Oprah, James Ray, and the Cult of Victim Blame

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

A link to this bit of sheer insanity was posted on Connie Joy's Facebook page the other day. Someone called patharding riffed on Oprah's commentary from her sign-off as follows:

Posted on May 27, 2011 5:40 PM

I'm curious what you people think of this:

“Time and again the theme that kept showing itself in our early
years on the show was PEOPLE MAKING BAD CHOICES…and then blaming
everybody but themselves for the state of their lives…”

“Nobody but YOU is responsible for YOUR LIFE! It doesn’t matter what
your momma did. It doesn’t matter what your daddy didn’t do. YOU are
responsible for YOUR LIFE!…”

“…you are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself
and you are responsible for the energy that you bring to others.”

–Oprah Winfrey (from her final show)



MY COMMENT:

I just had to share this from my personal recording of the final
Oprah Winfrey show because of how it applies to the James Arthur Ray
trial. Those people knew beforehand that the 2009 warrior workshop was
going to be tough. THAT’S WHAT THEY PAID FOR!!! If they read the
liability waiver, sent to them beforehand, THEY KNEW that there very
well may be a sweat lodge involved. If they didn’t read the liability
waiver before they signed it THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE for not reading what
they signed before they signed the liability waiver, NOT MR. RAY!!!

Those people who went back into the sweat lodge when they KNEW they
could not handle it have no one else to blame besides themselves for
whatever bad things may have happened as a result. If I was there, went
into the sweat lodge and felt I could not properly breathe it would
have been MY RESPONSIBILITY to get out of that sweat lodge and STAY
OUT!!!

To echo and paraphrase the words of Oprah Winfrey, on her last show:
Certain people at the 2009 Sedona Warrior Workshop made bad choices and
want to blame others for the the state of their lives as a result of
those bad choices

Nobody but YOU is responsible for YOUR LIFE! It doesn’t matter what
your momma did. It doesn’t matter what your daddy didn’t do. IT DOESN’T
MATTER WHAT JAMES ARTHUR RAY DID OR DIDN’T DO!!!

YOU are responsible for YOUR LIFE!…”

A just court of law will force you adults to take responsibility for
your actions at that workshop. Liz, Kirby & James Shore should have
told people they needed help. Instead they said they were fine and paid
for that lie with their lives. THEY HAD NO ONE TO BLAME BUT THEMSELVES
FOR WHAT HAPPENED!!!!

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!!

Get it? Probably not

Oh well….

It can be easily proven that the 2009 Angel Valley sweat lodge was
NOT A SAFE STRUCTURE!!! James Arthur Ray had nothing whatsoever to do
with the construction of the 2009 Angel Valley sweat lodge. If you want
someone to pay for those three deaths then go after the real culprits:

ANGEL VALLEY!!!!

So James Arthur Ray is not responsible for the deaths in the sweat lodge he conducted because James Shore, Kirby Brown, and Liz Neuman were responsible for their own lives. Yet, somehow, Angel Valley is responsible for the whole fiasco. Get it? You're responsible for your own death even if someone deprives you of food and water for more than a day and then super-heats you into delirium. But you're not responsible if the structure is bad. So poor tent architecture is now the single exception to the "YOU are responsible for YOUR LIFE!!!" meme.

The dizzying illogic and internal contradictions of patharding's comment are their own fascinating study. Such cognitive dissonance is not atypical of "law of attraction" true believers I've encountered. But I don't want to take a lot of time examining the thought patterns of someone who is most likely Lee Kuan under one of many pseudonyms. Kuan is well known amongst followers of James Ray's catastrophic fall from grace. Were I James Ray, I'd probably think long and hard about Stephen King's Misery when it comes to some of these hardcore fans.

I think this merits discussion because it's Oprah herself who puts this sort of insanity in play with woefully irresponsible commentary like the above. I didn't watch her sign-off show. I haven't watched Oprah in years. I lost interest in the format after years of job-related immersion in it. Mostly I lost interest in sound-bite answers to complex questions and, sadly, that's Oprah's stock in trade.

I'm happy for Oprah that she managed to put the poverty, racism, and abuse, that marked her early years, more or less, behind her. I'm happy for her that she made peace with all that and created a spectacular life for herself. But to suggest that the sort dimestore psychology she dispensed on her show should put such issues to rest for everybody else is vanity.

Hey, you bunch of losers! It's not about what your momma, or your daddy, or your priest, or that IED did, that left you emotionally and/or physically damaged. Buck up. Suck up. And read The Secret.

Whether Oprah realizes it or not, she's propounding a kind of Social Darwinism. It's a common trope. People can achieve whatever they want against all socio-economic odds. Just look at this exceptional, poor, black person who rose from poverty and became a multimillionaire! Now just never you mind that people in positions of power are, to this day, disproportionately white, male, and affluent. You can do anything, I tell you. Anything! And if you can't, you have no one and nothing to blame but yourself.

It's a very convenient way to excuse any form of social injustice. And it's an equally convenient way to excuse horrific abuses at the microcosmic level. In the case raised by Lee Kuan/patharding's post, James Arthur Ray. But it's not just Ray's apparently loony fan. It's an attitude that's been echoed across the media (see In Session), the public discourse and, more to the point, by Ray's attorneys.

Defense attorney Thomas Kelly repeatedly clashed with participants over whether they were free to leave. Some agreed they were, but jurors also heard extensive testimony from others who said they felt obligated or even bullied to stay. Nearly all said they had trusted Ray's assurances that they could make it through all the rounds.

There's a central, if somewhat philosophical, question raised by this trial about the nature of free will itself. Is a man free if he doesn't know or understand that he is free? And there are more germane questions about how free a person is under various forms of mental manipulation. Witness after witness has testified that to this day they don't really understand why they didn't leave. Most pointedly was Dennis Mehravar, who admitted that he probably would not have saved a dying Luis Li because it might have upset Mr. Ray.

Over and over defense attorneys have cajoled and lectured witnesses about their free will and extracted some concession that, yes, they could have left... even if they were still baffled, even tortured, by their own inexplicable inaction. They have brandished those concession trophies in court with other witnesses and even, in legal arguments before Judge Darrow. Laura Tucker said she wasn't in a cult. Therefore, no one was manipulated by Ray, reasoned Li.

The members of Heaven's Gate also scoffed at the idea that they were victims of cult brainwashing, as Glnody did in her "exit statement."

Many humans assume that if you live privately and do not put down roots, then you must have something to hide -- like a drug dealer or other criminal, or might be, at the very least, a part of a "dangerous cult."

As Steven Hassan points out in Releasing the Bonds, members of that group all proclaimed some version of having freely chosen their deaths in a mass suicide.

Members of the Heaven's Gate cult took turns making video-taped farewell statements that explained why they had decided to leave their "vehicles" behind and commit suicide. All of them claimed that they were exercising their own free will, and that they were happy to perform this radical act of dying.

When former member Steven Hill spoke to the Washington Post, his version of events spoke to the time and distance from his immersion in Applewhite's teachings.

The story Steven Hill tells of life inside Heaven's Gate has little in common with the serene testimonials of other former cult members. Hill offers no assurances that the tidy suicides were acts of enlightened free will. He does not believe the departed have reached a Mother Ship. The cheery "farewell video" sickens him.

Although Hill says he feels some responsibility for bringing Yvonne McCurdy-Hill with him into the orbit of cult leader Marshall Herff Applewhite, he maintains that she was ushered to her death by a self-styled messiah he had come to recognize as "a cold, calculating, manipulating" hypocrite.

. . .

Dependence on the cult was total. "There was choice to leave," Hill says. "But there was a lot of pressure" to stay.

A "choice to leave" but "a lot of pressure" to stay... Sound familiar? It should to anyone who's been following the James Ray sweat lodge trial.

