Spirituality, Therapy, and the Good Life

Tom Shadyac is a wonderful example of a birthquake. Incredibly successful as a writer and director of blockbuster comedies, he had it all – money, fame, and all of the trappings of success. And it all worked beautifully for him, until it didn’t. Little by little he became increasingly disillusioned. Then he had a bike accident. For months following his accident he was plagued with debilitating headaches that caused him to frequently confine himself to dark and quiet places. He found himself with a lot of time to think about his life, the direction it was heading, and what truly mattered to him. It turned out that his mansion, his fame, and his millions weren’t enough. It turned out that Tom Shadyac needed MORE.
So he proceeded to give away his money, traded his mansion for a trailer park (no kidding), and got to work on an entirely new kind of film, a documentary called, “I AM”, where he travels around the world interviewing the people who inspired him about the things that mattered most.
James Hollis observed in “What Matters Most” that, “We are the most affluent culture in history, the most gifted with material abundance, and we are starving. “ Tom Shadyac’s “I AM” addresses how we might more effectively fill our empty places and feed our hungry ghosts. You can watch a trailer of “I Am” here and if you’re in the vicinity of Lewiston, Maine, stay tuned. We hope to screen it soon and follow up with a discussion.