John Lennon: Maharishi, UFOs & Christian Conversion?

What drives a creative genius to seek answers beyond the visible? For John Lennon, the legendary Beatle, the search for significance was a central theme not just in his music but in the very fabric of his life. Beneath the global stardom, explosive fame, and the magic of Beatles hits, there was always a restless spirit—a seeker longing to heal invisible wounds and to understand the mysteries that seemed to follow him everywhere. From religious curiosity and flirtations with the occult to psychedelic revelations and a late-life spiritual awakening, Lennon’s story is as much about the metaphysical as it is about musical mastery.

The Seeds of Restlessness: Searching for Significance

John Lennon’s early years were marked by instability and longing. The pain of his mother’s absence, feelings of abandonment, and questions about his own worth became drives that never left him. Even as he crafted chart-topping songs, Lennon’s lyrics were filled with the ache of loss and the nearly desperate search for love—“Why am I here? What am I supposed to do?” This restlessness can be heard in songs like "Help!", "Nowhere Man," and "I'm a Loser," where behind the catchy melodies lie deep, existential questions. Success and fame were never enough. Lennon craved answers that went beyond the material world.

The Psychedelic Detour and the Rise of the Occult

The late 1960s were a turning point, both for Lennon and for the wider world. With the release of "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band," the Beatles embraced the era’s fascination with esoterica and the occult—a fascination captured by the inclusion of controversial figures like Aleister Crowley on the album cover. But while myths and urban legends swirled around the band (including the notorious "Paul is dead" conspiracy), Lennon was fighting an inner battle. The infamous LSD-laced coffee episode marked a dramatic change: the drug lifted his sadness, at least temporarily, giving him a sense of control and perspective he couldn’t find elsewhere. Yet as Lennon increasingly relied on substances to manage, the leadership of the Beatles shifted to Paul McCartney, leaving John adrift and less involved creatively for a spell.

Encounter with Eastern Mysticism: Hope and Disillusionment

Not content with drugs or fleeting philosophies, Lennon soon turned his attention to Eastern spirituality. Along with the other Beatles, he followed the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and explored transcendental meditation in the hope of finding peace. Behind this quest was the same yearning for healing—a "peace of mind" he openly sang about. For a time, meditation offered hope. But allegations against the Maharishi left Lennon bitter and disappointed. That sense of disillusionment would reappear throughout his life, in different forms and with different spiritual fads. Each time, the answer proved just out of reach.

Love, Influence, and the Shadow of the Occult

As the world watched, Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono became a defining influence. Yoko, steeped in numerology and the mystical, brought her own interest in the occult into John’s life, from astrology to divinations about when and where they should travel. While Lennon sought lifelines in these practices, none ultimately provided the wholeness he craved. His personal journey was now intertwined with activism, artistic expression, and the continual search for deeper meaning—sometimes in religion, sometimes in the supernatural, and often in his connection with others.

A Paranormal Encounter in New York

Perhaps most intriguingly, Lennon’s search for the unseen took a literal turn one night in New York City. Living with May Pang during a temporary split from Yoko, Lennon reported—as did May Pang herself—witnessing a UFO hovering outside their apartment. Sober and lucid, the couple reported the sighting to officials, and others in the city corroborated it. For Lennon, who had already experienced unexplainable moments (including a childhood vision of God), the event only deepened his sense of being touched by mysteries that most never see. Yet even here, his fascination was more of a search for answers than obsession.

Return to Faith: The Final Chapter

Remarkably, after years of drifting between philosophies and fads, Lennon experienced a spiritual conversion shortly before his death. Inspired by the TV miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth," he felt “his heart strangely warmed” and reconnected with his Anglican roots. He wrote spiritually themed songs and even reached out to the evangelist Billy Graham. Though this chapter was brief and met with skepticism by those closest to him (Yoko was polite but declined to join the journey), friends and biographers attest to its sincerity. For Lennon, perhaps at last, the quest that had fueled his art and haunted his life found a form of resolution—a sense that the love and acceptance he searched for might just be real, even if fleeting.

Enduring Lessons from a Seeker’s Life

John Lennon remains a cultural icon, not just for his musical genius but for his restless pursuit of something greater. His openness to new beliefs, his courage to examine pain, and willingness to explore the visible and invisible shaped not just his personal story, but the lives of millions who found solace and understanding in his music. Lennon’s story teaches us that fame and success are not substitutes for spiritual fulfillment. His journey into—and sometimes out of—the occult, psychedelia, love, activism, and faith is ultimately a very human story: to be curious, to question, to doubt, and to hope.

We may never fully explain the mysteries that John Lennon encountered or the depth of feeling in his songs, but his search for meaning is universal. If his life offers any clear message, it’s that our deepest wounds can lead us to time-honored questions—and sometimes, the search itself is as important as any answer.

What about you? Are you, like Lennon, searching for something beyond the visible? Perhaps, in asking the questions, we find ourselves on our own magical mystery tour.

📕 Guest: Jude Southerland Kessler

Jude is a leading Beatles historian and the author of The John Lennon Series, an ambitious nine‑volume biographical novel chronicling John Lennon’s life. With decades of research behind her work, she is recognized worldwide for her expertise and storytelling. Kessler also hosts the She Said She Said Beatles podcast and is a frequent speaker at international Beatles events.

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