3rd person dies in Ariz. sweat lodge; suit planned

By FELICIA FONSECA, Associated Press Writer
Sun Oct 18, 8:15 pm ET

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The family of a Minnesota woman who died more than a week after being overcome in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony said Sunday that she prided herself on leading a healthy and active life.

Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake suffered multiple organ damage and was in a coma before she died Saturday at a Flagstaff hospital. She was among dozens crowded into the sweat lodge on Oct. 8 at a resort just outside Sedona, a town 115 miles north of Phoenix that draws many in the New Age spiritual movement.

"She always had a smile on her face, and her positive attitude was contagious to those around her," her family said in statement. "She was loved and will be missed by many."

Louis Diesel, an attorney for her family, said appropriate measures were not taken to prevent Neuman's death and that he was planning a lawsuit on their behalf.

"She left this world way too soon," he said Sunday.

Self-help expert and author James Arthur Ray had rented the Angel Valley Retreat Center for his five-day "Spiritual Warrior" event that culminated in a sweat lodge ceremony.

Between 55 and 65 people were in the makeshift sweat lodge over a two-hour period, and authorities said participants were highly encouraged but not forced to remain inside for the entire time. An emergency call reported two people without a pulse and not breathing.

Twenty-one people were taken to area hospitals with illnesses ranging from dehydration to kidney failure. Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, died upon arrival at a hospital. No one else remains hospitalized.

Sheriff's investigators in Arizona's Yavapai County are treating the deaths as homicides but have yet to determine the cause. Autopsy results for Brown and Shore were pending.

Investigators are looking into the construction of the sweat lodge, the fact that people had fallen ill at previous sweat ceremonies led by Ray and questionable medical care on site as they try to determine whether criminal negligence contributed to the deaths and illnesses.

Authorities have said a nurse hired by Ray was directing rescue efforts including CPR when emergency crews arrived.

Ray is the primary focus of the probe but others also are being investigated, Sheriff Steve Waugh has said.

Ray wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday that he was deeply saddened by the news of death of Neuman, whom he had known for more than seven years.

"Liz was an amazing woman who touched so many lives" he wrote. "She'll be cherished and remembered by all. Liz, you're in our hearts forever. My continued love, prayers and support go out to her family in this time of grief and loss."

Neuman had attended Ray's events in the past and served as the leader of a Minneapolis-area "Journey Expansion Team," according to Ray's Web site. The teams, developed by Ray's friends and followers around the country, meet to exchange ideas on his principles.

Ray's pricey retreats are meant to push people beyond their physical and emotional limits, but some people have questioned whether the participants were pushed too far. The "Spiritual Warrior" event is arguably the most physical of Ray's events, and participants paid between $9,000 and $10,000 to attend.

They engaged in a 36-hour fast during a "vision quest" in the nearby wilderness and were served a breakfast buffet before entering the sweat lodge, authorities said.

Ray declined to be interviewed by the sheriff's office on the night of the incident and Arizona authorities said he had not spoken to them as of Thursday. Ray said he has hired his own investigative team.

His spokesman, Howard Bragman, has said that Ray's team and Ray's attorney are cooperating with the sheriff's investigators.

"I think it was a horrible tragedy," Bragman said Sunday. "I'm still saying we have to find out what happened."

Let's face it, in our culture (no matter what people say), uniqueness is not rewarded.

When you were in kindergarten, you were taught to color inside the lines. When it was time to snack, you snacked, and when it was time to take a nap, you took a nap.

Conformity was a highly-rewarded virtue.

In elementary school, it became even more important to be just like everyone else. If you dressed a little differently, you were laughed at. If you spoke funny, you were ridiculed. And God forbid you had your own ideas and opinions...

In high school and college, it became absolutely critical to fit in... But by this time, you were good at it. You knew what was expected of you, and if there was any way you could, you delivered.
Well boys and girls, it's time for a wake-up call...
Look around—who's really making it?

Who are the movers and shakers?

My goodness... Yesterday's biggest nerd is today's richest man in the world (and he doesn't even have a college degree). Do you think he colored inside the lines? Hardly.

So here you are, attempting to achieve your heart's desires, and all you've ever been trained to do is stay within the lines and do what everyone else does.

You want more?

You can't just do more to get more... you've got to do things differently. That's the difference between winners and also-rans.

In Spiritual Warrior, 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!"

It wasn't until I had completely mastered these concepts and techniques that I was able to combine them with state of the art scientific technology and, as always, create practical real-life applications (you should know my style by now).

Check it out:
You'll accelerate the releasing of your limitations and push yourself past your self-imposed and conditioned borders (no more coloring inside the lines)...

You'll carve out your own destiny and quickly develop the strength and determination to live it...

You'll learn (and apply) the awesome power of "integrity of action"...

You will (perhaps for the first time in your life), have a gut level understanding of "The Four Enemies of Power." You'll learn to recognize them at a glance, and instantly defeat them when they arise...

You'll define and enforce your own boundaries—without someone else telling you what they should be...

You'll experience a new technologically-enhanced form of meditation that creates new neurological pathways, allowing you to experience powerful whole-brain thinking (this one's gonna knock your socks off)...

You'll experience, at the spiritual level, the ancient methodologies of Samurai Warriors; and gain a true understanding of the authority and strength that come from a life of honor...
Look, you've most probably spent your whole life staying within the lines to get what you've got (or at least a major portion of it). Join me outside the lines in this heroic quest for higher consciousness...
There is no sacrifice—only greater and more magnificent results, wealth, adventure and fulfillment.

(and a few other places I don't care to recall).

i.e. his ass, with his fingers, without gloves and not in the shower, all the way to his colon.