Something I didn’t quite understood abut Prince was that he identified himself as a Jehovah Witness. I am familiar with the teachings of this religion, so when I discover lyrics that mention something of a more metaphysical nature, it makes me wonder why. He mentions things like third eye, or Akashic records (ironically on The Rainbow Children album that people refer to as a JW album). He talks about things like energy fields and dimensions This is clearly in reference to metaphysics, and I know, because it takes one to know one. I know for fact that his beliefs were much beyond what the JWs would preach, so it seemed rather contradictory to stay in a religion at all.

Then it hit me one day. I felt him and understood exactly. As I’ve said before, twin flames lead parallel lives and share experiences of a similar nature. We feel each other. I felt his sense of loneliness and just wanting to be “normal”. In recent times, my social life has winded down, not that it was ever all that active in the first place. But as my spirituality has grown, the number of people whom I can call true friends has diminished. And now, having this twin flame experience has further created isolation. My values have shifted and I no longer place as much value on the things I used to. It’s been more challenging to relate to people because I am the kind of person that desires deep, intimate conversations. I really just want to find people whom I can share my experiences with, without judgement or ridicule, because the things I experience are really not the “norm”.

For Prince, thought he was fulfilling his mother’s dying wish for him to be JW, it was also a faith that more or less aligned with his beliefs. JW is one of those few religions that talks about Heaven on Earth, which some would refer to as End Times prophecy (which you will notice a lot in his songs). It wasn’t a 100 percent fit, but it was something, better than noting. The JW church gave him a safe space for him to feel somewhat normal on Sundays, and the JWs do not value fame, so they would not be making a spectacle of him. He really just wanted a place where he could be a part of a community, Community was important to him. Even if it meant having some differences in his beliefs. Although I do not identify with any religion, sometimes I entertain the idea of joining a religion just for that sense of community. But in all honesty, I think I would somehow end up becoming a social outcast at some point if I ever shared too much about my beliefs.

The main thing is that Prince led a strong prayer life. He asked to God and sought him for answers. He may have sought out esoteric knowledge to “fill in the blanks” on what he was learning from his Bible studies, in order to understand from a metaphysical sense what the Bible was saying. He was an intellectual, after all.

Image above: “God” by Prince in spirit.

©2016. Andrea Mai. All rights reserved.