Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground by Mirabai Starr (9/17/24)

A stunning exploration of finding the extraordinary in the everyday from beloved spiritual teacher and interspiritual leader Mirabai Starr.

“This gorgeous, transformative, welcoming book is for anyone who longs to feel more present, more alive, more joyful and aware of the holiness of daily life.”—Anne Lamott, author of Dusk, Night, Dawn and Help, Thanks, Wow

For Starr, the everyday is not boring or routine; it is sacred. In Ordinary Mysticism, she helps readers discover their own inner mystic  and let go of the limiting belief that spiritual life exists only in traditional places of worship. Mysticism, she explains, is a direct experience of the sacred—no church or clergy required. Our everyday life can be imbued with spirit if we pay attention. Starr explores the magic of mundane life, from weeding in our humble gardens to a slow evening walk with a friend to a full kitchen table surrounded by family. Embracing mysticism in our everyday is a way of being more alive in the world, an awakening to the interconnectedness between all things.

To become a mystic, you don’t need to visit an ashram in the Himalayas or kneel in a church pew to connect to the sacred or to life’s big questions. Life, she says, is holy ground—“welcome to the temple of your regular life.” Lyrical and tender, filled with profound wisdom and mind-opening insights, Ordinary Mysticism is about finding the extraordinary in the everyday, grounded in lessons from spiritual teachers across the centuries—from Julian of Norwich to Ram Das. Starr combines their sagacity with the story of her own personal and spiritual journey—from surviving the heartbreak of her fourteen-year-old daughter’s death to growing up amid the 1960s counterculture that introduced her to mysticism to her self-made spiritual practice of today.

By inviting readers to walk with her on path of the mystic, Starr reveals how the mundane is miraculous, how the boring becomes fascinating, and how we can ultimately recognize our own innate wisdom. May we all find meaning and wonder in our most ordinary moments.