Horoscope for June 20-26

Cross-posted from Aloha Astro

Aries (March 21st - April 20th)
Some of the biggest advancements in your career and earning potential are possible this week, Aries. A change in your location may result or a change in your perception of yourself, the image you project, or the foundational beliefs you live by. An extremely potent power and big money aspect occurs between your 2nd house of money and your 10th house of career and recognition. It will be with you for approximately one month. If you have been waiting for the right time to change, launch something new, or push harder for something, now is the time. You also have a guardian angel whispering in your ear now - take time to quietly listen.

Taurus (April 21st - May 20th)
The more you like yourself and appreciate your own special talents, the more attention, friends, and opportunities come your way, Taurus. The Universe may test your capacity for self-love by sending you some detractors or people who are jealous of your success or feel inadequate when they stand in your light. You have the wisdom to see what motivates people - especially when they show their shadow side - and you have the compassion to reach out to them or forgive them. Living a juicy, joyful, abundant, and creative life is the best thing you can do for yourself and for others. When you are more and have more, you share more and you demonstrate right living by example.

Gemini (May 21st - June 21st)
You don't just want a job or your own business now, Gemini; you want to have an empire. Like Queen Elizabeth I or Darth Vader, you are plotting, planning, and investing in gobbling up more land and staking territorial claims. If you are in a business that needs a roof or stock, you will be looking for ways to expand one or both. If you are in business online or in the communication field, more web space, content, or cooperative marketing could be your plan. Communication is key. You may suddenly get a reputation for one unusual talent, product, or superiority of service.



Cancer (June 22nd - July 22nd)
There are lessons of all kinds in your relationships this week, Cancer, especially if you have been projecting your power outside of yourself instead of owning it. Are you annoyed with certain people? Is someone making your life difficult by pushing your buttons? The mirror is being activated. Whatever you are experiencing that you really don't like is probably an expression of a quality you are not acknowledging within yourself. Or, if you keep saying and doing things in a habitual way without questioning the need for it, you are likely to have some scenarios arise to show you how senseless or unconscious you may be. What fun! The more you relate to others and examine yourself honestly, the more empowered you become. This is like a distillation process of your true essence.

Leo (July 23rd - August 22nd)
Let go of the past, Leo. If you have any residual stuff from an old relationship, give it a final goodbye. It no longer shadows your present or future after this week. You may still think of it, but it doesn't define you anymore, nor does it act as a measure for any other relationship. An ideal relationship, perfect for you, is finally recognized for what it is - heaven-sent - or you are now ready to meet that perfect partner. Career and work can become bigger and more lucrative than you ever imagined. How profitable your work can be depends on your acceptance of abundance. What if you were an incredibly wealthy business owner? How would life look then? What would change?

Virgo (August 23rd - September 22nd)
You know those chick flick storylines where the guy and the girl hate each other at first sight or mix like oil and vinegar? That storyline may show up in your life now. A new acquaintance who antagonizes you and upsets your complacency could become unforgettable. If you are already matched, this could be an energy that plays out between you and your mate as clashes of will that result in kissing and making up. Some Virgos may use their discernment and communication skills to play matchmaker for someone else. You may suddenly get the urge to teach about a passion of yours or join a class or group to share or learn more about your interest.

Libra (September 23rd - October 23rd)
You could be holding onto someone or something that isn't good for you, Libra, but you may not see this clearly because you want to see what you would like to believe. You could have time or money already invested in it and are afraid to lose what you have already put in. This could be a case of misplaced loyalty or just expecting too much. Open your mind to other possibilities. Don't judge yourself harshly if you are not happy with the situation - just consider other options and give something else a try. Your intuition makes you intrepid in business now. Investments and real estate can be very profitable in the month to come. Don't be afraid to think big or expand into an area that is new to you.

Scorpio (October 24th - November 21st)
What if everything you thought about happened or appeared immediately, Scorpio? I advise you to be extremely careful with your thoughts and emotions this week because the planets are making them powerfully magnetic. There are also good luck indicators that should protect you from manifesting anything difficult or ugly, but energy is energy. If you are a negative thinker in general, or allow yourself to stay in a low vibration too long, you will get an obvious lesson in negative manifestation. For most Scorpios, the mental power this week flows toward creating fun, happy love, unusual work, and good health. If you have a partner, you may be dealing with a mild jealousy issue. Someone could be wanting the happiness you have and coming on too strong around your mate. If you are single, beware of falling for someone who is either unavailable or too indifferent. Love shouldn't be hidden, painful, or a struggle. By the weekend, you will have an understanding of what love means to you and how you can find it or keep it.

Sagittarius (November 22nd - December 21st)
As you move through your week, Sagittarius, think this thought as you look at things, touch things, or have an exchange with anyone: "I value you." If it's an object, you may say, "I value this." You will have a very busy week with local errands, communication, family, friends, and work. But a program of worth and value is running in the background. If you can become aware of the value of everything and everyone, even in a negative situation, you will become a master of energy and your life will be transformed in significant ways. For the next month, your income at work can increase significantly or your material needs will be met easily. Keep up the valuing habit and you may receive more than you thought possible.

Capricorn (December 22nd - January 19th)
I have to laugh, Capricorn. Your sign is known for conformity. Capricorn IS establishment, heredity, structure, order, emotional reserve, and a stiff upper lip. At the beginning of this week, you are so not any of the things you are best known for. You may upset work, family, your partner, and even yourself with crazy ideas or an outpouring of emotions. Don't worry too much - it's just planetary and you will calm down some by the middle of the week. Capricorn has excellent taste when it comes to material things. Quality and understated wealth are your forte. You can be so cool about it that no one notices you have the heart of an elitist consumer. For the next month, you will become an exhibitionist hedonist, throwing yourself passionately and colorfully into artistic expression and the pursuit of earthly delights. What better time for you to defrost than summer? You may surprise your mate or a potential lover with your romantic words and gestures this weekend.

Aquarius (January 20th - February 18th)
You are always willing to try something new, Aquarius, if it has an effective purpose. You may be exploring some heavy psychological or metaphysical concepts or systems in an attempt to master matter and energy. In all seriousness, you are weary with the same old same old and there are things you want to transform for good - literally. If your body and soul was a car, you would be dropping a new engine in because you are tired of the tinkering that only gives you a partial or temporary power surge. Your seeking may lead to a mind-opening, soul-transforming event. On the mundane level, you are busy with communication, chores, errands, work, and caring for your home and family, but on the soul level, you are integrating volcanoes and lightning.

Pisces (February 19th - March 20th)
You may want to do it all yourself, Pisces, just to make a point. The wiser thing would be to ask for help or allow the friend, group, or organization that believes in you to be strong and support you. You have a powerful stage presence now and several other classic "actor" aspects are in place by transit within your chart. Whether you are a teacher, actor, salesperson, or just an anybody, you are able to influence people emotionally and project an image, idea, or product that is eager-accepted. "Bravo" and applause come easily, but despite your current magnetism, the money may be elusive. You could be so busy emoting or teaching that you are giving all your talent away for free and forgetting to ask for the money. Set your material and financial requirements on paper first-thing each day and keep track of the due dates on your bills to help you stay in the material world or you will get too carried away making sandcastles with your friends and letting them "borrow" all your toys.

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Astrological Trends for June 20-26

Cross-posted from Aloha Astro

A day of mental and emotional ups and downs is possible on Monday, June 20th. On a high note, the moon in the later degrees of the fixed air sign of intellectual Aquarius joins Neptune in the mutable water sign of Pisces this morning, where it makes a happy trine to the sun in the mutable air sign of Gemini. Imagination and inventive genius combine to bring tangible results. On a low note, the moon conjunct Neptune in Pisces squares Mars in the fixed earth sign of stubborn Taurus. This square aspect is emotionally challenging because it deepens jealousies, attachments, and the tendency to believe in the negative rather than the positive. Mercury, the planet of communication and transportation, in the cardinal water sign of Cancer is trine the moon conjunct Neptune in Pisces, enhancing intuition and encouraging romantic or nostalgic thoughts. This happy, watery aspect can make a trip to the beach pleasurable. Being near water or looking at soothing pictures of water can actually help you keep your emotions under control today. Mercury may make people peevish or manipulative today because it is challenged by an opposition to potent Pluto in reserved Capricorn as well as a square to stern Saturn in the relationship-minded cardinal air sign of Libra. In general, people have a vested interest in having things go their way and may use guilt or withdrawal of attention in order to protect their own interests. Pluto in Capricorn is still being annoyed by a square from Uranus in Aries - the young, wet-behind-the-ears upstart prodding the old patriarch, energetically. News in the world will continue to be shocking and the established order will continue to heave and break apart. But Pluto, the planet of transformation, is also making a sextile to Neptune conjunct Chiron in Pisces, indicating there is healing potential and increased spirituality amidst the present upheavals, both in your personal life and in society. You are still under the grace and protection of Jupiter in Taurus sextile Neptune in Pisces, so stay positive and thankful for what you already have and you will continue to receive more. Around dinnertime, the moon leaves detached Aquarius and enters the sensitive mutable water sign of Pisces, where it joins Neptune and Chiron and deepens the emotional effect of the square between the Pisces planets and Mars, the warrior planet, in stubborn Taurus. Feeling put-upon, attacked, or being belligerent can lead to tears, but if you examine the root fear that lurks behind negative emotions, you may have a cathartic emotional release. Keep your focus on the kindness of the sun in Gemini trine Neptune in Pisces. It is like a sea breeze that helps you sail quickly through the choppy waters of today's difficult mental or emotional challenges. Be kind to others and be kind to yourself.



The emotional waters are calmer than yesterday on the morning of Tuesday, June 21st, because the moon in the mutable water sign of psychic Pisces is making a supportive trine to Mercury in the cardinal water sign of Cancer. With both the moon (emotions) and Mercury (mind) in the same element, equilibrium is restored between how you feel and what you think. There still may be some confusion, however, due to a square between Mercury in Cancer and Saturn in Libra. Do not assume other people will behave as you expect them to, or feel as you do, with this aspect in place. If you do have any expectations of another person and want to avoid disappointment, spell it out. Wishing or assuming they will match the mental image you may hold of them is a recipe for unwarranted complaint. The moon in Pisces quincunx Saturn in Libra basically says the same thing the square between Mercury and Saturn is saying, but the quincunx can swing toward happiness and fulfillment if you share your feelings and let others know what would make you happy. Mars is still challenging Neptune in Pisces with a square, but some of the weight built into this square lifts as Mars shifts today from the fixed earth sign of Taurus to the mutable air sign of Gemini. Your challenge now will swing from having to curtail anger or stubbornness to needing a tether for your imagination. Mars in Taurus didn't take no for an answer and could beat a dead horse, but Mars in Gemini will find it difficult to sit still and work at one task - even the task of choosing what to focus on. You may find that your attention span is shorter than usual or people just aren't patient with each other. The aspects of the morning hold steady through the workday. Early in the evening, some new energy comes into play as the moon in Pisces forms a square to Venus in Gemini. You may have stars in your eyes for someone scintillating and witty, but they could be too busy flitting about to notice. In all relationships, this aspect makes one person crave depth and closeness while the other person wants to keep things light and friendly. An extremely fortunate and potent aspect forms tonight that has a long range of effect. From now until July 27th, Jupiter in the fixed earth sign of material-minded Taurus forms a trine to powerful Pluto in success-oriented Capricorn. Favorable Jupiter/Pluto aspects always increase money. They can also increase greed and a desire for power, but I tend to think the two earth signs involved will keep things grounded, well-structured, and in integrity. If you have been planning a business or considering any kind of financial move that would become a birth moment with a natal chart, then this is a very favorable aspect to have in that chart. Perhaps we will all see an upswing in our income and in the economy in the month ahead. You may feel a surge of power now, or in the immediate days ahead, as you integrate this new expansive, powerful, material aspect. "Make hay while the sun shines," - and while Jupiter trines Pluto! The sun moves from the mutable air sign of Gemini to the cardinal water sign of Cancer. Summer has arrived. The sun has a train of semi-sextiles linked to it, adding a quiet planetary harmony and sense of continuity. Sun in Cancer semi-sextile Mars in Gemini semi-sextile Jupiter in Taurus semi-sextile Uranus in Aries semi-sextile Chiron in Pisces. Just a skip and a jump from one planet to the next! Symbolically, it reminds me of a bride walking down the aisle with a string of attendants behind her carrying the train of her gown. Perhaps the next week will have an extra emphasis on whatever house, or area of life, Cancer occupies in your own natal chart as the sun receives extra support from the locomotive effect of the interconnected planets.

The day begins quietly on Wednesday, June 22nd, with the moon in the mutable water sign of dreamy Pisces. Rest and reflect today while the moon makes no major aspects to any planet and winds down its transit through the deepest of the water signs. Allow the new energies to settle and attend to tasks that are nurturing, healing, or inspiring. If you can take the day off and spend time near water to welcome in the summer and the new solar cycle, do so. The square between Mercury in Cancer and Saturn in Libra fades now. Worry and indecision fade with it to be replaced by the robust trine between Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn. Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for a productive and lucrative time period where optimism, perseverance, and discipline can bring big growth and wealth.

The lull of yesterday is nothing but a fond memory on the morning of Thursday, June 23rd. You may find yourself up and out the door very early, eager to begin your day, as the moon in the cardinal fire sign of pioneering Aries joins Uranus, the planet of genius and change. Together, the moon and Uranus in Aries form two challenging squares: the first to the sun in Cancer, and the second to Pluto in Capricorn. This in-your-face energy is itching to topple some people off their high horses or confront evasive or apathetic people into taking affirmative action. This aspect pattern can make almost anyone a rabid activist today! The moon and Uranus in Aries also form a supportive sextile with Mars in the communicative air sign of Gemini. You may actually enjoy a challenge if it stimulates your mind or gives you the opportunity to speak about a cause, concern, passion, or innovation. Later tonight, the moon conjunct Uranus in Aries opposes Saturn in Libra. A quick lover's spat may ignite sexual attraction and lead to a nice episode of kiss and make up with your partner. If you are single and looking, you may come on too abruptly or too strong and repel, rather than attract, a potential partner. You can burn off stress and steam through physical sports this evening, but competitive sports may turn from friendly to fierce unless you strive to keep it light.

Watch your attitude on the morning of Friday, June 24th. A problematic square between the moon in arrogant Aries and Mercury in touchy Cancer can make people easily take offense. Think of your mother saying, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," if you are tempted to mouth off. Thankfully, a semi-sextile between Venus in friendly Gemini and Mercury in Cancer, and a sextile between Venus and Jupiter in kind Taurus can keep things from turning nasty and even help you smooth any ruffled feathers. The square finally fades this evening and pleasure seeking, triggered by a strongly-aspected Jupiter in Taurus, seems like a natural way to wind down the day. With the moon in "me-first" Aries supporting Venus in playful Gemini, I recommend you choose activities or people who are entertaining or mentally stimulating. Jupiter in Taurus would love a special meal this evening and the Aries moon would appreciate the attention received by being served in a restaurant. The ambiance of fine dining is the perfect backdrop for tonight's planetary energy.

The expression, "Forewarned is forearmed," applies on Saturday, June 25th. The day begins with a martial Aries moon getting in its last licks of fire energy before it enters the fixed earth sign of Taurus early this evening. A cardinal T-square pattern settles into place this morning and will be felt until the 29th of June. The planets involved in this T-square are Uranus in Aries square the sun in Cancer and square to Pluto in Capricorn, with the Cancer sun opposing Pluto. You may feel this T-square more profoundly today because it is a new energy for you to integrate and it is ushered in under a hot-headed Aries moon. The T-square will be activating strong responses to change. Gnashing of teeth, hand wringing, and predictions of doom and gloom may dominate the scene wherever something new is introduced to replace the old. Please limit your exposure to mass media while this drama-laden T-square is in place. As any parent will tell you, the best way to handle a tantruming child is to walk away. People may be inclined to usurp power or do negative things to get attention. The best way to handle this T-square is to avoid drama and do nothing to deliberately make someone feel powerless. If you have to be the bearer of bad news or enforcer of rules, do it with firmness and compassion. At midday, Neptune in Pisces is trine the sun in Cancer, sextile the moon in Aries, sextile Jupiter in Taurus, sextile Pluto in Capricorn, conjunct Chiron. All this energy pointing to Neptune makes it your safety net and escape hatch. Indulge in whatever brings you peace and calm - music, art, meditation, massage, reading inspirational quotes. When you consciously choose to be at peace, no amount of nasty T-square energy can ruin your day. In the early evening, your emotions become more grounded and optimistic as the moon enters the stable, sensual earth sign of Taurus, where it joins jovial Jupiter. It feels good to be in a body under this influence, which stimulates all your senses and expands your appreciation of good things. Sounds, aromas, flavors, sights, and textures are all more beautiful and delicious. The moon and Jupiter in Taurus are also sextile to the sun in Cancer and Neptune in Pisces, enhancing romance, sex, and creativity. This is powerfully fertile energy, so if you are trying to conceive, make love tonight. Cancer rules the mother and the womb. Pisces rules angels and beings in the realm of spirit. Jupiter is the god principle, and when it is joined by the moon in Taurus, emotional desire can make things manifest on the earthly plane. A ceremony or ritual before making love, or focused toward whatever you would like to conceive and bring into being, will help you harness and direct this benevolent aspect pattern. On the material, mundane level, tonight can simply be a night of indulgence and pleasure. With conscious intent, and by inviting spiritual forces in, you can make it an evening of powerful creation and manifestation.

