#sparkchamber 101419 — Mirabai Starr

Such powerful beauty and vibrancy in the #sparkchamber today, as we connect with author, teacher, and translator of the mystics, Mirabai Starr. A leading voice in the emerging inter-spiritual movement, Mirabai writes creative non-fiction using fresh, lyrical language, helping to make timeless wisdom accessible to a contemporary circle of seekers.

Daughter of the counterculture, she was born in New York in 1961 to secular Jewish parents who challenged institutionalized religion and were active in the anti-war protest movement of the Vietnam era. In 1972, the family embarked on an extended road trip that led them to settle in the mountains of Taos, New Mexico. There, they embraced an alternative, “back-to-the-land” lifestyle, in a communal effort to live simply and sustainably — values that remain important to her to this day.

As a teenager, Mirabai lived at the Lama Foundation, an intentional spiritual community in New Mexico that has honored the world’s spiritual traditions since its inception in 1968. The foundation’s focus has always rested on the mystical heart of each path, and Starr was trained from an early age to recognize and celebrate the interconnections between and among all faiths.

She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico–Taos for 20 years, and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog. Her talks and retreats incorporate silent meditation, inter-spiritual chanting, sacred poetry, and deep dialog.

In her latest book, Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, Mirabai shares the subversive wisdom and fierce compassion of the feminine mystic across cultural boundaries and throughout history — from saints and sages, to goddesses and archetypal energies, to contemporary teachers and seekers. “Seeds of feminine wisdom that have been quietly germinating underground are now breaking through the surface,” she writes. “Women everywhere are rising to the collective call to step up and repair our broken Earth. And we are activating a paradigm shift such as the world has never seen.” Wild Mercy not only introduces the women who blazed a path — each chapter explores a different facet of feminine mysticism through a tapestry of teachings, reflections, and stories — but also offers practice for integrating the chapter’s themes into everyday life.

Plan to cross paths with Mirabai at any of her upcoming readings, talks, book signings and other events, or see more of her story at her website and on Instagram.

1.] Where do ideas come from?
The Sacred Feminine

2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
The broken heart of the world

3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
Contemplative, steady

4.] How do you know when you are done?
Loving attention to detail yields felt sense of completion, resonance