Podcasts about mirabai

Mystical feminist Mirabai Starr shares the fruits of many years of investigating, excavating, and uplifting women's voices within global spiritual traditions.This talk was recorded on Sept 22, 2020 as a part of the Virtual Ram Dass Fellowship.This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Mirabai Starr discusses:An invitation to unknowing and allowing our preconceived notions to fall awayThe patriarchal roots of spiritual traditions and religious institutions Highlighting women's spiritual wisdom in the Ram Dass communityWomen's circles that are free of a masculine influence Honoring feelings as they arise and having the capacity to hold them Speaking spiritual truth to power while staying heart-centeredThe great mystery and ambiguity of the feminine heart space Connecting with our higher selves and true purpose Practicing contemplative meditation through creativityThe necessity of community for transformation to take place Trusting the journey to spiritual awakening and surrendering to the processBalancing active and contemplative energies as sacred feminine archetypesRemembering that we all have both feminine and masculine energies within usThis episode is sponsored by Dharma Seed:Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das' band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTIAbout Mirabai Starr:Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction 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. Check out her many books and learn more at MirabaiStarr.com.About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass' Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass' Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves."It's scary to dwell in the heart because it's a place of mystery, at least the feminine heart is. It is a place where there is a great degree of tolerance for ambiguity—that the masculine paradigm conditions us to believe is a problem to be solved. The feminine heart space sees ambiguity as a higher truth, paradox as a vast space of truth. This heart has the capacity, because it is so vast, to hold seemingly contradictory propositions." – Mirabai StarrSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join Trish and Rob for a conversation with... Mirabai Devi is a spiritual guide and healer with more than 30 years of experience. She is a conduit of the Devine Feminine, or Divine Mother. Her work includes light transmissions, group healings, and private sessions consisting of intuitive and mediumistic readings and mentoring clients through the steps to self-realization. Attendees often report profound and life-changing transformations that lead to happier, more empowered lives, miraculous healings, and an escape from personal darkness and suffering. Mirabai was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and she often travels about the world to speak at festivals and spiritual conferences. https://www.mirabaidevi.org/ The Mystical Underground: Blog: themysticalunderground.com YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMysticalUnderground

