American Dream (Redux)

Meet four who have reinvented the ‘dream big’ wheel. Can your vision make a difference? by Greg Archer and Christa Martin Editor’s Note: There was a time when making your dreams come true was a totally self-focused affair. In other words: All about“you.” Not any more. At least not with the four people we discovered whose individual dreams have everything to do with“giving back” or illuminating the good in the world. With Tina Petrova, Kabir Helminski, Luke Lehman and Kirby Scudder, GT found four unique souls who have taken dreaming big to a much broader level. They also set an example of how following what could often be considered the most bizarre gut feelings might just serve a greater purpose for others. Dream on ...

Turning Ecstatic

by Greg Archer

A Muslin mystic appears to a Tibetan Buddhist answering a plea to the Virgin Mary and …

Wait.

The story actually begins a year earlier.

Tina Petrova, a Tibetan Buddhist, picks up a mysterious female hitchhiker in the California desert on Dec. 21, 1997. She drops off the woman a short distance later but before parting, the woman leans into the car and thanks Petrova. Her parting shot: “Transform your life. And don’t drive off a cliff today.”

Ten minutes later, Petrova drives off a cliff.

Wait. The story actually begins nearly 20 years earlier—and on the other side of the country.

Kabir Helminski and his wife, Camille, live in Vermont. After years of spiritual “searching,” Helminski notices that the traditions of Sufism sit well within. He devotes his life to working within the Mevlevi traditions of Sufism—in the simplest definition, a “religion of love”—and eventually he and Camille give birth to The Threshold Society, a nonprofit educational foundation whose purpose is to facilitate “the experience of Divine unity, love, and wisdom in the world.” By 1990, Helminski’s devotion and presence is felt. And where it counts. He’s honored with the responsibility of Mevlevi Shaikh by the late Dr. Celaleddin Celebi of Istanbul, Turkey, head of the Mevlevi Tariqa Order. Big news, considering he would become the only American recognized as a Shaikh by the Mevlevi Order of Turkey. By the late-’90s, through some “chance” encounters, Helminski suddenly finds himself bringing the Whirling Dervishes to American—and Santa Cruz—audiences. Most appear captivated by the mystical dancers and their sacred dance, which finds them disposing of all distracting thoughts, thereby being placed in a “trance” while rotating in a precise rhythm with a collective, all of whom are devoted to the teachings of Rumi.

Wait.The story actually begins 800 years ago—and on another continent.

It’s 1207. Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi enters the 13th century in Balkh, which today is Afghanistan. He eventually settles in Konya, Turkey. Culling from his father’s highly religious nature, Rumi finds himself showered in spirituality. Eventually, he becomes a prominent professor of religion, a mystic, a poet, a lover of humanity. In his fifties, he begins dictating his monumental work and his words strike a chord. He invites the masses into “the mystical gardens of Sufism,” whose thrust is “a way of life in which a deeper identity is discovered and lived” and coming to know that “the self is a reflection of the Divine.” Rumi’s tradition becomes known as neither East, nor West; something in between. It also elevates Rumi toward mass appeal—so massive it spans centuries —and followers come to know Sufism as a “tradition of enlightenment that carries the essential truth forward through time.”

Time.

It’s 1998. Tina Petrova has spent a year feeling “broken”—both physically and emotionally—as a result of the injuries from her car accident. She can’t dress herself. Somebody has to feed her. When she can walk, she wanders to a Toronto church, lights a candle near a statue of the Blessed Mother and says a Novena to the Virgin Mary. Later that night, a robed figure later appears to her in a dream. She has an “inkling” that it is Rumi—she had once attended an event that featured translations of the mystic’s popular, soulful poetry. In her vision, the robed figure tells her to launch an event to celebrate his works. A quest is born. One problem: No money. Without much funding, Petrova makes inquiries, and generous donations begin to flow. The event is booked and, in a major coup, Petrova manages to land an iconic 20th century figure to read Rumi’s 13th century works: Coleman Barks, the author of numerous Rumi translations and a student of Sufism since 1977—his work with Rumi was also the subject of Bill Moyers’ Language of Life series on PBS. Things are rolling. As for the Rumi event—it’s a packed house; a bona fide success. Later, Petrova realizes this: Somewhere between rehearsals and the day of the event, the pain from her injuries vanishes. Now, Petrova muses, she can get on with her life.

Or can she?

