Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Both/And
It’s a day to write a blog, but honestly, nothing came to mind until my phone rang. The Universe just took care of my dilemma. I got a What’s App call from Rose who is visiting Ireland for a couple of weeks. As we reviewed our last few days I got a video tour of their Air BnB where, as in most of Europe, there is a washing machine but no dryer. Instead there’s a drying rack for all manner of clothes. I was shown a cute little bottle of “fresh Irish milk”, an espresso machine and a press pot. All of the essentials!
I told her I am getting over my week at Unity Village. It was five days of non-stop sessions filled with people of the cloth, most of whom loved to talk. Since they make their living largely through the use of words from the pulpit I can see why speaking their Truth is so important. As an introvert, I was glad to sit back and listen carefully and then get to my quiet hotel room and enjoy the silence. I barely even turned on the TV.
I told Rose that it seems there is a schism developing among Unity people. Some describe Unity as a means of living by the principles of practical Christianity. Then there are those who say we need to move beyond the boundaries of Christianity and incorporate other beliefs and philosophies into our daily practices. I had to laugh in one session where a person who subscribes to the latter says she has a standing Friday afternoon session with friends who get together for “Wine and Woo Woo”.
That’s when Rose said there ought to be room for both approaches. I agree with her because in my opinion, Christianity is only one way of looking at existence. Even the founders of Unity, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, moved beyond the bounds of the Bible. They were influenced by the Transcendental movement of the late 1800’s and studied the premises of other spiritual approaches. A core belief is that there is good in every approach to God and that we are created to express God’s goodness in our daily lives. That belief is not limited to Christians.
Unity has five basic principles upon which it is based. If I could summarize them, I would do it like this:
*God’s divine energy is in all Creation.
*We are expressions of Spirit, which is innately good.
*Our thoughts have creative power.
*Prayer and meditation keep us connected to God and Spirit.
*Our responsibility is to understand and practice spiritual teachings.
I believe that the 12 Step way of life largely reflects these principles. In fact, I wrote an article about this that was published in the online version of the Unity magazine several years ago. Each of the five principles reflects one or more of the 12 Steps of recovery. I think that explains why Unity attracts people recovering from all manner of addictions. The 12 steps emphasize spiritual recovery as much as physical. In fact, I believe the Big Book of AA makes statements about the importance of the state of our spiritual life. Recovery is inextricably bound with spiritual health. I know a number of recovering persons who are members of Unity.
This is how we end a prayer in Unity: “Thank you God. And so it is, Amen.”