11 quick questions for rainn wilson | members only access

Rainn Wilson, 57, who played curmudgeonly Dwight Schrute on _The Office,_ is a deeply spiritual eco-activist who wants to inspire others with his third book, _Soul Boom: Why We Need a

Spiritual Revolution. _The book — which includes more than a few _Star Trek _and Kung Fu references — encourages readers to connect with a higher power through prayer and meditation. And fun

fact: He’s a proud AARP member. “I cherish my card and carry it with me everywhere,” he says. WHAT’S ONE NEW HABIT FOR PEOPLE TO CREATE MORE SPACE FOR MEANINGFUL SPIRITUALITY? I think

morning meditation and prayer is very basic, but the effects are tremendous. In prayer, we’re communing with the divine force that’s within us, without us, above us and beyond us. And

meditation is being still and receptive to whatever answers we might be getting. Even if you’re just able to take 10 minutes in the morning … that simple act can be incredibly

transformative. WHAT DOES SPIRITUALITY MEAN TO YOU, AND HOW DOES IT SHOW UP IN YOUR LIFE? I’m talking about qualities of the soul, of the divine. My favorite quote of all time is by Pierre

Teilhard de Chardin. He famously said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” We are spiritual beings, and the fact that

we’ve got 80, 90 or 100 years in our meat suits, if we’re lucky, means that spirituality is anything having to do with our reality, which is a divine one, a soul-centered one. THE BOOK IS

PEPPERED WITH _STAR TREK_ REFERENCES. YOU’VE GUEST STARRED ON _STAR TREK DISCOVERY_ AND HAVE DIRECTED AN EPISODE. WERE YOU A FAN GROWING UP? Wilson's third book explores the

problem-solving benefits that spirituality can offer in an increasingly challenging world. Hachette I was a huge _Star Trek_ fan growing up. As I was putting the book together, I realized

that so much of what I wanted to say about societal spiritual transformation could be found in _Star Trek_, because it is about seeking out new life and new civilizations and boldly going

out into the universe. LAST YEAR, YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO RAINNFALL HEAT WAVE EXTREME WINTER WILSON TO RAISE CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS. DO YOU HAVE OTHER INITIATIVES IN THE

WORKS? I'm on the board of a climate nonprofit called Arctic Basecamp, and they're currently doing a campaign with Global Citizen. You can go to globalcitizen.org and become an

arctic defender. Arctic Basecamp compiles hard data from science around the changes that are happening in the Arctic, and we have our scientists try and meet up with heads of state and heads

of corporations.