom (magic mushrooms) by Professor Nut or is that spelt Knut? I am thinking: are the BBC script writers having a laugh? Quite frankly, if you are interested in mind control and the connections with cult leaders and gurus, then this documentary is recommeded as part of a necessary learning program. The section on brainwashing is defined as the process of removing existing conditioning by inducing a nervous breakdown to re-wire the brain in order to dramatically change beliefs in a short period of time. The term 'breakdown' is misleading as the same can be achieved in peak mystical experiences, that is why cult leaders who know what they are doing are so dangerous. This explanation does explain what James 'Death' Ray was trying to do, but he failed miserably as he pushed a group of seekers so hard that three died. The discussion about people obeying authority figures was interesting and explains the approach taken by some who in their normal modus operandi, will often approach people and shout 'jump', just to see who responds. For those outside the UK, Watching The Brain - A Secret History - Part 1 - Mind Control

The Burning Bush They’ll Buy, but Not ESP or Alien Abduction
New York Times, 12th November 2010

Practically anything goes at the American Academy of Religion’s annual conference, where scholars of dozens of religions convene annually to debate, relate and on occasion mate. Conversation ranges from the Talmud to tantra, from Platonism to Satanism. This year, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 in Atlanta, nearly 5,000 people attended panels including “Seeking New Meanings of God and Dao” and “Madness, Smallpox, and Death in Tibet.”

What was almost impossible to find, at this orgy of intellectual curiosities, was discussion of the paranormal: ESP, premonitions, psychic powers, alien abduction and the like. This is a conference concerned with all sorts of supernatural and metaphysical claims. In panels, over coffee and during cocktail-hour quarrels, they talk of Moses at the burning bush, the virgin birth, Muhammad’s journey on a winged horse. So why nothing about, say, mental telepathy?

Comment: This is no surprise to me. It seems that explaining to people that humans are on an evolutionary path and that we are meant to evolve many different latent human abilities, is not on the agenda for many religious organisations. Meanwhile, it seems that our scientists and psychologists have been studying human development for decades and have managed to verify that humans have a host of senses that only work when receptors in the body are properly wired-up to the brain to permit human comprehension. Basically, we all have the same abilities but some have got various areas in the brain switched on and actually working. It seems that a few religious groups have worked out what you need to do to get the dead parts of the brain active or kick started, but other religious groups actively seek to keep people afraid of developing their innate abilities. I suppose the real question must be: why are most religious organisations so staid and happy to encourage people to remain unenlightened and undeveloped?

Society seeks guidance from space on Peak District climb
Yorkshire Post, 29th August 2010

THE Peak District's highest mountain, Kinder Scout, is best known for its dramatic gritstone landscape – rather than its links with aliens from Venus and Mars. However, over the Bank Holiday weekend, almost 30 members of the Aetherius Society came from all over the country to pray and chant mantras on the peak, which they believe to be charged with "spiritual energy" by extraterrestrials.

Founded in 1955 by Dr George King, the Aetherius Society believes that there are 19 mountains worldwide, nine of which are in this country, which are "charged" with this energy.

Comment: Obviously, I have a different opinion, but I will point out that historically, certain mountain peaks in Tibet have been crowded out with literally tens of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists in hundreds of monasteries and temples, (some of which still exist and have been specially preserved), who were interested in obtaining this special energy.

Beware of the fake shaman (Video!)
RT News, 14th August 2010

From favorable weather and a good harvest, to healing and marriages – in ancient times, shamans were in charge of almost all aspects of life. In Siberia they are still part of everyday life. But beware of fakes.

[...] It is believed that shamans act as intermediaries between the human, natural and spiritual worlds. A shaman’s healing abilities are said to come from his use of these forces to mend an individual’s soul. So in this modern age, what is involved in this ancient role? But as interest grows, a word to the wise: select your shaman carefully.

“There are huge numbers of shamans now, and the majority of them – I can say this because I see it – are just fakes,” said Aleksandr Beketov. “I know personally one shaman who used to be a high-ranked official and got to be some sort of glamorous shaman after he retired. He likes to wear expensive accessories, hang out with fashionable people. There are a few shamans like this, but people only go to them simply because they don't know the difference.” But Valentin claims his bloodline is rich with true shaman heritage, a tradition he plans to continue:

“We respect our history and culture, traditions and customs, worship the holy fire, our great ancestors, gods of the sky, the earth, sun and moon. Worship the Creator of the universe, Mother Nature. We preach living in harmony with self and with the nature.”

Comment: So, is this a plug for the New Age tourists/seekers? Yes, there are many "plastic" shamans and many who are genuine who have lost some of their ancient knowledge, but I am especially concerned about those who claim to be genuine who don't seem to have a clue about whats going on, considering the fact they are supposed to be in contact with the "great ancestors, gods of the sky, the earth, sun and moon".

Nepal's 'Buddha boy' investigated for attacking group
BBC News, 27th July 2010

A Nepalese man popularly known as "Buddha boy" is being investigated by police amid reports he beat a group of locals for disturbing his meditation. Ram Bahadur Bomjan has admitted to assaulting some of the local villagers in Bara district on Thursday, according to local media.

Mr Bomjan is famed for spending months in the forest without eating. His devotees believe he is the reincarnation of the Buddha, and he says he has not eaten since 2005.

Comment: If you have been following the story here, it really does make you wonder about his mental state....

Are there dangers in being 'spiritual but not religious'?
CNN, 4th June 2010

It's a trendy phrase people often use to describe their belief that they don't need organized religion to live a life of faith. But for Jesuit priest James Martin, the phrase also hints at something else: egotism.

"Being spiritual but not religious can lead to complacency and self-centeredness," says Martin, an editor at America, a national Catholic magazine based in New York City. "If it's just you and God in your room, and a religious community makes no demands on you, why help the poor?"

Religious debates erupt over everything from doctrine to fashion. Martin has jumped into a running debate over the "I'm spiritual but not religious" phrase.

Comment: Well, lets put it like this, after a mauling by people who I considered to be spiritual, I was forced to study human development to find out where I was in my development and then estimate where others were in their development. Once I had done the work, I could see that the mauling was inevitable. Some dogs bite, that is my conclusion. Since that time, I have been driven to do more research and these days the label of "spiritual" now means absolutely nothing to me, but the old adage of wolves in sheeps clothing still applies... Incidentally, I was accused of being of being elitist, but in my defence, I will say that I am just much more careful. I was being approached by another dog and this one gave the impression that he liked to sink his teeth in...

Retired Bishop says Hell was invented by the Church to Control People
Paranormal, Mind, Body, April 2010

Bishop: I don't think Hell exists. I happen to believe in Life after Death, but I don't think it has a thing to do with reward and punishment.

Religion is always in the control business and that is something that people really don't understand. It's in the guilt producing control business and if you have heaven as a place where you rewarded for your goodness and hell is a place where you are punished for your evil then you sort of have control of the population. And so they create this fiery place, which has quite literally scared the hell out of a lot of people throughout Christian history and it's part of a control tactic.

Comment: This bishop is a clear as a bell, giving his opinion after being part of the operation for so long.

Holy man resigns over sex scandal
Yahoo News, 30th March 2010

BANGALORE, India (Reuters) – A Hindu holy man with thousands of followers across India resigned as head of a religious organization on Tuesday after police began investigating his role in a sex scandal, officials said.

Video footage allegedly showing Nithyananda Swami, head of Dhyanapeetam, or "knowledge center," frolicking with two women angered hundreds of devotees who tried to ransack his center outside the southern city of Bangalore this month. [...]

The 32-year-old has denied any links to the women and said the tapes were doctored, but the police are investigating and have asked people to come forward with evidence.

Nithyananda Swami, who has big politicians and movie stars as devotees, announced his resignation in a statement. "I have decided to live a life of spiritual seclusion, for some indefinite time...," he said on his website.

Comment: The results of the sting that caught this guru are all over the internet and it certainly did not looked 'faked'. However, I am impressed that he has not tried to brazen it out like others desperate to maintain their power...

Self-help guru again offers advice
Ray tweets while awaiting trial in Sedona deaths
AZ Central News, 30th March 2010

Self-help guru James Arthur Ray is back in the game. Ray, who last year suspended his personal appearances after one of his sweat-lodge events near Sedona led to three deaths, posted his first detailed advice video on a Twitter blog Monday.

He had hinted last week on his Twitter site that he would resurrect his business, telling readers that he had "a wealth of information" he wanted to share.

Ray's re-emergence is notable, given that he had dropped out of public view after last year's fatalities, saying he wanted to devote his time to getting to the bottom of what happened at the five-day Spiritual Warrior retreat in October. Ray later was charged with three counts of manslaughter in the deaths. His Yavapai County trial is set to start at the end of August.

Comment: I am still following the comments at Rick Ross Cult Education Forum and I have amazed that some preople have been predicting James Ray's behaviour correctly, as I believe they are retired professionals who have spent many years studying the behaviour of sociopaths. Here, the media are picking up on JR's tweeting which has given people an opportunity to vent their anger, which must be considered healthy in the circumstances. So, it worth mentioning the nastinest of this man and why he is being shunned by others in the New Age movement after being a major star. It seems the truth is getting out and fellow scam artists do not want to get tarred with the same brush, as facts come out that JR is a monster, a nasty callous brute who uses a large selection of effective persuasion tactics on unsuspecting people to engineer their consent. This is an extract of a post from a woman called Jeannika:

I suffer from autoimmune disease and severe allergies. Some days I can walk without a cane or walker, most days I can't. I was in a wheelchair for years. I've been told to get my affairs in order so many times, by so many different doctors that it's sometimes difficult thinking about living a normal life let alone planing for the future. I wanted to be healthy, have a good life, thrive. (Still do!) I thought what do I have to lose?

From then on I was a woman with a mission, making affirmations, reading everything I could get my hands on, forcing myself to walk, etc. I feel like such an idiot. In 2007, I heard that James Ray was going to be in my area for a "Free Lecture" so I went. I wanted to thank him for reminding me I'm more than my body or my illness.

It was the first time I walked into a building without my allergy mask, first time I stood in line for any length of time (we waited almost two hours ... they were very late), first time getting out in public in years. Mr Ray put on a good show, way too materialistic for me, but I wasn't there about money or getting rich. Neither my husband or myself could afford the retreat they were selling.

So when the lecture was over I stood in line with my walker to say thank you. When Mr Ray looked at me I felt like rolling up into a ball. I'm fat and I've seen that look before, from people who think fat people are useless pigs. I barely got five words out, when he asked me if I'd signed up for the weekend. I told him I didn't have the money. Like before, he shut me up.

James Ray: "I'm going to do you a favor" he said, "Don't ever say that again, the universe is listening."

Me: "But I don't have any money right ..."

James Ray: "I TOLD YOU NOT TO SAY THAT!"

Me: "But it's true."

James Ray: "Then borrow it!"

Me: "I have no one to borrow from."

James Ray: "You mean to say you have absolutely no friends who can loan you money?"

Me: quietly ... "No, my friends are struggling to."

