Transcription
I'm a Buddhist. I'm a Muslim. I'm a Christian. I'm whatever you want me to be. It all comes down to the same thing. You're in a loving place or you're in an unloving place. I just want to be myself. If I lose a few fringe people who can't deal with the fact that there's other forces in the world, that's okay with me.
>> The meaning of life. You want to know what it is? Love yourself.
>> Jim Carrey is loved by many. Known for his roles in Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, Ace Ventura, and many more. He's made a name as one of the funniest people on earth. Although for decades, there has been a spiritual side to Jim that is often overlooked or misinterpreted. In 2009, he told a story about a mystical experience he had which pushed him down a path of spiritual awakening.
A few months ago, after knowing Echarolei for a while and studying the books, I woke up and I suddenly got it. I understood suddenly how thought was just an elucory thing. uh and how thought is responsible for if not all most of the suffering we experience. And then I suddenly felt like I was looking at these thoughts from another perspective. And I wondered, who is it that's aware that I'm thinking? And suddenly I was thrown into this expansive amazing feeling of freedom from myself, from my problems. I saw that I was bigger than what I do. I was bigger than my body. I was everything and everyone. I was no longer a fragment of the universe. I was the universe. And ever since that day, I've been trying to get back there. It's like riding a wave. Sometimes I'm on, sometimes I'm off, but at least I know where I want to go. And that I want to take as many people with me as I possibly can because the feeling is amazing.
You know, it's our intention. Our intention is everything. Nothing happens on this planet without it. Not one single thing has ever been accomplished without intention. So, I started thinking about my life and I started thinking about this conference and what we're about and and I looked back and I thought, well, I was two people my whole life. I was in the living room entertaining people, being a monkey, you know, doing my thing for the company and and trying to relieve my mother who was suffering. She had uh rheumatoid arthritis and flabitis and everything everything under the sun that was nagging at her and she was depressed and I wanted her to be free and I wanted her to realize that her life was worth something cuz she gave birth to someone who was worth something. And then I would go into my room and I would sit with a legal pad. I was a little kid and I would sit there and I would try to figure out what it meant, what it was all about, why are we here, what is this?
Jim describes that he once read from Buddha that all spirituality is relieving from suffering. Similarly, Buddha summarized the reality of suffering in the four truths. One, our lives are pervaded by suffering, both obvious and subtle. Two, there is an identifiable cause of our suffering. Three, because we know its cause, we can free ourselves from suffering. And four, there is a specific path we can follow to end suffering, which consists of meditation, wisdom, and ethical living. Buddha's teachings on suffering resonated with Jim as he realized that he was trying to relieve his mother from suffering all along.
One day I read something from Buddha that said that all spirituality is about relieving suffering. And I suddenly realized that's what I'm doing in the other room. And and I'm aligned. you know this my purpose is aligned with this. So I felt incredibly lucky. I lose sight of that all the time. I get caught up in different concerns and ego concerns. But I'm so lucky to be a part of this community and to to to do something that is of value. And he's relieved more than just his mother from suffering. With countless timeless performances, there's something for everyone to find escape from their own life's strife. One of which being his portrayal of Andy Calfman in the 1999 film Man on the Moon.
Following the film, he had another awakening experience where he saw through his ego. It was a definitely an important moment in the process where I found myself uh subjugating Jim Carrey for Andy Kaufman and Tony Clifton and then uh and then at the end of it looking for Jim Carrey again and having trouble finding him and at a certain point I I realized hey wait a second you know if it's so easy to lose Jim Carrey who the hell is Jim Carrey
>> where I was kind of watching from another place and there's been a series of >> kind kind of awakenings I've had in my life and uh you know people chalk it up to depression and all that stuff. I think that you know grief and sadness and all those things are are are the the ticket home uh to nothing. I think that that was a part of the process. There's been several other awakenings and and and yet still I I have a lot of egoic attachments that that uh that pull my attention and focus.
