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duraniedrama ([info]duraniedrama) wrote in [info]unfunnybusiness,
@ 2009-10-26 21:44:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:it stops being funny at murder

Death Made Manifest
This might be a bit frothy and incoherent, but there's so much EPIC FAIL here I'm not even sure if I can adequately contain it all.

So, there's this New Age huckster named James Arthur Ray who was one of the talking heads in the film The Secret. He has a few books out and pulls down fucktons of money running seminars like "Harmonic Wealth Weekend" and "Spiritual Warrior".

At the "Spiritual Warrior" seminar, according to Ray, you'll build upon what you started in Practical Mysticism. You'll become privy to techniques (many kept secret for dozens of generations) that I searched out in the mountains of Peru, the jungles of the Amazon (and a few other places I don't care to recall).

Mastering these (quite esoteric) practices required me to think and act more differently than I've ever had to before. At first it was quite grueling, but the results...well...all I can say is, "Wow!"


So, yeah, New Age white people paying ONLY $9695 per person for a mish-mash of cultural appropriation and positive thinking. What could possibly go wrong?

What, indeed . . .

PHOENIX — Two people died and an estimated 19 others were taken to hospitals after being overcome while sitting in a sauna-like sweat lodge during a Sedona spiritual retreat, authorities said Friday.

It probably didn't help that he made some Tweets just before the incident that said things like "What needs to die in you so that new life can emerge?" The Tweets were deleted, but TechCrunch and a few other places managed to retrieve them before they disappeared completely.

A few days later, he tells a crowd of some 200 people "I don't know how to deal with it really."

Two people are dead, authorities are investigating and he's off in Marina del Ray at another 'seminar' to tell people how to live their ideal life.

A homicide investigation is in the works.

A third person died in the hospital.

Seriously, it's just a clusterfuck of epic proportions. Whirled Musings and Making Light have much more on this, including some pointed commentary about how Native Americans feel about white people swiping their religious practices and charging vast amounts of money for them.

So, you gotta wonder, just what kind of vibe was he giving out to 'attract' this tragedy?



(Post a new comment)


[info]duende
2009-10-27 03:44 am UTC (link)
In some ways, I envy those responsible for that whole Secret series.

They found a way to use common sense and ego-stroking bullshit to rip off MILLIONS from the collective Speshul Snowflake population of the world, and they did it all with small sentences and photoshop.

Goddammit, why can't I pull off something like that in the spare time I have to sit on my ass and wank about it?

(Reply to this)


[info]honorh
2009-10-27 03:50 am UTC (link)
You'll become privy to techniques (many kept secret for dozens of generations) that I searched out in the mountains of Peru, the jungles of the Amazon (and a few other places I don't care to recall).

Oh, ye gods, what a tool! If this were a movie, we'd all be laughing at this crazy huckster character. It stops being funny at murder, though.

(Reply to this)


[info]keri
2009-10-27 04:01 am UTC (link)
Isn't The Secret from the same group that does the Landmark stuff? Or are they linked?

I might be totally off on this, but for some reason my brain is saying Yes, but a quick glance at http://www.rickross.com/groups/landmark.html isn't showing anything.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]mmanurere
2009-10-27 06:07 am UTC (link)
Maybe not formally linked, but they're both selling the same brand of bullshit -- "prosperity gospel" for agnostics and yuppies. That strain of bullshit that makes me say "y'know, if that crap worked it would be seriously evil...so I'm almost glad it's crap."

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]baranduyn
2009-10-27 04:04 am UTC (link)
That fuckwit.

Hey, I'm as much of a cultural surfer as anyone but I confine my surfing to cooking or music and I stay well away from the sacred which should be studied and respected, not stirred together until frothy and very, very expensive.

The Secret mistinterpreted a simple concept; giving off positive vibes is better for the world in general but it does not guarantee you won't get spattered with mud by a thoughtless driver while waiting in the rain to cross the street. "If you do this then nothing bad will happen to you" is spirituality/religion used as superstition and is inevitably doomed to fail.

Unless you think the children killed in the bombing of the Murrow Building brought that on themselves.

This guy is a proponent of the fast-foodization of religion and culture, just like the people who invented Speed Yoga and KabbalahLITE (TM, one third less thinking than real kabbalah): they're getting bits and pieces of it but on the whole they're missing the point in a big, big way. The only way any practice can make a big difference in you or the world is to immerse yourself wholly, not treat it like take-away from your favorite dim sum parlor.

