Father Brad Karelius's vocational path did not protect him from the trials and tragedies inherent in human life. When his teenaged son began suffering from seizures, the Episcopal parish priest sought strength and solace in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada's Owens Valley. The primitive, ancient beauty of the desert provided Father Karelius with a sense of connection to God that his work in an Orange County Latino barrio could not. Over the years, he has made regular pilgrimages to the area, and in The Spirit in the Desert he invites readers to follow suit. While he acknowledges that...

A spectacular stretch of earth, the Eastern Sierra region of California reveals volcanic reefs, desert sand dunes, majestic mountains, and snow-fed lakes and rivers. Drawing on forty years of college teaching on the world's religions, Professor Brad Karelius is your guide, uncovering deep spiritual dimensions in this achingly beautiful place. This book shares crystallizations of religious wisdom collected through the ages, and finely tuned descriptions of holy sites, which you may visit, that will draw you deeper in your personal encounters with world spiritualities. ""The book is a lovely...