Among the most enlightening graduation addresses I’ve heard was Jim Carrey’s at Maharishi University of Management.
Having received my Masters degree from this bastion of higher learning that awakens your higher Self, I’m proud to share its highlights.
The comedian/philosopher/mystic says:
“I used to think Jim Carrey is all that I was…Just a flickering light… The great nothing masquerading as something you can name.
You didn’t think I could be serious did ya’? I don’t think you understand who you’re dealing with! I have no limits! I cannot be contained because I’m the container.”
He then fuses spirituality with laughter:
“I used to believe that who I was ended at the edge of my skin, that I had been given this little vehicle called a body from which to experience creation, and though I couldn’t have asked for a sportier model, it was after all a loaner and would have to be returned.”
Those familiar with affirmations recognize Carrey’s seriousness, and will laugh at his conclusion.
“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! And if it doesn’t happen for you right away, it’s only because the universe is so busy fulfilling my order. It’s party size!”
He addresses going for your dream vs. relying on “safe” things to fall back on that keeps people stuck in a livelihood they tolerate, instead of creating a lovelihood they adore.
“My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant, and when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job and our family had to do whatever we could to survive… I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love. That’s not the only thing he taught me though: I watched the affect my father’s love and humor had on the world around me, and I thought, ‘That’s something to do, that’s something worth my time.’”
We get a portrait of the comic as a young boy…
“It wasn’t long before I started acting up. People would come over to my house and they would be greeted by a 7 year-old throwing himself down a large flight of stairs. They would say, ‘What happened?’ And I would say, ‘I don’t know - let’s check the replay.’ And I would go back to the top of the stairs and come back down in slow motion.”
…Then a portrait of the comic as a young man.
“My father used to brag that I wasn’t a ham - I was the whole pig. And he treated my talent as if it was his second chance. When I was about 28, after a decade as a professional comedian, I realized one night in L.A. that the purpose of my life had always been to free people from concern, like my dad. When I realized this, I dubbed my new devotion, The Church of Freedom From Concern - and I dedicated myself to that ministry.”
Doing his dharma (his calling) helped him command eight figure deals, but then there’s the spiritual quest.
“My choosing to free people from concern got me to the top of a mountain. … (but) the only one I hadn’t freed was myself and that’s when my search for identity deepened.”
He then applauds those who’ve applauded him.
“But you…already know who you are and that peace that we’re after, lies somewhere beyond personality, beyond the perception of others, beyond invention and disguise, even beyond effort itself…. you have to let the armor fall….Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory…We’re not the pictures on the film stock. We are the light that shines through it. All else is just smoke and mirrors.”
Having mastered money and fame, he encourages his audience to go to the Source from where all success springs.
“I wished people could realize all their dreams of wealth and fame so they could see that it’s not where you’ll find your sense of completion...I was concerned about going out in the world and doing something bigger than myself, until someone smarter than myself made me realize that there is nothing bigger than myself!”
The comic becomes mystic once again.
“My soul is not contained within the limits of my body. My body is contained within the limitlessness of my soul - one unified field of nothing dancing for no particular reason, except maybe to comfort and entertain itself.”
Like Eckhart Tolle, he recognizes the power of now.
“Now, I’m always at the beginning. I have a reset button called presence and I ride that button constantly. Once that button is functional in your life, there’s no story the mind could create that will be as compelling.”
And the comic/mystic speaks to you of your ego which,
“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 the ego that it would tempt us with the promise of something we already possess.”
The minister who teaches freedom from concern concludes:
“So I just want you to relax - that’s my job - relax and dream up a good life! It’s just about letting the universe know what you want and working toward it while letting go of how it might come to pass.
Your job is not to figure out how it’s going to happen for you, but to open the door in your head and when the doors open in real life, just walk through it. Don’t worry if you miss your cue. There will always be another door opening…You are ready and able to do beautiful things in this world.”
