Madonna's Kabbalah teacher: 'A big part is learning to be ordinary again... I've seen immense change in her'

[Voguerista 13,310]

I've never understood why some people are critical of Madonna and her religion? I think it's made her a better person too and she's not hurting anyone...but, instead helping people. So, why do some have issues? 

 

 

Madonna's Kabbalah teacher: 'A big part is learning to be ordinary again... I've seen immense change in her'

 

Kabbalah. Hearing the word, three things generally spring to mind: Madonna, cult and those funny little red bracelets.

So when Marcus Weston, Madonna's London Kabbalah Centre teacher and spiritual adviser, invited me down, I was, not surprisingly, a little sceptical.

Walking into the Central London headquarters, a sprawling, stucco-fronted Victorian building, I feared a greeting from a sea of raised bottoms, bowed heads and unintelligible chanting.

Instead, I am met by a good-looking male receptionist, offered a cup of coffee and a plate of biscuits - I was expecting Kabbalah water and the Bible - and taken upstairs to grill Marcus.

Clutching a bottle of dubious-looking green stuff - "alkalising" fennel, cucumber, lemon and ginger, apparently - Marcus is well-spoken, friendly and, well, totally normal. Instantly I am thrown.

While he has signed Non-Disclosure Agreements, to ensure his confidentiality, for many of the two dozen high profile students he teaches, astonishingly Madonna is not one of them.

Shunning the offer of private, one-on-one classes, the US singer happily mucks in with the hoi polloi, attending group lessons.

 

For many high-achieving devotees, Kabbalah keeps the ego in check, and helps them handle the pressures of fame and fortune.

Madonna is no exception. For her, part of the process is learning to become a "normal person" as much as her superstar lifestyle allows.

"She's amazing, and very popular here," says Marcus. "The fact that after so many years, she still gets so much from Kabbalah means it is a very deep and fulfilling wisdom.

"When you're at that level, and have all the money in the world, all the choices in the world, all the doors open to you in the world, you really can do anything and go anywhere.

"You could choose a thousand spiritual or religious paths, so the fact there's such consistency to her study is testament to how much she's got from it.

"She's very dedicated. A big part of healing is that you've got to be an ordinary person again, you've got to get a real life concept back. I've seen immense change in her.

"To have a massive ambition is fantastic, to have a desire to think you can change the world is great potentially because you can effect change. But if you have the arrogance to believe it's only you that can cause the change, then that's where the ego has probably caught up with you.

"But if you're just one person contributing, and can use your position and celebrity, then you can become a real influencer and role model to others. That's what she can do."

I understood most of that.

 

Getty

Devoted: Madonna enters the Kabbalah Centre in New York

 

For Marcus, the celebrity connotation is something of a double-edged sword.

Since Madonna first wore the faith's tell-tale red string around her left wrist in 1996 - a bracelet to ward off the "evil eye" of Hebrew folklore - the Kabbalah Centre shot to public consciousness.

Since then, stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Britney Spears and, recently, Harry Styles, have become fans.

"I'm in two minds about the celebrity thing," he sighs, ruefully. "In England, it almost swings to the negative.

"What people associate with celebrity is fad, temporary and something of a more superficial nature. Most people, when you say 'Kabbalah', reply: 'Oh, Madonna', as opposed to 4,000 years of tremendous social importance.

"It makes me chuckle that everyone is fascinated by celebs. Everyone is trying to be like them - to be rich, to be better looking, to be famous, to be successful.

"They put famous people on an extreme pedestal and think their lives are joyous and dreamy, and they're really not. The life of a celebrity is very fickle, very erratic. I see it first hand - it's very painful not to be able to go outside and take your kids for a walk, or pop into the supermarket.

"A lot of celebrity energy is based on approval. How popular is my next trailer, my next song? It's dangerous.

"Fame breeds addictions and it's a very external life. Eventually, at some point, they start asking questions when they realise something internal might be missing. That's when they might get led to Kabbalah. But here, when celebrities walk into a class they're just ordinary people."

Annoyingly for the centre, much has been falsely written about Kabbalah, giving it a cult-like quality. At more than 4,000 years old it is, however, anything but.

It is not a religion, you can be a practising Christian, and a Kabbalist. There is no secret sect aspect, and no weird chanting. As Marcus puts it, "Kabbalah is made up of people from all walks of life".