A promise, commitment, or decision is possible on Sunday, June 26th. The moon in the fixed, stable earth sign of Taurus is still sharing the vibrations of optimistic Jupiter in Taurus while they both form a quincunx to stabilizing Saturn in the cardinal air sign of relationship-minded Libra. This aspect makes me think of the marriage vows, "For better or for worse." Whether you are deciding on a person, an action, or a material object, you are emotionally ready for the growth and prepared for whatever your decision may bring in the future. Later this evening, the quincunx fades, and the Taurus moon appears to be unaspected. Behind the scenes, in the declinations, the moon is actually contra-parallel to Pluto. Five other planets are exchanging energy with Pluto, the planet of transformation, so I think it would be safe to say that although things appear calm on the surface, you may be sitting quietly, integrating the powerful emotions that came as a result of the transforming decision you may have made. Jupiter is contra-parallel Neptune, which tells me that whether your decision was romantic or financial, it was wise and will have long-lasting beneficial effects in your life. To sum up a week full of busy aspects and shifting energy, I leave you with this - intense, but it's all good.

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James Ray Trial: Endless Closings

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Luis Li Nears End of Closing Argument

Well. That was horrible.

That was not a closing argument. That was a Li endurance challenge. And it definitely put me in some sort of altered state. At some points, I found myself rocking in my chair and telling myself, he'll be done soon, he'll be done soon, he'll be done soon...

And then I'd hear him say, "And we're STILL not done." That was Luis Li's darkly fitting catchphrase for his closing argument. "And we're STILL not done." And he said it over, and over, and over… and over.

Everything good I said yesterday about a new, improved, less boring Luis Li? I take it back. I take it all back.

That. Was. Horrible.




Li, who originally said his closing argument would take about four hours and later said five, clocked in at over six hours. He spoke for just under three hours yesterday. During a break late today Judge Darrow informed him that he'd been speaking for another three hours today and asked him how much longer he thought he'd be. He only needed about another six minutes he informed the judge.

Sheila Polk, who had spent the day listening and taking notes, informed the judge that she did not intend to present her rebuttal today. Because of the equal time rule agreed to for closing arguments, Polk had already accrued approximately three and a half hours and she might need all of it. Mr. Li should take his time finishing, she said. In deference to a juror who'd requested a shorter day, she said she'd prefer to wait until next Tuesday. From a strategic standpoint, that is the smartest thing she could have done. Jurors will have a three day weekend to let Li's closing argument fade from memory like a bad dream. And prosecutors will have the weekend to parse Li's words and craft a fitting rebuttal. There is certainly plenty to rebut and much to clarify.

Luis Li Points Out to Jury Just How Long He's Been Talking

The medical information will have to be broken down again. He worked long and hard to make that as confusing as possible. The key issues are still the relevance of body temperature, dehydration, and, of course, organophosphates. These are the core arguments of the defense's case and he really dug in his heels.

Li also went off about the "EMT" recording again. Apparently it was Dawn Gordon -- whose testimony was not streamed by CNN Live -- who claimed to have known that it was an EMT. None of that changes the fact that it was background noise in a recorded interview and was not noted by either the police or the prosecutors. Why would it have been? But I made my feelings on that abundantly clear yesterday. I do think prosecutors are going to have to address the issue of that recording head on and clarify its total irrelevance.

The other real sticky wicket is the issue of the medical examiners meeting that caused the first Brady violation before the trial started. Li made several references to it and to Truc Do's questioning of Dr. Lyon on it. Li tied it into his anti-government theme. This was the State having a "secret meeting" and not about something valid like, say, "terrorism" or any other genuine national security concern. I know the prosecutors got dinged on that and I'm sure the details aren't flattering but I'm equally sure that the way the defense has presented it, spinning bits and pieces for dramatic effect, makes it sound far worse than it was.

Another piece of total disinformation I noted was his repeated references to criminalist Dawn Sy. Why oh why didn't the State see the relevance of the 2 ethyl 1 hexanol?!! Ignoring this totally meaningless finding, as per Li, was like an episode of CSI in which the police never came into the lab. Don't you just hate when life isn't like a television crime drama? I do. Like I hate the way Luis Li is nothing like the sharp-witted and succinct attorneys on Law & Order.

It was Tom Kelly, Li informs us, who figured out the relevance of 2EH. Well Tom Kelly does have a chemistry background. He also took that information and presented one of the most deliberately misleading and disingenuous arguments I heard in the course of this trial. (Or disingenuine if you're Tom Kelly.)

Worse, Li implied repeatedly that it was odd that the defense had to present Ms. Sy as a witness. Was this really about her vacation in Hawaii? Is that why it wasn't the prosecution who presented this state employee? And meanwhile the jury has "sacrificed" to be there for months and do their "duty." Strangely, Li didn't bring up his own trip; the one that forced a nearly two week break in the trial schedule.

Li also didn't mention that, not only was Dawn Sy on the prosecution's witness list, she was in the hall waiting to testify in that capacity and was bumped by another witness's testimony that ran long; no doubt because of one of the defense's endless cross-examinations. Apparently Mr. Li has no recollection of this fact which was aired out thoroughly during Bill Hughes's cross-examination when Dawn Sy came to testify as the first of two, count 'em two, defense witnesses.

Li also set out to dispel the idea that Ray had not taken appropriate precautions to protect the health and safety of participants. The lack of reasonable preparation is something I addressed at length yesterday. But today Li took great pains to clarify that Ray had, in fact, been well prepared. He took a rather extraordinary amount of time to present all of five items:

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
• Buckets and hoses
• Recovery station with fluids, electrolytes, and fruit
• CPR training for Melinda Martin
• Ray's pre-lodge speech

He also tried to give Ray credit for the nurse but, of course, we know that she wasn't hired as a Dream Team volunteer for that reason. It was a fluke.

In fairness, Li did not mention the first aid kit which, while insufficient, would certainly qualify as a suitable precaution. Other than that, the CPR training of Melinda Mullin was the only really legitimate preparation. Telling people to hydrate was certainly a good idea but it was severely undercut by the fact that he did not tell people about the "heat endurance challenge" they'd be facing that made it so necessary. Many witnesses have testified that they would have been more diligent about hydrating had they known. It's also pretty well negated by the fact that he put people on a total fast -- no food or water -- in the desert during the 36 hour vision quest the day before the event.

The buckets and hoses and the items at the recovery station were supplied by Angel Valley and witnesses have testified that it was their staff that came up with those ideas after witnessing the distress of participants in previous years.

And finally, the speech. What to say. The speech was the opposite of good preparation. In it he told people to ignore their feelings of impending death. He assured them that they would not die. He told them to "transcend" their body's warnings and discomfort so that they could have the transformational experience they were paying for. Li's attempt to cast Ray's grudging acknowledgment of all those non-samurais who couldn't cut it, that they could leave only between rounds, as responsible preparation was just embarrassing.

Li went to great lengths to say that what happened could not have been properly prepared for because it could not have been foreseen. He showed photos of all the people from the 2008 event to prove that nothing like this had ever happened before. But, as I've said on numerous occasions, what gives the lie to that entire argument is that neither Ray nor his staff members registered the signs of increasing distress as that day unfolded. They acted as if there was nothing new or unexpected about it. Even at the very end when the full horror was brought out into the light of day and chaos ensued, Ray remained unconcerned, saying that one delirious participant was just having an out of body experience. No big deal. After all, he'd announced before the sweat lodge that people not knowing where they were was due to the altered state experience they were striving for.

Li went on at length and repeatedly about how Ray could not have known because "no one knew." But, in fact, many people did know something was wrong and that people were in trouble. Many of them called out to Ray, the master of the lodge, for help and guidance. And he told them to ignore the problems. He told them to leave unconscious people where they were. He told them to wait to the end. He told them that people with labored breathing and disorientation were fine.

One of the more sickening elements of Li's presentation was his constant jabs and outright ridicule of those witnesses who did not conform to the defense's theory. He was openly disparaging of people, not just because of what he implied was false testimony, but for who and what they were. He got very personal and very nasty in his criticism. He singled out Beverly Bunn repeatedly and in the strangest wrinkle disparaged her repeatedly for being a dentist. Mr. Li's personal brand of elitism expresses itself in some of the oddest ways. Just weird.

