Unity Prosperity Teachings

Prosperity Is a Spiritual Principle

The founders of Unity taught that there is an eternal flow of abundance in the universe, and we are part of it. We can draw from it whatever we wish, and our needs will always be provided. We only have to believe it.

It’s not about believing in God or Jesus. It’s believing in the principle of prosperity—that good is always available to us. Look at the abundance of the natural world. Flowers proliferate, trees have countless leaves, and the night sky is so full of stars we have yet to discover most of them. The same abundance in our lives can only be blocked by our own doubts and fears, by our focus on what we think is lacking. 

Weekly Unity magazine in 1934, during the Great Depression, said, “Many a person puts obstacles in the way of approaching good fortune by talking hard times and by indulging in fear and worry. Prosperity does not materialize in such an atmosphere.” Difficult as it might seem, our work is to believe in a world of plenty, no matter the immediate circumstances. 

It takes some inner work to remove our ingrained beliefs that money is hard to come by or that we are pawns of outside forces. But replacing those filters with a clear vision of abundance is the key to prosperity.

“Begin right now to talk plenty, think plenty, give thanks for plenty,” wrote Myrtle Fillmore, who founded Unity with her husband Charles. “Turn the energy of your thought upon ‘plenty ideas,’ and you will have plenty, no matter what people about you are saying.”  

The idea that something within us blocks our good may be hard to accept when we can’t pay the bills, money is not flowing, or the whole world seems to be hurting financially. Some people scoff at the idea we live in a universe of abundance.

But consider how empowering this teaching can be. If we notice lack in our lives, we can change it. Instead of asking, Why is this happening to me? We can start to explore, What in me is blocking my good? It takes some inner work to remove our ingrained beliefs that money is hard to come by or that we are pawns of outside forces. But replacing those filters with a clear vision of abundance is the key to prosperity. 

Steps to Prosperity

God never shuts off the flow of good, and we open ourselves to receive it. We must feel worthy of it at a deep, soul level. Expecting abundance is not greedy. In an infinite universe (the quantum field), there is more than enough for everyone. Think of the endless supply this way: Is there enough health to go around? Someone else doesn’t have to be sick so you can be well; everyone could be well at the same time and we still wouldn’t run out of health.  

“The spiritual substance from which comes all visible wealth is never depleted. It is right with you all the time and responds to your faith in it and your demands on it. It is not affected by our ignorant talk of hard times,” Charles Fillmore wrote in his 1936 book, Prosperity.

If we are not consciously working to change our thinking, we will default to mass consciousness—the widespread belief in lack, scarcity, and not enough. Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, in their letters, talks, and articles through the years, offered practical suggestions to leave behind those common beliefs and build our prosperity consciousness.

Affirm and Be Grateful

One of the foundational teachings of Unity is that our thoughts have creative power. Myrtle Fillmore said she healed her body of lifelong illnesses by changing her thinking. Knowing that the thoughts we hold in mind become reality is motivation to keep our thoughts positive.

Affirmations are one of the primary ways to do this. Affirmations are statements of truth that apply to everyone all the time. For instance, I live in a universe of abundance. That is a spiritual truth. An affirmation like, I’ll be a millionaire by the end of the week is not an absolute truth and one that your mind will likely argue with. Even if you’re broke at the moment, you can still affirm what you know to be true. The universe is abundant, our needs are provided, and as Jesus said, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Affirming the truth helps change our thinking and open our minds to receive.

Gratitude is another tried and true practice of prosperity. Most people wait until they think they have something to be grateful for, but start where you are. You can be grateful if you’re breathing, if the sun is shining or rain is nourishing the earth, if you have something to eat today, if you have shelter—start with the smallest, most obvious things. Bless them. Even if you would like something better in the future, bless what you have now and be grateful for it. Then be grateful in advance for what you are expecting.

We attract abundance by feeling abundant. Let everything you have, everything you see and experience represent abundance to you. Let everything you own be a symbol of prosperity. Let the leaves and flowers remind you of God’s abundant nature. Let people remind you of abundant love. 

Watch Your Words

If you want to know what you are thinking about prosperity, listen to what you say. How often have you said, “I don’t have enough,” or “I can’t afford it,” or “Money doesn’t grow on trees”? Once you start to hear yourself, it may be no surprise why your life seems lacking! 

Most of us had well-intentioned parents who taught us to curb our expectations. We are blitzed with advertising telling us every day that we need more. Belief in need, want, and lack is what we have to root out lest those beliefs become reality. “When you talk and talk ‘hard times,’ you are sowing ‘hard times’ seed. By the sure law of growth and yield, what kind of harvest will you reap?” Myrtle wrote in one of her books, How to Let God Help You.

She said never to say anything you don’t want to be true. She believed even the walls of your home soak up and hold the energy of lack. Affirmations again are a good way to retrain our language around prosperity. 

Pray, Meditate, Visualize

To pray effectively, in Unity we use a method called affirmative prayer. This is not begging God to meet our needs. It is holding the belief that everything we need is already available in the invisible realm and we are calling it into form in our human world. Jesus told us, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).

Praying in the belief that abundance is already available sets up a consciousness of expectation. It is not arrogant to believe that what you are envisioning can be yours. It is spiritual law. Our expectation should be as routine as asking someone to pass the salt at the table. You simply expect that salt is on the way. 

To hold onto this mindset of prosperity, visualize your desires. Hold a mental image of what you are expecting. Unleash the power of your imagination. See exactly what you want and, even more important, feel what it will be like when that person, place, or thing is in your life. Meditation is an opportunity to put your focus and energy into these imaginings. 

“Erase from your mind the tendency to see lack and in its place establish the good habit of seeing abundance made manifest,” Myrtle wrote. “Don’t just see the bare earth—but with your spiritual eye of faith that beholds God’s abundance, see the earth bring forth its bountiful harvest. Apply this idea to everything in your life where fear appears.”  

Give and Serve

Most of us were taught that giving is a nice thing to do, but the Bible tells us over and over that giving jump-starts our prosperity: 

Give and you will receive (Luke 6:38).

You reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). 

The measure you give will be the measure you get back (Luke 6:38). 

Giving might seem like a bad idea if you feel you don’t have enough for yourself. No one is suggesting that you let your children go hungry while you give money away. But letting go of a little bit here and there opens your hand to receive. You can’t receive your good with a closed fist. There’s nothing natural about holding onto everything you’ve got. It’s like breathing in without ever breathing out. Try giving, even in the smallest amount, then notice whether your prosperity starts to flow better.

Another way to give is to be of service, and Myrtle suggested it was required on a spiritual path. Service is giving of your time, whether it’s volunteering for a worthwhile organization, sitting with a sick relative to give the caregiver a break, or chaperoning your children’s field trip. Look for ways to be of service or opportunities that tap your particular talents.

Some Final Reminders

Prosperity shows up first as ideas. Anyone who ever made money started with an idea. Open your mind to divine ideas, watch for them, and seize the opportunities that come to you. They may be the answer to your prayers for prosperity. 

Then finally, be willing to accept change. We can’t affirm and pray for improvement then resist change. Change is the only way things can get better. Receiving your abundance may require some flexibility. It also might not show up in the way you expected, so don’t miss it when it arrives. 

When you are living and moving in the flow of abundance, your capacity expands. You can love more, give more, receive more, inspire others, comfort others, and rise to any occasion. When you merge yourself with something greater than yourself, that’s when the world begins to change. 

To read more about Unity prosperity teachings, we recommend the book Spiritual Economics by Eric Butterworth.