James Ray: "Do you want to be a fat slob and a failure for the rest of your life?"

The brutality of his words, the sound of his voice, took my breath away. The people standing next to me were shocked by his words.

Whispers from people around me
"Did he just call that woman with the walker a fat slob?" "What did she say?" "Look at that lard assed bitch, James is right, she's a nothing."

I wanted to die. I have no idea how I made it back to my car. I'd been feeling so good, but at that moment, all I wanted to do was run outside and jump off the parking structure. I cried for hours afterward. All I'd wanted to do was thank him.

That was 2007, and I'm still here, alive and kicking. I located new doctors, new treatments, physical therapy, walking, different foods. Life is still hard, but it looks like I'm going to be around for a while now. Not because of some new age secret, or law of attraction ... but a lot of hard work.

When I heard about the people who had died at the sweat lodge, I realized that could have been me. Had Mr Ray shown a modicum of compassion, allowed me to pay back James Ray International for their weekends ... I'd have gone ... no questions asked, because he told me it was safe. He told me I could be cured, he had cured himself ... others ... anything we wanted was ours for the asking. source

Now, James Ray has done us a great favour and revealed his business plan. All along I have been interested in knowledgeable opinions about what is going on, but for James Ray to spell it out is a real kicker. Proud to say that I am NOT part of the Enlightenment Business. Here we go, with a commentary from the great Anticult:

James Ray reveals the LGAT scam right there. Usually, they conceal it in other language, but in this case its spelled out.

A Purpose
A Vision
As stated, the first two are the initial salespitch, and they get into peoples life "meanings". That is the Big Claim, the set-up.

Then it moves into drawing people into the system.

A Mentor - start focussing on the Guru as your Leader in your mind.
A Practice - the start of the indoctrination process, with covert tech inserted inside the Practice (TM meditation, The Work)
A Coach - upselling to a system of more personal indocrination and sales, costing $100 hr of course.
A Group - getting lured and Love-Bombed into the group/sect, using local meetings and conference calls, its the start of Social Influence.
A Retreat - getting even more deeply involved in a LGAT seminar environment for a weekend, then 9+ days at a hotel or in the wilderness.

That is the exact same process used by Byron Katie, Royal Way, SGI Soka Gakkai, Sai Baba, TM, Scientology, and basically any group or sect you can think of. They start with a big pitch, inserting the Leader-Mentor in your mind. Start a Practice, which is always based on deception with covert persuasion tech embedded in it. (like Scientology Auditing, the Byron Katie Work) Connect the person with a Coach, which is someone from the Group who is a trained salesperson and recruiter, which draws them into a small local group. They then get upsold into the LGAT Seminar Retreat, where the the big guns come out and people get locked in with powerful persuasion techniques.

Of course, none of that is needed. Its just a way to draw people in, to serve the Guru's needs, which are based around extracting money and free labor from the seeker. But that is a good list, which exposes the techniques of the process of persuasion and LGAT luring.
Original source: James Arthur Ray Sermon from Cyberspace – Chapter One

The night a guru tried to kill me on TV
When Surender Sharma said he could kill me with magic, I had to put him to the test. The result was a triumph for rationalism
The Guardian, 23rd March 2010

When Surender Sharma said he could kill me with magic, I had to put him to the test. The result was a triumph for rationalism

In different cultures, sense of humour varies. In the south Indian state of Kerala, from where I come, many people have great fun with this arguably shortest joke anywhere in circulation: A dog tried to open a coconut. And what happened? you may ask. Well, nothing; that's the joke. It did not work, of course.

My encounter with Pandit Surender Sharma had something of a Kerala joke stretched out for hours. Nobody laughed, though, when he tried to kill me with tantric rituals on live TV. Except me, of course.

It was in March 2008. The tantra master and I were studio guests on a popular TV show to debate on the subject of "Tantric power vs science". He boasted that he was able to kill anyone by mantra and tantra within three minutes. I grabbed my chance to put him in check and offered myself for a test. Caught on air, he couldn't escape without losing face – and his high-profile clientele. So our unprecedented experiment began.

The master started chanting his trade mark "killer" mantra that has become quite a hit on the internet since: "Om lingalingalingalinga, kilikilikili…"

Comment: The religious and metaphysical world has been riddled with psychopaths and sociopaths, just go around the internet and find the websites of ex-devotees, it is absolutely amazing. Last week I discovered a website forum and threads to support those 'recovering' from the poison of a very well known channeler. What was revealed was so shocking I could hardly believe what I read, but it seems there is some video proof, of what goes on behind closed doors because any behaviour, however disgusting can be sold if you know how! Anyway, due to one man deciding to take on this prince of darkness and the broadcasting of this mantric tantric failure, I wonder what the impact will be, in terms of raising consciousness,...

Sceptic challenges guru to kill him live on TV
Times Online, 19th March 2010

When a famous tantric guru boasted on television that he could kill another man using only his mystical powers, most viewers either gasped in awe or merely nodded unquestioningly. Sanal Edamaruku’s response was different. “Go on then — kill me,” he said.

Mr Edamaruku had been invited to the same talk show as head of the Indian Rationalists’ Association — the country’s self-appointed sceptic-in-chief. At first the holy man, Pandit Surender Sharma, was reluctant, but eventually he agreed to perform a series of rituals designed to kill Mr Edamaruku live on television. Millions tuned in as the channel cancelled scheduled programming to continue broadcasting the showdown, which can still be viewed on YouTube.

Comment: There are lots of stories of gurus being exposed at the moment and I think the era of gurus with no accountability is coming to an end.

James Ray Death Lodge: autopsy results
Speculative Examiner, 17th March 2010

copy: The Death Lodge autopsy results are pretty much exactly what we expected - cooked to death by James Ray.

Liz Neuman's report said "multi-system organ failure due to hyperthermia" which basicallly means it was too hot for her internal organs to function. The report notes she had a history of loss of consciousness in a "sweat lodge" ceremony as well as a history of multi-system organ failure, which to me sounds like James Ray may have tried to cook her to death before. James Shore's report says the cause of death was heatstroke. It also mentions some kind of heart disease, but it doesn't sound like that was a factor in the cause to me (although I'm not a doctor or anything).

Kirby Brown was also found to have died due to heatstroke, but the report did not note any complicating conditions at all. The reports also state that she and James Shore were essentially dead on arrival. If you remember from previous reports they were alive right up until the end of the Death Lodge and may have survived if they had been pulled out immediately instead of twenty minutes (or so) later by the Mercers.

Comment: Please remember that the Lakota Indians have filed a lawsuit against James Ray, for inpersonating an Indian and breaking the peace between the United States and the Lakota Indians. This was not a sweat lodge this was a death trap and as the copious testimonies of people involved reveal, it was expected that people would get ill and the disclaimers they all signed (see below) assumed that some might even die. This event will become a major case study for students studying the abuse of power, meanwhile in the last few days, JR has been tweeting about Alice in Wonderland, so I can't understand why his mental health has not been checked. James Arthur Ray trial to take 3 to 4 months

Finally, the judge advised Ray that he "does have to appear during the trial, you understand that Mr. Ray?" Is this strange or what? Does this mean that James Ray was hoping to avoid attending his own trial?

James Ray General Release Form source & copy

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. BY SIGNING THIS AGREEMENT YOU ARE WAIVING ALL RIGHTS TO COMPENSATION IN CASE OF INJURY.

In consideration of being permitted to participate in the World Wealth Summit event (the “Event”) and being granted access to the premises where the Event will be conducted, and for other good and valuable consideration, I agree to release, waive and discharge James Ray International, Inc. (the “Company”), its principals, directors, shareholders, employees, agents, promoters, independent contractors, sponsors, volunteer assistants, associated coaches, and others associated with the Company, or any of them (the “Releasees”), from all liability to the undersigned for any loss or damage, and any claim or demands therefore on account of injury to the undersigned’s person (whether physical, emotional, psychological, financial or otherwise) or property or resulting in death, whether caused by the negligence of the Releasees or otherwise, relating to the Event, whether sustained during the Event or not.

I wonder how many people bothered to read this disclaimer, but James Ray KNEW that people could die at his 'Wealth' Seminars and made sure he was not liable. Hence, it seems that the Lakota Indians might have a better chance of a successful prosecution against James Ray, but we will have to see.

Judge issues orders in sweat lodge case
WKBT News, 16th March 2010

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. (AP) - A Yavapai County judge Tuesday morning ordered that autopsy photos of 3 people who died following a sweat lodge ceremony be withheld. Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow also ordered that only the first and last pages of the autopsy reports may be released.

The judge set a trial date of Aug. 31 for motivational speaker James Arthur Ray. He's accused of leading a sweat lodge ceremony near Sedona that resulted in the deaths of 3 people last October.

Eighteen others were hospitalized with illnesses ranging from dehydration to kidney disease. Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter stemming from the deaths.

Comment: I have spent a lot of time on Rick Ross's Cult Education Forum and I think I will be eternally grateful for the information I have gleaned but at the same time it is extremely worrisome. I have just been watching a recommended BBC documentary "The Century Of The Self". The following are my notes from part 4.

TV programmers use certain types of TV programs as "ground bait" to get people to watch programs directly afterwards that are used to get certain messages across to the public. Politics is used to appeal to the selfish, greedy aspects of human nature and emotional, isolated individuals. Denial of compassion has been sanctioned and made respectable. If people choose to be homeless, having no compassion can be respected. Politics must appeal to self interest. Public psychology comes up with candidates that appealed to individual's desires. Politicians must appeal to personal consumer whims! Appealing to people's desires -- self-interested individuals and pandering to primitive desires -- unconscious desires -- the politics of the self -- fulfilling inner needs and desires. Consumerism -- illusion of control whilst the 'responsible' elite continue to manage society. People's desires are in charge! Freud: primitive unconscious desires, focus groups -- whims but people are contradictory and irrational! Consumer democracy does not work, there is a problem of selfish instant driven individuals. The public are passive consumers and what is being delivered is essentially doggie treats!

Now, James Ray killed 3 people in his "Harmonic Wealth Seminar". He had attempted to go deep into people's unconscious selves in an attempt to reprogram them and set himself up as their God and he planned that they would continue to be his followers. How he was allowed get so close can be explained by the mass programming of society that is encourages people to be revere wealth and self-interest is good, as this documentary clearly reveals. What's more we can compare this to what is going on in the New Age movement and the mantra of "The Law of Attraction". You don't need to be that intelligent to see that some New Age philosophy is focused on supposedly teaching people how to fulfill their desires and the lack of compassion has been sanctioned by using karma to blame victims for "attracting" circumstances into their life, however bad. So whilst people are busy "attracting", the whole frigging world is changing and some haven't even noticed and some don't even care! The message of the documentary that business focused on giving people what they wanted and this mentality spread into other areas of people's beliefs like politics is really quite frightening because the evidence is clear that how people sell spirituality and perceive being spiritual has also been perverted. If you don't appeal to self-interested individuals you will get nowhere, that's a sweeping statement, but I don't have evidence to disagree with it yet but I find that thought really scary, but it explains a lot of what is going on. The judge has set a date for trial, it will be very interesting to see what the mainstream media do with the information from the prosecution case.

Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuse
New York Times, 6th March 2010

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Raised as Scientologists, Christie King Collbran and her husband, Chris, were recruited as teenagers to work for the elite corps of staff members who keep the Church of Scientology running, known as the Sea Organization, or Sea Org.

They signed a contract for a billion years — in keeping with the church’s belief that Scientologists are immortal. They worked seven days a week, often on little sleep, for sporadic paychecks of $50 a week, at most.

But after 13 years and growing disillusionment, the Collbrans decided to leave the Sea Org, setting off on a Kafkaesque journey that they said required them to sign false confessions about their personal lives and their work, pay the church thousands of dollars it said they owed for courses and counseling, and accept the consequences as their parents, siblings and friends who are church members cut off all communication with them.

Comment: According to the book Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change [1978, 1979, 1995, 2005] by Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman. Scientology is the worse cult on the planet to recover from, taking on average 12 years. The following video of the brainwashing that they call "training" is the reason why. Please take 24 minutes of your life to watch the video and understand why this organisation is so dangerous. Video: Indoctrination: Scientology Basic Training Routines

The most ridiculous aspect of this, is people actually pay for themselves to be turned into unemotional robots that can be triggered on command! Incredibly, I have read that people say that they found these basic drills helpful and gave them confidence, because presumably, they teach people how to control others! To be honest, I had no idea it was that bad... By the way, Scientology is extreme but the New Agey 'cult' milieu is just much more subtle and if people are not careful, the same mentality and emotional rigidity can be developed over a much longer time frame.

James Ray Foes Refusing to Take his Tweets Sitting Down
Rummorat, 6th March 2010

Mr. Mystical Nonsense – or James Arthur Ray, as he’s more commonly known – keeps cranking out the crap on his Twitter account.

But it would seem that those who no longer buy into his New Age nonsense aren’t sitting by quietly as he spews his spiritual spittle into cyberspace.

There’s a whole slew of naysayers saying nay in Tweets which they’re addressing directly to Mr. Ray, and they make for some great reading.

Comment: Good to see that the rebellion of the clones has started.... JR Tweets

SEC says 'psychic' scammed investors
NY Post, 4th March 2010

Too bad he couldn't foresee getting caught. Federal regulators filed suit today against a self-proclaimed psychic who allegedly scammed $6 million by conning suckers into believing that his extrasensory abilities would make them "piles of money" by trading foreign currencies.

Sean David Morton -- who bills himself as "America's Prophet" -- "falsely touted his historical success in psychically predicting the various rises and falls of the market," according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The California-based huckster -- whose Web site shows him posing with celebs including Sting, Robin Williams and the late Farrah Fawcett -- solicited investors on late-night radio shows and at the 2006 "New Life Expo" in New York City, the Manhattan federal court filing says.

Comment: Since I have been studying scammers, it seems there are strong concerns that the New Age market is seen as a "soft target", so this case sounds like a conman playing the role of a psychic and nothing more. The real problem is those who are very intelligent and have spent a long time mastering the dark art of persuasion like James Ray. They literally see the New Age community as a gold mine and this is made much easier when people refuse to use discernment and think they are safe because someone with a BIG NAME has been promoted by someone else with an even BIGGER NAME. After spending hundreds of hours at the Cult Education Forum, I now clearly see that predators in the New Age world are very good at setting traps and offering bait and this is all done with charm and flair. It does not matter whether the bait is learning how to meditate, enlightenment, energy balancing, "harmonic wealth", "The Work", the goal is to re-engineer your beliefs so the perpetrator is replaced as your God, and you become a follower for life constantly spending money or giving your time for free to help this person succeed in their aims. The mind control means that victims become mindless automatons that can be triggered on command and that is how various cult leaders have operated for hundreds of years. These days the process is refined that's all.

'Psychic healer' who claims he can cure cancer by laying his hands on patients is facing jail
Daily Mail, 1st March 2010

A self-proclaimed healer is being prosecuted over testimonials on his website claiming he can cure cancer. Adrian Pengelly, 43, says he is a 'visionary healer, energy worker, teacher and psychic' whose powers have made him 'world famous for treating people with cancer'. His website is laden with endorsements attesting to his apparently supernatural abilities, many claiming he is a 'miracle worker'.

But he is being taken to court by trading standards officers under the Cancer Act of 1939, which bans advertising offers to treat cancer and carries the threat of a three-month jail sentence. [...] [...]

He also claims he can cure people around the world using 'distance healing'. Pengelly, who is due before Hereford magistrates this month, says he has never seen his website, which is run by his patients. He said: 'The people on my website have done it for free, out of the goodness of their hearts.

His 'patients' are numerous. One, from IL in Shropshire, states: 'I was diagnosed August/08 with a 4cm breast cancer tumour. I had weekly healing treatments with Adrian until I was operated on four weeks later. 'My surgeons report was - the tumour when removed was 2.5cm, with no cancer spread!! I think this result speaks for itself!!'

Comment: I think for all the publicity he's getting, 3 months banged up in jail might be part of his business plan! Seriously, this man is an obvious threat to the pharmaceutical companies who are already suffering because their drugs are no longer working on humans in comparison to placebos. Therefore, we can only surmise that the ability of humans to heal themselves with their own intent is accelerating. Anyway, how can he be prosecuted for a website run by thrilled ex clients?

Indian holy leader and BA stewardess arrested over prostitution racket
Times Online, 1st March 2010

A self-styled Hindu holy man and a British Airways stewardess have been arrested in Delhi on suspicion of involvement in a multimillion-pound prostitution racket.

Police said that Shiv Myra Dwivedi, a Hindu swami, used his temple in south Delhi as a front to provide as many as 200 prostitutes, including air hostesses and students, often to clients in five-star hotels.

In his spiritual guise he claimed a following of more than 100,000 people, including leading politicians. Undercover officers arrested him, another alleged pimp and six alleged prostitutes including two air hostesses, one from BA and one from the Indian airline Jagson, on Friday evening, Delhi police said.

Comment:As a seeker of truth, I have spent a lot of time researching the guru culture, because I want to understand how people can lose their lives when their own defenses have been breached by others using psychological reprogramming techniques. There is also a need to try and understand my own dealings with guru wannabes and the fact that some people are nothing more than magicians. The case being the need to sort out how certain people can develop a following that is often based on some truth mixed with lies. In this regard, I have now learnt that truth is generally used as bait and the aim is to hook people for life, with the lies (but obviously this done to deceive so it's not obvious). Anyway, I have been amazed at how many famous gurus have been busted over the years. What's more with the internet, disaffected followers can air their grievances online and some of the tales are very distressing. So let's say, over the last few years, gurus whether they be old school or the ultra modern versions are being outted Big Time. Hence, I was recently shocked to learn that a very well known 'American guru' is known to have his followers beaten up when they upset him. If you do the research, this is very much part of the control by fear and shame that is prevalent in maintaining long termers. As an alternative thinker, I have also been very concerned that there does not seem to be a great deal of interest from certain esoteric traditions about what is taking place on the planet. I have not come across many major predictions or warnings or guidance and I find that odd, so it really makes you wonder whether it's the same old problem of those with the best marketing skills, having pushed out those that are in fact more spiritual and/or in touch with universal energies but are relatively unknown on the global scene. Btw, this image icon used here is a true fake guru. The actor Maxie Santillan was seen out with Paris Hilton in March 2008 and many presumed that this was an attempt at a pretense that she was becoming more spiritual. Bizarre but true.

Guru in Ariz. sweat lodge deaths released
KSWT News, 26th February 2010

A motivational speaker charged with manslaughter for the deaths of 3 people was released from jail Friday. James Arthur Ray walked out of a Camp Verde jail at 11:10 a.m., according to Yavapai County Jail Sgt. Dee Huntley. Ray gained his freedom after Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow lowered Ray's bond Thursday from $5 million to $525,000. Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter stemming from a sweat lodge ceremony he led near Sedona in October.

Comment: James Ray is out on bail but he has immediately started to regain his psychological stranglehold over his followers, so people are now following his tweets and interpreting the intent for those who are not so familiar with this kind of manipulation, see James Arthur Ray - 2 die at Arizona retreat's sweat lodge pg 64.

I have spent hundreds of hours now studying the techniques used by modern guru salespersons and it is not easy and straight forward. However, after going through some major threads at the Cult Education Forum one will realise that these fraudsters literally crack people open like a safe and re-engineer their understanding of reality, hooking their victims to them for life. This requires a sociopath with superior intelligence and expertise that requires practice, no wonder he called himself a "Practical mystic", because what he does is a complete mystery to more than 99.9% of people. What's interesting is that breaking people down by hooking into people's personal trauma is being done in many different spiritual circles, often by people with no qualifications in psychotherapy and therefore cannot handle some people who get severely retraumatised, hence the suicides that can occur.

The best piece of advice I have come across is that if you are encouraged to go to a self-development seminar, is to check out the disclaimers. Any mention of injury or even death, run for your life because these people have seen it over and over again and they consider people having breakdowns to be just collateral damage. I have been truely informed by what is going on and totally amazed that the New Age community is habouring these fraudsters -- of coure that's because most have zero understanding of what they do. Anyway, if you have any suspicions about a particlar spiritual leader, it is worth doing a background check using the internet, it might just save you a lot of heartache and mental stress. Let's say, I am no longer interested in people who seek to blame the victim after it is becomes clear that someone has been savaged by a sociopath, psychopath, malignant narcissist or predator.

James Ray Death Lodge interview: Spiritual Warrior 2008
Speculative Examiner, 26th February 2010

In case anybody has been forgetting what really happened at James Ray’s events, let’s take a look at a police interview with a participant from the James Ray Spiritual Warrior 2008 retreat.

"Det. Diskin: In 2008 I understand you were in the sweat lodge. Can you tell me what problems that you saw?" "Yeah, inside a sweat lodge it's hard 'cause it's so dark. I was on the hot side, you know totally opposite the door where Kirby [Brown] and James [Shore] and the other people who had trouble were sitting. I didn't find much relief sitting back there but I remember one girl trying to get out and she was talking, repeating the same thing over again and James [Ray] told her to be quiet but she kept talking as she was moving toward the door to get out. I stayed in the whole time and when I came out I asked one of the Dream Team members, I said somebody go get James Ray right now cause I'm gonna die. Of course my request was ignored, and from that point I was hosed down with water, I was a mess. [...]

"Det. Diskin: You thought that you were dying and you wanted him with to be there while you died?" "Yes, yes, absolutely, but he had gotten in his car and had already left." [...]

"He's not who he said he was, he doesn't have the credentials that he said he did. He's used mind manipulation, coercion, persuasion with (Inaudible) programming. You know, he's, he's not the person at all that I thought he was."

