In 2009, three people died at a sweat lodge at a retreat hosted by James Arthur Ray. He was convicted of negligent homicide and spent two years in prison.
PHOENIX — James Arthur Ray, the self-help guru who was convicted of manslaughter in the 2009 deaths of three people at a sweat lodge retreat he hosted near Sedona, has died. He was 67 years old.
Ray’s death was announced by his brother John on Ray’s social media accounts. The full text of the statement is below.
It is with extreme disbelief and immeasurable pain that I tell you that my brother, James Arthur Ray, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last night. Obviously this came as a complete shock to all three of us, James has always been larger than life and lived it to the fullest. His passion in life has always been to make the lives of others better and more fulfilling. I’m happy to say he’s accomplished it thousands of times. He was the most intelligent, focused, and disciplined person I have ever known.
From a personal perspective, he has always been my hero, my protector, my mentor, and my best friend. He loved Cynthia as family and as his true sister. She and I both knew he would always have our back if we needed it. I’m really grateful to his wife (Bersabe Ray). I believe God really sent her to him. When she came into his life, he seemed the happiest I’ve ever seen him. The word “soulmates” is overused, but it still cannot describe their relationship. The love, laughter and “kindred spirit” between them was unique.
James always taught, “We are not humans having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” James is now moving on to his next experience. I am honored to be here with him as my guide and as my brother.
James’ wish was to be cremated, and he would not have wanted an exaggerated celebration of his life. He said to me, “We’re all still here, just in a different form.” I hope those who knew him will take a moment to celebrate his life while reading this. He touched a lot of people.
Thank you, James Arthur Ray. You have given me so much. You will always be loved, always missed, always admired, and your legacy will live on in everyone you helped, including me. Until we meet again, you will always be in our hearts and souls.
Ray’s notoriety began in 2009 when Kirby Brown, 38, James Shore, 40, and Liz Newman, 49, attended a sweat lodge ceremony at Ray’s Spiritual Warrior Retreat in Angel. After his death, he became famous. A valley resort near Sedona. Brown and Shore died of heatstroke. Newman was taken to a hospital in Flagstaff, where he died nine days later.
All three died due to the heat and dangerous conditions inside the lodge.
Ray was arrested in 2010 and found guilty of manslaughter, but acquitted of manslaughter. In the end, he spent two years in prison before being released in 2013.
In 2017, Ray returned to Arizona to seek restoration of his civil rights, including the right to vote and hold office, and to have his manslaughter conviction vacated. A Yavapai County judge granted Ray’s request to have his civil rights restored, but did not remove the conviction from Ray’s record, saying not enough time had passed.
12News received a statement from SEEK Safely, a charity set up by Brown’s family after his death. The full statement is below.
It is with mixed feelings that we acknowledge the passing of James Arthur Ray, the self-help ‘guru’ who led the ‘Spiritual Warrior’ retreat where our family member Kirby Brown passed away in 2009. is.
We too know the special pain of unexpected loss and send our condolences to Ray’s family and loved ones. They now face deep and complex challenges in integrating this loss into their lives. Death goes against our irrational but deep-rooted belief that life is inevitable.
There may be a small sense of relief in knowing that Ray can no longer hurt anyone, but that’s really only a small consolation. Early on after Kirby’s death, we learned that Ray was just another executive in a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry built on the exploitation of people seeking to improve their lives and find fulfillment. It became clear. Corruption in this industry is always much bigger and more complex than the actions of one so-called “guru.” James Ray was one of countless exploitative and dangerous self-promoters. SEEK Safely was founded with the reality that not one person was responsible for Kirby’s death, but the entire industry.
Greater than any sense of relief is the sense of disappointment that Ray could have played a unique role in helping define both the problems and solutions for this industry. But instead of demonstrating true change, he remained stuck in an industry paradigm built on manipulation and untruths.
All we can do at this point is remind seekers that there is no larger than life, no infallible “guru,” program, or way of thinking. That the journey of self-improvement is both noble and vulnerable. It means that we must remain in charge of the process of growth and change that is rooted in our values, our worth, and our right to be free from harm.
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