This book feels at times like advertisements for this, his SoulPancake company and various religious TV shows he pitched that networks passed on even though they were really really good. A shaman had released some kind of demon/energy from them, and they were finally, on the other side of it, able to practice “self-care” and enjoy yoga and raw juicing from home. Besides his many other roles on stage and screen, he is the co-founder of the media company SoulPancake and host of Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss on Peacock.

This is what I’m referring to when I talk about the word “spirituality”: this eternal/divine aspect of ourselves that longs for higher truth and journeys toward heart-centered enlightenment and, dare I say it, God. If that wasn’t awesome enough, in 2022, Rainn Wilson — via a mutual friend named Steve Sarowitz — joined us on the show and had an absolute blast of a conversation.

I appreciated the openness he demonstrated right away in sharing his experiences of family and faith…. Wilson’s new book intertwines his life and practice with a very personal, intelligent, and keen eye to the perils and promise of religion.

Wilson, who is also a podcaster and cofounder of the media company SoulPancake, says he has now resolved any personal uncertainty about a higher power. He reports hearing three things from young people when talking to them about religion: They often say they “kind of” believe in god, they are not interested in organized religion and they shy away from anything remotely “hippy-dippy/airy fairy” (to use Wilson’s description). And so my quest for finding a spiritual path forward out of depression, anxiety, addiction, out of mental health issues was practical as well.The book reads as part spiritual autobiography and part spiritual manifesto, a weaving together of Wilson's own spiritual beliefs with a broader spectrum exploring a variety of spiritual paths and how they all lead toward solutions to help create the better world that so many of us long for these days. Fans of The Office will find a few scattered nods to the beloved show, but Rainn is not Dwight, and this is not a book about the show. Perhaps a spiritual metamorphosis is required for us to not only thrive but to even survive as we sit at the precipice of annihilation. Three-time Emmy nominee Rainn Wilson may be best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” but in his other roles he is no stranger to taking on big topics.

In a fun exercise, quotes from “Kung Fu” and from holy texts are presented together, and it is impressively difficult to differentiate; for example, “Peace lies not in the world … but in the man who walks the path” (“Kung Fu”) and “There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind” (Buddha). His earnestness is often endearing, and his joking asides (as when he says he’s not entirely blameless in being an actor on a spiritual path, since after all, “Shirley MacLaine communed with ancient aliens”) keep things moving. He feels that, culturally, we’ve discounted spirituality—faith and the sacred—and we need profound healing and a unifying understanding of the world that the great spiritual traditions provide. That’s why, though his home is the Bahá’í faith, he can speak to anyone who is trying to discover the big truths of the universe, of nature, of the big three-letter word: G-O-D.Viewers of the sitcom “The Office” may wonder why the guy who played the “beet-farming, paper-selling, tangentially Amish man-baby with the giant forehead and short-sleeved mustard shirts” is writing a book about spirituality and how it can save humanity from all that threatens to overwhelm us. He feels that, culturally, we’ve discounted spirituality-faith and the sacred-and we need profound healing and a unifying understanding of the world that the great spiritual traditions provide. Soul Boom" is filled with beneficial and quirky wisdom for how to help heal ourselves and our world. It combines a seriousness of purpose, a depth of intellect and a warmth of spirit that is desperately needed today.

But I’ll always remember that story, and, I suppose, when all is said and done, that’s what it’s all about, no? So I got on the old Google and I looked and sure enough, the Women's Health June, 2020 cover story was on Julianne Hough, recently named co-host of Dancing with the Stars, talking about how she had went to Switzerland and had some demons exercised from her and had had this spiritual transformation. And while this book is greatly inspired by the Baha’i Faith and many of the principal writings of its founder, Baha’u’llah, I won’t get too deep into the details of the religion in these pages.With humility that lands in the heart, Rainn invites us into a profound conversation on death and despair, God and transcendence, and love as a revolutionary force. There’s also the pillar of a “virtuous education,” which encourages mediation, meaningful use of social media, and financial literacy. Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution,” Wilson’s third book (after “SoulPancake” and “The Bassoon King”) delves into life’s biggest questions — Why are we here? All that gooey, profound stuff that is so easy to sneer at and dismiss in our cynical, fast-paced, modern world. he also demonstrates respect for spiritual wisdom found across various traditions from the major monotheistic religions.