Furthermore, that piece of shit is the opposite of spiritually evolved. All of his statements post sweat lodge disaster are about HIM, how upset HE is, how HE can't cope.

Well, fuck you buddy, you're not amongst the dead or the mourning. Pull your head out of your arse, get over yourself and start thinking about others. Maybe then there'll really be a spiritual evolution in your life.

Likely not, though. Money-pig.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]mmanurere
2009-10-27 06:11 am UTC (link)
Unless you think the children killed in the bombing of the Murrow Building brought that on themselves.

"The Secret" mostly sells to the fairly privileged, those who are already middle-class (at least socially), etc. -- because that's exactly what it implies. And all those people who are homeless and/or starving and/or unemployed and/or living in chaos because of the local war? It's their fault because they just don't want a stable wealthy lifestyle enough to make it happen. Unlike the people buying "The Secret," of course -- they're clearly of stronger will, because they have already caused their immediate needs to be met by sheer force of will. Everyone should look up to them -- they're special! And there's certainly no need to actually work for positive change in the world -- if the Secretites are feeling generous, they can just send good vibes towards some vague suffering "other" and feel that happy glow that comes from knowing that they're helping people through their woohoo-shiny wishing powers.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]red_eft, 2009-10-27 06:16 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]sqbr, 2009-10-27 06:37 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]honorh, 2009-10-27 07:14 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mmanurere, 2009-10-27 07:30 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]sqbr, 2009-10-31 12:43 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]erototoxin, 2009-10-27 07:03 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]baranduyn, 2009-10-27 07:25 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]pariforma, 2009-10-27 07:01 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]adevyish, 2009-10-27 08:13 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]libelle, 2009-10-27 08:49 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]tez, 2009-10-28 12:55 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]annaham, 2009-10-27 10:51 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hallidae, 2009-10-27 04:55 pm UTC

[info]notbulgarian
2009-10-27 10:59 am UTC (link)
>>Speed Yoga<<

How do you?! What is?! And in short bzuhwhat!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]baranduyn, 2009-10-27 04:22 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]judyhazeleyes, 2009-10-27 07:12 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]jabberwockypie, 2009-11-02 05:06 pm UTC

[info]keri
2009-10-27 04:05 am UTC (link)
Oh, check it out, the Rick Ross Inst. already has a page for this asshole set up with some articles linked: http://www.rickross.com/groups/jamesarthur.html

(Reply to this)

Reposted for grammar fail.
[info]rennyn_alerothi
2009-10-27 04:26 am UTC (link)
Crap. I've been hearing about this for about a week on the news. There isn't enough D: in the world, and I honestly hope that he faces charges for this.

During the early 1990s, I was a part of the New-Age Native American Cultural Appropriation bandwagon. Like a lot of stuff I did when I was a teen, I eventually learned the error of my ways. I recently spent a several hours trying to talk some sense into a friend of mine (who should know better, dammit) and explain why he shouldn't write and illustrate a cutesy 'magical-girl' style moe manga using Native American legends and symbols. As someone who'd "read a lot about Indians," he was trying to pump me for info.

Headesk overx9000.


(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: Reposted for grammar fail.
[info]bigbigtruck
2009-10-27 04:42 pm UTC (link)
I thought that was called Shaman King.

/snark

(Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: Reposted for grammar fail.
[info]kylenne
2009-10-27 04:49 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for getting your head out of your ass.

Sadly, way too many people in that crowd haven't, which is one of the (many) reasons my temporary residency in Arizona was so temporary.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]rogue
2009-10-27 04:30 am UTC (link)
I have been to one of these things, when I was a lolteenie. My dad drank the kool-aid really hard for one of these guys, and he shelled out money he frankly could not afford to strong-arm my brother and I going to a longish retreat with him. I don't even know how to explain it and honestly I don't feel completely comfortable retelling my experiences in detail, but after one night I ran away from the hotel and got a friend to drive six hours to come get me! Perhaps a little dramatic, but I was a) sixteen and prone to theatrics and b) genuinely convinced they were trying to induct us into a cult. When my brother got back, he didn't speak to my dad for over a week, and he kind of tapered off with involvement after that.

Those poor people, and his reaction -- augh. I keep thinking about my dad being taken advantage of to that extent, and it makes me so angry. I shouldn't be lucky to have someone come back ALIVE from a self help seminar, for fuck's sake. Nobody should have to think that.

