About this item
Wild Mercy is essential reading for anyone ready to awaken the feminine mystic within and birth her loving, creative, and untamed power into the world."Mystical brilliance at its best." -- Caroline Myss"No one can take us into the fiery and tender depths of the sacred feminine with more skill, humor, clarity, and vibrant naked honesty than Mirabai Starr." -- Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope and The Return of the Mother We live in a world that has suffered the abuses of an unbalanced masculine rule for thousands of years -- but the feminine is rising. "Seeds of feminine wisdom that have been quietly germinating underground are now breaking through the surface," writes Mirabai Starr. "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." With Wild Mercy, 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 -- you'll meet women who blazed a path that will illuminate your own. Each chapter explores a different facet of feminine mysticism through a tapestry of teachings, reflections, and stories, along with a practice for integrating the chapter's themes into your own life. As you journey through these pages, you'll explore: Taking refuge in contemplative practice with St. Teresa of Avila and the Shekinah* Longing, embodiment, and union as the heart of feminine spiritual practice with the Hindu poet Mirabai and Mary Magdalene* Your relationship with the Earth, motherhood in all its forms, and a loving call to action alongside Gaia and Ix Chel* Community and the web of life with Indra, the Beguines, and female prophets throughout history* Wild, playful, and compassionate mercy with Tara and Kuan Yin* Finding joy in creativity and the arts with Saraswati and Chiyo-ni* More inspiration from archetypal goddesses and amazing women past and present -- Julian of Norwich, the Sufi saint Rabia, Pachamama, Sophia, Old Spider Woman, Hildegard of Bingen, Demeter, Kali, and moreWild Mercy provides a much-needed alternative to the models of religion and spirituality that have dominated history. Here, Mirabai invites you to welcome the wisdom of women back into the collective field where it may transform the human family, heal the ravaged Earth, and awaken the divine love in our hearts.
About the Author
Mirabai Starr, MA, is an author, translator of the mystics, and a leading voice in the interspiritual movement, using fresh, lyrical language to help make timeless wisdom accessible to a contemporary circle of seekers.She has received critical acclaim for her revolutionary new translations of Dark Night of the Soul, by 16th-century Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross; The Interior Castle and The Book of My Life, by St. Teresa of Avila; and The Showings of Julian of Norwich.Starr is author of the six-volume Sounds True series, Contemplations, Prayers, and Living Wisdom; a poetry collection, Mother of God Similar to Fire, in collaboration with iconographer, William Hart McNichols; God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, winner of the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for Religion and one of the Best Books of 2012 by the website Spirituality & Practice & won the 2014 Nautilus Gold Award for Religion and Spirituality in the Western Traditions; Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss & Transformation, named one of the Best Books of 2015 by Spirituality & Practice; and Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, a longstanding Amazon bestseller, & named one of the best books of 2019 by S&P.Starr 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. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Mirabai is on the 2020 Watkins List of the "100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People of the World." Daughter of the counter-culture, Mirabai Starr 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 Starr to this day.As a teenager, Starr 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 lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.
