Let's all remember that OJ Simpson was acquitted. Does anyone know if he's found the real killers yet?

Ray has hired very high-priced attorneys. I don't know if they're good, but if they are, well, anything can happen.

I hope the prosecution hires experts in persuasion to explain to the jury how the techniques Ray uses work. I note with great interest that Ray will be tried in Arizona, where the tragedy occurred. The world's foremost expert on persuasion, Robert Cialdini (he literally wrote the book on it, Influence:The Psychology of Persuasion) is Professor Emeritus of psychology at Arizona State.

Talk about Attraction!

O.J. Simpson's acquittal was pretty much about race. The L.A.P.D had/has a long and ugly history of abusive treatment of the black community, so the whole 'frame-up' theory was much more plausible to the jury. James Ray isn't going to get to use the "race card". He might try the religion card, but he's a motivational speaker and quasi-new age author, so even that looks like a pretty weak defense.

Quote
Penelope
O.J. Simpson's acquittal was pretty much about race. The L.A.P.D had/has a long and ugly history of abusive treatment of the black community, so the whole 'frame-up' theory was much more plausible to the jury. James Ray isn't going to get to use the "race card". He might try the religion card, but he's a motivational speaker and quasi-new age author, so even that looks like a pretty weak defense.

The OJ acquittal was not all about race. That is a dangerous over-simplification, probably retailed to prevent people from looking at the bigger issue, which is that OJ Simpson got the best justice money can buy.

American courts do not ask "is the accused guilty?" They ask, "can the accused be proved guilty?" Those are 2 very different, unrelated questions. Juries cannot convict a guilty man in US courts. They can only convict a man who's been proved guilty.

Marcia Clarke is an excellent lawyer who successfully prosecuted many violence against women cases, including the high-profile Rebecca Schaefer case, which changed California law.

As she herself has admitted, she was underprepared for the Simpson case,. Clark did not prove her case, and that is the reason the jury found Simpson not guilty. She thought, because she'd gotten previous convictions on much thinner evidence, that she'd convict Simpson. She was wrong.

Although if he'd been poor or even middle class, she'd have been right. Just sending PIs to dig up proof that Fuhrman perjured himself must have cost tens of thousands of dollars. Public defenders don't have that kind of money in their legal budgets, and neither do most journeyman defense attorneys.

OJ Simpson was guilty. I have no question about that. He wasn't proved guilty, and I have no question about that, either. The problems with the chain of evidence, and with witness vetting and preparation, were enough to sink Clark's case even without the perjury conviction of a main witness. There is absolutely no evidence jury nullification occurred.

The very serious problems with the prosecution case required great lawyers to uncover and exploit them -- great lawyers with an unlimited budget-- and that's what Simpson had.

So far, it looks like the police in the Ray case have learned a lot from the Simpson case. I hope that's enough to prove Ray guilty, but that's up to the prosecution. Ray certainly appears to have learned from the Simpson case, hence my post. And my fears.

Postscript 1:
At the point Simpson was tried, no US court had ever sentenced a millionaire to death. Simpson was charged with special circumstances, so, if convicted, the death penalty was almost assured. Make of that what you will.

Postscript 2:
The reaction to the Simpson verdict WAS largely about race. But that's a completely different issue, and hinges on the fact that very few people of any race understand American jurisprudence.

I do believe some white people were angry that a black person didn't go to jail for killing 2 white people, but I don't think that's a huge group of people.

Of course, many people of all races were very angry to see someone murder 2 people and be acquitted. This is where I hope James Ray doesn't come in, but I'm very aware he might.

Postscript 3:
Many black people who were happy about the Simpson verdict know perfectly well that he did it. They were just glad to see a rich black man get the same treatment a rich white man would get. Cause a rich white man with those lawyers would have walked. Sometimes people take equality wherever they can get it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2010 12:57PM by Christa.

Ray supporters are tweeting in celebration over this CNN story:

@JamesARay I always knew you would come out of this mess more sooner than later! Sorry you went through such an ordeal!
@JamesARay I was so glad to hear the news today.....your rampage of appreciation here on Twitter really payed off...congrats

Sweat lodge deaths ruled accidental
(CNN) -- The October deaths of three people who participated in a sweat lodge ceremony in Arizona have been ruled accidental, according to autopsy results released Wednesday.