The Shakespeare Book Club meets tonight to talk about A Midsummer Night's Dream. Zoom link here for paid subscribers. Paid subscribers can also join this chat thread and ask me (or other subscribers) whatever they want. Tell us what you are reading, what you disagreed with me about this month. Ask niche questions someone here might be able to answer. Ask me anything you like (I might not answer!) This is an experiment... let's see where it goes... Join the chat.Katherine Dee InterviewWhen we have strong feelings about literary characters, isn't that somewhat the same as ficto-romantics—people who fall in love with fictional people and create part of the identity around that relationship? This is the sort of question you can talk about with Katherine Dee. I am a long-time fan so I was delighted to be able to ask her about the way AI is changing writing, fandom in culture, role play writing, fan fiction, ficto-romance, internet culture, and the way technology is changing what we read, how AI is changing Katherine's writing, and how she uses ChatGPT to discuss her emotional life (she says it is pretty good!). Katherine is one of the most interesting Substackers, writing at default.blog, as well as writing for other publications. You might remember her piece called “No. Culture isn't stuck”. I find her case-studies especially interesting (this is the one we talked about in the interview). Katherine is not judgemental: she simply tires to understand. Here is her Twitter. Here's what Katherine told me about fandom in modern culture.Henry: Why is there so much fandom in modern culture? We've got LARPing, people having AI boyfriends and girlfriends, fictoromance. You're writing about all these things all the time. Why is this such a big part of culture?Katherine: That's a great question. I think that the foundational reason is our culture is oriented around consuming media. And this is, you know, like, the subculture of media consumption is always going to be a fandom. But also, like, other things have eroded, right? Like, you know, it almost feels cliche to bring up, but everything from, like, third places to organized religion, you know, to national identity, you know, all of these things, right? What remains in its status is fandom. And so, you know, the marriage of the erosion of these other sort of cultural cornerstones, plus the importance of consuming media and the way we communicate, it creates this perfect storm. And I've even argued that, like, fandom is, in a way, like, you know, the main way that we know how to organize at this point. It's the chief way we express ourselves. You know, politics tend to, like, devolve into fandom. But the question is, like, well, what else do we have, really?And here's part of our discussion about ficto-romance.Henry: Now, about ficto romance. I find this, like, really fascinating and I've been reading your case studies avidly. But I also am confused, like, people have always had strong feelings for characters in novels, right? So I read an essay, a 19th century essay about Pride and Prejudice recently. And I mean, this made me laugh. Some people don't like it. But the critic was like, these are the five most attractive heroines in 19th century English fiction and had, like, robust views about what made these fictional women attractive. What is different or what feels different about ficto romance today?Katherine: You know, I don't think it is that different is the thing. I think a lot of stuff maybe feels different because it's somehow like more lowbrow or we don't respect the expression as much. I also think the role of art has changed. Like, we don't see, you know, like I talk to a lot of I actually posted an interview today with a guy who identifies as fictoromantic and his fictive other, which is the term they use instead of like significant other, is from Homestuck, which is a web comic that was really popular on Tumblr and is still very popular on Tumblr. And I think, like, ordinary people don't consider that art. Right. And so, like, it's difficult. Like, you see someone who maybe has this, like, devotion to, you know, someone in a great novel or maybe to, like, you know, Aphrodite or Venus or something like that. And they're producing what we're already primed to think of as great art in service of this love. And because the media properties that many of these people are emotionally attached to feel lowbrow, we take it less seriously and we think they're crazy. But if you actually talk to them, they're not crazy at all. I mean, it's a spectrum of expression. But I've never spoken to someone who feels like they're in active psychosis or something. It feels very familiar. Like I brought up in this interview that I posted today, you know, the way this young man was talking about this Homestuck character. And this is going to sound, I mean, this is going to sound crazy, maybe, but it reminded me of Mirabai, who I don't know if I'm pronouncing her name correctly, but she is this Hindu poet who had this great devotion for Krishna. And it was it felt very similar to me. It's just that it's reskinned in this way that is there's some dissonance.There's a complete transcript of the interview below. Transcript (AI generated so there may be errors)[00:00:00] Henry Today, I'm talking with Katherine Dee, the internet culture writer and the author of the default friend, Substack. Katherine, welcome.[00:00:11] Katherine: Hey, thanks for having me.[00:00:15] Henry: So how is AI changing writing right now and how is it going to change it in the next, say, couple of years?[00:00:22] Katherine: In the next couple of years, I'm not sure. But right now, I've noticed a lot of people who write news are using AI. AI is interesting because it's like, you know, if you read a lot of fan fiction, for example, there's like a fan fiction register. And so if you then go and read like a mass market paperback, you know, a lot of these people start off in fan fiction, you can kind of tell like who's who, right, because there's certain phrases that are common, certain slang. And the same is similar with AI, right? And so I can, I've, I use AI so much as like a chat companion, that there's like certain phrases that I know, are very specific to AI. So I've picked up from like, talking to it and, you know, it being sort of like a friend of mine, for lack of a better word, that people who write news and write digests, use AI a lot. And I've also noticed that people do like, polish on their writing, like they will fix the grammar, or what have you, which I think is less, less scandalous. But I do think that there's also a backlash, right? There is this, people want to sound human. And it's, it's opening up like, more space somehow, right, somehow, more, even more space for like, messy confessional writing. And maybe just, you know, validating that our, our, our long love for it, is never, is never going away.[00:02:03] Henry: Yeah, just when you thought there couldn't be any more personal essays, right, here they come.[00:02:07] Katherine: There's even, Substack really like, created an explosion of them. I thought, I thought it was over, but it absolutely is not.[00:02:17] Henry: I was amazed the other day, because I've been writing like, I would say quite a balanced view of AI, but people take it to be highly positive. And someone who was writing against it, actually said in their piece, oh, that last sentence was written by AI, by the way. And I was like, it's insane to me that that would happen. If you're so against it, but also that people don't realize that if he hadn't mentioned that, you wouldn't have said, oh, that was an AI sentence.[00:02:46] Katherine: Well, you don't know that it, I do think, and I went, I can't quite figure out what, what is the tell for AI writing when there's certain words that I could list, but there is a register, right? So if you're using it a lot, like, I use, I use like deep research all the time to find like, contact information for people. If I have a problem in my life, it's like, I asked chat GPT first, right? So there's like words like, you know, people have pointed out that it uses an em dash a lot. It uses the word crucial a lot. The word realm, weirdly, I've noticed, right? So you kind of internalize it, right? But there's also a register that is very like, AI specific. And I think, all this to say, I think people can tell.[00:03:38] Henry: You said you're talking to it a lot, like every day. What are you talking to it about?[00:03:45] Katherine: Like, you know, if I get anxiety about something that feels silly, or like, if I get upset about something, sometimes, like, I can't, because I'm online so much, like, very susceptible to getting this sort of, like, internet tunnel vision, where I don't know if I'm like, if my reaction is really to scale, I try not to get into, like, fights on the timeline or anything. But it doesn't mean I don't have the reaction, right? So I'll ask AI, like, I had, you know, this back and forth with someone on Twitter, and I feel like, pretty upset about it, am I overreacting? And it's not always actually, like, a good tool for that. But even just the process of me, like slowing down to ask, has made me, I think, a little bit more rational.[00:04:35] Henry: Do you think you're better at seeing when something's written with AI, because you've got this background in fan fiction and online writing, so you're, like, in a way, very highly trained on different internet registers? Whereas to some of us, it's like, people are just doing internet speak, and we don't have that kind of discrimination between the types?[00:04:55] Katherine: No, I think that if you read a lot of anything, you sort of, you pick up, you become fluent in the tone. People who, you know, there's an academic register, right? Like people who are in STEM speak in a particular way and write in a particular way. And it's not necessarily that the topics that they're talking about, it's certain phrases. People who are the humanities, there's similar things. And I think we're not conscious of being able to detect these different tones or registers, but everyone is capable of doing this.[00:05:34] Henry: How many people, how many, like, prominent people or people who are known for their voice do you think are using AI without telling us?[00:05:43] Katherine: I can only think of one who I would bet money that they're doing it. They mostly send out, like, a news digest. So it might be, you know, I haven't noticed it in their, like, opinion pieces. But in, like, their news digests, definitely, right? There's all sorts of tells. But there's, I mean, there has to be more, right? Because there's so many people who have interesting ideas, but aren't necessarily articulate. And there's probably a lot of people who collaborate with AI, right? So it's, they will have the, you know, Chachapiti or Claude or whatever, structure their piece. And then they will go in and edit it and put it in their voice. Or even the reverse, like, they'll structure it, and then they'll have it be polished or fix the grammar or put it in the tone that they want, and then they'll do minor tweaks. I think that is probably super common. But, like, wholesale, yeah, I've only picked up on this one person.[00:06:48] Henry: How close are we to a time when writers are going to feel obliged to put a little disclaimer saying this is what I do and don't use AI for in my writing? Or will that not come?[00:06:59] Katherine: Some people already do that. I don't want to skip ahead to mention our conversation, but I know we're going to be talking a little bit about fan fiction. And on fan fiction sites, there is, like, an AI-generated tag. And then in some digital magazines, they'll be like, this piece was generated with AI or, you know, was edited with AI or something like that. But I think there's probably a lot of shame around it. And people don't want to feel like they're not a real writer. We don't really know where to place or how to conceive of these tools. And it's complicated, right? And you see these conversations playing out in fandom quite a bit. And you see just how complex it is. I don't think there are easy answers.[00:07:53] Henry: Why is there so much fandom in modern culture? We've got LARPing, people having AI boyfriends and girlfriends, fictoromance. You're writing about all these things all the time. Why is this such a big part of culture?[00:08:06] Katherine: That's a great question. I think that the foundational reason is our culture is oriented around consuming media. And this is, you know, like, the subculture of media consumption is always going to be a fandom. But also, like, other things have eroded, right? Like, you know, it almost feels cliche to bring up, but everything from, like, third places to organized religion, you know, to national identity, you know, all of these things, right? What remains in its status is fandom. And so, you know, the marriage of the erosion of these other sort of cultural cornerstones, plus the importance of consuming media and the way we communicate, it creates this perfect storm. And I've even argued that, like, fandom is, in a way, like, you know, the main way that we know how to organize at this point. It's the chief way we express ourselves. You know, politics tend to, like, devolve into fandom. But the question is, like, well, what else do we have, really?[00:09:22] Henry: Right. Fandom, but also anti-fandom, right? I think that's a big part of culture.[00:09:25] Speaker 3: It's like. Yeah, absolutely.[00:09:28] Henry: Now, about ficto romance. I find this, like, really fascinating and I've been reading your case studies avidly. But I also am confused, like, people have always had strong feelings for characters in novels, right? So I read an essay, a 19th century essay about Pride and Prejudice recently. And I mean, this made me laugh. Some people don't like it. But the critic was like, these are the five most attractive heroines in 19th century English fiction and had, like, robust views about what made these fictional women attractive. What is different or what feels different about ficto romance today?[00:10:14] Katherine: You know, I don't think it is that different is the thing. I think a lot of stuff maybe feels different because it's somehow like more lowbrow or we don't respect the expression as much. I also think the role of art has changed. Like, we don't see, you know, like I talk to a lot of I actually posted an interview today with a guy who identifies as fictoromantic and his fictive other, which is the term they use instead of like significant other, is from Homestuck, which is a web comic that was really popular on Tumblr and is still very popular on Tumblr. And I think, like, ordinary people don't consider that art. Right. And so, like, it's difficult. Like, you see someone who maybe has this, like, devotion to, you know, someone in a great novel or maybe to, like, you know, Aphrodite or Venus or something like that. And they're producing what we're already primed to think of as great art in service of this love. And because the media properties that many of these people are emotionally attached to feel lowbrow, we take it less seriously and we think they're crazy. But if you actually talk to them, they're not crazy at all. I mean, it's a spectrum of expression. But I've never spoken to someone who feels like they're in active psychosis or something. It feels very familiar. Like I brought up in this interview that I posted today, you know, the way this young man was talking about this Homestuck character. And this is going to sound, I mean, this is going to sound crazy, maybe, but it reminded me of Mirabai, who I don't know if I'm pronouncing her name correctly, but she is this Hindu poet who had this great devotion for Krishna. And it was it felt very similar to me. It's just that it's reskinned in this way that is there's some dissonance.[00:12:35] Henry: So you don't think, because I read that interview and I thought it was great. Do you don't think like the behavior that the person you interviewed, like it's actively living with this fictoromantic partner and there's lots of like daily behavior involved. Right. And it's part of the structure of this person's life. Whereas, you know, in the past, like Diana Wynne-Jones used to say that she got a lot of letters about Hal's moving castle from, I think, basically teenage girls who fell in love with Hal. But that would be like. Almost entirely in their imagination, maybe if they wouldn't structure their life around it, is there some kind of difference there?[00:13:18] Katherine: What is different is I feel like because everything's commercialized, there's maybe more of an opportunity to buy products associated with the character that they're attached to. But if you look at the way people, most people, not all of them are expressing these relationships, like I ask these people, what does your relationship look like? It looks like creating art. And, you know, in another time, maybe they wouldn't have become a famous artist or whatever. But like I think it would have been more socially acceptable somehow. The student we used was Puppet, which is sort of maybe a little silly. But Puppet, who's the young man I interviewed, when I asked him, what does your relationship with Ro Strider look like? He said that he writes, he draws, he fantasizes. There is also, you know, there was also like a commercial component, like buying the body pillow. And that's maybe a little different. But to me, it reminds me of just any sort of creative expression. It's just phrased in a slightly different way.[00:14:36] Henry: Right, right. And one thing I liked about that interview was that I don't do the creative activities that this person does, but I was like, well, I speak pretty intensely about fictional characters. It made me sort of I was sort of forced to think, like, how different am I from this guy? Like I'm I have very strong feelings about people in books.[00:14:59] Katherine: I think a lot of us do.[00:15:02] Henry: Or movies, right? For a lot of people, it's movie characters, right?[00:15:04] Katherine: Yeah. I mean, that's that's the beauty of like dramatic structure, right? Like it you it allows us to suspend our disbelief and we feel like we're within the world of the narrative. And if you really like it, you want to take that feeling with you after the show has ended or the book has ended.[00:15:23] Henry: So I guess you're saying that this what it looks very weird to a lot of people, but it's not really so different from the way people grieve about like when Matthew Perry died and people were just completely distraught. It's kind of a similar thing because they had this strong identification with his character.[00:15:42] Katherine: Yeah, I mean, it's more intense, but like there were probably people who felt a really strong connection to Matthew Perry or to any celebrity. And again, it applies also to fictional characters, of course.[00:16:03] Henry: So what are people getting from fan fiction that they're not getting from other sorts of art? Like why is fan fiction so big now?[00:16:13] Katherine: It's playing in the space of a media property and an established world that you already have an attachment to. You know, people bring up a lot like there's, you know, there's certain stories that are like retold over and over and over again. Right. There's certain characters that reappear throughout novels through centuries. Right. And it's a similar idea. Right. It's like you enjoy the world of the story and you want to make it your own. Fan fiction is incredibly diverse. Right. There's some fan fiction that is that moves away from the canon so much you almost wonder, like, why, you know, why aren't you just creating an original work? But there's something that lies in there. And I also think part of it is the types of media that people are consuming are they already have these fandoms set up. Right. So it's it's it's it almost invites that form of expression.[00:17:21] Henry: Do you mean like you read Harry Potter and then you realize that there's already a massive Harry Potter fan fiction ecosystem so you can… it is to us what a theme park was to the 80s or whatever.[00:17:35] Katherine: Yeah, there's there's already this there's already somewhere to go and to meet people.[00:17:41] Henry: I was researching it earlier because I like I know nothing about it. And obviously I was asking deep research. And as I was reading all the stuff it gave me, I was like, people are trying to create almost like folktales based on this, you know, whatever the the original sources in this collectivizing impulse, whereas you say like it diverges, it has these repetitive tropes that they almost want to turn it into these kind of fairy tales or a collection of stories like that. So it seemed it seemed quite interesting to me. Now, you personally, you wrote on your sub stack, you said my lineage isn't literature, it's text based online role playing. Yes. Tell me what that what is that?[00:18:28] Katherine: So I so I always wanted to be a writer, but I wanted to be a writer because I would role play and role play, role playing the way I did it is is like playing, you know, it's like imaginative play that children do, like with Barbies or, you know, even just themselves. But it's it's translated to text because it's it's mediated. And so I would do, you know, I would role play all the time. And it wasn't like I was a voracious reader. I never was. And I don't think I am now. And I think it's it's actually reflected in my writing, actually, but it was because I was like role playing all the time. And I think a lot of people are like this, right? Like I didn't even really write fan fiction. I preferred role playing, which is a little bit more dramatic than than just than just writing. But I but at the time I thought, oh, because I'm I am literally writing something down that I am a writer. But really, it's more like theater, if anything.[00:19:28] Henry: So tell me what's happening, like you would be logging on to some kind of forum and you would be writing as if you were a particular person or character in this in the scenario and other people would be responding.[00:19:43] Katherine: Yeah, it's it's like acting, but through text, so you could do when I started, you could either do it in a chat room, there is text based role playing games, which I didn't actually participate in, like mod some multi user dungeons. I didn't I didn't even know those existed at the time. And then there was forums where and so there would be a theme and the theme could either be from a fandom like Harry Potter, for example, or it could just be a setting. So like high school or the beach or, you know, like an apartment complex and you would design a character and then you would it was it sort of looked like a collaborative story. But really, it was like you were you were just you could only control your own character. So you would just write a description of like, you know, someone says the setting is the beach and then character one comes in and describes what character one is doing and then character two comes in. And, you know, sometimes you would be ignored. Sometimes people would start a fight with you. All sorts of things could happen. And I it's I spent most of my time doing this for like over a decade.[00:20:53] Henry: So are there certain areas where this doesn't does not happen? Like, is there Jane Austen role playing or is it is that not the sort of premise?[00:21:02] Katherine: No, there's role playing for everything. There's like historical role plays. There's, you know, any novel under the sun. You could probably find someone, you know, more like Jane Austen. There's like a there's a rich role playing tradition. People love Jane Austen novels. Something I would do very often is if I was learning about a particular historical period in school, I would get like I would have I would develop these sort of like parasocial attachments with certain historical figures or even settings very similar to the way people feel about fandom. And then I would go home and role play the historical setting and I would read a lot about, you know, whatever it was, ancient Rome or whatever. And it would help me in school because I would be like acting it out online.[00:21:49] Henry: Yeah. You're working on fan fiction and A.I. at the moment. And I'm interested in this because I have this feeling everyone's like A.I. is only going to produce slop. It's not going to do anything new. But I've seen people. I've saw an interesting essay on Substack about someone writing their own fan fiction with A.I. And I sort of I wonder if the confluence of these two things is going to start leading to lots of very new types of fiction and potentially even I don't I mean, this is like a long term speculation, but even some kind of new type of literature. Tell us what you're working on with that.[00:22:32] Katherine: So I was curious the way I was curious, like how people were using A.I. in fandom spaces. And right now it looks it looks like there's this prohibition against using A.I. like people do you do create A.I. generated fan fics, but there's something about like the process and the love that you put into writing your fan fiction that people are very precious about. And they feel that A.I. infringes on this. And part of it is they're very concerned about like, where is the data coming from? Right. Is it somehow unethical because of the data that these LLMs are trained on? But where you see a real difference is people who use A.I. to role play. And that's where it's it seems like people are more open to it. It the feeling the feelings and reactions are a bit more mixed, but there does seem to be like a debate in different fandom spaces. Like some people argue like A.I. is an accessibility issue, like some people aren't good at writing. Maybe English isn't their first language. And this opens up a lot of space for them. And they feel like they're they're collaborating with this tool. Other people say that it's it's unethical and that since they're taking away the process, it is it's harming the work.[00:24:04] Henry: If they could be convinced or, you know, to their own satisfaction that it's not unethical, the data, the data sets and everything like it would be fine. Would they still just not want to do it? It would be fine. Would they still just not want to do it? Because this is the wrong phrase, but like it ruins the game. It's not the point.