Deepak Chopra: Michael Jackson Thought He Wasn’t 'Good Enough'

[Bo G]

I am not going by his blog, I am going by what he actually said on Larry King and other talk shows. He did not actually say he was depress, but he gave the strong feeling that was what he was going for. Especially when he began to talk about self-medication and easing pain.

Which is odd that he says he was a druggie and self-medication, but also he was upbeat and happy. How do those two go together? If he was such a hardcore drug addict, how could he possibly sound happy, upbeat, and sober if he OD himself later a couple of days later.

His logic make no sense.

Well, plenty of people with substance dependencies are upbeat and happy. I know quite a few. It's just not sustainable for extended periods, though. Though Propofol was not an adequate substitute for sleep, apparently it let him plug along pretty damn well.

Chopra just had the wrong drug. Deepak says in his essay that the talk all over TV and radio was already about drugs, so he made a reasonable assumption. He says MJ asked him for Oxycontin in 2005 and was doctor shopping, which would mean he was a pretty serious painkiller addict just four years ago. Deepak could not possibly have guessed something as bizarre as Propofol -- the world had never heard of such an abuse for this drug.

He did not start the drug talk, but shaped the already existing drug talk. He wanted to provide an understanding of what might be behind the drugs so that there would be a gentler public assessment. It seems totally commendable, and I totally see his logic. But I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I was so amazed to see someone actually come out and say something like:

...the public was callous to his very real personal pain. It became another tawdry piece of the tabloid *****, pictured as a weird changeling and as something far more sinister.
... His closest friends will close ranks and try to do everything in their power to insure that the good lives after him. Will we be successful in rescuing him after so many years of media distortion? No one can say. I only wanted to put some details on the record in his behalf. My son Gotham traveled with Michael as a roadie on his “Dangerous” tour when he was thirteen. Will it matter that Michael behaved with discipline and impeccable manners around my son?

 

[Ramona122003]

Well, plenty of people with substance dependencies are upbeat and happy. I know quite a few. It's just not sustainable for extended periods, though. Though Propofol was not an adequate substitute for sleep, apparently it let him plug along pretty damn well.

Chopra just had the wrong drug. Deepak says in his essay that the talk all over TV and radio was already about drugs, so he made a reasonable assumption. He says MJ asked him for Oxycontin in 2005 and was doctor shopping, which would mean he was a pretty serious painkiller addict just four years ago. Deepak could not possibly have guessed something as bizarre as Propofol -- the world had never heard of such an abuse for this drug.

He did not start the drug talk, but shaped the already existing drug talk. He wanted to provide an understanding of what might be behind the drugs so that there would be a gentler public assessment. It seems totally commendable, and I totally see his logic. But I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I was so amazed to see someone actually come out and say something like:

Michael did not have a serious drug problem. If he did, his organs would be damage in some way. Deepak made an assumption that he was doctor shopping and on painkillers. He did not know either way so he should had said anything.

Also, it was never confirm that he had a drug problem in 2003-2005. People just assume he did once again. Deepak said he never saw Michael take drugs, but assume he had a drug problem when Michael asked for Demerol. He even went as far as to suggest that Michael never really had a back problem, but it was all in his head. He may not have started the drug talk, but he should not had added anything until he knew what happen.

On the Propofol, it is not an addicted drug in the sense that Deepak and others have been describing Michael's addiction. Michael took he drug all through the History Tour and no one was the wiser. Also, he was not taking Propofol to get plug or to numb anything, which shots another hole in Deepak's theory.

Another thing, a person who is hardcore on drugs is not happy and alert, I do not care who they are. If Michael was so into drugs to ease his pain, Deepak would had notice over the phone. I have seen people with painkiller addiction and it is easy to tell when they had one too many. Also, Deepak did give the impression that Michael was like this for an extended amount of time. He made Michael sound like an addict since 2003.

 

[*~Tink~*]

I love love love the good things Deepak said about Michael~ about Tagore, Sufi poetry, meditation, quiet reflection, childlike innocence, impeccable manners, sharing, generous, environmentally concerned, loving father, "combination of charisma and woundedness," brilliant, joyous~ these are really the things which arrived to me when I first read the article in June.

Regarding the drug abuse issue... Dr Klein said propofol cannot be used as an intoxicant but is used to sleep. So I do not see that as being "drug addicted." It was a drug used to try to correct a medical problem (the insomnia). I think Deepak was not right to race ahead and draw conclusions. But he is human.

