Three of the great theistic religions of our time have overlapping geographical roots and this book follows an epic journey through Europe, Africa and Western and Central Asia to explore the lives, culture and landscape of the Judaic, Christian and Muslim world. Motivated by a yearning to understand the 'other', regardless of culture and faith, we follow the author on her adventures to ancient cities, architectural masterpieces and stunning landscapes, and share her insights, joys and struggles along the way. She attempts to move beyond mere tolerance to a place of true understanding and respect. For readers who have come to love and appreciate Marie-Laure Valandro's human-to-human, down-to-earth encounters, this book is a real treat.

In a kind of sequel to her book Camino Walk: Where Inner & Outer Paths Meet, the following year, Marie-Laure Valandro walked and wrote about her experiences on the French section of the Via Podiensis, or Le Puy Route, one of four routes through France on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain and the tomb of St James. She again encountered a steadfast though fleeting international community on the route through southern France, while connecting her personal experiences with the many significant historical events of that area. In this book, she especially reflects on those of the ninth century in connection with key political and spiritual figures, the Grail mysteries, and the struggles of women of that time and region. The book brings to life the words of Rudolf Steiner and other writers, as well as the memoirs of historical personalities. In this day-by-day, step-by-step account, the author reveals her struggles along the way and considers the true purpose of such a journey -- or, indeed, any journey -- which is self-transformation. As with her book Camino Walk, the reader will be inspired -- if not to walk the physical Camino, then to find their own path to the inner challenge of change.

This book is the result the of the author's adventure in painting and work with Liane Collot d'Herbois (1907-1999), the well-known artist and therapist who worked in the tradition of Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research. The author learned to surrender to the beings of color, to remove one's self from the process, and to paint as "one would do mathematics," that is, in an orderly way. The journey recorded in Touched takes the reader first to Tintagel on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, where Liane Collot d'Herbois had lived as a child. In the early 1990s, the author first met Liane in Driebergen, The Netherlands, and began a journey of self-discovery through color. She recollects conversations with Liane, shares significant words from Rudolf Steiner, Liane, and others, along with observations on her travels through England, Europe, Russia, Persia, and elsewhere. Underlying the narrative is Marie-Laure's more intimate journey into light and darkness and colors and the wise teaching of Liane Collot d'Herbois. She describes the effects of using charcoal to explore light and darkness, then moves on discuss colors individually and their effects, subtle and otherwise, while illuminating her text with the words of Rudolf Steiner and others and offering her own observations on artists and color. Touched offers a sound and practical introduction to the world of light and darkness and color, as well as insights that will inspire experienced artists.

In this captivating collection of stories, Marie-Laure Valandro shares her adventures and insights from her life and work on a 60-acre biodynamic farm and garden in a small rural town in Eastern Wisconsin. Readers get a rare and intimate glimpse into the realities of modern farm life, replete with its beauty and magic, challenges and demands. Experience the author's nourishing and at times backbreaking journey as she crafts and stewards a true homestead on an old farm in the magnificent Midwest. With refreshing imagery and observations, we further our understanding and appreciation of the elements, plants, and animals. Included are the words of Rudolf Steiner, Peter Proctor, Dennis Klocek, Rudolf Hauschka, Wolf Storl, Michael Lipson, and many others.

Marie-Laure Valandro, the author of Camino Walk and Letters from Florence and a long-time student of Anthroposophy, takes readers on yet another journey-this one more inward. Marie-Laure begins this journey with a Vipassana Buddhist retreat in southern Quebec with the well-known meditation teacher, Goenka. The meditation retreat becomes the touchstone of the author's travels, while Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy serves as the ground. The author describes the spiritual dimensions of her travels in India and Europe, while always returning to her deep understanding of Steiner's spiritual science. As always in Marie-Laure's writing, in Deliverance of the Spellbound God we discover the sublime in the ordinary, and wisdom in even the most foolish of situations. In her descriptions of people and places, as well as in the details of her travels, she shows how we can look outward to know ourselves, and look inward to know the world. Deliverance of the Spellbound God offers gifts of wisdom from an extraordinary life lived.

Marie-Laure Valandro takes the reader on both an outer and an inner journey of discovery by way of the grand, living museum of Western history and tradition, Florence, Italy. Wandering the streets, cathedrals, and museums of Florence and the surrounding towns of Tuscany, the author gives fresh life to the Florentine painters, philosophers, poets, and architecture of bygone eras, while showing their relevance for our lives today. Letters from Florence is much more than a travelogue; it takes the reader on a personal journey to inner landscapes, ancient and contemporary, through the author's own words and those of philosophers such as Goethe and Rudolf Steiner, the verse of Dante, and seventy of her evocative photographs. Regardless of whether one has visited Florence, the insights that Marie-Laure shares in Letters from Florence offer food for the mind and soul while entertaining the reader with the her observations and encounters, as well as her sometimes humorous critiques of modern Western culture and the spirit of our time.

In CAMINO WALK, Marie-Laure Valandro takes readers on a very personal pilgrimage along the centuries-old Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. The Camino de Santiago de Compostela (the Way of St James) is literally a path of devotion to the beings of Christianity-to Christ, to Mary, and to Saint James, for whom the Camino and the cathedral at the end are named. The Camino de Santiago winds its way through terrain that ranges from high plateaus to rugged mountain trails. It is a challenging pilgrimage during which inner and outer paths meet. Beginning in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques of southern France, the author traveled approximately 800 kilometers to Santiago on the northwest coast of Spain. Along the way, with the many other pilgrims on the path, she experienced an international community of the heart, shared by the many thousands of pilgrims of past, present, and future who have walked the path for more than a thousand years. Marie-Laure Valandro offers her fascinating and personal observations of the Camino and its fellowship, joys, pains, and hardships. She describes the many pilgrims she encountered and, most important, invites the reader to share her interior journey to Santiago and to wholeness. CAMINO WALK offers a step-by-step account of the transformation that is possible when ordinary life falls away and we make room for gratitude and wonder for all that we encounter on our own path.

Eating is one of life's most vital activities. Food can be the object of instinct, desire, obsession and even fear, yet we all want to be healthy and well nourished. Becoming more conscious of what we put into our body can be a powerful part of taking charge of our life and determining our destiny. Quality nutrition can help us understand nature, and discover what is behind the substances we eat -- the spiritual within the material. In this inspiring book, Marie-Laure Valandro draws on her deep study of Rudolf Steiner's spiritual science, as well as the work of Rudolf Hauschka and Karl Koenig.