What do a Burner, Jesus Christ, and a Sedona hippie all have in common?
They go to the desert to find themselves, of course. In this episode of Hold That Thought we continue our miniseries unpacking the promises of place and how we attach transformation to geography. This week, our focus is the desert, a landscape often imagined as empty and hostile. It’s a place where people go to test their strength, self-control and survival skills or seek clarity and spiritual transformation in the emptiness. We explore the history of Indigenous peoples who have long called the American Southwest desert home, trace the religious roots of the desert’s symbolic promise, and chat through our own interest in a desert escape. Hold that thought! Topics: Desert, religion, nature, Bible, history, American Southwest, Joshua Tree, Burning Man, art, culture, psychology, spirituality, self-discovery, solitude, wilderness, Indigenous history, Sedona
Topics: Ranch,Nature, Fashion, Culture, American History, Western, Westernization, Mythology of the American West, Cowboys, Psychology, Meaning Marking, The Yellowstone Effect, Film, TV
Sources:
Luxury in Chile’s Ancient Atacama Desert
Religio-Spiritual Participation in Two American Indian Populations
The Five Most Powerful Vortex Sites in Sedona
This May Change How We Think About Struggles in Life
Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area