I'm not saying that James Ray and his students constitute a full-blown cult like Heaven's Gate, or Hare Krishna, or the Moonies. But the similarities should make us all a little nervous about the influence of charismatic leaders, from the religious to the political, and the very nature of our "freedoms." I'm also not saying that such manipulation is or should be illegal. There are definitely "slippery slope" issues raised regarding the free speech and freedom of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment. Moral culpability and legal culpability are sometimes, necessarily, quite different. (Personally, I think Ray is legally responsible for far more pragmatic reasons some of which will probably be hashed out today in court as the defense argues for a directed verdict. Here are the defense's request and the prosecution's response.)

Increasingly, here in the United States, our "freedom" has been equated not with our right to have a free mind but with our "God-given right" to buy stuff. We are strongly influenced by politicians and advertisers alike. How dare anyone try to interfere with our right to buy gas guzzling SUVs and take out variable rate mortgages on more house than we can afford?! Now, take a good hard look at your credit card bills and ask yourself, am I free?

James Ray pitched his events as "investments" in themselves and told participants that such "investing" in themselves was good even if it meant maxing out their credit cards. In keeping with the central message of The Secret, he assured people that the state of the economy wouldn't affect them if they just got their thinking in order. And, as Connie Joy explained in her recent interview, he persuaded people to rack up massive debt just as every economic indicator was heading south. Strangely, despite their investiture in Ray's teachings, many of them now find themselves under water.

True believers in The Secret would tell you it's still their own fault because they're just not doing it right and they need to buy still more of their products and lectures to perfect their ability to press the universe into their service.

The message we get over and over from adherents of The Secret and similarly simplistic spiritual teachings is that YOU created YOUR problems with YOUR thoughts. You, you, you... It's a road map to distancing ourselves from the problems of the world and from the attendant responsibility. All those bad things that happen to other people? THEY created it. I don't need to worry about any of it because I know how to control my own thoughts and my own reality. See ya later, suckas!

As Christina Pratt explained in an episode of Why Shamanism Now? devoted to The Secret, this completely misses the point. We're not all just creating our own, individual, discrete reality. We are part of a collective reality that we are constantly co-creating. She calls this "the big dream." Says Pratt:

Do not think that you can use this idea that we are dreaming our reality to bludgeon other people who are suffering. In other words, if there is a drought-ridden country somewhere, you can't just go, "Oh well those people dreamt up that drought." Not only is that, um, ignorant, and not remotely compassionate, but you're missing the point, entirely, which is that we are dreaming. We, the entire family of humanity is dreaming life as we know it. And so the drought over there is most likely the manifestation of a dream that is dreaming excess somewhere else. That the dream -- because, we are never not dreaming -- but we have not been trained the responsibility of being a dreamer. We've not been trained to dream well; to dream with maturity for easily, oh, two thousand years or more. And so, consequently, we are dreaming constantly pollution, toxicity, excess, deficiency, and what results then in disease in our human lives into the dream. Because we are not disciplined, we are not even aware, that we, every moment, we are contributing to the dream. And so The Secret says, you know, every moment you're manifesting your life. Well, yes, you are. Every moment you're also manifesting mine and I'm manifesting yours.

Another point that Pratt makes early on is that not everything can be simply thought in or out of existence. She addresses this in terms of our physical health but I've found this to be true across the board.

The body is an amazing creature and there are some deep-running currents that affect our health that we cannot change by thinking or feeling differently. There's soul loss. There is power, energy, and theft. [sic] There is the healing of the unresolved energy of the ancestors. You cannot think that into difference. You have to go do that work. And there's also a shaman's illness. There are some illnesses that are the very transformation we are longing for to take us to where we are meant to be. And so health: bad health, good health, health is not always what it seems to be. 

So what's important here is that if we continue to focus on what I want in the moment and what I think will make me happy in the moment and disregard the innate wisdom in the moment in the world around us and learn to engage, instead, with the world as a teacher, versus learning to impose my will on the world.

Where there is soul loss, power theft, energy theft, ancestral wounding, unresolved past life issues, and the like, healing has to be done at that level. And where there is significant mental and emotional damage, some long-term therapeutic process is may be in order. It's not as simple as changing your thoughts, feelings, or even your actions.

I mention this because it speaks to one of the specific problems with Oprah's formulation. You can't  just change your attitude or feelings, forgive and forget -- none of which is remotely simple -- and start recreating your life. Where there is significant damage, injury, and loss, at any level of our being, none of the tools offered by The Secret work very well.

What many of us who undertook those positive affirmation and visualization tools found -- long before The Secret brought a whole new popularity to these ideas -- is that they were effective for a while and up to a point and then we hit roadblocks. In some cases, we started manifesting unintended and unfathomable catastrophes. And the response from "new thought" proponents was, Well, you're doing it wrong. You're not "positive" enough. You don't really "want" to change. You're still caught up in your "story." Lather, rinse, repeat.

The truth, though, is that sometimes you find that you have significant healing work to do and a magnificent process of discovery to undertake. And the universe, in its infinite wisdom, far from bringing you your every vain wish, brings opportunities to heal on a deeper level so that you truly can manifest your piece of that "big dream."

In truth, the universe cannot do otherwise because the universe is us -- all of us; not just the parts we like and want to cultivate. We will invariably see ourselves reflected all around us: people, events, experiences, nature, everything. So the only question is, are we willing to accept the challenge of healing the world we observe by healing ourselves. Shutting down around big pieces of it, ignoring it because it's "negative" and we want to focus on the "positive" will not work. That kind of myopia has and continues to lead to incredible destruction.

As much as we might want to put the problems we see before us "over there," we can't because those problems are reflections of us. They are the result of our constant, collective dreaming.

Saying YOU or THEY created their own problems ignores the fact that there is no you or they. There is only oneness. In LaK'ech Al K'in, as the Maya say, "I am you and you are me." My former teacher, Cherokee Mystic Virginia Sandlin puts it this simply, "There is only one person here."

To the mystical thinker, the question is not, "Why did YOU manifest that for YOURSELF?" The question is, "What is MY piece in this? Why am I seeing this particular reflection that is expressing as you?" That's what we ask ourselves when we are truly taking responsibility at a spiritual level for all that we manifest.

Note: I recommend listening to Christina Pratt's entire show "The Secret or The Big Dream." It can be found in the show archives here or downloaded from iTunes. As I have previously mentioned, I have known Christina for years and recommend all aspects of her work very highly.

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Energy Velcro and the Hollow Bone

The shamanic altered state of consciousness and being a "hollow bone" are not necessarily the same thing. All over the Internet contemporary practitioners are claiming that the altered state they enter to work with Spirit is, by definition, being a "hollow bone." Becoming the Hollow Bone is an ancient practice in Zen Buddhism, shamanism, and many native peoples of North America. It takes years of dedicated and disciplined practice to create this inner state of consciousness and freedom. In contrast, entering a shamanic trance state, or journeying, is relatively simple to learn, usually allows immediate and useful access to one's helping spirits, and is basically every human being's birthright now. In our efforts to explain to a contemporary world what shamanism is and how it can help with pretty much all that ails us, let's not get carried way. To become the Hollow Bone is to dedicate oneself to the tireless discipline of clearing your inner energy Velcro. This requires first noticing that you have been hooked by something in life. Then looking within at what Velcro loop within you has just been snagged. Then to move deeper within, for the process has only just begun. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, as she explores the deeper truth of becoming the Hollow Bone and the freedom that arises from this ancient and worthy discipline.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Awakenings with Michele Meiche

Jennifer McLean CEO of McLean Masterworks

12pm PST --- One on One with Michele ----MICHELE MEICHE shares her weekly 2012 & beyond update, answers your questions, and does channeled readings--- 12:45pm PST --- Welcome our Awakened Guest: Jennifer McLean

Jennifer McLean is an author, speaker and healer. McLean is the founder and host of the popular online teleseminar series Healing With The Masters, a life-changing, free teleseminar program, and CEO of McLean Masterworks, the corporate entity that manages Healing With the Masters and also offers MasterWorks Healing Membership Site, a space for prominent healers to offer one-on-one sessions to members in a group-coaching environment utilizing their individual techniques. McLean has more than 18 years of experience within the healing and wellness fields and has studied in multiple disciplines of energy healing including sound healing therapies and her own Body Dialoging technique. McLean is the author of two critically acclaimed books including The Big Book of You and The Credibility Factor. She has also been featured in Joe Vitale’s best-selling book The Key, Keith Leon’s Who Do You Think You Are and Joyce Schwarz’s The Vision Board Book. McLean will be releasing her new book Body Dialoging-7 Steps to Coping and Thriving in Extreme Times in 2011.

