Another aspect of James Ray that has not been examined, and is being missed, is his use of LANGUAGE and METAPHORS.
For example, he recently used this phrase.

QUOTE: [blog.jamesray.com] "I have taken heat for that decision"

Some people have suggested that was a mistake in unintentional bad taste on the part of James Ray..."taken heat".
Its not.
Those who think that is a mistake, are not familiar with the verbal and linguistic techniques used by these types of advanced persuaders.

That is a deliberate use of the same METAPHOR that James Ray uses in his fake "sweat lodge", of course. It has a double message, one for the public, one for his own people.
That is an attempt to speak directly to the unconscious mind, using a verbal-visual metaphor.

Many people teach how to do this, like Stever Robbins program called Mastering Metaphors. [forum.culteducation.com]

The entire fake "sweat lodge" structure by James Ray is actually a real world metaphor. There are many aspects to it. But one of the most important, is that this Death Lodge was literally that, an oxygen deprived tent, where staying in too long is lethal.
But recall how James Ray sat right by the door, and CONTROLLED access to the door.

James Ray was not weak from fasting, or dehydrated, and was getting oxygen, so he was not in danger. But he controlled access to "the door".
Considering he is messing around with Shamanic metaphors, James Ray put himself as being in control of the door between life and death. If he lets you out, you live, if not, you die.
Again, the actual and metaphorical and symbolic power of this for his followers is very intense. For those who come out of an experience like that alive, it can ANCHOR that image of James Ray deep inside their unconcious and psyche, on an emotional level.
And that can last for many years, or for life.

This is how these Guru's get people to look at them as if they are some type of God. They also play games, and role play being a God, to reinforce that belief from other angles in people's unconscious minds.

So please don't underestimate James Ray and his ilk. They have had a lot of training in using language and metaphors, and many other techniques to influence people in an extremely powerful way.
The phrase "taken heat" is an embedded metaphor.

Its almost unbelievable how little the public and media is aware of those advanced types of linguistic persuasion techniques.

well, the book INFLUENCE by Cialdini is an important read, and its the most ethical and namby pamby stuff out there! That is only the mere beginning.
But knowledge is the best defense for the public, so from this perspective, Cialdini would go into the helpful column.
of course, the ONLY people who really read and APPLY stuff from Cialdini, are the people who are motivated to use those techniques and influence methods to make money, or in politics.

All the New Ager spiritual people should force themselves to read 1 Sales/Influence/Persuasion book, for every New Age book.
Guys like James Ray, even though he is technically a supersalesman with capped teeth and a fake smile, is actually a pretty effective mass persuader. He is only 2nd rate, but even being 2nd rate is not easy.
The main "skill" guys like James Ray have is ruthlessness.

Its hard to believe sometimes, but go and work for an LGAT company for a year or two, and see how it works backstage. Very different.
See how the SALES techniques work, and how the 100% commission sales people CLOSE THE SALE, and get those signed contracts for 30K for seminars.

Quote
buffman
I started to read Influence, but the introduction made me nauseous. The fact that Cialdini teaches social psychology to manipulate groups to marketers and others is extremely unethical in my opinion. I thought his book was going to be about how to prevent being influenced, but most people who've read it and rave about it are in the business of engineering consent.

Again, lots of good points in the post by "buffman". [forum.culteducation.com]

Its certainly an error to project James Rays "intent" as being something positive for people at large.
That is his salespitch, he is mainly in it for his own Ego and mansion, Rolex, cars, Ego...
Of course, every LGAT Guru is surrounded by brown-nosers trying to get his/her approval, so they tell the Guru what he wants to hear. And those who complain, go to the BBB, or small claims court, or get hurt, or die, they are the "whiners" to the Guru.
so sure, James Ray probably thinks he is Jesus Christ II when he looks in the mirror.
A manic part of him probably does think he is going to reform society.
But usually not, usually they know its hype, and are very realistic when it comes down to the cash.
People are getting hurt, and robbed blind. He knows what is happening to people, they have been actively concealing it, like with Colleen Conaway.
Read the James Ray waiver [forum.culteducation.com] its all there. People get seriously hurt in every way, and die. Its there in black and white.

