CANCELED: Rumi Comes to America (Lecture/Book Signing)

In 1976, few people had heard of Jelaluddin Rumi. Yet, in a stellar leap, few could have predicted, this 13th-century Islamic theologian would soon become America’s best-selling poet. From the author’s first-hand storytelling, Rumi Comes to America describes the generational yearning, fortuitous events, spiritual mishaps, and everyday miracles that propelled Rumi’s ancient mystical tradition to take root in America.

The story focuses on a group of young seekers, inspired by author Reshad Feild’s spiritual journey to Turkey, who invite Süleyman Loras Dede, a simple cook and a mostly-unrecognized sheikh of the Whirling Dervishes in Konya, Turkey to their modest duplex in Los Angeles.

Süleyman Dede was eighteen years old when he entered the dervish monastery in Konya, Turkey. But shortly after, in 1926, all dervish activities, including the path of Rumi, were banned by Kemal Atatürk, in his quest to create a secular, modern Turkey.

With dervish life underground, Dede’s spiritual mastery would go mostly unnoticed in Turkey for decades it took until he set foot in Los Angeles on his culminating mission at the end of his life – to plant the seed for Rumi to blossom in America.

About Bruce Miller

After studying filmmaking and screenwriting at UCLA, Bruce Miller spent the bulk of his career as a brand strategist, media producer, and marketing partner in an Atlanta brand agency. When he was a young man, in the 1970s, Bruce’s spiritual search led him to English author, performer, and teacher, Reshad Feild. Together, they started The Institute for Conscious Life, the Mevlana Foundation, and later, the Chalice Guild. With Reshad, Bruce helped bring the work of Jalaluddin Rumi to America, the story recounted in “Rumi Comes to America.

Bruce has led residential seminars on the knowledge of the Octave, ideas brought forth by P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff, and the Law of Hazard, an understanding of risk and uncertainty based on the work of J.G. Bennett. Bruce’s first book, “FORTUNE, Our Deep Dive into the Mysteries of Love, Healing, and Success,” explored the karmic mystery of why stuff happens ­– a book he wrote while his wife, Karen was navigating a life-threatening illness. Bruce is currently finishing his third book, BRAND STORY: How to Launch your Shoestring Startup like a National Brand.” Bruce is an active sailor, yoga enthusiast, and teaches the turn of the Whirling Dervishes. His wife, Karen is an ordained minister and chaplain educator.