Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus: Elizabeth Towne’s Practical Guide to Mental Healing

Introduction

Elizabeth Towne’s Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus (1926) stands as a concise yet profound testament to the New Thought movement’s practical spirituality. In just over thirty pages, Towne distills a core teaching: the solar plexus is the ‘sun center’ of the body, a hub of life energy that, when consciously awakened, can transform physical health and mental clarity. As the founder of The Nautilus magazine and a prolific writer, Towne made metaphysical ideas accessible to a broad audience. This article traces the book’s origins, its place within the New Thought movement, its key arguments, and its lasting impact on self-help and mind-body spirituality.

Historical Context

The New Thought movement emerged in the late 19th century as a distinctly American blend of metaphysical idealism, practical healing, and optimism. It drew from Transcendentalism’s emphasis on inner divinity, Swedenborgianism’s correspondence between spiritual and physical realms, and mesmerism’s explorations of mental influence. Phineas Quimby, often considered the father of New Thought, developed a system of mental healing in the 1850s, asserting that illness originated in erroneous beliefs. His ideas influenced Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science, and later Emma Curtis Hopkins, a former Christian Scientist who became the ‘teacher of teachers’ for many New Thought leaders. By the early 20th century, New Thought had coalesced into various schools—Divine Science, Unity, Religious Science—and a network of periodicals and organizations. Elizabeth Towne operated within this milieu, contributing to the movement’s growth through her magazine and practical guides like Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus.

Main Narrative

Publication History

Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus was originally published in 1926, according to a facsimile reprint edition (Towne, 1926). The book has since been reprinted multiple times, including a 2014 CreateSpace edition and a 1997 Kessinger Publishing reprint (Books.org, n.d.). The New Thought Library website hosts the complete text for free, making it widely accessible to contemporary readers.

Author: Elizabeth Towne

Elizabeth Towne (1865–1960) was a leading figure in the New Thought movement. She founded The Nautilus magazine in 1898, which became one of the most influential New Thought periodicals of the early 20th century. Towne was known for her practical, down-to-earth approach to metaphysical principles, often emphasizing the application of thought to daily life. Her writing combined personal anecdote with spiritual insight, and she corresponded with many prominent New Thought figures, including William Walker Atkinson and Ralph Waldo Trine. Towne’s legacy is preserved through her books and the ongoing availability of her work online.

Historical Setting

The book appeared in the mid-1920s, a period when New Thought was gaining mainstream popularity. The movement had evolved from its early focus on divine healing to incorporate broader themes of success, prosperity, and personal empowerment. Towne’s guide fit this trend by offering a specific, actionable technique—awakening the solar plexus—as a means to ‘live at full potential.’ The text reflects the era’s fascination with the body’s energy centers, anticipating later interests in chakras and somatic psychology.

Main Arguments

Towne argues that the solar plexus is a ‘great central station’ of the nervous system, a reservoir of vital energy that can be consciously controlled. She contends that many physical and mental ailments stem from a ‘contracted’ solar plexus, which withdraws life force from the body. By learning to ‘wake’ or relax this center, individuals can restore health and vitality. The book offers practical exercises, such as deep breathing and focused attention, to achieve this state. Towne emphasizes that mental healing is not mere suggestion but a real physiological process.

Key Concepts

• Solar Plexus as Sun Center: The body’s ‘sun’ providing energy to all organs.
• Life Force Control: Conscious direction of energy through the solar plexus.
• Relaxation and Tension: The contrast between a contracted and a relaxed plexus.
• Mind-Body Unity: The belief that mental states directly affect physical health.
• Practical Spirituality: Everyday techniques for spiritual growth.

Reception

Contemporary reviews praised the book for its clarity and practicality. The Amazon listing shows a 4.4-star rating from 51 reviews, with one reader calling it ‘a little book with got it going on!’ (Amazon, 2014). Many readers found it transformative, and it remains a recommended text in New Thought circles. The book’s brevity and directness made it ideal for busy readers seeking immediate relief.

Influence

Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus contributed to the popularization of the concept of the solar plexus as a psychological and spiritual center. It influenced later New Thought writers and the broader human potential movement, which emphasized bodily awareness and energy work. The book also reinforced the New Thought principle that individuals have the power to heal themselves through mental discipline—a notion that persists in modern mind-body medicine.

Editions

The work has been reprinted by several publishers. The 1926 original is in the public domain and available free at NewThoughtLibrary.com. Modern reprints include the 1997 Kessinger facsimile and the 2014 CreateSpace edition. These editions ensure the text’s availability for new generations of readers.

Where to Read

The full text is freely accessible at NewThoughtLibrary.com, which also offers audio downloads and other resources. Physical copies can be purchased through online retailers such as Amazon. Scholars can find the 1926 edition in special collections of libraries with New Thought holdings.

Why It Matters in New Thought History

Towne’s book exemplifies the New Thought movement’s practical turn in the 1920s. It moved beyond abstract philosophy to offer a concrete method for mental healing, embodying the movement’s core belief in the power of the mind to influence the body. The book’s enduring popularity underscores its effectiveness as a teaching tool. For students of New Thought history, it provides a window into the movement’s everyday practices and its role in shaping modern self-help culture. Towne’s emphasis on the solar plexus also foreshadowed later interest in energy centers, linking New Thought to broader esoteric traditions.

Primary Sources

• Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus by Elizabeth Towne, 1926. The original text, available at NewThoughtLibrary.com. It is the primary source for understanding Towne’s teachings.
• The Nautilus Magazine (1898–1950s). Towne’s periodical, which published articles on New Thought, health, and personal development. Issues are available in archives.
• Letters and Correspondence of Elizabeth Towne, held in the New Thought Archives at the New Thought Library and other repositories.
• Emma Curtis Hopkins’s writings, such as High Mysticism (1918), which influenced Towne’s understanding of mental healing.