What is real community? In Light in the Mountains Jeff Rasley relates what he discovered in the unique and ancient communal practices of the Rai people in remote Basa Village in the Nepal Himalayas. Rasley was welcomed into the community, not as stranger or even guest, but as "Dhai"-- brother. The villagers taught the explorer-adventurer the true meaning of communal hospitality. Rasley has returned each year to Basa and has helped to build an elementary school, a hydroelectric system and smokeless stoves. But Rasley affirms that he has received more from Basa than he has given.
Reviewers have praised Bringing Progress to Paradise, the prequel to Light in the Mountains, as a more honest Three Cups of Tea. It is "Part memoir, part travelogue, part documentary, this true adventure captures your interest in the opening pages and leaves you yearning for your own personal pilgrimage through the remote villages of Nepal." Cherri Megasko
"It really is an inspiring story, beautifully written, and beautifully illustrated." Andrew Olivo Parodi
"This book reminds me of Three Cups of Tea in that Rasley went to Nepal, saw the needs of the tiny village in the Himalayas, which had no running water and no electricity and badly needed teachers and a school, returned home and made it happen." Bonnie Neely, Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
"Well written and full of colorful descriptions and insights about the mystical Nepalese, this book made me want to get in high-altitude shape and go trekking under the shadows of the Himalayas to meet these wonderful people." Glen Craney
Light in the Mountains is a call to those living in urban North America and Europe to regain the connectedness of community. The wisdom offered to "us" by Basa Village is to work hard but sing, dance, cultivate flowers and enjoy life in community.
Readers of Bringing Progress to Paradise demanded the rest of the story:
"But the central issue ... demanding a sequel, is the question of whether the "Progress" he is bringing, while admittedly of material value to the villagers, might lead to some degree of corruption of their way of life, a consumerist, Western-oriented degradation of a spiritual depth and sensitivity to their surroundings... I can hardly wait for the necessary follow-up in the next book of the series." John McLaughlin, PhD
"The reader is taken on a fascinating journey to explore, compare and contrast, as well as debate how the meeting of the East and West has altered the landscape and lives of people in this remote part of the globe." Erika Borsos
"If I could picture a time pre-written word and be sitting around a campfire with the people of my community listening to the old story teller sharing stories of the quests of our people, I could picture Mr. Rasley being that story teller." DJ Sauer
If you liked Seven Years in Tibet, read Light in the Mountains to find out whether "progress" has damaged the village called a beautiful little flower in the mountains.
Other books by Jeff Rasley -
For the beginning of the story of Basa Village, read Bringing Progress to Paradise
To understand where 3 Cups of Tea went wrong, read India - Nepal Himalayas in the Moment
Want to get out of the snow and mountains and onto sandy beaches and swaying palms, check out the lyrical Islands in my Dreams, a Memoir.
For a change of pace curl up with False Prophet, a Legal Thriller, romantic mystery and inspirational tale based on a legal case Rasley handled in his Indianapolis law practice.
If you enjoy sports action, history, humor, and romance, relive the cultural revolution of the 60s, check out MONSTERS OF THE MIDWAY The Death, Resurrection, and Redemption of Chicago Football.
Pilgrimage: Sturgis to Wounded
Knee and Back Home, a Memoir begins with a motorcycle road trip to the Bacchanalia of Sturgis Bike Week but takes
a detour to the site of the massacre of Wounded knee and then across the Pacific to the Himalayas and back home to Indiana.
Reviewers have praised Bringing Progress to Paradise, the prequel to Light in the Mountains, as a more honest Three Cups of Tea. It is "Part memoir, part travelogue, part documentary, this true adventure captures your interest in the opening pages and leaves you yearning for your own personal pilgrimage through the remote villages of Nepal." Cherri Megasko
"It really is an inspiring story, beautifully written, and beautifully illustrated." Andrew Olivo Parodi
"This book reminds me of Three Cups of Tea in that Rasley went to Nepal, saw the needs of the tiny village in the Himalayas, which had no running water and no electricity and badly needed teachers and a school, returned home and made it happen." Bonnie Neely, Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
"Well written and full of colorful descriptions and insights about the mystical Nepalese, this book made me want to get in high-altitude shape and go trekking under the shadows of the Himalayas to meet these wonderful people." Glen Craney
Light in the Mountains is a call to those living in urban North America and Europe to regain the connectedness of community. The wisdom offered to "us" by Basa Village is to work hard but sing, dance, cultivate flowers and enjoy life in community.
Readers of Bringing Progress to Paradise demanded the rest of the story:
"But the central issue ... demanding a sequel, is the question of whether the "Progress" he is bringing, while admittedly of material value to the villagers, might lead to some degree of corruption of their way of life, a consumerist, Western-oriented degradation of a spiritual depth and sensitivity to their surroundings... I can hardly wait for the necessary follow-up in the next book of the series." John McLaughlin, PhD
"The reader is taken on a fascinating journey to explore, compare and contrast, as well as debate how the meeting of the East and West has altered the landscape and lives of people in this remote part of the globe." Erika Borsos
"If I could picture a time pre-written word and be sitting around a campfire with the people of my community listening to the old story teller sharing stories of the quests of our people, I could picture Mr. Rasley being that story teller." DJ Sauer
If you liked Seven Years in Tibet, read Light in the Mountains to find out whether "progress" has damaged the village called a beautiful little flower in the mountains.
Other books by Jeff Rasley -
For the beginning of the story of Basa Village, read Bringing Progress to Paradise
To understand where 3 Cups of Tea went wrong, read India - Nepal Himalayas in the Moment
Want to get out of the snow and mountains and onto sandy beaches and swaying palms, check out the lyrical Islands in my Dreams, a Memoir.
For a change of pace curl up with False Prophet, a Legal Thriller, romantic mystery and inspirational tale based on a legal case Rasley handled in his Indianapolis law practice.
If you enjoy sports action, history, humor, and romance, relive the cultural revolution of the 60s, check out MONSTERS OF THE MIDWAY The Death, Resurrection, and Redemption of Chicago Football.
Pilgrimage: Sturgis to Wounded
Knee and Back Home, a Memoir begins with a motorcycle road trip to the Bacchanalia of Sturgis Bike Week but takes
a detour to the site of the massacre of Wounded knee and then across the Pacific to the Himalayas and back home to Indiana.
