People, Ideas, and Movements That Shaped New Thought
Literature and periodicals that document and spread New Thought.
Explore how Malinda Cramer’s Harmony Magazine became the foundational periodical of the Divine Science movement, spreading New Thought teachings on healing and spiritual oneness from the 1890s onward.
The Kybalion, published in 1908 under the pseudonym ‘Three Initiates,’ is a foundational occult text that actually emerged from the American New Thought movement. This article explores its historical context, likely authorship by William Walker Atkinson, key teachings, and lasting influence on New Age spirituality.
Suggestion (1898–1906) was a Chicago-based monthly magazine that advanced suggestive therapeutics and New Thought. It served as the launching pad for William Walker Atkinson’s editorial career, shaping his prolific authorship and influencing the movement’s systematic, non-mystical framework.
Unity Magazine, founded in 1889 as Modern Thought, became the longest-lived New Thought periodical and the flagship publication of the Unity movement. This article traces its evolution, content, influence, and lasting legacy in American religious history.
This article explores how New Thought periodicals, particularly The Nautilus and Unity, served as vital conduits for the movement’s ideas, connecting readers across the United States and shaping the evolution of metaphysical spirituality from the 1890s onward.
Explore how the New Thought movement harnessed the power of print—from early pamphlets to mass-market magazines—to transform a disparate collection of metaphysical healers into a global spiritual force, shaping modern self-help culture.
The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel is a cornerstone of New Thought literature, often mistakenly attributed to William Walker Atkinson. This article clarifies the relationship between Haanel’s influential course and Atkinson’s own ‘Master Mind,’ situating both within the broader New Thought movement.
Published in 1917 after Thomas Troward’s death, ‘The Law and the Word’ is a cornerstone of New Thought literature, synthesizing Eastern philosophy and Western science to explore the creative power of thought. This article traces its historical context, key concepts, and lasting influence on the movement.
Warren Felt Evans’s 1873 treatise Mental Medicine stands as a pivotal yet often overlooked text in the New Thought movement, bridging earlier metaphysical traditions and the later mental healing schools. This article explores its historical context, core ideas, and enduring influence.
From the late 19th century onward, New Thought magazines served as the movement’s circulatory system, carrying its message of mental healing and idealist philosophy to a vast, decentralized network of readers. This article traces the rise of these periodicals, their key editors and publications, and their enduring impact on the movement’s growth.