People, Ideas, and Movements That Shaped New Thought
Chronological development and evolution of the New Thought movement.
This article examines how William Walker Atkinson, through his editorial work and prolific writing, used the principle of suggestion to promote New Thought. As editor of New Thought magazine and author of over 100 books, he shaped the movement’s ideas and helped spread them to a wide audience, leaving a lasting legacy in modern self-help culture.
Founded in 1895, the Metaphysical Club of Boston was the first organized association devoted to New Thought, publishing the Journal of Practical Metaphysics and gathering pioneers like Horatio Willis Dresser before merging into The Arena in 1898.
Explore how the New Thought movement, born in 19th-century America, expanded globally through publications, organizations, and key figures, reaching England, South Africa, and beyond.
Before the New Thought movement acquired its familiar name, it traveled under a variety of labels—each reflecting a different stage of its evolution from healing practice to philosophical movement. This article traces those names, from Quimby’s ‘divine healing’ to the ‘mental science’ of his successors, and finally to the term ‘New Thought’ that unified the movement at the turn of the twentieth century.
The New Thought movement, a spiritual and philosophical current that emerged in late 19th-century America, owes a significant yet often underacknowledged debt to Hindu philosophy. From its roots in Transcendentalism to its systematic embrace of concepts like divine selfhood and the power of positive thinking, New Thought absorbed and reinterpreted Vedantic ideas, shaping a distinctly American metaphysical tradition.
Mesmerism and hypnotism provided the foundational framework for early New Thought’s mental healing practices. This article traces how animal magnetism evolved into the movement’s core beliefs, from Phineas Quimby’s experiments to the institutionalization of New Thought.
Explore how mail-order courses made New Thought teachings accessible to millions, transforming metaphysical religion into a democratic, self-study movement in the early 20th century.
Explore how the religious ferment of western New York’s Burned-Over District in the 1800s—with its revivals, utopian communities, and metaphysical experimentation—laid the groundwork for the New Thought movement’s emphasis on mind and spirit.
This article traces how the New Thought movement, born in mid-19th-century New England, crossed the Atlantic to Britain through publications, lectures, and personal correspondence, shaping a global spiritual and psychological movement.
This article traces the transatlantic journey of the New Thought movement, focusing on its institutional consolidation through the International New Thought Alliance and the vibrant London scene that became a hub for its teachings, publications, and international congresses in the early twentieth century.