For more information please visit: www.mcleanmasterworks.com.

Wed, Jun 8, 2011 3:00PM ET

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NASA's Dark Missions & William R. Levacy

Mike Bara
NASA's Dark Missions
Mike Bara is a New York Times Bestselling author, screenwriter and lecturer. A self-described “Born Again conspiracy theorist,” Mike's first book Dark Mission-The Secret History of NASA (co-authored with the venerable Richard C. Hoagland) was a New York Times bestseller in 2007 for Feral House books. In his recent book “The Choice” he describes as “The unified field theory of physics and metaphysics.” He promises that “The Choice” will peel back the layers of mystery around the Mayan calendar, 2012.

William R. (Bill) Levacy
Vedic Astrology
William R. (Bill) Levacy holds a BA in Literature, a Master's in the Science of Creative Intelligence, and a Master's in Education. Bill is currently a PhD Candidate in Education at Capella University, with a specialization in Human Performance Improvement (HPI). Bill is the author of, “Beneath a Vedic Sky,” “Beneath a Vedic Sun,” and “Vedic Astrology Simply Put.”

Fri, Jun 10, 2011 3:00PM ET/2:00PM CT

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Awake: Now What?

Betsy Otter Thompson, Author, Actress, Movie Executive

In addition to writing The Mirror Theory, the first book in her trilogy on the life of Jesus, Betsy Otter Thompson is the author of four other books that were published and distributed through her own company, Ascension Publishing. These books are now out of print but Betsy hopes to eventually have a reprinting. They are as follows: LOVEPARENT: How To Be The Parent You Hope To Be (1991); LOVEHUMAN: How To Be Who You Love (1992); YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK: Make Your Thoughts Delicious (1993); The WHAT HAPPENS IF I...Book: How To Make Action/Reaction Work For You Instead Of Against You (1996). THE MIRROR THEORY: The Way to Inner Peace, Resolution and Transformation (2005); WALKING THROUGH ILLUSION: Jesus Speaks of the People who Shared his Journey (2010) Betsy's work has always gravitated toward the media. A native Philadelphian with a B.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, Betsy worked as an account executive for WFIL radio in Philadelphia, and from there went to radio stations WPEN and WFLN. After that, she became a commercial print model and acted in television commercials in New York and Philadelphia. For seventeen years, she worked in Los Angeles at the motion picture and television company Castle Rock Entertainment as the Assistant to the Chairman and CEO. In August '99, she followed her boss to Warner Bros. as he took a new position there as President and COO, and became his Executive Assistant. She is now writing full time. Betsy's writing began unexpectedly while going through an especially difficult time in her life. She believes that her books were the answer to her prayers.

For more information go to http://betsythompson.com/index.php

Sun, Jun 12, 2011 6:00PM ET

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Horoscope for June 6-12

Cross-posted from Aloha Astro

Aries (March 21st - April 20th)
You are willing to put your money where your mouth is this week, Aries, or use your powers of speech and persuasion to make more money. Creative ideas are your forte now, but you are action-oriented at the same time that you are thinking and expressing opinions or directing people to do things in new ways. A romantic relationship may demand attention and communication this week, or you decide it is time to make a concerted effort to meet a potential partner by being more social or letting your friends match-make for you.

Taurus (April 21st - May 20th)
The things that mean the most to you are highlighted this week, Taurus. Without the support and love of family, pets, friends, or a partner, you would feel life has no meaning. You can do almost any work happily when you feel there is a purpose behind it, such as a family who depends on you. The planets indicate an alignment with both purpose and abundance now. An upbeat, positive attitude and a sense of rightness surrounding your decisions and actions makes everything flow easily. There is a slim chance someone may be jealous about your good fortune. Take those "sour grapes" with the proverbial "grain of salt."



Gemini (May 21st - June 21st)
When I looked at your chart for the week, I got winded, Gemini. You will be riding a strong wave of creative, restless, energizing, exhausting, inspired, confused energy. A whole rainbow of potential lies before you, but I do not see a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow yet. You are busy in your neighborhood, running errands, talking, thinking, creating, and spending time with family or in self-examination - anything but looking for the money. Maybe if you aren't watching for it, it will sneak up on you. You may be feeling temporarily lost or disillusioned with your career. Some vacation time and the progression of planets over the next few weeks will help lift that career fog.

Cancer (June 22nd - July 22nd)
For the last two months, career and your standing in the outer world have been your primary concerns, Cancer. Now the pendulum swings in the other direction. You will be spending time mulling over family and personal relationships, examining your habitual patterns, and looking for ways to correct dysfunction or stressful dynamics. Introspection brings you back to your sign's key principles of nurturing and making things grow. Now you are more concerned with growing mutually-supportive relationships than growing a name for yourself. Communication with the people in your life may bring changes, but they are for the better.

Leo (July 23rd - August 22nd)
A new cycle begins for you, Leo, as the moon in your sign gets the week off to a creative and communicative start for you. You will be sorting your priorities and putting your own needs and plans first, which is a good thing. Work is plentiful, but you may have to ask for the money. An element of deception or disappointment with a friend or organization is possible. Clear communication and getting outside, impartial advice is the best way to minimize hurt. By the end of the week, the planets create a feeling of power that helps you shift your attitude. Outer circumstances may be the same, but you feel less put-upon, more in-control of your circumstances, and see what you need to do.

Virgo (August 23rd - September 22nd)
Solitude is a necessity at the beginning of the week, Virgo. Not for rest and recovery, but for heightened mental and psychic focus. You are like a power plant now, generating a great amount of energy, but you must sit still and be by yourself in order to decide where to direct your increasing energy. Money, career, business, and creativity are all getting a boost from the planets. Love or a busy social life is there as a side-dish. The main course is a desire to build wealth or devise a means to increase your income. Multiple streams of income and investment diversification are your best bets. This is not the time to focus on just one business activity.

Libra (September 23rd - October 23rd)
Travel related to work, learning or teaching new skills, or interacting with people who have a different culture or philosophy is likely this week, Libra. You may feel like a fish out of water in some social situations, but your discomfort, mistakes, or lack of knowledge are precisely what alleviates boredom and makes you grow. "Interesting" would be the word I use to describe the energy moving around you. You have the opportunity to change without trying. When you are busy not thinking of yourself, being of service to others, and expanding your horizons, you change easily without any self-help book or affirmations. You will like yourself more the more you find things to like in other people.

