It all began in July 2006, when Rev. Will Bowen, lead minister of Christ Church Unity in Kansas City, Missouri, introduced the idea of wearing a purple bracelet as a simple reminder not to complain. He said it was also a way to measure success toward meeting his challenge to the congregation to wear it for 21 days.

Bowen gave out 250 purple bracelets at a Sunday service and encouraged members of the congregation to put one on either wrist. He said that every time someone engaged in complaining, criticizing or gossiping, he or she was to move the bracelet to the other wrist. The goal was to avoid negative talk for 21 straight days—long enough, say experts, to change or form a habit. If the wearer complained, the bracelet went to the other wrist and the count started over.

It may be a surprisingly simple technique, but it’s also surprisingly difficult. Some members took up to seven months to meet the challenge, but the experiment eventually paid off in real transformation—individually and as a congregation. “The atmosphere here at the church is so much more positive now,” Bowen said. “We wanted to be the epicenter of not complaining. And it really happened.”

Spreading Fast

Word soon got around, and Bowen found himself responding increasingly to the media about the impact of the purple bracelets and the growing movement toward a complaint-free world. He has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Fox News Channel and in hundreds of TV and radio interviews. Stories about him and the movement he created have been written in over 100 newspapers, People magazine, O magazine and Chicken Soup for the Soul. In 2007 he was dubbed one of the most innovative Christian leaders in the United States by Church Solutions magazine. In 2008 the International New Thought Alliance will present him with its Torchbearer award.

Will Bowen’s first book, A Complaint Free World, published by Doubleday, is already in its seventh printing in the United States. The book is also being published in more than a dozen foreign countries and has been recorded by Bowen as an audiobook, published by Random House Audio.

The Truth Behind It

In a recent article in Unity Magazine, Rev. Bowen explained that the purple-bracelet technique works because it’s a divine idea—“a God thing,” as he likes to say. He also said that it reflects Unity’s five basic spiritual principles:

1. God is all good and everywhere present. “If it’s true that God is all good and everywhere present, then why would you complain or put out negative energy about anything?” Bowen asks.
2. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good. Bowen’s comment: “Most of our complaining is about other people. But if God is within everyone, then why would you complain about another person?”
3. We create our life experiences through our way of thinking. Bowen: “If you listen to what a person says, you know what he or she is thinking. If you’re complaining, you are thinking negatively.”
4. There is power in affirmative prayer and meditation, which we believe increases our connection to God. Bowen: “We’re always affirming either what we want or don’t want, so we want to affirm our good or that which we desire.”
5. Knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough. We must live them. Bowen: “We need to put all this into practice until it becomes habitual. And it usually takes about 21 days of daily practice to change a habit. The purple bracelet helps us eliminate negativity over 21 days so that we can then focus on being more positive and drawing our good to us.”

Practical Spirituality

The phenomenal success of Christ Church Unity’s Complaint Free World campaign has paralleled that of The Secret, which is based on the Law of Attraction. In Unity, this truth is usually referred to as the Law of Mind Action and is expressed as Unity’s third basic principle above.

Many people, including Oprah Winfrey, have commented on the parallel success of both The Secret and the Complaint Free World campaign. “When she asked me about that,” said Bowen, “I told Oprah that several people have said that The Secret tells you what to do, the purple bracelet shows you how to do it.”

“With its strong emphasis on practical spirituality, Unity provides a lot of very simple things you can do to transform your life,” added Bowen. “Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore was one of those great metaphysicians who tilled the soil and planted seeds, and now there are people coming along from every spiritual path who are harvesting what he and others planted many years ago.”

When asked if he had anything in particular to say to readers of Unity Magazine about his church’s experience with its Complaint Free World campaign, Bowen took a moment to reflect, then offered these words: “Set your intention, leave the ‘how’ to God, and know that there are limitless resources to support your vision. With God, there’s no such thing as failure.”

For up-to-date information on the Complaint Free World campaign or to request a purple bracelet, go to Christ Church Unity’s Web site at www.acomplaintfreeworld.org.


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