This experience suggests that the distinction between Jim Carrey and his iconic roles can become blurred. However, Jim has an interesting perspective on this notion.
>> You said you've kind of disassociated yourself with with Jim Carrey, but does you know everyone when we see your face, there's so many iconic roles and so many of our favorite movies from Eternal Sunshine, Dumber, and everything. Does it >> that has nothing to do with Jim Carrey? >> That has nothing to do with Jim Carrey. >> Nothing at all to do with Jim Carrey. That's just that's just what happened. And uh and it was it is wonderful and uh there's insane gratitude around it and uh wonder around it. How did it happen? And and uh uh fulfillment from it. And uh it's I look back at it and I and I I I see something beautiful that that rose out of nothing and happened for no one, you know? It just it just was
>> like it was almost like every 6 months to a year we saw this like huge Jim Carrey comedy. Do you miss that? >> No. I honestly there's nothing but this. You're my universe. You know what I mean? So I I'm not looking forward and I'm not looking backward and I'm not, you know, the the aspect of this that's backward to me is like a contemporary thing. What's what's what's good about this movie? It's not a look back. It's it's a conte contemporary concept. It's what's happening right now inside everybody is they're going, "Who am I?" And they're depressed. You know, a lot of people because they're trying to hold up an image in the world. And that's what depression is. You know, people go like, "Oh, Jim's been depressed and stuff." Well, yeah, I was depressed when I was trying to uh be the Wizard of Oz instead of the sweaty guy behind the curtain. Uh but now I know that Oz is a character, you know, and uh and you know, I think everybody deals with that. Everybody walks around and they go like, why am I depressed? Well, it's because you're trying to be something for the world, you know, and as soon as you let that go, better things happen because they're just happening. But it's not uh, you know, now it's just sadness, you know. Sadness comes, happiness comes. It's the weather that flies by the sky. It doesn't sit on you long enough to drown you. You know,
>> as mentioned, Jim has struggled with depression. He previously mentioned depression as his body needing deep rest from putting on an act. Here he takes us further into that journey.
>> I've read a couple of places where that you said you've had you struggled with depression from time to time. On Prozac for a long time. >> Yep. I was on Prozac for for a long time and I I'm not sure I it may have helped me out of a a jam for a little bit, but people stay on it forever. You know, I I had to get off at a certain point because I realized that, you know, everything's just okay. >> No peaks and valleys. >> There are peaks. There are valleys, but they're all kind of carved and smoothed out and it feels like a low level of despair. You live in where you're not getting any answers, but you're living okay. And you can smile at the office, you know, but it's it's a low level of despair. >> And you don't take any of them. You don't take anything there. >> Nothing. I don't take anything. I rarely drink coffee. I'm very serious about no alcohol, no drugs. I just life is too beautiful.
After talking to you for a couple of hours, I mean, I just I get this sense you are you are a big bundle of conflicting emotions. >> Really? Don't you get that sense from me? Well, I think you're very emotional about a lot of things. It's all very close to the surface. >> Yeah, it is. I've decided to be there. I only act in the movies.
And his level of authenticity is apparent in these interviews. Perhaps it's because he's able to detach from his psyche and see a bigger picture. I think that we're all, you know, we're all trying to uh add things to ourselves so that we can finally define our define ourselves and then everybody will get us and they'll go, "Okay, that this is what you are." And then if you actually get there, uh you will find it so empty that you'll realize that's really not what it's about. It's it's about not only, you know, just going with the flow, but it's about not taking it personally. You know, it's like the difference between house a house and my house is a world of difference. And it's the my that's the problem, you know. So, you can do all this without the my involved, you know. You can do it uh in a way that it's not life isn't happening to you. It's happening for, you know, for the good of everyone. It's just a it's like a it's a play. It's a it's a giant, you know, field of consciousness dancing for itself. and you're here to make me happy and or to kind of it's making itself happy. You know, it's like one soul. That's how I feel. I feel like, you know, people say, "Well, I have a soul." You don't have a soul. There's no you. But I I feel like there is a soul and it includes everything.
