What is New Thought? In a Nutshell
- New Thought began in the mid-1800s with Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Phineas P. Quimby who came to believe the mind can create good health or disease. Other leaders in the movement were Mary Baker Eddy, Thomas Troward, Emmet Fox Joel Goldsmith, Ernest Holmes, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore.
- “I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit sickness.” (E. B. Weeks) He influenced Myrtle Fillmore and she overcame Tuberculosis.
- New Thought embraces positive thinking, listening to one’s inner voice, affirmative prayer, meditation, and other ways of realizing the presence of God within.
- As a Spiritual Philosophy New Thought derives its name from an ancient principle that “A NEW THOUGHT PRODUCES A NEW CONDITION.” Voices of Faith, Chapter on ‘New Thought” by Rev. Dr. Mitzi Lynton.
- Its roots are in Christianity but it is not limited or bound by it. (Rev. Wendy Craig-Purcell, Unity) Jesus the Christ was the Way Shower, the teacher, the Awakened One, the GREAT EXAMPLE, not the exception. He knew His Divinity. We believe his words. “What I DO, You can do, and even greater things.” He was fully God Conscious. Everyone has the potential to be fully God Conscious.
- “The philosophy of Religious Science is a synthesis of the greatest concepts that have ever come to the mind of humankind. The laws of Moses, the love of Christ, the ethics of Buddha, the morals of Confucius and the deep spiritual realization of the Hindus all find an exalted place in the philosophy of Religious Science.” (Ernest Holmes)
- New Thought spirituality teaches that separation is the ultimate illusion and that in reality, there is ONE Consciousness expressing through infinite forms (humans and all species) -(Rev. Cylvia Hayes)
- New Thought followers believe “God in all, as all and is all” and “There is one life, that Life is the Life of God, that Life is Perfect and that Life is my/our life now. The God in me sees the God in you. The Christ in me sees the Christ in you. “There is a Power in the universe greater than you are and you can use it.” Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life.” (Ernest Holmes)
- New Thought continues to develop conceptually, educationally, and organizationally because New Thought affirms freedom of belief of each person. Always be open at the top. (Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes)