Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has a daily ritual that may seem unusual for a rocker: prayer.
“I’m a praying guy,” the 60-year-old told the Los Angeles Times. “I pray in the morning when I get up, when I go to bed, when I eat. And when I do an interview, I’ll just stop for a second — like, let me get out of the way and let go of everything.”
He continued, “I’m not religious in any way, but I kind of believe in God. And I try to live a life that honors my idea of what God is — like a divine energy.”
Flea, born Michael Balzary, has been with the Red Hot Chili Peppers since their formation in 1983 along with lead singer Anthony Kiedis.
He explained he read a self-help book by Jon Kabat-Zinn that helped him look inward, and that was when he had a breakthrough.
“I started thinking about that emptiness, and in that moment God just made perfect sense,” he said.
Though he does not belong to any particular church, Flea revealed he did attend a few to see if any were the right fit for him.
“I thought punk rock was intense. Punk rockers are a bunch of p—ies compared to a church where people are speaking in tongues and throwing themselves on the ground,” he said.
Flea still performs with the band, and he also hosts a podcast, “This Little Light,” where he interviews other artists.
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As to be expected, he is not raising his son on typical children’s songs.
“The wheels on the bus aren’t going round and round in our house. F— ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb,'” he said with a laugh. “We’re listening to Sonny Rollins.”