But James Ray "intent" is certainly looking after #1, and the Virtue of Selfishness, if you will.
But the effects of these LGAT are mainly damaging. Many people get hurt, bankrupt, or at best their life stays the same or worse, in exchange for being ripped off 30K.
This is why not ONE LGAT has ever carried out a controlled study for results.
None of them have a money back guarantee either, NO REFUNDS.

At the very top of the LGAT, like Tony Robbins Mastery University, the ultimate lesson you learn is...you can sell people illusions for 50K. That's it, for real. Robbins knows he is selling illusions, he even admits it in the end, for those who are listening.

Tony Robbins might not be a monster, just a monstrous Ego. He has been doing the most advanced influence work his entire adult life, he learned from the best, in person.
He may have toned it down a little recently, as he's pretty much made it.
But many have been bankrupted by him and his company. Tony Robbins would eat James Ray's breakfast.

PSI seminars are horrible, there are many reports in this forum of psychosis from PSI. The stress of the LGAT triggers psychosis in a lot of people. That is a fact.

The "stories" told by Robbins/Ray and others, are NEVER "true". They are "stories" with embedded metaphors and language patterns, with a message in them. They lie like sidewalks. For example, when Robbins used to tell the "story" of how he bought his 1 million house in 1 year, later he admitted the story was fabricated, when caught.
They call them Teaching Tales, from Ericksonian hypnosis. See the Byron Katie thread for that. [forum.culteducation.com]
These guys all make up "stories" for a living.

James Ray is still a successful cold-caller, that is what he does with his "free seminars". He is the fisherman, and people are the fish, and he throws the hook out there looking for easy targets.

The Denver story was awesome. But these Gurus have their bodyguards now, and never appear in the media unless they have the advantage and control.

There is a ton of info about the NLP hypnosis based persuasion in the Byron Katie thread, that is what she mainly does too.
Byron Katie (the Work) [forum.culteducation.com]

Tony Robbins deliberately pushes people into a manic state, even mania, as he knows that is when they will get overexcited and sign the contract for 30K for Mastery University! They also associate peak states to Tony Robbins.

Of course, the early NLP stuff can be used ethically, but those guys are few and far betweenif not extinct. The sharks have eaten all the small fish, and taken over the tank many years ago.

I think you've misunderstood Watzlawick's story. I've also read this book. Watzlawick asked Milton Erickson whether Erickson was Don Juan, and Erickson said no. I don't think Watzlawick ever had any connection with Castaneda except from reading his books.

I personally consider Erickson to be an amazing psychotherapist, and a basically ethical one too from what I've read and the people I've talked with who knew him. Some shady manipulators portray Ericksonian hypnosis as techniques for manipulation, but I think Erickson would be horrified to hear that this is how his work is being portrayed. Erickson required that everyone he taught have an MA or higher in Psychology, and the Erickson foundation still will only sell materials to those with an advanced degree in Psychology. Meanwhile Cialdini seems like he will consult with anyone.

I'm not saying there aren't some shady people who teach Ericksonian hypnosis, but there are also some very ethical folks too like Stephen Gilligan. Gilligan talks about there being multiple kinds of trance, both of life-enhancing trances and life-destroying ones. Clearly James Arthur Ray is a master of the latter, but to throw out all techniques of change that mention hypnosis would be too much in my opinion.

I know a lot about metaphors as well. Majored in linguistics in college, love Lakoff and Johnson, etc.

I think you might be stretching this example as an example of manipulative communication, but I'm not sure. How specifically does "taken heat" function as a manipulative metaphor?

