

Program & Replays
Cultivating Intimacy With the Mystics
We cannot hope to navigate the mapless terrain of these tumultuous times alone. We need community, both seen and unseen. The great mystical masters of the past are available to us as beacons of wisdom and compassion to light our way. In this conversation between two translators of the mystics, Mirabai Starr and Carmen Acevedo Butcher, PhD, explore the deep friendships they have cultivated with wisdom beings across the spiritual traditions, and how you too can become intimate with them.
In this session, you’ll discover:
- Mystics of the past are accessible to you in your life right now
- You do not have to be perfect to qualify as a living mystic yourself
- Translation can be a doorway into sacred presence
Mirabai Starr
Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative nonfiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She 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 dialogue. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss.
Her book Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, was named one of the Best Books of 2019 by Spirituality & Practice. It’s essential reading for anyone ready to awaken the feminine mystic within and birth her loving, creative, and untamed power into the world.
Mirabai has received critical acclaim for her revolutionary new translations of John of the Cross’s Dark Night of the Soul and Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle. She's author of the poetry collection Mother of God Similar to Fire, a collaboration with iconographer William Hart McNichols... and her award-winning book God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The transparency of her journey through grief as shared in her memoir, Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation, is a gift to those who are struggling with unimaginable losses.
Mirabai was named one of 2020's 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in Watkins Mind Body Spirit magazine.