[00:24:25] Katherine: I think for some people. Yeah, I think the the ethical dimension is is extremely significant for a lot of people. But but for some, it's like, you know, they're not doing it to produce work for its own sake. Right. To go back to the example I gave about the writer who I suspect is using AI to create these news digests, like that person has committed to producing these digests, you know, X number of times a month as part of their livelihood. And so you can sort of see like, well, them using AI is a little bit more sympathetic. But if it's something you're doing for free, for fun, as an expression of love, I can I can see where people are like, well, you're farming it out. But I also am very sympathetic to the other side of that, where it's like maybe, you know, your writing skills aren't as strong and it does open doors and they are your ideas. And it's helping you speak more clearly in a situation where you couldn't otherwise.[00:25:32] Henry: Is it because the way people do this online together, it's a form of communicating, like it's all very oblique and indirect, but it's really just a form of people socializing and they feel like if the AI is there, then they're not getting what they need from it in that sense.[00:25:49] Katherine: Um, it is a form of communication. But I also think there is really a value placed on the like the personal dimension of it. Like, um, like bad fan art, right? Like if you know someone, someone's really trying their best, they really are committed to a fandom. They really love it. But their drawing isn't great and they share it. Of course, there will be people who are mean and who shame them. And there's all sorts of weird, like, you know, labyrinthine dramas that occur in these spaces. But there will also be people who are like, this is beautiful because you tried, because it was coming from a real place of love. And that that that devotion is a very important piece of the puzzle. Again, there there are gatekeepers, there is shaming that occurs. And you know, there's a lot of people who feel like they're not good enough. Like you constantly see this in forums on Reddit, on Wattpad, on AO3, like on all these spaces, people who are like self deprecating, they feel like their work isn't good enough. But there's again, like this, this sense of like, I did it because I love the property. I love the character. Which I guess sort of ties back to the thing about ficto romance, where it's just this extreme expression of, you know, a pulse that's already moving through the space.[00:27:12] Henry: The piece I read on Substack, it wasn't written by the person writing the book. It was written by her roommate. And she was saying, you know, to begin with, like, oh my God, I thought this was dreadful. But actually, the more I saw what was going on, she was like, I can see my roommate has written like 20,000 words in a week. And she's working really hard at it. And she's, you know, prompting and reprompting. And she knows what she likes. She really knows what she's doing and what she wants and how to get it to change its output. And she kind of, she didn't come around to saying, oh, this is a good thing. But I think she mellowed on the idea. And she could see that there was a certain amount of, there's something new happening, right? Some new kind of fiction is coming out of it.[00:27:55] Katherine: I totally agree too, that like, prompting and reprompting is in itself a creative expression. And this is something I tried to argue about AI art, where there is like, you know, not everyone is going to be able to produce the same thing. Like the writing the prompt is in it of itself a skill. And also there's your own taste, which informs the prompt and informs what you include. Like, I'm very proud of the images that I've produced with Mid Journey. Not, you know, not the same way I would be if I had, you know, painted it myself. But like, I do feel like it's informed by my unique experience and taste. And this particular combination of things is unique to me. And that's a type of art, even if it's involves different things than, you know, again, if I were myself painting it. And I think that applies to fan fiction as well. What I have been worried about, I mean, this is a tangent, is like, what happens to the generation that is like, all they know is prompting and AI, and they don't have that space to develop their own taste and their own perception. Like, I think that like, if you start out too fresh, if you started too green, and you haven't had time to develop taste, and that's where I see these platforms being a little bit more dangerous.[00:29:23] Henry: But couldn't we say that about you in the role-playing forums? Like, when they develop taste through like, deep immersive experiences with the AI?[00:29:36] Katherine: Well, no, because with the role-playing, it has to come from myself and from other people, right? And there's nothing like limiting it, right? Like, it's purely through my eyes. Like, maybe there's an issue here where like, the actual writing product would have been better if I was, you know, if I read more, right? Or if I watched different films, but it's only filtered through myself and through other people. Whereas, you don't know how you're gonna get walled in with the AI, especially if you go in too fresh, and you don't know how to prompt it.[00:30:17] Henry: Weren't those people more likely to be, aren't they more likely to get bored?[00:30:24] Katherine: I don't know. I don't know if they're more likely to get bored. I think they might get stuck. I mean, the flip side is maybe they'll innovate more because they're coming from a completely different perspective.[00:30:37] Henry: Right, that's true. I had this interesting experience recently where I saw a whole load of young people that I'm related to. They range from like eight to 16 or something. And some of them just could, they could not not be holding their phone. And some of them, they're like, they don't like the phone. They're reading Jane Austen. So there's a diversity in that sense. But they were all just against AI. Like it's a bad thing. People use it to cheat, all the usual stuff. And I was fascinated. I was like, guys, you should all be using AI. Let me tell you what the good models are. So I wonder if we'll see this bigger diversity within that generation where some of them, a bit like in our generation, right? Some people were online a lot. Some people weren't. And some people are still.[00:31:24] Katherine: I've noticed that there's a very strong anti-tech sentiment among younger generation. And it seems like bifurcated. In the same way you described, people who are so online that they're just like these internet creatures, right? Like if the internet is a forest, like they're like natives of it. And then the other side of it is people who feel like it stole a lot from them. It took a lot from their childhoods. And they're moving away from it. And as a statement, they're either getting like dumb phones or they don't have social media. Or if they do have social media, it's like very sparse. And they tend to have like two very different outlooks. The ones who are more online seem to be more chaotic, a little more nihilistic. And the ones who are more offline, like they seem to be like looking for something more. Like they're more obviously searching for meaning.[00:32:24] Henry: Are we gonna see more like book reading among the offline people?[00:32:30] Katherine: I mean, I would hope so. Who knows, right? Like who knows how much of it is a performance and how much of it is really happening. But I mean, I would imagine so. It does seem also that like a lot of digital outlets feel like something is changing. And I've noticed a lot more like physical media seems to be coming back. I'm interested in seeing how this develops in fan spaces. Early in fandom, like in the... And I guess like early is like right when it was like really starting to grow. So not at the origins, but it's sort of this like... Fandom exponentially grew in the late 70s. And the way people communicated with each other and like a very important mode of expression was a physical fanzine. And this was because first there was no internet and then the internet was confined to certain populations and not everyone had it. And I wonder if fanzines will come back or like handwritten letters. Even I have a couple of books that are collections of letters that these sisters wrote to a particular fandom. And it was just like, it was just a huge part of that particular world. And I thought that was really interesting as a way to keep in touch with people and to keep the community together.[00:34:01] Henry: Yeah, that sounds like a fascinating book.[00:34:05] Katherine: Yeah, it's a collection of... It's called like elf magic letters or something. It's really interesting. And it's also interesting because it's like not something that you can easily read because it's so specific to the time and the place. Like it really was for the people it was for, right? It's not, it doesn't stand the test of time in the same way.[00:34:28] Henry: So is there not much sense of tradition in fandom? Like are people going back to read the fanzines and stuff?[00:34:37] Katherine: There is a sense of tradition for sure. Some of these fanzines are hard to find. It depends on which fandom you're in. Fans love whatever property it is they're fans of. So there's always archivists and people who are curating these things and making these things available. I just wonder if it'll become more popular to return to physical media. And it probably is in certain spaces. I'm just not personally aware of them. Okay.[00:35:09] Henry: Do you think, like, how do you think fan fiction is going to change significantly with AI? Beyond questions of like register and stuff that you were talking about before. Are we going to see, is this going to be like a significant step change in the evolution of the form? Or is it just going to be what people are saying? Like lots of slots in the form of slot content, nothing new as it were.[00:35:33] Katherine: I'm not sure. There's a lot of fan art that's generated with AI that I feel like at first people were really skeptical of. And now they really like it. And it's sort of proven itself. I mean, there's still people who are fiercely against it. But with writing, it's a little bit trickier. And again, the reactions are like very mixed, mostly negative. Again, where I think you will see the most change is with role-playing. You know, AI is always on. You can say whatever you like without feeling embarrassed. Something that I've noticed in reading transcripts of people who, like, on some of these sites where people role-play with bots, you could publish the role-play. You could publish the transcript. And there's just completely disinhibited. Like, they're just really just saying whatever, right? Not in a way that they're trolling or trying to break the bot. But it's like, you know, there's a certain etiquette when you role-play. And they're really just going for it. And I'll just be honest. This is particularly obvious with sexual role-plays, right? They'll just get straight to it. If the person is there to role-play sex, they'll just jump straight to the point. And you don't have to worry about that. You don't have to worry about being embarrassed. If it doesn't work out or, you know, you don't get the response you want, you start it over, you reprompt it, or you go to another bot. So I think it might take away from that social aspect. Not everybody likes role-playing with bots, but I think a lot of people do.[00:37:21] Henry: To me, this is like prime material for people to write novels about. But I don't see, I don't yet see a lot of people taking that up. Do you think, like, how likely is it, do you think, that some people from within this space will end up, in whatever way this looks like in the future, writing and publishing something like, you know, a straightforward literary, whatever the word is, novel, about this subculture and about these ways of existing? Do you think some people will, like, prompt themselves into being novelists, as it were?[00:38:00] Katherine: I mean, I definitely think that people will write about AI companions and chat bots. I think we're already seeing that to some degree. I think, you know, it seems that everyone is fascinated by emotional attachment to chat bots. And there's, like, just explosions of big pieces about this, because it's so new. And what's surprising to me is, like, there's very little judgment. You know, there's very few people who are like, this is dystopian, right? You see some of that, but most of it is like, well, it is real love, you know? That's been very surprising to me. Something that I could foresee is, and I think would be very ethically tricky and might cause some controversies, people trying to publish their role-playing transcripts. Which, you know, some fan fiction is, like, downstream of role-playing transcripts, and it'll be, like, a collaborative work, right? But it would be, like, very controversial if, you know, like, you and I had a Pride and Prejudice roleplay. And, you know, so we were sending emails back and forth or something, and then I collated all of that and published it as my own story, like, you know, with some edits or whatever. Like, that would be stealing your work. What I could see happening is someone having, like, a really good roleplay and wanting to save the transcript and then, you know, cleaning it up, maybe running it through AI, and the prompt is, you know, turn this into a story and, like, remove redundancies or, you know, whatever. And then it'd be, like, is that their work, right? Like, how much of that belongs to them?[00:39:38] Henry: But I can see something happening where it's, like, you know, in the 19th century, things that were supposed to be cheap and lowbrow, like crime stories and things like that, became a whole new genre of literature, right? And by the end of the 19th century, you've got detective fiction, science fiction, fantasy fiction. They're all flourishing. They've all had decades of really interesting work, and it becomes, like, maybe even the dominant form of fiction in the 20th century. Do you think there's scope for, like, you know, a weird novelist like Muriel Spark, a new one of her to come along and, like, turn this, whatever this is happening with these role plays and everything, turn that into some kind of new kind of fiction, whether it's created with the AI or not with the AI, like, you'll get both, right? Is this, like, everyone thinks the literary novel is exhausted, is this the way out? I don't know.[00:40:37] Katherine: I think that they, like, maybe, maybe, like, a new type of, like, pulp novel or something, you know, something that's, like, considered, like, something that's considered lowbrow, right, and maybe isn't always treated that way. But I'm curious, like, how, like, I'm imagining, you know, people printing, like, paper books or creating EPUBs, but do you mean, like, an interactive form of a novel, maybe, or, like, are you talking about people, like, I mean, what are you imagining, I guess, is my question? I think, so I think it could be, I think in terms of format, it could be all of those.[00:41:25] Henry: What I really want to see is how this interacts with audiobooks, because I think audiobooks have become, like, quietly very dominant in the reading habits of people who are typically reading, like, highbrow nonfiction, literary fiction, whatever. And I can sort of imagine a scenario where, I don't know how long this takes, but, like, a new kind of pulp fiction has been created, it's drawing on fandom, roleplay, AI, so we've got this new kind of sub-genre, and then that gets morphed, a bit like genre fiction in the 19th century, into something much more, quote-unquote, literary, and that could be, like, a boring, typical old book, or it could be some kind of audio thing where, like, you're interacting with it, and you're picking the route and whatever, or you could interact with it through your LLM. You see what I mean?There's all these different ways, right?[00:42:26] Katherine: So I think this stuff already exists. Oh, okay. Oh, so that, I think that maybe what I was confusing was, you know, like, imagining, like, a new style, or, you know?[00:42:37] Katherine: But all of these, so all of these things, so I don't know if they're books, I mean, that's actually a good question, like, is it a form of literature? Like, are these bots that people are roleplaying with, is that literature, right? Because there's set parameters, and when you create these characters, you can, you have a lot of control over designing them, what their world is, what the person talking to them will receive back, right? And there's audio versions of that. So it is, like, stepping into a pre-created world where there's, like, some kind of collaboration. And then on the other hand, there's been lots of novels that started off as fan fiction, and this is actually pretty common, a lot of these, you know, like, teen romances or whatever that get popular on TikTok, a lot of those come from people who had been writing fan fiction smut, right? And turned it into original work. And you can see the traces of whatever fandom they were operating in, in the work, whether it's, like, an allusion to a pre-existing character in another property, or it's just the style of writing, or, like, the way they express romantic intimacy. So both things exist in different forms. I wish I had asked a clarified question earlier, because I feel like we were talking in circles a little bit, so I wasn't quite sure what you were envisioning. But yeah, there's a lot of, I wondered also, like, how will reading change as these bots become more sophisticated? Right now, it's a lot of, like, it's a lot of, like, just, you know, like, teenagers messing around in their fandoms, or people doing erotic role-playing, right? But what is the literary version of that? And that's a very exciting question, and, like, interesting realm of inquiry.[00:44:38] Henry: It's a good, it's currently a very good, like, footnotes-on-demand service, right?[00:44:44] Katherine: Yeah.[00:44:45] Henry: Yeah, like, what the hell is this kind of carriage that they're talking about, or whatever? Do you think it'll, you think it's going to develop beyond that kind of thing?[00:44:53] Katherine: Um, yeah, I do. I mean, something really interesting, I don't know if you've heard about this, it's not literature, but the website Every, so they have, like, several different tech newsletters, and they have a service where they'll take all the research for a given article, and you can talk to an LLM about the stuff they didn't include in the piece. But, so, here's even another idea, like, let's say, you know, you take, like, Harry Potter or something, and then there's, like, a Harry Potter LLM, and you can ask questions about the book, or, like, you know, what's in the store that didn't, you know, that we didn't open, right? Metaphorically, you know, what's behind the scenes and all this stuff we don't see in the actual text? And ordinarily, that's where fandom steps in, and fans will fill in that white space for themselves with their headcanon, so the decisions they make about the whatever narrative universe they're choosing to step into. But maybe in AI, you know, the author can say, all right, these are all my notes, and this is all the, this is the whole world that I couldn't fit into the actual story.[00:46:07] Henry: How is AI changing the way you write?[00:46:12] Katherine: All right, so I correct my grammar a lot. My grammar is, like, atrocious, or at least it is in my own opinion. Maybe it's actually not, but so I'll check for grammatical errors, and then I use it all the time as, like, a search engine. So I love, like, the deep research function on chat GPT. It's, like, I never use Google anymore. So if I have, like, questions about something, or if I'm not sure that an argument makes sense, either I'll, like, run it by, you're like, all right, I'm arguing, you know, like, this, this, and this. Like, does this make sense in my own head, or does this actually make sense? So that's a common DF question to chat GPT.[00:47:05] Henry: But, like, are you thinking about, you know, are you going to be a different sort of writer? Are you going to write more or less of certain things? Are you thinking about how people will be reading less? You know, you're competing with the AIs, you've got to write for the AIs. Is it affecting you like that, or do you feel like what you do is reasonably immune?[00:47:26] Katherine: Um, no, you know, I don't feel like I'm competing with AI. I feel like I'm competing with other people, but I'm not competing with AI. And I'm not, I'm not writing for it. I, you know, I remember that, that Tyler Cowen quote, and I wasn't totally sure what he meant by that. I mean, like, I don't know. I'm definitely not writing, writing for it. I mean, does he mean, like, as the AI, like, learns about each person and learns that, you know, each, each writer is contributing to the conversation, you want to make sure it's easily parsable. So you could, you could be included in history or something as AI starts to write our history. Actually, I guess that's a good point, if that doesn't end up happening. But no, I don't, I don't consider either of those things.[00:48:17] Henry: Um, you wrote about, you wrote a short response to the Machine in the Garden essay that was famous on Substack a few months ago. You said, if you don't have copycats, then you're doing something wrong. Just make sure people don't forget you're the original article. How, how do you do that? How do you, how does that affect the way you organize your writing?[00:48:43] Katherine: Oh, man, I publish a lot. If I feel like something is my unique idea, I repeat it over and over and over again. Yeah, I mean, that's, I guess it also, I mean, a question I don't have the answer to is like, you know, people worry about being plagiarized from or copycats, but what happens, you know, what happens with AI, right? Like, how does AI change that equation? I don't know. But, you know, you just hope for the best, you know, that humanity, you know, just the fact of being human is enough.[00:49:26] Henry: Do you think that the internet and social media are making things worse in the culture generally, the way that people like Ted Gioia argue, or are you more optimistic?[00:49:39] Katherine: Um, I'm slightly more optimistic. I think Ted Gioia is as much too dismissive of technology to the extent that I feel like I've, I've almost like taken a contrarian position, you know, and I, I've been a little bit I've been a little bit more techno-optimist than I would have been normally, because I just like, can't all be bad, right? There's a lot of really good things about the internet and about social media. I think that we really undervalue the friendships people make. And then people will say, well, like, well, look at, you know, how so-and-so got screwed over, you know, whatever famous drama. It's like, those people will f**k you over in real life, you know, in the physical world, right? That's a human problem. That's not a technology problem. I think we also, I, particularly people like Ted Gioia and John Height and Freya India, I mean, and I like all these people. I'm not, you know, but I think they also are, like, I don't know where Ted Gioia lives, but John Height's in New York and Freya is in London, as far as I know. When they talk about going like phone-free or like using the internet less or screen-based childhoods, you know, I, like, I agree. Like, look, like, I don't want my son attached to a phone or something. But I also live in Chicago. There's like a ton of stuff going on. And every single day, no matter what the weather is, he can go, one, see other children and two, go do something really fun. And so can I, right? And that's because I live in Chicago. But if I lived in a small town in Texas, like I did, you know, 10 years ago, like I need the, I, like the internet was my lifeline. Then it's how I made friends. It's how I entertain myself. And it sucks that it was like that. But like, not everyone has the privilege of a rich culture in their immediate environment. You don't have, you know, like, it doesn't mean you have to be online 24 seven, but for social media is like very important for people in those situations. And it's, I think there's this weird binary in the discourse where it's like, you're either online all the time, you know, rotting your brain with just like, you know, nonstop live leak videos, right? Or you have no phone at all, right? But I think there's even like high volume usage that isn't, you know, what I just described, that it's beneficial for certain people in certain situations.[00:52:12] Henry: What is it that you like about Mirabi's poetry? You mentioned this earlier, but I wanted to ask you specifically.[00:52:18] Katherine: Yeah, so I discovered her in my senior year of college. And I didn't know what ecstatic love was. Like I had never, I was completely unfamiliar with that concept. So even on the conceptual level, I was like, so struck by this ability to feel love for a deity, feel love for something non-physical.[00:52:54] Henry: Do you admire other poets in that tradition like Rumi?[00:52:59] Katherine: I'm not as familiar with other poets in that tradition.[00:53:02] Henry: Okay. After fan fiction and AI, what will you do next?[00:53:08] Katherine: I'm working on a whole bunch of stuff. Another piece I'm working on is about techno-animism. So this idea of like, I don't believe that technology is literally insoled, but I think that it's maybe not a bad thing to treat it as if it was. And if we're going to be in such like a technologically rich environment, like maybe if we did see a little bit of life in it, it would be better for us psychologically, which is like kind of a hard thing to argue because I think it turns people off like immediately. And I think there's like a lot of fear around it, but it's a very sad and sterile world, right? If we think that we're around all this lifelessness. And I think that's why I'm so attracted to writing about ficto-sexuals and ficto-romance because I love this idea of being able to see life in something where other people don't see it.[00:54:15] Henry: Katherine Dee, thank you very much.[00:54:18] Katherine: Thank you for having me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.commonreader.co.uk/subscribe

