The Right to Change Your Mind

It was during the early days of the Unity movement, and the New Thought pioneers were trying to write down what the Unity movement believed in.

Finally, a document was produced. However, Unity cofounder, Charles Fillmore, insisted on adding one note at the end. It said: “‘I reserve the right to change my mind,’ Charles Fillmore.”

What a strange note to add to a statement of belief by a religious/spiritual organization. But ironically, it does get to the heart of what Unity is all about. And I say: “Thank you Mr. Fillmore!”

Unlike many other religious and spiritual groups, Unity does not insist that you “Check your brains at the door.”

Accounts from Unity historians and teachers describe this remark in connection with a long Unity “Statement of Faith” or list of points that Mr. Fillmore and others wrote. They were centering on what they what believed at that time.

After laying out numerous beliefs, Mr. Fillmore reportedly added a closing comment to the effect of: “This is where I am now, but I reserve the right to change my mind,” which some in his audience found frustrating because it undercut the idea of a fixed, final creed.

Mr. Fillmore repeatedly stressed that Truth is living and that human concepts of God must be allowed to expand. “Beware of the circumscribed idea of God! Always provide for an increase in your concept. Don’t write down any laws governing your conduct or your religious ideas. Be free to grow and expand. What you think today may not be the measure for your thought tomorrow,” Mr. Fillmore is reported to have said during one of his talks.

His “right to change my mind” was thus not about fickleness, but about guarding against dogmatism. It was about keeping Unity aligned with a living, inner experience of Truth rather than with static formulations.

In his classes, Charles Fillmore preferred exploration over argument; biographers note that he would not argue to defend his ideas, trusting that people would come to Unity when they were ready. This was another way of refusing to let any single formulation become final.

I also deeply admire that Mr. Fillmore was a lover of science as well as spirituality, and he felt that there should be no war between science and religion. If he were alive today I believe that he would be all over the latest developments in the neurosciences and artificial intelligence.

In fact, I believe that he applied the scientific method to spirituality. Let me explain what I mean by this. One of the most intelligent people that I ever met and had the honor to work with was an astrophysicist from the University of Chicago by the name of David Schramm. David did much of the pioneer research on dark energy and dark matter. I believe that if he were still alive today, he would’ve been awarded the Nobel prize in physics. At his funeral, a eulogy to him written by the legendary Stephen Hawkings was read.

David very strongly believed in the Big Bang theory. He believed that our current evidence supported this model of how the universe evolved. However, David was open to the fact that new evidence might be collected which could lead to a newer theory that would be even better than the Big Bang. This is what the scientific method is all about.

Similarly, I believe that Charles Fillmore had certain models in his consciousness concerning spirituality. But he was always open to exploring new evidence which might amend his earlier models.

The same openness of mind was also a quality of an economist that I deeply admire: John Maynard Keynes. Keynes was perhaps the most influential economist of the 20th century. One time after he finished a lecture, somebody said to him, “Dr. Keynes, what you just told us is exactly the opposite of what you told us 10 years ago.”

Keynes looked at his questioner and responded by saying, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?”

Myrtle Fillmore, the other cofounder of the Unity movement, was led by a very similar spirit. One time she was charged with being eclectic. She answered by saying that, of course she was eclectic. Mrs. Fillmore said that she reserved the right to take various aspects from many different religious paths if it would help her in her spiritual walk.

Rev. Ellen Debenport in her wonderful book, The Five Principles: A Guide to Practical Spirituality, suggests that we ask ourselves at least every 10 years: What do we believe about God? I would suggest that we do it more often than every 10 years. I believe that we will find that as our spiritual walk deepens, we will see some significant changes in how we view some key things. Perhaps if there are no changes, then we are not growing spiritually.

In terms of Unity, I would say that there have been some fundamentals for me that have not changed over the years including: belief in a loving God; belief that there is a divine spark inside of us all, and that this is who we really are; and the centrality of prayer and meditation, as well as our thoughts and feelings.

However, so many of the above principles have expanded for me in so many ways over the years. I am grateful for the openness expressed by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. I am grateful that this openness is at the heart of the Unity movement.

I would strongly suggest that you take the time every so often to pray, meditate, and journal about what you really believe about God and other spiritual topics.

Like the Fillmores, I hope that you always retain the right to change your mind.

Many blessings,

Rev. Rick