Soul Boom
Hello, I hope all is great with you.
What is sacred to you? That's what Rainn Wilson would like to know.
This week on the podcast I interview Rainn, actor (Dwight in “The Office”) and author of several bestselling books, including his latest 'Soul Boom: Why We Need A Spiritual Revolution.'
'Soul Boom' is extraordinarily ambitious and personal. He shares his struggles with mental health and relationships as a young adult, which led him to pursue a better relationship with God. He writes that spirituality serves two integral purposes:
Make people happier and more fulfilled, which he calls the “Kung Fu: the Series” journey; and
Help our species overcome our myriad challenges and come together, which he calls the “Star Trek” journey.
Rainn draws on writings from many different faiths and spiritual traditions – he is a voracious reader – to find universal truths that most of us would agree upon. For example, it turns out that just about every faith believes in charity and caring for others.
He notes the institutional degradation that many of us sense: “As all the existing organizational systems around us break down, we need answers. We need solutions. We need hope. Unity. Love. Compassion.”
Rainn extensively critiques our profit-seeking economic system. “From a spiritual perspective, we need to shift our view of true success away from the accumulation of wealth and toward nobility, selflessness and generosity.” He quotes Captain Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek: the Next Generation: “People are no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things . . . we’ve eliminated hunger, want, the need for possessions. We’ve grown out of our infancy.”
He calls cynicism the opposite of joy, and observes that our society has become a conspiracy against joy in many ways. He is very negative on political parties. “Basically, I believe the toxicity of partisanship is one of the greatest threats to our way of life, the future of our nation, and perhaps the fate of the world.” Instead, what Rainn wants to see is more universalism and unity born of spirituality. He asks a very personal question: “What is sacred to you?”
Traveling this country for the past decade, I’ve met thousands of Americans of different religions and seen firsthand how faith plays an integral role in many communities. I've also seen beleaguered churches that have had a hard time recovering from Covid.
In the ‘War on Normal People’ I wrote that our future will come to resemble either the cultivated benevolence of ‘Star Trek’ or the pervasive conflict of ‘Mad Max.’ Which are we heading to?
AI is coming fast, and it will make it harder and harder for most Americans to keep pace. What’s required is a new economy that resembles our values – caring, creativity, kindness – as opposed to capital efficiency. I’m yet pursuing a secular and political path to get us to head in that direction. Rainn thinks we need a spiritual movement too. He may be right.
For my interview of Rainn Wilson, click here. For his book “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution” click here. To change the partisan dynamic that is tearing the country apart, check out the Forward chapter in your area. And for my take on the challenges we face with AI, check out “The War on Normal People: The Truth About America’s Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income is Our Future” here.
