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.  In 1972, Mirabai’s mother, father, and her younger brother and sister uprooted from their suburban life and embarked on an extended road trip that led them through the jungles of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where they lived for many months on an isolated Caribbean beach, and ended in the mountains of Taos, New Mexico.  There, the family embraced an alternative, “back-to-the-land” lifestyle, in a communal effort to live simply and sustainably, values that remain important to Mirabai to this day.  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 became formative in the universal quality that has infused Mirabai’s work ever since.

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.  She is also a certified bereavement counselor, who helps mourners harness the power of grief and loss for healing and transformation.

Mirabai speaks and teaches nationally and internationally on the teachings of the mystics and contemplative practice. She is available for interviews, speaking engagements, workshops and contemplative retreats. She officiates personalized weddings and memorial services.

Mirabai Starr writes a weekly blog on the transformational power of grief and loss, called "This Beautiful Wound." An ongoing conversation about the unexpected blessings that come with deep sorrow, your own stories and reflections are always welcome.