Customer Reviews

Soul Making: The Desert Way of Spirituality

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My minister spoke with me last September of the "gift of tears" mentioned in one of the chapters of this book. These tears "soften the heart and open the soul". At the time I was beginning treatment for clinical depression and was spending quite a bit of time excercising this "gift" and was sure that these tears were signs of my lack of faith in God. He helped me to see that the ability to cry for the world is fundamental to the Christian soul. Nine months later, I discovered this book from which that term derived.

Jones has written a challenging and spiritually inspiring guide to our progress through such questions as "Who is God? Who am I? What is the meaning of my life?" The resonance of his prose, the depth of his understanding, the richness of his literary references is phenomenol. If you are on a journey, seeking to discover the "soul" within you, you will find this book quite enlightening.

I cannot reccommend this book highly enough! It is not easy reading, but the answers to life and faith are not easy ones. This is a book to be savored, pondered, and returned to again and again as we continue in the life long process of "soul making".

"I want to be a believer with passion and intelligence - and that longing always leads me into a desert place, a place of emptiness and death. And it is there that I begin to learn how to love" (quote from SoulMaking). Jones' book offers soul-food for the spiritual seekers. He explores the dark night of the soul that all believers experience; the times without like-minded fellowship where spirituality is defined solely by intimacy with God.

This is a book which draws you slowly to investigating the truth at your own core regarding your living of Christianity. It soars above individual church politics and invites you to truly discern your path. Not easy but compelling. A book to be read over time and savored as you grow .

Very few books in 20th century Christian sprituality can match the depth and literate force of this classic. It is a remarkable book that stands with the work of Father Nouwen and even Father Louie. If you read it you will recommend it.

Very good book on desert spirituality. I would recommend it to anyone seaching for a way to become closer to God. It is written for the lay reader.

I live in the desert and have for years. It is not a place of "emptiness and death", it is not a good place for crying and there is nothing particularly Christain about it. If you come to the desert with preconceived notions, if you attempt to overlay the desert with your with your existing mental framework, if you know how the world works before you get here you're going to miss everything. The desert is an exciting and dynamic place but it's not an Eastern Forest, your perception must change. If you could see the desert after rain, if you could feel the promise of night at sunset in the summer you would be thrilled not saddened. If you could watch the Cactus Wrens play you would know. The desert night is a wonderful place, even in the summer, when you step into a dry desert wash you can feel the coolness. Step into the arroyo.

As in all of his works, Jones attempts sagacity and manages just "gas".