(Reply to this)


[info]cassildra
2009-10-27 04:46 am UTC (link)
Fucking bad juju :(

Way to give us Pagans a worse name as money-grubbing, murdering, uncaring jackasses! I can't wait for the karma to come back on him. (Which means I'll probably get a bite myself, but it's worth it.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]kylenne
2009-10-27 04:13 pm UTC (link)
This guy is not even remotely Pagan, in any sense of the word. He doesn't identify his such, and none of his followers are.

The only thing "Pagan" about this guy is his willful, racist disregard for indigenous colored folk's spiritual traditions, which sadly runs rampant in that community, particularly among the fluffy set.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cassildra, 2009-10-27 08:29 pm UTC

[info]plazmah
2009-10-27 05:11 am UTC (link)
Ooh ooh! Is this the place where I can obliquely get indignant about the yoga industry and how part of my religion is being sold off to yuppie suburbanites at a handsome price?

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]duraniedrama
2009-10-27 05:59 am UTC (link)
I'm starting to wonder if there are any religions out there that haven't been sold off to yuppie suburbanites at a handsome price.

But, hey, this is unfunnybusiness--rant away!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]bobafeis, 2009-10-27 07:39 am UTC

[info]platedlizard
2009-10-27 07:18 am UTC (link)
But but but it's just like pilates!

*ducks thrown stones*

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]gardnerhill, 2009-10-27 07:58 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]adevyish, 2009-10-27 08:29 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]kylenne, 2009-10-27 04:15 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]snarkhunter, 2009-10-28 04:13 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]kylenne, 2009-10-31 07:36 am UTC

[info]fools_game
2009-10-27 05:20 am UTC (link)
Is that a typo or is he actually charging people almost ten thousand dollars for this horseshit?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]rimrunner, 2009-10-27 05:38 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mmanurere, 2009-10-27 06:15 am UTC

[info]brennalarose
2009-10-27 06:00 am UTC (link)
That dirty son of a bitch. He had his people prevent others from administering CPR and left the scene, even sitting by the door for an escape? Does he realize what that looks like?

He sounds to me like he's out of his mind and needs to be put away where he can't kill people with bullshit anymore.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]platedlizard, 2009-10-27 06:15 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-10-27 06:48 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]platedlizard, 2009-10-27 07:26 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]thebratqueen, 2009-10-27 04:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]rennyn_alerothi, 2009-10-27 08:01 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]rennyn_alerothi, 2009-10-27 08:04 am UTC

[info]fools_game
2009-10-27 06:38 am UTC (link)
I just... wait, wait.

He sends a bunch of people of a thirty-six hour vision quest with fasting, including not drinking water, in Arizona, which I'm told is quite hot and dry. So you've never fasted before - lots of people cope badly with fasting the first time - and you're dehydrated, possibly already in shock because your body isn't used to going this far.

He then crams over sixty inexperienced, exhausted, dehydrated people into a very small crudely built sweat lodge and keeps them there for over two hours. With inadequate ventilation, badly-regulated heat, and intense psychological pressure to stay there and push their limits.

Honestly, I'm surprised more people didn't die.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]honorh, 2009-10-27 07:11 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]fools_game, 2009-10-27 07:45 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]selene_avis, 2009-10-27 01:18 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]fools_game, 2009-10-27 01:38 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lady_ganesh, 2009-10-27 02:02 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sarracenia, 2009-10-28 01:30 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]honorh, 2009-10-27 02:10 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kylenne, 2009-10-27 04:43 pm UTC
Reposted to clarify... - [info]rosehiptea, 2009-10-27 06:28 pm UTC
Re: Reposted to clarify... - [info]chibikaijuu, 2009-10-28 05:33 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]frequentmouse, 2009-10-27 06:57 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]frequentmouse, 2009-10-27 07:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]inalasahl, 2009-10-28 12:05 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]frequentmouse, 2009-10-28 12:32 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-10-28 12:51 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]frequentmouse, 2009-10-28 02:07 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-10-28 06:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kylenne, 2009-10-31 07:25 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]aerobot, 2009-10-27 05:07 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]selene_avis, 2009-10-27 07:26 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]aerobot, 2009-10-28 07:04 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]fools_game, 2009-10-27 09:35 pm UTC

[info]gardnerhill
2009-10-27 07:49 am UTC (link)
Well, this explains why the native inhabitants of Peru and along the Amazon are so fabulously wealthy and long-lived. Oh, wait.