In this conversation, Mirabai Starr discusses her journey as a poet and spiritual teacher, exploring the intersections of writing, spirituality, and motherhood. She reflects on the transformative power of grief, the importance of community, and the evolving nature of spiritual practices. Mirabai emphasizes the significance of integrating spirituality into daily life and the role of love and resistance in the face of societal challenges.   Discover her new book Ordinary Mysticism, an exploration of finding the extraordinary in the everyday. Join Holy Lament, an ongoing community grief journey through the Landscape of Loss.  

The new year is a time of reflecting, looking back over the lengths I've come, evaluating what has transpired in my life and in my inner life, and then looking ahead, seeking clarity and direction for where I will place my time, resources and attention for the months to come. I find that a large part of transitioning from one moment in time to another involves letting go of the past, often grieving our losses, and making peace with the life we have rather than pining after the life we thought we would have or wanted to have. Then, through the mystery of the process, finding wonder even in grief, and in the midst of ordinary life. My guest today is someone who has seen grief and loss in her own life and who also helps others on their journey through grief. She is one who has learned to recognize wonder in the most unexpected places, like grief and in letting go of the past. Her journey has led her through many different faith practices as well as her creative life has taken on many shapes and forms. Today, I'm speaking with Award-winning author, contemporary translator of sacred literature, international speaker, and world-renowned teacher of contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog, Mirabai Starr. This conversation was recorded earlier in 2024, but I think as we move into this new year, the conversation offers a timely invitation to find beauty even amidst our losses and to hold space for the every day to become a place of spiritual and creative transformation. Much of our conversation centers on grief as an unexpected doorway to wonder. Mirabai shares about her most recent book, Ordinary Mysticism, which Ann Lamont calls a gorgeous, transformative, welcoming book for anyone who longs to feel more present, more alive, more joyful, and aware of the holiness of daily life.Patrons of the podcast can enjoy a longer unedited version of this conversation which includes several additional stories of my own and several from Mirabai. Visit Patreon.com/makersandmystics to learn more.GET TICKETS TO THE BREATH AND THE CLAY MARCH 21-23 2025.

