Franz Anton Mesmer, an early pioneer of hypnosis and Wallace D. Wattles of the New Thought Movement… Separated by a century of time, yet their work reveals the existence of a universal, creative material that responds to our consciousness.
The commonly accepted idea is that early hypnosis pioneer, Franz Anton Mesmer (who the word Mesmerism is based on) was mistaken in his belief about an invisible fluid called ‘Animal Magnetism’.
The scientific community concluded that Mesmer was mistaken and that his ‘Animal Magnetism’ was due to suggestion… and renamed to Hypnosis.
But…
What if both beliefs were right? What if suggestion and a manipulable energy both exist? After all, the placebo effect proves that suggestion alone can produce real, measurable changes in the body. And ‘Everything is energy‘ what we think of as solid matter is really just highly organised, vibrating energy…
What if “There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.” Wallace Wattles. And what if this “formless substance” from which all things are made can be influenced.
It is not passive. It is a living force that perfectly responds to whatever we impress upon it with clear and focused thought. Wattles provided a complete user manual for it, teaching people how to align their minds with this universal creative principle.
Mesmer’s ‘Animal Magnetism’ and Wattles’ ‘Thinking Stuff’ are two different names for the same fundamental, universal, creative force. Both men, in their own time and with their own language, pointed to the same idea. There is a formless, responsive intelligence in the universe, and we possess the power to consciously interact with it to shape our reality.
Phineas P. Quimby and the Birth of The New Thought Movement
Phineas P. Quimby, often cited as the founder of the New Thought Movement, began his journey in the 1840’s when he observed the French mesmerist Charles Poyen. Quimby learned and practiced mesmerism himself… Leading him to the idea that illness was a matter of the mind, a false belief that could be healed by correcting it with ‘truth’. This insight completely re-framed the nature of healing. Quimby’s work laid the foundation for the New Thought Movement.
The concept of a pervasive, animating force is a recurring theme across time and cultures… Throughout philosophies and spiritual traditions. They all point to the idea of a fundamental, subtle substance that connects the physical and non-physical worlds… Giving rise to life, consciousness and thought.
Called Prana in Hindu traditions, Qi (Chi) in Chinese philosophy, or the Odic Force in 19th-century theories. As far back as ancient Egypt, and in Greek and Stoic philosophy there is a Vital Energy… Called Aeither, Jiva, Élan Vital… It goes by many names. Is it the same as Mesmerism’s Animal Magnetism and Wattles Thinking Stuff..?
Mind Holds Sway Over Matter
The principles outlined in Hermeticism (the teachings of the legendary Hermes Trismegistus) resonate with New Thought ideas. The Hermetic Principle of Mentalism “The All is Mind; the Universe is Mental” echo’s the New Thought’s central tenet that reality is a mental creation.
The Kybalion (a study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece is a book published in 1908 by ‘The Three Initiates’), is most likely written by William Walker Atkinson, a prolific writer and pioneer of the New Thought Movement.
Reality is not a fixed, objective thing, but something that is defined, at least in part, by interaction…
The is also called the observer effect in quantum mechanics.
Creative Universal Force is not a new idea… It’s an ancient one that has simply been rediscovered and re-expressed throughout history.
The trick is to make it work for you! If you are interested in knowing more about the New Thought Movement and the New Thought Teachers… who are they? What did they do?
Check out our New Thought Compass.