Michael Jackson, Religion and the Paranormal

[Since the death of Michael Jackson I've been asked by some what his religious beliefs were. Here is what I found.

For the most part it is believed that Michael Jackson did not officially practice any one religion devoutly, although, he did explore different alternative religions throughout his life.

Michael Jackson's parents were Jehovah's Witnesses, he was born a Jehovah's witness, and practiced this religion for a short period of time after his hit 'Thriller' was released.

In 1987, when the Jehovah witnesses criticized his album , Michael Jackson announced that he was no longer a member of this religious following.

In 2007, he briefly took interest in Islam when his brother Jermaine was converting to Islam. There is speculation that Michael Jackson converted in November 2008, however no official statement or confirmation of these rumors have ever been made or been publicly released by him or his publicists. However you can read about his possible conversion here, here and here.

For a brief period of time he wore a red string on his left wrist, a symbol of Kabbalah.

Below is an article published today about Jackson's fascination with the paranormal that I found interesting. - J.S.]

Michael Jackson, Ghosts and the Paranormal
The King of Pop's connections to psychics and spirits

By Stephen Wagner, About.com

WHEN MY DAUGHTER was two years old, back in 1982, she used to love to watch Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video on MTV. She never seemed to be bothered by the sight of decaying zombies crawling out of graves, or of Jackson himself transforming into a werewolf. I guess she just liked the music.

In the early 1980s, Jackson began to transform into something quite stranger than a werewolf, of course, as a result of multiple plastic surgeries. What he became makes the title here, "Michael Jackson and the Paranormal," sound like the premise of a joke or at least a redundancy, but that's not my intention. Despite his obvious talent, it's hard to imagine a person weirder than Jackson was at times, from his grotesque appearance to his quirky behavior – a bizarre image he seemed to have purposely cultivated. But we'll leave all that (and other matters) for others to judge.

Beyond the imaginary elements of "Thriller," Michael Jackson did have real-life connections to the world of the paranormal.

URI GELLER

Jackson was close friends with controversial psychic Uri Geller. In fact, in March, 2001 when Geller and his wife retook their wedding vows in a well-publicized ceremony, Jackson stood in as best man.

Apparently, Jackson first learned about Geller when he was a small boy through some books about the psychic, and was particularly fascinated by his spoon-bending and telepathic abilities. Many years later, they were formally introduced by Mohammed Al Fayed (the father of Dodi Fayed, who was killed in the car crash that also took the life of Princess Diana). Jackson urged Geller to come to New York to meet him, which he did. Jackson rented a movie theater for Geller, Jackson and Jackson's son Prince for a private screening of The Matrix, which features a scene of psychic spoon bending, probably inspired by Geller's trademark feat.

Geller was even invited to attend one of Jackson's recording sessions in 2000 or 2001. Reportedly, Geller meditated over the recording tapes to "energize" them.

Geller was also a staunch defender of Jackson regarding his legal troubles involving minors. According to Geller, back in 2001 he hypnotized Jackson to help cure an urge for peanut butter. While Jackson was under, Geller also asked him about his alleged sexual molestation of children. "He answered me under deep hypnosis that he had never touched a child in a sexual way," Geller told CBS News. "He said – and here I'm using his exact words – 'My relations with children are very beautiful.' I'm a good hypnotist, and I know who is trying to mislead me. I can see straight into the subject's eyes ... [Jackson] didn't fool me, I'm absolutely sure of it."

And there's another psychic in Jackson's corner. Jacqueline Stallone, mother of actor Sylvester Stallone, claims to be a clairvoyant and has been doing psychic readings and making predictions for years. In fact, she correctly predicted that Arnold Schwarzenegger would become Governor of California. In November, 2003, Stallone told the MSNBC source The Scoop that Jackson would be found innocent. "He is totally innocent. I got a flash. You're going to find out that this is the biggest frame up that ever happened. People say his career is over. They're wrong. He's going to come out of this stronger than ever. This all came to me like a lightning bolt."

Stallone was correct about Jackson being found innocent of all charges, but I don't think it can be said that he emerged stronger than ever.

PSYCHIC MICHAEL

On at least one occasion, Jackson indicated that he had psychic experiences. In an interview with Barbara Walters on September 12, 1997, she asked him how he heard of Princess Diana's death. "I woke up, and my doctor gave me the news," he said, "and I fell back down in grief, and started to cry.... I said there's another one real soon, I feel it coming, there's another one, and I pray it's not me. Please, don't let it be me. And Mother Teresa came."

Walters then asked if he was saying he was psychic. "I don't want to say that," he replied, "but I've done it before."

MICHAEL AND GHOSTS

Jackson wrote a song called "Ghosts," but it's not about the supernatural kind. It appears to be about the legal system that haunted him.

But he did have ghost connections. In October, 2004, Jackson was reported by BBC News to be bidding on a "genuine Irish ghost trapped in a bottle." A retired mill worker in Ireland was auctioning the item on eBay, saying that it was at least 100 years old and was bricked up in a window by a priest following a failed exorcism. A newspaper report said that an agent representing Jackson was involved in the bidding. It sold for $478.33, but it is not known if Jackson was the winner.

Jackson did claim, according to several sources, to communicate with the spirit of flamboyant pianist Liberace, who died in 1987. Jackson supposedly had a private mirror-filled room where he communed with Liberace. "That's where I talk to Lee," Jackson said. "His is the voice I hear in there. I feel his presence so very close to me. [He] is like my guardian angel. He's even given me permission to record his theme song 'I'll Be Seeing You'."

When he was alive, there was a Michael Jackson joke that poked fun at his gaunt, pale appearance:

Q: What's the difference between Michael Jackson and a ghost?
A: One is completely white and has a scary face. The other is a supernatural being.

Now the joke only has a morbid irony.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr