About Rumi’s Circle

Rumi’s Circle is a group of people inspired by their love of Mevlana Rumi to come together to share and understand his wisdom.

We do this in the following ways:

~ poetry and music events,
~ coffee shop poetry reflections,
~ talks and workshops about Mevlana Rumi and his work,
~ introductory whirling workshops explaining and demonstrating the whirling dervish tradition.

We love collaborating with others – if you would like us to perform or speak at your event, please get in touch!

We welcome you to follow our website posts (sign-up on the right), on Facebook, on Twitter, and contribute anything that Mevlana Rumi inspires in you.

Rumi’s Circle is part of The Threshold Society and the Mevlevi Order, based on the teachings of Shaikh Kabir and Shaikha Camille Helminski.

The Threshold Society is a registered charity, number 1149874.

Mevlana Rumi

Rumi is also referred to as Mevlana which means ‘Our Master’ in Turkish, and is often formally referred to as Mevlana Jalaluddin Balkhi Rumi.

Rumi lived in the 13th century and spent much of his life in Konya in modern day Turkey. He was an erudite and learned man, a religious and legal scholar. He was very heavily steeped in a spiritual life devoted to attaining nearness to the unseen force that is behind, beyond and permeating the universes. He was widely respected and loved by young and old alike, with a great following.

In his late 30s, Rumi met Shams ud Din Tabrizi (Shams ud Din meaning the Sun of Faith). Shams had been a wandering dervish (a holy man) seeking a soul to share his spiritual learning with. The relationship between them was one of two mirrors reflecting and confirming each other. The experience had a profound impact on Rumi, and ecstatic verse flowed from him following this encounter.

Rumi’s poetry and words have been setting the world alight ever since. His message is essentially one of Love – that it is love that brought us into being, it is through that love that we are connected, that it is in love that we live, and through love that we are transformed into the angelic beings that humans are destined to be.

It seems clear that the world in which we live really needs Rumi’s message which speaks to hearts regardless of religious or cultural affiliations. Rumi also lived through turbulent times. What he had to say about the power of love came at a time when marauding hoards of Mongols were looting and pillaging all around, and there was fear and uncertainty – much as there is in our world today.

What Rumi has gifted to us is a vision of what our world could be…both our inner and outer world…and an articulation of the means with which to bring that vision to fullness.

~ Fatimah Ashrif
Image by David John Ward