Comment: The more reports you read about James Ray, the more you realise the extent of his devious and callous behaviour. What's more, you realise there are others out there with the exact same mentality and 'the followers' who don't realise that their minds are being re-engineered by some very dark practices. Here is the photo from the James Ray school of enlightenment. It makes you wonder if people really thought he was serious.... Harmonic Wealth Weekend - March 2009

(These comments have been moved from an earlier posting about science.) Now I wish that more of effort could be made to police the New Age community and some intellectual discussion about what can be done. I am thrilled that posters at the Cult Education forum has realised that a lot of scammers have moved into the New Age community and upgraded the role of a fake guru. Thus, many are being enlightened about how once ethical techniques have been perverted and now hypnosis and persuasion tactics are now being used on people without their acknowledgement. But quite frankly, it's the sheer dishonesty and lack of integrity that is bothering me. Even when Oprah called out James Frey for the factual untruths in his book "A Million Little Pieces", prominent New Wager Wayne Dyer said that he would have still published this fake memoir with all the lies! What? The problem is that crap sells very well in the New Age world and many have little interest in reality. I can't wait for James Ray to go to trial, hopefully, the prosecutors will have done their homework on the techniques he was using and at least some more of the thinking public can be educated. I realise that many New Agers refuse to think, but once people have switched off certain circuits in the brain, there is very little anyone can do until something jolts them back into reality. At the moment, I am still researching what has been happening and trying to deal with my own shock at just how bad things are... Btw, if there are people wondering why I am focusing on the criminal element in the New Wage world, we have to consider why when we are experiencing the greatest transition in the history of mankind, prominent New Wagers seem to have zero interest, to the extent that when the Obama Administration ask some pertinent questions about "planetary challenges" that will cause evolutionary change, prominent New Wagers confess they don't know what the hell is going on, but they would find out if they were given some cash! PATHETIC! PATHETIC! PATHETIC!

James Ray death lodge interview with Josh Fredrickson: part 1
Speculative Examiner, 16th February 2010

Josh Fredrickson was interviewed by police on 11/10/09 and appears to be more cooperative than his wife, James Ray International Director of Operations Megan Fredrickson. Keep in mind, Megan declined to be interviewed until January of 2010 so it must be noted that between November and January there was a shift of game plan at JRI headquarters. [...] “Det. Poling: Tell me if I am correct here. James Ray has a specific, to the minute agenda, of everything he does, he's very precise; is that true?” “Josh: It's called the syntax and it's the event as it should be but the running joke is that James is always at least an hour or two hours overtime on the syntax. So the syntax is kind of like the event coordinator's wish for him to stick to but he never does. So that kind of answers your question. There's not a specific syntax for the sweat lodge if that's what you are asking.”

Comment: It looks like the police asked some awkward questions about what EXACTLY was going on in the seminars. The question of SYNTAX is especially interesting. Cassandra get's it wrong but she is corrected in the comments. Here is the answer:

The word syntax is being used by Ray, as he copied it from Tony Robbins, who took it from its uses in NLP. In this context, syntax means the order and sequence of the techniques within the seminar. Ray had carefully designed his seminars, which were copied from many other seminars, which had been tested for decades on people. The indoctrination techniques being used have to be used in a precise order and sequence for maximum effect. That is the syntax.

If you are in any doubt that "indoctrination" techniques were being used on people, start reading up on what people have said about his strange "training" seminars. It's time that people woke up and worked out who the wolves in sheeps clothing are... What's more there are plenty of others out there on the loose too... This is an unbelievable James Ray photo! It may soon disappear so be quick! Harmonic Wealth Weekend - March 2009 Is this really spiritual wisdom?

Motivational Speaker Charged in Sweat Lodge Deaths
James Arthur Ray, leader of fatal AZ sweat lodge ceremony, arrested on 3 manslaughter counts
ABC News, 3rd February 2010

Motivational speaker James Arthur Ray was arrested Wednesday on manslaughter charges after three people died following a northern Arizona sweat lodge ceremony he led last year. Ray was taken into custody on an indictment at his attorney's office in Prescott and later led into the Yavapai County jail in Camp Verde wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes and a dark jacket. His bond was set at $5 million, and his first court hearing was scheduled Thursday.Ja Ray's attorneys said Wednesday he surrendered to authorities but that the charges were unjust and they were confident he would be exonerated in court. If convicted, he faces a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 12 1/2 years on each count.

Comment: I will imagine that there is quite a few other New Wagers out there extremely worried. They will not care about James Ray or the people that have died, their primary concern will be if the tactics being used by James Ray to get people into a state where they lose their sense of self, to the extent that they lose their lives will be exposed in the media frenzy that will accompany this trial. I will say that as I have studied James Ray and others that are using covert methods of hynosis and mind control, it's been an absolute eye-opener and I just hope there is an opportunity for many people to be educated and enlightened. See CNN Video Sweat lodge guru pleads not guilty to manslaughter & Daily Mail Sweat lodge deaths: Guru James Arthur Ray charged with manslaughter of three who died during New Age ceremony

The Hieros Gamos
Philip Coppens, January 2010

One of the most intriguing, nebulous and controversial topics of history and magic is the “hieros gamos”, “the sacred marriage”. Believed to incorporate both sex and ritual, it should not come as a surprise that throughout history, it has attracted many – and often, those who should truly well stay clear of it. Its fame has meant that the theme was used by Dan Brown in “The Da Vinci Code”, where he described it as how “man could achieve a climactic instant when his mind went totally blank and he could see God”. Brown is not the only one who has linked the experience with tantrism and the withholding of orgasm. He is, of course, also the man who considered Mary Magdalene’s vulva to be the Holy Grail.

Comment: Sorry, I can't comment much, because this is a subject that I have next to zero experience, but as I stated in my article, The Diamond Code - Revealing the Mysteries, Da Vinci Style!, it is highlighted because this can be a way of building up your energy field...

Top 9 reasons James Ray is innocent
The Examiner, 21st January 2010

Comment: Cassandra Yorgey is really going for the jugular after a series of articles to expose James Ray as a fraud, but quite frankly, it's not been that hard with the facts gleaned from eyewitnesses and police searches. I have spent a lot of time now on Rick Ross's Cult Education Forum and reading the reports from people who attended his seminars and there is a long established pattern of abuse. At the moment, it looks like the Lakota Indians are still going after James Ray and they are using the Consitutional Law of The United States of America and the 1868 Treaty between the United States of America and the Lakota Nation. James Ray is being accused of inpersonating an Indian and breaking the peace between the United States and the Lakota Indians. Hmmm... I hope they get their day in court soon... Lakota Sweat Lodge lawsuit

A Life Interrupted: Remembering Kirby Brown
Baja Pulse, 3rd January 2010

[...] News of Kirby’s death on October 8th in an Arizona sweat lodge while attending a seminar lead by self-help guru James Ray made international headlines and sent a shock wave through the Los Cabos community. This January 8, Kirby is finally coming home as her family and friends gather for a series of memorial events to celebrate her indomitable spirit and spread her ashes at one of her favorite surfing spots. For those who knew her, it is still hard to believe she's gone. Kirby’s friends describe her as a free-spirited woman who wasn't inhibited by the social mores that governed the crowd. She was a seeker who pushed herself constantly toward personal growth. According to friends in San Jose, Kirby strove constantly to be a better artist, a kinder, more generous, and aware person; to live a fuller life. In her eulogy, her brother Bobby, describes her as a “free spirit, a woman of constant action, a force of energy, a truly passionate soul.”

Comment: If you have not read anything about James Ray and the Sweat lodge disaster, I recommend this article, but it's only an introduction and does not explain how normal healthy people can allow themselves to be duped and eventually lose their lives. Due to my own experiences with some people in the New Age community which seems to harbour light and dark and the dark is extremely dark, I have spent a lot of time recently educating myself on how most guru-types behave but I have been most interested in how they equip themselves with a vast array of mind control techniques. However, the most shocking fact is the complete lack of discernment by followers. What is evident, is that these gurus seem to perfect the art of talking complete and utter rubbish, (however, this is deliberately done to cause confusion) but they are praised by their followers for the gibberish! It seems apparent that people do not value being able to think, so on command, they abandon their thinking capabilities. At this point, for the few intelligent folk who may frequent this blog, will already appreciate the fact that if you look at nature, evolution is in the direction of greater complexity, not less. Our scientists have studied human development and it is clear from the evidence, that human evolution requires re-configuration or re-wiring of the brain for dealing with greater complexity, that is why Kundalini is so sort after by those who realise that we are here to evolve. People who have Near Death Experiences, come back more evolved because scientists tell us that there is a rush of electrical energy into the brain near death and the brain is re-wired. Yet, if people use other methods like yoga or meditation, (and despite my lack of strict practices, I have still managed to experience this state), being blissed out of your mind is NOT a sign of 'game over'.

Being an Old Soul in a Young Soul World
Godlikeproductions.com, 12th December 2009

* If you're reading this, you're probably an Old Soul. Infant Souls are in jail for being serial killers; Baby Souls are busy attending Bible class or Ku Klux Klan rallies; Young Souls are off chasing the Almighty Dollar so they can park a shiny new BMW in their driveway for all the neighbors to see; and Mature Souls are flitting between their shrinks and the Betty Ford clinic. Only Old Souls sense that there's more to life, and are trying to figure it out so that they can get off the incarnation carousel. However, as the chart shows, we're in the minority.

* So, Old Soul, you live on a planet where the average soul age is late Young … and can't you tell? You know about living by the Golden Rule and honoring the Four Agreements, and you smile at the games played by the younger soul ages, for you were there once. You know that it's all Maya, or illusion, so you march to your own drum, rarely getting steamed up about causes. You are good at almost anything you do but may choose to do nothing, which, by the way, really puzzles the younger soul ages. And our work and hobbies are usually oriented to personal growth, teaching, writing or bringing beauty of some sort into the world.

* Rigid schedules, a classy house or a new car are low on our list, even though we could have them because we know the secret-using the laws of creation, programming the M-field, etc., rather than plain, hard work.

* The problem is that, in a Young Soul world, we're not appreciated because the younger souls don't understand who we are or what we have. Oh, we "get" them fully, of course ("been there, done that"), but they don't get us. So, when we judge ourselves by Yuppie values, we fall short. We don't fit the Madison Avenue image of success, so beating ourselves up comes easily. In fact, low self-esteem is a major Old Soul problem because we've lost the brashness and arrogance of the earlier soul ages.

Comment: This resonates with me, but these days I think and talk in terms of Human development and the system of Spiral Dynamics developed by psychologists, as it helps when dealing with people to guage how they think which is normally very different to me. Here is more on The Old Soul Age However, I do have reservations about old souls being 11 percent of the population, this cannot be right in comparison with studies of human development. After Dr. Clare W. Graves, late emeritus psychologist at Union College in Schenectady, New York, spent about twenty years researching human development, he estimated in the mid 1970s that the level of attainment described now as a 'Yellow' represented 1 in 10,000 and then there are the levels of Turquoise and the new Coral meme beyond that. The Yellows are the ones in the last fifty years, who have been preparing to support a massive leap in consciousness in mankind. Once you have the metrics, its very easy to see who these people are, but they won't necessarily want to be your friend. They are not great socialites.

