Unity is an inter-denominational church based on the practical teachings of Jesus Christ – often referred to as Positive, Practical Spirituality.
Our main focus is to be a light where we are and articulate a positive vision for the world. We are created in the image and likeness of God, here to live life, and live it more abundantly. Everything we do is based upon the commandment of love which is expressed as two wonderful ideas:
1. To love God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength
2. To love others as you love yourself
We believe in the power of prayer to expand and transform our hearts and minds and to cultivate our relationship with God. We practice connecting with the Divine through affirmative prayer and silent meditation. This kind of prayer frees us from limitation by acknowledging that the presence of God dwells within us (which is also called the Christ within), and allows us to access the divine qualities that lead to a happier, healthier, and more productive life.
Our Philosophy
Unity is a positive and practical approach to spirituality based on the teachings of Jesus and universal truths. Unity honors the common thread of wisdom contained in all the religions that teach love as the highest ideal. We honor each individual and their right to choose the path that most inspires them. We believe in the progressive unfolding of divine wisdom to lead and guide us.
God
God is Spirit, the loving source of all that is. God is the one power, all good, everywhere present, all wisdom. God is divine energy, continually creating, expressing and sustaining all creation. In God, we live and move and have our being. In Unity, some other ways we speak of God are Life, Light, Love, Substance, Principle, Law and Universal Mind.
Jesus
We believe that Jesus expressed his divine nature and sought to show humankind how to express its full potential. Jesus is the way-shower and master teacher of a higher wisdom of universal truth. In Unity, we use the term Christ to mean the divinity in humankind. Jesus is our great example of the Christ spirit in expression.
The Nature of Humankind
We are each individual, eternal expressions of God. Our essential nature is divine and therefore inherently good. Our purpose is to express our divine potential as realized and demonstrated by Jesus and other master teachers. The more we awaken to our divine nature, the more fully God expresses in and through our lives.
The Bible
Unity co-founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore were dedicated students of the Bible as history and allegory and interpreted it as a metaphysical representation of humankind’s evolutionary journey toward spiritual awakening. In addition, Unity recognizes that the Bible is a complex collection of ancient writings compiled over many centuries. We honor the writings as they represent the understanding and inspiration of the writers at the time they were written. The Bible continues to be a valuable spiritual resource for us.
Our Teachings
Unity teaches that each person is a unique expression of God created with sacred worth. Living from that awareness transforms our lives and the world.
Unity emphasizes the creative power of thought in our life experience. We refer to this as the Law of Mind Action. When we take personal responsibility to choose life-affirming thoughts, words and actions, we experience a more fulfilling and abundant life.
Unity emphasizes the importance of applying spiritual principles in our daily lives.
Unity teachings continue to evolve as we identify, embrace and apply spiritual insights and the spiritual implications of new discoveries.
Prayer and Meditation
Affirmative prayer is the highest form of creative thought. It includes the release of counterproductive, negative thoughts, as well as holding in mind statements of spiritual truth. Through meditation, we experience the presence of God. Prayer and meditation heighten our awareness and thereby transform our lives.
Unity’s Five Basic Principles
We encourage you to explore and apply Unity teachings based on your own spiritual understanding. We believe this spiritual understanding is enhanced through reflective prayer and meditation. The five basic ideas that make up the Unity belief system are:
- God is All There Is, everywhere present all the time, Absolute Good. God is Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence.
- You and I are created in the image of God and our essence is divine. We are everything that God Is; therefore, we are inherently Good.
- We create our life experiences through our way of thinking and feeling. This is called the Law of Mind Action. Simply stated: “Thought plus Feeling equals Outcome”.
- Our lives are changed and transformed through the power of affirmative prayer and meditation.
- Knowing these principles is not enough. We must live the Truth we know.