What We Believe – Our Guiding Principles
We believe that the universe is spiritual and has intelligence, purpose, beauty, and order. Our beliefs are in harmony with all the world’s great spiritual teachings, and we honor all paths to God. Whether we call it God, Spirit, Energy, or Universal Intelligence, we are ever conscious that all people, places, and things emanate from this Universal Intelligence that is within us and all around us.
You and God are Inseparable
We believe that God is a Loving Intelligence, operating in and through all life, never separate from anyone or anything. Through study and spiritual practice we come to understand our oneness with this indwelling Divine Presence. We teach and practice a way of life where we can all learn how to live in accordance with spiritual principles. These principles, which we call the Science of Mind, are as reliable as the laws of physical science. We believe in Cause and Effect and teach that “It is done unto you as you believe.” In essence, your thinking and your expectations create your reality. By studying and applying spiritual laws, you can change your unconscious beliefs and create improved conditions in your life.
Be a Part of an Inclusive Community
Each spiritual community within Centers for Spiritual Living™ teaches a New Thought philosophy that incorporates affirmative prayer, meditation, healing, visioning, and other spiritual tools to help you lead a spiritual life, think positively, and love deeply. As a member of our community, you’ll find the spiritual tools to transform your personal life and make the world a more peaceful, harmonious, and prosperous place.
The New Thought tradition dates to the 1880’s and has its roots in the Transcendentalist Movement of the 1830’s. New Thought has an enduring and respected legacy that includes luminaries such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Phineas Quimby, and Emma Curtis Hopkins. Some of the better known authors today whose writings represent our teachings are Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Eckhart Tolle, Caroline Reynolds, and Byron Katie, as well as many others.
Our teachings incorporate the ancient wisdom of all the spiritual traditions through the ages. People of all spiritual paths – Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, New Age and others – are welcome in our communities.
Our Shared Values
The Centers for Spiritual Living™ is committed to honoring and living certain values in our lives.
- We are visionary – knowing that “as we think so we become.”
- We encourage personal initiative and growth.
- We act as catalysts for change and transformation.
- We place a great deal of importance on developing and maintaining relationships.
- We are concerned about violence and abuse of children around the world.
- We want more emphasis on children's education and well-being, on rebuilding our neighborhoods and communities, and on creating an ecologically sustainable future.
- We love Nature and deeply appreciate Its gifts.
- We are acutely aware of the problems of the whole planet (global warming, destruction of rainforests, overpopulation, lack of ecological sustainability, exploitation of people in poorer countries) and want to see more action taken to heal these situations.