James Arthur Ray (November 22, 1957 – January 3, 2025) was an American self-help businessman, motivational speaker, author and convicted felon who was found guilty in 2011 of causing three deaths through negligent homicide.

[16] Ray was an advocate of the pseudoscientific Law of Attraction; his teachings have been described as "including a mix of spirituality, motivational speaking, and quantum physics".

"[17] Ray has advocated for the New Thought belief that positive thinking can heal physical ailments, and he has claimed to have used willpower to stay free of all illness.

After several unsuccessful untrained attempts, the woman sustained multiple fractures during the seminar that was held at Walt Disney World.

[20] Also in 2005 a serious injury involving hospitalization was reported at the Angel Valley Ranch during a "Spiritual Warrior" retreat led by Ray.

Verde Valley Fire Chief Jerry Doerksen's department responded to an emergency call that a 42-year-old man had fallen unconscious after exercises inside a sweat lodge.

[21][22][23] Participants of a James Ray "Spiritual Warrior" exercise in 2006, after signing waivers, were told to put the sharp point of an arrow used in archery against the soft part of their necks and lean against the tip.

A man named Kurt sustained injuries during this exercise as the shaft snapped and the arrow point deeply penetrated his eyebrow.

[24] In July 2009, Colleen Conaway attended a seminar hosted by James Ray International, Inc. in which the attendees were directed to dress as homeless people.

[25][26] On October 8, 2009, at a New Age "Spiritual Warrior" retreat conceived and hosted by Ray at the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Yavapai County near Sedona, Arizona, two participants, James Shore and Kirby Brown, died as a result of being in a nontraditional sweat lodge exercise for several hours, personally conducted by Ray.

[28] The attendees, who had paid up to $10,000 to participate in the retreat, had fasted for 36 hours during what was claimed to be a vision quest exercise before the next day's purported sweat lodge.

During this period of fasting, participants were left alone in the Arizona desert with a sleeping bag, although Ray had offered them Peruvian ponchos for an additional $250.

[29] After this experience, participants ate a large buffet breakfast before entering the nontraditional structure built for what they had been told would be a sweat lodge ceremony.

[54] The Oglala Lakota Delegation also claimed that James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center fraudulently impersonated Indians and must be held responsible for causing the deaths of three people and injuries of nineteen others, and destroying evidence by dismantling the structure they constructed for this fatal, heat-endurance competition which they claimed was a sweat lodge ceremony.

[60] Kirby Brown's parents have challenged motivational speakers and self-help gurus to sign a pledge of integrity, the "Seek Safely" promise.

[61] In the documentary, director Jenny Carchman explores the origins of the self-help industry, what attracts followers, and tries to answer why devotees are willing to take such risks.

[62] In the film, Carchman asks Ray directly how he could have caused these people's deaths, to which he replies: "It had to happen, because it was the only way I could experience and learn and grow through the things that I've done.

In it, Stroud shines a light on Ray's methods and actions that caused the deaths of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore in 2009.