Readers do not have to believe in reincarnation to benefit from this post or weblog. We only have to agree that present volitional actions have effects in the future. What we call our past history was once the future that was caused by previous “present” volitional actions.

All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man in his time plays many parts.
<Shakespeare>

On June 24, 2009 the King of Pop left the world stage.

But as the philosopher-poet Kahlil Gibran noted:

Death changes nothing but the masks that cover our faces.

Question: What kind of future lifetime might Michael Jackson have?

We do not have to believe in reincarnation to benefit from this post or weblog. We only have to agree that present actions have effects in the future. What we call our past history was once the future that was caused by previous “present” actions.

As Michael Jackson put it:

Everyday creates your history.

We could add “Everyday also creates your future.”

Please note: the description of Michael Jackson below is not meant to be judgmental of him as a human being. It merely characterizes how his energy manifested in this lifetime. In other words, we are not our characteristics any more than we are our illnesses.

Readers may not necessarily agree with my list of characteristics. But let’s start from there anyway and then connect the dots to produce a picture of a possible future lifetime.

• is angry (towards lack of a “real” childhood; ironically, child stars seem to be “adults” when they are children – they have a careers, and “earn a living”);
• is resentful – lack of forgiveness (towards his father) whom he sees as overbearing and autocratic who, in his eyes, presented the ongoing threat of emotional pain of rejection;
• blames others for his problems, pain, suffering etc; does not take responsiblity for his own feelings and therefore does not mature (”Neverland”);
• has profound fear of rejection accompanied by intense desire to be accepted by dominate culture to the extent of changing facial skin colour from brown to white;  made disparaging remarks about black people to those in his closest circle;
  
• abuses power – brings children into his Neverland estate – his partners in this “venture” were apparently the children’s parents who hoped for stardom for their children; use of certain women as merely means to an end, not valued as people in themselves;
• rejects those who try to warn him of dangers of his lifestyle – unable to accept criticism of any kind;
  
• suffers from severe stress partly from his intense mental discipline;
• abuses substances to deal with insecurities, loneliness, stress and fears that he felt about a future when he may no longer be loved by his fans;
• apparently can not always be counted on to keep promises or committments, i.e. sometime frivolous about the concerns or needs of others;
• has extreme sense of loneliness, isolation which he himself created;
• feeds stories to media to confuse the public about who he is as a person; this is symbolized by his wearing of masks and countless costumes;
  
• becomes a perfectionist (like his father?) when finally allowed to take control of his career;
• is overprotected as a child star and had difficulty learning the skills necessary to navigate life in a mature way – needed people around him to “handle” the practicalities of life;
• is compassionate – gives a great deal of money to charities; for example, co-writes and sings We are the world in 1985 at an event, the money from which saved countless lives;
  
• is only comfortable on stage. He said he wished he could sleep on stage; and
  
• is considered eccentric – “Wacko Jacko,” an image he encourages.
  

Possible Future Lifetime

Keep in mind that it is our actions, and the afflictive emotions that underlie them, that create and maintain our negative karma:

• is talented and extremely hard-working but not able to occupy senior positions; potential leader who is not in leadership positions;
• is concerned with growth and expansion, but finds it hard to achieve. Success or luck may elude person;
• isolates self – others wonder why they can not “get close” to (“intimate with”) this person;
• feels “different” from others – doesn’t realize (s)he is a creation of his projections from previous lifetime as “Michael Jackson;”
• seriously conflicted about identify – a result of the symbolic and literal wearing of masks as “Michael Jackson;” confusion is a result of his actions as “Michael Jackson” to fool people;
  
• expects what (s)he wants when (s)he wants it but is not in a position to bring it about as the past incarnation called “Michael Jackson” was;
• has  lots of talents but they are scattered;
• is brilliant but seen as “eccentric;”
• suffers from emotional “hang-over” from addictions from previous lifetime as “Michael Jackson” – tendency to fixate and obsess;
• allies him\herself with groups that provide security but no challenge since groups of people often reincarnate together to learn karmic lessons, person  may be a member of a group that felt that they suffered injustices, ostracism or isolation;
• has difficulties relaxing;
• feels unable to express ideas to others; feels constantly thwarted when trying to exercise skills, abilities and talent;
• is still a perfectionist but that perfectionism is not accepted or tolerated as it was when person was “Michael Jackson”; and
  
• experiences “hang-over” of emotional pain of previous lifetime which in this new lifetime will present a choice:  either continue to seek self-esteem from others and seek protection from life’s pain and problems, or learn that genuine self-esteem has to come from within us and take responsibility for choices rather than blaming others for one’s pain etc.;
  
• is compassionate towards those who are suffering like “Michael Jackson” was and this has created whatever positive karma this person brings into this new  lifetime; and
  
• is sensitive to criticism or any hint of rejection but will not be able to isolate himself from this criticism as “Michael Jackson” did.
  

Actions in this lifetime (or any present situation in one lifetime) create seeds. These karmic seeds are carried forward.

To put it another way, Neverland becomes Everland.

We can stay in cyclic existence and just keep playing out our habitual patterns. Or we can take responsibility for our own choices and cut the chains.

To understand the “future” of Michael Jackson, we have to isolate the main characteristics that created and maintained his karma and then extrapolate to a possible future from there.

Biographies (bios) are mainly about talents, skills, activities. And there are certainly no lack of them about Michael Jackson.

But the one thing bios don’t cover is the person’s afflictive emotions — such as anger, jealousy, fear, hatred, resentment etc. that could be summed up by the three poisons, namely passion, aggression and ignorance — and the actions they lead to.

To repeat, actions produce seeds that the person’s consciousness will carry forward to future lifetimes or future situations. In other words, our treadmill existence continues. It does not die with our “deaths” or the death of any present situation in which we may be involved right now. Put another way, Neverland becomes Everland….. until we break the chain.

Post Script:

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama explains that there are four levels of meaning or interpretation in his book The Path To Tranquility: Daily Wisdom

1. the literal meaning;
2. the general meaning;
3. the hidden meaning; and
4. the ultimate meaning.

Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician, apparently taught some of his students number (3) in the list above, the hidden meaning of numbers. Michael Jackson died at age 50. I looked up the number 50 in a book called Numerology and The Divine Triangle. Here’s the reading in part:

50/5 AS A TEMPORARY VIBRATION: Love, family ties, happy changes…..Many happy changes occur now. You may move into a new environment which promises greater fulfillment….You may receive honors and gifts. They are the rewards of past efforts, for which you could also recieve public recognition. …The overall energies of this period encourage you to relax, take a trip….[perhaps a moonwalk through the bardo]

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