But he trained the big guns on the Hamiltons and Fawn Foster. And as the defense has done before, he mocked them openly for their spiritual beliefs. This fierce defender of the First Amendment of the US Constitution used their spiritual beliefs to undermine their credibility in a court of law. And he did so over and over again. As I've said before, their belief that insects and rodents are sentient creatures who can be communicated with is not unique. It's common, in particular, among indigenous peoples.

The hypocrisy of his open mockery of these people, after his impassioned defense of James Ray's right to quote Revelation and call himself God, is outrageous. I guess Mr. Li's principled stance on the personal liberty we enjoy as Americans has its limits.

We got the good folks at Angel Valley. That's how we know. And that's a guy comes in and says, my first line of defense is to talk to the uh, the ants. Well, one of the folks back there told me there's a cricket, there's another cricket, okay, um. Uh, I don't think any of us can convince that cricket through the power of our thoughts, words, or, whatever to get out of here. You gotta get him in a cup. Put him in and let him go, or kill him, or whatever.

So, what you gotta believe, ladies and gentlemen, beyond a reasonable doubt, is this man who comes in and says all that stuff to you. He says rats eat all the poison like that. [snaps fingers] You know? Oh and I talk to the critters and I tell 'em to get outta here. And that's why that's the only time, the only one time, ever that they've used ant poison, 'cause they know.

And remember he has this great phrase: Uh, well that's my truth. You know, that's my truth. You don't get your own truth. I mean nobody gets their own truth. I mean Abraham Lincoln said, "You're entitled to your opinions -- your own set of opinions -- but you're not entitled to your own set of facts." That's not how it works. You don't get your own truth. You get the truth.

Now I could go on at length about the many problems with notions of objective, ultimate truth; particularly as it pertains to religion. Here's a hint: One result is state sponsored religion as opposed to freedom of. But the part that really had me reeling was Li's Abraham Lincoln "quote." I have never heard that aphorism attributed to Lincoln. So I did a little googling to check my own sanity. I couldn't find a source that quoted Lincoln as having said it.  Now he may have said it at some point because it is a common aphorism. It is most commonly attributed, not to Lincoln, but to the late senator from New York Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He happens to have used the phrase on the record, so some give him credit.

Try to wrap your head around the layers of irony, here. Libertarian firebrand and rabid defender of the Constitution Luis Li is openly mocking a man for daring to have is own sense of spiritual truth, so he presents a quotation about the importance of being factual and totally misstates the facts about that very quotation.

That is Luis Li in a nutshell.

All information on the trial today comes courtesy CNN's live feed. They not only returned unexpectedly for closing arguments but added exciting, new camera angles. All quotes and paraphrased statements that are not linked to a source document are my best attempt to transcribe material from live broadcasts.

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James Ray Trial: Closing Arguments Continue

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Luis Li Makes Closing Argument for the Defense

When Mr. Li announced early today that he'd probably need five hours, rather than four, I thought, dear God, there just isn't enough coffee in the world to get me through that. Turns out I didn't need a single cup. Luis Li was producing enough adrenalin today for ten people. Twenty minutes in I wished someone had switched him to decaf. He was in rare form. This was not the dull, phoning it in Luis Li we saw in the opening argument. Nor was it the meandering, tangential, philosophical Li. This Luis Li was a fire-breathing defender of the US Constitution.

Li took the podium in a swirl of angry intensity and immediately unleashed a tirade.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I gotta tell ya. As I sat through this trial; as I sat through yesterday's argument; and as I sat through today's argument, I got pretty fired up. As the State repeatedly accused us, Mr. Kelly, myself, Ms. Do, of uh, misleading you, of feeding you baloney, of misrepresenting the facts during the trial, I had a reaction. And I wrote a lot of it down; page after page. Ms. Polk said that I misrepresented the record. Well that's not actually what happened. I wrote down what I thought. I got pages of this stuff.

But you know what I realized? And you know what I know. Is it's not about me. It's not about me. It's not about Mr. Kelly. It's not about Ms. Do. It's not about what Ms. Polk thinks; she thinks the evidence shows. It's not about whether she thinks we're misrepresenting something, we're feeding you baloney. This is about you; each and every one of you. Beginning of this case, you'll probably remember this, I told you that our Constitution and our system is a promise that our founders made to all of us and that promise was that this would be a nation of laws and that those laws would do what? They would limit the government.

He was off an running in a wide-ranging, libertarian rant. In disconnected, sidewards references, he threw out big chunks of red meat. He took on the nanny state that could take away your children, take you off your respirator, make you wear a motorcycle helmet, or dare to suggest that you don't have every right to bake yourself to death in a sweat lodge if you so choose.

Credit where credit is due: It was brilliant. I have said from the beginning of this trial that the biggest hurdle for the State, and, thus, the strongest angle for the defense, is the free will argument. And Li has finally gotten it about right. He was lucid. He was comprehensible. He was like a different guy entirely. Of course he also took wild liberties with the facts, was grossly misleading, and could not resist at least a little of his trademark self indulgence. The man loves to tell stories about himself.

Buy at Allposters.com

To illustrate his point about the rights we as Americans have to take on high risk activities, he shared a little anecdote about his own mountain-climbing experience. He'd been warned about the discomfort of being at such high altitude; the cold, the nausea, the "walking on a knife's edge," the fear. He took on those risks willingly as a free man. We all have the right to take on such risks in this country and take responsibility for those risks by signing waivers, explained Li.

I, for one, find it hard to believe that when Li went on his mountaineering adventure the waiver he signed was as perfunctory as the one JRI made participants sign for Spiritual Warrior. I find it hard to believe that he wasn't required to fill out a health questionnaire; likely with a doctor's signature. (Like my daughter had to provide to go to camp.) I have mentioned previously that my very active husband has signed many a waiver. The most complicated waiver and health history he's filled out to date was for Outward Bound. That, funnily enough, was for a mountaineering course.

My husband points out that if someone in his party had gone down with hypoxia, everything would have come to a halt. Their team guides from Outward Bound would never in a million years have said anything like, "Leave him. Let him have his own experience. We'll pick him up on the way down. We gotta keep movin.'"

As it happens, the second night of my husband's course, one member of his group went missing. She'd gone off to relieve herself in the woods and had taken a wrong turn. And everything stopped. Every member of the group went to search for her. It was understood that had she not been found, search and rescue would have been called in and their mountaineering experience would have been postponed or canceled.

I should be clear about this point so there's no confusion. While Outward Bound is primarily for teens, this was a program they offered for adults. It was actually only available to combat veterans who had served in Afghanistan or Iraq. So these were also "grown-ups" choosing to take risks of their own free will.

No responsible organization has people sign a waiver and then says, well, you're on your own if you get hurt. They have precautions in place proportionate to the risks involved. For instance, one of the two Outward Bound guides who led my husband's mountaineering trip was a certified Wilderness EMT.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed on the news that a lot of people had gotten sick at a marathon in DC. We were in the midst of a heat wave and there were numerous cases of heat related illness. You know what else I noticed? That marathon planners had medical personnel in place and those who got sick were treated immediately. Marathons routinely have health stations along the route to treat the kinds of illness and injury that typically occur in marathons.

This is the central problem with Li's argument. You can't, on the one hand, say James Ray was running a high risk activity for people who willingly chose to push themselves to the limit and, on the other hand, scoff at any suggestion that he had a responsibility to have medical assistance available in case of injuries. Injuries are inevitable in high risk activities. To not be prepared for that is inconceivably reckless.

Let's face it. If James Ray had been running that mountaineering class, he would probably have told them all to jump off a cliff so they could turn into birds and fly like Castaneda's fictitious shaman don Juan. You can almost hear him saying, "You're all shamans now," as they crash to the ground. But he would have had them sign waivers first. They definitely would have signed the waivers.

In another nod to the Constitution, Li, if somewhat obliquely, addressed Ray's freedom of religion. This was something that was discussed at length yesterday in legal arguments. The defense is very concerned that Ray's unorthodox beliefs might cause prejudice. This is not an argument I'm unsympathetic to. I, for one, have been appalled at the way the defense has mocked the spiritual beliefs of the Hamiltons and Fawn Foster. I also hold unorthodox religious beliefs and I am a firm believer in the Jeffersonian wall. Even so, I thought the arguments made by Tom Kelly and Luis Li were a stretch. According to Kelly, for instance, the fact that Ray believes a vegetarian diet can cause ungroundedness constitutes a spiritual belief and should not be trotted out in front of the jury. Judge Darrow clarified that he allowed much of this material in as context. The context in this case would be, I think, that Ray provided a vegetarian only diet in an attempt to deliberately throw people off balance.

Luis Li was disturbed that Ray's "prayer" about being the Alpha and the Omega was testified to by the State's witnesses. Ray's allusion to the book of Revelation pertains to his religious views and should be out of bounds, according to Li.

