The introduction from Song of the Mountain Memoir

Book Release Oct. 19th, 2026

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I was born with a taste for adventure and a knack for journaling what I saw. For many years that looked like short articles, research reports and bookshelves full of copious notebooks. Eventually it felt like collecting closets of souvenirs without finding a good place to put them. A few years ago in the span of little over an hour, five total strangers at a conference told me they thought I should write my life story. That’s when this account began to take shape.

Boundaries and Conflict

Little did I realize then that I would be drawn again and again to boundaries where human conflict arises. Good fences may make good neighbors, but the bad barriers I would encounter in my life journeys cried out for fresh inspiration to surmount seemingly insuperable differences.

In this book you’ll find my notes from boundary-challenging adventures across various seasons of life, beginning with the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam war zone. My penchant for observation soon branched out to more subtle margins in the world of tribal shamans, mystics, and religions well outside the limits of my childhood faith. What I experienced convinced me a very real and powerful realm of the spirit exists beyond the boundaries of what can be seen with the naked eye. That made me wonder what else might be missing simply because I couldn’t see it. This is how I became a seeker after spiritual truth, taking detailed notes along the way.

Big Ideas

In college, I was surprised to discover that big ideas attracted my interest as much as distant lands and people, so it was natural to include in this book a few thoughts about the ideas and belief systems I saw converging in the world around me. You’ll find some of those observations throughout the book. I finally settled on the term “Messiah Wars” to encapsulate the conflicting ideas and forces that affect peoples’ lives so profoundly. It’s about what we perceive as ultimate reality. Ideas are more important than many people realize. Basic concepts like freedom, rights, and justice are huge enough to propel waves of history, yet reach down deeply to impact our daily choices. It’s important to sort out the values and boundaries we hold most dear—which I hope what I’ve written will help you do.

The Ultimate Boundary Between Heaven and Earth

I realized the boundary between one’s personal journey and Ultimate Reality is the most mysterious boundary of all, a passable border between heaven and earth. To verify the factuality of my account, I bent over backwards to chronicle specific times, places and historical events that corroborate what happened—even surreal events like watching pueblo people with painted faces call down rain from a clear blue sky. Or, passing out cold in a huge Manhattan cathedral after beholding a vision more real than life. Or, sitting in conversation with the Dalai Lama in his residence after praying for nearly a month in his personal monastery—not to Buddha but to Jesus. I couldn’t have made these things up. It’s all part of the adventure that began with a mysterious mountain song whispering down an arctic valley beneath the midnight sun. There my heart acquired a longing deeper than words to find someone to love until time runs out and eternity takes over.

Conveying the Spirit of the Times

One of my primary writing goals has been to convey the spirit of the times that led up to the pivotal era that rolled in like a tidal wave in the first quarter of the new millennium. That’s why you’ll find asides, historical tidbits, and reflections, to depict the swirling zeitgeist that marked the era in which I’ve lived. Incidentally, the small flames on the drop caps that end each chapter are a nod to the flicker of life that burns in every human soul. However small that spark may seem at first, it’s meant to be tended until it becomes a life-giving flame that enlightens your heart, brightens the world around you, and encourages others.

There’s so much more to the adventure of life than we first imagine. I hope you find more of it than you once thought possible.