Founded in 1889, Unity offers a practical philosophy for living.  Unity has no strict creed or
dogma, but offers a comprehensive teaching to all who are seeking a deeper understanding of
their spiritual nature.  Unity teaches that God is good, and His will for us is good — happiness,
health, harmony and abundance.  As children of God, our purpose in life is to express our divine
potential.  Unity's purpose is to help and teach all people to use and prove the eternal Truth
taught by the Master, Jesus Christ.  Unity is more than a church, more than a school.  It is a
spiritual movement for all individuals growing, seeking, unfolding, and becoming what they are
meant to be.  Unity is more interested in teaching one how to think than what to think.  It always
leaves you free to choose what has value for you.
 
 

“Unity is a link in the great educational movement inaugurated by Jesus Christ.  Our objective is
to discern the truth in Christianity and prove it.  The truth we teach is not new, neither do we
claim special revelations or discovery of new religious principles.  Our purpose is to help
mankind to use and prove the eternal Truth taught by the Master.”

• There is only One Presence and One Power.  God the Good, Omnipotent.
• The Divinity of Humankind.  Our true nature is good.
• The Formative Power of Thought.
• The Practice of the Presence through Prayer and Meditation (affirmations, prayer and the silence).
• The Law of Demonstration.

I understand that my co-operation with the following agreement is essential for me to receive the maximum value of this class and to support others on the spiritual path.
 

Attendance

1. Attendance at each class is advantageous as each class is cumulative. If absence is unavoidable, contact your facilitator or a small group member to get class materials.

2. Class begins promptly at 7:30 PM with an opening prayer. Please be in your seat, ready to begin when class begins.

3. Please return from breaks promptly.

4. Coffee and tea are available following the class (starting with class 2) in Harmony Hall. Please do not bring food or drinks into the sanctuary or chapel.

5. Please be considerate regarding noise levels when you get a drink, use the rest rooms or walk to your group area. Support groups may be meeting in the building.
 

Assignments

There may be suggested reading material and assignments for each class. These are designed to facilitate personal growth. Some reading assignments are supplemental to the material discussed in class and are provided to deepen the students knowledge.
 

Drop Out Arrangements

If it is necessary to drop out of the class, a flail or partial refund of tuition may be arranged as shown in the payment schedule:

Up to and including Week 2: Full refund of total tuition paid, less $5.00 for course handout.

Each class after Week 2: Prorated. Weekly fees deducted from total tuition paid. After Week 5: No refund.
 

CEP Credit

Unity School of Religious Studies, Unity Village has allotted 10 hours credit fur Unity Basics One. To receive credit the student must attend at least seven of eight classes, complete all reading and written assignments, fill out a CEP registration form, and turn the form in with a check for $15.00 made payable to Unity School of Religious Studies.

Historical Background

The Unity movement was founded in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore to promulgate the practical discoveries they had made through independent metaphysical research and to promote such research among open-minded people of all faiths. The first public effort in this direction took the form of a magazine published under the title Modern Thought.

This public effort was the direct outgrowth of a personal experience of spiritual healing which Myrtle Fillmore received through a vivid realization of the simple truth:

"I am a child of God, and therefore I do not inherit sickness."

The very simplicity of such a realization led them to believe that theirs was a discovery that could readily blend with the various progressive teachings being promoted at the time: including spiritualism, occultism., mesmerism, etc. However, within a few months after commencing publication of the magazine, Charles Fillmore came to a conclusion which has ever since served as a basic policy of the Unity Movement:

"Not that we condemn any system. but we find bv experience that concentration is necessary to success and we wish to confine these pages to that specific doctrine, and Holy Ghost Power, taught and demonstrated by Jesus Christ."

The name Unity was received in meditation by Charles Fillmore in the spring of 1891 while he and his wife and a few students were praying together silently, and has since been used continuously as the inspired banner under which universal Truth with a distinctly Christian emphasis has been taught and practised.

A document now prized by many Unity students known as the "Dedication and Covenant." was written in 1892. Although it was not made public until 1942, it expresses the spiritual convictions which have sustained the Unity Movement at its best. The text of this document, originally written in longhand by Charles Fillmore, and also signed by Myrtle Fillmore, is as follows:

"We, Charles Fillmore and Myrtle Fillmore, husband and wife. hereby dedicate ourselves, our time, our money; all we have and all we expect to have, to the Spirit of Truth, and through it, to the Society of Silent Unity.

It being understood and agreed that the said Spirit of Truth shall render unto us an equivalent for this dedication, in peace of mind, health of body, wisdom, understanding, love, life and an abundant supply of all things necessary to meet every want without our making any of these things the object of our existence.

In the presence of the Conscious Mind of Christ. Jesus. this 7th day of December. 1892

Today the possibilities of my experience are unlimited. The Spirit of God flows through me, inspiring me and sustaining that inspiration. I have ability and talent and I am busy using them. This talent is divinely sustained and marketed under a Universal plan of right action.

Life lies open to me--rich, full, abundant.  My thought, which is my key to life, opens all doors for me.  I am one with infinity, Divinity.  I realize this unity. I proceed on my way as one who knows that God goes with him into an eternal day of infinite privilege. I have on/y to open the portals of my soul and accept that which is ready to express through me. Today I fling these portals wide; today I am the instrument through which life flows."

I know that I am made spiritually in the image and likeness of God. My conscious thought is a reflection of the Self-conscious Spirit of the Universe. The Law of my being is the immutable Law of God.  My body is the expression of the Divine Ideal of humans. Iknow then, that I am in essence perfect, and entire, wanting in nothing.  Any bondage of body or circumstances which I express is not a condition imposed on me by a vindictive deity.  My bondage is the result of my freedom of thought and my choice of limitation.  Today I deliberately choose to let the perfect image and likeness of God shine through me, and I erase from my consciousness all limiting thought. Thus I know that my experience in this body of flesh, and in the body of my circumstances, does reflect the perfect spirit -- the undefiled creation of the Good and unlimited God.
 
 

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