PHOENIX — Self-help guru James Arthur Ray is attempting a comeback but this one is going to be a little different.
It is also not sitting well with people affected by the sweat lodge but James Arthur Ray is back to offering his self-help advice.
The latest is a new video blog posted late Monday night that was shot on a webcam. This is not the way we are used to seeing self-help guru James Arthur Ray who is usually in front of large audiences.
Ray says in the post, “You might be aware that I don’t have a company any longer so I’m unable to produce the live events.” He goes on to say, “So I’m going to ask you to join me here on the internet and we’ll get together on a regular basis.”
Ray also started tweeting advice to followers on Twitter. His online activity has sparked a backlash from former followers and their families.
[…]James Arthur Ray’s trial begins in August.
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Ray invites people to join him online at least once a week so he can share tools and techniques, and insight and knowledge to deal with life’s challenges.
His attorneys have said his Carlsbad, Calif.-based company, James Ray International, hasn’t been bringing in revenue for months.
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Ray, who was charged with three counts of manslaughter, also said, “I, the families €¦ in fact, everybody who’s been touched by these accidents in Sedona has been through a lot in the last several months.”
That statement was particularly offensive to relatives of Kirby Brown, one of the three people who died at the sweat lodge event in Sedona, Ariz.
“Lumping himself in with the families, saying he’d been through a lot was particularly hurtful because I don’t ever want him to compare his experience with ours,” said Tom McFeeley, Brown’s cousin.
Liz Neuman’s daughter, after seeing the online video, thinks Ray ought to silence himself.
“If he truly felt bad about what’s happened to the families and people he’s affected he would just keep quiet during this time,” said Neuman’s daughter, Andrea Puckett.
During the sweat lodge ceremony, witnesses said it was obvious the victims were in distress. However, Ray reportedly stood by and did nothing.
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