I can imagine that if one is selected to be apart of a huge commercial movie success like The Secret that it would be tempting to maximize the commercial advantages that present themselves. It must have been very hard for James Arthur Ray to turn away from the type of money that people were willing to pay to attend his 5-day seminar in Sedona, Arizona because of his notoriety.
Unfortunately for Ray, 3 people died and 19 people were injured during one of these events. Now questions are coming up about his character, his responsibility for the incident and the resulting deaths, and his ignorance of the spiritual and practical issues of running a traditional Indian sweat lodge. He is now subject to a homicide investigation, probably liability lawsuits from the grieving families, really bad media coverage regarding his lack of concern for the people in the sweat lodge, and most probably a downward demand for his seminars and books.
Life can be tough when the balloon bursts – especially after becoming a pinnacle of success as James Arthur Ray had.
I guess you can say that this situation for Mr. Ray is definitely a “teachable moment” not only for Mr. Ray but for all of us. There are a number of questions that can be brought up regarding the situation of Mr. Ray’s handling of the event, about his position as a self-help guru, and the self-help industry as a whole. But it also brings up questions about the public’s attraction to someone like Mr. Ray. I would like to bring up the following questions for you to ponder as Mr. Ray’s folly not only reflects upon him but also as to who we are:
- Why does Mr. Ray’s presence on The Secret require him to charge $9,000-$10,000 for a 5-day seminar? Some say, “Oh, he is just maximizing what the market will bear.” Some will say, “Of course he did – that is what capitalism is all about!” But somewhere in Mr. Ray’s ego – there must have been the thought that what he had to offer is worth it. By pricing himself in this way, only wealthy people can afford him. He is not helping the average Joe, who probably needs his help more than anyone else. So is greed good? Isn’t this just another manifestation of ego?
- Why would anyone pay that type of money for this guy’s course? What is going on with their ego? Are people willing to pay this amount of money to attend the class so they can say they took it from the guy in The Secret?
- Is the value of his course based on the actual content or someone’s marketing plan and product positioning?
- What was he thinking when people wanted to leave because they were feeling ill and passing out? Why wasn’t he listening to his intuition? Why did it not kick in once people started fainting?
- Why did he run away to California rather stand in his integrity and answer questions by the police, the public and the media?
- Why were people giving their power over to Mr. Ray when they felt ill? Who were they trying to please? Why didn’t they insist that they needed to leave the sweat lodge?
- Where is Mr. Ray’s integrity? He certainly didn’t show it during or after the sweat lodge.
- And most importantly, why aren’t people more carefully selecting their teachers? Shouldn’t we be using more discernment instead of choosing someone just they’re a celebrity?
The world does not need another guru – just teachers who actually walk the talk. As a society and as individuals, we have to become more discerning as to who we select as our spiritual teachers, whether they are a priest, minister or self- help guru.
One thing is for sure: James Arthur Ray’s balloon burst because neither he nor his business were grounded in spiritual principals and goals but lead by a marketing plan fueled by an overblown ego and greed, where image is everything and content is faked and has no value.
It seems that James Ray began to lack integrity when he didn’t take care of refund issues, and when he made fun of people by calling them fat and/or losers, etc., when they didn’t sign up for his seminars. James Ray seemed to lack integrity when he allowed the cover up of Colleen Conaway’s death and didn’t refund her money paid for future seminars. If he really did think that he was “better” than other people, then he was exercising a lack of integrity. Using the law of attraction without integrity is very dangerous. I don’t have a right to judge anyone, but I can observe myself and others. Even thinking without integrity can cause problems. Using lawyers to protect himself, instead of paying for the damages he caused with the “lawyer money” bank account will perhaps hurt him more than if he used what he had to make amends–starting first with refunding Colleen’s money. But James Ray, as all of us, must make his own choices, learn the lessons. and experience the conseqences.
I love it!