Paranormal Flexibility
New York Times, 11th December 2009

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a report on Wednesday that is bound to stir conversation about the increasingly complicated cacophony of spirituality in America — a mash-up of traditional faiths, fantasy and mythology.

Entitled “Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths,” the report points out that many Americans are now choosing to “blend Christianity with Eastern or New Age beliefs” and that “sizable minorities of all major U.S. religious groups” said that they have had supernatural experiences, like encountering ghosts.

For the first time in 47 years of polling, the number of Americans who said that they have had a religious or mystical experience, which the question defined as a “moment of sudden religious insight or awakening,” was greater than those who said that they had not. (Question: Does the first time I saw Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video count?)

Comment: The Michael Jackson 'Thriller' quip just made me laugh....

The Nightline interview with James Ray staff
ABC News, 10th December 2009

If you missed the Nightline interviews on ABC yesterday with former JRI employee Melinda Martin, you should go watch. I’ll wait. ABC did a decent job, in my opinion. My thoughts on the show are pretty much in order. The phrase “unregulated self-help industry” generally makes me want to beat my head against the wall because it’s a contradiction of terms. That’s not what “self” means. Of course, I think James Ray was breaking laws about practicing psychology which would push it right out of “unregulated self-help” anyway, so let’s not quibble about terminology.

Comment: The Nightline interview (3 videos) is shocking, shocking, shocking, this video brought me to tears. I am persisting with this James Ray series because people need to be warned that the New Age world attracts some of worse predator types. Vigilance is required.

Update
Breaking news: Fifth death associated with James Ray
I have been thinking hard about some of the terrible things that have happened to me and others that have been less fortunate and have died at the hands of New Age fakes and I have realised that the problem is the New Age fairy tale world that passes for spirituality. People are so enamoured with the fairy tale that they have no explanation for the Wizard of Oz types that are just plain evil who play up for the children and secretly co-operate with the darkside. In my situation, I have watched the embarrassment when New Agers are exposed, the children just find this hard to contemplate and quite frankly, how do you deal with those who are prepared to go to great lengths to engineer your demise? I am sorry, but recently someone gave me the following advice for guidance, "follow the crumbs". I could not believe it, straight out of Hansel and Gretel, no wonder folks are dying at the hands of Dark Masters like James Ray. BTW, the childish mentality of New Agers is clearly demonstrated by enthusiasm for the overblown cosmic fairy tale of Father Sun having a union with Cosmic Mother on the 21st December 2012 and New Agers believing that something special will happen on that date? Meanwhile, the reality surrounding the fulfillment of Mayan prophecies are totally ignored.
Update Despite my sadness and anger, there is a positive side to all this. Everytime I read more about the results of the dreadful Dark Arts perpetrated by James Ray, I take myself over to the Cult Education Forum and learn something new about the techniques that these people use, I have even ordered a recommended book. So slowly, slowly, if I ever get myself in a situation where any of these Dark Masters are operating, they had better watch out!

update 2
Here is an photo of James Ray which sums up his mentality towards other people.
James Ray Won’t be Fingered (Yet) for Sweat Lodge Deaths

James Ray's escalating patterns of abuse leading to sweat lodge deaths: interview with Lorena Bathey
Examiner.com, 24th November 2009

[...] Lorena says she first attended James Ray’s Harmonic Wealth seminar in San Francisco around winter of 2007. She freely admits she went not because she was particularly impressed with James Ray himself, but because of the quality of his followers. Lorena noticed something that I’ve been saying from the beginning – James Ray’s followers, overall, are intelligent and caring people that honestly want to do some good in the world.

Her account is very detailed considering it is from two years ago, but I believe she has a good memory for the specific exercises because she was studying the underlying mechanics of them – much like I’ve been doing here at examiner.com. Lorena estimates there were about five hundred people present at the Harmonic Wealth seminar. She talks about a James Ray Money Game that starts off with James Ray asking participants something like ‘How much money would you invest in your future, with who you want to be’?

Comment: This article instructs on how James Ray used various techniques to lower people's resistance to mind control. I will have to say that some people might object to the way that the writer, Cassandra Yorgey, keeps stating that James Ray was actually aiming to kill people. You will have to make up your own mind, but the death "games" that are described are just plain sinister. Personally, I can't imagine how this kind of role play can benefit people who are aiming to spiritually evolve.

Anyway, I am pleased that Cassandra has taken the opportunity to educate and teach people how to understand the tricks involved in controlling and manipulating others by using mind control. As the person being interviewed clearly states, the target audience are mostly decent people who are totally uneducated in this kind of psychological warfare and spiritual abuse. I also highly recommend the Cult Education Forum. Here is the thread started for the sweat lodge incident, James Arthur Ray - 2 die at Arizona retreat's sweat lodge, but please note that there are older threads about James Ray, because some people were very aggravated when he was promoted by Oprah, the knowledgeable had already worked out that this man was a gangster.

Well, I will admit, I have learnt a few things and I also personally know just how easy it is for trusting people to be conned. As I have already stated and will no doubt state again, the more you know about James Ray and his operation the more shocking it gets. This is my latest shocker, James Ray was known as a "Practical Mystic", see google search here, when I read this, I nearly forgot to draw breath.... This is an interesting article from someone who does believe in pushing yourself to the limit, but can't defend James Ray, I would also like to highlight the following good summary from this article:

So, here is what the process looks like that causes people in large group formats, particularly those around spiritual self help, to make poor decisions.

Point to people's shortcomings, their missed hopes and dreams. Where possible tie them to existing large belief sets around religion or philosophical constructs that appear to support the behavior they hope to learn as being the cause of the missed hopes and dreams.
Suggest that there is knowledge that exists, that has always existed, that is available if you know how to access it.
Position a charismatic talking head as the leader and dispenser of the secrets
Demonstrate how the leader has persevered and learned these secrets and is now willing to reveal them to you.
Tie the knowledge to mystical practices, to ancient civilizations or societies, to supposed "laws" or mystical places.
Make very tenuous ties (social proof) back to science, particularly science that most people don't understand (quantum physics)
Make the acceptance of the secrets exclusive (often based on price).
Encourage people to act alike, dress alike, pray together, and to take progressively more aggressive behaviors together. Have them shave their heads, fast, engage in exhaustive prayer, deprive them of sleep, food, contact with others, use noise and light discipline. Practice sensory overload or deprivation. Discourage logical thinking and reward faith. Encourage them by telling them that pushing past their boundaries is part of their initiation into this new way of being. Have them value being misunderstood by their peers and use that lack of understanding by their peers as a validation that they are in fact moving in the right direction.
Offer them progressively more esoteric opportunities (for more money) with no real quantifiable measurable results.
Give the groups names, rites of passage, special ways of knowing or recognizing each other. Forbid them from sharing the secret knowledge or events that occurred during their initiation with others so that those people should they become enlightened enough are not deprived of the opportunity to fully experience what is happening.
When things go wrong, bring it back to the leader's pain, rally the true believers around him, get them to talk about how terrible the leader feels and have them express what his internal condition is, make it about his suffering not that of the affected. Turn the attention to the teachings and the teacher not the failure.

There is a very big shift that happens for many people at these Large Group Awareness Movements and it is thoroughly explained in detail in a book called Snapping. The book is written by two well accomplished psychologists, I strongly recommend reading it. [End Quote] source

Utah: Man Happy with Simple Life in Cave
UPI News, 22nd November 2009

A 48-year-old man who has not used money in nine years and resides in a desert cave in Moab, Utah, said he loves his simple existence. [...] A former Peace Corps volunteer, Suelo said he also will not barter for food or rent because he considers bartering another form of currency.

Suelo began his unique style of living nine years ago despite having a master's degree in accounting and a degree in anthropology. Despite his meager belongings and lack of a traditional home, Suelo insists he will never embrace a regular lifestyle again.

"I have no idea what the future holds, and I don't worry about it. But the longer I do this, it seems absurd to go back," he told the Post. "It would be like going back to slavery."

Comment: I think this man is enlightened...

Did Christianity Cause the Crash?
The Atlantic, 18th November 2009

At Casa del Padre, the celebration of consumer culture is quite visible, along with a sense of boundless opportunity. The people in the church, for instance, tend to have very expensive cell phones—never the free ones that come with a calling plan, nor the sort that can be bought cheaply at a convenience store. “They start wanting what’s considered the best and the most technologically advanced in this country,” Lin says. Garay’s church, it seems to me, teaches them that they deserve these things, so they go about getting them, with few resources and infinite adaptability.

Comment: This long article put forwards the case that there is a connection between the promotion of the 'prosperity gospel' and people being encouraged to financial overextend themselves, thus creating the housing meltdown when recession hit. For anyone that has studied the history of financial speculation this was inevitable, but obviously most people are not interested in learning from history. American Christianity and the prosperity gospel is just a reflection of the society and metaphysical sources are very clear that karma will have to be played out. If you have come across the book The Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins or watched any of his YouTube videos, you will know why there is a need. There are lots of metaphysical messages about the truely spiritual ones casting off their poverty consciousness but that is not the same as those who are hankering after power and prestige by the ownership of material goods. It is worth a reminder that on the Map of Consciousness, this is all fairly low down on the scale. This long article is just another chapter in how spiritual truths are being distorted to attract followers.

Anyway, I want to relate this to the New Wage champion James Ray. After spending time checking out the background story, I ended up on the Cult Education Forum (CEF), where I learnt even more shocking details of how just uncaring JR was. At this moment in time, I am personally distressed by a story I found on the CEF and I want to share it with you. Since I have had my own experience of nasty people acting out their low consciousness by trying to knock me out of the way so they can grab goodies, I can relate to this story by someone called Leslie.

"I attended a James Ray event in Dallas in January [2009], and I was injured, and James Ray did not care – not in the least. He was using a teaching tool to demonstrate that what you wanted was right out in front of you – simply take it. He was holding out his teaching CD’s. People from the audience were standing up and taking them. On about the 4th one, I stood up. I was sitting on the front row. A man came up from behind me, jumped on my back, knocked me to the ground and took the CD. Instead of urging people to be careful or asking me if I was okay, James Ray CONGRATULATED the man for having the courage to take what he wanted. He never even stopped his high pressure sales tactics to ask if I was okay. This happened less than six inches from his very feet.
After the event was over, I waited a long time to tell him that I was injured. I am disabled with Multiple Sclerosis and injured my ankle and knee as the result of being knocked down – and also had an injured back, neck, and shoulder from the man jumping on my back.
Do you want to hear how James Ray responded when I informed him that I was hurt in the incident? He smiled BROADLY and said “It sure got crazy, didn’t it?” And he laughed. He literally did not give a darn about me or anyone else in attendance. So sad.
Source link

Obviously, as I have stated before, the more you know of how JR operated, the more shocking it has been for me to realise that there were so many people who lacked discernment and supported this monster who really is only a spiritual leader that reflects the consciousness of those who were attracted to him. I know people will not understand my stance, but demonising this guy only hides the truth that we only have the spiritual leadership that we deserve. For some reason, I am more upset about Leslie's story than all the other stuff I have read.

