Enlighten Us

source: Enlighten Us

This man's negligence kills people, he goes to prison for it, and then after his release he's right back at it. He feigns remorse and manages to shed some tears, but it becomes obvious that the tears are for himself. He clearly sees himself as the victim. The fact that this dangerous con man is still being booked as a keynote speaker is just chilling.

There are two categories of documentaries for me. Ones I have heard about the events but want an in depth picture of what happened or stories I have never heard of. This was the former. I had seen this story before but not this detailed. Mostly because you hear from the man himself. At first you think documentarians are there to tell his story in a sympathetic light, but as you watch you realize that is not the case at all. The craftiness of this film is that they don't have to call out James Ray as a charlatan, a hypocrite, a narcissist. He does that for them, the more you watch and listen the more he buries himself. It was in parts fascinating and infuriating. The fascination was in the subtlety of letting the viewer draw their own conclusion without having to state the conclusion of his character outright. It was infuriating to see this man who had a clear hand in the death of three people never take responsibility for it unless it was for profit. It was only on stage at his new attempts to rebuild his career as a self help guru that he ever even mentioned those who died, the tragedy of it, or claimed any responsibility. In all of his interviews he never did that. It is a glaring omission that is enlightening on just who he is while serving as a warning. Don't believe the facade of humility and sincerity. Because while he said over and over he wanted to help people, it's clear he only wanted to help himself.

Admittedly, spending 90 minutes in the presence of a charlatan, sociopath and murderer is not an easy watch. But this isn't a review of James Arthur Ray, who is a true and unparalleled exemplar of sleazebagism at its sleazebaggiest. This is a review of the documentary itself, which as others have pointed out quite eloquently, is a brilliant and very nuanced evocation of just how repulsive and predatory the "self-improvement" industry is, and even more fascinating, how utterly gullible, needy, and delusional its benighted victims are, collectively forking over billions of dollars each year to the coffers of soulless amoral con men like Ray. I turned this documentary off more than a couple of times in total disgust - but I kept turning it back on until I watched it to the end. And I ultimately came away from it with great respect for the director, who, as others have pointed out, managed to convict its subject with his own words alone, without one syllable of voice-over narrative. As H. L. Mencken pointed out many years ago, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

I first became aware of James Arthur Ray having seen him in "The Secret," a pretentious picture with an egregious message steeped in or at least with ties to New Thought bunkum. Humility; contentment; altruism. These are not the qualities promoted by most so-called self-help gurus and motivational speakers. The personal empowerment they preach often appeals to the selfish human ego and worldly desires for wealth and fame. Critics of this particular school of thought have described it as commercial (i.e. faux) spirituality. It is no wonder why it thus remains attractive to so many dupes and victims. ENLIGHTEN US profiles one such self-help guru who was rather popular back in the mid-Aughties until a tragic event occurred in October of 2009 in Sedona, Arizona, that saw to his downfall -- or what some Bible readers might say, his being humbled. The familiar proverb in speaking of pride, says that it precedes a fall. I've never met this guy nor would I want to, but based on what I've seen of him here and in "The Secret," he would be one of the last men I'd ever think would contain any valuable truths and insight. It is said that wisdom comes from old age and here I think of that hoary headed sage from the 1937 film "Lost Horizon" as an example of this. The documentary shows what some have described as a swellhead, atop the stage speaking to an audience, mostly always full of adoring female fans. Following the Sedona tragedy, a few of these former hero-worshippers begin to question their mentor's motivitational methods and it's no wonder why some of them went onto become disillusioned on account of the experience at the Sedona retreat, where it is said about 60 attendees were crammed into a tent and, fantastically, were willing participants in an endurance test of sorts, which to most folks would have been seen as an absolutely insane thing to do. I have never understood the need for self-appointed intermediaries, either as individuals or institutions, when it comes to matters of faith and spirituality. Here I am reminded of "Kumare" (2012), an excellent documentary about an ordinary man who pretends to be a guru, acquires a following, and all with the aim of teaching his students a truly powerful and yet simple lesson: that one needn't look up to a guru in one's solitary pursuit of self-knowledge and -improvement.

This documentary is random in the timeline.. annoying at best. He NEVER genuinely apologizes for anything... And points the blame of the deaths ON THOSE THAT DIED! HE is the victim. They address the Sweat-Lodge incident an hour into the film.. don't waste your time on the first hour.

You may call it whatever you like, but people who follow such cultist are to me just dumb. They are often exceptionally greedy as Ray is and as others have mentioned he is a positive narcissistic sociopath. Indeed, such risks with the lives of his hapless charges. I am often thinking these folks are well dressed, can pay Ray thousands of dollars to watch his act. That's a steep price to visit Oz, where there is a Wizard and the streets are paved with gold. He now is certainly a sociopath because he shows really no remorse or accepts responsibility for what he did. Indeed I consider Oprah a cult leader as well. The fragile and the greedy always think an easy way to wealth, love and success. But in the end, it really happens the old fashioned way, you have to earn it.

Don't waste your time! This felt more like a promotion for this guy's comeback. I agree with the other viewer that no interesting and/or difficult questions asked of him. His entire spiel through this documentary is about him helping people yet the very moment his people needed his help the most he casually walks back to his own quarters and takes a shower, call the lawyer and leaves them behind. What an absolute coward! People were laid on the ground dying and all he cared about was covering his ass pathetic. These questions are never raised in the documentary. It's all about his trials and tribulations after spending a meteor two years in jail meanwhile nothing is mentioned really of the his victims and their families.

I had to stop watching this documentary when this idiot was somehow back on stage after he served time in jail for killing 3 of his "friends"! They were killed in a sweat lodge of his design! He said that was a terrible time in his life filled with anguish and pain. Never once did he mention how it must've affected the deceased people's families. It was just a tough blow to him... and him alone! By the grace of God he is still here! This is such a pathetic display of humanity and I'm so disgusted with myself that I waisted 30 minutes of my life on it! Do not waste your time on this piece of poop!

Before watching this documentary I had never even heard of James Ray. I have always had a fascination with people who have personality disorders (narcissists, psychopaths, sociopaths, borderline personality disorder etc...) and especially with cult leaders. James Ray ticks off more than one of these boxes. James Ray built his empire through the pain of other people. He used their pain through methods that people have been using since time immemorial. He is the snake oil salesman of today. He would take people who desperately needed hope, then he would promise them the cure for that pain, convincing them that he had the recipe for the cure that could fix everything. He would tell them a story about how when things were bad for him and he was searching like they are now, he discovered this way to fix everything and now he wanted to share that cure and help others. He employed techniques that cult leaders have perfected over time. He would rip their world and all their self worth apart and then he would give them a moment of euphoria aided by everyone else there. They would watch as he tore into them, believing his lies about how he did this to heal them and out of love. Then they would have what he called a breakthrough which in truth was really that he had successfully reprogrammed their whole way of seeing things and then he and all the others would love bomb them. These moments felt so good after all of that and the result was that they would become addicted to these breakthroughs. This entire situation was a recipe for disaster. The more people followed him and paid to be put through this over and over, the more you could see tragedy looming on the horizon. Sedona was that tragedy. This is a powerful documentary and not for the reasons James Ray wanted. I would suggest it to anyone.