The Spiritual Journey of Dwight Schrute

Rainn Wilson on Happiness, Spirituality, and his Baha'i Faith

About a year ago, I wrote a short reflection about my budding friendship with Dwight Schrute of “The Office.” As I clarified then, it’s not technically Dwight, but the actor who plays him — Rainn Wilson — which is good because Dwight would hate me for all the same reasons he hates Jim.

Since then, we met up in Aspen, Colorado for the Aspen Ideas Festival, where we recorded a video about Sikhi and Sikh teachings, which he shared with all his followers. We also recorded a podcast interview about his spiritual journey, which is live on Wisdom and Practice now.

In my column two years ago, I wrote about a lunch we had in Los Angeles with a mutual friend, and the curiosity, humility, and generosity I saw in Rainn that day. I also wrote about a moment that really stuck out to me at his book launch event in New York City.

The event featured Rainn in conversation with co-star BJ Novak, and Rainn was kind enough to send me tickets.

The highlight for me came when B.J. asked Rainn about the role spirituality plays in his professional work and how it’s shown up at unexpected times. Rainn said that some of the unhappiest moments of his life came at the tail end of his time on “The Office.” He said that as that chapter of his career was coming to a close, all he wanted was for the next big thing: the next big TV show or the next big movie.

Rainn said this was his biggest regret: Instead of enjoying the experience of being on set with people he loved, doing what he loved, living a life he couldn’t have even dreamed, he was focused on the things he didn’t have.

B.J. responded immediately: “I’m so surprised you’re saying that. That’s my biggest regret too.”

I got chills. Such a raw, vulnerable moment. And so relatable, too. We might not all be famous actors or bestselling authors like Rainn and B.J., but I think we all experience this in some way.

That very morning, I had been talking to my wife about my own unfulfilled desires, which in some way reflects a feeling that we don’t yet have enough. That all we need is the next thing, and that’s what’s going to bring us happiness.

I know in my heart that life doesn’t work this way, that joy doesn’t come from outside of us. Or, in the words of Thich Nhat Hanh that Rainn shared on stage, “The way out is the way in.”

I’ve been thinking about that moment a lot over the past year. Rainn Wilson is one the world’s most well-known actors, who starred in one of the most popular sitcom of all time. If he wasn’t finding happiness at the height of his career, then why do I expect that I would, knowing realistically that I’ll never reach his level of celebrity.

I’ve been wanting to talk to Rainn about this more for a long time, and recently, I had the opportunity to sit with him for my podcast, Wisdom & Practice. Our conversation is live now, and I’ll post a brief excerpt of it for you below.

Rainn:

I've talked a lot about some of the mental health issues that I had during those years. I had crippling anxiety attacks for years, and they would just overwhelm me. Sometimes they would leave me on the floor just shaking and sweating.

I was dealing with addiction, went through a kind of big alcohol and drug phase, but all of that aside, there was a spiritual conundrum that I faced that was profound. And I don't really talk about this as much, but I think you can handle it, and that is, I was unhappy.

I was deeply unhappy, and it didn't make any sense to me, because the American Dream promises that if we figure out what we want to do with our life, pursue it, and attain certain markers, then we will be happy. I was disconnected, alienated, unhappy, and I couldn't figure it out. And it lasted for years.

I'm like, well, certainly then, well, maybe if I get a bigger role, I'll be happier, or maybe if I get a bigger paycheck, I'll be happier, or maybe if I work with this person, I'll be happier. Or maybe, you know, it was always this kind of like, well, maybe this thing that's further down the road.

And when I say the word happy, I'm just using that as an overall term, I guess I would say, then I will experience well being, fulfillment, contentment. So I was just chronically discontent, which I tried to medicate and soothe with alcohol and drugs, with sex, with all kinds of things. 

So there was this kind of existential crisis in the pit of my stomach that led me to say, okay, maybe the reason I'm so painfully anxiously discontent is that I jettisoned the faith of my childhood, and maybe I don't necessarily want to be a Baha'i, but what is true? Where is the truth? How do I find the truth?

Perhaps there is, I say, in my book, Soul Boom, I say, maybe I jettisoned the spiritual baby with the religious bathwater. So I started a very long, multi-year quest to uncover what I believed was true for myself.

So I read the great holy texts of the world, and that led me back to reading the holy texts of the Baha'i Faith, and not inheriting the religion of my parents, but digging deeper, diving deeper, and having an experience with the words of the Prophet,  Bahá'u'lláh, and his amazing texts and writings and wisdom that really touched my heart all over again.

And it very slowly over many, many years, brought me back to the faith of my childhood.

Click here to listen to the rest of my conversation with Rainn Wilson on Wisdom & Practice. And don’t forget to rate and review the podcast, too!