Michael is not a life lesson book, he was a person who had issues and demons like any living human. Why does he life have to be the poster child for anything? He was a human and he had flaws, what more is there left to say.

You know, you bring up such a good point. Do you remember in This Is It where it was said Michael "brought more depth of emotion to a project than anyone I've seen in my lifetime.." [paraphased]? This really stood out. I think it is because of Michael's purity and intensity of emotion that people look to him as a poster child. I think this quality is what makes some people wonderful artists... when their deep emotions are just so present... and they convey this so purely in their craft that it consumes those who are unable to craft things that same way. Michael is like the North star when most people are like distant fuzzy stars. So when you look at the night sky, that one brightest most brilliant star gets the most attention.

 

[indranee]

if Michael was an addict, then so am I. I am a Zyrtec addict LOL. I have severe allergies to the point of getting vertigo if I don't take it for a while. believe me, I've tried to lay off of that drug. but my doctor tells me to take it lol. so I guess he's an enabler?

 

[indranee]

You know, you bring up such a good point. Do you remember in This Is It where it was said Michael "brought more depth of emotion to a project than anyone I've seen in my lifetime.." [paraphased]? This really stood out. I think it is because of Michael's purity and intensity of emotion that people look to him as a poster child. I think this quality is what makes some people wonderful artists... when their deep emotions are just so present... and they convey this so purely in their craft that it consumes those who are unable to craft things that same way. Michael is like the North star when most people are like distant fuzzy stars. So when you look at the night sky, that one brightest most brilliant star gets the most attention.

best post I've read all week. *claps*

 

[Ramona122003]

I love love love the good things Deepak said about Michael~ about Tagore, Sufi poetry, meditation, quiet reflection, childlike innocence, impeccable manners, sharing, generous, environmentally concerned, loving father, "combination of charisma and woundedness," brilliant, joyous~ these are really the things which arrived to me when I first read the article in June.

Regarding the drug abuse issue... Dr Klein said propofol cannot be used as an intoxicant but is used to sleep. So I do not see that as being "drug addicted." It was a drug used to try to correct a medical problem (the insomnia). I think Deepak was not right to race ahead and draw conclusions. But he is human.



You know, you bring up such a good point. Do you remember in This Is It where it was said Michael "brought more depth of emotion to a project than anyone I've seen in my lifetime.." [paraphased]? This really stood out. I think it is because of Michael's purity and intensity of emotion that people look to him as a poster child. I think this quality is what makes some people wonderful artists... when their deep emotions are just so present... and they convey this so purely in their craft that it consumes those who are unable to craft things that same way. Michael is like the North star when most people are like distant fuzzy stars. So when you look at the night sky, that one brightest most brilliant star gets the most attention.

I think you misunderstood me slightly on my last point. When I said a 'poster child', I meant how Deepak and others are trying to make Michael's life into some kind of Greek tragedy. Although he lived a hard life and had a tragic death, does not mean his life was a failure. That is the issues I have with some of Deepak's comments.

It seems some people want to use Michael as an example of everything that is wrong with the world and what should you not become through looking through Michael's life.

This gets me mad because Michael's life in my eyes was far from a tragedy. Here is a person who was mentally and physically abuse by his father while the rest of the world stood by and just listen to the music of a seemly happy child. Here was a person who had insecurities about his looks and was stricken with a skin disorder and his hair set on fire, permanently scarring him. Here was a person who was betrayed by friends and humiliated by the media for years.

Any other person who faced even half of these problems would had become bitter and distance from the world, but not Michael. He went through all this crap, but not only survive but gain strength from it. He never lost hope on the world and people even when these same people were mocking him. He raised three beautiful kids and broke the cycle of abuse and greed that had all but destroy his family. To me, that makes Michael not a tragic figure, but an hero.

That is why Deepak, the Rabbi, Uri, and Oxman make me so made. They are taken this story of survival and turning into something to look at with disdain. That is why I am mad at Deepak, his previous work holds no merit to me.

 

[MJJmusicgeek]

And like Xanax is to Depression, so is Propafol to Insomnia. Both have been proven to treat the corresponding condition. However, it is not recommended for these medications to be taken for those purposes.

He never injected himself but trusted Dr. Murry to give him something to help him sleep.

 

[serendipity]

His children's nanny and surrogate mother, Grace Rwaramba , is like another daughter to me. I introduced her to Michael when she was eighteen, a beautiful, heartwarming girl from Rwanda who is now grown up. She kept an eye on him for me and would call me whenever he was down or running too close to the edge...

...feeding me some more drug stories, so I can run all over the media and spew them. h34r: uke:

 

[*~Tink~*]

best post I've read all week. *claps*

Awww.. thank you!!!

 

[*~Tink~*]

I think you misunderstood me slightly on my last point. When I said a 'poster child', I meant how Deepak and others are trying to make Michael's life into some kind of Greek tragedy. Although he lived a hard life and had a tragic death, does not mean his life was a failure. That is the issues I have with some of Deepak's comments.

It seems some people want to use Michael as an example of everything that is wrong with the world and what should you not become through looking through Michael's life.

This gets me mad because Michael's life in my eyes was far from a tragedy. Here is a person who was mentally and physically abuse by his father while the rest of the world stood by and just listen to the music of a seemly happy child. Here was a person who had insecurities about his looks and was stricken with a skin disorder and his hair set on fire, permanently scarring him. Here was a person who was betrayed by friends and humiliated by the media for years.

Any other person who faced even half of these problems would had become bitter and distance from the world, but not Michael. He went through all this crap, but not only survive but gain strength from it. He never lost hope on the world and people even when these same people were mocking him. He raised three beautiful kids and broke the cycle of abuse and greed that had all but destroy his family. To me, that makes Michael not a tragic figure, but an hero.

That is why Deepak, the Rabbi, Uri, and Oxman make me so made. They are taken this story of survival and turning into something to look at with disdain. That is why I am mad at Deepak, his previous work holds no merit to me.

Oh, I see... like a figure of pathos? I don't like that either. And you're right, Michael was no such figure at all. Michael was strong in the face of adversity... remember when he said, "I'm strong. I have rhinocerous skin." :wub:

Yeah, if he is a poster child, it's not as a pathos figure. That is so untrue that's why I misunderstood. Some may try to paint that, but it doesn't even occur to me! He's more the poster child of love, sincerity, and dignity.

 

[MJJmusicgeek]

I agree that Deepax really is not the bad guy(strictly speaking). But was too rash on his comment about Mick's supposed addiction. I suppose he didn't mean ill will(at least in an all-out malicious sense). However, I can't read minds so I can only base my judgment on the available facts.

 

[TheChosenOne]

In reading the comments about how Deepak Chopra had doubts that Michael had back problems, I smiled and frowned for two reasons.

Firstly, I saw the footage of when that bridge dropped with Michael on it. That HAD to have damaged his back in some way. And it was obvious during the trial that seating still for that extended period of time really caused Michael pain and discomfort.

Secondly, it reminded me of QJ's comments that he did not believe that Michael had a problem with his lungs.

If I remember correctly, both these ailments were mentioned in the leaked autopsy report.

Ultimately, what I want to say though is that my heart hurt for Michael when I think about him talking about his health (which I believed he loathed to do) with someone he considered a friend and having that friend express or imply skepticism. Personally, if it had happened to me I would distance myself from those persons because I believe their doubt reflects how they view me. Hope that makes sense.

And, let me add - I endorse the post by Ramona122003. As a part of the Legacy Project team I REFUSE to let people brand Michael Jackson's life as a tragedy or failure. For me that is a DELIBERATE attempt to minimise his legacy and his achievements. AND I AM NOT HAVING IT!!!!

Ok, rant over.

PS I am not necessarily referring to Deepak Chopra, I am talking in general.

 

[KJ777]

Perhaps someone should pass along the autopsy report to both Chopra and Jones too, so that their doubts can be put to rest for once and for all. I am sure the Munich accident is somewhere on youtube, all one has to do is research it, but apparently they would rather continue with their own falacies about Michael...whatever suits them. I doubt either Chopra or his son were all that close to Michael since they were not at his funeral (surprised that Jones was there) and only spoke to press during the memorial...I think that speaks volumes. Everyone wants a piece of Michael, even after death, how sad that is...next they'll be asking for royalties for the supposed songs they HELPED Michael write...lol

 

[Fontaine]

I doubt either Chopra or his son were all that close to Michael since they were not at his funeral

According to Gotham's blog, he wasn't invited to the funeral. [I don't know if his father was, though.]