Mirabai Starr - Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics

Acknowledgments

Countless women, from ancient times to the present, have contributed to the flowering of this particular book in this particular moment. As much as I wish I could name each one, it is not possible. And so I offer gratitude for the following, resigned to the fact that I will be leaving out some important friends and teachers.

First, my thanks, as always, to my agent, Sarah Jane Freymann, who is family, really. Sarah Jane, you quietly embody the feminine mystic qualities I am writing about here: loving-kindness balanced by fierce truth telling, generosity of spirit leading to engaged compassion. Thanks to my editor, Joelle Hann, whose attention to detail, coupled with insight grounded in years of her own spiritual practice, surpassed any editorial experience I have ever had. She helped to transfigure this manuscript from a private love poem to the Mother into a universal offering. And to Haven Iverson and Tami Simon, who continue to make a place for me at the Sounds True table: gratitude. You guys are so much more than a publisher; you are my sangha. I was thrilled that Diana Rico, whose own work I have long admired, became my copyeditor. Leslie Brown and Karen Bullock, with her predecessor, Sarah Gorecki, and the entire Sounds True production team ushered this project into the world with care and grace. When Rebecca Mayer stepped in to help secure permissions and prepare endnotes, I thought I had gone to heaven; such professionalism combined with so much love and insight are a rare and precious gift. My assistant, Pouria, is a feminine mystic in the body of a man, who manages many details of my work in the world while ever placing human kindness above business. Thank you, Erin Currier, for your astounding artwork that so masterfully blends spirit and justice, the very essence of what Im striving for here. I have always wanted a piece of your art, and now it graces my book cover for all time!

Thank you to Stephen Dinan and the incredible team at The Shift network where these teachings have been ripening over the years.

To my daughters, stepdaughters, and grandchildren, thank you for filling my life with delight: Daniela, Kali, Ganga, Yamuna, Jacob, Bree, Niko, Metztli, Sol, Naya, and Aliyah, and the memory of my beloved Jenny. Gratitude to my wise and loving mother, Susanna Starr, and my hilarious and loyal siblings, Amy Starr and Roy Starr, who form the matrix of my life. I cannot imagine myself separate from my belonging to this family. Gratitude to my mother-in-law, Bette Little, who, at nearly one hundred years of age, remains the essence of feisty wisdom and fashion, and to my sisters-in-law, Linda, Marbie, and Lynn, who are steadfast in their commitment to collective healing and awakening.

To my husband, Ganga Das (a.k.a. Jeff), who listened to pretty much every word of this book as it unfolded, keeps the house clean and the food flowing so that I can write my ass off, and makes sure to distract me at the perfect intervals to go have fun. You are the embodiment of the Divine Masculine. I would not have the courage to speak out in this way without the refuge of your embrace.

Deep bow to my lifelong mentors Charlene McDermott, Natalie Goldberg, and Asha Greer. Your wisdom is the wellspring from which these words flow. And to my dharma sisters whose commitment to speaking the authentic voice of the feminine is shifting the paradigm before our eyes: Roshi Joan Halifax, Gangaji, Lama Tsultrim Allione, Caroline Myss, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ann Holmes Redding, Anne Lamott, Dena Merriam, Lama Palden Drolma, Zuleikha, Tamam Kahn, Saraswati Markus, Miranda Macpherson, Beverly Lanzetta, Cynthia Jurs, Camille Helminski, Sera Beak, Cynthia Bourgeault, Devaa Haley Mitchell, Pat McCabe, Dorothy Walters, Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Eve Ilsen, Laurie Anderson, Sharon Salzberg, Pema Chdrn, Taj Inayat Kahn, Diane Berke, Tessa Bielecki, Rabbi Leah Novick, Sister Greta Ronningen, Yogacharya Ellen Grace OBrian, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Ests, Nina Rao, Ondrea Levine, Mirabai Bush, Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, and so many other women whose wings of wildness and mercy help us all to soar. Thanks to all the people I interviewed, whether or not your words made it to the page, including Lisa Kishan Seepaul, Billy Stewart, and Jeannie Zandi.

Boundless gratitude to my lifelong friend and elder guru brother Ram Dass. Your love of the sacred feminine and your intimacy with the worlds great wisdom ways have informed all I do and am. Thank you for always checking in to see what Im writing about, and listening deeply, and affirming my work with the clarity of a sage and the enthusiasm of an uncle!

My friendships with social change agents such as Rev. angel Kyodo Williams, Christena Cleveland, Mona Haydar, and Anita Rodrguez have rocked my world and transfigured it for the better. Even as I was completing this book about the interconnected wisdom of the feminine across the spiritual traditions, my consciousness was undergoing an awakening around white privilege, white spirituality, and questions of unconscious racism, which made me want to recast the whole thing in light of these issues (I didnt). Now that this boat has left the shore, I know I will never be able to return to the land of blissful ignorance of the ways in which the traditions I embrace have been responsible for the suffering of people I love. The adventure continues.

I am grateful to the young women in my life who are stepping up as the brilliant and beautiful prophetic voices we so urgently need and whose work I am honored to support with my love: Mona Haydar, Vera de Chalambert, Lyla June Johnston, Callie Little, Rachel Halder, Ganga Devi Braun, Melanie Moser, Cora Neumann, Jaime Grechika, Phileena Heuertz, Kate Sheehan Roach, Jennifer Alia Wittman, Adriana Rizzolo, LiYana Silver, Ivonne Prieto Rose, and all the women working with such love behind the scenes to share the teachings of Ram Dass and the darshan of Neem Karoli Baba with the world.

My circle of women friends is an unending source of strength, humor, and perspective: Jenny Bird, Tot Tatarsky, Nancy Laupheimer, Tania Casselle, Tara Lupo, Kausalya Karen Pettit, Julie Tato, Brady Hogan, Jean Kenin, Sara Morgan, Susan Berman, Bobbi Shapiro, Kate Rabinowitz, Satrupa Kagel, Toinette Lippe, Kelly Notaras, and many other soul sisters. Each of you contributed to this book in ways you may or may not know about. Your living example of wild mercy enriches my life beyond measure.

And to all the men who have touched my life with your tenderness, your vulnerability, and your willingness to listen deeply and support the feminine, my loving thanks.

Also by Mirabai Starr

Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation

Saint Francis of Assisi: Brother of Creation

Saint Teresa of vila: The Passionate Mystic

The Showings of Julian of Norwich: A New Translation

God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Mother of God Similar to Fire (with William Hart McNichols)

Saint John of the Cross

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Teresa of vila: The Book of My Life (translator)

Saint Michael the Archangel

Hildegard of Bingen

The Interior Castle: New Translation and Introduction

Dark Night of the Soul: New Translation and Introduction

About the Author

Mirabai Starr writes creative nonfiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for twenty years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice, compassionate action, and the teachings of the mystics across the spiritual traditions. Mirabai has received critical acclaim for her revolutionary new translations of John of the Cross, Teresa of vila, and Julian of Norwich. She is the award-winning author of