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Mirabai Starr, an acclaimed author, translator of sacred writings, and interspiritual teacher. Her insights blend timeless wisdom with a modern perspective, focusing on contemplative spirituality, the experience of grief, and the profound beauty found in everyday life.With two decades of experience in teaching philosophy and world religions, along with a lifetime of personal practice, Mirabai imparts her insights globally. She explores contemplative living, writing as a spiritual practice, and the profound impact of grief and loss on transformation.From her early years immersed in spirituality at the Lama Foundation, to her recent book, Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground, Mirabai shares her journey of finding the divine beyond religious structures.In our conversation, Mirabai invites us to leave the safety of our known spiritual world and encounter Love, the Beloved, the Divine, and Ultimate Reality in a new and less familiar way.To connect with Mirabai Starr:Visit her website: www.mirabaistarr.comCheck out her Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mirabaistarr/Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirabai.starr.author/Order her latest book - Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred GroundTo connect further with us:Visit our website: www.contemplativeoutreach.orgFind us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/contemplativeoutreachltd/Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/contemplativeoutreachCheck out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/coutreachTo learn more about Father Thomas Keating's guidelines for service and principles visit www.contemplativeoutreach.org/vision. Stream and Download the Opening Minds, Opening Hearts Podcast NOW for FREE on Apple Podcast, Google, Amazon and Spotify!

Inspired by Grandma(s), Amy and Jim Burns, Trevor Hall, Kabir, Ram Dass, Sri Aurobindo, Anil Baran, Dianna Lopez, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Radnath Swami, Mike Mauthe. Jai Dev, Jai Uttal, RamDev, KD, Nina, Sharon S, Jack, Trudy, Spring, Ragu Markus, Trace Sahaja, Jeffery Cohen, Reagan, Arlyn, Anna, Alex, Hampus, Deva Premal, Miten, Robert Thurman, Robert Svoboda, Mirabai, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Anandamayi Ma, Neem Karoli Baba, KK and all those who follow the heart.  Audiobook.  Mature listeners only (18+).

Inspired by Sri Aurobindo, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Joseph Campbell, David R. Kinsley, Carl Jung, the Lankavatara Sutra, Pema Chödrön, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Ram Dass, Pam Fusek, Mike Emmit, Maya Vajgrt, Jacquelyn Dobrinska, Dianna Lopez, Nina Rao, KD, Ragu Markus, Mirabai, Duncan Trussell, Rizwan, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Anandamayi Ma, Neem Karoli Baba, KK, Radhanath Swami, Mother Theresa, Saint Francis, Jesus, and so many others.   Audiobook.  Mature listeners only (18+).

On the temple of your regular life, and the daily practices of attention, surrender and wonder. (0:00) - Introduction to Mirabai Starr and Her Work (2:16) - Discussion on "Ordinary Mysticism" (5:15) - Accessibility and Intended Audience of "Ordinary Mysticism" (7:18) - Personal Stories and Everyday Mysticism (11:34) - Mirabai's Identity and Role as a Young Elder (14:29) - Current Rituals and Spiritual Practices (19:03) - Memories from Taos and Early Influences (21:29) - Embodying Contemplative Practice (25:44) - The Practice of Wonder and Surrender (32:13) - Final Reflections and Mantra Practice Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author, internationally acclaimed speaker, and a leading teacher of interspiritual dialogue. In 2020, she was honored on Watkins' list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Drawing from 20 years of teaching Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos, Mirabai now travels the world sharing her wisdom on contemplative living, writing as a spiritual practice, and the transformational power of grief and loss. She has authored over a dozen books including Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, and God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Mirabai has received critical acclaim for her revolutionary contemporary translations of the mystics John of the Cross, Teresa of Ávila, and Julian of Norwich. Mirabai offers the fruit of decades of study, teaching, and contemplative practice in a fresh, grounded, and lyrical voice to a growing circle of folks inspired by the life-giving essence of feminine wisdom. Mirabai continues to teach seminars, workshops, and retreats, both in person and through her online community Wild Heart. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico. https://mirabaistarr.com

On this special Thanksgiving episode we interview college freshperson Mirabai Munton. Michael shares his exciting technology news and Mirabai tells a hilarious story about her fake boyfriend. Guest: Mirabai Munton Beer: Fog of War by Armor Brewing

Today, as we continue to process the recent election results, we're diving into a conversation that supports us in the realm of spiritual connection, resilience, and collective awakening. In times of change, we often seek grounding and meaning, and this week's guest offers a unique perspective on how to find both. Wherever you are in the process of digesting the recent election, I invite you to take good care of your energy and your heart, nourish yourself and take your time. And know that there is a place for your voice and contribution in finding solutions to our most pressing challenges as a society.If you are longing for community to rest, reflect, restore and rejuvenate with, join me in the Well Woman Academy. Details at wellwomanlife.com/academyI'm thrilled to bring you my conversation with Mirabai Starr, an award-winning author, internationally acclaimed speaker, and a pioneer in interspiritual dialogue. Mirabai has been named one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People, and she's spent decades exploring spirituality through the wisdom of the world's religious traditions. She's authored books like Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, and God of Love, which offer a fresh, grounded approach to spirituality and feminine wisdom.Together, we discuss what it means to live a deeply connected life, where everyday experiences invite us to the sacred, beyond institutionalized religion and self-improvement. Join us as we explore how engaging in acts of peace and justice can be as profound as any personal journey.The Well Woman Show is thankful for support from Collective Action Strategies – a consulting firm that supports systemic change so that women and families thrive, and by the Well Woman Life Movement Challenge Quiz at wellwomanlife.com/quizAs always, all the links and information are at wellwomanlife.com/radioMirabai's first episode: https://wellwomanlife.com/captivate-podcast/173show/Find her books hereHer group: Holy Lament – Holy Lament Community Grief Journey with Mirabai StarrThe Transformative Path of Loss & Longing with Mirabai Starr: An ongoing community grief journey through the Landscape of Loss

Kimberly and Mirabai Starr engage in a rich and intimate exploration of mysticism, personal loss, spirituality, and the intersection of sexuality and the sacred. They consider how they have each found spirituality in their everyday lives while being mindful of their journeys, cultures, ancestry, and the complexities involved. They discuss Mirabai's new book, "Ordinary Mysticism," which delves into the nature of mysticism and its accessibility to everyone every day. Mirabai emphasizes that mysticism doesn't require institutionalized religion and can be found in ordinary moments. They discuss the profound impact of loss and grief in Mirabai's life. She describes how these experiences deepened her connection to the sacred and the beauty intertwined with suffering.   Bio 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 dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. She has written over 15 books, and the latest is “Ordinary Mysticism.” But you'll hear her talk about “Caravan of No Despair,” “Wild Mercy,” and some of her translations from Spanish to English, “In The Mystics,” “The Great Mystics.” She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.   What you'll hear: Mirabai's views on spiritual, literary and poetic writing. The origin story of her new book "Ordinary Mysticism" - including it's connection to Anne Lamott The ease in finding the mystical if you are open to it. The challenges of having that openness in the everyday The intersections of grief and the sacred Cultivating mystical awareness in daily life Searching for spiritual grounding Uprootedness of being spiritual but not religious How to understand your relationship to different spiritual technologies How to tap into spiritual bounty without colonizing and appropriating Intention and attention are crucial for recognizing the sacred in the mundane. The integration of sexuality and spirituality The common split many women feel between the sexual and the sacred aspects of their lives. How healing from/through sexual abuse can lead to sacredness in intimacy What's a responsible and mindful approach to drawing from various spiritual traditions? How does storytelling and reflecting on shared struggles lead to insights within the spiritual journey? And how ending an abusive sexual and spiritual relationship can lead to healing through new forms of intimacy. Healthy intimacy can be holy Resources https://mirabaistarr.com/

Welcome to Season 2 of Everything Belongs! This season, we'll be exploring Richard's book Eager to Love chapter-by-chapter, and what better way to kick off a brand new season than with our friend, Mirabai Starr. In this episode, we're covering Chapter One: "What Do We Mean by 'Mysticism'?" This episode explores the themes of mysticism, spirituality, and the sacredness of everyday life, examining the nature of mystical experiences, the importance of love, and how grief can lead to deeper spiritual understanding. Before we dive into the interview with Mirabai, Mike and Paul catch up with Richard at his hermitage to hear his reflections on the first chapter of Eager to Love. Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction 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 dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Her latest book, WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, was named one of the “Best Books of 2019”. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Resources: A PDF of the transcript for this episode is available here. Grab a copy of Eager to Love here. Grab a copy of Mirabai's new book Ordinary Mysticism here. To learn more about Mirabai Starr and Wild Heart, visit her website here.

In Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground, renowned mystic and author Mirabai Starr reveals how mystical experiences are not just for the elite few, but our birthright as human beings. Through radical presence, loving awareness, and embracing wonder, Starr shows how the sacred can be found in the most ordinary moments of everyday life. This profound conversation is an invitation to gaze at the world through eyes of love, immerse yourself in beauty, and awaken to the truth that we all belong to one beloved community.You can find Mirabai at: Website | Instagram | Wild Heart Space | Episode TranscriptIf you LOVED this episode you'll also love the conversations we had with Elizabeth Gilbert about being present to love's wisdom in our lives.Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the WheelVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It took me years to reclaim my creative life as not other than my spiritual life but the very place my spirit flowers,” says Mirabai Starr award-winning author, internationally acclaimed speaker and a leading teacher of interspiritual dialogue. In this episode, we speak with Mirabai about how she created an intimate, welcoming tone in her most recent book, Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground. We speak, too, about the intersections of creative practice and spiritual practice, the importance of the imagination, dismantling the hierarchy of the mentor/protege relationship, and how she steps out of the way to let “the [creative] thing” come through.In 2020, Mirabai Starr was honored on Watkins' list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Drawing from twenty years of teaching philosophy and world religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos, Starr now travels the world sharing her wisdom on contemplative living, writing as a spiritual practice, and the transformational power of grief and loss. She has authored over a dozen books, including Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, and God of Love. Starr has received critical acclaim for her revolutionary contemporary translations of the mystics John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila and Julian of Norwich. Starr continues to teach seminars, workshops and retreats, both in person and through her online community, Wild Heart. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico. www.mirabaistarr.comwww.wildheart.spacehttps://www.instagram.com/mirabaistarr/https://www.facebook.com/mirabai.starr.author/https://www.harpercollins.com/products/ordinary-mysticism-mirabai-starr?variant=41325260668962 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Discussing her new book, Ordinary Mysticism, Mirabai Starr breaks free from religious institutions and shares heart-opening mystical wisdom.Mirabai's upcoming book, Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground, will be released in September 2024. Preorder your copy HERE!This time on Mindrolling, Mirabai and Raghu converse about: How beginner's mind and humility help us cope with the worldOur capacity to feel the pain of the world as our superpowerThe dark night of the soul and Saint John of the CrossMirabai's loss of her daughter and the transformational power of sufferingThe broken, open heart and expanding our heart to contain grief and realityBeing with ‘what is' – as an act of devotion and loveReligious ‘polyamory' and intimate encounters with numerous spiritual traditionsMirabai's baptism and dedication to peace in the Middle EastWhy mystical experiences do not need to happen in the container of religionAbout Mirabai Starr:Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction 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. Check out her many books and learn more at MirabaiStarr.com.“Often, organized institutionalized religious spaces and belief systems (this is my belief) can be an obstacle, an impediment to an actual mystical experience, if by mystical experience we mean an experience of intimacy with the sacred as love.” – Mirabai StarrSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wild Women: Seekers, Protagonists and Goddesses in Sacred Indian Poetry [Penguin India, 2024], edited by poet and seeker Arundhathi Subramaniam, is a new anthology of compelling women mystics in Indian literature. These poems are the cries of women who refused, quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, to be bullied into submission. Women who surrendered not to the authority of the world, but to the authority of the spirit. Women whose voices have far too often been sanitized by the grand narratives of religion and sidelined by rationalist versions of history. The names of Mirabai, Akka Mahadevi, and Andal, are known to many. But there are innumerable others. And little is known of the urgency of their words, of their feral sensuality, of their relentless questioning of the custodians of gender and faith. It is time to re-fang them, to tune into their brazenness and heartbreaking longing. Not just for their sake, but for ours. In this episode of BIC Talks, Author Arundhathi Subramaniam is in conversation with Poet & Translator, Mani Rao, with readings of translations by Mani Rao, Vanamala Viswanatha and Ahalya Ballal. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in June 2024. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favorite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible and Amazon Music.

Vinene i afsnittet er skænket af Jysk Vin https://www.jyskvin.dk/   Find en smagekasse her https://www.jyskvin.dk/oregon-tema-vin-for-begyndere-0-6929993   ………………….   I dette afsnit skal vi smage tre vine fra amerikanske Kelley Fox, som laver vin med holdning og attitude.   Vi skal selvfølgelig have en god indflyvning til Willamette Valley, som ligger i zone 1 og 2 og er dermed cool climate-vin. Hvor meget vin bliver der lavet i området og hvilke druer bliver der primært dyrket?   Hvilke kloner benytter Kelley Fox, hvilken tilgang har hun i sit vineri og hvad er free run juice?   Hvordan opnår man i disse klimaforandringstider fenolisk modenhed ved lavere sukkergrader og hvordan kan man beskære sin vinplante, så den giver det bedste udbytte?     Vi smager på   1) Kelley Fox Wines, Durant Vineyard, Chardonnay, Oregon, USA, 2022 https://www.jyskvin.dk/kelley-fox-durant-vineyard-chardonnay-2022-6446336 2) Kelley Fox Wines, Mirabai, Pinot Noir, Oregon, USA, 2021 https://www.jyskvin.dk/kelley-fox-mirabai-pinot-noir-2021-6439636   3) Kelley Fox Wines, Weber Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Oregon, USA, 2021 https://www.jyskvin.dk/kelley-fox-weber-vineyard-pinot-noir-2021-6444536    

Register your free place for the live online meditation and Q&A with Babaji: https://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org/online-satsang Dharma | Thus Spake Babaji - online Q&A, No.175Recorded on 13 April 2024 with worldwide participants.0:00 Introduction from Babaji1:53 What is meant by the word dharma?3:17 When we talk about someone being obliged to do something, it implies that someone is being forced to do it?12:33 Regards the moral aspect of dharma, is it better for the individual or for society?17:12 A scholarly application of the root of the word dharma gives the meaning 'to hold' or 'to support'.19:47 Does following dharma help us in our worldly life?22:19 Is dharma different for householders or monks?26:23 The great stories of India like the Mahabharata seem to recall events and not say if anything is right or wrong, but shows that if you do this, this happens, is that correct?36:18 What does the phrase 'don't define your dharma' mean?47:00 If there is a conflict, is it better to walk away from it to protect my mind, or is that selfish?47:53 In Bhagavad Gita it says 'it is better to do one's own dharma even though you do it imperfectly, that to do another person's dharma even though perfectly.'50:00 The incident of Ahalya in the Ramayana51:58 What is the meaning sanatana dharma?53:25 How could it happen that Mirabai merged with the idol of Lord Krishna?55:23 What happened to Mirabai's latent tendencies?55:44 Babaji's closing words___Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6YHFKcPK_XT96VO7xuk6RQWebsite: http://www.srby.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/shivarudrabalayogiTwitter: https://twitter.com/SRBYmissionInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/shivarudrabalayogi/Register your free place for the live online meditation and Q&A with Babaji: https://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org/en/online-satsang Website: http://www.srby.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/shivarudrabalayogiTwitter: https://twitter.com/SRBYmissionInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/shivarudrabalayogi/

A recording of excerpts from a live SAND Community Gathering hosted by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo. In these times of unbearable anguish, as the already beleaguered Palestinian community is being massacred and starved before our astonished eyes, our own grieving flows into the sea of human suffering and we remember that we belong to each other. Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction 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 dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Her latest book, WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, was named one of the “Best Books of 2019”. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Mona Haydar is a young Muslim Syrian-American poet, musician, workshop leader and speaker who gained global recognition through her “Ask A Muslim” project and the viral hip-hop music video “Hijabi (Wrap My Hijab).” Her debut EP “Barbarican” addresses global patriarchy, orientalism, immigration policy, white supremacy, and suicide. A Master's graduate in Theology from Union Theological Seminary, Mona speaks at churches, synagogues, universities and international forums, engaging audiences on art, Islam, feminism, hip hop, theology, and interfaith dialogue. Topics 00:00 — Introduction 06:52 — Mirabai's Introduction 16:42 — Mona's Introduction 21:06 — Interfaith Teachings on Grief 32:40 — Islamic Teachings on Grief 41:58 — The Grief of Loss 50:11 — Closing Prayer 55:58 — Song from Desiree Dawson & Mona Hayder Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member: Also mentioned in this episode is SAND's Fundraiser to help relocate a family from the Genocide in Gaza.

Charla con Mirabai sobre su carrera y el fin de semana en general de competición en Madrid. Estrategia, sensaciones y críticas, siempre constructivas. - Grandes descuentos en fitnessdigital por su 17 Aniversario (código PDR5FD para descuento extra): https://pdrun.es/fitnessdigital17 -  - Aquí recopilo las ofertas más destacadas del aniversario https://www.palabraderunner.com/ofertas-fitnessdigital-17-aniversario/ -  Mirabai en IG: https://www.instagram.com/mirabai_cuenca/ -  Mirabai en Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/61831788?hl=es-ES Código descuento PALABRADERUNNER en Styrpe. Código descuento PDR10 en nutrición fanté. ⚡Instagram: https://instagram.com/palabraderunner - Seguro de viaje Intermundial para cualquier país (descuento PALABRADERUNNER) https://pdrun.es/segurodeviaje - eSIM de datos Airalo (descuento PEDRO1993) https://pdrun.es/airaloesim - eSIM de datos ilimitada Holafly (descuento PALABRADERUNNER) https://pdrun.es/holafly

Mirabai, an iconic sixteenth-century Indian poet-saint, is renowned for her unwavering love of God, her disregard for social hierarchies and gendered notions of honor and shame, and her challenge to familial, feudal, and religious authorities. Defying attempts to constrain and even kill her, she could not be silenced. Though verifiable facts regarding her life are few, her fame spread across social, linguistic, and religious boundaries, and stories about her multiplied across the subcontinent and the centuries. In Mirabai: The Making of a Saint (Oxford UP, 2023), Nancy M. Martin traces the story of this immensely popular Indian saint from the earliest manuscript references to her through colonial and nationalist developments to scholarly and popular portrayals in the decades leading up to Indian independence. This book examines Mirabai's place as both insider and outsider to the developing strands of devotional Hinduism and her role in contested terrain of debates around the education and independence of women and the crafting of Indian and Hindu identities. Mirabai offers a comprehensive and multi-layered portrait of this remarkable and still controversial woman, who continues to be a source of inspiration and catalyst for self-actualization for spiritual seekers, artists, activists, and so many others in India and around the world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Mirabai, an iconic sixteenth-century Indian poet-saint, is renowned for her unwavering love of God, her disregard for social hierarchies and gendered notions of honor and shame, and her challenge to familial, feudal, and religious authorities. Defying attempts to constrain and even kill her, she could not be silenced. Though verifiable facts regarding her life are few, her fame spread across social, linguistic, and religious boundaries, and stories about her multiplied across the subcontinent and the centuries. In Mirabai: The Making of a Saint (Oxford UP, 2023), Nancy M. Martin traces the story of this immensely popular Indian saint from the earliest manuscript references to her through colonial and nationalist developments to scholarly and popular portrayals in the decades leading up to Indian independence. This book examines Mirabai's place as both insider and outsider to the developing strands of devotional Hinduism and her role in contested terrain of debates around the education and independence of women and the crafting of Indian and Hindu identities. Mirabai offers a comprehensive and multi-layered portrait of this remarkable and still controversial woman, who continues to be a source of inspiration and catalyst for self-actualization for spiritual seekers, artists, activists, and so many others in India and around the world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Mirabai, an iconic sixteenth-century Indian poet-saint, is renowned for her unwavering love of God, her disregard for social hierarchies and gendered notions of honor and shame, and her challenge to familial, feudal, and religious authorities. Defying attempts to constrain and even kill her, she could not be silenced. Though verifiable facts regarding her life are few, her fame spread across social, linguistic, and religious boundaries, and stories about her multiplied across the subcontinent and the centuries. In Mirabai: The Making of a Saint (Oxford UP, 2023), Nancy M. Martin traces the story of this immensely popular Indian saint from the earliest manuscript references to her through colonial and nationalist developments to scholarly and popular portrayals in the decades leading up to Indian independence. This book examines Mirabai's place as both insider and outsider to the developing strands of devotional Hinduism and her role in contested terrain of debates around the education and independence of women and the crafting of Indian and Hindu identities. Mirabai offers a comprehensive and multi-layered portrait of this remarkable and still controversial woman, who continues to be a source of inspiration and catalyst for self-actualization for spiritual seekers, artists, activists, and so many others in India and around the world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Mirabai, an iconic sixteenth-century Indian poet-saint, is renowned for her unwavering love of God, her disregard for social hierarchies and gendered notions of honor and shame, and her challenge to familial, feudal, and religious authorities. Defying attempts to constrain and even kill her, she could not be silenced. Though verifiable facts regarding her life are few, her fame spread across social, linguistic, and religious boundaries, and stories about her multiplied across the subcontinent and the centuries. In Mirabai: The Making of a Saint (Oxford UP, 2023), Nancy M. Martin traces the story of this immensely popular Indian saint from the earliest manuscript references to her through colonial and nationalist developments to scholarly and popular portrayals in the decades leading up to Indian independence. This book examines Mirabai's place as both insider and outsider to the developing strands of devotional Hinduism and her role in contested terrain of debates around the education and independence of women and the crafting of Indian and Hindu identities. Mirabai offers a comprehensive and multi-layered portrait of this remarkable and still controversial woman, who continues to be a source of inspiration and catalyst for self-actualization for spiritual seekers, artists, activists, and so many others in India and around the world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mirabai, an iconic sixteenth-century Indian poet-saint, is renowned for her unwavering love of God, her disregard for social hierarchies and gendered notions of honor and shame, and her challenge to familial, feudal, and religious authorities. Defying attempts to constrain and even kill her, she could not be silenced. Though verifiable facts regarding her life are few, her fame spread across social, linguistic, and religious boundaries, and stories about her multiplied across the subcontinent and the centuries. In Mirabai: The Making of a Saint (Oxford UP, 2023), Nancy M. Martin traces the story of this immensely popular Indian saint from the earliest manuscript references to her through colonial and nationalist developments to scholarly and popular portrayals in the decades leading up to Indian independence. This book examines Mirabai's place as both insider and outsider to the developing strands of devotional Hinduism and her role in contested terrain of debates around the education and independence of women and the crafting of Indian and Hindu identities. Mirabai offers a comprehensive and multi-layered portrait of this remarkable and still controversial woman, who continues to be a source of inspiration and catalyst for self-actualization for spiritual seekers, artists, activists, and so many others in India and around the world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

