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What is Unity
by James Dillet Freeman (please replace woman for man in
wording if preferred)
Unity is a dream of healing that began with two persons and has grown into a
faith helping millions to a whole life.
Unity is the faith that there are no limits to what man can achieve except the
limits of his thinking, and Unity is a way of helping men change their thinking.
Unity is religion at work, Christianity for every day, the daily habit of
seeking God's help in every need.
Unity is unity. It stresses what is right about man instead of what is wrong
with him, and what unites men instead of what separates them - from one another
and God.
Unity is God - is there any better word for the One with whom we are one than
unity? Thank you, God for our unity.
Our Basic Beliefs
First:
We believe that there is only one Presence and one Power in this universe--God,
the good. This truth is at the very heart of Unity. There is only one Presence.
There is only God. Therefore, God is omnipresent. This universal presence is an
aspect of God. Since God is all, there can be nothing outside of God. There can
be no place where God is not. Everything is part of God. Therefore, God is more
than omnipresent; God is Omnipresence! "There is only one presence and one power
active in the universe and in my life, God the good, omnipotent."
You can only know the God of your own experience.
Knowing God is a very simple and natural experience.
There is only one Presence and one Power: God, and God is good.
We don't make divine order happen. It is already established in our lives.
Second:
Human beings have a spark of divinity within them, the Christ spirit. Their very
essence is of God, and therefore they are also inherently good. Thus God is
individualized in each person and in the universe as the Christ.
As a wave is part of the ocean, you are part of God.
You have been created to be the hands, the feet, the voice, the eyes, the ears,
and the heart of God.
You are spirit (the Christ within you) is your true identity.
The soul is where you do the work, where you make the changes.
The soul is pivotal and can look within as well as to the outer.
The conditions of your life mirror the condition of your soul.
Third:
Human beings create their experiences by the activity of their thinking.
Everything in the manifest realm has its beginning in thought. God operates in
the universe according to this law of mind action: "Thoughts held in mind
produce after their kind." Everything begins with an idea.
Your thoughts are the blueprint for your life.
Your thoughts today create your world of tomorrow.
Change your thoughts and you will change your world.
Through the power of your thinking, you are continuously drawing kinds of events
into your life.
You have absolute control over your reactions.
Fourth:
Prayer is creative thinking that heightens the connection with God-Mind and
therefore brings forth wisdom, healing, prosperity, and everything good. Prayer
is talking to God. Meditation (the silence) is listening to God.
Times of prayer provide you with sustenance and renewed strength.
The reason for praying is more important than the method.
Your whole life is a prayer, and life-prayers are always answered.
"Miracles" are natural out workings of the law.
Having your thoughts, feelings, words, and actions all "in sync" is your
strongest prayer.
The highest use of prayer is the announcing of your intention to open yourself
to God's will.
Prayer is a way to express your thanks for past, present, and future blessings.
Prayer is not to change God. It is to change you.
In meditation, in the silence, you meet God, you listen to God.
In the stillness, you move beyond the intellect into the realm of spiritual
knowing.
Fifth:
Knowing and understanding the laws of life, also called Truth, are not enough. A
person must also live the truth that he or she knows. We must walk the talk,
using the spiritual tools of release and affirmation during daily prayer and
meditation.
God can work best when you show your willingness by moving into action.
Truth teachings must be applied to every situation in your everyday life.
A desire without a deed is a dead end.
Once you receive your guidance, it is time to move into action.
Spirit will show you the path, but you must walk that path.
"One thing I believe Unity has done in teaching people to live confidently and
spiritually and courageously and victoriously is, it has helped to recover the
basic zest, delight and joy which Jesus Christ brought to this world nearly two
thousand years ago on the shore of Galilee and among the mountains of Judea. I
love Unity because Unity preaches joy. Unity lives joy" Norman Vincent Peale at
Unity's 75th anniversary celebration, Unity Village, MO.
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