Frequently Asked Questions

Taos Community of Love attracts a diverse group of people, but one thing we all have in common is that we are seekers.
As such, we welcome your questions and have done our best to answer the most frequently asked ones here.
If you don’t see yours, feel free to fill out the form below, and we’ll get back to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We have no established doctrine. As a community, we embrace the wisdom of all great traditions, including the nature religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and secular humanism. We see these traditions as complementary rather than competitive.

    Belief, however, takes a seeker only so far. For that reason our emphasis is not on belief but on experience gained through spiritual practice.

  • We absolutely believe in the Divine; however, we recognize it is called many different names and can’t ever actually be known by any.

    We see God, or the Divine, as the ground of all being, with every being an expression of this divinity in individual form. But we place more emphasis on an experience of the Divine than on a belief in God.

    Our community members refer to it by a number of names including God, Goddess, Spirit, Divine, Infinite Love, Source, Nature, Higher Power, The Universe, The Great Mystery, Mother/Father, Beloved, Consciousness, Godhead, The Unknown, Love, Light, I Am That I Am, Higher Self, and many others.

    As a community we do not insist on any particular term. We welcome people to use whatever name helps in their own relationship with/to/as the Divine.

    We ask that this personal relationship be respected for all members.

  • We are more like a church than anything else you can name, but we dropped the label because of its association with rigid doctrine and claims to exclusive truth.

    There is no enforced dogma or beliefs at Taos Community of Love. We aim to be an empowered space and resource for the development and deepening of personal relationships with the Divine.

    Through deep contemplation and meditation we decided years ago as a community to remove the word church from our name and say what we truly are, a Community of Love.

  • When you participate in any of the activities of Taos Community of Love you are a member.

    We consider anyone who attends any of our offerings, gatherings, events, etc. to be members of this community. There are no rights of passage nor hierarchy to be included.

    Some people never attend the Sunday Community Gathering while others never miss it. Some join us for our Women’s/Men’s Breakfast but never take a class.

    All are equal, welcome members!

  • Yes, for many years we were called Unity of Taos. After ending our affiliation with Unity Worldwide Ministries, the organization asked us to change our name to avoid any potential confusion. Though we were sad to let go of the name we’d been associated with for decades, we honored their request and officially became Taos Community of Love.

  • We have resumed our full in person Community Gatherings and continue to offer Zoom attendance.

    Face coverings are optional, we welcome your smile and honor those who make the decision to wear a mask.

    The layout of the meeting room allows for physical distancing between individuals.

    We do run air purifying machines to sanitize the air in the building.

  • Yes, absolutely! Taos Community of Love is inclusive and we believe in the sacred worth of all people. We respect and honor the wonderful variety of human commitments and relationships.

  • New Age is a blanket term for a wide range of practices that includes things such as: crystal healing, astrology, the Tarot, channeling, trance, reiki, and energy medicine. Taos Community of Love is not directly New Age but it supports those practices when they are used for personal growth and spiritual transformation.

  • We are not a cult. People have joked with us about this because our members are often smiling, joyous and eager to welcome new people. We’ve also jokingly been referred to as “a hippy church”. The truth is we are passionate about bringing love and unity into the world, and we do that together as a Community of Love without dogma or hierarchy.

  • We are an active community and support each others unique spiritual path. At our Sunday gatherings we do not have a minister but have speakers from different spiritual and mystical traditions.

  • We value the Bible as one document among many that can help show us the way to Spirit.

  • We were affiliated with Unity for many years. In 2004 we voted to disaffiliate because we felt we had expanded beyond the confines of Unity principles.

    We honor much of the work they are doing and have adopted some of their awesome elements, just as we do from many spiritual traditions.

    If you’re used to attending a Unity church, come check us out. You may find a happy home with us.

    If you are not accustom to a Unity church or have desire to be, come check us out. You may also find a happy home here.

    We really do try to be a community that uplifts all spiritual traditions.

  • Simply put, the community.

    We do have a board of directors that ensures the train stays (mostly) on the tracks, but this volunteer group holds no elevated position from any other member.

    Board meetings are always open for anyone to attend, and we seek community participation at every stage.

    No amount of financial, time or talent offerings put anyone above anyone else here. We are a Community of Love and rely on the loving community to keep that true.

  • We do not officially have a minister, pastor or preacher.

    Our Community Gatherings are run by community members some of which do have backgrounds as counselors, guides, healers, artists, entrepreneurs, teachers, speakers, musicians, parents, vagabonds, authors, and yes, some do have spiritual training.

    We are a community of mutual mystics and enjoy having many voices in the conversation.

  • Great question! Truth is, we don’t know what your journey holds for you or how we may play a role in it.

    We do have some info for newcomers that can give you an overview of what we’re about. You can find that here: www.Taos Community of Love.org/newhere

  • Taos Community of Love is an interfaith community and we embrace ALL spiritual teachings including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Sikhism, Paganism and teachings from other faith communities.

    We encourage each individual to follow the spiritual path of her or his or their heart. Taos Community of Love offers a positive place to consider the wisdom from many sources, religious or not.

  • Taos Community of Love has always held its doors open for all peoples.

    We believe that all people have sacred worth. We recognize the importance of serving all people within the community and strive to be free of discrimination.

    We acknowledge that the Land of the Free, though a lovely concept, is not a truth for everyone, and that as a country we have a long way to go. We lovingly work to ensure Unity of Taos is a safe, empowering place for everyone and are eager to have more perspectives in the community.

  • Prior to Covid, Taos Community of Love commonly participated in live community outreach. We are in process of getting back to that active contribution.

    Additionally, Taos Community of Love financially contributes regularly to many local organizations that provide community outreach.

    We support the Dream Tree Project which offers emergency teen shelter and transitional housing. We also support Shared Table who distributes food, basic health-care items, school supplies, and other essentials to the community.

    During the holidays we also encourage our members to support the Community Against Violence (CAV) Angel Tree Project which provides gifts to children who are affected by sexual and domestic violence.

  • Taos Community of Love is a politically neutral organization and strongly discourages any political comments, statements, prayers or actions during any and all activities on Unity of Taos property.

    As a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, Taos Community of Love is required to be politically neutral and not take a political position by endorsing or supporting any political candidate over another candidate.

  • Our gatherings and classes are filled with love, music, laughter, and friendship. We embrace ALL spiritual teachings and ALL members of our local community. At Taos Community of Love members feel the joy of being surrounded by a loving, caring, open, and supportive community.

    Taos Community of Love provides a safe and sacred space for the awakening of each individual according to his or her own path.

  • We view Jesus as a most highly evolved human and greatest teacher, in the company of other masters such as Krishna, the Buddha, Moses, and Mohammed. We see Jesus as divine, but no more so than you or me. The Christ, we feel, is at the innermost being in all of us.

  • Our members hold a variety of views; however, Taos Community of Love does not hold one specific view of what happens when we transition.

  • Individually, our members have adopted a wide variety of spiritual practices including meditation, prayer, contemplation, study of scriptures and other works, hatha yoga, diet, body work, chanting, visualization, virtue, forgiveness, and service.

    As a community, we currently emphasize study, contemplation, meditation, and service. Members are encouraged to do whatever works for them.

  • There are no requirements or tests for membership. We welcome you and know that you will be a contribution to our community, whatever your beliefs may be.