Scorpio (October 24th - November 21st)
Your instincts in business are good at the beginning of the week, Scorpio. Use your strong powers of intuition and imagination to anticipate future trends. Some creative Scorpios have the power now to launch a trend, a fad, a viral video, or become extremely popular through something bizarre or unique. You may not be creating anything that hasn't been done or seen before - it is the energy of your delivery or presentation and your willingness to be seen that makes it feel fresh and desirable. In the area of romance, beware of a tendency to attract unrequited love situations, triangles, or to view your beloved as a perfect god or goddess. The greater you over-romanticize a relationship now, the more likely you are to feel the pain rather than the pleasure of love. Relationship is an area of life where it currently serves you to be more intellectual and less emotional. Direct your overflowing emotions to the material realm.

Sagittarius (November 22nd - December 21st)
Education and information are important ingredients to your success in business or relationships this week, Sagittarius. I know you have a high intelligence, boundless enthusiasm, and a nice amount of general good luck that usually gets you through any situation, but right now, life can be like opening a box of something with a lot of parts that requires assembly and finding no instruction manual. Perhaps you recently began self- or home-employment and are finding time management or billing/collecting fees to be sticky areas. Or maybe you are wondering where and how to find clients or customers. You will benefit most from asking questions, seeking advice, and making realistic plans and schedules. You don't lack anything within yourself to be successful, but you need better tools or skills.

Capricorn (December 22nd - January 19th)
Business and career can benefit from your strength and determination now, Capricorn. The correct methods or solutions to problems become obvious and you are willing to take moves or make investments that others may consider risky. If you work for a company or with other people, the conflicts that may arise between you and them this week have to do with attitude. You have no tolerance for anything less than the best way, even if it means extra work or less profit in the present moment. Others may not want to work that hard or are motivated by greed. They see you as a dangerous reformer or upstart, not the creative innovator that you really are. Your ability to see a bigger picture lets you shrug off criticism and find ways around the opposition.

Aquarius (January 20th - February 18th)
An epiphany may occur for you this week, Aquarius, but you may not view it as a blessing yet. It is tied into your intelligence, communication, and secrets of power. For instance, you may have a situation where you must be openly expressive about spiritual beliefs or metaphysical principles. Aquarius is the oddball, geek, mad scientist of the zodiac. The planets make you feel even more unique now while they are simultaneously emphasizing all kinds of relating. Self-realization can lead to knowing what special thing you are here to teach others. This can feel like both an existential crisis and a healing transformation. Buy some new shoes, get a pedicure or reflexology, walk barefoot to help you be aware of your feet and get grounded in the new energy that is reshaping your life purpose.

Pisces (February 19th - March 20th)
I have a special caution for you this week, Pisces. Before you say yes to anyone about anything or act upon the desire to rescue, save, or help anyone, ask yourself if it serves you. Make a list (on paper, so you don't delude yourself) of what you stand to gain or lose. Then, ask yourself what feels right. Stick by your decision. "Discernment" is your word of the week. Any difficulty that arises this week will be an opportunity to discern how the thread of your energy is meant to weave - or not weave - into the tapestry of energy you are being shown. Being true to your values and establishing well-defined boundaries in relationships are your secondary tasks. Some Fishes may move, find their dream home, or realize a profit from the sudden sale of property or collectible possessions or antiques.

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Astrological Trends for June 6-12

Cross-posted from Aloha Astro

Creative cooperation sets the tone the morning of Monday, June 6th, as the moon in the fixed fire sign of playful Leo makes a supportive sextile to the sun in the mutable air sign of imaginative Gemini and another sextile to constructive Saturn in the relationship-minded cardinal air sign of Libra. Wear a t-shirt that says, "Plays well with others," and a big smile and see what happens! A favorable trine between the curious, quick-witted Gemini Mercury and Saturn in Libra makes it easy to imagine, communicate, and write. Today, the quincunx between Mercury in Gemini and Pluto in restrained Capricorn fades away. If you have been feeling like a child with a parent looking over your shoulder for the past week, this will lift now. The square between Mercury and Chiron in Pisces also fades. It will be easier to let go of limiting, negative, painful, or destructive thoughts now. If you have been processing stuff from the effects of last week's new moon, you may complete your clearing and releasing today. The high energy of a creative fire moon cycle demands that you release the old and be in the present moment. The potent and unsettling square between erratic Uranus in pioneering Aries and controlling Pluto in strict Capricorn, which began to influence you last week, continues to have an effect on your life this week. As I detailed previously, this may have a greater effect on society in terms of upheaval and transformation, but a look at your own natal chart to see where you have Aries and Capricorn energy can give you an idea of what areas of your life may be changing. The benevolent, blessing energy of abundant Jupiter in the fixed earth sign of material Taurus is still sextile to inspirational Neptune in spiritual Pisces. This brings grace and flow to your life and helps you to manifest your basic needs as well as the means to achieve bigger dreams. Early Monday evening, a mildly aggravating square flares between the Leo moon and Mars in the fixed earth sign of Taurus. Ego meets stubborn and people may be attached to things going their own way. Have you ever seen children who have been playing together happily suddenly erupt in squabbles and a subsequent emotional meltdown? It seems that too much of a good thing catches up with the child's nervous system and when physical energy drops, disintegration occurs. Wise parents know when to end playtime before this happens. The planetary aspects make us like children today when it comes to work and play. Remove yourself from the sandbox before this moon/Mars square takes effect. A good meal, some rest, and watching an action movie or drama can help you project and diffuse the tension of the square harmlessly.



In "The King's Breakfast," a poem by A. A. Milne, the King desires butter for his Royal piece of bread, but the tired Alderney cow suggests marmalade instead. The King does eventually get his butter - and some milk, too - after everyone gets involved and fussy talk goes back and forth. A square between the royal Leo moon and pleasure-loving Venus in Taurus, the sign of the Bull, on the morning of Tuesday, June 7th, brought this poem from my childhood to mind. You can get what you want, but there may be some fuss or crankiness before it goes your way. Just watch your attitude and be as polite as possible this morning. At midday, the Leo moon makes a favorable, easy-flowing trine to Jupiter in Taurus, which increases your desire and capacity for pleasure, but the moon also opposes Neptune in Pisces. Maybe you want something you can't have or isn't easy to obtain. With a passionate and determined Venus contra-parallel Pluto and a sexy Venus parallel Mars heating things up today, you may be thinking of only one thing: being with or finding a lover. The trine between charming, flirty Mercury in Gemini and enduring Saturn in romantic Libra indicates that if your mind is made up, you can use friendly, casual conversation to stimulate interest and curiosity that may lead to a more intense physical encounter. Keep your attention on available people and steer clear of people who are not directly upfront about their relationship status to avoid the worst possible scenario of the moon/Neptune opposition, which would be romantic deception and disappointment in love. Later this afternoon, your emotions turn a bit more cool and analytical as the moon leaves the fire sign of Leo and enters the mutable earth sign of Virgo. In the early evening, that persnickety Virgo moon forms a quincunx to Uranus in Aries, which can cause some back-peddling in the romance department or any area of your life that has a strong emotional charge. A challenging square begins between Neptune in Pisces and Venus in Taurus that puts another fly in the soup of love. This square will be felt until the 14th of June and it can increase the likelihood of being blind to the reality of a relationship or make you feel disappointed or unclear about love. This may not be a difficult aspect for established relationships, but it can be problematic for people just meeting. It is also a challenging aspect to have in a wedding chart and I advise against having a wedding right now, despite the presence of other romantic aspects. Yes, your thoughts may be on love now, but love stands a better chance of peace and longevity after June 14th. Later this evening, the analytical Virgo moon makes a favorable trine to Pluto in Capricorn. Emotional practicality comes before impulse, and your tendency will be to protect and maintain what is already established in your life.

