Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan del Hierro.
Juan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Over 15 years ago I walked into Unity on the Bay seeking to understand myself in deeper ways, as well as my connection to the human family. This spiritual community nurtured me. I had long been a spiritual seeker and active in the spiritual communities that I had grown up in. After some difficult times in my life that had separated me from God, I decided I needed to reconnect.
At Unity on the Bay, I found inspiration and an openness to questioning past beliefs – about myself, God and humanity. As a result of this, I was able to discern a vision of my life’s purpose. This community became part of the fabric of my life as I took part in many classes, workshops and retreats.
Although I was already involved in social justice causes, from LGBT rights, issues of homelessness, poverty, etc., I became even more empowered and encouraged to make a difference in the world. I joined non-profit boards and extended the reach of my work.
After a few years as a member of Unity on the Bay, I was hired to be a project assistant and continued to look for ways to grow – within the community and within myself. That led me through a multi-year path on becoming a Unity Minister.
As Associate Minister for Unity on the Bay, I have the honor of serving thousands of individuals who are seeking a better way of life, a deepened awareness and mindfulness of our Oneness, and the experience of sharing their passions with the world. It has touched me deeply and continues to grow me. Whether it is through teaching classes, speaking in our inspirational Sunday or Wednesday evening services, leading retreats or just connecting individually with people, the vision for how I can support others has grown.
Now, I not only get to serve Unity on the Bay and its amazing people, I am also involved in the larger Unity worldwide movement by being a mentor to soon to be ministers, leading various training for other ministries and helping to further establish our relationships with the mindfulness and conscious Miami community.
My personal mission is to “passionately and powerfully awaken the human family.”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Like many spiritual communities or religious institutions, we have experienced some struggles in our most recent history. They are reminders that we are in changing times, and we must change along with them. Spiritual community itself is an evolving idea and it moves us to seek innovative ways of connecting with people.
My struggles are interrelated to the struggles of our community. How do we respond to a changing community? How do we respond to changing times?
When I first came to Unity on the Bay over 15 years ago, our message was very unique. Not many people were talking about mindfulness and the raising of consciousness. Now, as the message has spread, so have the number of organizations that are sharing this philosophy and way of being. We now have more “competition” although we are shifting ourselves to not be in competition but rather in collaboration with organizations aligned with our mission and vision.
We have had to innovate and become more than just a Sunday service community. We continue to envision what that can look like as we also try new ways of connecting with people.
We also have to understand that while some mindfulness and consciousness organizations and teachers are touching many lives, there is also a growing number of people who feel disconnected. How do we reach them?
Now, you can see even more diversity in our programming and a focus on connecting people with each other, not just our philosophy and programs.
Another struggle has been the changing make-up of our surrounding space. When I first arrived, Unity on the Bay either leased or borrowed about 5 empty lots for parking on Sundays. As more buildings were constructed, we also become more constricted in parking. We are a community that serves people from all over South Florida and so traffic and public transportation are an important areas where we believe Miami has to focus its energy and resources.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Unity on the Bay story. Tell us more about the business.
Unity on the Bay has been a vibrant spiritual community serving the greater Miami area for over 90 years.
We belong to the Unity Movement, also referred to as “A Positive Path for Spiritual Living”, which started over 100 years ago in Kansas City, Missouri, by co-founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. Their teachings arrived in Miami in 1927 creating the thriving community that today we know as Unity on the Bay.
People are drawn to Unity on the Bay because of the “feel good” energy and positive attitude that radiates from within our spiritual community. There is a strong sense of family and connection to community that causes most people to say that Unity feels like home for them.
We are diverse community that embraces and radiates unconditional love, acceptance, energy and healing. At Unity, we believe that we are all connected and as we become more aware of this connection, we are inspired to love more deeply – ourselves, each other and the world. We inspire people to reach their divine potential. This is done through community activities, mindfulness and meditation, and so many other programs of transformation.
Our mission is to be “an inclusive community serving as a catalyst for spiritual awakening, evolution, and action.”
This year alone we hosted Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson and Les Brown. Also joining us this year is Don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. and Elizabeth Gilbert.
We are most inspired by the countless people whose lives have been transformed by our positive messages and programs. Our outreach to the community continues to grow. Through the collective work of those who call Unity on the Bay their spiritual home, we give back to over 30 non-profits, mainly concentrated in Miami but also in Broward, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela. Our backpack drive now supports over 5,000 children every year. We stand up for human rights and social justice. We are a community that owns our responsibility in seeing a world transformed.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
There is no luck – maybe just divine intervention. 🙂
I think as I have become more open to this divine energy in my life, I have learned to follow my intuition and that in itself has propelled me to where I am today. The same can be said about our community. As we allowed the spiritual and emotional intelligence of our community to rise, we have been able to ride that energy to new ways of being.
The universe is always conspiring to bring us all we need, and to remind us that all we need is within us. You can call it luck when you sort of stumble into that truth, but when you do the work and begin to exercise the muscles of mindfulness and intuition, “luck” is really becoming aligned with our highest good.
Contact Info:
- Address: 411 NE 21 Street
Miami, FL 33137 - Website: www.unityonthebay.org
- Phone: 305-573-9191
- Email: info@unityonthebay.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/unityonthebay
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/unityonthebaymiami/
- Twitter: @unityonthebay
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
