Camp Verde, Arizona (CNN) -- A participant in a 2009 Arizona sweat lodge ceremony that left three people dead testified Thursday that he asked a volunteer if he had died and was told, "No, you came back." 

Dennis Mehravar, a real estate salesman from Canada, testified that self-help author and speaker James Ray, who led the event, told him he had been reborn. 

Ray is accused of three counts of manslaughter in the deaths of three people who were in the sweat lodge for the purification ceremony. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison on each count. 

Mehravar, asked if he would have assisted someone next to him who was dying, said he would normally have done so, but the conditions in the lodge made that difficult. "I wasn't 100% aware, alert of what was going on around me." 

Responding to a follow-up question, Mehravar said he would have waited until a round was over to ask for help. The sweat lodge ceremony consisted of eight rounds, with each round lasting 10 to 15 minutes. While they were not prevented from leaving, participants have said they were encouraged to wait until the breaks between rounds. 

Mehravar said he would not have tried to stop the ceremony: "I don't think I would. I know it doesn't sound logical." 

"I think Mr. Ray would have got upset if I had interrupted the ceremony," he said. 

Prosecutors maintain Ray psychologically pressured participants to remain in the lodge even when they weren't feeling well, contributing to the deaths of the three victims. 
Did Mehravar know what was going on around him in the lodge?
Mehravar, asked if he would have assisted someone next to him who was dying, said he would normally have done so, but the conditions in the lodge made that difficult. "I wasn't 100% aware, alert of what was going on around me." 