On Wednesday, June 8th, you may wake with worries or mental chatter. The moon in the analytical earth sign of Virgo forms a square to Mercury conjunct the sun in Gemini. The moon craves perfection, but Mercury and the sun deliver creativity and imagination, which are rarely perfect. Try to let go of the emotional attachment to how things should be done and let things follow their own course, even if it seems to be a meandering one. The moon semi-sextile Saturn in Libra and Mercury/sun trine Saturn indicate that there is no way you can take a wrong turn, anyway. Everything will naturally sort itself out. This hypercritical atmosphere is present from start to finish today and there are no other shifts of energy through the day that would lessen the effect of this square. Avoid nitpicking over things of no real importance when you communicate with people. Save complaints for the big things and let little things slide. Take the "tweaking" energy of the aspect and apply it to your own ideas or projects. Be tolerant of the imperfections you see within your own creativity. Remember that an artist may make many sketches before the actual painting begins and a film director may shoot many scenes that are cut before the film is ever seen.

With an absence of significant aspects to the Virgo moon until mid-afternoon on Thursday, June 9th, you may find yourself feeling paused. I have an image of a sailboat with slack sails sitting in the middle of a calm sea, where not a ripple moves the water. Some impatience and emotional frustration may be deep inside as you wait for the "wind" of a lunar aspect to propel you forward. Work on completing what is right in front of you, with a focus on needs and necessities, until later today, when the Virgo moon forms a trine to Venus in Gemini, a quincunx to Jupiter in Taurus, and a quincunx to Neptune in Pisces. Additionally, Jupiter and Neptune share a supportive sextile. These aspects aren't just a little breeze of energy to ruffle your sails, but a strong headwind that can energize you and give you renewed enthusiasm. Venus shifted around lunchtime from the stable fixed earth sign of Taurus to the fickle mutable air sign of Gemini. Venus is still in square aspect to Neptune in Pisces. In some ways, the arrival of Venus in Gemini may worsen the negative effects of the square, because Gemini is a Mercury-ruled, communication-oriented air sign. Neptune's shadow side is deception and illusion. The tendency to ignore the truth or tell lies when it comes to love increases under this aspect's influence. Make it a point to be clear and honest in your communications and to not take people's feelings too lightly. Early this evening, the moon enters the relationship-minded cardinal air sign of Libra and by bedtime, the moon also opposes Uranus in Aries. When the moon activates Uranus, the Uranus/Pluto square is triggered, too. There may be a shift of power between you and another person, or one or the other of you may want some more space or freedom just when the other reaches out for more closeness.

Control and precision are the words of the morning on Friday, June 10th, when the moon in the cardinal air sign of Libra joins the planet Saturn and forms a challenging square to Pluto in the cardinal earth sign of Capricorn. Pluto is also square to Uranus in the cardinal fire sign of Aries. With the sun and Mercury conjunct in the thinking air sign of Gemini, you will be in a mentally-heightened state while you juggle the energies of the two cardinal squares. Debates, decisions, or a firming of purpose are possible results of this strong combination. When the moon/Saturn square with Pluto loosens its grip at lunchtime, the element of control diminishes, but the emotional tone may still be serious due to the moon and Saturn being joined. You will filter your feelings through balanced reasoning. At dinnertime, a favorable trine develops between the sun/Mercury in Gemini and moon/Saturn in Libra. The sun and Mercury form a mild semi-sextile to Mars in Taurus. Decisions will be reached or communications become positive, proactive, and constructive under these influences. The moon in Libra separates from Saturn as the evening progresses and your mood will lighten as it does. The happy energy of the trine makes this a nice evening for socializing and turning the trials and tribulations of a mentally stressful day into amusing anecdotes in the retelling. Everything is just a matter of perspective and a subtle shift of lunar energy.

Beautification of your home and yard or an appreciation of nature's beauty around you will be the order of the morning on Saturday, June 11th. The moon in aesthetically-refined Libra makes a favorable quincunx to action-oriented Mars in sensual Taurus. Put on those gardening gloves or get your camera out to capture the wonder of late spring blossoms in your travels. The day is best spent in the company of family, friends, or a partner. Just as the moon slides into the emotionally intense fixed water sign of Scorpio tonight, it forms a delightful trine to Neptune in Pisces and a quincunx to Venus in Gemini. The moon also opposes Jupiter in Taurus now, but unlike most planetary oppositions, it can be considered favorable because of the strong benign energy of this Jupiter position. The potent Scorpio moon is touched deeply by the affectionate energy of Venus and the romantic yearnings of Neptune. The Jupiter opposition may be suggesting that you curtail overindulgence in food, wine, or other Taurean earthly pleasures. Some things are best enjoyed as enhancements to a mood or setting, but can ruin a potentially pleasurable time if used in excess. After the detachment, coolness, or uncertainty relationships may have experienced midweek, this evening offers a wonderful opportunity for people to reconnect at a soul level.

A well-aspected Scorpio moon gets Sunday, June 12th, off to a passionate and purposeful start. The moon in the fixed water sign of intense Scorpio is making a supportive sextile to potent Pluto in strong Capricorn, a semi-sextile to Saturn in refined Libra, and a hopeful, healing trine to Neptune and Chiron in gentle Pisces. Venus in Gemini now engages Pluto in Capricorn through a quincunx, which can be very good - or very bad - depending on how mature you are and how you choose to direct this energy. It will be with you until the 17th, and will act a bit like Tabasco sauce in your relationships. Whenever Venus and Pluto connect, things go molten and a bit clingy. A little passion and sexual obsession can be a good thing, but the mutable nature of Venus in Gemini may tip this Venus/Pluto aspect into the dark side of love - drama, hurtful games, dangerous liaisons, or jealousy. I sincerely recommend that you do not lead anyone on. If you are unsure about someone romantically, take a break or wait and see until this aspect passes. If you are already in a loving relationship, this can be a special, spicy aspect that makes lovemaking both playful and super sexy. A semi-sextile between Jupiter in Taurus and Venus in Gemini makes everyone a bit more physical and playful in bed or out of it. The entire week revolves around relationships of all kinds because of the signs the moon transits this week. They are all one-on-one, relationship-minded signs. The various aspects read like a good news/bad news joke and you may experience emotional highs and lows as you exchange energy with other people over the course of the week. June is a busy and intense month in terms of planetary energy. Stay positive and busy. With the sun conjunct Mercury in Gemini, it is better to try things than not and it is better to speak honestly than say nothing.

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James Ray Sweat Lodge Trial Roundup June 3

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Weather Map of Northeast

The State wrapped up its case yesterday, as promised, with testimony from Dawn Gordon and Sean Ronan. Ray's lawyers will open its case with a Rule 20 motion for immediate acquittal. In other news, the weather in the Northeast was really quite lovely.

Prosecutors in a self-help author's manslaughter trial rested their case Friday after months of testimony from participants of an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony whose experiences were sometimes as different as night and day.

The trial could end early next week if the judge grants a defense motion for acquittal of James Arthur Ray, who is facing three counts of manslaughter stemming from the October 2009 ceremony he led near Sedona. Oral arguments on the motion in which the defense contends the state hasn't proven its case are scheduled Tuesday.

. . .

Gordon told jurors that she had no idea that James Shore would die after he helped dragged a woman out of an Arizona sweat lodge and was propped up on his elbow encouraging one of the victims with "sweet words."

Nor did she know that the last she'd hear out of Kirby Brown, who had planned to paint a mural in her house, would be heavy breathing and gurgling that sounded like someone with a cold.

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As per Mark Duncan, Luis Li's cross examination broke new ground for the defense... in that it contradicted their position with every other sweat lodge participant so far. After reducing witnesses like Beverly Bunn and Lou Caci to tears by reminding them of their own inaction as James Shore, Kirby Brown, and Liz Neuman were dying, Li abruptly changed tack.Yesterday, he informed the jury that the progressing illness of other participants really wasn't the responsibility of people like Gordon who'd paid thousands of dollars to "have their own experience." No. It was the responsibility of unpaid volunteers like Mark Rock.

