About this episode
Author of critically acclaimed new translations of the mystics, and reflections on the unifying teachings at the heart of all spiritual paths. Mirabai Starr uses fresh, lyrical language to help make timeless wisdom accessible to a contemporary circle of seekers. Daughter of the counter-culture, Mirabai was born in New York in 1961 to secular Jewish parents who rejected the patriarchy of institutionalized religion. Intellectual artists and social justice activists, they were active in the anti-war protest movement of the Vietnam era. As a teenager, Mirabai lived at the Lama Foundation, an intentional spiritual community that has honored all the world’s faith traditions since its inception in 1967. This ecumenical experience. Mirabai has been an adjunct professor of Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos since 1993. Her emphasis is on making connections between the perennial teachings found at the heart of all the world’s spiritual paths, in an effort to promote peace and justice. Mirabai speaks and teaches nationally and internationally on the teachings of the mystics and contemplative practice, and is a certified bereavement counselor. She is available for interviews, speaking engagements, workshops, and contemplative retreats. She lives in the mountains of Northern New Mexico with her husband, Jeff Little (Ganga Das). Between them, Mirabai and Jeff have four grown daughters and six grandchildren. Mirabai’s youngest daughter, Jenny, was killed in a car accident in 2001 at the age of fourteen. On that same day, Mirabai’s first book, a translation of Dark Night of the Soul, was released. She considers this experience, and the connection between profound loss and longing for God, the ground of her own spiritual life. Books: Saint Francis of Assisi - Brother of Creation Saint Teresa of Avila - Passionate Mystic Teresa of Avila: The Book of My Life Saint John of the Cross - Devotions, Prayers, & Living Wisdom Hildegard of Bingen - Devotions, Prayers, & Living Wisdom Saint Michael the Archangel - Devotions, Prayers, and Living Wisdom Our Lady of Guadalupe - Devotions, Prayers, & Living Wisdom God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam The Showings of Julian of Norwich: A New Translation Website: mirabaistarr.com Interview recorded 10/25/014 at the Science and Nonduality Conference. Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Transcript of this interview Second BatGap interview with Mirabai. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction at Science and Nonduality Conference 00:03:02 - The Influence of Eastern Traditions on my Upbringing 00:05:23 - A Potpourri of Sufi and Indigenous Practices 00:07:15 - Education and Spirituality 00:09:12 - The Development of a Meditation Practice 00:12:23 - My Multifaith Journey 00:15:14 - Translating the Christian Mystics 00:17:41 - Translating Teresa of Avila and the Jewish Mourning Cycle 00:19:39 - The Deep and Quiet John of the Cross 00:20:56 - The relationship with the inquisitors 00:22:41 - Analogies and Cross-training 00:23:51 - The Birthright of Interspirituality 00:25:17 - Having a Spiritual Experience 00:27:06 - Embracing Different Lamps 00:29:13 - Understanding Fundamentalism 00:31:01 - Gradations of Spiritual Maturity 00:33:02 - Commonalities between traditions and the interspiritual response 00:34:34 - The Interfaith Movement and the Interspiritual Movement 00:36:31 - The Interconnected Web of Being 00:39:04 - Embracing a Multidimensional Spiritual Path 00:40:41 - The Illusion of Separation and the Non-dual State 00:42:31 - Embracing Oneness and Wholeness 00:44:16 - The Sophomoric Mind 00:46:01 - Mining the Jewels: Extracting the Essence from Religions 00:47:54 - Extracting the Good Bits from Established Religions 00:49:59 - The Prevalence of Spirituality and Heart Experience 00:51:51 - The Importance of Experience over Belief 00:53:51 - The Incomprehensible Intelligence of Cells 00:56:19 - The Beauty of Loss and Trauma 00:59:27 - Wrapping up with Gems of Wisdom 01:01:06 - Concluding Remarks and Preview of Next Interview 01:02:33 - Conclusion and Closing Remarks