Ruah is:
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“Ruah" is a Hebrew word that, on its own, means wind, a natural force. Its extended meaning, found throughout the Old Testament is the breath of life in human beings and the creative, cosmic power of the Divine spirit.
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We call our community Ruah because we believe ruah continues to sweep over and within the unfolding cosmos today. Our approach assumes Earth community, with all her beings, is sacred.
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(For a more detailed discussion of the term, click here.)
The Ruah community has nurtured personal and communal spiritual growth since 1996. For a brief history of the community, please click here.
Ruah participants seek greater understanding of the natural world through the works of the following people, as well as other human and non-human beings.
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philosopher and ecologist David Abram,
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cultural and Earth historian, “geologian” Thomas Berry,
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theologian and scientist Ilia Delio,
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theologian Matthew Fox,
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author and professor of environmental biology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Robin Wall Kimmerer,
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social activist and author Joanna Macy,
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composer and musical activist Carolyn McDade,
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theologian and ethicist Cynthia Moe Lobeda,
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philosopher and naturalist Kathleen Dean Moore,
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poet Mary Oliver,
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author, activist and pagan Starhawk,
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scientist and broadcaster David Suzuki,
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cosmologist Brian Swimme,
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paleontologist and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,
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Buddhist teachers Thich Nhat Hanh and Pema Chodron,
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Ojibway writer and performer Richard Wagamese,
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thousand-year-old European creation spirituality mystics, Meister Eckhart and Hildegard of Bingen,
Each one offers a way of thinking that helps to heal the human relationship with the rest of Creation in crisis.