Rainn Wilson's personal experiences inspired his spirituality-focused podcast: "I was on death's door"

Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on "The Office," is using his personal experiences to highlight spirituality, saying we all need a "soul revolution."

"I went through a lot of mental health crises when I was younger, and I found that turning to spiritual tools to help me on my path were incredibly valuable," Wilson said on "CBS Mornings."

His new podcast, called "Soul Bloom," is based on his New York Times bestselling book of the same name. On it, he talks with experts, comedians and authors about creativity, spirituality and psychology.

"That's the big question: 'Why is this weird sitcom actor writing about spirituality and the soul and death and the meaning of life?'" Wilson joked. "It really was because I was on death's door." 

Wilson further explained he asked himself, "why am I even here?" and "why should I be here?"

"Sometimes, when you're at that point, the greatest and deepest revelations can come to you so I decided to dig into these big questions," he said. 

Those questions included Wilson making decision about faith, consciousness and the meaning of being a human being.

"Diving into those great holy texts of Buddhism and the Baha'i faith — I'm a member of the Baha'i faith — really brought me a lot of solace and a kind of direction in life that I'm really grateful for."

The award-winning actor said our best attributes as humans are compassion, kindness, community and collaboration, but they aren't always a key focus in society.

"All of our systems are based on the worst aspects of humanity," Wilson said. "One-upmanship, backstabbing, every man for himself, competition, contest – these are our worst attributes, not our best attributes. Our best attributes are compassion, and kindness, and community, and collaboration."

Wilson believes shifting our mind and spirit is key.

"If we consider our innate spiritualness, and whether you're in Gaza or in Israel, or whether you're in Russia or Ukraine, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, we are all souls having a human experience. We can increase greatly our compassion and then if we truly feel compassion, you act on it," he said. "It's not just a feeling in the chest. You put it into action. Our systems need to be recalibrated. Not for profit and competition."

Along with his podcast, Wilson discussed if he would ever reprise his role in a new spinoff of "The Office."

"I'm always open to another Dwight appearance," Wilson said.

In:
• Rainn Wilson
• Entertainment

Kelsie Hoffman

Kelsie Hoffman is a push and platform editor on CBS News' Growth and Engagement team. She previously worked on Hearst Television's National Desk and as a local TV reporter in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

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