The Guru on the Mountain: Chiggers, Lizards & Desert Heat: My Vision Quest to Discover the Source of Spirit (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781733841191)

If you've never been on a true Vision Quest-or even if you have-you'll want to join Darrell Yardley on a spiritual journey in the Chihuahuan Desert in Texas. In this book, he shares his experiences, starting with Native American medicine man Strong Eagle's sweat lodge and then alone for four days amidst the cactus, encountering crazy itchy chiggers, chatting with his inquisitive visitor "Lajitas Lizard," and suffering through hours of blasting heat. You might ask yourself, why would someone do something like this? Was he crazy? You will find those answers in Darrell's tale too.

Each day brings Darrell new insights. Guided by the Native American 4-direction medicine wheel, Darrell meets his personal Jungian archetypes: Turquoise Woman, Cougar, Wind Eagle, Bandido, and the dragon Chaos. Each offers a profound message about human consciousness and our existential quest for meaning.

Be at Darrell's side as he imagines a guru, by the name of Charles, sitting on his high spiritual mountaintop watching over Darrell during his Quest. The guru sparks us to ask: how can we too arrive at this higher level of spirituality? To this question, Darrell brings his background as an evolutionary biologist and explores the underlying science of the human drive for spirituality and an end to suffering. He poses questions, and draws some provocative conclusions, about what is real and what is not.

The Guru on the Mountain is a stimulating panorama of science and philosophy, full of wit, pathos, and inspiring visions. A spiritual adventure, funny and transformative, this is a journey you do not want to miss.