Too many Christians "play it safe," says the author, by settling for surface piety. If we dare go beneath conventionality and our carefully built images that make God nonthreatening, we can reawaken the mystic within each of us and have a direct experience with God. Using the tradition of the mystic emerging from the wasteland, the author helps guide our modern journey into our own inner desert. This psychic wilderness is terrifying yet welcoming, filled with danger and filled with promise; but it is only here that our inner demons can be fought and our souls reborn. We are then renewed as our original selves, fused with God. The author draws from scripture--especially John the Baptist, from Catholic and Orthodox mysticism, from theology, from philosophy, from literature, and from psychology--in particular Joseph Campbell"s stages of the spiritual journey. The result is a beautifully written book that explores the prophetic vocation that"s the destiny of every Christian. The book shows the way to purification, transformation, and confrontation with God. And because the essence of love is reaching out, the final step in the process of rebirth is to then journey back to the world to reach out in compassion to others. Soul Wilderness is personally challenging yet highly accessible reading, meant for Christians of all denominations, particularly spiritual seekers, those trying to balance contemplation with action, and anyone who meditates. It"s also an extraordinary resource for religious and clergy, spiritual directors, retreat directors, and professors and students of spirituality, philosophy, or theology.