Gordon, continuing her testimony from Thursday, allowed that she had not called for help for Brown despite hearing her heavy, labored breathing. She did help Shore get Brown off of her back, but then returned her attention inward.

"I was in the environment for experiential reasons for my own growth and I was not in a position to partner in gaining help," she said. "My mindset was one of continuing a journey that I had set out to complete."

In his cross-examination of Gordon, defense attorney Luis Li made the point that she was not charged with responsibility for the well-being of other participants, as was dream team volunteer and prior witness Mark Rock, who sat near Gordon in the sweat lodge and testified earlier that he heard Brown's struggling breath and did nothing to help.

"Did you hear Mark Rock say, 'I believe I've just heard Kirby Brown's last breath?' Did Mark Rock say, 'Hey, we've got a problem over here'?"

As for the man who collected tens of thousands of dollars from participants while staffing the event with volunteers who not only weren't paid but had to pay for their food and lodging? He apparently had no responsibility whatsoever.

According to Ronan, however, none other than Megan Fredrickson disagreed with that. He testified that he had heard her say, "James, these people are your responsibility," as a huge pile of heated rocks were delivered to the already excruciatingly hot tent.

As per Duncan, Ronan did not remember hearing anyone call out in distress. Of course he had passed out during the fifth round only to awaken as they were performing CPR on James Shore and Kirby Brown.  So, he missed quite a bit, really. He spent the rest of the night fighting for his life in the hospital.

When interviewed by police, Ronan withheld certain details because he still felt the need to protect James Ray... as Dawn Gordon still does, apparently.

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Dateline's April Santiago continued to tweet some details from the courtroom. I'm not sure if this was Luis Li's argument for why the Dream Team, as opposed to James Ray, was responsible for the sick people inside the sweat lodge. But according to Li, Ray couldn't hear anything in the giant structure he himself requested Angel Valley build for him. In a demonstration we've seen repeatedly from the defense team,  Li moved around the courtroom to demonstrate how it would have been impossible for people to be heard or to hear what they claim to have heard. The punchline on all of these tactics is that when these attorneys have stood at the back of the courtroom, they've still been perfectly audible to the people in the witness stand. Li used a "speaking tone" to demonstrate why James Shore's calls for help could not have been heard by Ray. I wonder how it was, then, that Gordon heard Ray's response to Shore's concerns -- or any of his statements, really -- so clearly. So I asked Santiago if Li was whispering in his demonstration. She responded that it was a "quiet speaking voice."

One juror may have been a little confused by Li's sotto voce performance. Santiago reports that one of the jury questions for Gordon was, "Did James Shore's voice get weaker after getting Sidney out of the lodge?"

The second jury question to financial adviser Gordon is also interesting: "Has JamesRay or JRI employees ever been clients of yours?" I wonder if that juror was maybe a little suspicious of Gordon's continuing fealty to Ray. (???)

One of the truly groundbreaking elements of Dawn Gordon's testimony is that we have, at long last, found an actual human who heard the mysterious EMT (?) who gave birth to the organophosphate theory. Li actually played the recording for Gordon, and as per Mark Duncan, she actually remembered hearing this odd bit of background noise. So, that's it then. It must have been organophosphates. Someone who may possibly have been an EMT mentioned it in a very preliminary presumptive diagnosis, along with that medically disproved carbon monoxide possibility. So now we'll, no doubt, get to hear how the State blew it by not only not picking up on background noise in a recording of a dining hall police interview, but by failing to extract that random bit of memory from their own witness Dawn Gordon. How could prosecutors possibly not have known to run down the theory of organophosphates when it was so remotely and tangentially available in their own evidence?! What a bunch of slackers.

Never mind that the entire organphosphate theory has been demonstrated to be ludicrous by evidence already presented by prosecutors and, in a rather ironic twist, the defense:

• If there was organophosphate poisoning, the paramedics did everything wrong. They would have killed a bunch of people by causing them drown in their own saliva... which did not happen. (See Dickson)
• Organophosphates were, in fact, ruled out at the hospital. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that cholinergics were not part of the differential diagnosis by the toxicologist, who found the symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning. (CO was subsequently ruled out by blood work.) I say this despite Truc Do's complete incapacity to grasp this simple fact. (See Dickson)
• None of the handful of pesticides so sparingly used at Angel Valley contain organophosphates. (As per Injun Samurai)
• As per Truc Do's own evidence, death from organophosphate poisoning is an extremely rare event and requires massive exposure. (See Dickson)

Dawn Gordon was excused subject to recall.

Some interesting elements of Ronan's testimony were also presented by Santiago. Ronan admitted having had some exposure to media after witnesses were ordered not to. I believe this was discussed a while ago. I'm not certain of this but, if memory serves, Ronan was confused as to whether or not he would be testifying.

Under direct questioning, Ronan testified that James Shore told him when they were waiting on line that he was looking forward to the sweat lodge. Talk about bitter irony.

Under cross examination, Ronan admitted that he had not revealed Megan Fredrickson's statement earlier to detectives. Truc Do reminded him that it could be considered "obstruction of justice."

It's kind of an interesting pattern that's evolving here. It's only the really damning testimony that brings threats of legal consequences by defense attorneys. It seems Dawn Gordon also said things were inconsistent with her police interviews, but it doesn't seem that brought any threats of perjury charges as the recanted testimony of Mark Rock did. Of course, I could be completely wrong on that score. For all I know she was charged and is seeking legal counsel as we speak. What do I know now that I have to rely on sketchy reports from the handful of reporters still covering this trial as CNN no longer delivers live courtroom proceedings to me daily.

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The Salty Droid has posted a characteristically HILARIOUS take on the media's new-found contempt for the sweat lodge trial. It seems James Ray's star has been eclipsed by WordMaster champion Jeremiah McDowell. The seventh grader is a real "up-and-comer" as the Propecia dependent "Harmonic HasBeen" heads for a life of obscurity.

I’ve been looking for James Ray :: have you seen him? He’s like a tall guy :: concave mouth :: spray on tan :: walks around like an angry chicken is nesting at the far end of his colon?

It’s not a big deal or anything :: it’s just that I found some of his pills near my grandpa’s socks :: and I wanted to give them back. I know how serious it can be for a fake Samurai to lose his insecurity pills.

You’d think he’d be easy to find :: I mean this guy was so famous and successful that he had to start a company just to tell everyone about how famous and successful he was :: and you can too!

Definitely a must read.

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James Ray Sweat Lodge Trial Roundup June 2

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

James Ray with Attorney Tom Kelly

As news out of the James Ray trial slows to a trickle, let's see what we can deduce from what is obviously so dull a story that it merits little to no coverage. Oh, here's a thing. Dawn Gordon testified that not only could no one leave when the sweat lodge when the flap was down, Ray responded to James Shore's concerns over Kirby Brown by saying, "No one is leaving at this time."

As per Mark Duncan, one of the handful of lonely reporters still covering the Yavapai County Courthouse beat, we learn that Spiritual Warrior participant Gordon had concerns over Brown's condition and labored breathing. She enlisted help from James Shore. Gordon was surprised that Shore had come back after dragging out an unconscious Sidney Spencer because he appeared to be struggling himself.

"He had his own free will to stay outside and he chose to come back in," she said.

By the time he did return, Gordon said, Brown had ceased her chant but was lying on her back, breathing loudly through what sounded like extreme congestion. Shore tried to move her onto her side to ease her airway but was unable and asked Gordon to help.

"I told him to get on the other side of her and that I would put my feet under her back and he could pull her arms," she said. "I stayed low...and as I was pushing and he was pulling we got her onto her side."