Once you start looking for metaphors in communication, you see that they are in absolutely every sentence, as Lakoff makes clear in Metaphors We Live By. Perhaps Ray is intentionally using a manipulative metaphor here, or perhaps you are reading more into it than is already there. The tendency for paranoia when dealing with manipulative characters can overstate what they are actually doing.

Another example is that not one person in the media, has picked up the most blatant phrase right on the front of James Ray's website.

[jamesray.com] "When would NOW be the time to once and for all enjoy total abundance.."

That is basic, pure NLP based hypnotic suggestion language patterning, done rather poorly. Its right in your face. But even then, people don't see it.

He inserted the word NOW, which comes directly from Richard Bandler's hypnosis work, which goes back to Ericksonian hypnotherapy.
Its Trance-logic.

When would NOW be the time...
Future tense and present tense at the same time.

Again, done very poorly, but no one sees it.
But to the trained eye, you see that, and instantly you see this James Ray douchebag is trying to use hypnotic language patterns to manipulate you.

He has more junk further down.

QUOTE: "My name is James Arthur Ray, and if you nod your head "yes" to at least some of the following, you've certainly come to the right place..."

Its just pathetic. He embedded the command NOD YOUR HEAD YES. That is creating a YES SET, and many people will NOD their head YES just reading it. They start with a small yes, and then build it up with dozens and hundreds of yes, until you say yes to signing a contract for 20K.

This is basic stuff, childsplay, very badly done. Very amateur.
Yet literally no one in the media, or almost anywhere can see it?

From reading a few sentences on the guys website, you see he is an amateur hypnotist, trying to use those patterns to manipulate the reader. And he gets away with it.

To the trained eye, you would not buy an 8-track cassette off this guy for a nickle.
Just awful.

But again, James Ray makes up for his lack of skill and talent, with a sociopathic ruthlessness in his brutal sales techniques, and his targeting of a new age demographic.
Its scary he's made so much money so fast, not a good sign.
He's is one of the most obvious and blatant guys out there.

He was identified here as a blatant scam almost 3 years ago in minutes. [forum.culteducation.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2009 06:04AM by The Anticult.

A former associate of James Ray named Mickey Reynolds, says it was the Oprah show that "made" James Ray, which is true. [www.cbsnews.com]

James Ray was a small time player, until Oprah shilled for the guy by putting him on her The Secret Oprah show a few times, without checking him out. It was obvious to any trained person he was a ruthless scam artist.
And Oprah literally made him a multimillionaire, by not allowing a single CRITIC on the same show to point out where the BS hits the road.
Right on the Oprah message boards, there were serious complaints about James Ray.

Its like a pump and dump scam. Oprah pumps them, they make their money, and then dumps them.

Shame on Oprah, for unleashing such a ruthless scam artist on her naive audience. They have no idea of what hit them.


[forum.culteducation.com]
February 17, 2007
Oprah has also unleashed 2 more new Age Gurus on the soccer moms of America to be milked like fattened cattle.
James Ray: who is a new Werner Erhard type, very slick and sleazy, and who is a Tony Robbins clone, repeating Robbins exact words verbatim, over and over.
He said there is World Peace in HIS world, because he ignores the world.
Oprah just crowned this sleazy salesman James Ray the new Werner Erhard. There were some horrible complaints about this guy on the Oprah boards, people getting ripped off 10K, and lots of people burning their feet in his "fire-walk" and not being allowed to go to the hospital. This guy is very bad.

A pretty good news article here for once.
At least they mention the death clause in his waiver, and how it supposedly covers James Ray even if James Ray is negligent, have to see how that stands up.

Sweat-lodge guru: A story of ups, downs Cracks form in motivational mogul's empire [www.azcentral.com]#

In an understated way, they point out some of the lies and "STORIES" of James Ray.
He says he was poor and a nerd, yet someone who knew him says he was well-dressed, ambitious and middle class.
More stories and lies from the Guru of his mythological past.

The so-called financial information coming from the James Ray company, is simply bullshit. It can't be verified, as its a private company. They are probably just exaggerating to make themselves sound bigger than they are. They can't be trusted at all to report anything near accurate.

