Self-help guru cancels ALL events following Sedona deaths

SEDONA, AZ--Motivational Speaker James Arthur Ray has announced he will cancel all scheduled events for the rest of the year.

In a message posted on his website, Ray wrote, "I'm postponing all the events I had planned for the remainder of 2009. These events will be rescheduled as soon as possible in 2010—once the essential work that must be done on the Sedona tragedy has been completed."

Ray organized the "Spiritual Warrior" retreat near Sedona where three people died and several more were hospitalized. 

In the statement, Ray writes, "In the days following the terrible accident, I struggled to respond in the right way. This is the most emotionally wrenching situation I've ever faced, and it's now clear I must dedicate all of my physical and emotional energies to helping bring some sort of closure to this matter. That means helping the authorities and the families get to the bottom of what happened."

Earlier this month, detectives searched Ray's California offices for information on the organization of the retreat. 

So far, Ray has not spoken with Yavapai County Sheriff's detectives about what happened at the Angel Valley resort where the retreat was held. 

FLAGSTAFF, AZ -- Motivational speaker James Arthur Ray held a telephone conference call with many of the participants in a sweat lodge ceremony that left two people dead, according to people on the call who provided a transcript to The Associated Press on Thursday.

In the call Wednesday, Ray stressed the importance of eating healthy food, exercising, resting, meditation and surrounding themselves with "like-minded individuals."

"Remember all that we've learned and experienced and knowing by law of the universe that out of every apparent chaos comes a greater state of order, an order that never existed prior to the chaos," he said, after asking those on the conference call to imagine themselves standing in a prayer circle.

Ray said he used the call as a way to provide closure to those attending his five-day "Spiritual Warrior" retreat outside Sedona, according to the transcript. Ray's spokesman, Howard Bragman, confirmed the telephone conference was held.

Two people died and 19 others were injured after being overcome in the Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony led by Ray. One person remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Ray stopped short of apologizing to participants for not being at the Angel Valley Retreat Center the morning after the deaths, saying "I hope you understand it certainly wasn't my wish not to be with you and bring you some kind of closure."

Ray declined to be interviewed by the sheriff's office on the night of the incident and returned to California.

A woman identified as Barb told the callers that a channeler at the retreat last Friday said the deceased had an out-of-body experience during the sweat lodge ceremony and "were having so much fun that they chose not to come back."

Authorities have said 55 to 65 people were crowded in the 415 square-foot, makeshift sweat lodge over a two-hour period. An emergency call said two people -- Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee -- had no pulse and weren't breathing.

They died upon arrival at an area hospital. Fire officials said the surviving victims exhibited symptoms ranging from dehydration to kidney failure.

Brown's cousin, Tom McFeeley, said he listened to the call and he provided the transcript.

LOS ANGELES -- The man in charge of a spiritual retreat in Arizona that left two people dead after they were overcome in a sweat lodge said Tuesday night he is facing a difficult time and "being tested" by the tragedy.

The comments from self-help expert and author James Arthur Ray came during a seminar at a Marina del Rey hotel.

Ray broke down in tears as he addressed the deaths.

"This is the most difficult time I've ever faced," he told the crowd of about 200. "I don't know how to deal with it really."

When an audience member asked Ray to describe what happened, he declined to elaborate, saying only that he has hired his own investigative team and is cooperating with authorities.

"We're looking for answers," he said. "I'm as frustrated and confused as other people are."

Ray led a group of more than 50 people last week through a five-day program intended to push people beyond their limits.

The course included a Thursday sweat lodge ceremony, which ended tragically in the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee.

Nineteen other people were hurt, and one remains in critical condition.

Earlier Tuesday, Tom McFeeley, Brown's cousin and family spokesman, called on Ray to assure that the retreat's participants "were not mistreated and not put in a reckless situation.

"He was someone people believed in, people paid good money to get his advice," McFeeley said. "It's a person we all wanted to believe had our best interest in mind. Quite simply, that didn't happen."