Kundalini Splendor

Mirabai Starr is a national treasure.  She has plumbed the depths of the mystical journey into radiance and ecstasy through her brilliant works on Saint Teresa, St. John and other such spiritual pilgrims of the past.  This book takes us into yet another journey into the realm of the feminine mystic and shows us how we can uncover and nurture our own mystic within.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this passage on p. 64:

     "My  friend Dorothy Walters is an example of spontaneous and and utterly transformative kundalini awakening.  Dorothy was a college professor of English and women's studies in Kansas when, at the age of fifty-three and with no context for what was happening, her kundalini suddenly ascended, uprooting her life as she knew it and catapulting her onto a path of longing and ecstasy.  The formerly political and academic woman became a raving mystic.  Now, at ninety, Dorothy still pays attention to the suffering of the world and seeks to alleviate it, but she mostly spends her days writing poetry worthy of the great mystic poets of the past, such as Rumi and Mirabai.  To read Dorothy's poems to the Beloved is not only to bear witness to her experience of divine union but to participate in the direct experience of Love."

From the Cover:

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

Wild Mercy is essential reading for anyone ready to awaken the feminine mystic within and birth her loving, creative, and untamed power into the world.

“Mystical brilliance at its best.” —Caroline Myss

“No one can take us into the fiery and tender depths of the sacred feminine with more skill, humor, clarity, and vibrant naked honesty than Mirabai Starr.” —Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope and The Return of the Mother

We live in a world that has suffered the abuses of an unbalanced masculine rule for thousands of years—but the feminine is rising. “Seeds of feminine wisdom that have been quietly germinating underground are now breaking through the surface,” writes Mirabai Starr. “Women everywhere are rising to the collective call to step up and repair our broken Earth. And we are activating a paradigm shift such as the world has never seen.”

With Wild Mercy, Mirabai shares the subversive wisdom and fierce compassion of the feminine mystic across cultural boundaries and throughout history. From saints and sages, to goddesses and archetypal energies, to contemporary teachers and seekers—you’ll meet women who blazed a path that will illuminate your own.

Each chapter explores a different facet of feminine mysticism through a tapestry of teachings, reflections, and stories, along with a practice for integrating the chapter’s themes into your own life. As you journey through these pages, you’ll explore:

Taking refuge in contemplative practice with St. Teresa of Avila and the Shekinah
Longing, embodiment, and union as the heart of feminine spiritual practice with the Hindu poet Mirabai and Mary Magdalene
Your relationship with the Earth, motherhood in all its forms, and a loving call to action alongside Gaia and Ix Chel
Community and the web of life with Indra, the Beguines, and female prophets throughout history
Wild, playful, and compassionate mercy with Tara and Kuan Yin
Finding joy in creativity and the arts with Saraswati and Chiyo-ni
More inspiration from archetypal goddesses and amazing women past and present—Julian of Norwich, the Sufi saint Rabia, Pachamama, Sophia, Old Spider Woman, Hildegard of Bingen, Demeter, Kali, and more
Wild Mercy provides a much-needed alternative to the models of religion and spirituality that have dominated history. Here, Mirabai invites you to welcome the wisdom of women back into the collective field where it may transform the human family, heal the ravaged Earth, and awaken the divine love in our hearts.