People, Ideas, and Movements That Shaped New Thought
Literature and periodicals that document and spread New Thought.
From 1898 to 1953, Elizabeth Towne’s Nautilus magazine served as the most influential and widely read periodical of the New Thought movement, reaching a circulation of 90,000 at its peak. This article traces its history, key figures, and enduring legacy in American metaphysical religion.
Wallace D. Wattles’s 1910 classic The Science of Getting Rich distilled New Thought metaphysics into a practical guide for wealth creation. This article explores its historical roots, key concepts, reception, and enduring influence on prosperity theology and modern self-help culture.
Explore the history of Ernest Holmes’s 1926 classic ‘The Science of Mind,’ its roots in the New Thought movement, its core teachings, and its enduring influence on Religious Science and modern spirituality.
Thomas Troward’s 1909 Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science distilled the core principles of New Thought into a systematic framework, bridging spirit and matter through the power of subjective and objective mind. This article traces its origins, key concepts, and enduring influence on the movement.
Published in 1906, William Walker Atkinson’s Thought Vibration or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World crystallized New Thought principles into a practical guide, shaping modern self-help and the Law of Attraction movement. This article explores the book’s origins, key ideas, and enduring legacy within the New Thought tradition.
H. Emilie Cady’s Lessons in Truth, first published in the 1890s, became a cornerstone of the New Thought movement, distilling metaphysical Christianity into twelve practical lessons. This article explores its historical context, key teachings, and enduring influence on Unity and modern self-help spirituality.
Ralph Waldo Trine’s 1897 classic In Tune with the Infinite became a foundational text of the New Thought movement, selling over two million copies and shaping modern self-help literature through its teachings on oneness with the Infinite Spirit and the power of positive thinking.
Horatio Dresser’s 1919 book remains the earliest comprehensive history of the New Thought movement, tracing its roots from Phineas Quimby through the rise of Christian Science, mental science, and the first national organizations. This article examines its publication, arguments, and enduring influence on how we understand the movement.