276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution

£11£22.00Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

In (a) virtue-nurturing context, we are neither living only for this world (as the atheist/materialist/physicalist might aspire to) nor living only for the next world (as the heaven-seeking fundamentalist might be). We are living for both. Because, it seems, both are connected. Our overarching purpose is pure and simple: soul growth. Developing our virtues is about cultivating that part of ourselves that is, at its essence, divine. This ongoing growth process requires a complete and total commitment to the physical plane of existence — this gorgeous, difficult planet, its ups and downs and trials and challenges, its beauty and sorrow. It also requires a longtail view of the eternal — knowing that we’re in this whole game of life for a very, very, very long haul. As in, like, infinite worlds of existence. I appreciate that Wilson explains what he means when he says that he believes in God (and I like his habit of saying, “I don’t believe in that God, either” when an atheist lists off all the negative attributes — jealous, vindictive, childhood-cancer-causing — of the Sky Daddy God of Abraham) and I am not unconvinced by his belief that life and consciousness seem too miraculous to have arisen by chance alone. (And I was not surprised to learn that Wilson was unable to sell a show discussing God to any network: a show about God being “too controversial” in a landscape of violence, porn, and drunk housewives.) To oversimplify: Believing that we are all divine at our cores ought to lead to us honouring ourselves and every other human on Earth (not to mention the planet itself), and not only would that solve individual problems (like the current crisis in youth mental health) but it would demand solutions for systemic problems (like partisan politics or the bizarre inequality of wealth that sees the seven richest men hoarding more wealth than the bottom fifty percent of humanity). I don’t think it’s controversial to say that the vast majority of us would like to see these changes, so why not look to the deep past and explore the beliefs and ideas that once bound us all together?

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast:Through life experiences and his Baháʼí faith, which embraces anessential unity of allreligionsand the unity of humanity,Rainn Wilson takes readers on a 10-chapter journey that touches on how spirituality can be found in everything from official religious texts to quotes from Captain James T. Kirk, the “Star Trek” character. The “kingdom of heaven” is a condition of the heart—not something that comes “upon the earth” or “after death.” Hello and welcome to a special edition of Five Things. I'm Ralphie Aversa, host and producer of Entertain This for USA Today. Thanks for joining me. Today we're speaking to Rainn Wilson, a man best known for playing the Awkward but beloved character, Dwight Schrute on NBC's long-running hit show The Office. Rainn is also the author of the newly released Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution, a book that explores how spirituality can help us create solutions to an increasingly challenging world. Rainn, welcome to Five Things. In an interview for Morning Edition, Wilson tells NPR's Rachel Martin about a spiritual odyssey that began as a child, growing up in the Baha'i faith of his family. Later, he began rejecting "everything to do with religion and faith and spirituality."I believe exploring “Life’s Big Questions” is an exciting and important part of our fragile and exhilarating human journey. I have seen this again and again—in my study of various religious traditions, in my life as a Baha’i, and in my work with Geography of Bliss, SoulPancake, and the podcast series Metaphysical Milkshake, which I host with the amazing author/provocateur Reza Aslan. And my personal battles with mental health demons have given me firsthand experience in the high-stakes pursuit of meaning, purpose, and serenity from a spiritual perspective. Listening to Rainn Wilson's book made me smile for nine hours.* I couldn't help but imagine that it was written by Dwight** after having a spiritual transformation. "Soul Boom" is filled with beneficial and quirky wisdom for how to help heal ourselves and our world. The contemplative and eclectic style was perfect for me. I look forward to adding the physical book to my collection. On its own terms, SoulBoom does resemble Star Trek. Implicitly, SoulBoom treats those things that make Christianity unique as remnants of Captain Picard’s “superstition and ignorance and fear.” In fact, Star Trek’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, was an avowed atheist and opposed organized religion in all its forms. Yet not all writers for Star Trek were quite as hostile. In a later series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, produced after Roddenberry’s death, a devout religious character named Kira is confronted with the idea that all cultures should believe in each other’s gods for the sake of self-fulfillment and galactic peace. Rather than assent to this pragmatic approach to religion, she instead points out, “There’s just one thing—we can’t both be right.”

We've talked about a number of topics that you've explored in the book. What did you learn either if it was a thing about a topic or about yourself in writing this book?

Soul Boom probes weighty issues, from consumerism to consciousness. But it illuminates the path to spiritual enlightenment with familiar reference-points, some drawn from pop culture. Wilson uses ‘70s TV shows Star Trek and Kung Fu as examples of transformative social thinking. One argued for a “spiritual revolution” ( Star Trek ), the other pushed for a personal journey of self-discovery ( Kung Fu )—philosophies we can practice in our daily lives. 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. Rainn Wilson!? On MY podcast? Wild! In a Western world devastated by disenchantment, disillusionment, and cynicism—functionally materialist in its institutions—a more robust recognition of a spiritual dimension to reality can be an oasis. The value of Soul Boom is not so much the new religion of SoulBoom but Wilson’s apologetic for monotheism in a culture increasingly averse to organized religion. Even if Wilson’s view falls far short of the beauty of the Christian witness, Christians can accept Wilson as an ally in holding forth for a deeper and wider sense of reality that includes the supernatural.

A higher power 2. Life after death 3. The power of prayer 4. Transcendence 5. Community 6. A moral compass 7. The force of love 8. Increased compassion 9. Service to the poor 10. A strong sense of purpose” When I think of spirituality and the 1970s, a particular word comes to mind. It’s not “meditation.” It’s not “LSD.” It’s not “guru” or “incense” or “chakras.”So, thank you Rainn. You have a lovely book that I’m confident will help a lot of people out with their spiritual journeys. Soul Boom failed to make a convert out of me (among other reasons because following his religion would make one a … Boomer?). Even so, the book is valuable for its contribution to a broader spiritual dialogue and as a skillful apologetic for the Baha’i faith. Wilson wishes his readers to embrace a spirituality that adheres to some key precepts drawn from his faith tradition. Christians, who in many contexts today might find themselves with only slightly more cultural resonance than someone from the Baha’i faith, can take note of the way Soul Boom searches for cultural common ground and offers its distinctive prescriptions to the uninitiated. At the end of the book Rainn comes up with his idea of the perfect religion and pulls a lot from his own religious group, the Baha'i faith. 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. Take care reading this and maybe look online for accounts of people who left the Baha'i faith and why some feel it is a cult before you make any big life choices. Dillard’s story reflects maturity and understanding from someone who was forced to mature and understand too much too soon.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment