What is New Thought?
New Thought is a philosophy that broadly describes people who are “spiritual but not religious,” and who believe that the way we think and act creates the reality that we experience. New Thought combines humanistic reasoning with the premise that there exists something transcendent within us and around us that is beyond all knowing, a kind of unifying intelligence or divinity that directs, connects, and empowers us.
Some New Thought writers, particularly those with ties to Christianity, use the word God to refer to this “something transcendent." Others prefer less overtly Judeo-Christian names like Spirit and Universal Mind, but the same meaning is understood. New Thought teachings have an artful way of discussing spiritual concepts--even concepts that religions hold sacred--without sounding religious in nature. This way of speaking about spiritual ideas appeals to me because it feels inclusive to people of all faiths and cultures--including non-religious people--while at the same time it succeeds in opening up the mind and soul to that transcendent element that is needed for spiritual wisdom.
New Thought is about following one’s individual spiritual path while also recognizing that there is a higher truth that unifies people of all paths; it is a philosophy of how to believe rather than what to believe. People of all religions can deepen their faith through the philosophy of New Thought without losing allegiance to any of the concepts or names they believe in.
Some New Thought writers, particularly those with ties to Christianity, use the word God to refer to this “something transcendent." Others prefer less overtly Judeo-Christian names like Spirit and Universal Mind, but the same meaning is understood. New Thought teachings have an artful way of discussing spiritual concepts--even concepts that religions hold sacred--without sounding religious in nature. This way of speaking about spiritual ideas appeals to me because it feels inclusive to people of all faiths and cultures--including non-religious people--while at the same time it succeeds in opening up the mind and soul to that transcendent element that is needed for spiritual wisdom.
New Thought is about following one’s individual spiritual path while also recognizing that there is a higher truth that unifies people of all paths; it is a philosophy of how to believe rather than what to believe. People of all religions can deepen their faith through the philosophy of New Thought without losing allegiance to any of the concepts or names they believe in.
How New Thought appears in American culture:
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In 1800's New England, the emergence of New Thought coincided with the literary movement called Transcendentalism. Writers such as Ralph Waldow Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau drew on humanistic philosophy and Eastern spirituality as a means of understanding the human soul and its connection with God and nature. Whitman's poetry stirred a kind of deep and rugged romanticism that caught on widely. Emerson's lectures preached philosophical and spiritual ideas in a way that transcended religion itself, which may explain why he wrote, "I have sometimes thought that, in order to be a good minister, it was necessary to leave the ministry." Thoreau, the author of Walden, inspired us all by taking to the woods for over two years in order to connect with nature and engage in spiritual self-discovery.
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Inspired by Transcendentalism, New Thought eventually took hold in various schools of thought, including the Unity Church, which aimed to bring people together in the study of many faith traditions and create a positive, practical approach to life. In the 20th century, works such as The Secret and The Science of Getting Rich brought New Thought concepts into widespread public awareness. It is important to understand that New Thought is not a creed or even a specific set of beliefs. People within the same philosophical movement can disagree, and this is okay. We can disagree and there is no contradiction because are still connected by the element that transcends our particular beliefs. New Thought is a philosophy that offers no dogma, and yet does not reject any dogma that a person may carry within themselves, since that is part of their individual path.
How I entered the New Thought movement:
My grandparents started going to the Unity Church in the 1990's, though my parents and I had rarely attended with them. I was a reserved and introverted child, and any thoughts I had that were philosophical or spiritual, I kept to myself. I preferred being alone, in fact, because I felt I could do creative things better by myself. I told this to my grandma once, around age 8, and I'll never forget her response: "Isn't that what your goal is in life, to find out what you're good at and share it with others?" It often took moments like this to bring me out of my shell and into the closeness of the family. Though I felt like I was different and didn't fit in, I had always felt a kind of providential energy within my family that made our celebrations "magical." We didn't call it God, but there was always a "something transcendent" that brought us together and kept us in a state of appreciation for our lives.
It was only after I studied philosophy and religion, read the Transcendentalists and the Bhagavad-Gita, watched The Secret, and investigated New Thought for myself that I realized how profoundly New Thought ideas had actually shaped my upbringing. I learned that my great-grandfather, Carl E. Webber also belonged to a Unity church. I even discovered I had a great-great-great-grandfather, Charles H. Webber, who wrote and lectured and was involved in New Thought as it was spreading through Boston in the late 1800's. I started attending Unity in the early 2010's, as did my father, and have been involved off and on since then. Sometimes I struggle with the "organized" feel of church and religion, even though Unity is arguably not a "religion" in the traditional sense. I've taken long breaks from New Thought and even gone through periods of doubting everything I thought I knew. But the community there is really supportive, and at least the philosophical topics get me asking questions and trying to figure it all out.
It was only after I studied philosophy and religion, read the Transcendentalists and the Bhagavad-Gita, watched The Secret, and investigated New Thought for myself that I realized how profoundly New Thought ideas had actually shaped my upbringing. I learned that my great-grandfather, Carl E. Webber also belonged to a Unity church. I even discovered I had a great-great-great-grandfather, Charles H. Webber, who wrote and lectured and was involved in New Thought as it was spreading through Boston in the late 1800's. I started attending Unity in the early 2010's, as did my father, and have been involved off and on since then. Sometimes I struggle with the "organized" feel of church and religion, even though Unity is arguably not a "religion" in the traditional sense. I've taken long breaks from New Thought and even gone through periods of doubting everything I thought I knew. But the community there is really supportive, and at least the philosophical topics get me asking questions and trying to figure it all out.
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This video shows an Independence Day presentation I gave on June 28, 2015 at Unity of South Sound.
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