October is a beautiful month; the air becomes crisper, the sun drops lower, we give thanks for bountiful harvests and we celebrate St. Francis of Assisi, a person who deeply honoured creation and the Creator. A wonderful aspect of Christian spirituality is that it is so broad. For those of us moved deeply by our awe of creation, we can deepen our spiritual understanding through nature. Our inspiration can begin with the beauty of nature: the amazing details of a maple leaf, a nautilus shell, or the hummingbird.
In the creation story in Genesis 1:2 we are told that it is the ruach elohim that hovers over the waters and calls to the deep to begin the process of creating the world. Ruach is defined in Hebrew as spirit, breath or wind (a creative, life-giving force). That same wind of God, ruach elohim, blows across the oceans and through the trees today; it fills our own lungs and animates our bodies and spirits as we move through the moments of our days.
Natural Theology is a branch of Christian theology that believes that by using rational thought and observations of the natural world, we can learn about God. It is championed by theologians such as St. Thomas Aquinas. It is a theology that finds a harmony between nature and science and understands the power of nature to help reveal aspects of the Creator. Aquinas understood God as imminently present in the natural world. By being in nature, we can draw closer to God. Today this can be a touchstone for people who may struggle with the ways we understand God revealed through divine revelation in scripture to find an easier connection in seeing God revealed to us through the natural world; the hand of the Creator revealed in what has been created.
I find it a deeply restorative spiritual practice to rest in the stillness of the presence of the Holy One revealed in the intricacy and wonder of creation. What follows is a simple exercise of meditation focused on the word ruach (pronounced roo-akh, with a soft guttural k sound at the back of your throat)). This is a meditation that you can do at any time. I encourage you to try to step outside of the busyness of your day, to take a few moments to be restored and settled within the presence of God and of nature.
Begin by finding a space outside, or by an open window, where you can feel the breeze. I like to lay down on the ground or sit near a tree so that I can hear the sound of the wind dancing through the leaves. Make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. As you breathe in focus on the first syllable of the word ruach the “roo” and as you slowly exhale, focus on the second syllable “akh”. Continue to focus on this mantra as you gently breathe in and out. May each breath inspire you to feel the presence of God in your day, as close as your own breath. Let your thoughts drift, to the wind/spirit/breath blowing around you. When you have finished, you may want to offer a short prayer of gratitude.