Today in is his closing argument, he addressed Ray's statement and pointed out to the jury that some people quote the Bible when they "say prayers." That's just something "folks do." The point is, said Li, that not a single person there thought Ray was God. What I thought was funny about this was that Li truncated the quote, leaving out the last phrase. What Ray actually said was, "I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am God." So perhaps one person there did think Ray was God. Ray. This actually raises an interesting question. Is a god complex a Constitutionally protected religious belief? I honestly don't have an answer for that but it's something to contemplate.

The stickiest part of Li's Constitutional rant came at the beginning of his remarks. His outrage at governmental overreach was aimed very directly at State prosecutors. Sheila Polk didn't just insult Luis Li and hurt his feelings. He's over that. His anger is at the position the State had put the defense team into. Li took his "burden shifting" argument directly to the jury.

That's why the judge yesterday, and this morning, had to instruct you, again, as to what the burdens of proof are. Again. And it's not the first time. In fact, the judge had to instruct you as the judge has instructed you before in the middle of a cross exa, uh, uh, examination of Det. Diskin where they were asking questions about, why didn't you know about the organophosphates?... And you the court had to give that instruction again this morning. Why is that? Why is that?

I was a little stunned at this argument. It didn't seem appropriate to me. It didn't seem appropriate to Judge Darrow either, as it happens. It was hashed out in very heated legal arguments in which Ms. Polk argued that Li had improperly arrogated to the defense's argument "the weight of the court." Li, for his part, was insistent that the State had improperly shifted the burden, was in violation of the Constitution, and that the defense had every right put that issue in front of the jury. Judge Darrow clarified that he had agreed to the limiting instruction as a remedy for comments by Ms. Polk that got right up to the line and may have crossed it but that he did not see a Constitutional violation. He reminded Li that he had denied his mistrial motion.

The statements Li found to be "burden shifting" and a Constitutional violation were simply this: In having to address the Willits instruction, Polk found it necessary to explain that they did not learn of the issue of organophosphates until right before the trial from the defense. To Li, this means the State is implying that it was the defendant's responsibility to provide them with that information. Polk feels that she was simply pointing out the sequence of events and explaining why it hadn't occurred to the State to test for organophospates until the defense brought the issue to the State's attention. Judge Darrow felt it got close enough to the line that it required a limiting instruction.

The upshot? Judge Darrow had to deliver another limiting instruction to address Li's improper usurpation of the court's authority. Sadly, I did not hear it and cannot provide the text as CNN, once again, failed to start the stream after a number of breaks and also, repeatedly, forgot to turn the sound on. So, once again, I missed chunks of the proceedings. I only know the instruction was in fact read because of a mention in this article.

The prosecution and the defense accused each other of misstating the facts and the law in their contentious closing arguments, causing Yavapai Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow twice Thursday to issue special instructions to the jury to correct what he considered improper statements by each side.

And this one:

"There is something profoundly wrong with this case," he said, referring to the defense's repeated accusations that Polk has pushed the boundaries of legal ethics throughout the proceedings. "That's why the judge had to instruct you again what the burdens of proof are."

As has been the trial's pattern, Li's comment drew a fierce objection from Polk and resulted in yet another jury instruction from Judge Warren Darrow, who told the jurors that his instructions did not indicate that he favored either side or either argument.

Luis Li Breaks Out Ridiculous, Oversized Chart

But while we're on the subject of what the State knew and when about organophosphates, I continue to be amazed at the way the bit of background noise referring this mysterious poison has taken on a life of its own. Li played it yet again for the jury. Again, this is a completely unverified piece of evidence. The speaker has never been identified and cannot be cross examined. His words have been used by the defense to demonstrate the possibility of organophosphate poisoning, to undermine medical testimony of actual doctors and Medical Examiners, and convince them in court that they had not received important information on which to base their conclusions. And today it was used in open court to demonstrate that the State was negligent and ignored key evidence in their possession. For the love of God, it was background noise.

Something occurred to me today, though, as I listened to Li's pontification on the importance of the unidentified EMT and his insistence that had the State simply listened to that recording, they could have given that information to the hospital and gotten the necessary bloodwork done. What occurred to me was this: Why didn't the "EMT" pass that vital concern along to the hospital. Wouldn't that be part of his job?

And if organophosphate poisoning was such an obvious concern, why didn't more EMTs and paramedics note the symptoms and pass that along to the hospitals when they brought these patients in? Why wasn't it in their reports? For that matter, why weren't the symptoms apparent to the doctors if they occurred to that person who may or may not have been an EMT?

As discussed, the symptoms of cholinergic poisoning were noted and ultimately dismissed because it was such a mixed bag and there were more symptoms of anti-cholinergics than cholinergics. As testament to that, Li mentioned something today that just struck me funny. He referenced a note on Stephen Ray's medical chart about a possible "anti-cholinergic toxidrome."

"What does that tell you?" Li asked the jury.

I know what it tells me. It tells me that Ray's doctor was not seeing symptoms of organophosphates.

Li's discussion of the medical testimony was all about that wrong-headed and confusing. Mostly he extolled the virtues of Dr. Paul and berated the worthiness of Dr. Dickson's testimony. After a while, I thought a caged death match between the two doctors would have been more instructive and illuminating than Li's version of facts. Instead, we'll have another two hours of Li tomorrow.

Sheila Polk Completes Her Closing Argument

Sheila Polk completed her closing argument today. I found it extremely powerful. As she had done in her Rule 20 argument, she wove the statements of various witnesses into a clear narrative of the events leading up to the deaths of James Shore, Kirby Brown, and Liz Neuman. It was extremely moving and I don't think there's a way to do it justice. Twinkiewrangler has posted a transcript of her entire closing argument here, so you can read her words. I do hope, though, that someone will post video of her remarks because they really need to heard aloud to be fully appreciated.

I look forward also to hearing her final rebuttal and I assume that after that this will go to the jury sometime tomorrow.


Update: Ah. Here we go. The Salty Droid has created a video of highlights from both days of Sheila Polk's two and a half hour closing argument.

All information on the trial today comes courtesy CNN's live feed. They not only returned unexpectedly for closing arguments but added exciting, new camera angles. All quotes and paraphrased statements that are not linked to a source document are my best attempt to transcribe material from live broadcasts.

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James Ray Trial: Closing Arguments Begin

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

James Ray Listens to Himself

If James Arthur Ray is convicted for causing the deaths of James Shore, Kirby Brown, and Liz Neuman, it won't be because the prosecutors built a devastating cases against him. It won't be because his own lawyers put on a weak, circuitous, and really irritating defense. Those things are certainly factors. But, no. If James Arthur Ray goes to prison, it will be his own words that put him there.

The strongest part of Sheila Polk's closing argument, this afternoon, was when she played recordings of Ray's speech to participants before they entered the sweat lodge. She set it up brilliantly, pointing out that as investigators and first responders were scrambling to figure out what could have caused the mass injuries and deaths after the sweat lodge, they couldn't have imagined the reason. Of course they considered a variety of toxins; even, in the case of the nameless, faceless EMT recorded as background noise, organophosphates. It didn't occur to them that a sweat lodge would have been so hot as to cause such devastation. They were missing one key piece of evidence that would have explained it: James Ray's own description of what participants could expect during the ceremony.

I know I listened to major chunks of this speech during the opening arguments but I hadn't realized until today how clearly Ray had articulated key elements of the State's case. Polk was unable to play all of the sections she intended to play today and will play the rest tomorrow. But what she played should give the jury plenty to contemplate overnight.

In his opening, pre-lodge remarks, Ray told participants he was in charge and that no one was to speak unless they were spoken to.

I will [inaudible] as the grand mastery in this temple. And I need you to think of it that way. Because the person running the lodge is just, is like a priest, if that, if that, if you understand that. Treat it with respect, please. That means you don't talk over me. You don't say anything unless you're asked to say anything... I am the master of the lodge and when I tell you to do something, you do it.

He told them not to listen to their own body's warning signs.

So, you're just gonna have to get in that space where hey, you know, it's just like holdin' the books or doin' anything else, I'm gonna have to transcend my physical body. And you can do this. You can do this. Regardless of whether you think you can or can't, you can. I know you can... It's just a matter of whether or not you will. And there's gonna come a time when you're gonna wanna run; you're gonna wanna bolt. I know 'cause I feel that way, too. And it's in those moments where you get to say, hey, this is my chance to live integrity. This is my chance to live honorably. And to live my values above and beyond my moods because mood says get the hell outa here.

He told them they'd have the most intense altered state of consciousness experience they could have short of hallucinogens.

You will be in such an altered state; probably, you know, the most profound altered state you've ever been in minus psychoactives. Seriously. I mean you, you may see visions. It's a, it's a great opportunity for you to explore your own consciousness. We've had people who just don't even know where they are anymore.

