Rainn Wilson is best known for playing the role of Dwight Schrute on the popular TV show The Office. Yet, if you look beyond his acting resume, you’ll see he’s a very spiritual guy. A member of the Baha’i faith, he hosts a spirituality-themed podcast and was recently featured on Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss, where he traveled the world to find the keys to happiness.
In his latest book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution, Wilson serves as a witty guide to various facets of faith and spirituality. But as I read the book, with chapters like “Religion, Schmeligion,” I kept wondering—where was the “Boom” promised in the title? I wanted some fireworks. Then, on page 174—BOOM! Wilson makes an audacious statement:
We’re going to attempt to create a religion … that could potentially help us to progress spiritually in a revolutionary new fashion.
Schrute, I mean Wilson, believes this new religion can help us make more compassionate choices, help us deal with mental health struggles, and “help individuals find peace, hope, and meaning in their hectic, disconnected modern lives.” In short, he wants “to make the world a better place” for all of us.
The name for this beautiful new religion: SoulBoom TM.
The trademark at the end of the name should clue you in that Wilson isn’t totally serious about this. Or is he? The ex-Office worker lays down ten fundamentals for this new religion that tick all the right spiritual boxes. Wilson admits the ideas aren’t unique, they’re actually “universal markers of any of the world’s great religions.” I’ve listed all ten of his fundamentals below, followed by my own thoughts.
The 10 SoulBoom Fundamentals
- A Higher Power. A belief in a greater force in life, or what those of us who aren’t spiritually squeamish call God. Wilson refers to this divine source as “a force that has our best interests in mind.”
- Life After Death. Our bodies may die but the soul lives on. Oh, and btw, there is no such thing as hell—at least not the way most people think of it. Hell is simply being 360 degrees away from God.
- Power of Prayer. Meditation works as well. (To see their similarity, read this on centering prayer.) Whichever practice you choose, it’s not so much about communicating with God, it’s about communing with God.
- Transcendence. The inherent ability you and I have to connect with something greater than ourselves.
- Community. One of the primary benefits of church. But your community doesn’t have to exist within the confines of religion.
- A Moral Compass. The basic knowledge of right and wrong. This moral code has nothing to do with societal trends and hasn’t changed much over the past 2,000 years. In the words of Mark 7:12, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
- The Force of Love. As Wilson says, “Everything boils down to love. Light is love. Friends are love. Trees and the birds and the ocean are love.” Or as Rumi puts it: “Love is the bridge between you and everything.”
- Increased Compassion. There’s no such thing as having too much compassion, for others—and especially for ourselves.
- Service to the Poor. Help the hungry. Help the addicted. Help those with mental health issues.
- Strong Sense of Purpose. Do what has meaning to you. You’ll usually find your purpose has something to do with helping others.
Wilson didn’t stop there. He added 10 additional principles that would help make SoulBoom “relevant to the present moment.” I won’t list them all, but here are two that stood out that I’ll expand upon here.
- Profound Connection to the Natural World. Wilson points out that most native cultures “have a deep connection to the cycles, beauty, and mystery of nature.” They may be on to something. Studies have shown that spending time in nature “lights up the same parts of the brain as regular meditation.” A great place to start is to spend “20 minutes, 3 times a week outside”—doing something as simple as taking a stroll through a neighborhood park.
- No Clerics. Wilson mentions how in AA’s Twelve-Step Recovery Program, there’s a lack of leadership roles. Per the AA Big Book: “There is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.”
I was at a wedding in a Catholic church recently, when a friend asked me why I did not go up for a blessing (an option, if you don’t want to receive holy communion.) My response: I did not need a middleman to receive a blessing, I could go directly to the source! And so can you. As Richard Rohr said, “Religion is pointing to the moon, it is not the moon itself.” If we have studied and learned what we can about “the moon,” we do not need someone else to show us the way. The map is imprinted on our own hearts.
I’d also like to petition Rainn Wilson to add one more point to his list, as follows:
- Not just the Bible. There’s more than one holy book. There are many. Spiritual wisdom comes from numerous sources, both ancient and new. So while we will pull teachings from classics like the Bible, Teo Te Ching, and the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, we will also look toward our modern day sages for guidance, including Matthew Fox, Thomas Moore and Richard Rohr.
I’ll see you at the SoulBoom service this Sunday! You won’t have to travel far, because the ceremony will be held in a comfortable chair in your own home. In lieu of a reverend, rabbi or imam, you will be leading the service yourself. You might just find you are as likely to find God there as you would in a traditional house of worship.
If you enjoyed this story, you’ll find 112 just like it in my new book Wake Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curious, now available from Wildhouse Publishing.
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