John Muir: Spiritual Writings

John Muir (1848-1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, whose writings contributed to the preservation of Yosemite and other natural parks, and, through his founding of the Sierra Club, helped spark the modern environmental movement. As his letters, journals, and other writings disclose, Muir's affinity with nature was grounded in a deep spirituality. Living for months and even years in the wilderness, he experienced a deep communion with the sacred. His contemplations on the natural world are filled with mystical intuitions 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 ecological movement.