-A Guide to Practical Spirituality

A Unity Best-Seller!
by Rev. Ellen Debenport

5 Wednesday Zoom Classes
September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 – 7:00 -8:30 pm

(Zoom link in our Newsletter)

with
Rev. Steve Colladay

The Five Principles, A Guide to Practical Spirituality provides tools for daily living and suggests answers to the great questions of existence that humans have been asking since the dawn of conscious awareness:

• What is this greater Presence that we sense around us?
• Who and what are we?
• Why do things happen in our lives the way they do?
• How can we communicate with this Presence?
• What are we here to do?

The five principles constitute the core teachings of the Unity spiritual movement founded in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. These same principles reflect the laws of the universe that apply to everyone, all the time. They show up in every major religion and are all reflected in the teachings of Jesus Christ. The author encourages every reader to “work with these principles, test them, apply them to your life, and watch what happens.”

REV. ELLEN DEBENPORT
is a longtime Unity minister currently working as vice president of communications for Unity World Headquarters, Unity Village, Missouri.

 

PDF flyer and schedule for The-Five-Principles
(contains all the info on this webpage)

 

SCHEDULE

September 2, 2020 What is the nature of GOD?
“The Five Principles” dives deeply into Principle #1: GOD IS ALL.
What does it mean when we say, “God is all?”
How can we reconcile this belief with the evidence of cruelty and suffering in our world?
This week, Rev. Ellen Debenport discusses some of the big mysteries of life: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why would a “good GOD” allow “evil” in the world? This week challenges us to look closely at the very nature of God. Encourage your group to share their own individual perspectives, and to identify how their core understanding of the nature creates more questions to explore together.

Remember: You are likely to experience great diversity in people’s ideas about the nature of God. The intention is not to provide “answers,” but to encourage reflection, and to apply these insights into daily living.

September 9 The Divinity of YOU
“Christ in you, your hope of Glory.” Perhaps you’ve heard this scripture before, but have you ever stopped to fully consider what this means and how it affects every aspect of our life? This week in “The Five Principles,” we explore Principle #2: You are God. What does this mean? How can we dare to claim something so grand? What are the implications if we accept this as Truth? This week touches on ancient ideas of evil, sin, and salvation, and what these could mean in the context of this second principle.

September 16 The Creative Power of Thought
If your life were a blank canvas, what would you create? The truth is, each day we are presented with an opportunity to create our experience. In this week’s lesson, we explore the third principle, “Your thoughts have creative power.” Explore the power of positive thought and focused intention as we discuss our co-creative power as spiritual beings.

September 23 Communion with God
Does prayer work?
Now that you’ve explored the first three principles, you may be wondering: What is the purpose of prayer? If I create my experience through my thinking, is there any reason to develop a practice of prayer and meditation?
In this lesson, Rev. Ellen discusses the role of prayer, the effectiveness of prayer, and how to use “affirmative prayer” as a way of communing with the one Power and one Presence we discovered back in Principle One. Explore a powerful way to pray that embraces all the principles we have discussed so far, and tap into the power of your group to join with you in your prayer requests.

September 30 – Living Your Truth
It’s time to bring it all together! You’ve explored the first four principles, and how they impact your life. This final session is all about “living the Truth you know.” More than just “taking action,” the Fifth Principle causes us to step into alignment with all the principles, and let it guide us into “inspired action.”
This is also a time to reflect on your progress, celebrate your milestones, and acknowledge the members of your group for the impact they have made for you throughout these six weeks together.