(2014) Playwright Statement: Sheri Winkelmann on Rumi: Love, Madness & Ecstasy

Rumi's poetry was literally a call to see from a greater spiritual perspective, the meaning and profound opportunity for evolution in the midst of dire human suffering. That is the great gift of spiritual teachings such as Rumi's. Love on an ego based level, which is what the world cherishes and proliferates, (as we are all quite hypnotized into), is very limited in scope, compared to the expansiveness of Love that is our true home. Love in the truest sense, as Rumi describes, is not based on human outcomes, but is an ecstatic state from which we all emanate. I am learning to become that one with that Lover. I really found that my greatest teacher has been my abuser, as no one caused me to throw my heart into the search for Divine understanding as that situation demanded. We are not here to tolerate abuse at any level, but to make a profound stand against anything that would be less than the full expression of our magnificence. In telling my story, the fear and shame that would keep my voice silenced, have been silenced forever. If one person viewing my play can find the power to liberate themselves, then writing Rumi will have fulfilled my deepest dreams.