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AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE MYSTICS
Guest: Mirabai Starr Program 3268
Host: Michael Toms Interview Date: 7/11/2008 Program Length: 1 Hour
Media:
MP3 Download
Price: $1.99
Program Description: Mirabai Starr was raised in a secular Jewish household, has maintained a Buddhist meditation practice since the age of sixteen, has engaged the ecstatic mystical traditions of Sufism, and now lives within the indigenous spiritual traditions of Taos, New Mexico. And, she has spent the past several years sitting in the presence of the great Christian mystics-or so it seems. As a translator of the works of St. John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the archangel Michael, St. Francis of Assisi, and Hildegard of Bingen, Starr immersed herself in their essence, and found herself forever altered. She brings a rare breadth of understanding to their teachings, and now brings their message of wisdom, comfort, empowerment, and grace to people of all spiritual traditions. She echoes their familiar words, "Not my will but thine," "Be present," and "Open your heart," and infuses them with the sensitivity and perspective of a gifted modern-day teacher. This interview is an opportunity to be inspired along with her, to hear stories of the ancient visionaries, and be "plunged into this delicious body of water, and surrounded and immersed in the teachings and the flavor and the quality of each of these beings."
Mirabai Starr is an adjunct professor of philosophy and religious studies at the University of New Mexico. She is a certified bereavement counselor, and travels the world speaking and giving workshops on contemplative practice and the teachings of the mystics. Her books include the critically acclaimed translations Dark Night of the Soul: St. John of the Cross (Riverhead 2003) The Interior Castle: St. Teresa of Ávila (Riverhead 2004), and the six-volume series Devotion, Prayers & Living Wisdom (Sounds True 2008), translations of the writings and poetry of six Christian mystics. To find out more about the work of Mirabai Starr go to www.mirabaistarr.com
Topics explored in this dialogue:
Why St. John of the Cross is the Rumi of Spain
Which Christian mystic coined the term "dark night of the soul"
What kind of practice comes after enlightenment
How Our Lady of Guadalupe merges the spiritual traditions of several cultures
Why St. Francis suffered so deeply
Why the sword of a spiritual warrior is a sword of peace and truth