Mirabai, an iconic sixteenth-century Indian poet-saint, is renowned for her unwavering love of God, her disregard for social hierarchies and gendered notions of honor and shame, and her challenge to familial, feudal, and religious authorities. Defying attempts to constrain and even kill her, she could not be silenced. Though verifiable facts regarding her life are few, her fame spread across social, linguistic, and religious boundaries, and stories about her multiplied across the subcontinent and the centuries. In Mirabai: The Making of a Saint (Oxford UP, 2023), Nancy M. Martin traces the story of this immensely popular Indian saint from the earliest manuscript references to her through colonial and nationalist developments to scholarly and popular portrayals in the decades leading up to Indian independence. This book examines Mirabai's place as both insider and outsider to the developing strands of devotional Hinduism and her role in contested terrain of debates around the education and independence of women and the crafting of Indian and Hindu identities. Mirabai offers a comprehensive and multi-layered portrait of this remarkable and still controversial woman, who continues to be a source of inspiration and catalyst for self-actualization for spiritual seekers, artists, activists, and so many others in India and around the world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mirabai, an iconic sixteenth-century Indian poet-saint, is renowned for her unwavering love of God, her disregard for social hierarchies and gendered notions of honor and shame, and her challenge to familial, feudal, and religious authorities. Defying attempts to constrain and even kill her, she could not be silenced. Though verifiable facts regarding her life are few, her fame spread across social, linguistic, and religious boundaries, and stories about her multiplied across the subcontinent and the centuries. In Mirabai: The Making of a Saint (Oxford UP, 2023), Nancy M. Martin traces the story of this immensely popular Indian saint from the earliest manuscript references to her through colonial and nationalist developments to scholarly and popular portrayals in the decades leading up to Indian independence. This book examines Mirabai's place as both insider and outsider to the developing strands of devotional Hinduism and her role in contested terrain of debates around the education and independence of women and the crafting of Indian and Hindu identities. Mirabai offers a comprehensive and multi-layered portrait of this remarkable and still controversial woman, who continues to be a source of inspiration and catalyst for self-actualization for spiritual seekers, artists, activists, and so many others in India and around the world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/indian-religions

Mirabai se adueña del podcast y os cuenta su Media Maratón de Chiclana. Mirabai en IG: https://www.instagram.com/mirabai_cuenca/ -  Mirabai en Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/61831788?hl=es-ES -  Te cuento todo sobre las Adidas Supernova Rise: analisis y opinión adidas supernova rise https://www.palabraderunner.com/adidas-supernova-rise-analisis/ - 

What if the goal of the spiritual journey is to understand suffering?  In this episode, we're joined by Mirabai Starr as we continue our chapter-by-chapter exploration of Falling Upward with Chapter 6: "Necessary Suffering." This episode explores how loss, suffering, and grief can be a transformative spiritual path, leading to deeper connection with the divine and a more authentic self, by urging us to confront pain and surrender to a greater reality. Before we dive in to the interview with Mirabai, CAC staff catch up with Richard at his hermitage to hear his reflections on the sixth chapter a decade after he originally wrote it. Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction 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 dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Her latest book, WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, was named one of the “Best Books of 2019”. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Resources: A PDF of the transcript for this episode is available here. Grab a copy of the newly revised version of Falling Upward, with a new foreword by Brené Brown here. To learn more about Mirabai Starr and Wild Heart, visit her website here.

Join Trish and Rob for a conversation with... Mirabai Devi is a world-renowned spiritual teacher and a divine mother, which, in yogic and Hindu philosophy, refers to the feminine aspect of the primal creator of the universe or the spiritual spark of all life. She is a healer and author of “Samadhi: Essence of the Divine” and the founder of the Mirabai Devi Foundation, which is dedicated to her mission of raising world consciousness through the awakening and healing of humanity. Mirabai was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and she travels about the world to festivals and spiritual conferences. https://www.mirabaidevi.org

Inspired by Arlyn Ruddy, Liz Newman, Sharon Salzberg, Mirabai, Trudy Goodman, Mother Tersea, Joan of Arc, St. of Avila, Julian of Norwich, Helen Clancy Proulx, “Only God Knows – Young Fathers”.  Audiobook.  Mature listeners only (18+).

Welcome back to DARE TO FEEL a podcast that fearlessly explores themes of intimacy, relationships, spirituality, and healing.In this episode with Mirabai Starr, A certified bereavement counselor, and author of several works, her latest being, WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, Mirabai joined me to speak all about heartbreak as a portal to the divine, and in this tender episode opened up about the biggest loss of her life.In this episode:Mirabai shared how heartbreak is one of the deepest ways of knowing yourself and cracking open to the magic of life.We discussed the patriarchy that's driving women to capitalize on the divine feminine, and how to uncover the shadow.The crucial role that fierceness and tenderness play in the world right now. CONNECT WITH MIRABAI:Wild Heart: https://www.wildheart.space/ Holy Lament: https://www.wildheart.space/holylamentIG: @mirabaistarr @wildheartspaceCONNECT WITH ALEXANDRA:Website: https://www.alexandraroxo.com/IG: @alexandraroxoOrder Alexandra's Latest Book: Dare To Feel: The Transformational Path of the HeartReceive free monthly shares from meJoin us in Radical Awakenings on a 14-day trial

Dive into the AK Talk Show as we journey through the spiritual landscapes shaped by Guru Ravidas Ji's equality-driven teachings, the devout tales of Mirabai and Rani Jhala, and the transcendent roles of light and sound in faith. This episode offers a compact exploration of historical spirituality, devotion, and the symbols that connect us to the divine. Embark on a reflective voyage into stories of resilience, devotion, and enlightenment that resonate across time. Perfect for seekers of wisdom and anyone fascinated by the interplay of history and spirituality.

Today on conduct(her) McKenna & Kyra interview Moira Smiley. An active composer and performer, Mora has written commissions for ensembles such as the LA Master Chorale, Conspirare, Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble, Mirabai, American Choral Directors Association, and countless others.  Her arrangements and original compositions for choir – especially those with her signature body percussion – are performed by millions of singers around the world. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/conducther/support

In the first hour, Pat McDonald is joined by Mirabai Rose Isaak, survivor of a Traumatic Brain Injury to talk about her personal transformation through adversity.

Have you ever considered that your most profound teacher resides within you? Join me, Vivian Medrano, and the insightful Mirabai as we peel back the layers of societal expectations to rediscover the guiding force of our instincts and intuition. Together, we traverse the landscape of self-awareness, celebrating our imperfections as badges of honor and recognizing the value of every individual as a unique part of nature's tapestry. This episode isn't just about learning to trust yourself; it's an awakening to the beauty of self-worth and the power of embracing life's lessons with an open heart.Embarking on a mentorship can illuminate paths we never knew existed, and over eight soul-stirring years, I've found that embracing each moment with love can lead to a remarkable shift in reality. Meditation and yoga become more than mere practices; they emerge as acts of defiance against a society quick to dismiss the spiritual for the rational. This episode encourages a transformation, challenging you to question the passive acceptance of victimhood and inviting you to become the master of your journey through the healing power of self-compassion and the nurturing of our often-neglected inner child.As we unspool the threads of our conversation, the essence of self-compassion and the communal power it holds come to light. Imagine the impact of a world where self-regulated individuals inspire calm and confidence merely through their presence. In sharing my 14-year odyssey of self-discovery, I extend my heartfelt appreciation for the support that has been both a foundation and a beacon. This episode is an invitation to join a movement of empowerment, to follow a path laid by self-love, and to honor the warrior within each of us as we support one another on this transformative quest.Insight on our beautiful and empowering guest speaker Mirabai:She spent 15 years in the mental health field, focusing on trauma, anxiety, depression, and stress-related issues. During this time, she has seen the resilience and healing capabilities of individuals. She has a Master's in Social Work and a BA in Forensic Psychology, which equips her with a deep understanding of the human mind and heart, and their interactions with the world.She understands the struggles that come with the complex practice of radical love and acceptance of Self. She appreciates the courage it takes to seek guidance as you open yourself to the possibility of radically loving yourself.She believes that the way we relate to ourselves is the key to our well being and quality of lives.She is deeply engaged with the practice of Self-Study, rooted in Ashtanga Yoga's eight limbs, which has been a guide to my self-compassion and personal growth. Over eight years, she learned under the guidance of the Indian Monk, Babajaan, diving into the depths of self-compassion. She developed the concept of Self-Relational Study ™ during these transformative years. Click on her website for further information on her study and to connect with Mirabai.http://selfrelationalstudy.comSome ways to support my podcast and its mission:Buy Vivian a coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/vivianmedranoFollow and subscribe to my podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-self-worth-revolution-podcast/id1706384557Rate and Review the PodcastShare with Friends and FamilyFollow me on IG @vivmedrano

This episode is about the great saint Mirabai.Enjoy it.

