Books by
mirabai starr
Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground
AUDIOBOOK
September 17, 2024
You can visit an ashram in the Himalayas or kneel in a church pew to connect to the spirit or examine life’s big questions—but these aren’t the only opportunities to discover the sacred. Life, Starr reminds us, is holy ground. Lyrical and tender, filled with profound wisdom and mind-opening insights, Ordinary Mysticism is about finding wonder in regular life, grounded in lessons from spiritual teachers across the centuries—from Julian of Norwich to Ram Dass. Starr combines their ancient wisdom with the story of her own personal and spiritual journey—from surviving the heartbreak of her fourteen-year-old daughter’s death to growing up amid the 1960s counterculture that introduced her to mysticism to her self-made spiritual practice of today. Alongside storytelling and age-old teachings, Starr offers practices and writing prompts for help our souls seek holy ground.
Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground
BOOK
September 17, 2024
So begins beloved spiritual guide Mirabai Starr’s stunning exploration of finding the extraordinary in the everyday. In Ordinary Mysticism, she helps readers discover their own inner mystic and let go of the limiting belief that spiritual life exists only in traditional places of worship. Mysticism, she explains, is a direct experience of the sacred—no church or clergy required. Our everyday life can be an encounter with the sacred if we pay attention. Starr explores the magic of mundane life, from weeding in our humble gardens to a slow evening walk with a friend to a full kitchen table surrounded by family. Embracing mysticism in our everyday is a way of being more alive in the world, an awakening to the interconnectedness between all things.
Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of
Loss and Transformation
AUDIOBOOK
November 6, 2023
On the day her first book came out—a new translation of Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross—Mirabai Starr’s daughter, Jenny, was killed in a car accident. “My spiritual life began the day my daughter died,” writes Mirabai. Even with decades of spiritual practice and a deep immersion in the greatest mystical texts, she found herself utterly unprepared for “my most powerful catalyst for transformation, my fiercest and most compassionate teacher.” This memoir combines heartfelt narrative with social satire, spiritual insight, and solace for those who are grieving and the ones that support them.
Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the
Women Mystics
BOOK
April 2, 2019
The feminine mystic is one who gathers the pain of the world into her arms and transmutes it with “wild mercy”—a merging of fierce courage with the unstoppable forces of forgiveness, compassion, and love. And she is needed now more than ever. Within the pages of Mirabai’s most widely read book, people of all genders and ages find themselves reflected in the luminous mirror of the sacred feminine, revealed across the spiritual traditions.
Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the
Women Mystics
AUDIOBOOK
April 2, 2019
Narrated by Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy 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—you’ll meet women who blazed a path that will illuminate your own.
Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation
November 1, 2015
On the day her first book came out—a new translation of Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross—Mirabai Starr’s daughter, Jenny, was killed in a car accident. “My spiritual life began the day my daughter died,” writes Mirabai. Even with decades of spiritual practice and a deep immersion in the greatest mystical texts, she found herself utterly unprepared for “my most powerful catalyst for transformation, my fiercest and most compassionate teacher.” This memoir combines heartfelt narrative with social satire, spiritual insight, and solace for those who are grieving and the ones that support them.
Dark Night of the Soul
by John of the Cross
Translation and Introduction by Mirabai Starr
February 4, 2004
While imprisoned in a tiny cell for his efforts to support Teresa of Avila’s reform movement, sixteenth-century Spanish mystic John of the Cross composed many of his now classic poems of the soul’s longing for God. Written on a scroll smuggled to him by one of his guards, his songs are the ultimate expression of the spiritual seeker’s journey from estranged despair to blissful union with the divine. This book includes the original poem and the classic prose treatise that unpacks its lyrical wisdom.
The Interior Castle
by Teresa of Ávila
Translation and Introduction by Mirabai Starr
July 6, 2004
The acclaimed modern translation of St. Teresa of Avila’s classic book on the journey to union with the divine. Celebrated for almost five centuries as a master of spiritual literature, 16th-century mystic Teresa of Avila is one of the most beloved religious figures in history. Overcome one day by a mystical vision of a crystal castle with seven chambers, each representing a different stage in spiritual development, The Interior Castle came rushing through her. Teresa’s language is earthy and accessible, as relevant today as when she wrote it.
God of Love
A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
February 5, 2013
God of Love is Mirabai Starr’s passionate and personal exploration of the interconnected wisdom of the three Abrahamic faiths. She shares an overview of essential teachings, stories of saints and spiritual masters, prophetic calls for peace and justice, and for the first time in print, deeply engaging narratives from her own spiritual experiences.