Boy, 11, declared reincarnated holy man
Ananova News, 5th November 2009

A US boy is not going back to school - after he was declared the reincarnation of a Buddhist holy man who first died in 1250. Boston-born Jigme Wangchuk, 11, has now moved to India where he has been made the head of a Buddhist sect in the country's eastern Darjeeling city.

His parents say they discovered their son was not like other children two years ago when he started talking about his "past life". At first, they dismissed it as a childish fantasy, but began taking it seriously during a trip to a monastery in Mysore, southern India.At one point, he went into a trance in which he described a celebrated Buddhist monastery with a 35ft dragon on the roof.

Comment: I don't agree with the seclusion, but these are traditions that are hundreds of years old. However, as I have noted on this blog before, sometimes the young ones who are declared as reincarnated 'masters' decide they prefer to live a more 'normal' life.

Battle satire 'Men Who Stare at Goats' has a Maryland link
It's strange but true. Maryland played a role in the events that inspired the military satire 'Men Who Stare at Goats'
The Baltimore Sun, 1st November 2009

The makers of "The Men Who Stare At Goats" have planted this epigraph before the movie: "More of this is true than you would believe." But I heard one young man emerging from a preview saying, "I don't think any of this is true."

After all, who in their right mind would buy a story about a visionary Army officer embracing Eastern martial arts and West Coast encounter sessions, then recruiting new American fighting men who would "fall in love with everyone," "sense plant auras," "attain the power to pass through objects such as walls," "have out-of-body experiences" and "be able to hear and see other people's thoughts"?

And who could accept that this battalion employed psychic powers to locate a hostage halfway around the world - and to stop the heart of a goat?

Comment: The video trailer is hilarious if you like spoofs. By the way, it's true and the Jedi Program that trained top US military and politicians is a FACT, there are official reports available on the internet that names names. Well, this is one spoof film I think I would really enjoy watching.

More

Wired News article: Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Psychic Spies, Acid Guinea Pigs, New Age Soldiers: the True Men Who Stare at Goats & movie review Review: New Movie Can’t Top Real-Life Men Who Stare at Goats. There is also a Skeptiko interview with the man who wrote the book on which the new movie is based. The Men Who Stare at Goats Science With Jon Ronson

Thousands await Knock's new Virgin Mary vision
The Guardian, 1st November 2009

Pilgrims have travelled to a rain-soaked corner of western Ireland hoping to witness a miracle

"They came from Wexford, Manchester and even India, driven on by the hope that in this rain-soaked corner of western Ireland the mother of God would appear to them this weekend. All along Knock's main street the pilgrims slept in vans and motor homes, all hoping to book a space near the site where a Dublin-based spiritual healer predicted the Virgin Mary would materialise. Joe Coleman's visions of a Marian apparition on the exact spot where villagers claimed they saw the Virgin Mary in 1879 have created a fervour across the Catholic world.

Coleman complained that the Catholic church had not made a priest available to recite the Rosary with him and the thousands gathered in waiting. Describing himself as "a visionary of our Blessed Mother", he said the visitation would only be visible "to people who come with an open heart".

With up to 10,000 pilgrims descending on the village, Coleman's promise that Christ's mother would appear through a "dancing sun" in the sky has at least given Knock's economy an unexpected boost."

Comment: Well, Virgin Mary apparitions are a true mystery. The one thing that I will note, is the insistence that she would appear through a "dancing sun", I think that this is a reference to a similar arrival to the 1916 Fatima apparitions. What is of great interest here, is that in the book Earth Under Fire by astrophysicist Dr Paul LaViolette, he believes that The Fatima Prophecy is a warning of an extreme Space Weather event based on a re-channelled version of this message, after the Catholic hierarchy refused to release the complete details of the original messages. Well, I will say now that things have changed since the 1916 warnings and the Earth's electromagnetic grid has been fixed up, so if anything is coming, I don't think that we will get complete devastation, we will not end up with "a burnt out world". Yet, in the light of what we know is going on in our solar system right now, the re-channelled version is still very interesting.... Anyway, it would be great to get some decent up to date info from Knock!

The burning times
BBC News, 30th October 2009

"Witches remain a significant cultural presence centuries after thousands of women, and men, accused of sorcery were burned at the stake. But what caused the craze for burning witches, and why did it stop?"

Comment: One of the things that happened when I was energy balancing was discovering women who had deliberately closed their third eye, one woman even told me her mother had showed her how to do it. For some spiritual people, the fear of being burnt for being a witch or heresy is still in their energy field and has never been resolved. These days, we don't focus much on the power of the Church and their abuse of power, where innocent people were terrorised and killed.

I think my awakening came when I read a story about a young girl who nearly lost her life because she changed her underwear once a week and did not eat pork and this was considered to be anti-christian ritualistic behaviour. However, there are instances where saints and doctors of the Catholic Church were also accused of heresy to be reprieved and then only hundreds of years later were then cannonised. These days it helps me to understand the fear that some people experience of being different and risking their lives, once again, even though they may be unaware of where their fear originates.

I still feel very strongly about this and I recommend people who are interested in this subject to read the book, The Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy written by an ex Catholic priest with assess to Vatican archives. Here are some extracts, The Pot Calling the Kettle Black - Lest We Forget - History Repeats & The Pot Calling the Kettle Black: Part II - Persecuting Witches.

Superstitious Beliefs Cemented Before Birth
The Telegraph, 30th October 2009

"The propensity to believe in paranormal phenomena and superstitions appears to arise in the womb, suggests new research.

The findings, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, further indicate that a reduced ability for analytical thinking may correspond with increased intuitive thinking, which has been associated with a belief in extrasensory perception (ESP), ghosts, telepathy and other paranormal phenomena.

Author Martin Voracek claims his new study's determinations "suggest (there are) biologically based, prenatally programmed influences on paranormal and superstitious beliefs."

Comment: There is an issue here of being supersitious being lumped together with being intuitive, and this being associated with "lower analytical thinking." This assessment seems a little too sloppy, as there must be a scenario where people are not supersitious, but are critical thinkers and intuitive too which some psychologists see as being necessary for being highly creative.

James Ray Spiritual Warrior worksheet: Shocking questions
Philadelphia Speculative Fiction Examiner, 30th October 2009

" We’ve taken a look at what it was like inside James Ray’s Spiritual Warrior and sweat lodge retreat. We’ve read the transcript of his secret call to survivors. We’ve talked about some of the different methods James Ray uses without license or ethics. Now I bring to you the only worksheet James Ray gave out during this retreat. I’m still not sure I should share it, I mean, it is pretty messed up. Seriously, it’s not even suitable for children. So, if you are under 18, please stop reading this and send it to your parental unit for approval and discussion. That being said…

What kind of questions did James Ray have the participants writing answers to all night, instead of sleeping? What were they supposed to be exploring and writing about while they were abandoned out in the desert with no food or water? What kind of prompts were they being given to focus on amidst all the NLP, hypnotic technique, coercive persuasion, and altered states? Was it something that would allow them to grow financially, spiritually, and whatever the heck else he promised it would? Not so much."

Comment: Well, the reverberations continue and if you have been following the blogs, you will already know that a woman called Colleen Conaway committed suicide during a July James Arthur Ray event, so that's actually 4 deaths in 90 days. The most recent pages on the Cult Education Forum James Arthur Ray - 2 die at Arizona retreat's sweat lodge explains how people are broken down by triggering trauma and they discuss and explain the cult 'science' used and hence refer to the same worksheet mentioned in this short article. Quite frankly, the whole of the James Ray operation was a classic cult operation, tailormade for the New Age community.

Well, since I did not know anything about James Ray previous to this incident and had never seen the documentary called 'The Secret' authored by James Ray, which stinks of a think positive and get rich quick mentality, prevalent in the New Age community, I have come to realise that it's a waste of time relying on others discernment. Just because he was held in high esteem by the New Age community and managed to get himself onto Oprah a few times, means he was just a clever at taking in the gullible.

Here is the latest news, James Ray has cancelled his events for the year. Beyond Sweat Lodge: James Ray's Controversial World: Ray Postpones Self-Help Events Following Sedona, Ariz., Sweat Lodge Deaths, Victim's Family Calls for Arrest Watch the video and the discussion of the LAW OF ATTRACTION, ABC News are asking the question: DID JAMES RAY ATTRACT THIS DISASTER INTO HIS LIFE? Listen to James Ray's response in a 2007 interview that has not been previously aired.

Unconscious victims and vomiting: James Arthur Ray sweat lodge deaths
The Times Online, 23rd October 2009

"Unconscious victims were left on the floor and a disorientated man suffered burns from crawling over heated rocks, according to the first witness account of a New Age sweat lodge ritual in which three people died.

Enticed by an interview that they had seen on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the 50 or so participants in James Arthur Ray’s cleansing ritual had each paid $9,695 (£5,875) for the opportunity to become “spiritual warriors” at his retreat in the Arizona desert. After several days of fasting, sleepdeprivation, mind-altering breathing exercises and extreme heat, some of the participants began to vomit and lose consciousness. Those who wanted to leave were chided and pleas for medical help were allegedly ignored until it was too late. Mr Ray vowed to continue his self-help programmes in spite of a triple-homicide investigation into the incident, on October 8."

Comment: The reporting here is very unsympathetic and even more disturbing details have been reported that I have not seen anywhere else. As I have said before, the more you know the worse it gets. Yet, New Agers still talk about not judging, these people need shaking. Its DISCERNMENT NOT JUDGEMENT. What's more, I truly believe that this event will have major repercussions for the New Age world and will become a major case study for students studying the abuse of power. See the video in the following link, called Spirits For Sale, which just about sums up the situation; Native American Chief Addresses Deaths In Sweat Lodge .

More I will repeat myself again, the more you know the worse it gets. According to one survivor, on this spiritual "retreat", they played a game where James Ray was GOD. See, Arizona Sweat Lodge Survivor Recounts Horrific Ordeal

The James Ray Incident A Discussion about Authority 13/10/2009 - Shawna Bowen on Blog Talk Radio
BlogTalkRadio.com, 13th October 2009

"In a departure from her usual topic, join Shawna Bowen for a first-hand account of what happened at the recent Sedona retreat with James Arthur Ray. Shawna was on site at the time of the crisis to support the participants and will be sharing her insights into authority- its importance and its pitfalls. Also joining the show is Jim Tree, who has been responsible for the “United Nations Turtle Pipe”, the Ceremonial Pipe presented to the U.N. in 1978. Jim holds this Pipe for ceremonies worldwide representing NALA (Native American Leadership Alliance). Jim will give background about how a traditional sweat lodge is run, as well as give insight into the differences between tradition and what happened at the James Ray event.

