Humans are endowed with two spirits; neshama and Bible ruach. They work together inseparably and are known as consciousness and mind.
The Bible reveals consciousness consists of five fundamental traits possessed by both God and humans, the Former in a Godly realm and us in a human realm. Nonetheless, we have identical traits. How can The Explanation affirm this? Because the Bible says we are in the likeness and image of God. Neshama, of which humans are the sole recipients (Genesis 2:7), confers on each of us five Godly attributes. Purpose, Conduct, Reasoning, Socialization, and Rulership. These traits define the human constitution.
(Transform Your Mind, Upgrade Your Life – Chapter 16)
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We are the only earthly beings to possess the duo neshama and Bible ruach, two spirits that work intimately together. In the Bible, ruach is associated with energy; let’s reveal the extent of this second spirit. Remember, this is spirit with a small s, not the Holy Spirit; this is the spirit that animates ALL humans, past, present, and future. It also animates all animals and in a future chapter we’ll address how it functions differently in them and humans because the latter alone possess neshama.
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, says the LORD, which stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms (H3335, yatsar) the spirit (H7307) of man within him.
In Genesis 2:7 Yahveh Elohim formed (H3335) man; here, the same LORD forms (H3335) this ruach/spirit in humans. Just as He has a purpose for each human, so He has a purpose for the spirit He formed within each of us (Numbers 16:22), along with the neshama He blew into humans. By the way, we now see the full composition of humans. One dust body, including the brain, and two spirits, neshama and Bible ruach.
These three elements, dust, neshama (consciousness), and ruach (mind), compose a soul, the living soul, in Genesis 2:7. This answers the $1.000.000 question 19 in the Preface: What is a soul?
Bible Ruach = Power, Ability, Impel
Let’s reveal the nature of this spirit. How it functions in connection with neshama.
And they (the Israelites) came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit (H7307) made willing (H5068), and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.
The spirit in humans makes willing, it moves us to want to accomplish something with our lives. Haven’t you wondered why humans want to conquer new heights? Why we’re always pushing back our limits in all fields and walks of life? It’s this Bible ruach, impelling, volunteering spirit as the Biblical Hebrew for made willing, the quality the spirit (H7307) imparts, makes clear.
נָדַב nâdab naw-dab’; a primitive root; to impel; hence, to volunteer (as a soldier), to present spontaneously:
KJV – offer freely, be (give, make, offer self) willing(-ly).
The ruach/spirit animates, enlivens, vitalizes, and energizes the neshama. It’s the electricity in the circuit, the builders of the blueprint, the pen writing on the
5-page notepad. It’s symbolized by the beige circular background coupled with the five elements of the neshama which it animates. This integrated spirit twosome is the foundational mental makeup of each human being. Mental health starts by focusing on this duo; we shall see how.
Ruach is the innate desire to make progress and achieve what we set our hands to do. It’s the Bible ruach in us that is behind all the self-help programs available today. The Olympic motto is the epitome of the purpose of the spirit in humans, placed in them by God. Physically, for athletes, Citius—Altius—Fortius = Faster—Higher—Stronger in events like running or swimming, jumping or pole vault, weight-lifting, or wrestling.
Metaphysically or mentally, it’s to give that same impetus to dynamic Purpose, striving Conduct, compelled Reasoning, participative Socialization, and engaged Rulership—the activation of our inherent human qualities for our own and society’s welfare and best interests.
Frankly, with the knowledge already exposed in Transform Your Mind, Upgrade Your Life (pre-order the book now). we now know enough about humans to nurture mental health from the start of a new life. Let’s reason (the 3rd of the 5 traits of your neshama-consciousness), God made us in His Image by, first, conferring on each human being Purpose, Conduct, Reasoning, Socialization, and Rulership. Then, second, He gave us the means to activate our consciousness to produce positive results. The way to nurture balanced human beings is to help them direct themselves (use the Bible ruach) in the five areas of their consciousness (the ingrained godly elements) in line with God’s guidelines. That’s the way to God’s Image.
Human Bible Ruach = Attitudes, Sentiments, Emotions
The ruach is the origin of our cognition, the mental action of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. Ruach is the power operating human mental processes, the invisible activities, including thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving. These processes form the basis of our actions, decisions, and feelings.
And as soon as we [the inhabitants of Jericho] had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage (H7307) in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
If I wanted to make a grammatical comparison between neshama and ruach, the former would be nouns and the latter verbs. The decision-making process of those in Jericho activated this absence of courage: this internal motivation process collapsed, and they lost confidence and hope.
God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I [the Judge, Gideon] able to do in comparison of you [the tribe of Ephraim]? Then their anger (H7307) was abated toward him, when he had said that.
Their ruach activated and became anger. Gideon’s words caused their anger-ruach to calm down. Our emotions are processes of the ruach in us.
Do a study of Bible ruach at UnlockBibleMeaning.com and see how it causes variations of movement of our sentiments, affections, and feelings.
Human Bible Ruach = Mind
In the following contexts the Bible ruach, the human spirit refers specifically to mind. In the first verse in Genesis 26 the translators even used that word, which is correct.
Which were a grief of mind (H7307) to Isaac and to Rebekah.
Genesis 41:8
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit (H7307) was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them to Pharaoh. (Sam: You can substitute mind for spirit in this verse.)
Genesis 45:27
And they told him [Jacob] all the words of Joseph (his son), which he had said to them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit (H7307) of Jacob their father revived: (Sam: Jacob stopped brooding, good news brings peace of mind)
Daniel 2:11
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit (H7307) was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. (Sam: Do you see the active anxious mind?)
Malachi 2:16
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says that he hates putting away: for one covers violence with his garment, says the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit (H7307), that you deal not treacherously, (Sam: Our outward expression of violence starts with our minds ruminating, devising treachery)
In the New Testament Spirit is Pneuma
When we come to the New Testament, the spirit in humans is pneuma in Greek. Likewise, it is the active doing part of the neshama-ruach duo, synonymous with the mind.
Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation: the spirit (G4151) indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Sam: the contrast of the positive desires of the mind and the negative actions of the body).
Mark 2:8
And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit (G4151) that they so reasoned within themselves, he said to them, Why reason you these things in your hearts? (Sam: Christ’s mind knew the Pharisees were using their reasoning ability wrongly. Here we see the combination of one of the characteristics of neshama, reasoning, coupled with its use by the mind, which in this case is equated with the heart).
John 4:23
But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit (G4151) and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. (Sam: true worship is not in external show, but in the mind that expresses itself outwardly, that’s faith).
Romans 1:9
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit (G4151) in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; (Sam: Note my spirit, Paul is talking about his spirit, his mind).
In all these verses, notice how the spirit, the mind, includes a verb, highlighted in bold: willing, perceive, worship, and serve. The perfect illustration of the mind applying the principles of God in the areas of Purpose, Conduct, Reasoning, Socialization, and Rulership. We now understand what ruach is, mind, and its relationship to neshama. It activates, energizes, powers, and stimulates consciousness.
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