New Thought
a name commonly used to describe the belief in the power of the spirit to create and control conditions and circumstances by mental causes. New Thought is based on old truths maintained for ages, but to many it offers a new viewpoint on the conduct of life. Metaphysical healing as demonstrated in mental science is based on the same curative methods as New Thought. Unlike Christian Science, it does not deny the existence of matter, while affirming the reality of the spirit.
Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, the first practitioner of mental science, and his contemporary, ry, John B. Dods, in the first Dods half of the 19th century believed and wrote that disease could be cured by a change of belief. New Thought first became known about 1906 as a system that included mental healing, and supplied a philosophy of life and conduct, and was opposed to the control of individual independence by a church organization or particular faith. New Thought literature displays variation in points of view, but general hostility to materialism, and faith in the power of the inner spirit to rule the senses. The number professing New Thought cannot be estimated as it includes many church members, but there are between 300 and 400 centers in the United States and Canada where the system is taught, and there are centers in England and the larger European cities. Among the most important books on New Thought are: "Power of Silence" (H. W. Dresser, 1904); "New Thought Simplified" (Henry Wood, 1904); "A New Alinement of Life" (R. W. Trine); "Increasing Your Mental Efficiency" (E. H. Williams).