>> Yeah. >> And when you wake up in the morning and you feel like I'm the universe, you don't have to reach for the stars, you know? You can just let life happen. >> Yeah. >> And walk through the doors.
rubberfaced clown, star of movies like Dumb and Dumber, The Grinch. But wait till you see this, the real Jim Carrey.
>> I wanted to focus in on what I believe cuz I want to give the world the real thing. >> I think everybody who's famous feels lonely. >> Fame is a very bizarre thing. You can't understand unless you get it. You can want to walk on the moon all you want when you're a little kid, but then when you go there, you got to have a suit and you got to have air pumped in and everything like that. It's no place to live.
You have such an incredible talent for for physical comedy. Where did that come from? >> Desperation. >> Desperation.
He's the actor and comedian we all love. From outrageous slapstick comedy and Ace Ventura to his lifelike depiction of Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. Jim Carrey provides something that everyone can resonate with. Although he may seem like a carefree, larger than-l life comedian, there's a deeper side to Jim that is profound and unexpected, particularly his motivation behind acting.
>> I act because I'm broken >> uh in a lot of pieces >> and uh acting gives me a chance to reconfigure those pieces into a thousand different things uh that are positive for people who watch every uh trauma. And I could, you know, build the ladder to the stars with the things that have happened or the things that I've had to endure, >> but they've all turned into something really creative. >> You know, the worst injury I've ever had, I went to the art studio and I made a painting, >> you know, and I sat there and I went, I wish people could be here to see what that process is. What happens to an artist when they get hurt? M you know they don't try to lash out most of the time. They try to turn it into a bouquet of flowers. That's what I want to do.
Expressing the struggles in one's life through art can be both powerful and therapeutic. Jim explains that artists use this tactic to combat both physical and mental anguish. Similarly, audiences can help process their own pain by consuming this art. However, artists can only produce these impactful pieces by being their true authentic selves in the process.
>> I've only ever been disappointed when I wasn't authentic. >> When I had reached for something that was uh not based in some authenticity, even if it's a wildly animated character, it isn't based in in some sort of reality. That's that's when I feel really uh uncomfortable when I'm on a track that isn't authentic. I've never been disappointed ever with authenticity, >> right? >> And I was really frightened about it, you know, until a few years ago when I started kind of sharing how I feel about things and my truth. Uh there was a voice telling me that if I actually didn't score, if I didn't hit a funny line every at least 30 seconds, they would think I was pompous and they would they would turn against me and say, "Who the do you think you are?" And I've never had that reaction ever.
It's clear that Jim holds authenticity close to his heart.
In both everyday life and his performances, Jim's characters are so unique that most would consider him irreplaceable. Perhaps that's because he lets these roles find him rather than searching for them.
>> The But the performance is love. It's a dance for me. And I I I loved actors who employed every bit of their instrument. I don't believe that any actor can really do a part >> unless that part finds them. uh you don't find parts, they find you when you're ready to do them and when you're informed and and you have those feelings. >> These parts find me when I'm ready. You know,
this philosophy has made him a household name and granted him a lifetime of fame.
Though that may not be a positive thing, Jim explains that much of the information published about him is misconstrued or completely false.
>> All of a sudden, you were the biggest movie star in the world and and and your paychecks and and all of it were were public. the check >> and I imagine getting out of a car it was being swarmed with >> and 90% myth as well. So that's a tough thing to deal with. >> What does that feel like? >> People create your life. >> They take elements that are true and they put it in an article. So the article looks looks legit and yet there's so much of the article that isn't true. So that's something to kind of uh teach you that hey, you know what? in order to go forward, I have to let go of what this creation is. And I ultimately found that even the me I created wasn't real. So, uh, that left me in an odd, precarious situation. >> And I've been writing and creating about that for a very long time. Uh-huh. >> Many of the things I do are have to do with the disappointment of creating a a winning personality in the world and then eventually, you know, for your own sanity and freedom, letting it go. You know,
letting go has not only given Jim the strength to navigate through fame, but also stayed true to himself.
