Going to the desert, the unknown, the strange... itself opens the otherwise closed mind of the Lost. Speaking in riddles/parables, having face tattoos, a lifestyle out of bounds of "normal" are all forms of desert. "And who did you go to see, a reed blowing in the wind. And who did you go to see, a man in fine clothing?" Jesus, Universal Love it seems cannot be found in plain sight. This is why Holy WomenMen wind up in the desert.