Mark Wenz, Unity Church of Sun Lakes
The Five Foundational Principles of Unity focus on harnessing the power of thought and prayer to live a purposeful life.These are the five principles, which are sometimes summarized as “God is. I Am. I think. I pray. I live.”
God is Absolute Good, Everywhere Present:
There is only one Presence and one Power, God the Good, active in the universe and in our lives.”
Human Beings are Inherently Good:
Our essence is of God, making us inherently good, with this divinity fully expressed in Jesus.
We Create Our Life Experiences Through Thought:
We are co-creators with God, shaping our reality through the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs we hold in our minds.
Prayer and Meditation Connect Us to God:
Through affirmative prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with God, bringing out the good in our lives.
Living the Truth We Know.
It is not enough to understand these spiritual principles; we must live them through our thoughts, words, and actions.
For me, Principles One and Two contradicted my prior spiritual education. I asked myself, “If there is only one Presence in the universe and if humans are inherently good, then what about the evil in the world and those who perpetrate it?” According to Unity, there are no inherently evil human beings but instead people who have become separated from God and live in fear, which may cause them to act in harmful and hurtful ways. We are not inherently sinful and don’t need salvation from an outside source; instead, we all come from the same Source (God) and have the potential to connect with and express our own divinity when we commit to a spiritual path that includes meditation and prayer (Principle Four) and by living the truth we know (Principle Five).
Initially, I also struggled with Principle Three. I was skeptical about my personal power to create my life experience through thought. This principle is a cornerstone of Science of Mind, founded by Ernest Holmes (1926); of Unity, co-founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore (1889); and shares much with Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). (Although Peale’s book is grounded mostly in psychology, he does acknowledge the importance of faith in reaping the rewards of positive thought.) In my own life, since I have focused on viewing the world through a positive lens, several problems in my life have resolved themselves favorably. My positive thinking was powerful indeed!
Even science has studied the veracity of Principle Three. Elaborating on the scientific research that supports the idea that positive thought reaps positive outcomes is beyond the scope of this article, but supportive evidence from reliable research is all over the internet for your exploration.
Do the Five Unity Principles resonate with you? Then join us at Unity Church of Sun Lakes on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. in the Arts and Crafts room at Sun Lakes Country Club. All are welcome!