Product Description In a memoir of saints, sages, and swollen ankles, Helen walks across the Catholic heartland of Northern Spain. Her chosen route is the picturesque Camino Way, a Christian pilgrimage revered since medieval times. Ancient towns and villages, each with a distinct culture and cuisine, mark the way.Memories and miles intertwine, spanning not only the countryside but also her Christian upbringing and later life as a Buddhist. What is it that compels her into the cathedrals and rustic churches she finds during her month-long journey?'Just as I walked from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela - a different woman now to the one who began - I also travelled from one religion to another. Perhaps I put on pilgrim boots to better understand the message of each - the verbs of their prayers - what it means to engage with life, the joys of aloneness and the delights of company.'Through recollections of meditation retreats, monasteries in Burma and encounters with the gilded Saints and Madonnas of Spanish cathedrals, Helen contemplates the heart of two religions, in her quest for deeper meanings that can unite us all. About the Author Helen Burns' interest in Eastern traditions turned serious in 1975. She devoted three years to Asian Studies with a major in Hindi at The Australian National University, until the call to venture deeper overtook the need for a degree. India beckoned.Time in Sarnath and Bodh Gaya, where it is said Gautama the Buddha gave his first teachings, led her on a path of inquiry. Sitting at the feet of lineage holders and teachers she has practiced within the three Buddhist traditions - Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Extended silent meditation retreats in Myanmar and Australia provided a foundation for living, working and relationship over the next decades. Toward the end of this period she began writing. An early draft of a travel manuscript about the pilgrimage to Santiago do Compostela was awarded a Byron Bay Writers Festival Residency in 2004 and later selected for a Varuna LongLines Residency at Australia's National Writers' House. Close to completion, in 2009, it was shortlisted for the annual Varuna Harper Collins Award. The Way is a River of Stars was first published as an ebook in 2013. It is now available as a paperback.Through all these years the pulse of India kept on. In 2009, with one book completed and no intention for another, it was time to return to India. Descending through the clouds into the smoky night sky of Chennai felt like coming home. Little did Helen know the circuitous path awaiting her. She encountered the teachings of Indian saints, living and dead, from tombs within temples and mosques, to ashrams where the world flocked; from all-night qawwalis at the feet of Sufi saints in Rajasthan, to lone sadhus in mountain caves. And then, one day, entering the gates of a temple to a goddess where Araiyers dance past midnight and divine with pearls as they chant her name, the seeds for Andal's Garland were sown. A novel that has taken its own sweet time was released by Odyssey Books in September, 2021Helen has practised as a Herbalist and Iridologist and created several businesses catering for what was once known as the New Age. She now divides her time between a tiny house in Byron Bay, a slightly larger abode in Far North Queensland, and India wherever it takes her.https: //www.authorhelenburns.com/

The Way is a River of Stars: A Buddhist's Journey Through Northern Spain on the Camino Pilgrim Route

Religion & Spirituality

Burns, Helen

Buddhism

Helen Burns

Andal's eighth century poetry is interpreted for a new audience in this book of beauty, surrender and love. Unique among India's pantheon of gods, Andal remains relatively unknown in the West. The only female among Tamil Nadu's twelve poet-saints, Andal transcended her earthly roots and is now revered as a goddess.Steeped in luscious images of nature and alive with myth, her verses at their core are a deep yearning for the divine. Sumptuously illustrated, this companion to the novel Andal's Garland, transports us to the world Andal imagined - a timeless world still alive today in the hearts and minds of those who encounter her songs.

A Garland of Love: Illuminating Andal's Tirrupavai

Taylor, Alison

Blurb

Female readers will readily embrace this gentle yet strong exploration of the power of motherhood. Helen Burns confides that "every prayer I prayed, every bedtime story I read, every tear I kissed away, every encouraging word I spoke, every promise I kept, every memory I made -- all of these things truly mattered." 
 Written in what she refers to as the "reward stage" of motherhood -- when all the seeds she has sown are reaping harvest in the lives of her now-grown children -- she rejoices that she can "fully understand the why behind the what in everything we do as mothers." 
 Any mother will be refreshed as she is reminded of the value of the everyday miracles that result from expressing affection, being truly present in conversations, and demonstrating commitment in small ways.

The Miracle in a Mother's Hug

Parenting & Relationships

Family Relationships

Howard Books

It's a boy! New mothers welcome this announcement with both excitement and trepidation. It's the beginning of a great adventure, as well as one of the most challenging jobs a woman can face. Moms, your desire to understand your son can equip you with the power to influence his life for good, thereby influencing his family and generations to come. God made you this little boy's mom on purpose! And with John Burns's experienced help in this book, you can learn not only to endure it but to celebrate it. It's a girl! Those three little words create a rush of joy and anticipation for every new dad - typically followed by a healthy dose of fear and apprehension. Dads, from God you can learn the qualities and characteristics that will make you the kind of dad your daughter needs you to be - and the kind of dad God always intended you to become. And with Helen Burns's gentle advice about girls, it may be easier than you think. Join us now as we celebrate the divine differences in sons and daughters. Learn to be gentle, loving, and understanding dads and moms from the wise and gracious Father of us all.

What Dads Need to Know About Daughters/What Moms N

Burns, John

Female readers will readily embrace this gentle yet strong exploration of the power of motherhood. Helen Burns confides that "every prayer I prayed, every bedtime story I read, every tear I kissed away, every encouraging word I spoke, every promise I kept, every memory I made -- all of these things truly mattered."   Written in what she refers to as the "reward stage" of motherhood -- when all the seeds she has sown are reaping harvest in the lives of her now-grown children -- she rejoices that she can "fully understand the why behind the what in everything we do as mothers."   Any mother will be refreshed as she is reminded of the value of the everyday miracles that result from expressing affection, being truly present in conversations, and demonstrating commitment in small ways.

The Miracle in a Mother's Hug (Motherhood Club)

A two-in-one guide on how to parent a child of the opposite sex discusses how the bond between a mother and son profoundly influences how a man will treat his wife, and provides accompanying recommendations for fathers on how to model the traits that will contribute to a daughter's self-image and future relationships.

What Dads Need to Know About Daughters/What Moms Need to Know About Sons

In eighth century India, Andal is born into a world where girls are married and with child by fourteen. Defying the mores of her time, she refuses marriage to a mortal man. Only a god will do. Andal's imagination is boundless and her antics set the town's tongues wagging. As Andal becomes more and more absorbed by her visions, she composes songs to her divine lover. Saisha discovers Andal's songs in a book on a trip to India with her partner Marcus. The verses are confronting and unearth memories Saisha thought were long ago buried. Not only is she unable to conceive, for the past two decades Marcus has chosen celibacy. What defines her as a woman when these two primal desires remain unfulfilled? Andal's words are deceptively simple, yet shine a lamp on the labyrinths of Saisha's sexuality and her quest to find peace with the choices she has made.

Andal's Garland

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Odyssey Books

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