Unity--Part 2

Again, I must first apologize for being a lazy blogger.  I've called this whole thing "Mostly Spiritual," because, from time to time, I will venture into the personal, and rarely, even into the political--even though I feel generally negative about the mixture of religion and politics.  I am not perfect by any means, and despite a desire to maintain positive thought, I can get depressed.  I can also take delight in material things--I've been blowing a lot of time lately picking out my next car on Carmax.  It will be my birthday present to myself.

However, back to the business at hand.  I believe I was in the middle of going through the five main principles of Unity.  Number 4:  "There is power in affirmative prayer, which we believe increases our connection to God." There used to be a little more emphasis on corresponding denials in Unity, but now the gist is that it is more powerful and more effective to make affirmations like, "I am a worthy child of God, and I can achieve any goal I set for myself," than to focus on the negative by saying, "No one and no thing can harm me," for instance.  Again, this follows fairly organically from Number 3.

Number 5: "Knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough. We must live them."  Well, I guess every spiritual thought system, no matter how lenient, has a place where the rubber meets the road!  Hence the long-time saying among Unity people:  "It's simple--but it's not easy."  And many years ago, back in the late seventies and early eighties when I first encountered Unity, it was known as The Unity School of Practical Christianity.  I liked this label (and still do), because it speaks to the idea that we are all students in the spiritual adventure that is life, and that these principles are practical--you can use them in your everyday life to help you get through.

Of course, these principles are very broad and general.  There are many other things about Unity that I have always cherished.  One is the fact that they don't place any kind of judgment on sexual preference.  Most Unity ministers I have known would happily perform gay marriages; most Unity churches have active gay and lesbian groups within them.  One of the best Unity teachers I ever had was a gay man who was studying to be a minister when he (to me--unfortunately) made his transition.  (People don't "die" in Unity; they make their transition.)  Yet, while liberal in this respect--and also in a strong undercurrent of wanting to take care of this planet with which we've been entrusted--Unity is very much pro-capitalism in that there is absolutely nothing wrong or evil about the desire to make money.  Prosperity is one of the main topics of discussion at most Unity churches.

Speaking of Unity churches, most major cities have at least one.  The Austin area (from which I'm writing), has at least four.  The main Web site, http://www.unity.org, has a spot you can click on that will help you locate a church in your area.  In my experience, each Unity church is unique, though all are based on these five principles.  If the first one you try doesn't suit your comfort level, try the one down the road.

Happy explorations!