He told them they could only leave if they weren't able to transcend and be samurais and, then, only between rounds.

One of my teacher taught me a long time ago, "Prepare for the worst. Expect the best." So my expectation because I know what you can do, my expectation is that you're gonna go through this like a samurai. You're gonna overcome whatever's goin' on in your head -- this motherfuckin' James Ray shit, right. Whatever else you're gonna transcend that and it's gonna show you. It's gonna give you a very powerful reference of what you're capable of doing. What you're really capable of doing.

Now that being said, if you, if you just get to the point where you just, you just, you gotta leave, you just feel like you cannot... Now, it's a sacred temple and you only move what way? Clockwise. So if you have to leave and you're right here, you can't duck out this way. You have to go aaaallll the way around and go out of the lodge. Now after every round, we'll open the gate for more grandfathers. And sometimes I'll leave it open for a little while just to let some fresh air in. And so, you cannot leave during a round. If you have, if you feel like you just cannot transcend and overcome this, then, when the gates are open, if you have to leave, you leave... You have to be prepared for that but I'm expecting the best.

Ray, for his part, had remained stoical, almost frozen, throughout the day. (My husband suspects tranked.) But as that recording played, he became increasingly fidgety... and itchy, apparently.

Sheila Polk Presents Closing Argument

Throughout a good bit of her closing argument, Polk used recorded statements to great effect. She drew from other points in Ray's various instructions from throughout that week, which he so helpfully recorded and eventually turned over to police. She played his description of how packed tight and pressed up against each other the fifty-six participants would be inside the sweat lodge, negating any notion that he was unaware the sweat lodge was overcrowded. (Remember how he low-balled the number of participants when he talked to Sgt. Barbaro, claiming only forty?)

She also played for the second time a recording from the beginning of the seminar, when Ray had explained his desire to keep people off balance with a vegetarian diet. The transcript of that bit of insanity can be found here. I know there are people who thrive on a vegetarian diet. My husband is one of them and he's a very active Marine. But speaking as one of those people who can't function without animal protein, let me tell you, I would have been ready to confess to the Kennedy assassination after a few days of that; especially with so much activity and so little sleep.

She also played, again, the recording of Kirby Brown describing her self-sacrifice, right down to swallowing her own vomit, during the Samurai Game. I think I found it even more painful to hear the second time around. I can't listen to it without being reduced to tears. What a sweet, sincere, dedicated woman.

But in a really unexpected turn, Polk stole a little of the defense's thunder by playing the amplified, background noise in which a mystery EMT who'd mentioned organophosphates, thus handing the defense their strategy. She took the opportunity to point out the speculative nature of it.

Polk also eviscerated the organophospate question. She explained that Dr. Dickson is the only medical expert who has actually treated patients for organophosphate exposure and he is also the one who rejected the theory wholesale. Dr. Dickson, being from Yuma where there are numerous farms and the use organophosphate pesticides, has had cases of direct exposure to sprayed pesticides. Yet not even the most serious case of direct exposure he treated resulted in death.

She pointed out that Dr. Paul had not only never dealt with cases of organophosphate poisoning, he acknowledged that what level of toxicity and to what degree of exposure a pesticide would have to be, would be outside his area of expertise. Dr. Paul who theorized that the toxin could not have been airborne, could not explain why there was no pattern in terms of direct exposure to the possibly contaminated soil amongst people who got sick and people who didn't.

Dr. Cutshall, Polk reminded the jury, had said there was a mix of symptoms of cholinergic and anti-cholineric toxicity, effectively ruling both out. No medical professional who'd treated the victims after the sweat lodge had determined the cause of illness to be caused by a cholinergic poison like organophosphates.

And, Polk reminded the jury, none of the pesticides used at Angel Valley contained organophosphates. Only the jar of ant poison Luis Li bought and exhibited in court did. There is no evidence whatsoever that such a product was ever used by the Hamiltons or their employees.

Polk further explained that you can't cherry-pick symptoms from a toxidrome and assume that because one or two of those symptoms are present, it must be that toxin. You have to look at all the symptoms and see what best describes them. In this case, that was heat related illness.

Even Dr. Paul admitted that people in the sweat lodge suffered from heat exhaustion. He also admitted that if a core temperature of 105° F had been recorded, he would have agreed with the diagnosis of heatstroke. Ironically, he also admitted that in every one of the cases that he as a Medical Examiner had determined as heatstroke deaths, no core temperature had been available. And though Dr. Paul had refused to do the math, the cooling that patients had experienced in the length of time after the sweat lodge ended would have reduced their core temperature substantially before they could be examined at the hospital.

Polk also laid out how discordant Dr. Paul's ideas about dehydration and heatstroke are with prevailing medical guidelines. The position paper for his own organization of Medical Examiners does not include dehydration as a necessary symptom to prove heatstroke. She further clarified that he couldn't produce a single document to support his unorthodox opinions about the relationship between dehydration and heatstroke.

Dr. Paul also, said Polk, never had the benefit of listening to the recording of Ray's own words describing the extremity of what she so accurately calls his "heat endurance challenge." It is the kind of powerful circumstantial evidence any Medical Examiner would have to consider in their investigation.

Polk compared the defense's case, with all its wild conjectures about any cause of death other than heatstroke, as being "like a take-out menu from an expensive diner. And it's all baloney."

The jury, Polk explained, doesn't have to agree on what exactly killed James Shore, Kirby Brown, and Liz Neuman. They merely need to agree that Ray caused it.

Ray, Polk explained, conditioned participants not to question him, to ignore their own instincts, and to do whatever he said. She cited the testimony of numerous participants as to how intimidated they were by their teacher. And she explained that by the time the sweat lodge was sprung on them, surprising many participants, "they were tired, hungry, exhausted, mentally weak, fully conditioned to follow the defendant's directions."

She recalled Laurie Gennari who said, "Certainly all we did was all about getting an order to do something uncomfortable and doing it. We were well-trained by the end of the week."

The Samurai Game, she said taught participants that they were to follow Ray's instructions or there would be consequences for their teammates if they disobeyed.

The vision quest, in which participants were deprived of food and water and directed to sit in a small circle reinforced the idea of following Ray's instructions to gain benefit from the event. It also probably left them even more weak and exhausted before the sweat lodge.

Polk also played the clip of a participant being publicly chastised by Ray for failing to play "full on" and "playing half-assed." A number of witnesses testified this episode created a chilling effect and only served to reinforce their subservience.

Beverly Bunn testified, "You learned through the course of the week that you don't question Mr. Ray on anything."

Mike Oleson, like many, over-rode his own instincts to help others, because he "wasn't running the show." Ray's temper had caused him to wait to help others get out of the sweat lodge. He explained, "I didn't think it would have been a good idea to disrupt the ceremony. [Ray] doesn't like it when people interrupt the process."

Polk also recalled Dennis Mehravar's questioning by Luis Li in which he explained that he probably would not have saved someone he knew was dying. He would have waited for the end of the round and then asked for help, he'd explained to the incredulous Li.

The financial investment was very much at issue, Polk explained, as they had been promised a "breakthrough" for their $10 grand.

Most importantly, I think, Polk explained that beyond the psychological factors and intimidation, was the very basic issue of people being too incapacitated to leave the sweat lodge.

While participants who were conscious and able to move were arguably free to leave -- at least between rounds; not during a round -- participants were unable to do so by reason of their altered mental status, which is the hallmark of heatstroke as Dr. Dickson and other doctors testified. Many testified they were in an altered mental status, not thinking clearly, weak, hot, and in a self-survival mode.

You'll recall the testimony of Linda Andresano, the nurse from Tuscon, who testified how messed up her thinking was inside the sweat lodge. She told you that the defendant had said, "Well play full on, so I played full on by not leaving the tent." 

She said she was thinking about the theme of death from the week. "I was trying to be honorable by staying," she testified. "I felt this was an honorable way to die." 

The last thing she thought about before passing out sometime around the sixth round was, "It's a good day to die." 

Linda told you, "If I had been in my right mind, I would have gotten out of there. I don't know why I didn't leave. If I had been thinking professionally, I never would have allowed me to do what I did."

Clockwise from bottom: Luis Li, James Ray, Ray's Father & Mother

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Luis Li interrupted Sheila Polk's closing argument with an objection -- that was completely ignored -- and then threatened yet another mistrial motion based on her "reversible error."

I just don't think he can go very long without grandstanding about Constitutional issues and saying mistrial until the word no longer has any meaning.

Some of the issues he raised had merit and Polk conceded that some of her phrasing was inappropriate. As near as I can tell, the only result so far is that Judge Darrow read another limiting instruction to the jury about the burden of proof belonging entirely to the prosecution.

