Learning As We Go - Growing in Unity Group

Words are very interesting. When we speak and we listen, we often assume that people use words the same way we do. That is rarely true. Even within the same family, there is a diversity of lexicons. My kids use slang in ways that take me to the internet to figure out what they are talking about. And I imagine it must have been even more difficult for parents in previous generations who didn't have access to the world's knowledge (both useful and seemingly useless 😜). Mindful of this, I think it is an important part of our relational and spiritual practices to seek clarity in our communications when we can, always beginning with positive assumptions.

For example, in my previous post, I mentioned that someone described Unity as an "Interfaith 'Synchronistic' Church". Well, it turned out that he said an "Interfaith 'Syncretistic' Church". Now, I still didn't know what he meant even with the clarification. So, I had to go to the internet to get more clarity on what 'syncretistic' means. It turns out it's a real thing.

According to Wikipedia (the ultimate authority on all things worth knowing), "syncretism is the combining or merging of various distinct beliefs or schools of thought. Syncretism is when certain elements, features and components of a religion are incorporated and absorbed into another religion or faith. It directs some sort of difference in both religions."

I have never heard of this word in my life. But because I heard it as 'synchronistic' I thought I understood what the man was trying to communicate. It turns out that I didn't. That's the power of a single word and why assumptions are not reliable sources of information. But hey, now I know a new word. And apparently it is one that is not new to Unity.

In their article on the Unity.org website, How Unity Adopted Eastern Religious Ideas, Rev. Eric Page actually uses the world several times and explains that the embracing of syncretism along with mysticism and spiritual evolution positions Unity to benefit our world through the demonstration of listening to and honoring a variety of spiritual practices.

Given this understanding, I am thinking increasingly more about how important it is to embody Unity principles in our world. And that is what the man I met was trying to communicate. Precisely because of these concepts like syncretism, mysticism, and spiritual evolution, Unity offers a "permission giving structure" that has the potential to help people reconnect with the deepest parts of who we are all while honoring the individual journey of our fellow travelers. There aren't many places and spaces like that right now. And yet, the world is sorely in need of them. In future posts, I would love to get into some discussion about how y'all might imagine Unity meeting the moment our souls have landed in.