>> If you had a day where nobody would recognize you, >> I don't think I'd be that different. Honestly, I I I operate I I I dropped the whole trying to be something for somebody a long time ago. So, I I I pretty much walk through the world except when I want to be funny or I want to do something outrageous, you know, kind of tip the boat, you know. I don't have any trouble being myself and I don't have any trouble saying no when I mean no. Uh I don't feel there is a, you know, pressing uh responsibility to please everyone. I'm not unkind to people. I love people. I would much prefer saying hello and who are you and what are you doing today than giving a selfie because selfies stop the world, you know? They stop life. You then go
>> like that and it's going on Instagram uh to give people a false sense of relevance. And uh that's that's a that's a something I have to kind of live with that, you know, nothing to do with the person that comes up. because they're programmed to react to celebrity that way.
This programming Jim describes can be interpreted as a longing for relevance. One of the main places people search for this relevance is through social media.
>> The idea that there is uh something beyond this invention we make of ourselves uh and uh and how the whole world is kind of geared now. Uh it seems like anyway since uh social media uh begs you to uh push their subscriber button, uh everybody is looking for their special place, their their sense of relevance in the world. But not just normal relevance, a relevance that lasts beyond the grave, perhaps to the end of the entire program. It seems as though the only way to fulfill this sense of relevance is to let go. Just as Jim found to do in order to navigate fame, in a way, this can be contradictory. The answer for both people searching for relevance and for those who have found it is the same. One can do this by living in the present moment.
>> Be in the moment and uh like live now because this is all there is and enjoy now like a child. and uh be your authentic self.
>> I've often said that I wished people could realize all their dreams in wealth and fame and so that they could see that it's not where you're going to find your sense of completion.
So many chase the dream, fame, fortune, admiration, believing it holds the key to happiness. But what happens when you reach the summit and still feel incomplete? In this video, Jim Carrey pulls back the curtain on success, revealing that the real fulfillment we seek isn't found out there. It's uncovered within.
>> I had to I I believe that I had to become a famous, you know, idea. Yeah. >> Uh and get all the stuff that people dream about and uh and uh accomplish a bunch of uh a bunch of things that uh you know that that look like success in order to give up my attachment to those things. >> It's been part of the evolution of ego is is to uh spend your first half of your life acquiring and adding thinking you can add to yourself. and and it looks great. I mean, it looks great when you got a cool car and you got nice clothes and, you know, and you're uh and you've done something that people admire. You know,
Jim got to this point in his life by helping people feel free, even if it was just for a moment. He played the role of someone unburdened so others could believe it was possible for themselves. But behind the laughter and recognition, he realized he had yet to offer that same freedom to himself.
When I was about 28, after a decade as a professional comedian, I realized one night in LA that the purpose of my life had always been to free people from concern. Choosing to free people from concern got me to the top of a mountain. Look where I am. Look what I get to do. Everywhere I go, this I'm going to get emotional because when I tap into this, it really is extraordinary to me. I did something that made people present their best selves to me wherever I go. I am at the top of the mountain and I was and I the only the only one I hadn't freed was myself.
>> I played the guy that was free from concern so that people who watched me would be free from concern. >> And that's when my search for identity deepened. I wondered who I'd be without my fame. Who would I be if I said things that people didn't want to hear?
we don't matter. >> You're supposed to say, you know, we're important. And you're supposed to say it's all going to be all right. And you're supposed to say, uh, that, you know, whatever you dream can come true. And you're supposed to say all those things. I do believe in manifestation, power of that kind of stuff. But I don't believe that any of it matters.
