John Muir

Overview

"Certainly, whether you are a believer or a sceptic, but are in any way drawn to nature, this collection will make you want to head for the woods to find out why."--John Muir Trust Journal

"John Muir was an unorthodox thinker in every realm, including the religious; but he was deeply open to the ecstatic experience of the wild. He gave us a new vocabulary, one that has opened eyes and hearts ever since. His wild prayers and preaching will move you enormously."--Bill McKibben

The founder of the Sierra Club and "Father of the National Parks," John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist who sparked the modern environmental movement. As his letters, journals, and other writings show, Muir's extraordinary affinity with the natural world was grounded in a deep spirituality.

Living for months, even years, in the wilderness, he experienced a deep communion with the sacred. Muir's contemplations on the natural world are filled with mystical intuition of God's reality: "Rocks and waters, etc., are words of God and so are men. We all flow from one fountain Soul. All are expressions of one Love."

In exploring this little-known aspect of Muir's work, this volume contributes to a distinctly American strain of spirituality that finds an echo in today's environmental movement. For those who have read and admired Muir and those who want to discover him, John Muir: Spiritual Writings offers a new and inspiring look at the man and his spirituality.

Tim Flinders is author of Thomas Berry's Sacred Surround: An Introduction to His Thought and Spirituality (Two Rock Publishing). An educator and writer, he lectures on contemplative spirituality at the Sophia Center, Holy Names Univeristy, Oakland, and is a research fellow at the Spirituality and Health Institute, Santa Clara University. He and his wife Carol are founders of the Two Rock Institute in Tomales, California.