James Ray says he:
QUOTE: "Ray wrote, he fell into a depression and traveled to the Sinai Desert, wandering for 10 days before ending up in a mountain cave where Moses was believed to have stayed before receiving the Ten Commandments.
"This is where it all came together for me - where the final pieces of harmonic wealth and the quantum-physics material I had studied for a decade took form," he wrote."


This is so fucking bad, its worse than a joke! Like they say, if you are going to lie, tell a big lie. So James Ray is planting the seed he is the New Moses, and also a master of "quantum physics" even though he literally knows nothing about it, of course.

Sorry to be blunt, but that is literally the credulity test, or some salesmen might call it the sucker test.
Salesmen like James Ray deliberately put some stupid wacko stuff into their material, as that automatically filters out critical thinkers, which he doesn't want, as they are not going to buy anything.
He wants customers who will believe almost anything.

Like in one video, he talks about "zero point energy", and the amount of energy in 1 cubic meter being enough to boil the earths oceans, or some such meaningless drivel.
That is a credulity test.
That is a sucker test.
If you don't break out laughing, James Ray wants you as a follower.
Especially in his World Wealth Society, where you pay him $20,000 in free money, to join a conference call with him from time to time. (that is copied from others who have "exclusive groups" that PAY big money to hang out with the Guru once a year or so).
They then bilk those folks of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands if they have it.

Its all just by the book LGAT seminar company stuff.
None of it so far is original, other than the EXTREME lengths that James Ray will go, and the serious harm he's willing to cause directly to people.
One will have to see how that is going to play out.

Not a chance on that, but people can believe what they want.

The entire Sedona seminar was about "taking heat", the heat of the desert, the heat of the sweat lodge, the heat of James Ray.
He chooses his written words very carefully.
One of his followers also said Ray was in the tent, so he was risking his life too in the heat.

James Ray is directly uses those language metaphors in persuasion.
He does it badly, I will grant that, and not very elegantly. But he's trying to do it.
He's trying to say that he's the victim, he's "taken heat".
When in fact its literally the heat that killed those people.

Its a clumsy attempt to use those language patterns others use much more effectively.

Quote
buffman
I know a lot about metaphors as well. Majored in linguistics in college, love Lakoff and Johnson, etc.

I think you might be stretching this example as an example of manipulative communication, but I'm not sure. How specifically does "taken heat" function as a manipulative metaphor?

Once you start looking for metaphors in communication, you see that they are in absolutely every sentence, as Lakoff makes clear in Metaphors We Live By. Perhaps Ray is intentionally using a manipulative metaphor here, or perhaps you are reading more into it than is already there. The tendency for paranoia when dealing with manipulative characters can overstate what they are actually doing.

Unforunately, you'd have to read a large chunk of the Byron Katie thread to get a sense of what was said about how the Milton Erickson material fits into this.
Dr. Erickson was great, as I have said in that thread many times, he probably was a genius, a real one. He was also a licensed MD and hypnotherapist.
Erickson would be outraged by these crooks running around and trying to screw with peoples minds to rape and pillage.

Its a very complex technical area, of course.
But in this forum, its mainly about focussing on the serious abuses of these techniques.
Very serious harm can be done in the advanced seminars.

Quote
buffman
.

I personally consider Erickson to be an amazing psychotherapist, and a basically ethical one too from what I've read and the people I've talked with who knew him. Some shady manipulators portray Ericksonian hypnosis as techniques for manipulation, but I think Erickson would be horrified to hear that this is how his work is being portrayed. Erickson required that everyone he taught have an MA or higher in Psychology, and the Erickson foundation still will only sell materials to those with an advanced degree in Psychology. Meanwhile Cialdini seems like he will consult with anyone.
...Clearly James Arthur Ray is a master of the latter, but to throw out all techniques of change that mention hypnosis would be too much in my opinion.