Lizbeth Neuman, James Shore and Kirby Brown were among as many as 65 participants at a self-help guru's spiritual retreat near Sedona. As part of the "Spiritual Warrior" program led by best-selling author James Arthur Ray, participants sat for up to two hours inside a dome-like structure called a sweat lodge, which was covered in tarps and blankets, and had hot rocks and water inside to create steam.

Autopsy reports from the Yavapai County medical examiner show that shortly after arriving at a hospital on October 8, Shore, 40, and Brown, 38, died of heat stroke brought on by the sauna-like conditions inside the tent.

Neuman, 49, died October 17 from multiple-system organ failure as a result of prolonged exposure in the sweat lodge, according to the Coconino County medical examiner. Neuman's autopsy showed she also was suffering from anasarca -- fluid buildup in her tissues -- and jaundice at the time of her death.

At least 20 others were sickened during the ceremony.

Ray has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges in the deaths. His lawyers say he took necessary safety precautions during the program, such as hiring nurses and other medical professionals trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation to monitor the sweat lodge inside and out.

The incredible difficulty Ray's lawyers are going to have to overcome is the multiple witness testimonies. I believe the prosecution has over 60 witnesses. So what if Ray's lawyers get a couple who claim to have seen it differently? The purponderance of the testimonies will be heavily weighted on the side of guilty. And if the defence witnesses are lying, that should be evident to the jury -- in comparison to the large number of witnesses who are telling the truth.

For example, compare Josh and Megan Fredrickson's interview transcripts with the rest of the witnesses and see how pathetic their "inability to recall" is.

They are going to try to paint Ray as some hero who has helped millions, but that should be easily countered by obscene money-sucking practices he used. I doubt be will come across as a sympathic character to the jury.

Another good dig by Christa! Robert Cialidini is in Arizona

Bob Cialdini
Department of Psychology
Arizona State University
[cialdini.socialpsychology.org]
One has to wonder if his name or person will show up in court, as James Ray mis-uses and abuses many of the social influence techniques Robert Cialdini has written about, and has warned about.
James Ray even has a Cialdini book on his website as recommended reading. [jamesray.com]
Communication, Negotiation and Sales
Influence by Robert Cialdini

The other books on the reading list are about "holographic universe" and mysticism, to lead people down the rabbit hole which has no bottom.

A couple books dropped in there point to where James Ray was pushing his followers, into the extremist New Thought ideas. If a person tried to REALLY "believe" those New Thought ideas in these books, they would literally start to think they could overcome fire/heat, and walk on water, and literally "resurrect" themselves from the dead, literally, not metaphorically. They call that the ultimate Demonstration. If you BELIEVE hard enough, they tell people you can do "miracles".
These books on James Ray's list point directly to that, which might be called Extremist New Throught.
The Super Beings by John Randolph Price
Books by Thomas Troward


Carlos Castaneda and James Arthur Ray
Notice that James Ray says the ENTIRE LIST of Carlos Castaneda books MUST be read in order, to preframe and install the coercive tactics right from page one.
James Ray decided to copy (NLP Modeling) the COMPLETE conman cult leader plagiarist Carlos Castaneda's methods too [www.skepdic.com] This also sheds light on how Ray targets and grooms his female followers and his female DRESSED IN BLACK Death Angels [www.culteducation.com] just like Castaneda dressed his "witches" in black at his seminars. Has anyone pointed that out before?

Some former James Ray female insiders might be able to talk about what was going on behind closed doors? But this really does explain how and why James Ray was targeting his female followers so intensely, as he was copying and modeling himself after Carlos Castaneda, who he must of thought had a good thing going.


__________quote__________
[www.salon.com]
The dark legacy of Carlos Castaneda
"The godfather of the New Age led a secretive group of devoted followers in the last decade of his life. His closest "witches" remain missing, and former insiders, offering new details, believe the women took their own lives.
At the heart of Castaneda's movement was a group of intensely devoted women, all of whom were or had been his lovers. They were known as the witches, and two of them, Florinda Donner-Grau and Taisha Abelar, vanished the day after Castaneda's death...