Unfortunately -- or fortunately?? -- I missed most of Li's diatribe due to CNN's failure to turn on the stream on after the break. (After every break, actually.) I missed some rather important moments in today's proceedings. But I suppose I should count my blessings that I'm seeing any.

I have little doubt that there will be more discussion on this tomorrow and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see another formal mistrial motion.

I know that part of the issue is that Judge Darrow did accept the defense's request for a Willits instruction about possibly "destroyed" evidence. (I don't understand that decision at all.) This put the State in the position of trying to explain why no testing for organophosphates was done, in which Polk referred to the defense's lack of forthrightness about their interest in that possibility.

There was also some discussion of whether the Kirby Brown recording was used appropriately. Some of this is still up in the air, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Also pending for tomorrow is Luis Li's closing argument which he anticipates will run about four hours. Four. Hours. Luis Li could bore the paint off a wall in under two, so...

Judge Darrow on Jury Instructions

I also missed a goodly chunk of Judge Darrow's jury instruction; that which took days to hammer out. It was quite long and not a little complicated. It's a good thing the jury gets a copy.

I am pleased to note, as I did yesterday, that included in the instruction is the option to find Ray guilty on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. I just think it substantially increases the chances of Ray being convicted, even if on the lesser charge and for less jail time. As ever, my real abiding concern when it comes to Ray is this: Stop him before he kills again.

I do think that even if he's exonerated he'll have a hard time kick-starting his career. What facility would have him running one of his events after what happened to Angel Valley? But a serious, public consequence for his failure of duty to people in his care sends a powerful message... and keeps him out of commission for a while.

Personally, I think the manslaughter verdict is appropriate, if only because I found myself using the word reckless to describe every new thing I learned about the sweat lodge catastrophe... and numerous other events overseen by Ray. But the lesser charge would at least put him behind bars for a while. 

All of this speculation assumes, of course, that Li won't get the mistrial he's clearly been aching for since day one, and snatch this decision out of the jury's hands.

Totally Gratuitous Shot of Tru Do Looking Despondent

All information on the trial today comes courtesy CNN's live feed. They not only returned unexpectedly for closing arguments but added exciting, new camera angles. All quotes and paraphrased statements that are not linked to a source document are my best attempt to transcribe material from live broadcasts.

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James Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: The Final Stretch

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

The closing arguments may start as early as today and, if their published schedule is to be believed, CNN will be streaming it. So it looks like they've reversed their earlier decision not to cover closing arguments. Judge Darrow also consented to a second camera last Friday. I note in the minute entry his ruling was cc'd to counsel for KPNX Broadcasting, Tru TV, and In Session, and counsel for KTVK-TV. I'm guessing that the Phoenix channel KTVK is the new to the party? So we've gone from next to nothing to pretty decent media coverage.

Meanwhile, a lot of the fine points of the closing arguments and the jury instruction still seem to be in dispute. They were not resolved as of yesterday and trial watchers have been missing some brisk arguments. Court documents provide some insight into the minutia. The defense has proposed some rather lengthy jury instructions and followed with an amendment. They have also requested that Judge Darrow restrict prosecutors from creating reversible error, which is kind of nice actually. They've  outlined their thinking on grounds for appeal and told the State what landmines to avoid. Handy.

As I said before, the defense has been arguing that the State has been withholding evidence by not anticipating the defense's theory two years ago and saving and testing any and everything conceivable... and inconceivable, even. This contention graduated from the bloviating rhetoric stage to a request from the defense for a Willits instruction, which they reference in their proposed jury instructions. (I don't find a specific motion on the server.) The State wrote a response to that request. It makes for good reading. It also clarifies fully they did not destroy or make unavailable any of the evidence obtained; quite the contrary. It also goes a long way to debunking the defense's poisoning theory.

Based on the findings of the medical examiners, the State had no reason to believe the victims' blood needed to be tested for any toxins. Nor, apparently, did the doctors who treated the victims and the other participants who suffered injuries from Defendant's extreme heat event. While it is true that toxins were initially suspected when medical providers became aware of the mass casualty event, according to the participants medical records not a single participant was ever tested for any toxin other than carbon monoxide. 1 which was quickly eliminated as a possibility. Even the statement heard the evening in the dining hall was very tentative as to the cause of the injuries: "We're not exactly sure why, could have some carbon monoxide with maybe some organo-phosphates maybe that were mixed in somehow."

These are points that cannot be emphasized enough, in my opinion. The background noise that the defense has endlessly repeated before the jury was speculative and demonstrably proved half wrong. The more important point, because of its subtlety, is that other poisons like organophosphates were, effectively, ruled out by toxicology because none of that was in the differential diagnosis and therefore tested. Only CO was tested and then ruled out. And, as I was reminded of the other day, Dr. Cutshall specifically said there was more evidence of anti-cholinergics than cholinergics. Organophosphates were not ruled out by lab testing because they were ruled out by the clinical data.

So the haggling is expected to continue today and I don't know, as of now, if CNN will be streaming any of the legal arguments. They seem to be holding out for the closing arguments. Also unclear is whether or not the State will call rebuttal witnesses. As per April Santiago, it wasn't discussed yesterday, so it would seem not. And if they do, who knows if that testimony will be covered.

As per Mark Duncan, the issue of whether or not the lesser included charge of criminally negligent homicide will be up for consideration by the jury appears to be settled.

The jury's option to consider returning a verdict on the lesser-included charge of negligent homicide will also be a part of the instructions, and Darrow allowed he would consider Hughes' motive argument in that light.

This is kind of a big deal. A number of people have said that while they don't think this rises to reckless manslaughter, that lesser charge of negligence is well within reason. This includes much of the In Session panel who opined endlessly that prosecutors had just ridiculously overshot by charging manslaughter, but that much of the evidence presented sounded like criminally negligent homicide.

More insight into last week's proceedings are available on Connie Joy's Facebook page. Joy was present in the courtroom and got to see what we who are so ill-served by CNN could not. It's an open page and I recommend looking at some of her lengthy, detailed comments.

As per Joy, Luis Li was in rare form during his argument for the directed verdict.

The other standout from Li's run over time speech, was his discussion of their beloved waivers. He read from a waiver that BULL RIDERS HAVE TO SIGN IN A RODEO and said that it should be treated the same way here. All adults makeing the informed decision to do something dangerous. Yes, I can hear some of you swearing now. In Li's mind people signing up for SPIRITUAL Warrior looking to have a postive spiritual experience in the desert is the same thing as PROFESSIONAL Bull Riders in a rodeo who know EXACTLY what they are signing up to do.

As I've said repeatedly, the waiver was weak. If they'd provided waivers along the lines of Outward Bound with a thorough health questionnaire -- and before the sale was final -- they might have a leg to stand on. Then people would have been clearly informed of the risk and actually been able to opt out. Bull riders... Jeebus! Anyway, Sheila Polk argued the very important that the waiver actually shows that Ray had considered the possibility of death, which is a very important point. That waiver cuts both ways and is actually a better tool for the prosecution than the defense.

I also learned from Joy's write-up that it was Truc Do who was responsible for the absurdly large chart that upstaged their star witness Dr. Ian Paul. Apparently, Kinko's misunderstood her instructions. Having listened to her talk, I'm not surprised. (I still hear the grating sound of her voice and cringe-worthy mispronunciations in my sleep, btw. I'm half convinced she'll be in my nightmares for years to come.) I could also see her making the cardinal error of talking down to some poor minimum wage worker at Kinkos. Never a good idea to be condescending to people who do your grunt work. Man can they screw you.

We all chuckled when we saw the GIANT posterboard that the defense had made up with a summary of the medical info on those injured. Do made the comment that she had ordered it from Kinko's but that they must have misunderstood her instructions. Again, bigger is not always better, and more lawyers is not always better than one good one. Overkill seems to be their theme, amazing since JAR still clings to the notion that he is broke.

Anyway, I think they could have minimized the damage of that colossal prop failure. What they really needed was a tiny model of Stonehenge and some dancing dwarfs. That would have been an ideal distraction, I think. And it might have kept the jury's interest, which according to Joy, Dr. Paul did not.

During Dr. Paul's direct by Ms Do one thing did stirke me and others in the court room. The jurors looked board with his testimony. Most were not taking notes. Is this a sign that they have already made up their minds?

Joy also observed some shifts in Ray's demeanor, though not any hint of awareness of his own culpability.

What I did observe in the courtroom this past week compared to the first day of the trial was a man trying to maintain his outward show of superiority and smugness, but not doing quite as good of a job at it. Let me say this first so there is NO misunderstanding. I do NOT think that for one moment it has gotten through to him what he did and the devestating wake that he leaves behind him. I say leaves because he is still doing it. Telling witnesses that it was there fault that their friends died to see if they could be rattled on the stand is just plain crule. That WhooHoo tweet that he might get off at the Brady violation shows he still does not get that this trial is not all about just him.