Flashforward. It’s 2002.

Kabir Helminski and his wife Camille enjoy living in Santa Cruz after relocating from Vermont. Still at the helm of The Threshold Society, the couple remain active in numerous works. Kabir’s “Living Presence, A Sufi Way to Mindfulness and the Essential Self” continues to win praise after being published in 1992, and his collaborations with Camille on “Rumi: Daylight” and “Jewels of Remembrance, 365 Selections from the Wisdom of Rumi” bring the mystic’s words, his poetry to new audiences. The couple also become closely associated with Sufi teachers in Turkey. Because of Rumi’s immense—and curiously expanding—popularity in the West, they come to meet many people whose thirst to learn more about Rumi finds them walking down paths they never quite imagined. One of those people is Tina Petrova, who shows up “at the door” one day to tell Kabir this: She’s making a movie—about Rumi.

Whatever one believes “the divine” or “God” to be, there are certain moments in life that seem perfectly, if not humorously designed to make one take notice. The day a Roman Catholic cum Tibetan Buddhist turned Rumi seeker turned filmmaker seeks out a Vermont transplant living in Santa Cruz who just so happens to be one of the most respected sources on Rumi and Sufism in the West is one of those moments.

Wait. The story is far from over.

It’s 2006. Petrova’s film, Rumi-Turning Ecstatic, co-directed by Stephen Roloff and which takes more than five years to make, generates buzz. It’s featured not just in film fests but at conferences with prominent spiritual leaders. In addition to spotlighting Helminski—he is interviewed by Petrova in the film—it features the celebrated Rumi devotee Andrew Harvey, Coleman Barks, and offers visually sumptuous images of Whirling Dervishes, Rumi poetry and other poignant soulful nuances that tap into spiritually rich waters. It hits local screens several times during the next few months. The first time, on Friday, March 24 at the Rio Theatre in an event that also features live performances by Baraka, a Sufi Music ensemble under the direction of Helminski, The Whirling Dervishes of the Threshold Society, Sonia Drakulic, Gari Haggedus, Hamed Nikpay and Daus Jerrahi. The movie is also one of the featured highlights of the upcoming Santa Cruz Film Festival dubbed “Collecting Consciousness,” which launches in May.

Obviously, Petrova and Helminksi know how to following a vision. Helminski’s published works on Rumi and Sufism are a clear indication of that. But it’s Petrova, whose fierce determination and faith over the last few years, suggests that anything really is possible and nothing is too good to be true. Like the Toronto event, she was strapped for funds when it came to making the film. And, like the Toronto event, eventually, generous donations were made—camera, film, music, more—to help accomplish the project.

Still, like pursuing any big dream, there were times when Petrova was flooded with doubt.

“It didn’t happen one time,” she admits. “It happened many times. I couldn’t afford to keep an apartment. I’d wake up in a panic and get really melodramatic about it, like, ‘God I can’t do this, please pass this cup … I’m a little girl from Northern Ontario. I can’t do this.’ And then a miracle would happen. There would be a $3,000 check in the mail. God kept on conspiring to help me. So whenever I said, ‘God, I can’t carry this any more’—from a truly broken and humble place, and it happened repeatedly—help always came.

“So then I went, ‘Wow, I am really working with powerful forces here. I am not making the film, the film is making me. It was teaching me to surrender and trust and have courage and be humble. And the film had nothing to do with me except that I was supposed to be a hollow bamboo and let the sacred breath blow through me and animate me into action.”

People “dream” all the time. But when big dreams become quite noticeably bigger than you, and they can make a positive difference in the lives of others, maybe the best thing to do is just surrender. In other words: Maybe it’s OK to fall off the cliff.

“There are moments in life,” Petrova says in the film, “that when we say ‘yes,’ we are transformed … perhaps it was my pain that would lead me to my truth.”

Perhaps Rumi himself sums it up best with this: “The only thing that will keep you from finding that which you seek is calling off the search.”

“Rumi-Turning Ecstatic” plays at 7 p.m. Friday, March 24 at The Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz. The evening will feature live performances by Baraka, a Sufi music ensemble, and other performances. Tickets are $18/adv., $20/door and are available at Gateways Books, 1126 Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz. For more information, call 429-9600 or visit www.rumiturningecstatic. com or www.santacruzfilmfestival.com. For more information on Kabir Helminski and The Threshold Society, visit www.sufism.org.