Comment: I found this radio program very helpful and informative. But I have to say, I was giving James Ray too much credit, because when I first heard about the deaths, I had assumed that the man new what he was doing and that people were reacting differently to the extreme nature of this kind of spiritual ceremony. I will admit now I was being too naive, again. The man is a complete and utter con artist. People were badly dehydrated BEFORE they even entered the sweat lodge, which is also another misnomer (details provided on the radio program), because they had fasted in the Arizona desert without even water for 2 days, prior to the sweat lodge and were not given adequate time to rehydrate. According to Jim Tree, large groups of people have been sick before and Native Americans had confronted James Ray to get him to stop and pay attention because people were being hurt. Really, really unbelievable, people are going to talk about this for years. The Blogs have been going crazy over this, here is a link for more background info and a brief synopsis of this radio program. James Arthur Ray’s Spiritual Warrior Event Kills 2, Injures 19 in Sweat Lodge Fiasco

The more you know about how this man operates, the worse it gets, see Man: Sweat Lodge Leader's Actions 'Reckless'

Sheriff: Sweat lodge deaths to be treated as homicide case
ABC15.com News, 16th October 2009

SEDONA, AZ – Officials looking into the deaths of two people at a Sedona-area retreat last week are now calling it a homicide investigation. Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh said at a Thursday news conference that the deaths were not accidental.

"A combination of circumstances led to the deaths," Waugh said. "Whether or not we can prove a criminal case, that has yet to be determined." Waugh said detectives served a search warrant on retreat sponsor James Arthur Ray's offices in California where they seized documents on past participants' medical information and searched for any information on the construction of sweat lodges.

Comment: In the interest of the common good, I think this is the best course of action.

Update 3rd person dies after Sedona sweat lodge retreat

Retreat leader speaks out over sweat lodge deaths
The Associated Press, 14th October 2009

The self-help expert who led a spiritual retreat in Arizona where two people died after being overcome in a sweat lodge said the tragedy last week has left him "frustrated and confused."

At a seminar outside Los Angeles, James Arthur Ray broke down in tears as he addressed the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee.

Authorities say Brown, Shore and more than 50 other people attending the retreat near Sedona, Ariz., were crowded into a 415-square-foot sweat lodge over two hours last Thursday.

Brown and Shore died, and 19 others were hurt. One remains in critical condition. Autopsy results are being withheld pending additional tests, but carbon monoxide poisoning was ruled out as a cause of the deaths and illnesses. Fire officials said the surviving victims exhibited symptoms ranging from dehydration to kidney failure. "This is the most difficult time I've ever faced," Ray told a crowd of about 200 at a hotel in Marina del Rey Tuesday. "I don't know how to deal with it really." [...]

Fire department reports released Tuesday show the incident wasn't the first involving a sweat lodge ceremony at the resort, the Angel Valley Retreat Center. Verde Valley Fire Chief Jerry Doerksen said his department responded to a 911 call in October 2005 about a person who was unconscious after being in a sweat lodge.

Angel Valley resort owner Amayra Hamilton confirmed that Ray was leading the sweat ceremony during the 2005 event. Ray's spokesman declined to comment. [...]

A statement released by the family of Liz Neuman, who remains in critical condition at the Flagstaff Medical Center, said she is in a coma and doctors are working to stabilize damage to multiple organs. Two others remained hospitalized. Officials say the sweat lodge, built specifically for the five-day retreat, lacked the necessary building permit.

Comment: Well, I would have thought that if someone in his care was left unconscious in 2005, that he would have paid more attention to what was going on. The medical news about the condition of the sweat lodge participants is very disturbing. Aparently, James Arthur Ray was author of the New Age racket film called 'The Secret', but it now seems the secret of making money has nothing to do with any real understanding of our changing times.

Two dead and 19 taken to hospital after falling ill in 'sweatbox' at Arizona spiritual retreat
Daily Mail, 10th October 2009

"Two people died and an estimated 19 others were taken to hospital after being overcome while sitting in a sauna-like sweat lodge at an at a spiritual retreat in Arizona. The lodge at the Sedona resort which is meant to provide spiritual cleansing is now the centre of a police investigation. In all, 21 of the 64 people crowded inside the sweat lodge on Thursday evening for the two-hour session received medical care. [...]

People have died in sweat lodges in the past. They were either sick tribal elders who voluntarily stayed until they died or people who had heart conditions and were in poor health. "The sweat lodge needs to be respected," Bruchac said. "When you imitate someone's tradition and you don't know what you are doing, there's a danger of doing something very wrong." Some participants told detectives they paid up to $9,000 for the event."

Comment: So whats going on? Sedona is the metaphysical capital of the world, this is NOT good publicity. Well, we will have to see if more New Ager deaths occur, as people follow old spiritual traditions that are NO LONGER applicable in the New Energy environment of Earth. Certainly, it will be really interesting to see what happens next, as many New Agers are still absolutely oblivious to the energetic changes on the planet. Comment 2: It's now twenty years since the New Age community were given good information explaining about the increasing delivery of 'New Energy' on the planet, but unfortunately, it seems that many were unreceptive and failed to understand the implications.

The New Age community has generated a smorgasbord of rituals that have been ripped off from the spiritual traditions. But now, the chickens are coming home to roost, as many are failing to discern how changing universal energies are impacting rapidly evolving humans. The deaths that have been reported in Germany and the United States in the last three weeks, both share the characteristics that EXTREME methods have been used to manipulate the human energy field and can be compared to using a sledge hammer to crack nut. In the past it was justifiable, but now, they are not. Yet, since spiritual leaders have cherry picked from the older spiritual traditions, without necessarily having the skills of discernment acquired by their own spiritual evolution, they have left themselves and their spiritual aspirants very vulnerable.

For quite some time now, I have wondered why metaphysical folk were not taking the evolutionary changes on the planet seriously, but that will now change as I am sure there will be more serious incidents in the near future that will continue to wake people up. More details and blog comments, Lodge Victim Was in Shape, Family Says

More turning to psychics for economic advice
AZ Central Busines News, 9th October 2009

When the going gets tough, Valley residents apparently go in search of the metaphysical. Local psychics and astrologers say that while they're seeing some decline in business as longtime clients cut back on discretionary spending, the recession is bringing them many new customers.

And for many of these new clients, the quest for insight is no lark. "I'm seeing many more people that are in real crisis situations," Phoenix astrologer Charlotte Benson said. "They're coming to me with questions about whether they're going to be fired, and with more general questions about when the economy is going to improve. Even my wealthy clients are desperate."

Comment: Well, I have very helpful insight given to me by psychics and it seems that there are some who are highly gifted, others that are not very good and others that are fraudsters, so you need discernment to sort them out. When I lived in Norway and took part in the huge alternative fair held in Oslo, I found that I had to literally run pass some of the aisles where the clairvoyants were located. The reason why is because I have the unusual gift in that I can detect the quality of peoples energy fields by smell. Check it out, scientists believe there are seventeen senses not 5 and I have had this peculiar trait since about my late twenties. These days, it has got quite acute, so it can be quite unpleasant being with some people. But note, I don't have to be in the same room as that person, I can smell discordant energy fields over the phone and even more strangely, I can even detect 'bad' energies through websites. In fact, the first time it happened with a website, I stood up and starting walking around my living room trying to work out where the funny smell was coming from, until I realised that I knew what that smell was about. I have never claimed to be psychic and I believe that most people experience intuitive insights throughout their lives, but some people have the ability to control their intuitive abilities and that is the major difference between 'the professionals' and 'the amateurs'. This report did get a negative response (rant), from someone trying to maintain their spiritually inert and sterile version of reality, see Quoting ‘Psychics’ Like Experts: How Low Can News Judgement Go?, but there is a nice rebuff in the comments and highlights the changes we are seeing in subject matter in the mainstream press.

2 people die in poisoning at German therapy group
AP, 20th September 2009

"BERLIN — A doctor leading a group therapy session gave participants drugs and other substances that killed two and left 10 hospitalized, Berlin police said Sunday. One person was left comatose and in critical condition. The doctor who led the session has acknowledged giving the participants various substances and drugs during the meeting, Martin Steltner, a spokesman for the Berlin prosecutor's office, told The Associated Press on Sunday. It was not clear whether illegal drugs were given and whether the substances were injected or taken orally. [...]

A 59-year-old man died at the scene and a 28-year-old man died that night in the hospital, police said. On Sunday afternoon, nine other people were released from the hospital. One patient was still in critical condition. On the Internet, the doctor identifies himself as a psychotherapist for individuals and groups. He specializes in "depth psychology, bodywork and art therapy, and spiritual crises," according to the Web site.

Comment: Unfortunately, in the metaphysical community, if you are a Dr. of any variety, most people automatically think they can trust your judgement about spiritual matters. But from my experience, there are some New Agers, who do not believe you can be particularly spiritually evolved if you habitually use both sides of the brain. In this case, maybe this doctor was an amateur shaman, who decided to concoct his own brews to take this group on some kind of shamanic journey. Shamanism is an area of spirituality that has been corrupted by western thinking and attracts too many of the power mad sort. For more shocking details, see Doctor Denounced as Charlatan

Psychic Surgery
New York Times, 18th September 2009

"One evening, while visiting a dear friend who lives in the Yucat�n, I drunkenly confessed that I had been experiencing panic attacks that made my heart beat like a deranged bongo.

“It makes no sense,” I said. “Nothing bad is happening in my life. What the hell am I afraid of?” Karson poured me more tequila and blithely suggested we pay a visit to El Negrito, a spiritual healer much praised by the local Mayans."

Comment: OK, this article is not that serious, but still, it's the New York Times telling us that the times and subject matter are changing!

Cops Get Paranormal Help from Above and Beyond, According to Book by Michigan State Police Officer
Hot Indie News, 8th September 2009

Traverse City, Mich. – It started as a routine traffic stop by two Detroit police officers, but seconds later, bullets from an Uzi-style submachine gun came screaming into their vehicle, piercing the hood and doors and shattering the windshield. Then something really weird happened. The cop behind the wheel has no other explanation but to call it a divine mystery.

The remarkable story is part of Ingrid P. Dean’s new book, Spirit of the Badge: 60 True Police Stories of Divine Guidance, Miracles & Intuition, from Topaz Heart Publishing LLC. While Dean’s stories delve into the paranormal, her credibility is enhanced by her day job: she’s a detective sergeant for the Michigan State Police. [...]

The cop opened the door and claims “a golden glow” filled the car. “I heard a calm, male voice say, ‘Don’t worry. You’re going to come out of this fine. You won’t be hurt.’ It felt as if a shield had been raised up in front of me.” The cop stood amid a hail of bullets and emptied his gun into the suspects’ vehicle. The suspects sped away, but the cop was unharmed. He later said, “I am alive today because of divine intervention.”

Spirit of the Badge contains real-life accounts of heretofore hidden elements of police work: the metaphysical, spiritual and inspirational. Dean interviewed active and retired police officers from across the country and gathered stories that highlight the human, humorous, intuitive and miraculous side of law enforcement.

Comment: Awesome! Totally inspirational!

The Phenomenon of Braco and his Healing Gaze - Part 1
Earth Transformation Examiner, August 2009

"A. And yet Braco, unlike other healers and spiritual teachers and leaders, does not have a meditation practice, he has not been searching his whole life to find the secrets of life. He has had a very normal life in fact, and yet he affects people on this profound level. Why is he able to do this?