In this episode, The Bearded Mystic Podcast discusses the teachings of the mystic Mira Bai ji, who was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition.I hope you enjoyed listening to the Wisdom of the Mystics series. If you want to listen to more episodes about Non-Duality and a deep dive into the Bhagavad Gita, please follow/subscribe to this Podcast.Thoughts on the Upanishads, Conversations with the Bearded Mystic, Guided Meditations, and much more only on Patreon, Buzzsprout Subscriptions, Apple Podcast Subscriptions and Supercast.Patreon: Support The Bearded Mystic Podcast and get ad-free, bonus episodes along with many more benefits:https://www.patreon.com/thebeardedmysticpodcastBuzzsprout Subscriptions: Support The Bearded Mystic Podcast and get ad-free, bonus episodes:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1800416/subscribeDirect & Unfiltered with The Bearded Mystic is a great format to ask The Bearded Mystic (Rahul) whatever question you have in your mind. Submit your question by completing this survey please.Join The Bearded Mystic Podcast Discussion Group on Whatsapp:  https://chat.whatsapp.com/GcCnyrjQwLuEPHBaVA6q9LBe notified of my weekly virtual meditation session followed by a Q&A Discussion via zoom (Notifications only):https://chat.whatsapp.com/DcdnuDMeRnW53E0seVp28bIf you would like a one-on-one meeting with me via Zoom, book here:https://calendly.com/thebeardedmysticpodcast/1on1meetingsPlease rate and write a review for this Podcast: https://www.thebeardedmysticpodcast.com/reviews/new/You can follow me and contact me on social media:Website: https://www.thebeardedmysticpodcast.comTikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdk3HPJh/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeardedmysticpodcast/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBeardedMysticPodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearded_mysticFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Bearded-Mystic-PodcastSupport the show

In this heart warming and inspiring conversation with Mirabai we go right into the pain she has endured, which has been her greatest teacher in life. We talk about Intergenerational trauma, how you get through life after being born into a family devoid of love and how you can turn your pain into purpose. Mirabai is a rock of strength in resilience.  She is one of the most vulnerable woman I have connected with to date and her ability to share without shame all of the trauma she has been through sets the stage for what we are capable of healing through.   In 2008 Mirabai purchased 20 acres of land to start her Center for healing, as well as personal and transpersonal development. She studied with  Babajann, an Indian Mystic who introduced her to the concept of Self-Study and using the path of self-love and self-compassion to healing self and world.  Through the years of study with him she developed Self-Relational Study, a contemplative practice focused on self-discovery, self-healing and self realization. Along I developed SRE ( Self-Relational Experience), an embodied self-reflective and min-body restorative modality that address relational trauma, promotes transformative learning and returns one to evolved state of being, a state of Self-Love and Self-Compassion. It is  a healing modality that repairs one's relationship with self.  In 2020 she founded the Center for Self-Relational Study and began to do Self-Relational Work as a Self-Relational Guide, Mentor and Coach.  You can find out more about Mirabai at: selfrelationalstudy.com

The podcast is meant to let people know that it's natural and essential to show up to one's mat in any number of different physical and mental states. Dealing with one's darkness is as much part of the process as reaching for the light. And so there's no need to feel like a bad yogi when you find that you are not happy or not detached--all the of the time. David questions the heavily marketed idea that yoga is primarily about wellness or feeling good or happy all of the time. There's an idea that a good yogi detaches from all afflictions and masterfully transcends or stops negative impulses or reactive emotions. The models that populate yoga magazines and social media outlets are almost always shown to be strong, flexible, serene, happy, in control and at peace. David points out how these depictions are misleading and at odds with what actually happens when one takes up a steady daily practice. In fact, practice partly serves to help one raise up the darkness within, to face one's shadow, and come into meaningful contact with one's suffering. David discusses James Hillman's idea that human growth and wisdom is only partly about overcoming darkness or reaching for the light or attaining to the high-pinnacled peak of spiritual ascendancy. Soul, in contrast to spirit, is the other equally important part of the equation for self discovery, self mastery, and self knowledge. Questing for soul involves traveling downward into the blue, dark, shadowy valleys of the psyche. David speaks about Hillman's insistence that the soul actually gains insight and wisdom through encountering afflictions (desires, attachments, fears, anger, sadness, grief, abandonment, loneliness, jealousy, and other strong emotions) rather than merely attempting to disengage, cut, repress or otherwise get rid of these challenging states. David reads several poems from such Bhakti poets as: Mirabai, Tulsidas, Hafiz, and Kabir to illustrate how these yogis accepted, worked with, and transformed their darkness into creative works instead of rejecting or shunning such aspects of themselves. Enjoy!

Mirabai Starr is a highly respected author and speaker known for her expertise in spirituality and the wisdom of women mystics. With a particular focus on embracing feminine wisdom in spirituality, Mirabai has extensively studied the teachings and lives of women mystics from various traditions. Mirabai's insights offer a fresh perspective on spirituality in modern times, encouraging seekers to engage with the realities of the world while nurturing their spiritual growth. In this episode, you will be able to: Embrace the fierce and tender wisdom of women mystics Uncovering new perspectives and insights from the divine feminine on your spiritual journey Navigate the delicate balance of interspirituality and cultural respect to expand your understanding of spirituality Cultivate a deep and holistic spiritual practice by integrating multiple spiritual paths Find peace and personal growth in the face of challenges, using pain as a catalyst for spiritual growth and transformation To learn more, click here!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Os contamos con todo detalle como fue nuestra Maratón Berlín, lo más destacable y el resultado tras tantas semanas de entrenamientos. Gracias por acompañarnos en este camino. Mirabai en Strava:https://www.strava.com/athletes/61831788  -  Y en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirabai_cuenca/?hl=es  -  Libro de Maratón de Pfitzinger: https://pdrun.es/libromaratonpfitz - Pedro en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palabraderunner/ - Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1169830 - Todo el material que recomiendo: https://www.amazon.es/shop/palabraderunner - Grupo en Telegram: https://t.me/grupopalabraderunner - Lista de música colaborativa en Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3HKZ7jyeix7lgyXuOmaZU9?si=LxewE053T96-KesQA7Ze7g - Instagram: https://instagram.com/palabraderunner/ - Web: https://www.palabraderunner.com - Grupo en Telegram: https://t.me/grupopalabraderunner - Mi Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1169830 - Facebook: https://facebook.com/palabraderunner/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/palabraderunner/ - Club Palabra de Runner en Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/palabraderunner

Seguimos hablando sobre la Maratón de Berlín: En ese episodio abordamos todo el material y nutrición que llevaremos en la Maratón Berlín, con Mirabai. Mirabai en Strava:https://www.strava.com/athletes/61831788  -  Y en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirabai_cuenca/?hl=es  -  Libro de Maratón de Pfitzinger: https://pdrun.es/libromaratonpfitz - Pedro en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palabraderunner/ - Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1169830 - Todo el material que recomiendo: https://www.amazon.es/shop/palabraderunner - Grupo en Telegram: https://t.me/grupopalabraderunner - Lista de música colaborativa en Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3HKZ7jyeix7lgyXuOmaZU9?si=LxewE053T96-KesQA7Ze7g - Instagram: https://instagram.com/palabraderunner/ - Web: https://www.palabraderunner.com - Grupo en Telegram: https://t.me/grupopalabraderunner - Mi Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1169830 - Facebook: https://facebook.com/palabraderunner/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/palabraderunner/ - Club Palabra de Runner en Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/palabraderunner

Mirabai Weismehl Rosenfeld is the Concertmaster of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. David talks with her about her professional journey, and how she heard about GTD. Mirabai also shares about how GTD supports her creative expression. You will also hear delightful surprises at the beginning and end of the recording. You can listen to the conversation from June 2021 at GTD Connect®. -- This audio is one of many available at GTD Connect, a learning space and community hub for all things GTD. Join GTD practitioners from around the world in learning, sharing, and developing the skills for stress-free productivity. Sign up for a free guest pass Learn about membership options Knowing how to get the right things done is a key to success. It's easy to get distracted and overwhelmed. Stay focused and increase productivity with GTD Connect—a subscription-based online learning center from the David Allen Company. GTD Connect gives you access to a wealth of multimedia content designed to help you stay on track and deepen your awareness of principles you can also learn in GTD courses, coaching, and by reading the Getting Things Done book. You'll also get the support and encouragement of a thriving global community of people you won't find anywhere else. If you already know you'd like to join, click here to choose from monthly or annual options. If you'd like to try GTD Connect free for 14 days, read on for what's included and how to get your free trial. During your 14-day free trial, you will have access to: Recorded webinars with David Allen & the certified coaches and trainers on a wide range of productivity topics GTD Getting Started & Refresher Series to reinforce the fundamentals you may have learned in a GTD course, coaching, or book Extensive audio, video, and document library Slice of GTD Life series to see how others are making GTD stick David Allen's exclusive interviews with people in his network all over the world Lively members-only discussion forums sharing ideas, tips, and tricks Note: GTD Connect is designed to reinforce your learning, and we also recommend that you take a course, get individual coaching, or read the Getting Things Done book. Ready to start your free trial?

What is the life journey of Mirabai Devi? In this episode of the Infinite Light Podcast, hosts Ayn Cates Sullivan and Mirabai Devi open up and share the spiritual journey Mirabai has gone on over the years. They talk about exploring the realms of loving consciousness, religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism and more, the different paths leading back to God, and an overall biographical story based on spiritual bliss. Tune in today to learn more about the true journey of Mirabai Devi!

“Never stop learning.”   Horror fans rejoice! This week, Mirabai Pease joins the show following her breakout role in Evil Dead Rise. However, she's far from a novice when it comes the the TV/Film industry. Having been raised around film sets in her youth, this New Zealand native decided to take a stab at acting during school. In a short amount of time, she's risen (pun intended) meteorically, with so much more in store!   SHOUTOUTS & PROMOTIONS   -Evil Dead Rise   -The Gulf  

Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translationsof sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of NewMexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practiceand inter-spiritual dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Her latest book, WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & TenderWisdom of the Women Mystics, was named one of the “Best Books of 2019”. She lives with herextended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Mirabai's Online Greif Community: Holy Lament Topics: 02:31 – Inter-spirituality Practice and Mirabai's Path10:30 – What is Mysticism?16:23 – Nondual Spirituality: Devotion and Surrender21:33 – Tikkun Olam (“to repair of the world”) and Being with the pain in the world29:14 – St. John of the Cross and the Dark Night of the Soul38:20 – Mirabai's Dark Night of the Soul in Losing Her Daughter Jenny41:59 – The Portal into Grief47:23 – The Importance of Grieving in Community49:44 – Mirabai's Online Grief Community

How can you start clearing and releasing the negativity in your life? In this episode of The Messages of Infinite Light Podcast, host Mirabai Devi welcomes the topic of positivity to the show. This episode is part 2 of the Clearing and Releasing Negativity, Part #1 episode. She talks about habits, and behaviors, that cleanse emotional, physical, and mental health. Tune in today as Mirabai shares how to cleanse yourself to start clearing and releasing negativity!

Welcome to Season 6 of Turning to the Mystics. This season we are turning to 14th-century English mystic Julian of Norwich for spiritual guidance. In this episode, Mirabai Starr returns to the show covering the person and life of Julian of Norwich and how we can work with her teachings to transform our lives. Throughout this season, we will work with the text, The Showings. Resources: Turning to the Mystics is a podcast by the Center for Action and Contemplation. To learn more about Jim, visit jamesfinley.org   The transcript for this episode will be available soon. The book being used for this season can be found here. Mirabai's translation of The Showings can be found here. Connect with us: Have a question you'd like Jim or Kirsten to answer about Julian of Norwich? Email us: podcasts@cac.org This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!