My husband made an observation last night about the incredible audacity of this man as a leader of a seminar called Spiritual WARRIOR. If a military officer had abandoned his injured and dying troops like that -- going off to grab sandwich and a shower -- he would be in Leavenworth turning big rocks into small rocks. Lets hope civilian justice is as thorough.

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Does James Ray Disprove the Law of Attraction?

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Meryl Davids Landau asks if the James Ray sweat lodge trial means there is no law of attraction. In an article that is really a study in cognitive dissonance, Landau extols the virtues of the law of attraction philosophy and how it's worked in her own life. She concludes:

Ultimately, then, the James Ray trial doesn't say anything about the truth of the law of attraction. It only says something about Ray: That if he does sincerely believe in the power of this universal principle, he somehow didn't put it into practice as well as he might have.

But if the law of attraction is a universal principle as basic as gravity, everything that occurs should say something about the truth of it. We don't put universal principles into practice and we don't have to believe in them. If we fail to practice the law of gravity well, we don't go floating off into space.

One can certainly understand Landau's desire for a kinder, gentler law of attraction; one where our great results are testament but our disasters don't prove anything at all. She's surely a more compassionate person than her philosophical forebear Napoleon Hill who wrote in his famous tome Think and Grow Rich, "SUCCESS REQUIRES NO APOLOGIES, FAILURE PERMITS NO ALIBIS." (That's an exact quote, complete with the obnoxious, all caps format and bad grammar. I take no responsibility for either.)



James Ray also tried to dodge the harsh judgment implied by his own belief system. Shortly after being indicted and with his financial fortune apparently evaporating, he took to his Twitter account and started soundbite philosophizing about why the simple cause and effect formula he'd been propounding for years wasn't simple at all. And then he told us that we'd always been at war with Eastasia.

Abraham channeler Esther Hicks whom Landau references in her article has not been so generous in her assessment of Ray. According to Abraham/Hicks, the law of attraction worked perfectly in Ray's case and that's why he's where he is. (The video from which this transcript is taken follows.)

So, here is a teacher who was part of The Secret movie, who understands law of attraction not even in the slightest, who held seminars for the purpose of seeing how much discomfort you can endure without dying. Deprivation in the desert, deprivation without food, deprivation without air, high temperatures in the sweat lodge; in other words, see how much you can endure. Now law of attraction brings the leader of this group right now to jail where he is being deprived of all of the things, all of the things that are important to feeling good. In other words law of attraction is this powerful, powerful, powerful, powerful law that says you get what you think about and what you think about is evidenced by the way you are feeling in the moment. And when you've decided that you’re going to struggle your way to joy, the joy never comes. So, that's what we say. You can't have it both ways. You cannot suffer your way to joy. And you cannot joy your way to suffering.

There is a certain seductiveness to this logic. It's viscerally satisfying, in the way a guilty verdict would be. It sounds just and we all want to think that everything that happens here is ultimately just. But it isn't really as simple as she/he presents it to be. Universal principles aren't about good and bad. They operate in wholeness. That's why they're called universal. (universe = one turn) At least that's how I, as a mystical thinker, must view it.

In the Abraham/Hicks scenario, joy and suffering are simply incompatible. We have to choose one or the other. But life is really kind of a mixed bag. And it's going to be a mixed bag no matter how we feel about it; how "positive" or "negative" we are about the whole thing.

The other day I wrote about how law of attraction proponents always want to put the things they don't like "over there." They're all about creating distance rather than honoring everything we encounter as our reflection. Landau, in the quote above, does that. What's happened to Ray doesn't say anything about her beloved law of attraction, or, by extension, about Landau. It only says something about James Ray.

Mystical thought says, if I'm aware of who James Ray is, he does say something about me. He is my reflection. And the work for me is to figure out what I need to learn from this series of events that has  captured my attention.

The Hicks material, likewise, is all about distancing yourself from uncomfortable reflections. From the same video comes this rather disturbing lesson for "healers." The healer, it says, is supposed to be in a "vortex" of wellness thinking that the sick people live outside of... because of all their "deprivation" thoughts.

But the thing that's tricky about someone that's inside the vortex convincing someone outside the vortex is that if they're very far outside the vortex, they can't hear you. So most healers do traipse outside the vortex to try to help them but then they can't help them because they're outside the vortex. So this has been the conundrum that healers have been experiencing for a very long time. Most healers eventually are trained by the sick people into their vibration rather than training the sick people into their vibration… And we say, in order for you to be of any value to anyone you have to separate yourself from the discordant beliefs that they hold about sickness... So what happens, people in need, they'll drag you out every time. 

They'll say, "I need you. Be here with me. You've gotta be there for me."

There are people complaining or hurting, whether it's emotionally or physically, if you're not giving them sympathy, which means if you're not giving your undivided attention to their discomfort, then they don't believe that you're there for them. And you've gotta understand, whether you can make them understand or not, that you can't be there for their for their problem and there for their solution at the same time. You've gotta make a choice. You can't be there for their sickness and there for their wellness at the same time. A healer must be there for the wellness. [all emphases mine]

So you can't just be there for the person; the whole person. You have to be there for one half of this very polarized construction that almost animates wellness and illness into conscious entities. You can't possibly accept people for who they are and where they are in their process.

You must know it so unequivocally that no matter what the tests show, that no matter what the x-rays show, that no matter what the attitude is, that no matter what the manifestation is, you have to know the potential for wellness is greater than the potential for illness. And as you hold fast to that knowledge and you practice it every day of your life relative to you and to everything that you see, eventually that vibration will be so powerful within you, that with anyone stands before you with their problem or their illness, you will have risen so far above it.

And many of them will say, "Hey man, you're not there for me."

And your answer must be to them, whether they hear it or not, "I'm there for you. I'm there where your recovery is. I'm there where your value is. I'm there where who you really are is. I'm there where your strength and vitality are. I practice my thoughts of your resiliency. I practice my thoughts of your well-being. I practice them incessantly. In fact I have trained myself so that I never allow myself to focus upon your plight or your illness even for a moment."

And they will say, "Well, it's not really helping very much."

And you must say and mean, "I don't do it for you. I do it for me." [all emphases mine]

Well, that last sentence is at least honest... if narcissistic. Note that the entire lecture is about the healer imposing their will, their vision, their ego, onto the ailing person. Acknowledging and honoring where that other person is in the moment is out of the question.

What if that illness is perfectly appropriate for them. What if it's teaching them something they need to learn. There is nothing in this channeling about the transformational opportunities in illness.

What if it's simply their time to die; the one that they have chosen. They should die without your fully attentive presence and compassion?

This is the kind lunacy that ensues when we construct a formulation as simple as: health good, illness bad. We start putting all these judgments, not only around the illness, but around the people who deign to get sick. We treat them like by being sick they're doing something wrong. Illness, according to Abraham/Hicks, is an "attitude problem." It's "about mood."

So if people who are exposed to radioactive iodine (think: Fukushima) start getting thyroid cancer, they wouldn't actually be getting sick because of all that radiation. It would be because they're just so negative. So if they cheer up, presumably, all will be well.

And nowhere in this is any attention to what lessons the healer is supposed to be learning from the experience of the person before us, who, like it or not, is our reflection.

As I've said many times, the "law of attraction" is a very dumbed down version of mystical awareness. As I wrote here:

Underlying this attractive idea is what mystics have been teaching for millennia. It is that all things reflect all other things. That it cannot be otherwise because we are, in fact, one with everything around us. This means that the people you meet are not "like" you ("like attracts like"). They are you.

What that means is that James Ray is me and I am James Ray. It profits me not at all to wag my finger and pass judgment on how his thoughts manifested his circumstances. As a mystical thinker, the question I must ponder is what James Ray and the tragedy he materially created, reflects in me. That doesn't make me, as an individual, a reckless, wannabe shaman who cooked people to death. I know for a fact that I am not. But it does mean that somewhere in me is some tiny piece that reflects that somehow. It could be a snippet of a past life. It could be some piece of childhood memory. But somewhere, in me, is something that I haven't completed and that I need to forgive and release.

What strikes me as so odd in Landau's article is the implication that Ray's being on trial is something that "happened" to him. Somehow this mysterious turn of events might call into question her entire philosophical framework because someone who's made a career out of the law of attraction should maybe have better disciplined thoughts and feelings than that. But Ray didn't just "law of attract" a catastrophe. This wasn't a tornado or an earthquake. This is something he created through his own actions (and omissions). Whether our very earthly, human concept of justice is to be satisfied when the James Ray trial goes to verdict will be up to a jury of his peers.

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