Although the centre's doors are open to until now they haven't spoken to any national newspaper journalists.

"People don't know anything about it and that's our own fault," he adds. "We're not too clever or bothered by media things because we just do what we do..."

But perhaps since One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles was pictured on stage at Wembley Stadium wearing the bracelet, the centre thought it was time to explain exactly what Kabbalah is all about.

I keep expecting to zone out when Marcus started to explain the fundamental principles behind the faith but, strangely, I engage with every word.

Possibly sensing my innate fear of anything remotely self-helpy, he keeps things simple and pragmatic.

One of my early lessons is a practical experiment. Students are given a paper heart and asked to rip it to shreds in 10 seconds. Once done, they are instructed to rebuild the heart.

"Of course, it's impossible," Marcus explains. "But it makes you realise how quickly and easily a person's heart can be shattered - seconds to break someone's trust, with no amount of apologising afterwards able to fix it.

"You need to be careful about how you act towards others, how you treat them."

Basically, Marcus and his analogies don't make me want to run for the hills, screaming. This might explain Kabbalah's popularity.

The centre now has more than 1,000 visitors every week and an imminent expansion to an out-building called The Arc, will quadruple this number.

Marcus, 42, who has been studying Kabbalah for 15 years, summarises how it is based on three main principles.

The first is that nothing is by coincidence - ie, every cause has an effect.

The second involves the concept of purpose, that everyone must constantly evolve to discover theirs. The third is the idea that the greatest enemy to your own success is resisting this change.

Not once is there talk of Bibles, God or blessing. I feel like I am having a free counall, selling session, or attending a university philosophy lecture. An Oxford Brooks graduate, the young Marcus wasn't weaned on the Old Testament.

Instead, he enjoyed a successful, and lucrative, career in the City, working for both Citibank and Goldman Sachs.

But the gruelling daily commute on the Tube - "the Northern line was a turning point" - eventually made him give it all up to go travelling. It was during this time he discovered his "spiritual side".

He smiles: "Every single morning I used to sit opposite this man who had this huge smile on his face. And I absolutely hated him.

"When he was less smiley, I felt a bit happier. I held so much bitterness towards this poor man, and then I thought: 'This is awful'.

"It was a hamster wheel every morning, and I realised there must be something more. And that's where it all began..."

Madonna, it turns out, owes a lot to the London Underground.

[groovyguy 63,869]

From what I understand, Kaballah is not a religion. It's the study of Torah through Jewish mysticism. 

This is what my Jewish friends said about the Kaballah that M is involved in:

That's a New Age gig with some Hebrew and Jewish symbols thrown in to make it look legit. The form Madonna practices is not real Kabbalah, it is a new-age distortion. The red string thing has ZERO to do with actual Kabbalah, that is just a scam. If you have to buy a red string to tie around your wrist to protect you - its not real Kabbalah. If you have to pay a lot of money to study at a center or buy a bunch of books - it's not real Kabbalah. If you're not Jewish, you aren't likely to find a Jewish teacher to work with you one-on-one in kabbalah.

[Guest]

From what I understand, Kaballah is not a religion.

Exactly. 

It's the study of Torah through Jewish mysticism.

This is what my Jewish friends said about the Kaballah that M is involved in:

That's a New Age gig with some Hebrew and Jewish symbols thrown in to make it look legit. The form Madonna practices is not real Kabbalah, it is a new-age distortion. The red string thing has ZERO to do with actual Kabbalah, that is just a scam. If you have to buy a red string to tie around your wrist to protect you - its not real Kabbalah. If you have to pay a lot of money to study at a center or buy a bunch of books - it's not real Kabbalah. If you're not Jewish, you aren't likely to find a Jewish teacher to work with you one-on-one in kabbalah.

 

 

I don't necessarily agree that Madonna doesn't practice "real Kabbalah".  She did speak of it as "not a religion" as well, and mentioned it was a study of Torah through Jewish mysticism. Now, I am not saying there aren't parts of it that she participate in that is all about image, but there is a symbolization behind the "string".  It is among Judasism and Kabbalah, that those wear it, believe it wards of misfortune.

 

And like with any organization, it needs funding, so I totally understand why those (especially wealthy people) who are interested in it, will pour their money into it.  But no one is expected to do so. Just like among charities and churches, people donate/offer money. Does it mean since they do, it's not real??