Saint John of the Cross:
Luminous Darkness
May 1, 2022
This book is a contemplative compendium of fresh translations and lyrical reflections on the writings of St. John of the Cross (1542–1591) that invites readers to experience his “quintessential guidance for navigating the journey to union with Love Itself.”
Julian of Norwich: The Showings: Uncovering the Face of the Feminine in Revelations of Divine Love
April 2, 2019
This new edition with updated gender language, a foreword by Fr. Richard Rohr and cover art by Erin Currier feels especially timely during our current age of upheaval and pandemic. Julian herself lived through several rounds of the black plague in medieval Europe and the Revelations of Divine Love that came through her are a source of comfort for navigating these turbulent times with the guidance of the sacred feminine.
God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
May 1, 2022
A guided audio journey excavating the jewels of feminine wisdom across the spiritual traditions with art, poetry, and storytelling, as well as classic and contemporary teachings from revolutionary women mystics of Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. The essence of Mirabai’s legacy teachings.
Mother of God, Similar to Fire
Icons by William Hart McNichols, Reflections
by Mirabai Starr
February 9, 2016
Fifty selected images by renowned icon-painter William Hart McNichols are illuminated by Mirabai Starr’s lyrical prose-poems to help make the eternal figure of Mary vibrantly accessible.
Saint Teresa of Ávila: Passionate Mystic (Contemplations & Living Wisdom)
November 1, 2013
Journey to the 16th century to discover the fiery passion of Saint Teresa of Ávila, one of Christianity’s most inspiring saints. A tireless reformer and the mentor of Saint John of the Cross, Teresa’s greatest legacy is her revelation of ecstatic love for God―a love so powerful that it pierces the heart like a burning sword–balanced by a down-to-earth sense of humor and practicality. In this small contemplative book, Mirabai combines her favorite passages from Teresa’s masterworks (most of which Mirabai translated herself) with her own poetic reflections.
Saint Francis of Assisi: Brother of Creation (Contemplations & Living Wisdom)
November 1, 2013
With Saint Francis of Assisi, Mirabai Starr offers readers an elegant book of prayers, poems, and contemplative writings to inspire readers with the lessons of his life. From his survival as a prisoner of war to the series of awakenings that led him to create an order of the Catholic Church that to this day bears his name, Francis’ life was in constant evolution. Saint Francis of Assisi helps readers call upon the spirit of this modest Italian sage to guide their own lives with his eternal devotion to the divine, and his profound compassion toward all living things. In this small contemplative book, Mirabai combines her favorite passages by and about St. Francis with her own poetic reflections.
Teresa of Ávila: The Book of My Life
July 8, 2008
With this fresh translation of The Book of My Life–one of the greatest coming of age stories of a mystic in any language–Mirabai Starr brings the inimitable Spanish saint to life for a new generation, with contemporary English that mirrors Teresa’s own earthy, vernacular Spanish, and that presents us with—four centuries after Teresa’s death—someone we feel we know: a woman intoxicated with God yet filled with an overflowing love for the world.
Saint Michael the Archangel (Devotions, Prayers & Living Wisdom)
December 28, 2012
The Archangel Michael embodies the essence of the spiritual warrior, courageous and strong in the face of injustice or illusion, a ceaseless advocate for truth. With this collection of prayers, scripture, contemplations, and stories, readers have the perfect book for their home altar to call upon the protection and clarity of this beloved figure.
Hildegard of Bingen (Devotions, Prayers & Living Wisdom)
December 28, 2012
In Hildegard of Bingen, you are invited to encounter this remarkable woman, who dared to speak out with such strength and purpose that even the twelfth-century Church had to respect her divinely inspired wisdom. Through her writings, musical and lyrical compositions, and compassionate bravery, Hildegard invites you into an intimate relationship with Veriditas, the greening power of Mother Earth. In this small contemplative book, Mirabai combines her favorite passages from Hildegard with her own poetic reflections.
Our Lady of Guadalupe (Devotions, Prayers & Living Wisdom)
December 28, 2012
For those times when we are called to engage in compassionate yet decisive action, it is the force of the divine feminine embodied by Our Lady of Guadalupe that can guide our path. With poetry, prayers, and art gathered together in a small contemplative volume, along with Mirabai’s lyrical reflections, Our Lady of Guadalupe gives you a powerful link to this beloved apparition of the blessed mother, and to the tender and righteous grace of her ever-available energy.