D. You see, I think of it as a manifestation of evolutionary needs. When people are in need, then somebody is there to serve that need. It’s hard to explain it. [...]

A. But you’re saying in this case it’s the collective consciousness of humanity that helps create someone like Braco?

D. Absolutely, of course. Otherwise it wouldn’t work. Braco never gave any interest to the media - no radio, no TV, no interviews. Still so many thousands gather at his place. Having 10,000 people on his birthday, for example. He had it in the days when people did not know anything about him publicly in the sense of media. You have to have that inborn charisma to attract people."

Comment: Well, the person who is being interviewed, Drago Plecko, MSc., Parapsychologist and scientist from Croatia, has written a book about a man called Braco who is a Croatian and lives an ordinary life, but has drawn attention to himself because he heals people by staring into their eyes and does not charge any money. Quite frankly, I'm impressed that he has not intentionally turned himself into a guru and does not try to force people into a spiritual 'rut'. Please note the interviewer and the person who has written this book discuss a realistic perspective on western spirituality. However, there is a lot of discussion about somebody called Ivica ~~and I have no idea who they are talking about and I don't have time to find out~~ (see below). Whatever, Braco is a phenomenon and quite refreshing, as I am sure this person will not be professing enlightenment, but secretly dancing with the devil, like some opportunists operating in the New Age community. This person's life is worth studying, as humanity leaps to a new evolutionary level. See, Mysterious Braco Asks Only for Flowers in Return

Occult hit: Witches bucking religion trend
WICCA | Leader teaching classes here tries to dispel myth that 'we'are satanists and that we belong to the devil'
Sun-Times, 30th March 2009

"They don't toil over bubbling caldrons or cook lost kids. They have no use for flying monkeys. And their spice racks are more apt to contain ginger or paprika than eye of newt. Still, witches are far from fictional. And according to the most recent American Religious Identification Survey, released earlier this month, there are more of them than ever.

While most other major religions lost ground, Wiccan -- whose members, Wiccans, sometimes refer to themselves as witches -- and other so-called "New Religious movements" grew by more than a million members since the last ARIS survey was published in 2001. They're now an estimated 1.2 percent of the adult population."

Comment: Since I was sent to Sunday school at age 5, my early opinions were formulated by Christianity..... However, my opinion on witches changed dramatically when I watched a UK morning chat-show when I discovered there were 'white' witches and 'black' witches. The UK Queen of the 'White' Witches was asked about a 'black' witch and her reply was incredible. She stated, 'he is full of the rubbish of the Universe'. Quite frankly, this guy was 'crawling' with some very nasty energies and the Queen's energy was like a 'fairy godmother' as depicted in children's fairy tales. I was absolutely astounded. These days, I am more concerned about the 'wolves in sheep's clothing' and the 'control freaks' in religious and New Age circles, because I think they are more dangerous.

Third man theory of otherworldly encounters
Encounters with otherworldly beings that lead us out of danger are more common than you think
The Star, 30th January 2009

"On Sept. 11, 2001, overcome by smoke in a stairwell of the World Trade Center's south tower, money market broker Ron DiFrancesco joined others lying on the concrete floor, some slipping into unconsciousness.

"Get up!" a voice ordered DiFrancesco, who sensed a physical presence encouraging him. Descending the stairs again, he was blocked by fire. The being led him to dash through the flames. He raced down to the plaza; then the tower collapsed. But he survived, one of only four people to escape from above the 81st floor.

Some believe it's a guardian angel. Others say it's the brain's way of coping under great duress. Whichever, the experiences are eerily similar: the sense of a presence that encourages, advises and even leads a person out of peril.

"In every case I found, it was a benevolent helpful companion, not a single example of a malevolent being," says John Geiger, author of The Third Man Factor published this week."

Comment: Interesting!

God is eclipsed by supernatural believers and tales of UFO sightings
Daily Mail, 24th November 2008

"Tales of aliens and ghosts may seem far-fetched, but they are believed more than God. A survey has found that while 54 per cent of us are convinced the Almighty exists, 58 per cent believe in the supernatural. They found women were more likely to believe in the supernatural than men, and were more likely to visit a medium.

Comment: Well, in most societies, knowledge has been managed, to the extent that in the past, the masses have only been given an "orthodox" range of beliefs, to provide the basis for an understanding of reality. Now that we are facing evolutionary change, to the extent that the fabric of space-time has changed and dimensions are merging, more ordinary folk, sometimes with the use of technology, are experiencing new realities and seeing a spectrum of light beings and other extra terrestrials that exist all around us. These entities are part of universal order, and thus the main challenge for religious and spiritual authorities is to explain the process of spiritual evolution in a completely different framework that until recently has only been understood by a few. Massive evolutionary change is currently ongoing, so traditional church hierarchies really have their work cut out to stay relevant.

Monks brawl at Jerusalem shrine
BBC News, 7th November 2008

"Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a mass brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City. Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion. Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police. Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the Cross."

Comment: Well these monks have quite a record of disorderly conduct, but watching the video here of monks kicking and punching being watched by shocked pilgrims is quite an eye opener. I'm sorry to say this, but at least every one knows these guys hate each other. It's better than the charlatans who pretend to be spiritual but secretly plot to stab their enemies in the back and worse.

Wall St broker becomes a monk
Ananova News, 3rd October 2008

"A Wall Street broker has left Manhattan to become a monk in a Bulgarian monastery. Hristo Mishkov was a broker on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York until he gave it all up to return to his native Bulgaria, reports the Daily Telegraph. He now wakes at dawn to attend to a herd of cheese-producing buffalo in the 12th century Tsurnogorski monastery, 30 miles west of Sofia. Exchanging designer suits and shoes for a cassock and sandals, Brother Nikanor believes Wall Street and the City deserve all they get as the global financial system goes into meltdown."

Comment: I think many others from all walks of life will seek alternative lifestyles as our economic and social systems breaks down.

Psychic crackdown on the cards
Guardian UK, 6th April 2008

Mediums are fighting new EU rules designed to protect the public from dodgy traders, fearing that honest spiritualists could be targeted

"For the past half-century, 'genuine' mediums have been protected by the 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act, under which prosecutors had to prove fraud and dishonest intent to secure a criminal conviction, which was difficult.

There have been fewer than 10 convictions in the past 20 years. With that protection gone, there will now be nothing between the medium and the trading standards officer - and no need to prove fraud. Instead it will be up to the trader, in this case the medium, to prove they did not mislead, coerce or take advantage of any 'vulnerable' consumers."

Comment: Common sense does not cost anything, but for many it's still in too short a supply. Therefore the 'nanny' state feels the need to intervene....

When People Can't Stop Praying
A Man Describes His Rare Religious Form of OCD
ABC News, 31st March 2008

"For centuries, Catholic priests wrote about how to subdue it. Some historians surmise Martin Luther had it, along with several renowned saints. When he was in seventh grade, Cole M., now 23, saw an episode of "20/20" and surmised he had it, though he didn't know its exact name: scrupulosity. Scrupulosity is a rare form of obsessive compulsive disorder focused on prayers, rituals or thoughts rather than the more common germ-phobia and compulsive hand washing. "Whatever thing that is most important to you, that's what the obsessive compulsive disorder will grab," Cole said"

Comment: Off-topic, but interesting anyway!

Buddhist builder buried alive for TWO HOURS survives by meditating
Daily Mail, 7th March 2008

"A Chinese builder buried alive for two hours used Buddhist meditation techniques to control his breathing and survive on just the air trapped in his safety helmet. Wang Jianxin, 52, should have died within five minutes of being entombed 6ft underground as he worked in a ditch in Ningbo city, eastern China. But by slowing his breathing he eked out an air pocket in front of his face until rescuers dug him out."

Mr Wang said: "I knew the air wouldn't last, so I made myself relax and concentrated on my breathing by meditation. "It was very still and quiet down there. I was surprised at how easy it was to focus my mind and achieve inner calm, even though I believed I was facing death.

Comment: Awesome!

A New Take on Angels
Moscow Times, 14th September 2007

In an exhibition at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, 144 artists show how they imagine the heavenly creatures. The results are sexy as well as saintly.

"The Moscow Museum of Modern Art asked 144 artists to submit pieces on how they imagine angels for an exhibition called "The New Angelarium." It took over three years to put together, and the result is a four-story space riddled with a lot of feathers and halos, and artworks that range from corny to crude to just confusing."

Comment: I have some very interesting ideas about human evolution and the "human angel", if you have been paying attention to the media, you will note that this theme is occuring over and over again.

Meditators predict Dow to reach 17,000 in year
Group says vibrations will boost index, ward off hurricanes, create utopia
MSNBC.com, 27 July 2007

"A group called the Invincible America Assembly made that claim and more Friday, insisting they have America's prosperity under control and their positive vibes will bring fewer hurricanes and better U.S.-North Korean relations." "The group takes credit for, among other things: the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a record high of 14,022 last week, unemployment rates falling to a six-year low at 4.5 percent, and North Korea shutting down its nuclear reactor."

Comment: I am totally gobsmacked by this press release and the sheer lunancy of thinking that the spiritual health of the United States can be measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average! America is living in a 'debt bubble' of record proportions, the national debt is 9 trillion dollars , the USA is relying on their main creditor, China , to provide a stable American currency and protect the American market.

Yet, analysts are screaming that this massive debt is unsustainable and there are reports of a mass exodus from the dollar. What's more Americans now owe in personal debt, a staggering $16 trillion dollars ($2.4 Trillion in loans, and $13.6 trillion borrowed from the value of their homes). As a nation, they have completely lost their financial independence, claiming success for the height of the Dow Index with this financial background is beyond belief!

Update August 14th

Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned .
"Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were "striking similarities" between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including "declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government".

4-year-old girl claims to be reincarnation of shuttle astronaut
Signs-of-the-times.org, 10th July 2007

Comment: For people who believe in reincarnation this is a most interesting new story. A four year old is making astonishing claims about her former life and the details are so specific that she is is drawing huge crowds locally and news is quickly spreading around the world. The accuracy of the detail is very typical for a small child who has retained very clear memories of their previous existence. I don't expect anyone at NASA to comment.

News of the Imbalance

Best of the Blog – Inside The Cultic Milieu

Best of the Blog – Inside The Cultic Milieu Archives

The James Ray Trial Sentencing 18th November 2011 (2)

The James Ray Trial Sentencing 18th November 2011

Susan Joy Rennison quotes:

“Space Weather is now a fact of life.”

“We are all astronauts now!”

“We must spiritually evolve as part of the new terms & conditions for living on Earth.”

“Space Weather will force many changes in how we do business on this planet.”

NASA Press Release:

“Earth and space are about to come into contact in a way that's new to human history.”

“We're on the threshold of a new era in which space weather can be as influential in our daily lives as ordinary terrestrial weather.”

White House Executive Order:

Best of the Blog - Archives Joyfire Tag Cloud