 

Kabbalah isn't a religion, yet it can be applied to all aspects of life, no matter what religion you're part of. It teaches you how to be a better version of yourself. You do not even have to be a religious person to study it.

 

Madonna seems to be quite interested in the history of Kabbalah, and how it ties into religions, etc.

[unapologeticheart 872]

It is among Judasism and Kabbalah, that those wear it, believe it wards of misfortune.

 

But did it ward off the horse accident?

Did it protect Express yourself from gaga's thieving hands?

Did it prevent MDNA 86.7% sales drop?

NO

[Guest]

But did it ward off the horse accident?

Did it protect Express yourself from gaga's thieving hands?

Did it prevent MDNA 86.7% sales drop?

NO

 

Even though, I find those silly absurdities... I didn't say I believe that it does, but there are many many traditions we all participate in as well as superstitions we all have, that contribute to the way we live. Also, I don't think the belief means it will stop all bad things from happening.  Some could easily turn the bad things that do happen around into good things. 

[Fighter 28,888]

But did it ward off the horse accident?

Did it protect Express yourself from gaga's thieving hands?

Did it prevent MDNA 86.7% sales drop?

NO

 

didn't protect her from steppin out of the house looking like this either

 

[Guest]

didn't protect her from steppin out of the house looking like this either

 

Actually, I think she looks quite beautiful here. People make a big deal about this, but I just think it's quite an over exaggeration. I personally think a better hairstyle at the time, could have been more complimentary.

[madgefan 10,236]

No way! one of the worst looks she's ever had!!

 

Back to the topic, it seems to me Kabbalah helped her see things in a different way and that's why it looks like she's just trying to amend past mistakes. However, I don't think, not a single second, she's changed completely... no one does that.

[Guest]

No way! one of the worst looks she's ever had!!

 

Back to the topic, it seems to me Kabbalah helped her see things in a different way and that's why it looks like she's just trying to amend past mistakes. However, I don't think, not a single second, she's changed completely... no one does that.

 

I don't think it's a matter of changing completely. It's a matter of evolving in someone better.  People can change, and very much.  Of course, it takes time. She is a much different person than she was in the 80's when I remember her. It wasn't just Kabbalah that changed her. Having children changed her as well. It wss very evident before children, it was all about her. She'll even admit that. You can't have children and not change. Even the worst parents change somewhat. 

 

As for the look, I guess it's subjective, but I've seen her looking far worst. Her Grammy appearance this year was quite awful.

[Fighter 28,888]

She's also changed a helluva lot since the divorce, I miss her being warmer and fuzzier, but I appreciate and admire her more now, she seems like she's gone through stuff. 

[madgefan 10,236]

It's like a bad copy of those wax figures at Tussauds

 

 

Yes, the birth of Lola definitely marked a before and an after.

[Fighter 28,888]

I don't wanna bash her, it was a bad night and that's that.  she looks much better now.

[Guest]

It's like a bad copy of those wax figures at Tussauds

 

 

Yes, the birth of Lola definitely marked a before and an after.

Go back to '84 and early '85, and you'll see her face was very similar. Again, it's just an over exaggeration because her face hasn't been so full since then. It's not bad. It's just something you're not used to... especially for a fan that became a fan when she was slender in the face up until a couple of years ago.

 

Actually that isn't true, when she was pregnant with Rocco, her face was quite full like this. 

[unapologeticheart 872]

Actually, I think she looks quite beautiful here. People make a big deal about this, but I just think it's quite an over exaggeration. I personally think a better hairstyle at the time, could have been more complimentary.

Really?

 

 

Everything was horrible, make up , hairstyle (is that a hairstyle? I don't think so ^^), horrible dress.....everything. Even when she walks out of the gym in those baggy clothes she looks better imo

[Guest]

Liam and Groovy, thanks so much for explaining more on kabblah.

 

And I agree, that appearance isn't one her best looks. In my opinion, the lipstick color is all wrong for her. Her make up and cheeks seem odd too.

[madgefan 10,236]

Was that her first public appearance after the plastic surgery???

[Fighter 28,888]

Was that her first public appearance after the plastic surgery???

 

 Plastic surgery talk is so 2008  the jokes are funny but let's keep it on topic guys, kabbalah, kabbalah!!