Unearthing Edward Abbey's spiritual philosophy is not an easy task. One must sift through Abbey's humor, sort through Cactus Ed's flamboyant character, look under the veneer of this character, and beyond Abbey's overt objective of convincing readers to defy the destruction of wilderness, and only then does the spiritual philosophy of Abbey become visible. To understand his perception of spirituality, one must define what constitutes a mystic and determine what American theological philosophies mystics tend to adopt. Once these are defined, one can apply those principles to Abbey's Desert Solitaire, and determine that Abbey is a nature mystic who adheres to the ecocentric based immanence theology. This theology is contrary to the Judeo-Christian based emanation theology which supports anthropocentricism and resourcism.

The Desert Solitaire curriculum was designed as a basis for exploring Edward Abbey's book, of the same name, in a high school field ecology class. Students read the book over a period of six weeks during the middle of the school year. Lessons were designed to aid students in exploring their home ecosystem, the Mojave Desert, via comparison with Arches National Monument as described in Desert Solitaire. This exploration fosters in students a sense of place and connection with their home environment. With little alteration, the curriculum can be used by students to examine their own ecosystem, even if it is not a desert. Furthermore, this curriculum can be used for delving into environmental issues, exploring environmental values and/or beliefs, or as an introduction to the genre of nature literature.