I can't drum up much sympathy for those gullible morons he was fleecing. Stupid people with too much money are the traditional prey of the shyster, the snake-oil salesman, and the confidence man. They, in turn, maintain the health of the herd by weeding out the stupidest ones.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]duende, 2009-10-27 09:25 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]thebratqueen, 2009-10-27 04:12 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]duende, 2009-10-28 06:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]thebratqueen, 2009-10-28 06:42 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]duende, 2009-10-28 07:29 pm UTC

[info]pathology_doc
2009-10-27 01:23 pm UTC (link)
What a despicable piece of shit this guy is.

I hope his fellow-travellers on the mumbo-jumbo highway of starry-eyed New-Age cultural appropriation rally round him. The more of them who discredit themselves and all their works in the process, the better. Far more likely they'll dissociate themselves from him, leaving the methods to be blamed rather than the whacked-out thinking behind it all, then scuttle away and wait until the heat dies down before returning to the game themselves.

Sadly, I doubt it'll discourage his target audience from looking for more of what he was serving up. When you can command ten thousand dollars without question for that, just imagine the number of people who are willing to pay less for the same thing. Depressing, really, because I get the idea that most of them are supposedly intelligent, allegedly well-educated people who really ought to know better.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]ashacrone, 2009-10-27 02:10 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]erototoxin, 2009-10-27 09:23 pm UTC

[info]frequentmouse
2009-10-27 06:50 pm UTC (link)
There's a link somewhere about two days in to the giant Making Light comment thread to a traditional Lakota spiritual leader talking about the ways in which this guy has gotten things empirically wrong- complete fast before the sweat, withholding water, et'c- as well as the things which, from Northern Plains tradition, are spiritually wrong. It's an enlightening read.

Sweats, as a technology, are a common human cultural complex (in hot climates theytend to be replaced by smokes). The common points are that they tend to be a cold-weather or nighttime event, and that the extreme high-temperature/ physical endurance kind are of short duration and include cool-down and rehydration as an explicit part of the ritual. The most common kind of sweat has more in common with Roman or Turkish baths or sauna or even the mikva than they do with the legendary Sundance/Ghost dance endurance test (which, it should be noted, is an extreme expression of an apocalyptic cult). Often, sweats are implicitly a way to cope with cold-weather resource extraction activities like river fishing, hunting bison on foot, or wild rice gathering.

One thing that doesn't get mentioned often enough is that Ray used a smoke containing sandalwood in this cultural stew; it smells good but is a known allergen, and in its home country is used for outdoor ritual. The confusion of subcontinent and New World is, of course, pretty much as racist as you can get.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]pathology_doc, 2009-10-27 10:09 pm UTC

[info]pathology_doc
2009-10-28 07:08 am UTC (link)
Here at Whirled Musings is an account of the squirming he's allegedly doing. I know there's already a link to that blog in the OP, but I just thought this text needed presenting so we can all see what a complete whackjob Ray and his bunch are, as is anyone who buys it (though depending on how you read the situation, they might have the excuse that they've been brainwashed).

"Next it’s important to surround yourself with healthy harmonic minded individuals who support you and love you. Hopefully you’ve connected with support, and if you haven't please, please do because this community is coming together like never before and there is lots of support around the world. I’m sending [unclear] to all those who took ill and also those that transitioned and left this physical life....."

"Send out to all those how have taken ill for their rapid healing and breakthrough for new level..."


(copypasted verbatim)

Reference is made by an assistant to: the two that had passed and they left their bodies during the ceremony and had so much fun they chose not to come back and that was their choice that they made.

Bold emphasis mine.

Scary thing is, I can even imagine the tone of voice they're saying this in; soft, calm, authoritative, unflappable... There's a, I don't know, a certain formulaic quality to the way the words are chosen and structured. And a familiar one, as if I've seen it all before somewhere else and it's just different bits being plucked as needed from a giant central repository of euphemistic bullshit. I can't help but borrow Jim Kirk's words to Spock from the latest Star Trek film: "You feel nothing! It must not even compute with you!"

So yeah: this walking atrocity and his scummy followers are already putting responsibility for the deaths onto the dead, and emphasizing what a joyous thing it really was underneath the grief. To Hell with them.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]honorh, 2009-10-28 01:58 pm UTC

mockygogo
2009-10-30 05:26 pm UTC (link)
latest update on this is that he cancelled the rest of his "retreats" for the year. Well that's mighty generous of you, Mr. Asshat.

(Reply to this)


 
   
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