Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leah Rampy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Leah, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I’m not concerned about being remembered as an individual beyond the lifetime of my family and friends. I wrote “Earth and Soul: Reconnecting amid Climate Chaos” because I want to generate conversations about how we might live fully alive and deeply connected is these times on the edge of loss. Climate chaos, loss of species and ecosystems, diminishing biodiversity – these are tragic for us all – human and beyond. Understandably we often feel lonely, adrift, and hopeless. And still there is awe, wonder, beauty, joy, and delight available to us. I believe that we can lay stepping stones toward a more vibrant future. How we might do this is the conversation I want to be in for the rest of my life.

Leah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a writer, speaker, and retreat leader who weaves spirituality, ecology, personal stories, and practices to help others deepen their relationship to the natural world. My book, “Earth & Soul: Reconnecting amid Climate Chaos,” was published in February 2024 by Bold Story Press.

My essays on living more fully connected to Earth in these uncertain times have appeared in the Anthology of Appalachian Writers (Barbara Kingsolver edition), The Cardinal Anthology Vol 1, and Soul Food; Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership. I am a member of West Virginia Writers.

I was fortunate to have the chance to co-author with Beth Norcross the six-part video series on The Spiritual Wisdom of Trees in collaboration with the award-winning filmmaker Jane Pittman and sponsored by The Center for Spirituality in Nature. We continue to co-facilitate this class that really seems to speak to participants. Beth and I are co-authoring a book on the same topic to be published by Broadleaf Books in early 2025.​ Additionally, I serve as adjunct staff at Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation where I previously served as the Executive Director. In 2019, I founded and continue to lead Church of the Wild Two Rivers that meets regularly to deepen spirituality through time in the natural world.

My husband and I live in a cohousing community in Shepherdstown, WV where I’m active in Save Our Soil, a local volunteer organization to promote soil health, local food, native plants, and regenerative agriculture.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As a woman leader in corporations at a time when my colleagues were mostly men, I worked hard to be accepted and to adapt to the culture as best I could. I learned to appeal to logic almost exclusively; anything to do with feeling or sensing was pushed aside to be considered only tangentially. Projects were assessed mainly on how they contributed to the bottom line. It was customary to draw on past experience and problem solving skills to make decisions; I accepted this as best practice. I hid my feelings and disregarded heart wisdom.

I believe that we now face climate predicaments for which those carefully cultivated leadership practices are inadequate. Many of our current issues are complex, overlapping, and existential. There is no clear answer that will set everything right. We face decisions that will impact lifestyles, livelihoods, and lives. Even superb applications of a logical, rational approach will not align hearts and minds. Leadership today cannot be based on the experience and intelligence of only a few individuals; we need the collective wisdom of people with diverse backgrounds and ways of thinking to find a way forward together. I’m unlearning past practices as I experiment with more expansive and engaged leadership for these times.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

A decade ago, I became clear that my mission was to offer opportunities for people to remember and reclaim their deep love for and inextricable connection to Earth. As we learn more from environmental scientists, it’s clear that we are already in the midst of extensive, accelerating, and devastating climate change and ecosystem loss. Until we acknowledge and accept both the love and the grief we feel for Earth, we will not find strength for the courageous and compassionate action to which we are invited. I hope to spend the rest of my life creating space for conversations that will help to sustain and enhance our commitment to the only home we have.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.leahmoranrampy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahrampy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553196486975
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahrampy/