New Thought is a philosophical and religious movement that originated in the United States during the mid-1800’s. Supporters of New Thought believe that the human mind is superior to all material conditions and circumstances. They also believe that each person is an individualized center of God, and that God is immediately accessible to people through the power of the mind. Accordingly, a person can solve any problem by properly applying mental force. New Thought resembles the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American transcendentalist philosopher (see Transcendentalism ).
Phineas Quimby and his principal disciples, Julius Dresser and Warren Felt Evans, were early leaders of the New Thought movement. They developed theories of mental healing. They argued that sickness was a wrong belief and could be eliminated by channeling the power of the mind toward the correct idea of health. Quimby’s ideas influenced Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science.
