The Role of Visualization in New Thought Prosperity Teaching: A Historical Overview

Visualization—the deliberate mental construction of images of desired outcomes—stands as one of the most enduring and influential practices to emerge from the New Thought movement. Rooted in the metaphysical conviction that mind precedes matter, visualization became the primary technique through which adherents sought to manifest health, wealth, and success. This article traces the historical arc of visualization within New Thought prosperity teaching, from its origins in the mental healing experiments of Phineas Quimby and the mind-cure movement, through its systematic articulation by New Thought authors like Ralph Waldo Trine and William Walker Atkinson, to its institutionalization in Unity, Divine Science, and Religious Science. It examines how visualization was understood, practiced, and disseminated across different branches of the movement, and assesses its lasting impact on American ideas of success and the broader self-help culture.

Historical Context

The New Thought movement emerged in the United States in the last quarter of the nineteenth century as a loosely affiliated collection of religious communities sharing an idealistic theology and an optimistic worldview (Encyclopedia.com). Its intellectual antecedents included Transcendentalism, Swedenborgianism, and mesmerism, all of which contributed to a cultural climate receptive to the idea that mental states could directly influence physical reality. The movement grew out of the “Mind Cure” movement of New England, which was itself a response to the limitations of orthodox medicine and the growing popularity of spiritual experimentation. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802–1866), a clockmaker and healer, developed a system of mental healing that posited that illness was the result of erroneous beliefs, and that correcting those beliefs through mental means could restore health. Quimby’s ideas profoundly influenced Mary Baker Eddy, who later founded Christian Science, and Emma Curtis Hopkins (1849–1925), who is properly cited as the founder of the New Thought movement (Encyclopedia.com). Hopkins, a former student of Eddy, broke away to teach a more expansive version of mental healing that emphasized not only health but also prosperity and success. Her students included Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, who founded Unity, and Nona Brooks, who co-founded Divine Science. The broader cultural context of industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of the middle class created a fertile ground for a movement that promised material success through mental discipline.

Main Narrative

Definition: Visualization as a Prosperity Technique

Visualization in New Thought prosperity teaching refers to the disciplined practice of forming vivid, detailed mental images of one’s desired material circumstances—wealth, health, success—with the conviction that these images, when held consistently with faith and feeling, will manifest in the physical world. This practice rests on the foundational New Thought premise that God is Mind and that human thoughts are creative forces (Hutchinson, 2014). In the prosperity context, visualization is not merely daydreaming but a deliberate spiritual exercise that aligns the individual’s consciousness with divine abundance.

Origins: From Mental Healing to Prosperity

The origins of visualization as a prosperity technique can be traced to Quimby’s mental healing, which already employed the idea that the mind’s images could affect the body. Quimby taught that disease was a false belief, and that by replacing negative mental images with positive ones, healing occurred. His student Warren Felt Evans, a Swedenborgian minister, wrote influential books in the 1860s and 1870s that applied these principles to both health and success, introducing the idea that “mental pictures” could attract material conditions. The explicit link between visualization and wealth came in the 1880s and 1890s as New Thought authors began to apply the laws of mind to economic matters. Hutchinson (2014) notes that New Thought writers who focused on prosperity claimed that “if one shifted one’s thinking toward abundance, God could manifest that reality.”

Who Popularized It: Key Figures and Their Contributions

Several figures were instrumental in popularizing visualization as a prosperity tool. Emma Curtis Hopkins taught her students to use affirmations and mental imagery to overcome lack, and her magazine, Christian Science (later Hopkins’ Magazine), spread these ideas. Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, co-founders of Unity, integrated visualization into their daily practice and into Unity’s teachings. In 1890 they established Unity Magazine, which regularly featured articles on visualizing success and abundance. Ralph Waldo Trine, whose 1897 book In Tune with the Infinite became a bestseller, wrote extensively on the power of mental imagery to bring prosperity. William Walker Atkinson, writing under several pseudonyms, produced practical guides such as The Mastery of Being and The Law of the New Thought, which included explicit instructions on visualization. Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science, systematized these ideas in his 1926 book The Science of Mind, which became a foundational text for the movement. Holmes taught that “the use of mental imagery is the most direct form of prayer” and that by visualizing a desired outcome and feeling its reality, one could bring it into being.

