James Arthur Ray, “Spiritual Warrior” salesman and frequent contributor to the Huffington Post exerted intense pressure to keep the participants in the Sweat Lodge, according to survivor Beverly Bunn. Still no word from Arianna on this tragedy, even after the death of a third person yesterday.
Update Below
Update Below:
It appears that James Ray, self help guru and frequent contributor to Huffington Posts ‘Living’ section, played more of a role in the deaths that occurred in the Sedona, AZ sweat lodge than just its shoddy and ill planned construction.Texas resident and survivor Beverly Bunn has given her account of the events to AP that show that Ray may be even more culpable in those deaths than it first appeared. Since Ray is a frequent contributor, shouldn’t Arianna Huffington say something on the issue?
The Huffington Post has published several articles on the events, I’ll grant that. The odd thing though, is that not one of them has actually appeared on the pages of the Huff Po. They exist, and a Google search of ‘James Arthur Ray, Huffington Post’ turns up five or six by now, but a daily scan of the front pages of the web site and its' 'Living' section turns up nothing of Ray or the tragedy. To the casual browser of the site they might as well have never been written. Is Arianna trying to sweep the association between her site and the so-called ‘Spiritual Warrior’ under the rug?
Huffington Posts ‘Living’ section is populated with gurus and psychologists all with one thing in common; they all have something to sell and James Ray was one of the pricier contributors to that section with his $9,000 plus ‘Spiritual Warrior’ event. That’s the one that has claimed the life of three people. Why should Arianna feel the need to make a statement? Because her site gave the wayward guru Ray the most exposure by far and was his most prestigious outlet for his views and his pricey programs.
Ariannas’ interest in ‘New Age’ gurus is well knownand her site makes her sympathies obvious. Wouldn’t it do her and her causes some good if she commented on this event, perhaps even adding that the site would, in the future, investigate the people who not only contribute, but in effect sell their wares on her website?
Arianna is, so far, silent.
Update The NY Times has the best article I have seen so far. I found this paragraph interesting:
"On a conference call Mr. Ray held last week for sweat lodge participants, Dr. Bunn was shocked to hear one recount the comments of a self-described “channeler” who visited Angel Valley after the retreat. Claiming to have communicated with the dead, the channeler said they had left their bodies in the sweat lodge and chosen not to come back because “they were having so much fun.”
Dr. Bunn had a less charitable view: “They couldn’t re-enter their bodies because they were dead.”