So why didn't they take the obviously ailing Brown out? Well, they all knew that once the flap was closed, that was it. And, for good measure James Ray reminded them when James Shore called out for help with Brown. Trouble breathing? Suck it up,  people. Flap's closed.

Brown's "chant" is one we've heard about from a number of witnesses. Brown had been chanting "We can do it," over and over again, loudly enough that several people told her to be quiet. Said Gordon:

"Partly because it was repetitive like a chant and it was disruptive for what I was perceiving as needing to take care of my well-being," she said, "both for my journey and what I was in the sweat lodge for in the first place."

This is something I've found odd from the beginning. On the one hand, Ray apparently led many chants during this heat endurance exercise but apparently Brown's attempts to start a chant only served to annoy. Could it be because she sounded out of control and disturbing? That's how this has always read to me. Like she was starting to sound like an embarrassing drunk as her disordered mental state overcame her determination.

Also exempt from the media blackout on this trial is Dateline's April Santiago who continued to tweet from the courtroom yesterday. From her we learned that Kim Brinkley, a teacher from California, stuck her face in the dirt to try to stay cool during the sweat lodge. (No doubt hoping that Ray hadn't told too many people to piss on the floor of the "temple" as he did to Lou Caci.)

We also learned that Sheila Polk tried to raise the issue of the Ray's no refund policy and was shot down. Of all Judge Darrow's rulings regarding "prejudicial" information, this is the one that honks me off. In this case, Ray's dubious business practices are directly on point because the defense's argument has made them so. The defense has argued repeatedly that people could have walked away at any time -- and indeed some people did. More to the point, they have argued endlessly that participants knew what they were getting into because they signed a waiver. Leaving aside for a moment how uninformative those waivers were, what were people supposed to do if they found the minimal disclosures in those waivers off-putting enough that they reconsidered attending? (Something Linda Andresano apparently wrestled with only to be mislead by Ray's staff.) What jurors are not hearing is that anyone who had concerns for their health or safety and reconsidered participating would forfeit nearly $10 grand. California a mandates a three day period cooling off period, which JRI complied with by law. But any concerns after that point, like when the waivers came, would have meant a rather large financial loss. Given that, it's understandable that a lot of people would have simply rolled the dice and trusted Ray not to kill or maim them.

Brinkley also confirmed earlier testimony about Laura Tucker raising concerns about Liz Neuman's health and being told "Liz has done this before..."

Tom Kelly's cross of Brinkley Santiago described as "testy." Shocker. Kelly cross-examined a female witness and managed to make her uncomfortable. Kelly also learned that Brinkley had decided against participating in a class action suit against Ray.

On redirect Polk extracted some details about Brinkley's medical condition following the sweat lodge. She experienced nausea and was diagnosed with heat exhaustion.

Brinkley also reiterated what many have testified to; that Ray pushed people to their limits and that his students didn't want to disappoint him. And this is precisely what made this (and other Ray events) so dangerous. He sets things up as a test of will and the difference between being a success or a failure in life. And he makes himself their judge, jury, and, it would seem, executioner.

Kim Brinkley was excused subject to recall.

Santiago also provided some other details from Gordon's testimony. She actually heard Ray say twice that no one could leave once the flap was closed.

Gordon appears to have approached this event with a lot of determination to succeed. She hadn't known there'd be a sweat lodge but once confronted with it she pushed through her own feelings of physical weakness and was proud of her accomplishment.

I am always just saddened when I learn about people treating a sweat lodge ceremony like an obstacle to be surmounted.

Over on the In Session blog, Jim Kyle seems to have taken a scunner to both of these witnesses. He found them to be"unusually dispassionate" as they recounted the horrific events. From his telling, they do both come off as a bit oblivious to what surrounded them. It sounds like Kim Brinkley was really out of it.

After a lengthy description of how she entered the sweat lodge, the position she took ultimately took and where she sat in relation to various other participants, Brinkley talked about how the first sign of something unusual was Amy Grimes passing out and falling on her.  Brinkley said she called out for help for about 20 or 30 seconds before anyone came to take Grimes out of the sweat lodge, and she couldn’t recall who that person was.  Brinkley then recounted hearing someone scream as though they were in pain, but didn’t know who it was at the time.  Only much later did she discover it was Lou Caci who fell into the rock pit while exiting the sweat lodge.  Brinkley explained her lack of attentiveness to what was going on by saying that her memory was auditory rather than visual due to the darkness.  She went on to claim to have been in an altered state throughout the sweat lodge ceremony, was unaware of the passage of time and probably not even awake the entire time.

. . .


After leaving the sweat lodge at the end of the ceremony, Brinkley describes how very cold she felt.  All she wanted to do was to go to her cabin and lay down.  She makes somewhat vague reference to hearing the arrival of helicopters and ambulances, but nonetheless was taken to her cabin in a gold cart where she took a shower.  Absent was any reference to sweat lodge participants lying about outside the sweat lodge in various states of distress as we often heard from other witnesses.

After showering, fellow participant Lynette walked Brinkley to the dining hall where all she ate was some toast due to her nausea.  Afterward she went back to her cabin to sleep.  Soon thereafter, Brinkley was summoned back to the dining hall to be checked out by EMT personnel.  She later consented to be taken toVerde Valley Medical Centerfor a more complete examination.

Kyle also found Brinkley to argumentative with Kelly. He cited several discrepancies with police interviews. No talk of perjury charges, though. Nope. Hmmmm....

A bone of contention seems to have been the medical report which Brinkley apparently did not agree with. But from Kyle's reporting we don't really know what the disconnect was, even though Polk apparently clarified it on redirect. As stated above, according to Santiago, she was diagnosed with heat exhaustion. I'd sure like to know what the issue was but I'm guessing it has to do, once again, with what condition -- and body temperature -- she presented with at the hospital after showering and resting, as opposed to what she experienced in and immediately after the sweat lodge. Sadly, I doubt I'll ever know.

Kyle describes a lack of situational awareness in Gordon, as well.

Gordon was next willing to admit that Shore may have also been struggling.  “He was constantly sighing and she told him to keep breathing and stay calm.”  This happened around the fourth or fifth round.  In particular, at the close of the day’s direct examination, Gordon recalls that at the end of the eighth round Shore, who was near Brown, said that he “needed help over here.”  However, the lodge flap was closed and Ray announced that no one was leaving at that time.  Polk then suggested that Gordon consider that Shore may have been asking for help for himself and not necessarily for Brown.  However, Gordon offered that at this stage she no longer recalled even hearing Brown because she was not paying attention to her surroundings but simply wanted to “complete the process and get out of the sweat lodge.”

Gordon then described how she managed to drag herself out of the sweat lodge even though she was very weak.  As she was coming out no one else was moving so she had to go past people to get out.  She didn’t even observe the people she was passing.  Shore and Brown were right next to her.  She saw no movement from them, and her awareness was not really on them.  Nevertheless, she dragged herself out of the sweat lodge feeling very proud of what she had accomplished.

Kyle also posted on the previous day's testimony and it does flesh things out a little. For instance, he clarifies that Mark Rock had actually recanted statements made in early police interviews in October of last year. He did this after undertaking a "healing process" at Angel Valley, where he and his wife volunteered for some months. So he's been accused of perjury for contradicting testimony he already recanted in a later police interview?? That seems odd to me. But from what I've been able to deduce Kelly is claiming that Rock concocted a new narrative in collaboration with the Hamiltons, the Mercers, and Fawn Foster.

Kelly’s next tactic was to establish that Rock did not change his story until after spending several months at Angel Valley talking to the Hamiltons, the Mercers and Foster who presumably convinced Rock to make a statement that steered responsibility for what happened away from the Hamiltons who were facing numerous lawsuits.

If that's the case Mark Rock is remarkably willing to risk his own liberty to maybe, possibly improve the Hamilton's prospects in law suits that have already been settled.

