Michigan QB JJ McCarthy looks to Hindu meditation, 'frequency of God' ahead of national title game
Christian YouTuber warns 'calming frequencies are the language of the occultist'
Will “mindfulness” help lead Michigan to its first national title in more than a quarter-century?
JJ McCarthy and the Wolverines are set to take on No. 2 Washington in the college football title game Monday night in the climax to what has been a memorable season for both the team and McCarthy, who has blossomed into a full-fledged star.
Under the leadership of legendary UM coach Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines went an undefeated 14-0 and, in the process, became the first college football program to notch 1,000 all-time wins.
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But despite their on-field success, it’s been McCarthy's unorthodox rituals off the field that have raised eyebrows among sports fans and Christian commentators alike.
In a Dec. 30 interview with The Athletic, McCarthy shared his longtime pregame ritual of Eastern-style meditation and listening to what he says is comparable to “white noise.”
The ritual involves what are known as pranayama, Hindu deep breathing exercises which, according to Hindu teaching, are used to “harness and manipulate universal energy known as prana.”
Such practices like pranayama are associated with so-called “Kundalini energy,” which is considered “the mainstay of all yoga practices” and refers to the Hindu belief in a "serpent power" or goddess which begins to evolve after being coiled up at the base of one’s spine.
After the breathing exercise, McCarthy said he typically will put on headphones and listen to a specific frequency of sound, 963 hertz, which is often referred to as the “frequency of God.”
“It’s kind of like white noise,” he told The Athletic. “It does some things I can’t even really describe.”
He told the outlet he began meditating in high school and “got serious” about the Eastern practice at Michigan, where McCarthy is 25-1 as Michigan's starting QB and has thrown for over 2,600 yards and 19 touchdowns so far this season.
Before leading the Wolverines to their Rose Bowl victory over fourth-seeded Alabama last week, fans spotted McCarthy apparently meditating as he sat barefoot and cross-legged near one of the goal posts.
JJ McCarthy meditating before today’s Rose Bowl game ????
— Austin Byler (@AustinByler14) January 1, 2024
Calm Mind = Ultimate Clarity!
pic.twitter.com/T4ivcIaEuw
While most of the mainstream media has lauded McCarthy for the meditative practice — with some outlets praising it as a form of “mental health” care or even as a cure for depression — a popular Christian YouTuber is warning that pranayama and other similar practices are occultic in nature.
In a video published Jan. 6, self-described preacher and missionary Spencer Smith told his nearly 200,000 followers that the practice of tuning into certain frequencies is actually “the language of magic.”
“They're using the frequency of these sounds to have a physiological effect upon your body,” said Smith. “Now, people would say, ‘Well, what's the problem with that?’ The problem with that is that it's occultic in nature.
“It causes a spiritual response in your body and it ultimately is a religious practice.”
According to Spencer, these frequencies or vibrations are often used to try to make objects levitate or otherwise manipulate physical reality — a fact of which, Spencer said, history’s most infamous occultist like Aleister Crowley and others were not ignorant.
“Calming frequencies are the language of the occultist,” he said. “Crowley was into this, Albert Pike was into this, Helena Blavatsky was into this.
“When people talk about frequencies and vibrations they are speaking the language of magic and this is what this guy is practicing.”
Monday night’s title game between Michigan and Washington is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