In 1973, Castaneda purchased a compound on the aptly named Pandora Avenue in Westwood. The women, soon to be known both in his group and in his books as "the witches," moved in. They eventually came to sport identical short, dyed blond haircuts similar to those later worn by the Heaven's Gate cult. They also said they'd studied with don Juan.
- In keeping with the philosophy of "erasing personal history," they changed their names:
- Before entering the innermost circle, at least some followers were led into a position of emotional and financial dependence.
- At Tensegrity seminars, women dressed in black, the "chacmools," demonstrated moves for the audience
[www.salon.com]
____________________


QUOTE: [jamesray.com]
Please note: The following Castaneda books MUST be read in order.
The Teachings of Don Juan*
by Carlos Castaneda
A Separate Reality
by Carlos Castaneda
Journey to Ixtlan
by Carlos Castaneda
Tales of Power
by Carlos Castaneda
Second Ring of Power
by Carlos Castaneda
Eagle's Gift
by Carlos Castaneda
Fire From Within
by Carlos Castaneda
Power of Silence
by Carlos Castaneda
The Art of Dreaming
by Carlos Castaneda



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2010 08:04PM by The Anticult.

This James Ray trial will be a test, to see if a LGAT seminar Guru or a New Age sect leader can get away with having multiple customers of his group/sect die and get seriously injured at multiple events.

The concept of mind over matter in New Age circles isn't as extremist as you might think. Abraham-Hicks teach that you can do anything, I mean ANYTHING, if you're in emotional vibration with what you want. I remember someone asking if they could regrow a missing tooth and they said yes! of course you can! You can also ignore a cancer diagnosis and focus on postive thoughts and it will disappear. Neale Donald Walsh teaches you have Godlike power over your life and poor people can just choose not to be poor. He also says that we are designed to live forever physically and that our beliefs prevent us from doing so. Wayne Dyer talks about how he's manifested physical objects out of thin air.

Quote

"You've trained yourself to face reality. You've trained yourself to tell the truth. You've trained yourself to tell it like it is. So in the beginning, these fantasies feel a little inappropriate, because it's like you're fooling yourself. Sometimes people will say, "Well, isn't this just denial?" And we say, we hope so!--Abraham-Hicks

These are authors who have had books on the New York Times Best Sellers list.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2010 08:26PM by Penelope.

There are some comments about how James Ray copied Carlos Castaneda.
Search: James Ray "Carlos Castaneda"

James Ray copied dressing his insider female followers in black as his Death Angels from Castaneda.
And that is also where James Ray fabricated his bullshit about Peru and the Amazon, as Carlos Castaneda was from Peru.

Overview of Modeling in NLP by Robert Dilts [www.nlpu.com]
What James Ray did is use NLP Modeling to completely and precisely COPY the methods and material of Carlos Castaneda, he just cloned them. (along with others peoples material too).

Castaneda had his senior female followers cut their hair short and dye it blond. Did James Ray have his dye their hair black?
That is also where he copied the use of robes, rings, and other anchor material.

[saltydroid.info] “I packed up my robe and I packed up my ring and I packed up anything that you know he had sort of given me or that I have bought from him and shipped it back to their office.”

[blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com] "his foundation of beliefs come from the very controversial Carlos Castaneda. Read those books and maybe you will see where James Ray comes up with his "facing death".

More idiotic mind over matter crap by self-help new age gurus who aren't James Ray:



Chopra/Dyer; Creating your world:

"Dyer asks Deepak about some of the miracles he's seen, and Chopra makes reference to seeing saints who could have flowers grow at their feet as they walked. Dyer said, I know that's possible. The audience snickers, and Dyer finishes with, "I've seen that, too."

"In another exchange, Deepak tells of an advanced yogi in a classroom of pre-doctoral physiology students who pierced himself with a knife through his upper arm, but didn't bleed.

"A heckler in the front row said it was just a trick. At that moment, the yogi withdrew the blade and sprayed blood from the arterial wound all over the front row of spectators. But, instantly, he stopped the bleeding by going back into a controlled state of mind. Deepak said that is what mind control can do when it goes beyond ego, which was the reason for the momentary slip-up on stage when the yogi's concentration was interrupted."