>> You know, this mattering is a is to me a a human construct. I used to think Jim Carrey is all that I was. Just a flickering light, a dancing shadow, the great nothing masquerading as something you can name.
>> We all wear masks. Rules we play to be accepted, admired, or loved. But what if even your most celebrated self is just another role?
>> I don't exist. So, uh, they're all characters that I've played, including Jim Carrey, including Joel Barish, including any of those things. They're all characters. You know, they Jim Carrey was a less intentional character >> because I thought I was just building something that people would like, but it was a character >> because ultimately, we are not the avatars we create. We are not the pictures on the film stock. We are the light that shines through. All else is just smoke and mirrors. Distracting but not truly compelling. You know, everything is divine. You know, there's just not there's no there's no thing that isn't divine. Everything is divine and I'm that I'm not the body. I'm you guys and I'm this thing and I'm this thing and I'm the cameras and it doesn't matter to me what's happening on them. Uh sometimes I still have the groove cut in me that, you know, wants my hair to look nice, >> right? >> It's an ancient thing. >> You know, there's still ego there, but I but I don't um I'm finding that ultimately the the freedom from it is uh is something people are kind of hungry for in a way. They're like, I don't want to be me either, >> right? >> You know, and I and I go, well, great cuz you never have been.
To find real peace, you have to let the armor go. Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. Don't let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory. Our eyes are not viewers. They are also projectors that are running a second story over the picture that we see in front of us all the time. Fear is writing that script and the working title is I'll never be enough. When fear writes the script, it turns our lives into performances, constantly chasing approval, perfection, and worthiness. But the soul can only carry that weight for so long. What follows isn't weakness, it's a signal. And often that quiet collapse we label as depression is really the beginning of something far more honest.
>> People talk about depression all the time. The difference between depression and sadness. Sadness is just you know from happen stance. Whatever happened or didn't happen for you or you know grief or whatever it is and depression is your body saying you I don't want to be this character anymore. I don't want to hold up this this avatar that you've created in the world. It's too much for me, >> right? >> You know, and uh so a friend of mine who's a spiritual teacher has a really good take. His name is Jeff Foster, and he uh his take on it is that you should think of the word depressed as deep rest. >> Deep rest. Your body needs to be depressed. >> It needs deep rest from the character that you've been trying to play, >> right? You know, the the uh great and powerful Oz. >> I'm the great and powerful Oz. How dare you come near me?
The ego whispers that we're not enough yet, that we need more and have to do more. This chase never ends. Jim reminds us true peace doesn't come from achievement. It comes from releasing the need to prove anything at all.
>> This is the voice of the ego. And if you listen to it, there will always be someone who's doing better than you. No matter what you gain, ego will not let you rest. It will tell you that you cannot stop until you've left an indelible mark on the earth. Until you've achieved immortality. How tricky is this ego that it would tempt us with the promise of something we already possess? The happy place is realizing that you're everything, you know, and that there's no real you involved in the first place. You know, the only thing that separates you from an African-Amean or an African Canadian is an idea.
>> Mhm. >> You know, and and the weather, >> right? >> You know, and the adaption to the climate >> and whatever it is. I I I don't believe in any of it. And uh and so the feeling of u wholeness is is is a different feeling than meanness. Wholeness isn't found in who we think we are. It begins when we loosen our grip on the idea of me. And in that stillness, something remarkable happens. The need to be someone fades. And what's left is simply being. But the mind resists the silence, creating ghosts of the future and shadows of the past. Anything to avoid the truth that the only moment that truly exists is now.
>> I believe that peace lies beyond personality, beyond invention in disguise.
You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts, worrying about the pathway to the future, but all there will ever be is what's happening here and the decisions we make in this moment, which are based in either love or fear. So many of us choose our path out of fear, disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect. So we never dare to ask the universe for it. I'm saying I'm the proof that you can ask the universe for it. Please, in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.