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James Ray Sweat Lodge Trial Roundup June 1

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Connie Joy was interviewed by Dr. Carole Lieberman, the psychiatrist who did the forward for her book Tragedy in Sedona. As ever Joy is informative and insightful about the dynamics that created this disaster. She provides a lot of the back-story that jurors will not hear. (Her earlier interview with Lieberman can be found here.)

Most interesting is what Joy reveals about Ray's behavior in and around the courtroom which she's observed firsthand. Much in keeping with his horrifying "WooHooo!!" tweet immediately following the Brady violation ruling, his insensitivity to bereaved family members is stunning. She describes him "yucking it up" with his lawyers during breaks a few feet away from Ginny Brown and other family members. Joy also recounts his attempt to physically intimidate her by abruptly pushing past her, like she was invisible, to greet a reporter.

It's always disturbing to see the man behind the curtain when it turns out the hidden operator is probably a sociopath. Joy has learned a lesson I did some years ago about projecting our own values onto other people. In my own experience of dealing with sociopaths, which I have more than once,  they rely on a combination of their own ability to mimic human behavior and the tendency of people with normal emotions to rescript their red flag statements and behaviors. Seeing them for who they really are is too shocking and painful. The more compassion and empathy we have for others, the more inconceivable we find its lack. This is what con artists and their ilk count on. James Ray surrounded himself with lovely, generous, open-hearted people. Watching so many on the stand as they wrestle with the dawning realization of how really traumatized they are has been a painful reminder of how many people can be severely wounded by one man's pathology.



It would seem that Mark Rock is another of the walking wounded. If his testimony is to be believed, he is suffering from PTSD and repressed memories of his ordeal at the 2009 sweat lodge. I have no idea how Rock came across or whether or not I myself would find him credible because CNN no longer streams the trial onto my computer. But, according to Mark Duncan, that is how Rock explains the disconnect between his post-event police interview and his current testimony. Certainly one of the things we've seen a lot of with these witnesses is the various stages of eroding denial. Laurie Gennari comes to mind, just because she articulated it so well.

According to Rock, his healing process has forced him to address the guilt he felt for not saving Kirby Brown.

"At the end of the sixth round I heard Kirby gurgling her last breath, I thought, and I heard somebody say 'Kirby's in trouble - she needs to get out,' and I heard James Ray say, 'Close the gate. We'll get back to her at the end of this round.'"

Emotional at times, Rock tried to explain why his testimony was important to his ongoing healing process, a salve to the psychic wounds he suffered in the sweat lodge.

"Once I fully remembered everything I didn't do, it became impossible to forgive myself for that," he said, noting that his altered mental state froze him in a posture of futility.

"I was there for the people in the sweat lodge and I couldn't do anything to help them."

The other evening I noticed the M*A*S*H finale in the program lineup. I thought about watching it but the truth is I found it too upsetting the first time. I don't know if I could ever sit through it again. In it Hawkeye has a nervous breakdown after surviving an enemy attack and discovers in therapy that he's distorted his memory of the event because the reality is too painful.

During the final days of the Korean War, Capt. Hawkeye Pierce has been sent to a mental hospital for treatment by Dr. Sidney Freedman. Pierce's memories of what led to his breakdown have become repressed, and as he and Freedman draw them forth, Pierce at first remembers the details inaccurately.^[4] In Pierce’s first recollection, he was on a bus returning to the 4077th after a day of drinking at the beaches of Incheon. He called for a bottle of whiskey to be passed back to someone who “can’t wait”; later, he is able to more accurately recall this person was a wounded soldier, and that the bottle was filled with not whiskey, but plasma. The bus then picked up some South Korean refugees, followed by some wounded soldiers who brought news of an enemy patrol in the area. The bus later pulls off the road and everyone is told to stay quiet so they would not be discovered by the enemy. One woman carried a live chicken that would not stop squawking, prompting Pierce to angrily admonish her to “keep that damn chicken quiet!”, after which the noise suddenly stopped.

This last detail causes Pierce to break down sobbing as he finally reveals the true ending of the story. When Hawkeye snapped at the woman, he had told her to keep not a chicken quiet, but rather her baby. Unable to keep the baby from crying, the woman made the decision to smother her own child to silence it and protect the lives of the people on the bus. Upon seeing what had happened, Pierce was so traumatized that he repressed the memory of what occurred. Once back at camp, he attempted to operate on a patient without anesthesia, while accusing the anesthesiologist of trying to smother the patient. But it was a later incident, driving a jeep through the wall of the Officers' Club and ordering a double bourbon (which Pierce never drank), that caused Pierce to be committed to the mental hospital.

I don't know if Mark Rock is telling the truth when he says he is only now recalling buried truth and shame from that day. I do know that the our minds have an incredible capacity to protect us from pain. Denial is kind of band-aid. At some point we have to remove it because it no longer serves us. But ripping it off is invariably painful. Been there. 

Rock may have put himself in real jeopardy by testifying as he has. The defense has made a request to have his testimony stricken and cites his own attorney as saying that he was "determined" to perjure himself.

So far that's the only coverage of today's proceedings I've been able to find. Although April Santiago did some much appreciated live tweeting from the courtroom. She reported that Rock was very emotional as he described the impact on his life. She also reported that there was more legal wrangling over whether or not he could testify to the Dream Team's request that he not cooperate with authorities but that ultimately he was not able to give that testimony.

Also from Santiago, Tom Kelly grilled Rock about his inconsistencies and played recordings of his original interviews. Santiago also found them to be quite different in tone and notes that he attributes this to PTSD. Kelly also did some saber rattling about "lying under oath."

Mark Rock was excused subject to recall.

Santiago also tweeted that CNN may stream the closing arguments. I call that too little too late.

Also posted to the Yavapai County site were some jury questions for Brandy Rainey who testified last week. Of special interest is the following:

Click to Enlarge

I guess Kelly really stepped in it. As CNN has stopped streaming, I don't know whether or not Judge Darrow elected to pose this question to Rainey. I'm presuming not as it gets into hotly disputed material about prior events but it looks like there was enough presented during cross examination to raise a red flag for at least one juror. Damn. This is exactly the kind of courtroom drama I hate to miss.

For now, that's the extent of available media coverage from today.

A reader reminded me this morning that the In Session blog still provides some fairly decent, if spotty, coverage. Here's a recent write-up. The only really new piece of info is that Sheila Polk tried and failed to have Fawn Foster testify on causation because of her experience in a non-James Ray sweat lodge in the same structure.

Also worth noting on that blog is the lengths CNN and the In Session team will go to to bury any coverage of this trial. Here is their category listing. See their tags for James Arthur Ray or Sweat Lodge in that listing? Neither do I.

In Session Blog Tags

Make no mistake. CNN hates this trial. It's thinky. Making people think annoys advertisers. And they love James Ray. He and The Secret fueled consumer culture like a crack cocaine. I don't think the infotainment industry was prepared to see the whole phenomenon so tarnished by this trial. They've been trying to wish it into the cornfield ever since.

I checked in with CnnLive numerous times today while the James Ray trial was in session just because I wanted to see what other news is so bloody important. As you can see, a lot of it is weather and empty feeds. Not once during the hours of the trial did I see all four feeds taken up with actual, breaking news.

That "severe weather in northeast" is certainly newsworthy. We had a hailstorm here and people were killed by a tornado in Massachusetts. But that feed didn't cover any of that. It was actually just another weather map. Helpful. Obviously CNN really needs to dedicate feeds to something the weather channel does so much better.

Years ago, when Fox News began eroding CNN's market share, I thought their craven attempts to remake themselves into Fox Lite put them on a path to total irrelevancy. They're proceeding at a pace.

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