How Different New Thought Groups Understood It

While all New Thought groups shared the core premise of mental causation, they differed in the theological framing and practical emphasis of visualization. Unity, for instance, emphasized the Christian language of prayer and the indwelling Christ, and taught visualization as a form of affirmative prayer. Divine Science, founded by Nona Brooks and Malinda Cramer, stressed the immanence of God and saw visualization as a way to align with the divine mind. Religious Science, under Holmes, presented a more philosophical and scientific approach, describing visualization as a “law of mind” that operated with predictable regularity. The International New Thought Alliance (INTA), founded in 1914, served as an umbrella organization that sought to unify these diverse groups while respecting their individual emphases. Despite differences, all groups taught that visualization required not just mental picturing but also emotional engagement and a sense of gratitude, which were seen as essential to “feeling” the desired reality into existence.

Historical Development: From Individual Practice to Institutional Teaching

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, visualization moved from a personal practice of healers and writers to a codified teaching within organized New Thought institutions. The Fillmores at Unity developed systematic courses on prayer and visualization, and Unity’s extensive publishing arm disseminated these methods to a mass audience. The Nautilus, a magazine edited by Elizabeth Towne, also promoted visualization and positive thinking. In the 1920s and 1930s, Ernest Holmes founded the Church of Religious Science and established the Science of Mind magazine, which carried detailed instructions on visualization to a growing readership. The movement’s growth was further facilitated by the avoidance of the “New Thought” label in favor of traditional Christian terminology, which allowed its prosperity teachings to influence mainstream American culture, including the business community (Hutchinson, 2014). By mid-century, visualization had become a staple of the human potential movement, which drew heavily on New Thought principles.

Related Concepts: Affirmations, Mental Imaging, and the Law of Attraction

Visualization was closely related to other New Thought concepts such as affirmations (spoken or written statements of desired reality), mental imaging (a broader term for any deliberate use of imagination), and the law of attraction, which held that like attracts like in the mental realm. While visualization is a specific technique, the law of attraction became the overarching explanatory principle. The concept of the “subjective mind” or “subconscious” also played a role, as visualization was seen as a way to impress desired outcomes upon the subconscious, which then acted to bring them into reality. These related concepts were all rooted in the idealist philosophy that the material world is a reflection of consciousness.

Modern Legacy

The legacy of visualization in New Thought prosperity teaching is vast. It directly influenced the positive thinking movement of Norman Vincent Peale and the self-help industry of figures like Napoleon Hill, whose 1937 book Think and Grow Rich drew heavily on New Thought ideas. In the late twentieth century, visualization was popularized in works like Shakti Gawain’s Creative Visualization (1978) and Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret (2006), which presented the law of attraction to a global audience. While these later works often stripped away the religious framing, they retained the core practice of visualizing desired outcomes. The New Thought movement itself continues to teach visualization in its churches and centers, and the practice remains central to the teachings of Unity, Religious Science, and Divine Science. Hutchinson (2014) argues that New Thought prosperity theology has had a profound influence on American ideas of success, and visualization is the most concrete expression of that influence.

Why It Matters in New Thought History

Visualization is not a peripheral technique but a defining practice of New Thought. It embodies the movement’s core conviction that consciousness is creative and that material conditions can be transformed through mental discipline. Its historical significance lies in its role as a bridge between the movement’s healing origins and its later prosperity emphasis. Visualization allowed New Thought to expand its appeal beyond the sick to those seeking success and wealth, and it provided a practical, repeatable method that could be taught to millions. The practice also facilitated the movement’s influence on secular self-help culture, as the technique could be adopted without full acceptance of New Thought theology. For students of New Thought history, understanding visualization is essential to grasping how the movement translated its metaphysical ideas into actionable spiritual technology that reshaped American attitudes toward success, agency, and the relationship between mind and matter.

Primary Sources

• In Tune with the Infinite (1897) by Ralph Waldo Trine – A foundational New Thought text that popularized the idea of aligning one’s thoughts with divine abundance, including visualization practices.
• The Science of Mind (1926) by Ernest Holmes – The central textbook of Religious Science, offering detailed instructions on visualization as a law of mind.
• Unity Magazine (founded 1890) – A periodical edited by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore that regularly published articles on visualization and prosperity.
• The Nautilus (founded 1898) – Edited by Elizabeth Towne, this magazine spread New Thought prosperity teachings, including visualization techniques.
• The Mastery of Being (1911) by William Walker Atkinson – A practical guide to mental control and visualization for success.
• Lessons in Truth (1894) by H. Emilie Cady – A Unity classic that includes teachings on mental imagery and prayer.